The warm summer sun felt hot on her black fur and it made her regret coming out of her temporary den at all. The evening had felt much more welcoming to her as of late, but some strangely renewed sense of self preservation had driven her into the open. She was still far too exhausted to feel like she was doing well, but she at least felt like she should get herself up to find something to eat. The pursuit of food brought her to this mostly open open area that was only really obstructed by the rocks dotted across her view. She was oblivious to the rest of the world as her instincts pulled her forward, tracking the scent of her prey till her mint green eyes landed on the hare that had yet to notice her. She crept forward with a practiced steadiness, the many lessons from her childhood still burned into her muscles. At the exact moment that the rabbit noticed her presence she pounced, catching it under paw and making quick work to kill it.

Normally she would have taken her prize back to her den to eat in some sibilance of protected peace, but the moment the taste of her meal hit her tongue all she wanted to do was eat. She made quick work of it, cleaning every morsel of meat she could possibly pull from its bones. Her stomach disagreed with how frantically she was eating, but she didn’t notice until she was unbearably full. She nudged the carcass of the hare away when she was finished with a sigh and started trying to think back to the last time she had eaten more than just a scavenged bite from someone else’s kill or some stray berries she came across in her adventures... and came up short.

In her mind’s destructive spiral, things like remembering to eat seemed far fetched and difficult. She frowned at herself as she pulled herself to her paws and sighed. Sometimes she wondered if being alive seemed this difficult to other wolves or if this was a singular problem for her to bear. It was a question that tended to pull her into her own doubts and self pity so she let it drift off without looking for an answer. She turned her attention back to her surroundings instead since learning the lands of what was quickly turning into her new home seemed to be one of the only things she found interesting enough to distract her. She left the carcass of her kill behind and began to weave slowly in and out of the rocks around her, licking her lips clean as she walked. Her eyes trailed up the tall rocks as she passed them, wondering curiously how they came to be here and why these lands were formed in such a way.

She had taken to patrolling further north than she usually might have. Winterfell's impending threat of raid hung heavy on her mind. No matter how she tried to spin it, she couldn't ignore her hurt feelings. Why was it so hard to set them aside? It was baffling. Theory focused her thoughts more closely and tried to imagine a box that she could open and shut. Eventually, she loaded all of her worry into that little capsule and tried to force the lid down tightly enough to close. Although she could put them away, she just couldn't lock the box. Simmering with unease, she headed towards the wide fields of the rock garden. It was dotted with monuments that seemed to have grown straight from the ground itself.

Theory paced between pillars and long, flat planes of rock. Each one was unique in its own respects, leading an air of authenticity to the idea that they were organic structures. What had placed them here? No creature that she knew would be strong enough to lift them, not even a herd of buffalo working in unison. Strange. Theory circled each rock, inspecting it thoroughly. Maybe if she could lose herself in the how and why of this place, her thoughts would finally settle. She passed over a very, very fresh carcass and gave it a cursory inspect. These lands were good for hunting - fertile, relatively untouched by the volcano. They must have lay on the right side of the summit after the eruption. Theory tracked the scent of the kill onward until she came across a lone, dark-furred female. "Hello," she called out in a friendly tone. Perfect. Another distraction.

Tamsyn heard the sound of paws approaching her from behind, the sound pulling her attention away from the curious landscape. Her eyes landed on a female that had similarly black fur to herself, but with the addition of striking and pretty white markings. She particularly liked the markings that accented her eyes which made her blue eyes stand out even more, matching the blue feather attached to her fur. This stranger was a fair bit taller than herself and most certainly had more of a presence about her. It took Tamsyn a moment to realize that she had been spoken to and that she was standing there staring like she really had completely lost her mind.

Her ears flicked from embarrassment as she offered the female standing across from her a polite nod in response. ”Oh, hello, my apologies. I wasn’t expecting to meet anyone else out here.” That seemed like a believable enough reason for her complete lack of social graces. She had simply been startled, that was all. “I’m Tamsyn,” she added, managing a small smile. If anything she was grateful that she had approached her so unexpectedly. At least it kept her from getting too much into her own head about it and kept the anxiety at bay. ”Did you need anything? Or just passing by? I’m just examining the rock structures if you want to join me.”

"I'm Theory," she responded amiably, offering Tamsyn a quick grin. It felt good to socialize with a stranger. The alpha was weary of everyone - "allies," rude extended family, her inscrutable little female Abraxas friend that made her heart beat in strange patterns... it was all exhausting. At least they had a clean slate between them. Neither had any preconceived notions about the other. "No need to apologize, I was just going for a walkabout. These lands belong to no one, but I think they're remarkable," she offered. It was true. Although she hadn't been this way in some time, the stretch of land between here and Winterfell was ruggedly beautiful in a way that the rest of Boreas just wasn't. She hoped that after it all, the packs would remain at the very least neutral towards each other. It would be a pity to have to be on high alert in a place like this.

