Of the time since he joined Valhalla, he had to admit that a large portion of it had been spent in the plains portion of their territory. He had been through the moor that neighbored it, but hadn't really spent much time there. As he crossed the misty, grassy area he was honestly a bit amazed that it was still so foggy even though it was the middle of the day. He would have assumed that the sun high above him would have driven most of it away, but somehow there was still a good amount of mist collected around his ankles. It made him wonder how foggy it could get here on a cloudy day or maybe early in the morning. He hummed a tune softly to himself as he walked with long, easy strides. There seemed to be a lot of herbs and such around here, but he couldn't identify most of them. He was sure his cousins would find them all much more interesting than he did, but it was nice to know that they were here all the same. Maybe he should ask Daelos to teach him which herbs his mother needed so he could collect them for her whenever he came out here again. Just as the thought crossed his mind he was immediately distracted by an odd configuration of stones that slowly came into view. The mist seemed even more thick around this area and it gave the whole thing a very mysterious feel. It caught his attention if nothing else and he started walking around the stones and examining them curiously. His tail wagged gently behind him as he looked up toward the top of them, his head tipping slightly to the side with curiosity. "Talk"

Caelia rarely went to the plains herself, though not for lack of want. Vericona Plains simply felt more like home to her - generally she found more wolves than there in the moor. Though it was admittedly easier to navigate, the seemingly constant mist that clung to the earth was definitely distracting. It was peaceful in its own right, she had to admit - and with the sun standing high in the sky it was much less eerie than it had the tendency to be during.. well, any other hour of the day. Today she wasn't feeling particularly social though, not that she was the most social of wolves to begin with, and so she found herself staking out on a quiet patrol of her own, headed toward the peculiar stones that inhabited a section of the moor.

As she drew closer she became aware that another had come this way. His scent was crisp and clear, and though she knew his name - he was a packmate, after all - she knew next to nothing about him. Being unfamiliar with her packmates wasn't such a good thing, she knew. It certainly wasn't helping her toward the path she wanted go down, the path she'd spoken to her mother about, nor the direction she'd told Aurielle she was interested in. It was time to work on changing that, even if she didn't necessarily want to at this particular moment. Quietly she made her way to the stones, surprised at how close she came before Nolan was visible, and she regarded him as he studied them, unsure whether or not he'd heard her approach. "Figure out what these stones are for yet?" Caelia started, the faintest hint of a smile visible on her lips. "I've been trying to guess since I was a pup, but I haven't come up with a good answer yet."

The plush grasses and thick mists certainly did a good job at muffling sounds around him. It wasn't a fact he realized until a woman's voice met his ears and made him quickly look away from the stones he had been studying till his pale pink gaze met hers. He was so surprised by her sudden appearance - or at least what felt sudden to him - that he didn't quite know what to say at first. The atmosphere around them gave her a very mysterious air since the fog blended a bit with her snowy coat and made it seem like she had emerged from the fog somehow. It really took him catching her scent to realize that she was actually there and she wasn't a figment of his imagination. All at once he realized that she had asked him a question and he was just standing there staring at her like an idiot. He blinked and cleared his throat as he chuckled and tried to cover up his own slip up. It made him wonder how many times he was going to look like he didn't have a single thought in his head before he was finally able to act normally around pretty women. He turned his gaze back to the stones that formed an interesting formation around them in the middle of the moor and he finally answered, "Not quite... It's the first time I've seen them though so who knows, there might still be time for me to crack the code." He chuckled softly at himself, hoping maybe a bit of humor would give him a reset of sorts for how this conversation had started. He looked at his new acquaintance again and started to put the pieces together with who she was. There were plenty of wolves in the pack that he had heard of or seen in passing, but hadn't actually gotten to speak to yet and she was one of them. "You're Caelia, right? Sorry for not getting a chance to say hello before now... I'm Nolan." He turned to face her properly, offering her a warm smile while he tried to ignore how pricing her light green eyes were. "Talk"

