Aurielle Adravendi

With prey on land so scarce, Aurielle had ventured out of the territory. Eventually, she found herself standing upon the beach where she had found the beached whale. That beast’s meat had been a great help over the winter, with so much of it stored and preserved as dried meat. But the stores were dwindling. The bear meat was low. As she stood on the shore, gazing out to sea, she blew out a sigh before padding toward the water’s edge, letting it wash around her legs as she waded in, until she was nearly lifted off her toes with each pulse of the sea. Her eyes closed as the cold seeped into her bones, but for a moment, she felt peaceful. There was a surety in the sea that she wasn’t feeling on the land. The pulse never ended, never died. It might grow violent—she’d heard tales from the Nomads of great Tsunamis ravaging coastlines in distant lands…. But it would always be there. A shudder shattered through her frame, teeth chattering as she slowly forced herself to turn and slog back to shore. For once, her coat was clean of ash, though the water had done a good job of tangling the strands od her mane and tail. She’d deal with those later. Before se could get too far out, she ducked under the water, swirling her head around and letting the current of the sea pull the long tresses of her mane back before she surfaced, now thoroughly, visibly shaking and dripping water when she set paw on sand once more, shaking out her fur in sheets of water. Aelloshir waited, face grim, on the shore, tail curled around his haunches like a thick, fluffy serpent, and her steps paused. He didn’t have to speak. It was on his face. And suddenly the trembling wasn’t just from the cold. The storm she’d been battling to keep lashed down for seasons now screamed in her chest, searing in her throat, but only escaped as a croak. Strangled and wretched. She wanted to scream. Nothing could possibly hurt this much. And yet… The tread of paws in sand prevented her from the relief of releasing the storm inside, and she forced the mask of Spirit into place, head turning toward the noise, ears perked, internally wondering if they’d seen the shaking she was fighting to control. Later. Later she could be alone. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

It'd been a long while since Kai had wandered this far from Winterfell's lands. Much of the last few months had been spent recovering from his time in captivity. His treatment hadn't been extreme, not by any means, but saying he'd been treated kindly would be inaccurate. His body had slimmed from lack of food, his muscles wasting away from lack of activity - and he needed to fix that before going anywhere at all. And so he'd spent the last season hunting what little prey he could in the bitter cold of winter, and the volcano had been no help at all. While prey was always scarce up north, the lack of sunlight - thanks to the thick cloud of ash that only now seemed to be trying to break - hadn't helped things at all. The winter had been a grim, bleak one.. and so far the spring wasn't looking significantly better. To the west, he wasn't having much luck either. He wasn't a fan of eating the prey that lived in the sea either, but he had long since abandoned his hopes of finding a suitable meal for the afternoon, and instead was focused on a different kind of hunt. A familiar face, maybe, or even a stranger - anything to arrest him from his grim thoughts. As the day drew on he grew closer to the sea, far from Winterfell, and each pawstep drew him further and further from the negative feelings he'd been harboring over his time there. Here, he felt he could finally release himself from those frustrations.. even if for a short while. Here he was a free man, unburdened by heartache and regret and anger. Here he could just be Kai. For a long while he thought he was entirely alone here. Slowly he meandered down the long stretch of sand, occasionally watching the patterns that formed as the waves lapped at the black shoreline. Eventually, though, he heard something in the distance - ahead of him, it seemed - and his ears perked, tusked head lifting to let him focus on the horizon ahead of him. Eventually he saw the pale coat of someone up ahead, standing near the edge of the water. Had they been screaming? That was what it had sounded like, but he saw nothing that could've caused such a sound, not that he could see. Interesting. Curious, he padded forward, closing the vast distance that seemed to separate him and the stranger. Upon further inspection it became obvious she was soaked, and he cast a brief glance to the cat near her before turning his attention to her. "You have a deathwish or something?" Kai asked, more amused than concerned, raising his brows in inquiry. The Jarvela weren't known for their love for water and he'd never really been the swimming type, especially not in water this cold - such a thing seemed foolish to him. He couldn't help but wonder what exactly she was seeking out in those cold depths.

