Walk | "Talk" | Think The snow that had gathered around the mountain was melting in the wake of the new spring weather, but so early in the season there was still plenty of it to go around. As the grey and black youth padded silently and quietly through the woods, his trek bringing him closer to a rise in the rocky mountain, he left a trail of paw prints in his path, each one imprinted in the snow. Rune's frosty blue eyes traveled over the snowy ground curiously, noting each little indent and impression with curiosity. Wolves, hares, even a fox, had traveled this way already, a mixture of game and pack members meeting his dark, quivering nose. No one in particular, no one that he could identify on a whiff. And, more than likely, not very close either. As he brought his head up away from the ground, he set his gaze around, realizing that his walk had brought him where he had intended. He had been beside this particular reach in the mountain before, trailing after his father. It was the same night he had seen that lovely white wolf with the terribly injured leg and learned of his father's skill with herbs and plants. Curiously his eyes went upward toward the peak of the rocky structure from which a waterfall cascaded downward into a misty pool, wondering if the wolf still dwelt there or if the cavern would be empty now. It had been some time since he had assisted his father. There were numerous different things that could have befallen the injured wolf. He was not here to check up on anyone, however. His travels had merely made him thirsty, and knowing the waterfall to spill into a pool nearby he had sought out the peak in order to find it. His black dipped paws carried him around the wide base of the peak and to the small, misty lake that the waterfall fed into, the edges still frosted and bare though the waters at its center churned and carried on further down the mountainside. The grey youngster slowed his step and walked over toward its edge, feeling the mist settle about his fur as he lowered his muzzle and lapped at the cold, churning waters that were in constant motion from the waterfall.

ooc: Short and crappy, sorry!

She had been exploring this place she now called home, climbing the mountain, but not too far, going up and down. Her siblings could not play, they were still too small and she didn't want to hurt them or for them to get lost out here.

While out here she spotted somebody not far from her, a grey and black wolf getting a drink from a pool of water. Carefully she made her way down, kicking up some small pebbles but able to keep her footing. Down she went for a few fete before coming to a stop on a small ledge beside the small waterfall, peeking over the edge to look at the wolf with mismatched eyes.


"normal.
talk.
think.
you"


Awesome table by Spriggan. <3

Walk | "Talk" | Think The waters were cold enough almost to chill him as he drank, but it hardly stopped him. If anything, it only made it that much more refreshing. Rune paused momentarily to lick at his lips, feeling the gentle cling of misty droplets of water that had settled about his face from the falls though there was nothing he could do about those just yet. His blue eyes watched the place where the water fell into the pool, stared through the mist to see the way they churned just below the surface, bubbled and frothy. It was curious, really, though he had no interest in getting closer to more properly inspect it. Perhaps once the weathers warmed. It was a miracle that he heard the noise at all what with the waterfalls and the rushing, churning pool that they fed into. The pebbles should have gone unnoticed, clinking their way down the mountainside, but his attention was so focused upon the falls that he spotted where they hit the water, practically able to hear the entry above the other noises. His own ears perked as he stared at the spot and immediately his gaze rose upward, searching for the source. Nothing of interest stood there, no one to suggest that anything at all had caused the pebbles to fall. Maybe it had only been a matter of time and nothing more. But as he drew his gaze away, lowered his head to snag another drink of the water, and glanced upward again with no real purpose, he spotted her. At first, it was just the mismatched eyes, the blue and gold spots of color that stood out starkly against the rough, dark greys of the stone and the black fur that covered her face. Or, at least, mostly black fur. From his position still so far away it was hard to tell but it seemed she either was missing fur around her golden eye or that it blended in with her flesh, a pink tinge among the dark. It could have merely been the shadows, but it looked as if she was missing a corner of her ear as well. Rune blinked, his expression blank with surprise. He had been under the impression that the Tortuga had very few pups roaming about it, and that those who did reside there were still clutched to their mother's side. But this wolf was no babe, at least from what he could tell. If anything, he determined her to be a little smaller, a little younger than him, but fully capable of navigating on her own if she had managed to get that far up the falls. Easily he was curious and barked out a gentle chuff of greeting, not quite wagging his tail though it did move a little. He hoped that it wouldn't startle her but coax her down, intrigued by the mismatched eyes that stared down at him.