His eyes were quite interesting - for a moment she was reminded of the moor's purple flowers, though upon further inspection she realized the hue was quite a bit paler. She was content with the long moment of silence that stretched between them, allowing herself time to try to assess this packmate of hers. He was considerably larger than her, and wore a delicate gold necklace around his neck, a stark contrast to the rest of his masculine appearance. Caelia was intrigued, but she wasn't about to ask, not unless he clammed up completely. And a moment later he was speaking at last, admitting it was his first time here.  "Ah, maybe there's time for you yet then," she teased, with the faintest hint of a smirk

If she noticed he had been a bit strange at first, she made no acknowledgement of it now. "Yep, you got it," she confirmed her identity easily, that faint smile fading away. Caelia was never the warmest of wolves unless she really tried, and this Nolan was no exception to that rule. "No apologies needed, though. There are wolves within Valhalla I haven't gotten the chance to properly meet either. I suppose life gets the best of us all sometimes." Nothing particularly pressing had occupied her time, just her own training and the normalcy of everyday life - though she had to remind herself reaching out to her fellow packmates was just as important as those other things. "How are you finding Valhalla, since you joined?"

A little lopsided grin pulled at his lips when she gave him a teasing remark in return. It seemed like his awkwardness had gone unnoticed or perhaps she was just sparing him any further embarrassment by not mentioning it. Either way he was thankful to be able to move on and hopefully forget it happened. One day he would be able to meet someone new and have some sort of normal, confident greeting for them, but today clearly hadn't been that day. Hearing that he had correctly identified her did make him feel a little better. At least he had managed to remember her name which was a feat in of itself for him. He was comfortable with fighting and hunting and he certainly thought he was bright enough in some areas of his life, but little things like remembering names was sometimes beyond him. "It certainly does," he replied with a soft chuckle when she commented on the passage of life. He knew that very, very well. It felt like no time at all had passed since he arrived here with his mother, but they had already been through a few seasons at this point. It made him wonder where all that time actually went, but if he thought about it he did suppose that he had done his fair share of stuff in that time. Even if he just considered the time he spent caring for his mother, the time he spent training and hunting, even the small amount of exploring he had been doing... All that time added up pretty quickly. He smiled softly to her question about Valhalla and he replied, "So far so good. I wasn't really sure what to expect since this is the first time I've lived in a formal, structured pack like this one, but I think I've taken to it pretty well. Certainly not as dedicated and ambitious as Cairo seems to be, but who else is really?" he joked, poking fun at his best friend's seemingly unending energy when it came to all of these things. Being here had strangely pulled a bit more of a relaxed attitude out of him which had surprised him a great bit. When he was younger he had been such a dedicated student, but now it seemed like when he wasn't tending to his mother he only wanted to socialize and explore. Perhaps it was just because Boreas was such a wide open world that he hadn't gotten to see yet and that made him more curious about it than he would be otherwise. "Would you like to walk with me a bit?" he asked, motioning with his head toward the direction that would lead them back toward the plains where most of the pack seemed to congregate. "Talk"

She knew little - if anything - of Nolan, and now she was suddenly curious. It wasn't overly often that Aurielle let wolves into Valhalla's ranks, and she assumed there was a reason he was here now. Already he seemed to fit her own personal ideals for a packmates, at least at a very superficial level. He seemed polite and level-headed, even if a bit awkward at first, and his penchant for jewelry was something that he had in common with more than one wolf. He agreed with her comment about life getting the best of them sometimes; for a moment she felt like someone else had said that besides her. What had possibly been distracting her lately? Nothing in particular. She couldn't blame her mother's death for anything anymore, nor the absence of any siblings, who had all returned to Valhalla as they should be. She had no real excuse for her own preoccupations, even if she tried to convince herself she did.

His comment about Cairo earned a rare, genuine laugh. "I'm glad you're settling in, then. And your assessment of Cairo is.. well entirely correct. I'm honestly not sure any of us could quite match him in that regard." Though a bit of laughter sounded in her voice as she went on, her last sentence had a hint of seriousness that made it seem almost biting. His ambitions had a different trajectory than her own, Caelia had no since realized, and apparently Nolan felt similarly. It was interesting to hear someone else talk about one of her siblings, she decided - her own opinions of them weren't really something she ever shared, Caelia suddenly realized.