Aurielle Adravendi

The wolf that came into her sight was large, maybe almost as large as her father or Red. He was swathed in greys, and though reddish markings decorated his face, her eyes fastened on the tusks protruding from beneath his lips. It was the first time for seeing tusks, but given her own long canines, and the wolves she’d seen that shared her trait, her gaze was only brief before it flicked up to the bright silver eyes. At his question, a grim smile flickered onto her features, barely reaching the gradated sapphire to sky blue gaze. She truly did not feel like smiling at all. Quite the opposite. But training held firm over emotions. In times like these, weakness was not to be shown to strangers, especially those that smelled of another pack. The fact that it was Winterfell, a pack she had every intention of allying with if possible, held no sway in this moment. Until she’d obtained that alliance, she couldn’t take risks. Her posture had straightened to it’s natural, elegant poise before he’d come around the bend, despite the fire in her breast that begged to be let free, and she stepped away from the pulsing surf stroking the ash-laden sand, eyes flicking out to sea as she finally answered, “The last time I was here, a whale had been washed ashore and died here. It fed my people for a long while. I’d hoped that, perhaps, bounty might be found from the sea that wasn’t tainted by the volcano’s eruption. And perhaps it will, but not today.” To her training’s credit, not one quiver was found in the lilting, gentle voice. She didn’t feel steady. She felt as though her world had tipped on its axis so sharply her paws were floundering on air. She’d known it was coming. Been preparing herself. She’d thought she was prepared. It didn’t make it any easier to bear. Aelloshir eyed the male as he moved to his charge’s side, just barely brushing the wet, white fur with his inky black coat. A silent, subtle encouragement to keep it together. He knew his charge well after so long at her side. There was nothing he could do for her now other than stand beside her as he always had. Later, when she was alone, he would do what he could to bolster her. The shimmering wolf flicked her long-haired tail slightly as she studied the man. “What brings you here, yourself?” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Aurielle's beauty was undeniable, and perhaps if they'd met under different circumstances he would've been distracted by her unusual appearance, but lately his mind had been straying from such pleasantries. Instead of admiring her mane and the way her fur sparkled in the faint sunlight, instead he was focused on the way she was soaking wet and the way a smile touched her lips but never quite reached her eyes. Displaying emotion wasn't something he generally saw as weakness - they were all breathing, feeling creatures - but he generally had little patience for the more depressing end of the emotional spectrum himself. Likewise, he generally wasn't overly concerned with the emotions of others, unless he was somehow already invested in them... hence his lack of compassion when asking if she had a deathwish. He was all too aware that his words could be seen as harsh if she did, in fact, wish for death. She didn't seem deterred by his words, ignoring directly answering his question and going on to explain why she was here. "Nope, not today," Kai confirmed with a careless shrug. There was no evidence of any beached sea-creature, at least not anywhere nearby, and he wasn't feeling overly optimistic about wandering down the shoreline in search of easy prey. He didn't care much for feasting on prey that came from the sea, himself, but sometimes easy food was sometimes as good as any... especially when you had a pack to feed, he supposed. He wondered if she meant to give away that she'd had a pack, or if she was simply conversing with him; most wolves who found themselves in a position of power seemed quite willing to announce that fact, he'd noticed. "I'm trying to get as far away as possible," he admitted vaguely, his words followed by a slight huff. His attention strayed from Aurielle and her mountain lion and across the stretch of ocean that separated the shore from the volcanic island that sat to the west of them. "Wondering if maybe the swim across is cold enough to kill me or not." He raised a brow, though it was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic or not. In a way, it was almost ironic that another volcano sat to the northwest of this continent. He had no clue whether it could possibly erupt like the one in the east, but who knew - it reminded him that none of them were truly safe from such dangers, no matter where they went, and worrying about such natural disasters seemed like a waste of time. He certainly wasn't going to dwell long on it. "Name's Kai Jarvela, if you care." And if she didn't? It wouldn't bother him much. He didn't always give his surname, but now that he likely smelled of Winterfell - much to his chagrin - it seemed more important than ever to cling to a much deeper identity than debtor of Winterfell.