Seraphine lay on the edge, mismatched eyes watching the wolf below. He did not seem to find out she was there yet, just went on drinking from the pool. Something caught her attention though, eyes traveling from him and to the surface of the water, small splashes, a few more pebbles going right over and hitting the water.

She bit her lip, he would soon look up and find her. You might not be able to hear the small splashed over the water but you could definitely see it. And it brought up the thought that this wolf could possibly be mean, and might attack her when he spotted her watching from her little ledge. No, the pup could not let him do that. Carefully she lowered herself completely so that she was laying down, keeping her head to the ground so that she could just barely see the wolf.

There, he was looking up. Seraphine went still, her tail stopped wiggling, and she even started to breath slowly and carefully so that the wolf would not see her. After a few moments he finally pulled his gaze away, causing her to sigh in relief. But not knowing her lesson the girl poked her head out more, thinking he would not look up again, only to find him doing so. But it was too late.

Blue and golden orbs stared into ice blue. The two stared at each other, the wolf checking her out and Seraphine doing the same. It was a boy, grey with black along his back and eyes blue as ice. He barked in greeting, which only made her duck down and out of view. What should she do? Should the pup greet him back or run off to someplace she knew was safe? No! She would stay and greet him, show him she was strong and was not scared of him!

So with a deep breath Seraphine lifted herself off the ground, walked up to the ledge and looked down Are you a friend? I never seen you before mister. She asked at him, raising her voice so he could hear her over the water, but was in no way aggressive.


"normal.
talk.
think.
you"


Awesome table by Spriggan. <3

Walk | "Talk" | Think She ducked. Of course. He should have known. Possibly his larger size and apparent forwardness were too much for the young thing, spooking her into retreat. And likely he wouldn't see her again for some time if it had taken him this long to notice her being here to begin with. His pale blue eyes shifted away as a self-directed scowl settled over his face, ears splaying moodily as his lips pursed themselves into a crooked, undignified pout. Great. Another wolf that he was upsetting by being friendly. He really did need to work on his approach. Before he could give up, however, a youthful, curious little voice spoke up above the noise of the falls, just barely audible over the rush of the water. Ears already straining, the grey male perked his ears and turned his head upward to peer at the ledge again, spying the little pup staring back down at him as she questioned whether he was friendly. He had been right in thinking her younger than himself he realized as he saw more of her now that she no longer crouched. Her body was slim, small, still holding much of the soft and fuzzy appearance of a pup. And more of those curious, flesh colored patches. Rune felt almost like an adult in comparison, minutely drawing his head upward with a little pride. Mister. Maybe he looked like an adult to her too. "I dunno," he answered noncommittally, adding a shrug of his shoulders for emphasis. Could he be considered a friend when he hardly knew the girl? Well, he certainly wasn't there to be mean, if that was what she was asking. In fact, if anything, now he was just curious to know more about the pup, to find out where she had been hiding all this time and if she possibly knew of his siblings. And if she did why they had never thought to mention there being other pups in their pack. "I guess so." Friend. That would be a first. He continued to peer up at her, this pup who might have considered him a friend, and wondered briefly whether she might have known the wolf that he remembered to live up near the ledge that she stood upon, a white female that had reminded him somewhat of their ex-Vecaan. But with the waterfall so near, and its noise attempting to drown out anything that they might say to each other across the distance, he knew asking was pointless. "Can I come up there? Or you come down here?" he asked, expecting some reluctance from the pup to both of his suggestions. If she hadn't made up her mind about him being friend or foe yet, then why would she think of joining him? Uncertainly, Rune glanced away, his ears turning curiously in expectation of whether she might agree or not.

Standing there Seraphine waited for the man below to answer her question before she decided what to do. If he said friend and showed it then she would come down to talk to him, maybe play or explore. If he wasn't a friend then she would throw rocks down at him and take off. Yes, that sounded good. He might be bigger than her but Seraphine was fast, and she was u here, it would definitely be hard for him to catch her.

His answer made her brows come together, how did you not know if you were a friend or not? A small growl rumbled in her throat but came out more so as a whine. She wanted friends, wanted to meet and play with people that were not her family. She wanted to go out more and explore.