A walk sounded quite nice, though admitting it felt terribly difficult. "I could join you for a bit," Caelia nodded in agreement. "How'd you come to Valhalla anyway, Nolan?" She was truly curious what sort of path had led him here. Valhalla, and her family, was all she'd ever known, so it was interesting to imagine a different sort of life for him.

The peel of laughter he earned from the teasing comment he made at the expense of Cairo made him grin. He could tell she was a bit more serious and stoic than he typically was so it felt like a victory to have such a genuine laugh from her. He picked up on the change in the slight change in her tone toward the end of her statement, but he didn't think too much about it. He didn't have any siblings to know what that dynamic was like - the closest he had was his cousins that he grew up around. He knew that wasn't really the same sort of connection so he couldn't relate very well in that regard. The only thing he could understand was the fact that his friend's work ethic was vastly stronger than most others he had come across. It never really bothered him, but it was definitely something he had noticed about Cairo with all the time they had spent together. Once she agreed to join him on his walk, he smiled and began to walk back toward the plains at an easy, casual pace, falling into step along side her. It seemed to ease his nerves a bit to at least be in motion and be doing something that kept his mind off of how he was standing and holding himself. Now he could just stroll and let the path they were taking occupy a bit of his attention. He glanced down at her when she asked how he had come to live in Valhalla and he continued to let his gaze drift from her to the ground in front of them and back again as he spoke. After catching himself with his awkward start to their conversation he didn't want to ruin it again by tripping and falling. "The short answer is that my mother brought me here," he replied as he began to figure out how he could summarize what led them to this point. "My mother is Baine - she's Regulus' sister. She and my Aunt Zuriel left Boreas for a couple of years with a couple of my cousins after something happened with Zuriel's mate. That's where I was born. After Aunt Zuriel and my father both passed away my mother wanted to reconnect with her family here and make sure I had a real home before she passed. She's been sick for a long time." He didn't enjoy thinking about the potential that his mother could pass away sooner rather than later, but it was a thought that he had grown comfortable with. It wasn't a sudden thing, it was something that they were steadily approaching as her health continued to decline. A small, slightly sad smile lingered on his muzzle as he gave a small shrug. "I'm glad she brought me here whatever the reason is. I'd rather be here than alone with the band of wolves we had been living with. They were nice and took care of us, but it's not quite the same as being in a pack like this." "Talk"

Though Caelia was admittedly wary of newcomers to the pack, she did trust Aurielle's judgement and knew that her family and Aurielle's could not make up the entirety of the pack forever. They needed to grow as a group, to become stronger, to procreate and further their bloodlines... briefly she was reminded of Geoffrey and all the weird feelings surrounding him and the news of his kids, though she tried to force those thoughts from her mind. She was glad that those thoughts wouldn't consume her attention, her focus shifting back to Nolan as they began to walk together nearly in unison. While they could've stayed and continued admire the stones that Nolan had been looking at, walking felt far less stranger than just standing around and chatting, at least to her.

It was a lovely enough day, despite the fog - it had lifted just barely as they began their walk, but the fog that seemed to perpetually float across the moor was never the same in each spot, sometimes even scattered about by the wind. She cocked her head as Nolan answered, saying that his mother had brought him here.. and that she was Regulus's sister. So he was related to Aurielle then, and more than likely an Adravendi by name alone, though not by blood. The realization was a strange one, and for a moment she was tempted to ask if he used a surname, she thought better of it. No use ruining a good day with a conversation that could quickly turn unpleasant. While her thoughts on the matter were not quite as intense as Artur's, they were still controversial enough that she knew she ought to keep them to herself.

