His detour around the cliffs had been a bust. By the time he'd found a way down the beach he quickly realized that he was going to run into more pack territory to get through the area. Not wanting to trespass he had to back track. And back track some more. And some more. Even from here he could tell a completely different back bordered the one he'd just left behind. Since when did packs live right on top of one another? Maybe they were allies... or maybe there were just so many packs now that Boreas was just over crowded. If he didn't have his mission in mind he would have headed back down to Auster and tried his luck there. It was getting darker as night began to settle in. Glancing up at the cloudy sky he let out a sigh in a breath of puffy fog. He'd found himself back towards the waterfalls that were mostly frozen over. He managed to find a small trickle near the base of the falls. It was enough to stave off his thirst. He briefly thought of food, but it was a fleeting thought. He imagined most things would still be hibernating and he didn't feel like chasing something for however long through the thick snow. Finding a place to sleep was the more pressing matter at the moment. Food could wait until the morning when he wasn't so tired from his journey. Not seeing anything in the immediate area he wandered towards a thicket of trees and sniffed around for a while. Not seeing a suitable place he picked a spot out sheltered by one of the taller trees with thick brush. That would keep more snow from piling in on top of him while he slept should it choose to let loose again. Taking a note out of his old man's book, he began to dig down past the first layer of ice revealing the softer layer underneath. It wasn't perfect, but he could curl himself up overnight and lay his tail over his nose to conserve body heat. It would due temporarily. He twirled around in a circle a few times before flopping down tiredly and closing his eyes. He curled himself into a tight ball and let out another huff instantly warming the area around his face as he breathed into the thick fluff of his tail. Yeah, this would do just fine for tonight. Walk, "Talk" Think

She hadn't been around these parts for years. She had stayed far from the East ever since the volcano erupted. Ever since her face became marred by the fire that seemed to plague Abaven. It wasn't their fault that she had left. It was the terror and trauma she had gone through. She had been terrified of fire. Of anything associated with it. It was why she had ran from the lands and stayed away until recently...after her mate had died, she came back with her daughter. She wanted to seek out her brothers...but would they be mad at her for leaving without a word? She had so much history in such a short time here. Hell, shortly after arriving in Boreas, she had accidentally killed a sick pup...and although it was years ago, she still remembered the day it happened, and her leg still bore the limp from the broken leg she suffered that day. Boreas had been nothing but bad luck for her. Who was to say it would be different this time? The only good luck she had had so far in her life was having Noelle...but the rest? She feared she would be forever plagued by misfortune and terrible things. She hadn't planned on coming back to the East. But the number of detours she had to take due to the number of packs that had cropped up since she had last been around here gave her no choice. That, and the fact that snow seemed to plague the lands got her turned around. She hardly recognized anything, and being half-blind didn't seem to help her at all. Although she was used to her disability, it was harder in the dark. The shadows in her right eye were everywhere, and she could hardly discern shapes in the darkness on that side. The later in the day it got, the more the temperatures dropped. She knew she would have to stop somewhere to rest for the night, but she didn't feel comfortable staying out in the open. That, and she needed something to calm her aching leg. The injury she had received all those years ago had left her hind leg with pains that came and went, but she wasn't sure what she'd find this season what with the abnormal temperatures. Knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep without some form of pain management, she carefully walked with her nose to the ground in search of medicine, while her ears strained to catch any sounds that might warn her of danger. "Speak"

