She’d explored a great deal of the Dancefloor, but the next day, she rose before dawn, stretching and yawning quietly before shaking out her snow and silver coat and grooming down the fur, until her silky, black-harnessed fur lay flat rather than fluffed and squashed from sleep. Carefully, she picked her way around the pile of legs, ears and tails that were her snoring half-siblings, pausing to nuzzle one pup into the rest of the pile and the warmth of their frames. Then she smiled at her mother, speaking just loudly enough for her mother to hear without waking the pups, "Táim chun dul in olcas soir ón damhsa damhsa. Is féidir liom a bheith ar ais go déanach." Eramaya nodded, smiling softly after her daughter as Legacy slipped from the yurt. The yearling broke into a lope, heading east. By the time she reached the distant tree-line, the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon, and with it a rolling thunderhead, and Legacy squinted at it, gauging the time it might take to reach the camp. With a tut she decided that by the time she was halfway through exploring some of the gorge now laying open at her paws, with the mouths of caves peeking out here and there in its walls, both low and high, the storm would be on top of her. Best to stick to the upper levels, then. Flash floods were never good news for the unaware down-stream, and this place definitely had the water-hewn look of what once might have been a mighty river full of rapids and falls. As she picked her way down a path, she wondered what must have happened to the river, if indeed there ever was one. Had it dried up? Become blocked upstream and diverted into one of the other rivers in the west? She paused, peering into a likely looking cave, sapphire and amethyst eyes squinting against the morning gloom and testing the scents with her nose. Nothing fresh in terms of predators, but she thought she could smell the fresher spore of a rat or two. She wasn’t that keen on hunting, and rats weren’t very appealing as fast food went, but she decided to make a note of them, just in case she did happen to get peckish. She slipped into the cave, walking carefully in case the floor wasn’t as sound as it looked. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn found herself in an underground cavern amidst the Whisperer's Gorge. Some light managed to get in, illuminating jagged points of rock. Stalagmites and stalactites formed rocky teeth that glinted in pale brown and mossy aqua. Drips of water fell from the ceiling, colliding with pools that lay below on either side of a walk way.

Jynn examined the path that snaked its way in and out of the dark but up ahead she felt she could see the light of day. Her large ears picked up the sound of claws on rock somewhere behind her. She turned and saw a pale yearling entering the cave. "Hello?" she called out.

She’d only taken a few steps before a voice, female, called from somewhere ahead. Curious, Legacy hadn’t smelled her—perhaps she’d come from another cave mouth and this cavern went into a tunnel somewhere. The wind was gusting in from behind the yearling, so it must have pushed the other’s scent away from her. The cave ahead felt large—the woman’s voice had a decent reverberance to it. Still, she stepped forward, keeping her right shoulder to the wall of the cave mouth, further into the gloom, allowing her eyes to adjust as she called back, “Good morning! I hope I’m not intruding ‘t all?” She finally found the other female, realizing that the woman that had called out wasn’t actually a wolf. Long-legged and large eared, is narrow features and large, violet eyes, the woman before her was, instead, a maned wolf. Legacy’s Chapter had met a small group of them once, when she was about six months old. They’d been an interesting group, traveling traders and full of good stories for a fascinated single child. Briefly, her bi-colored tail swished at her hocks at the memories, and she offered the woman a smile as she added, “I’m Legacy.” Finally, her eyes fully adjusted to the darker atmosphere after the brighter morning light, and she took in the cavern more closely, keeping her distance respectful until the other female gave some sign that she was receptive to company. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn turned to fully face the girl as she introduced herself. Jynn shook her head at the girl's question. "No, no, you're not intruding at all. I don't mind some company while exploring, especially such a dreary place. My name is Jynn, what brings you down here?" She could hear the rush of the wind at the entrance and wondered if an autumn storm was passing through. It had ben cloudy and humid when she'd entered the strange cavern so she wouldn't have been at all surprise if a storm had kicked up. Well, at least the could shelter here for awhile though Jynn had to admit she was eager to get out and on to the next land.