"Yes! I would like that. Have you noticed anything interesting about them so far?" she asked, flicking her ears back and forth as she gazed out over the land. There were the obvious points of interest, but if Tamsyn had been here before, maybe she'd noticed some things that Theory hadn't. She still had much to learn about the land and how it could be used in her favor. Rhyme had taught her some basics about healing, but maybe it was time that she tried to collect some bits and bobs on her own. There had to be something interesting growing in the shadows and nooks and crannies of these rocks.

Luckily it seemed like stranger was amicable and Tamsyn certainly appreciated her willingness to focus on the unusual lands around them as well. That was at least something that she had learned was a safe distraction for her and never minded having someone else to explore with. ”Nothing just yet that’s not a more obvious feature. I just got here though so there’s still plenty of chances to find something!” she replied with a small smile. ”I was just wondering how all these boulders and rocks got to be like this. It would be one thing if they were closer together like a ruins of some kind, but they’re far too spread out and irregular for that.” She let her gaze wander over the landscape again as she mused aloud.

”Lets see what we can find, hm?” she asked before resuming her walk though the rock riddled area, keeping her eyes peeled for any distinguishing features of the landscape. The sound of flowing water caught her attention and she let her path drift toward it, the river quickly coming into view. She followed the bank of the river with her eyes till her gaze landed on the area where the river emptied out into the sea. All of the rocks around them seemed to lead to this point and as she got closer she noticed that it formed a very rocky beach of sorts.

”Do you think maybe this was all under water at some point?” she wondered, pausing to look back at Theory with a slight tilt to her head. She was still learning about the effects of nature on the landscape around them, but she did know that water could erode rock over time and that there were lakes and rivers who’s beds were a mix of rocks and sand at various stages of erosion. ”Maybe the water had started to wear away at the rock and this is what is left over after after the water line changed... Or the rocks somehow got washed up here back when the ocean used to cover more of this land... Although that does sound a little fantastical, hm?”

It was so pleasant to set her mind loose and follow in the pawsteps of someone else for once. There was a queer feeling that accompanied this letting go, almost as if she'd been transported back in time. A simpler time. Shaye was still alive, Rhyme's mind was still in one piece, Poem was still heir... logically, she knew that she couldn't escape the burdens of the present. But wasn't it nice to pretend? Abaven's weight bore heavy on her mind and body. Anyone watching her grow could see the changes written on her face and posture clear as day: no longer was she blanketed in smiles and optimism. She'd grown cynical, maybe even bitter. There was a hardness to her eyes that hadn't been there even a season ago. The volcano had changed everything.

"Yes, it's easy to admire the rocks, much more difficult to hypothesize," she laughed. Theory followed Tamsyn gratefully, altering her course to pad along the riverbank. Water had been a constant in her life, from the rapids to the ocean surrounding Ibis Islands, and now the bay that they had laid claim to. She was most at peace when the quiet rushing of a current was nearby. "Underwater..." she murmured, trying to imagine it. Maybe fish once called this place home. Theory tried to imagine seaweed on the ground instead of grass but couldn't quite get there. The young alpha padded right up towards the shoreline. Water lapped at her paws. There was a definite difference in temperature here - it was chillier than the bay, but they were a bit further north. "Maybe they dropped right from the sky?" Theo added, a rare glint of humor in her eyes. "The coastline probably did look very different in years past. If nothing else, the eruption has shown me just how drastically nature can change her landscape." Her voice was hollow when she spoke about the volcano. She couldn't help it. Nature had taken so much from her and her family. For a long moment she stared out over the waves at the nearby island. There was a place she hadn't been yet. Theo gestured out at the island with her muzzle. "Have you been out that way?"

She looked to Theory with a raised brow when the suggestion was made that the rocks had simply fallen from the sky, but quickly noticed the humor in her expression and laughed lightly at the idea. Laughter was a new thing for her and the light, lilting sound still seemed strange in her own ears, but it was welcome all the same. All the exploring she had done recently had brought out that inquisitive, joyful side of her and it almost seemed like she was starting over from the beginning when it came to knowing herself.

Tam gave her new acquaintance a curious glance when she mentioned an eruption, but she could tell from the tone in her voice and the expression she had when she spoke of it that it wasn’t something that she should ask about. She certainly didn’t want to bring up anything that was painful when they had only just met each other. Luckily Theory diverted the topic as she gestured out to an island that could easily be seen form the shore.