The white and black male had drifted off into what started off as a peaceful slumber, but it didn't take long for the nightmares to plague him. The dreams were often the same, drifting from watching the death of Creed to watching his mate slowly die of an unknown illness. Both were painful reminders of how helpless he had been in both cases. The first because of how young and inexperienced he was as a fighter. The second due to his lack of knowledge with healing herbs. Both had resulted in a painful scarring loss that he couldn't even escape in his sleep. It was during one of these nightmares that the man jolted awake. At first he thought it to be one of the dreams that woke him up, but after a few moments of staring around groggily, he finally understood what had truly woken him. It was faint and hard to focus on, but he could hear paws crunching through the snow. It was the unmistakable sound of another wolf that caught his attention. It was too light to be one of the dire wolves like the one he had come across. Despite that knowledge, he was still wary and on edge. His life ha taught him enough to not let his guard down. Rising from his makeshift bed of the night, he padded as softly as he could with his head lowered and ears pricked forward to pick up on the littlest of noises. Even trying to be as quiet as he possible could, he inwardly cringed every time he took a step. He could still here the soft crunch, crunch. He loved the snow and the arctic temperatures, but it was not good when he needed to sneak up on someone. His vibrant purple gaze finally rested on a dark figure. It was getting dark, but he could still make her out fairly well. His shoulders relaxed slightly and his head lifted to a more normal level. She could still possibly be a threat, but he felt less concerned now than he had earlier. "Hello." He called out, not trying to spook her. Walk, "Talk" Think

While she thought she had a good grasp on her surroundings, evidently her hearing wasn't as good as she thought. Perhaps it was age, or perhaps the fires had caused more damage than she thought. She hadn't noticed the change in her hearing as it subtly started to fail on her scarred side. She had not heard someone approaching her, and it wasn't until she heard the "hello" that she realized she wasn't alone. She whipped around so fast to catch who it was that she nearly gave herself whiplash from the movement. Her ears plastered to her skull and her eyes widened in surprise for a moment before she turned the scarred side of her face from view. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't realize someone was out here at this time of night," It was obvious he had startled her, so there was no need for her to state the obvious. She hadn't smelled him when she had come to this area, but then again, she had been focused on finding something to help her leg. She kept her good eye on him, especially since all she'd be able to see on the other side were dark shadows. Her posture wasn't entirely submissive, but it wasn't confident either. It lied somewhere in between, ready to run if she had to, but so far, the stranger didn't seem to pose a threat. Especially if he had announced his presence to her. "Speak"

Valor couldn't help but cringe as she whirled around on him. He'd done his best to avoid scaring her, but she'd been startled all the same. He let out a small sigh that came out as a puff of smoke in front of him. Well, better luck next time. His purple gaze rest on her face as she hurriedly shielded half of it by turning her head away. He thought he'd seen a brief glimpse of some scarring, but it could have just been a weird facial marking as well. He'd seen his fair share of weird things in just the short while he'd been back in Boreas. Strange markings, his included, were normal to him so he didn't think much of it. Instead, he foced oner what he could make out of her eyes and he tried to make eye contact with the, what seemed to be, flighty female. She looked just about ready to run from him should she need to. As a younger wolf he might have been offended, but as he aged he'd come to understand being weary of strangers and the pain they could cause. She clearly had her own experiences if her words were anything to judge by. His fluffy tail waved softly as he attempted to show that he was friendly. "It's alright, I'm sorry I scared you." He apologized quickly. "I didn't expect anyone to be out this late either, so I came to investigate when I heard you walking around." He explained, offering her a brief smile. It was a weird feeling trying to be social once again after so long on his own. It would take some time to warm up fully again. "I'm Valor." Walk, "Talk" Think

She felt on edge. Perhaps a little too much. She felt bad and almost ashamed that she had reacted like that towards the man, but she supposed old habits died hard. He didn't look threatening or imposing. Didn't look like he'd hurt her. His wagging tail was proof of that along with his non-threatening manner. He appeared to be around her age. Perhaps a little older, she wasn't sure right now. He would apologize for scaring her, to which she responded by flattening her ears and glancing away in embarrassment. She really needed to break out of this...but she struggled so much after everything, it was hard. Leone had been the only one that had managed to bring out her confidence...she never felt afraid when she was with him, but now... "I didn't expect anyone to be out this late either, so I came to investigate when I heard you walking around." She turned to look at him with her good eye while she still kept the scarred side of her face hidden in the dark. Although she should have been used to the way she looked, she was still afraid of others seeing her and thinking her some sort of hideous monster. She had gotten some not-so-pleasant reactions in the past, and each time it happened, a part of her crumbled away. She remained quiet a moment longer until he introduced himself as Valor. "I-I didn't mean to disturb you. I was just looking for some...herbs. I'm ah...my name is Novel...I-I didn't wake you, did I?" She didn't know if he had been asleep or not, and if he had been, then she'd feel even worse for disturbing him. She was already hating the fact that she reacted the way she did, so as she spoke, she forced herself to try and relax a bit by lowering her guard just a bit and cocking her good ear forward. "Speak"

