She hadn't really been this way before. Then again, she was still new to the lands of Boreas after living her whole life in Auster up till recently. She had skirted the borders of the two packs that lived in these parts, not particularly paying them any mind as she moved past them. She didn't come this way to investigate them quite yet, but perhaps later or on her way back home. For now, she was content with investigating the woods in these parts, looking to see what kind of prey she could find but mostly exploring. The lands here were different than back in Auster. At first, when they moved to Boreas, she wasn't so sure about it. But there was so much more to explore and so many more wolves here than there ever had been across the land bridge. All of the other packs were on this side, and her world had suddenly been thrown into a social nightmare. All she ever really knew was her family, but one of the first wolves she had met in Boreas was a sweet girl from Valhalla who she, admittedly, liked talking to. Of course, she wouldn't admit that out loud, but she thought the girl was quite sweet and nice. With the sun streaming through the trees, she ventured through the forest. Pale eyes and ears were alert for any signs of activity, and of course, so she'd be aware of anyone trying to sneak up on her. She was apprehensive of strangers all things considered, but maybe they weren't all so bad. She heard a sound behind her which caused her hackles to raise but she quickly realized it was just a rabbit... "Speech" <

The forest surrounding was silent as he paced, not far from home but far enough that, if Sirius came looking, he would have a harder time finding Dove than he typically did. His head was bowed low, looking for scent to track to satisfy the hunger that pressed between his ribs when he noted, with disdain, the sound coming from behind him. He sighed angrily, already speaking as he spun, "Sirius, a moment of peace is all that I ask--" His sentence cut short as a wolf adorned in white, tans, and warm browns came into view instead of the black and white pelt he'd been expecting. His ears swiveled back, not fully pinned but apprehension was clear as he stepped back and to side, away from her path. His voice was quiet, somewhat hesitant, as it came forward again, "I apologize. I mistook you for someone else." His paws shifted nervously, tail hanging low, though not tucked, and he wondered (not for the first time) why he'd gathered the experiences he had since he'd entered this land. They had hardly been kind to him, he decided as tension tightened his shoulders. The sounds of nature surrounded them, quiet in its depth and amiable in its treatment of the weaker creatures that used it to hide away from the predators nearby. "Speech"

Head lifted at the sound of something else this time, and before she knew it, a voice. "Sirius, a moment of peace is all that I ask--" Her own ears perked, pale gaze finding a male not far from her. Maybe what she thought was a rabbit had been someone else instead. He was a handsome man. A pelt unlike many she'd seen. Black as night with what looked like stars strewn throughout. While his looks drew in her curiosity, it was what he said that caught her attention the most. "Who's Sirius? Is that your master or something?" She couldn't help but ask with the way he sounded. Had this wolf been claimed into a life of servitude? He was no Abraxas, and she supposed it was common for a mortal wolf to bear the title of slave if that were the case. She didn't move any closer to him, but watched him from where she stood. She waited for an answer. Or at the very least, to see how he'd respond to her query.

The woman took Dove's slip in stride, and at her question, Dove merely blinked before scoffing outright. "He wishes," he muttered under his breath, though in the silent forest, it might have been loud enough for the woman to hear. She kept her distance, and Dove was thankful for it, even if he didn't say as much. Not fond of physical contact, even before the mess Sirius caused, Dove would have simply shied away if the woman came closer. As it was, she kept her distance, and Dove ignored the curiosity in her stare, unused to being the object of such observations and unwelcoming of it, too. He had nothing else to say to the woman until a thought crossed his mind, and he tentatively asked, "Would you, per chance, be familiar with the area?" "Speech"

"He wishes," A brow dot rose in question and mild curiosity as she caught those words cross the silence between them. If she were to judge, he probably was in a predicament. But why should she care? She didn't know him. She was a stranger here in a sense, and it seemed so was he. His question brought her attention back to the present, ears flicking atop her head as she thought about the question. How much truth should she give? Did it matter if she was from around here or not? Maybe he was asking because he wasn't...or he could be asking to see if she was the new one around here. "Yes and no. I live in a pack in the West. Though I hail from beyond the sand bridge in Auster." That was a good enough answer, wasn't it? He didn't really need more than that. Where she'd been and where she had yet to be. She had been to some lands here, but not all. "And you?" She was curious to know where some of these wolves came from or where they lived. Viviane she knew, had lived in Valhalla all her life. Though she didn't know anything about the pack herself, she was aware most of the wolves lived and died her their whole life.

