she returned to the falls around dusk. all the other people had left by now, and to her knowledge, she was quite alone. Willoughby thought she had no formal plans for Boreas, let alone Auster, but some inklings were starting to develop. she had met so many wolves that had no home. what if she could help them? what if she could bring them together and unite them to find one? weren't they all just hopelessly lost until something brought them to the realization? or maybe she was getting far too ambitious.

she shook such thoughts away, focusing on the steady flow of continual ash in the air. the woman could smell it still, let alone see it, and wondered when it would stop. the falls were still a place of relative calm. the large rivers cascading down the drop still sparkled. the prey - however small - remained after the eruption. nature felt it was best to stay here, and Willoughby would stay here too until proven it wasn't safe. walking along the ground, she approached the water's edge.

"Speech"
met someone new (pegasus) 0/3
navigation of lazuli falls 1/3

Pegasus felt detached from the world. The shrine had been destroyed in a fiery blaze of molten earth and smoke and as a result he and his family had fled to Auster, right into the waiting jaws of his enemy. He was looking for a new place to raise his family and the falls seemed like as good a place as any to settle down. It was at least a source of fresh water away from the ever present cloud of ash that hung over Boreas.

It took little for him to forget Boreas as a home just as it had taken little for him to forget his homeland before he came to Boreas. It was already an old wound that was being healed but for now at least he troubled himself with inspecting the falls. He kept his nose to the ground smelling the fresh clean earth and gave a soft sigh, it was at least better than the hellscape they had left behind. As he lifted his head he saw the woman who appeared to be…green. “Gr-Greetings” he spoke hesitantly unsure if the wolf was friend or foe.

an uncertain tone of voice would meet her ears. she looked up and around, spotting the pale coated man a few paces away. she smiled at him, flicking her tail in welcome. "ah! hello there, sir!" she replied brightly, dipping her head to the other wolf in a friendly manner. she seemed far from perturbed about the eruption even if inside her insides squirmed uncomfortably. but she tried to remain pleasant toward others. everyone was suffering; her troubles were so small compared to those others.

for the first time, she noticed the scent of Olympia and also that this man... why, he was at the Valhalla festival! he knew Philomena, didn't he? did she make it safely back to his pack? twisting her body toward him resisted walking toward him. Willoughby didn't know him personally so she remained rooted to the soft earth below her paw pads. relatively unscathed, the Lazuli Falls was a good place to host an event. everyone could come together and be free of relative worry. the blue waters... the lush environment. breathtaking.

"you are from Olympia, no?" her tone inquired, her head tilting softly.

"Speech"
met someone new (pegasus) 1/3
navigation of lazuli falls 2/3

“Well yes, I happen to be the alpha actually." He said with considerably more surety. He paced closer to her then came to rest at a three foot distance. “Were you considering joining us?” he asked, the end of his tail tapping against the ground. Behind them the falls roared, a beautiful blue that rivaled his eye color. He took in the woman's appearance, mossy green fur with a mane that he vaguely remembered. “Ah, you were at the festival weren't you?” He asked suddenly realizing where he had seen her, she had been around Philomena. He had been grateful to her from a distance for spending time with the woman that would bare his children.

"oh, yes? is that right?" she said with wide crimson eyes as she stared openly at the man. he was the leader of Olympia? that was good to know. if he was here, that meant that Philomena was safe. that all the Olympians were safe. she sighed a sigh she didn't know she held in. her tail flickered lazily behind her as she continued their conversation.

it was hard not to see the beauty of the world from Lazuli Falls. compared to outside, most of Boreas was engulfed in harshness. she wondered briefly if there was a cave behind the falls like she had seen on her travels before either land. they typically had lovely little nooks and crannies available to explore. she noted for the first time that many herbs still bloomed here, and was grateful. healers would find the winter especially harsh. it made her feel better knowing there was one place to gather.

"yes, I was. My name is Willoughby, sir" she giggled lightly, not really caring if he gave his name or not. that was his decision to make, but the woman had no formal reason not to give her own. "I do not know if I will join though; I like to wander a bit far. too far to be of use to anyone in a pack."

"Speech"
met someone new (pegasus) 2/3
navigation of lazuli falls 3/3

“My name is Pegasus, Pegasus Beaufort.” He introduced with a slight bow and rose to wander closer to the falls for a drink. “Philomena seemed quite taken with you at the festival” He said recalling how the two had talked to each other while their maned host greeted guests. Blessed Ley how many maned wolves were there in Boreas? Would his children be born with manes? Would his children be giants like their parents? Thoughts entered his mind unbidden and he couldn't seem to stop them. He stepped into the water and let the cool waters roll over his paws and gave a soft sigh. “Forgive me, I'm a bit distracted of late.” He wasn't sure if he should share the full details of what beset his mind it was so deeply personal and the memory of his children's copulation still sat unsettling on his mind.

"it is a pleasure to meet you, Mister Beaufort" he did not push her to join his pack, in which she was grateful. Willoughby did want to learn more about the packs before she ever hoped to join one. with Winterfell and Olympian known packs to her, she was slowly growing the knowledge banks to make a formal decision. Pegasus went about to say that Philomena was 'taken' with her, causing her to giggle softly. "she is a darling girl." the woman replied easily enough with a fond smile.

"she got home safely, then? I was with her when the volcano erupted" Willoughby asked, her head tilting ever more dangerously to the side. there was no bragging in her tone. she stated what had happened and what transpired between the two young women. if Pegasus spoke fondly of the wolf, then that meant she was safe somewhere. good. "and is your pack well?" the greenette would add in conversationally. if he left them to wander the falls, then they surely had to be good.

he excused himself, apologizing for his own scattered behavior. she shook her head, smiling. "no worries. we could all use a lovely distraction as of late."

"Speech"
met someone new (pegasus) 3/3
navigation of lazuli falls 3/3

He sighed. “She did, but we weren't home for long.” He said, looking northward. Even at a distance he could see the shadow of the volcanic eruption, the foreboding cloud that seemed to shelter the entire continent in darkness. “We've moved southward since the doom. To Auster actually.” He explained. “I originally considered taking an island but they seem to have been swallowed up by the wake of the explosion.” He muttered. “I'm still looking for a new place to call home. Perhaps here, although Auster has many unspoiled territories.” He said wistfully. There were many dangers in Auster as well, the Abraxas having ruled the continent unchallenged for over two years.

Willoughby uttered a few murmurs of sympathy. she had been close enough when the eruption happened and judging where she had parted ways with Philomena... Olympia had been too close to the volcano. perhaps their land was destroyed. perhaps people lost their lives. "this is not my land" she said, her voice growing a bit stronger in the face of the pack's troubles "but you are quite welcome to reside here, at the falls" she invited the alpha courteously. "as you can see, it is untouched and rich in resources."

she was unaware of any concerns with another pack Olympia may have. all she could hope to do was offer a place of residence to the displaced pack and hope for the best. no matter how small or large they were, Olympia deserved to survive. they deserved a chance. everyone did actually. she had to be a firm believer in that, else she was doomed to despair. especially in the face of this great unknown all of Boreas and Auster faced.

"Speech"
met someone new (pegasus) 3/3
navigation of lazuli falls 3/3