The woman proved open to company, and Legacy smiled slightly at the taller canid. To her, the cave held its own beauty, born of water and minerals and time, coming together to create the spires standing taller than either of them, and sharp fangs of stone clinging to the ceiling of the cavern above. To Jynn’s query, Legacy tilted her head. “I’ve recently arrived with my Chapter in the West, so I’m exploring as much as I can before the next step in my life.” Maybe the answer was enigmatic, but it was also true enough. She had no stone-hard idea of what her life would be like once she met her father, so she was getting in as much exploration as she could. She stepped forward, toward the path deeper into the caves, pausing at the wall by a tunnel opening that had breaths of fresh air puffing through—it must be one that connected with the gorge in a loop. Taking a paw, she rubbed the pads of her toes and main pad against the stone, leaving a scent mark, and memorizing the surroundings, matching the spot with a mental map in her mind. “Have you ever been here before?” The question was asked with a light wave of her tail and a questioning smile as she glanced back to Jynn, memorization complete. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn didn't really know what a 'Chapter' was but she didn't really need to know. The word that caught her attention was 'exploring'. "Exploring? Say, would you mind a partner? I haven't been in may of the western lands yet, I'd love someone to explore them with." She shook her head as Legacy asked her if she'd been in the gorge before and she shook her head. "No, I haven't. I've heard when you come out the other side you arrive at a dried up lake." Beyond that she really couldn't say what awaited them.

Jynn shifted course slightly to avoid a large puddle as she approached the other end of the gorge. "So you said you're here with your 'chapter'? Is that like a pack or something?"

Legacy Ancora

Clearly, Legacy wasn’t the only one who enjoyed exploring, as she spotted the perk of large ears at the word, and at Jynn’s offer, Legacy’s black teared features broke into a bright smile, and she nodded. “That sounds fine with me.” She pressed forward, interested in the thought of following up to a dried lake and letting her coat brush against the wall of the tunnel, nodding slightly at the maned wolf’s query. “It’s basically a small pack that travels a lot. A band, one could say. Mine is one of many throughout the world. The Nomads are elite healers who also train to become elite defensive fighters, but we also do a lot of trade in goods, like crafting materials, as well as livestock, herbs and salves, and the like. You can always tell a Nomad from another wolf by the mark upon their brow, between the brow-points. A half-trained wolf will have one vertical mark scored into the flesh there, and daubed with a natural dye that contrasts sharply with their natural coat.” She paused and gestured between her own eyes to demonstrate, and then led the way, out into the light and up onto a ledge, glancing down and plucking up a sharp-tipped rock, wedging it between her toes and illustrating for better effect as she explained. “A healer trained fully enough to leave their Chapter and either found their own, or join a pack to provide their services, will have a second vertical mark an inch to the side of the first, like this,” she scratched a second line beside the first, “And then top and bottom will have horizontal lines when the wolf begins and finishes the upper levels of training. Elites receive two marks on either side like crescent moons, points out. And Elders or Matriarchs – or Patriarchs – have two diagonal marks within the first two verticals.” She finished the illustration, a much larger version to be able to explain better, then sat back and sighed, almost wistfully. “I’m looking forward to my marks. Aside from exploring, my dream is to help others.” Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Labhair an Sean-Teanga." ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Come down, come down sweet reverence

Jynn was feeling better now that she could see some light filtering in on the other end of the gorge and it seemed to be a true exit and not just a random hole. Legacy agreed to explore with her a bit and Jynn smiled broadly. "Glad to hear it!" Exploration was always much more fun with someone to travel with. Legacy then went on to explain what a chapter was and more about her culture. "Neat!"

She followed the younger woman out into the light. Ahhh, much better! "Those are noble ambitions to be sure. I've been debating about starting my own band some time. For those that like exploring. I'm not much of a natural leader though but its still a possible future." There were many paths to tread and as much as she wanted to take them all in some instances she couldn't have that luxury. At some point she would have to make up her mind.