Truthfully she didn't know the names he spoke of - she'd never heard of Baine or Zuriel. Her less pleasant thoughts slipped away almost instantaneously as he admitted his mother was sick, and she was silent for a long moment. It was hard to not be reminded of her own mother, whose death had hardly been a surprise. No, she'd been alarmingly straightforward with her children at the end of her days, discussing with them what they wanted out of life and how they might get there, so they wouldn't be left clueless after she passed. No amount of knowing could've made her death hurt any less, Caelia knew that, and so she could empathize with Nolan as she spoke, even if it wasn't open about how it made him feel. "Well. I'm glad you're here too," she admitted gently. She couldn't imagine being on her own after her mother's death. Though she had her siblings no matter what, having a pack structure behind them all had been a source of stability she'd found herself appreciating, even if she wasn't always as involved as she ought to be. "My mother died a few years ago, sadly. I can't imagine where I'd be if I hadn't been in Valhalla then." Despite being fiercely independent much of the time, she couldn't imagine living on her own, or in a band of roamers. That sort of life just didn't suit her.

Nolan gave her an appreciative smile when she mentioned that she was glad he had ended up here. He had been optimistic when he arrived in Valhalla so perhaps that's why he had settled in here so quickly, but he was still grateful that his mother had thought to bring him here in the first place. He had no idea how much time he still had left with his mother and it was comforting to know that when she did pass away he would still be surrounded by family and friends here - especially now that Daelos and her family had come to join Valhalla as well. Of course he was thrilled to have other extended family here as well like Aurielle and Regulus and all of his younger cousins that were just born, but Elba and Aslaug were wolves he had grown up with and were about as close as he had ever gotten to siblings. "I'm sorry for your loss," he replied solemnly when she shared that her mother had passed away. It was a fact that he knew from speaking with Cairo, but it didn't make him sympathize for her any less. Every once in a while whenever he caught a glimpse of Aurielle and Red with their pups he felt himself be a bit jealous of the fact that they would most likely have their parents around well into their lives, but at the same time the loss of his father and what was potentially the soon to be loss of his mother had played a huge part in shaping who he was and made him that much more greatful for each day he did have with his family so he couldn't say it was all terrible. He liked to find the small lessons and bright sides to things - otherwise he'd end up sinking into the doom and gloom. Their conversation had gotten much more serious and personal than he had anticipated, but he didn't mind that much. Even though he was usually a bit more on the silly side that didn't mean he didn't appreciate getting to know Caelia a bit more personally. He was till pretty young and every once in a while he showed that - especially when encountering a pretty girl for the first time - but he was till more mature than others his age. He gave her a smile, the necklace he was wearing rolling against his chest a bit as he turned his head. "Ah well, nothing we can control, huh? At least we have a good home and family and a strong pack. It's not like when I was living with the band of roamers. I can actually do stuff just because it's enjoyable and not have to worry so much about finding somewhere to stay or what we're going to eat." "Talk"

It said a lot about a wolf who appreciated Valhalla as their home, at least in Caelia's eyes. There were numerous packs spread across Boreas, and no doubt far beyond too, but she knew that this was precisely where she belonged - and she had a feeling she had more in common with wolves who felt similarly than those who did not. Hell, she even found herself sharing something more personal than she normally would.. and with someone she'd just met, for that matter. That wasn't quite like her, but part of her did want him to know that she understood what he was dealing with, even if his mother hadn't passed yet. It was still a painful experience, one that would no doubt get worse long before it got better, but he wasn't alone in feeling the way he did. At least he had some stability now, which he seemed thankful for.

"Thank you," she replied simply to his words of sympathy. Part of her had been inclined to say it was okay, but she could never truly be at peace with her mother's death, even if time softened the pain enough to make it bearable, and pushed out of the forefront of her mind most of the time. Hopefully her admittance made him feel like he could have someone he could turn to, in case he needed that; Caelia wasn't sure she'd be the best as comforting or anything like that, but she could definitely listen, and relate to what he was going through, she liked to think.

There were perks that extended beyond just having the company of others though, when it came to being part of a pack. Stability in general when it came to life's necessities was a good thing. None of them had to worry where they'd rest their heads at night, nor did they really have to worry much about unforeseen dangers. There were always elements of life outside their control, but within Valhalla's borders things were much more predictable, something she herself appreciated. "Exactly. You'll never go without, not here." Some seasons were harder than others, and with their position so far west that often led for different conditions than the rest of the continent, but it was nothing they couldn't deal with. "I couldn't imagine living with a group that didn't stay in one place. I like to travel a bit sometimes, but never that far, and it's nice to know I always have somewhere to return to." Her aspirations revolved mainly around Valhalla and its future, but occasionally she did wonder what - if anything - she might be missing out on by remaining here.

