Boy, she'd been up to absolutely nothing of interest. So, that was pretty frustrating. Mostly she'd tried to stick closer to Dragon after they'd done their best to work things out. A lingering feeling of guilt hung over her like a dark cloud and it was honestly really stupid because... well, she'd never really dealt with repercussions for her actions until she'd met him and it was a little upsetting to find herself feeling like the actual worst wolf on earth.

Grumbling to herself, Iskra dipped a paw in the lazily winding river, shivering when she felt how icy cold the water was. Alright, so no swimming related activities. Brr. Casting her robin's egg blue eyes back towards land, the woman debated her next move. Wandering the south was becoming a lot less fun it seemed since she'd bumped into far too many pack borders as of late. When did everyone decide to start making packs? It was awfully inconvenient to keep having to go around them. Would have had anyone else feeling all turned around by now.

Sighing dramatically, she decided to follow the river for a stretch. Maybe she'd wander toward the west. It had been an awfully long time since she'd been anywhere near there. Of course Iskra wouldn't linger this time either, but a little exploring was always a nice way to spend some free time. The ground along the river bank was hard and packed down, made almost solid as rock by the layer of ice on top. Winter was certainly on it's way. The water of the river, however, remained mostly liquid. Only little patches in the reedy sections near the bank attempted to solidify. She figured that in a really bad winter it could freeze over given how slow the water moved in this spot. Hmm. Might be cool to see, but she'd save her ice-skating for shallower ponds.

Acere traveled southward with his young fox companions. They perched on his back, staring out at the world with wonder as they walked along the river. This was the first time they had been so far out of Abaven, at least since Ace had found them. He listened to their "oohs" and "aahs" as they stared at the scenery with wide eyed wonder. While they were now old enough to keep up with him on their own four feet, he also didn't mind giving them a ride from time to time. Crimson gaze remained alert as he kept an eye out for any sign of trouble. Specifically any potentially hungry predators that might see the young cubs as easy prey. They were six months old now, and Ace took great pride and joy in teaching them what he could. They were orphans when he found them, but now? He was practically their father. And with no children of his own, he did his best to take great care of them. "Whoa! What is that!?" Finn, the male kit, had suddenly leaped off of Ace's back and went racing off. Before Ace could react, he felt Lumi getting ready to jump down as well. "Don't even think about it." He warned her before following after Finn. "Finn! Get back here!" He called, but the kit just kept going. Growling with frustration, Ace continued to follow for a bit until he finally caught up. He was so focused on trying to catch him that he hadn't realized the boy had spotted the most peculiar looking wolf ever, and when Ace noticed her, he stopped. "Look dad! That's a cool lookin' wolf huh!" Ace felt his face flush red as he tried not to gawk at the red pelted woman. While it was true she did look 'cool' as Finn put it, he didn't want to feel rude for staring. "I-I'm sorry, we didn't mean to disturb you," He apologized to the woman, "Though I suppose Finn is right, your fur does look cool." Normally, Ace didn't talk like that. But he did it at least this once to humor the boy. speech action

It hadn't been a terribly long or enjoyable walk - there was a slight chilly breeze that was just enough to make her start shivering - before she heard someone ahead of her talking. Pausing by the treeless stretch of river, she shivered faintly and wished her winter coat was just a tiny bit thicker while a strange sight unfolded before her. A young fox kit came bounding her way, clearly beyond excited, and began exclaiming that she looked "cool". Iskra couldn't help but smirk as a frazzled looking male came over apologizing.

"Don't apologize, you're fine," she said with an impish grin, leaning down to the young fox with a conspiratorial look and adding, "I do like to feel unique, although - don't tell anyone - but there are at least a few other wolves like me running around Boreas. I'm related to most of them."

He was told not to worry about an apology, so he nodded while she leaned down and humored the boy. He could see Finn staring at her with wide eyed wonder, his tail practically "wagging" much like a wolf's. He had a feeling these kids wouldn't grow up to be completely "normal" foxes considering they lived with wolves and lost their mother at a very young age. "That's awesome! Hey dad, how come our family don't look like that?" Finn turned to look at him, and Ace stared back with frown. "...Ignis is completely red if you haven't noticed..." Finn seemed to think about it for a moment, "Oh yeah, huh?" He looked back to the woman, "Still not as cool as her for some reason though, look Lumi! She's got the sky in her fur!" Before he knew it, Lumi jumped off his back and went to gawk at Iskra too. Ace glanced at the sky and rolled his eyes, though he secretly he was glad they were so inquisitive. He couldn't help but shake his head and just roll with their antics. "Kids. Annoying as hell sometimes... Unless it's just foxes that are this nosy and annoying," He returned his gaze to the smaller woman, "My name is Acere Praetor. Pleasure to meet you, Miss." speech action

She couldn't help but giggle at the antics of the fox cubs as they continued to be fascinated by her. This was exactly the reason Iskra had gotten used to the attention ages ago. If she bothered to be exasperated she'd be feeling that way almost every time she met someone new. It was easier to just take these things in stride. Plus, the foxes were cute. She'd have to be heartless to find them anything but adorable. The comment about a red wolf wasn't lost on her even as she bowed, tail wagging gently to almost match the kid's energy. "I do like to imagine there's a story behind why I wear the stars, although I think I could cook up a pretty good story myself... Maybe if we meet again I'll have to tell you guys. That is, if that sort of thing appeals to you." She said with a grin. Maybe she hadn't really been the best role model when she was younger, but Iskra always had enjoyed kids. They matched her energy and adventurous spirit more often than other adults did.

"Eh," she shrugged and smirked at the alabaster male, "I don't mind. Long as no one's pulling my tail we're good." That had definitely happened before and she had one hundred percent struggled to not squish the little bugger. "Pleasure's all mine. I'm Iskra Aeris. What brings you here, if you don't mind my prying?" Glancing back at the frosty land around them, Iskra wondered how cold this winter was going to get. She'd go further south and avoid it, but... that wasn't an option. Looking to the clouds, she decided it didn't look like it was going to snow today, even though there was a faint hint of that snow smell in the air.

The fox kits listened with wide eyes as she told them she could probably come up with a good story for them next time. Secretly, Ace was curious too. The kits  nodded vigorously with the biggest smile on their faces. He knew they couldn't wait for that story, so he made a mental note to request a meet up again another day, or perhaps find out where she frequented so they could find her for story time. He chuckled when she said she didn't mind as long as they weren't pulling her tail, which in turn brought an exasperated sigh past his lips. "Knowing them? They might try, but they might also know to behave well enough not to do it, right?" They turned to look at him with wide, innocent eyes. He narrowed his own, knowing that they were probably fooling him. Well he supposed he'd have to wait to catch them in the act should they try. But for now they seemed content in gawking at her. As they chatted among themselves about her fur, he returned his attention to the woman who introduced herself as Iskra Aeris. "I was just bringing the the cubs along for a walk by the river. Figured I'd look for anything interesting I could use for crafting while we were at it." Indeed, he had grown to like crafting things. He had made a couple small things so far, and was working on a couple bigger projects with pelts and bones. But the bigger stuff was more work than he anticipated, so he often found himself looking around for other odds and ends to use. speech action