Aurielle Adravendi

The stranger agreed with her words that there was nothing to be gained from the cove’s waters this day, and she glanced toward the sea, then inland, remembering the strangely infuriated she-bear that had attacked her the day she found the beached whale. That bear’s claw marks still decorated her shoulders, as well as other marks from the various predators that seemed to be taking offense at the existence of wolves in the past several seasons. The man’s next words brought her eyes back to his face, and the slightest tilt of her head was followed by a brief glance northward, toward Winterfell. She supposed she could agree with wanting to escape for a while—that had, perhaps, been a part of her reasoning to explore the coastline for possible sources of water-living prey. At his remark upon the chill in the water, her eyes returned to the ocean, then back to him, taking in his coat and considering briefly. “Perhaps… perhaps not.” She was neutral in her response. If she hadn’t been of stronger mettle, she thought she might have tried to throw herself to the sea, and let it take her where it would. Either to a new land, or to the cold depths below, and black oblivion. But she had a pack to care for, a father who would be devastated even further to lose his daughter to the ocean directly after losing his mate, and with his son still missing as well, and his youngest brother… not to mention all his other missing siblings. Her toes flexed, digging into the sand as the storm within raged, throat closing briefly until the man, Kai, introduced himself. She mastered herself and nodded easily, gaze returning to meet his silver eyes as she returned, “Aurielle Adravendi of Valhalla. This is Aelloshir.” Her muzzle dipped toward the inky black mountain lion, whose pale ice-blue eyes swept the tusked male briefly before shifting to survey the surroundings, his own memory turning to the bear as well. Presently there was no danger that he could smell or hear, but a guardian must never get too complacent. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Kai had been taught by his father that there was beauty to be found everywhere, even in the most unlikely places. Even from a distance he'd been able to appreciate that there was a peculiar beauty in the volcano's violent eruption, regardless of its destruction - today he felt no such thing as he gazed upon the frigid waters. Instead he found himself ruing everything he had gone through, and wishing he could somehow replicate the unbridled freedom that the sea's harsh waves embodied. If only...

After a brief pause, she responded to his thoughts. He let out a soft huff. Perhaps death would not be such a bad fate, after all; it certainly wasn't something he feared. There were worse fates than death, like a life of servitude - he felt his mood, already quite sullen, sour even more at the thought. Perhaps unlike her, he had nothing holding him here. He could flee these lands entirely and never look back, and would he be noticed? He certainly wasn't needed by anyone here but that was how he preferred things. Acere would notice his absence, but how far from his pack, his responsibilities would he go to search for him? At what point would retrieving him and trying to keep him there stop being worth the price he owed to them? Throwing himself to the sea and letting it take him, gambling on whether or not he survived, didn't seem a terrible plan... but his bitterness kept him here, glued to the spot.

"Valhalla," he repeated, his tones neutral. "Sounds fancy." He appreciated a strong name like that, but beyond that he didn't honestly give a damn about her pack. He was so goddamn sick of packs these days - he'd be completely find if he never found a pack wolf again for as long as he lived, he'd decided. He hardly even cast another glance to the black-furred mountain lion. Maybe he should be a bit more aware of these two strangers in his presence, but he had no doubt he could hold his ground if they tried to ambush her. And if not? Whatever. He was too reckless to bother to be half as alert as her companion was.

Aurielle Adravendi

Kai’s words didn’t wound the Spirit’s ego for her pack in the slightest. Even if it sounded fancy, she knew the truth of her pack. And she wondered when the next kick in the teeth would come that would force Valhalla back into the ash it had fallen into so many times in the course of the pack’s history. When would the next siege come? The next challenge for her pack? Her father had beaten off Liar, who would she be forced to fight to defend her people? Her eyes slid shut as a fresh sear of loss ripped through her breast, sending her back teeth gritting, before she forced her mind and heart to quiet and turned to the man. “Would you care to see if we can track down a meal?” Even in her grief – especially in her grief – she couldn’t stand to remain still. She had to move, to run, to rip into something. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Perhaps his indentured servitude he could find a way to take advantage of his situation. Getting to know Winterfell's wolves, learning from them, and learning who they feared and who they were allied with... already the gears of his mind were working, trying to concoct some kind of way to throw a cog somewhere in their midst and watch the chaos unfold. It was just a matter of what precisely he learned, and what he'd do with that information. He wondered briefly what this Aurielle of Valhalla thought of Winterfell, if she recognized his scent at all. But he wasn't about to ask either; he had a feeling it didn't matter all that much to him anyway.

But.. a hunt? Now that was something he could get behind. "Might as well," Kai replied, shrugging out his wide shoulders as he moved to a position that suggested he was glad to leave the cove behind. No longer quite as wary of her companion, he decided the feline would likely be a good aid in a hunt, depending on what exactly they tracked down. "You never told me why you were knee-deep in freezing sea water, by the way," he offered conversationally. He didn't care that much if she didn't want to tell him, but the way she'd evaded his probing earlier made him pretty sure she hadn't just been going for a dip in the ocean just for fun.