He gave a small nod when she thanked him for his sympathies, but didn't mention anything else about it. If she was anything like he was then she wouldn't want to dwell on the subject too long and he didn't want to make her. As grim as it was, he was kind of glad to have someone like her and Cairo that had gone though that loss before so he at least had someone to relate to. He felt confident that whenever his mother did pass then he'd have their support and understanding to lean on. It was a strange thing - knowing that his mother was getting closer and closer to passing with each day. Sometimes when she went through a bad spell of days, he sometimes expected to wake up one morning and find out that she had died during the night. It wasn't a pleasant thought, but he had gotten comfortable with the idea. He didn't want it to be a shock when it did happen. He smiled and nodded in agreement when she spoke about having a stable place to live here and the benefits of it. "We would usually stay in one place for a while, like maybe a season or two, but yeah, we did move a lot and it wasn't always the easiest thing to live with," he clarified. Sometimes they would even go back to places they had been before depending on the weather or where the prey was most plentiful, but it still wasn't anything like living in one place like they did here. It was especially hard on him as a pup because it was harder to keep up with the group when you're really young. "Plus, I've gotten to meet so much family here and I wouldn't have gotten to do that if we didn't come here," he added with a grin. Getting to live with all of his extended family through Aurielle had been really great so far and he was especially happy that his cousins from Daelos' branch of their relatives were here now too. Although, if he was being honest, the whole pack kind of felt like his family in a way. He'd protect all of them equally. It didn't really matter if they were related by blood or not. Perhaps that just came from being an only child though... He didn't have siblings so he just tended to make everyone a part of his family to make up for it. "Talk"

Though she was glad for the brief moment that allowed her to sympathize with his plight, she was equally as grateful than he didn't linger on the subject for too long. It was too raw, and too personal, to really delve into - even with her siblings she'd never found herself talking about it too deeply, which was perfectly alright with her. She'd mourned on her own, though hoped Nolan knew he could turn to her if he needed when his own mother's inevitable passing came to be. Unfortunately it sounded like it'd be sooner rather than later - though not knowing precisely when was hard. That had been the hardest part with her own mother's passing.

Either way the conversation continued, naturally shifting away from more somber thoughts and back to the present, back to his time here in Valhalla. He admitted they'd moved a lot when he was younger, and that he appreciated the stability now. She nodded in understanding, though lingered for a moment on his comment about family. He likely had more direct family here than she did then, which was something Caelia found curious. "Being around family is always a good thing," she agreed, her mind drifting to Geoffrey and his brood. Though she did hope they might find a place within Valhalla, due to their unfortunate upbringing she wasn't confident than her nieces and nephews would find their way here in a more permanent way. "Have you met Aurielle's children yet? I haven't spent too much time with them myself, but... things always seem a bit brighter with children around." They were the future, after all, and though she'd never spent much time thinking of children of her own she knew that was likely a path she'd follow at some point in the future. Carrying on her bloodline was important, though she knew even now she'd be picky with who she mixed her bloodline with.

"Only from a distance," he replied to the question of if he had met Aurielle's children. "I've been introduced to them and see them in passing around the dens, but I haven't gotten a chance to really get to know them yet." It was really something he'd been meaning to do ever since they got to be old enough to go out around the pack lands more. He enjoyed seeing them around though and the energy that pups brought with them was always so much fun. "I defiantly want to," he added, vocalizing his own thoughts a bit, a playful grin crossing his lips as his pale pink gaze shifted to catch hers again. "I love being around pups. They're always so curious about everything." His gaze shifted to the path ahead of them as they continued to move closer to the plains, his expression growing a bit more thoughtful even though he still kept a soft smile on his lips. "And they just bring everybody together, you know? I remember not long before we left the band one of the women in the band had a litter and it literally felt like all hands on deck to make sure they were cared for and taken care of. That's when I really got into hunting cause it was after my father passed away and kind of took his place in the hunting party. We hunted a lot that season." He was quiet for a moment as he thought about the pleasant memories he had from those times. Sometimes he missed those wolves that he had grown up around, but that didn't mean he wasn't happy to be here. He could think fondly of those days and still be excited for these steps he was taking to improve his life here. He wondered how those pups were doing now, but he guessed that he'd never know. "Talk"

