If Sota was being honest with himself, he was struggling lately with knowing what his purpose was within The Hallows. His upbringing had been so much different than where he lived now; wolves in his homeland had been taught to be self-serving, not to openly give help to others. Working together to achieve a common goal - survival and comfort - was still something that was new to him. But in a strange way he couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to do more. He wasn't terribly driven, at least not for things like prestige or recognition. He liked helping others where he could and contributing to a common goal, but that didn't necessarily shake the restless that was stirring deep in his chest.

Perhaps going back to his roots, if but for an afternoon, would help comfort him. That was how he'd found himself near Cedar Falls, cautiously navigating the low-hanging tree branches before daring to climb higher. It'd been many seasons since he'd broken his leg but limbs never healed perfectly, at least not for a long while. The last thing he needed was to injure himself and become a burden on The Hallows during this unusually bitter season. Warmth was just around the corner, at least it should be, but the winter seemed colder than he could remember. He felt a breeze rustle his coat as he balanced himself carefully as he searched for the next target for his paws - finding it, he leapt forward gracefully and landed with a huff on a slimmer tree branch, tail out straight behind him to help aid in his balance.

Location: Cedar Falls Duchess hadn't been very social with the pack since her joining, it hadn't been that long ago anyway. But she was silently finding prey for their stores and finding her place in the pack. Providing was just a part of her character, for Indigo or for anyone. She made her way back to the falls where she had found the strange sloth creature thinking if nothing else she could find one of those again. She didn't like coming back empty handed, but in the continuous freezing temperatures of this ice age there were often days she did. She took her time this time observe her surroundings, she wasn't expecting to be lucky today while luck was dwindling on the low side. Her nose found the very slow stream of water and moved northward towards the falls. She examined where the rush of water would have naturally moved, the ice had killed a quick rush of a river, and ice clung in sharp edges where water used to run. She glanced up at the falls as they came into view, but she was distracted by the sounds of the branches creaking in the distance catching her attention. She wondered if she would find another sloth creature as she had intended to begin with. She stepped over the little stream and climbed up the fall's cliffs to make her way into the trees like she had the last time she was here. She didn't want to have to back track if she found the sloth creature again, she didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to bring home that meal. Instead of finding the prey however, she would see strange white markings flicking around ahead that eventually revealed to be a tiny man carefully finding his way through the trees himself. He nearly blended in with the branches mostly because he was so small but the haze the clouds provided along with his dark fur didn't make it any easier. She tread forward carefully, until she caught the scent of The Hallows on him. She wasn't attune to it yet, but she was reassured by that alone that she wasn't bombarding this man's territory, and he wouldn't send any kind of danger after her. She quietly moved a branch more further, letting out a quiet whine while she grew closer to him. She especially didn't want to frighten him to find himself falling to the ground. Walk "Talk" Think

He moved carefully but gracefully nonetheless, his weaker leg a reminder of just how cautious he needed to be. When Sota had been younger he'd never really stopped to think of the consequences of falling - such a thing was unthinkable among the Songa, where moving among the treetops was simply part of life. Perhaps living among the ground-walkers for so long had made him pretty rusty at tree climbing but he was anxious to get back to his roots, albeit at his own pace. It felt freely to be back; even though these lands were new to him. He breathed in the scent of the foliage, heady with the scent of dead leaves and branches all around him.

He was so high up that it was difficult to get a good grasp of what was going on down below. The rustling of leaves from the passing wind mixed with the sound of the nearby falls was much louder than the crunching of debris below, at least until someone was too close for him to possibly ignore. Sota tilted his head as he looked down, crouching slightly on the branch he stood on to keep his balance. Her scent hit him a moment after he saw her - it wasn't surprising he'd never seen her before though, given how much he kept to himself. He allowed a smile to blossom across his features as he gave a little bow of greeting, quite an unusual thing to see given his height far above her.

Hopefully she wasn't too alarmed by seeing him up here. The last thing he wanted was for his packmates to worry. "Ah, hello there!" Sota called out cheerfully, glad for some company, even if she was far from eye-level. Her coat was so vibrant that he spent a long moment gawking at it, even from a good distance away. "Fancy seeing a packmate here. I'm afraid I haven't had the chance to introduce myself yet. My name's Sota," he gave another little bow as he readjusted his position and searched for a lower-hanging branch to climb down onto.