He found it strange that she was looking for herbs in the dark, but he kept his skepticisms to himself. Perhaps she found it easier in the dark? That was a silly thought seeing as it was almost too dark to see, but he wasn't going to judge her habits. She introduced herself as Novel and he smiled reassuringly at her as he listened to the stutter in her voice. While rather withdrawn himself lately, being around others in a pack had helped brighten him up a bit. Of course there were the moments where he was by himself and the thoughts of his family plagued him, but a change in lifestyle had been just what he needed. "No, you didn't wake me. The nightmares tend to keep me awake at night anyways..." he trailed off. He supposed he didn't have to share that tidbit of information, but it had happened and he couldn't take it back now. Wanting to back track and change the subject he quickly followed it up with a question. "Did you want any help hunting for herbs? I'm not familiar with them, but if you tell me what you're looking for I can help." He offered. He figured it was the least he could do for scaring her. That and he was good and fully awake now. It would help chase the rest of his dreams away to do something productive. He wouldn't mind a new friend either. Maybe she could tell him more about what he'd missed the past few years and where the old packs had gone. A lot had changed after all. Walk, "Talk" Think

"No, you didn't wake me. The nightmares tend to keep me awake at night anyways..." How strange that he would choose to tell a stranger that, but part of her felt...glad? Her ear twitched when he said it, her head lifting just a bit more. "I...understand," She replied, offering the smallest of smiles. She understood all too well...but Valor had changed the subject all too quickly which was fine by her. "Did you want any help hunting for herbs? I'm not familiar with them, but if you tell me what you're looking for I can help." She thought about it for a moment but decided she'd be a fool to not accept the help. Wandering in the dark nearly blind wasn't the greatest idea, especially with how heavy the snow clung to the lands...but she wouldn't be able to sleep until she got the herbs she needed for the pain. She just wasn't sure where exactly to find it, or if they'd even be able to in these conditions. "Thank you for the offer, I greatly appreciate it." She said tiredly, which was also when she realized she didn't stutter or speak with fear that time...though perhaps it was because she was tired and in pain..."I'm...looking for Lavender...and Wintergreen berries...they help me with my...pain," And with the nightmares... she thought bitterly. She cleared her throat before continuing. Lavender is easy to identify, small clusters of purple flowers on longer stems. Wintergreen berries are red and grow in small clusters low to the ground usually...though I'm not sure if we'll have much luck with the weather... "Speak"

I was always told I can be what I wanna be He was equally surprised when she admitted she understood the nightmares. He was curious, but wasn't keen on prying. He'd already admitted way too much to a stranger. Changing the subject had been the way to go, that much he was certain. She appreciated his offer and he listened intently as she explained what she needed. He was surprisingly familiar with what lavender looked like once she'd described it and the berries were easy enough to tell as well. He wasn't entirely sure how easily they would find them with the snow like it was and it being dark, but he was willing to give it a try. If only or the distraction to keep himself awake at this point. He wasn't too keen on the idea of trying to go back to sleep. The dreams were a bit overwhelming to deal with at times. He started to walk forward, keeping an ear in her direction to make sure they didn't lose one another, as he sniffed with his head to the ground. His purple gaze flitted back and forth as he kept an eye out, but it took a while of walking before he finally spotted the bright cluster of berries poking out from the snow. He stopped by the tree it was growing at and glanced behind him to see where Novel was. "I think I found some of the berries you were looking for. I don't know if we'll find any lavender though." No one ever said your dreams are always out of reach Walk, "Talk" Think