Caelia wasn't entirely sure if children were her thing, but then again she hadn't spent much time with any children, even Aurielle's. She wasn't entirely sure how much she liked them, though she did appreciate that in a way, children were like blank slates - untarnished by life experiences, free to be whatever they wanted to be, dependent on where life took them. Sometimes Caelia found herself wondering what possibilities she would've had, if her mother hadn't died, or if she hadn't remained in Valhalla. Though she wasn't the type to dwell too long on these kinds of things, occasionally she did sit and wonder if there was a chance she could've turned into an entirely different wolf... though she supposed there was still time for that. She was hardly a child, but she knew she still had a lot of life left ahead of her and she didn't feel half as adult as she wished she did at this point in her life.

"I'm not sure how I feel about pups," Caelia admitted after a moment. It wasn't that she thought she disliked them, not at all, she just wasn't sure if they were necessarily something she was excited for anytime soon. She reflected on her own thoughts, though listened carefully as Nolan explained how someone in his band having a litter had changed things for the better. At least he sounded like he looked back on it fondly. "I mean... if I want any myself. Passing on my blood feels deeply important, but I don't think I'm ready for it anytime soon," she all but blurted out. They hadn't even been talking about children in a personal way, but she realized she was sharing before she was able to stop herself.

Nolan chuckled a little when Caelia quickly clarified what she meant when she said that she wasn't sure how she felt about pups. "Of course! Definitely not any time soon," he agreed with a nod. As much as his mother would probably enjoy being able to have grandchildren before she passed, he wasn't anywhere close to ready to be a father. He felt like he was just now figuring out how to talk to girls - much less having any sort of luck at finding a mate. He could see what she meant by passing on her bloodline. The Adravendi family felt very large and expansive with many, many generations to talk about. They certainly didn't get to that point without putting some kind of importance behind having families and building those huge family trees. Even as someone that had spent his early days away from all this family and even though he knew he wasn't related to the main branch of the Adravnedi wolves by blood, he'd still grown up hearing about this family that went back farther than they could remember and he'd always been so impressed by it. They reached the edge of the Moor where it met up with the Plains that made up the rest of Valhalla's territory and he slowed to a stop, giving the pretty lady beside him a smile. He knew he needed to get back to his mother to check on her and made sure she had gotten her dinner squared away, but he did find it a little hard to leave his new friend... or at least someone he hoped he could consider a friend. "I've really enjoyed talking with you," he admitted with a bashful grin. "We'll have to do this again sometime... Maybe together we can unravel the mysteries of those stones back there." He chuckled a little and his signature, goofy grin spread across his features again, his tail wagging gently behind him. "Talk"

Now she found herself thinking about the possibility of children in the future. It wasn't something she needed to really worry about right now, though; she was still in her prime and no doubt had many years left to successfully have kids if she decided she felt like it. The thought made her feel strange, but the thought of not carrying on the Adravendi name felt even stranger to her. Her brother had already had children, of course, but they'd been raised different than she felt Adravendi should.. wild and free, without the structure of pack life that she knew helped mold strong members of their family. Then again, Nolan had said he'd grown up in such a life, and he didn't seem that different from the rest of the wolves in Valhalla...

But alas. Her thoughts refocused on Nolan, and she offered him a faint smile. "It's been nice," she agreed, more easily than she expected. Admitting how she felt about anything out loud wasn't common for Caelia, but she liked Nolan and had enjoyed her time with him today. "I wouldn't be so confident about that, but we could certainly try. Maybe figure out what they say, first," she let out a rare laugh, airy and full of light. "I'll see you later, Nolan." A curt dip of her head accompanied her farewell before she twisted around, heading back the way they'd came.

-exit-