Duchess wouldn't feel too bad not knowing Sota from the pack, she hadn't been around for long after all. But she was generally a friendly woman, while she may not have been as social. She wanted those of the pack to see her as reliable, even if she wasn't out talking to them everyday. She would have much rather spent all her free time cuddled up with Indigo, but that wouldn't seem entirely ideal. She was still young, but she found great pride in her responsibilities. The small man made himself comfortable up on the branches, but it didn't seem like an easy task for duchess herself. Sure he may have had a slight aliment, not that Duchess would have known, but he made his trek up on the trees look entirely natural and like he belonged up there. She smiled up at him, "I could say the same, my name is Duchess." She took a seat, looking around at the other trees and trunks. It seemed like she wouldn't be lucky to find another meal hooked up in the trees this time. "Do you frequent the trees often?" Her gaze turned back to him as she asked, still a friendly aurora towards a pack mate. The little man wouldn't seem to be able to harm her anyway, but he was acting pretty friendly himself. "I had to move around the branches recently for a hunt." Walk "Talk" Think

She introduced herself as Duchess and Sota had to physically restrain himself from giving her another deep, over-the-top bow. First and foremost, no one he'd met in Boreas really made such gestures; and secondly, he really didn't want to risk losing his balance and making a fool of himself. The last thing he needed was to embarrass himself in front of a fellow packmate, and a pretty one at that! Though the thought was fleeting and superficial at most. She was far too young for him though he couldn't deny she had quite a unique coat, something that certainly caught his eye even from way up high in the trees.

Sota continued his descent, slowly and carefully. Though he might like to stay among the treetops forever he knew that was no suitable way to hold a conversation, definitely not! He let out a little grunt as he took another leap down. It wasn't long before he angled himself vertically and climbed down the tree, landing with a soft thud near Duchess. He gave his short coat a good shake as he got a better look at her. She was smaller than most wolves he'd seen within the Hallows, but still larger than him, which wasn't much of a surprise. "You could say that. It's how I was brought up. Might seem a bit weird, but..." Sota gave a slightly bashful shrug. Sometimes he felt a bit strange talking about his upbringing and the group he'd left behind; like he ought to have moved on from those days by now. But Sota still clung firmly to where he'd come from, even if those ideals didn't completely match those of the man he'd grown to be. Some things weren't so easily forgotten though. "I don't get up there much anymore, but I've been trying to enjoy a few moments to myself when I can."

Duchess would take a step back as Sota made his way down from the trees. It was quite astonishing, especially from such a tiny man. But she would refrain from being starstruck over it. She had to admit, she felt better now that they were on even ground. But she would have gladly moved up in the trees rather than disturb him from his happy resting place. He would express she might have thought him being up in the trees as weird,  "I don't think so. I would have joined you up there." She offered a shy smile before her eyes moved up to the branches he came from. Her gaze moved back to him again as he stated he was enjoying the few moments to himself, "Oh. I'm sorry," she was genuine, but didn't make any odd motions to leave, "I didn't mean to disturb you then, I don't mind leaving you to it." Walk "Talk" Think

Even if she did find his tree-climbing strange, it wouldn't be the first time he'd gotten that reaction. "Even if you did find it weird, I wouldn't be surprised. Even I found the wolves in Boreas quite weird when I first went there!" Sota admitted easily. He remembered how terrified he'd been when he'd first seen them. Some of them were giant. Even Resin, a wolf he respected and liked, would've been too frightening for him to speak with if he'd met her just a few years ago. It was strange how different things were now, and how he'd learned to adapt to this new world he'd found himself in. Though part of him still clung firmly to aspects of the Songa, other parts had abandoned that upbringing completely. Sometimes he wondered how his family would view him now, but over time he'd learned that it was far more important to be happy with his own life rather than worry how others would view it.

They were on the same level now, physically speaking, but he realized quickly his words could be misunderstand. "Oh, no! Your company sounds lovely," he assured her quickly, shaking his head. Though he was independent to the core, he didn't necessarily want to be alone all the time. "Probably better to climb in short periods anyway. Wouldn't want to risk overdoing it on my leg." Another break would likely spell the end of his climbing permanently, and that was a risk he didn't want to take.

She was enjoying his more lively company especially while she kept herself introverted and behind the scenes of the pack. She was social when asked of her, but she felt most comfortable in the grasp of those she cared about so she wasn't really interested in wandering around the grounds getting to know everyone. She picked up her paw, pointing in the direction of the falls offering to walk instead of just stand here. That was fine too, but she preferred to keep herself moving personally. She felt a little uncomfortable forcing eye contact with strangers, even with how kind Sota was being. Duchess smiled and dipped her head lightly as Sota insisted she stay, she figured he would after all. It was more a courtesy to offer. He would mention risking his leg though, and her head tilted with an interest. "Did something happen?" she questioned, she hadn't noticed anything wrong so she was surprised when he talked about overdoing it. Walk "Talk" Think