The smaller woman shook her head, replying, “No, I haven’t. I haven’t been in Boreas for very long actually so a lot of places around here are new to me.” She peered out over the water curiously, wondering if the cold water would be worth the trip. If she had learned anything about Boreas during her exploring thus far it was that pretty much all of the things that were even a little difficult to get to were worth the effort, but even still - the cold water didn’t seem too inviting. ”How about you? Do you know what’s out there?”

"No... but perhaps it's worth finding out," she said, a bit wistfully. Theory noticed that Tamsyn didn't have a story about the eruption like so many other wolves did. She could count herself lucky that she'd shown up after the chaos. "Boreas is beautiful," Theo added, glancing around again to take in the landscape another time. Sometimes she found it hard to believe that so many climates, flora, and fauna could exist on the same continent. She hadn't been very far to the west, but she knew there were wide, hot deserts there. The north boasted year-round snow, and the south was muggy and almost insufferable. Theo was glad Abaven had made their home in the temperate east. They enjoyed the change of seasons but avoided the extremes that plagued all other poles of the land. "Have you found your favorite place yet?" she asked, her voice light and playful. Theory herself could never choose, another the bay had begun to worm its way into a special place in her heart. Where a wolf choose to spend their time said a lot about them. What did her love of the bay and its ocean views say about her?

"Maybe so!" she replied thoughtfully, her tail wagging gently behind her. It felt so strange to feel like the entire world was open to her and so readily available for her to explore. At one point her world had felt like such a tiny bubble and now it was expansive and never ending. Sometimes that freedom felt overwhelming at times, but she was excited to have it. She hummed thoughtfully for a moment when Theory asked her what her favorite place was. It was so hard to chose just one when there was still so much for her to see, but favorites could change and evolve as she experienced more things. One specific place came to mind out of the batch that she knew of so far, but she couldn't tell if it was because of the terrain itself or the memories she had made there. "I've mostly only seen places around the north so far, but there's this one forest that has these really tall, twisty trees in it... Mile-High Woods I think it was called. I went there with a friend of mine while we were exploring and I climbed a tree just like she did! Well, not as well as she did... She's a feline so she was way better at it than I was, but it was still fun." That entire trip though the north was full of amazing memories and it was certainly hard to pick just one. "I've never gotten to just... explore like this so it's been a lot of fun." She chuckled softly and looked back toward the blue-eyed female with a smile. "What about you? What's your favorite place?"

A "favorite" could tell a lot about a wolf. Their favorite food, favorite place, favorite scent... she was eager to hear Tamsyn's answer. Maybe it would tell her something unique. She'd been north a fair few times since she was young. Acere had had a unique relationship with her mentor, Shaye. Even though the impending raid hung heavy on her heart, she still had some love for those snow covered lands. The snow could look almost like glass in the right light. It had its own unique beauty to it, even though the lands could be harsh and unforgiving. "The north is quite beautiful. Fierce, but beautiful," Theo conceded. "How did you fare at climbing?" she laughed, humor sparkling in her eyes. She couldn't imagine scaling a tree, but she'd love to learn. "You'll have to show me how."

She inhaled deeply. This close to the coast they could smell the frigid salty air that blew in off the ocean. "There's a bay in my pack lands that I like to frequent. It's wide and open... and it looks out over the islands we also call home. I find it extremely peaceful." Fontamo Bay had become her place of quiet contemplation. "Have you found a place to call home yet?" Exploring was all well and good, but knowing she had a place to rest her head meant the most to her.

Tamsyn giggled when Theory asked about how she had handled climbing, giving a quick shake of her head. "Oh, not very well! I got up there okay, but I wasn't sure how to get back down and I thought for sure I was going to be stuck there forever!" Chatting and giggling back and forth like this with someone was so unusual to her and was certainly something that she was having to get used to. "I don't know if it's the best pass time for wolves, but I have heard that there's wolves with retractable claws like felines so they'd probably be pretty good at it! I'll stick to staying on the ground I think, but it was fun to try." She smiled while she listened to Theory describe a place in her pack lands that she particularly liked. "That does sound very beautiful," she commented in agreement. All of the exploring she had been doing had really given her an appreciation for for places like the bay that Theory described - places that were perfect for relaxing and just enjoying the scenery. She liked the more exciting places too, but sometimes it was nice to have a place to rest. When the topic of her having a home or not came up, Tamsyn gave a small shake of her head. "I've been spending a few days at a time in places, but I've mostly been enjoying all the exploring I've been doing. I just came to Boreas a month or so ago so everything is pretty new to me. Plus it's the first time I've been able to explore at all so it's been really fun. My family was really... controlling." It was a nice, simplified way to put what her life had been like before she came here and it kept her from getting too far into it. She didn't want to say how wary she was around packs after her previous experience with living with the pack her family had been a part of. (ooc note: saying that she's still a loner here since it's set before she joined Armada)