The woman answered his question, and he tilted his head as his mind caught on her words. "Sand bridge?" he asked. He knew what is was, but he hadn't known this land would be so broad as to bear one. He was unaware of her own conflicts with the question he'd asked, for if he had been, he would have offered an apology for such pointed query. As it was, he instead returned, "I've just entered this land recently. I'm more unfamiliar with territories; particularly this one . . . ." He trailed off, glancing around him briefly before turning back to the woman. "I followed a hare's trail here, you see," he explained. "And it seems that I've become somewhat lost." With the underbrush strewn haphazardly by nature herself, the hare had multiple spots in which to hide from the hungry man who'd sought it. He sighed and ignored the growling radiating from his stomach. He would find sustenance soon enough, he thought to himself, a silent attempt to quell the hunger. First, I need to find out where I am. "Speech"

She nodded slightly as he repeated what she had called the bridge that connected Auster and Boreas. "Yes, that's what I said. It connects Auster to Boreas. Auster is where I was born and raised." She said pointedly. Half assuming he should know this information but then she disregarded it as she cleared her throat. She had to remember, not everyone knew everything. And as he pointed out, he was new to these lands...like her in some form. She was new to Boreas, but Auster? She knew that continent like the back of her paw. When he said he was unfamiliar with this territory in particular, she nodded in understanding. She had been unfamiliar with a few lands here, but she had gotten better acquainted with them since their move into the West. "There was a volcanic eruption that hit this side of the continent just this past spring. The lands are still recovering, though I imagine it looks a lot better than it did a few months ago." Almost as if to emphasize her point, she moved several paces away to find charred trees lying on the ground, black, twisted and broken. The sight nearly made her heart hurt, but she steeled herself against the feeling. Glancing back towards him, she caught movement beneath the charred wreckage, glancing back towards him then, pale blue gaze settling on the male. "I believe I found your hare, if you're still hungry." She said softly, quietly, so as not to startle the small creature. The charred remnants of the trees it hid among helped to hide their scents from it. After all, even though the land had burned a few months prior, many of the burned scents and sights still remained. "Speech" <

His head nodded at the woman's words. "I'd heard something about the eruption a few days ago, but I'm unfamiliar with Auster and Boreas" he responded quietly, padding to where she'd moved and being sure to avoid anything noisy that would give him away to the dinner he'd tracked. He did what he could to keep the distance between them, as his eyes landed on the hare, hidden underneath trees and burnt foliage. Rather than responding to Proserpina, he silently canted his head to the side and purposefully stepped on a twig; the hare, as expected, jolted forward a few steps before freezing altogether. He hunched low in the ground, angling himself so that he could move through the scorched debris, and waited until the smaller creature was no longer paying attention to him. It stretched out, to sniff the area in front out it, and Dove lunged forward, shoving his bulky shoulders through the singed trees and snapping his jaws shut over the hare's neck. The crunch went straight to his gut, but the hare's death was quick. The trees stood, though they didn't seem as though they had much sustenance to them, and Dove glanced back at where the ruff bark pressed against either side of his ribs. He grimaced, and after wiggling a bit, was unsuccessful at releasing himself. He exhaled sharply, thinning his abdomen for a moment, and braced a hindpaw on the tree to his right, pushing with some strength, until he slid free and landed on his ass. Dove blinked at the soot and mistreated bark that fell away with him and noted, with some disdain, that he was missing small patches of fur and that his ribs were somewhat sore. He was still in one piece, though. He looked to Proserpina and flattened his ears in embarrassment before standing, shaking his fur lightly, and dropping the rabbit on the ground where he stood. "Thank you," he said, after clearing his throat. "Would you care to share a late lunch with me?" "Speech"