His voice made her look down once again, now telling her he didn't know. Her ears dropped, a small sigh escaping her dark lips as she watched him. Was he confused? Didn't know if he was good or bad? Or maybe he didn't choose yet and was waiting. Yeah, that had to be it.

His questions made the pup lower herself on the ledge, tilting her head to the side in thought. Should she let him come up here, or should she go down? Either way if he attacked she would be in trouble, but as she watched him she had a feeling form in her gut that he would harm her... unless she did something where she deserved to be punished.

"I will come down." She finally spoke up after a few moments of silence, pushing herself up with her gaze still on him. She turned away though so she could climb down, hopping from a rock to another, stepping down and carefully walking down the slanted ground. It only took a minute or two before she finally reached the ground the wolf was on, standing a few feet from him, walking over to the water's edge.

"You smell like Tortuga but I never seen you." She commented, lowering her head to lap at the water a moment before pulling away and looking at the wolf again. I'm Seraphine, Luce adopted me.


"normal.
talk.
think.
you"


Awesome table by Spriggan. <3

Walk | "Talk" | Think He was practically sure the younger pup had been overcome with a sudden nervousness that prevented her from answering his rather simple question. Being a practical sort, he saw very little point in frivolities and silliness, or whatever it was that some wolves deemed acceptable about avoiding answers and being overall pests. A yes or no was all he wanted; nothing more and definitely nothing less. Was it too much to ask? He had only time enough to let his patience momentarily slip away as a heavy sigh sneaked its way out of his dark nose with an indiscernible roll of his eyes before his attention was drawn to the ledge again, the girl informing him she would come down. Oh. Well. That was good. The irritation ebbed away with a blink, the expression about his face falling blank with a little bit of pleasant surprise, and watching her dark, scarred face disappear from view, his ears perked above his head in anticipation of hearing any of her decent that he could over the noise of the falls. Seconds ticked by, verging on a minute, and without a word the wolf turned himself from the pool he had been facing to stare at the section of rocks he anticipated her to come down from, the path that he knew to lead where he had been standing. It was a short wait in retrospect, but patience already beginning to wear it felt a slight bit longer. Eventually she did join him down upon solid ground, her daintier black paws carrying her with what appeared to be a lingering sense of hesitancy in his direction before veering off toward the water's edge. He observed her during this time, noting immediately that the spots of color upon her face that he had noticed were not merely patches of a paler shade of fur but, indeed, scars. Two more sat upon her shoulder, devoid of the dark fur that covered her body and such a pink tint to the skin that he wondered if it hurt to touch it. Never before had he seen scars in this manner, only the straight-edged, slim ones created in fights. This was something else entirely, and, he supposed, a subject of insecurity if this little female held any sense of vanity at all. Naturally he kept his mouth shut about it, reminded of the times his brother would say something out of turn and his mother would silence him for it. Thinking before speaking came secondhand to Rune, and so he easily avoided the blunder by touching on a subject better left undisturbed to instead listen as she finished with her drink and voiced a little recognition regarding his scent. His initial reaction was merely to shrug, no real worded answer coming to mind. It was not because he didn't want the company - friends were more than welcome - but he was simply not comfortable in social situations. Even this was a bit of a stretch, and he thought he was doing marvelous so far. Admitting that he knew of his shortcomings as a conversationalist was out of the question and so silence seemed best. It was only at the mention of Luce that his ears perked up with more attention, a sudden spark of recognition igniting somewhere within his pale blue eyes. "Luce," Rune echoed, feeling a sense of familiarity to the name even as it rolled off of his lips. She had to have been another member of Tortuga, he supposed, but more, somehow striking a chord within his memory. Pale eyes shot upward, past the ledge that the blue and gold eyed pup had been, up toward where he presumed the cave to still be. He had found his father there once, along with a lovely white female, her leg scarred and open and bleeding. So much blood. But that was a small detail in this moment. Setting his gaze back upon the younger she-wolf, he asked, voice curious but rather cautiously so, "Did she live up there, by the top of this ridge?"

ooc: Sorry for such crappy post.

Also, ignore the part where she said yes to that being her den, pretend she said yes. xD Too lazy to fix lol

She watched the boy curiously, an ear twitching when he said Luce's name. From the looks of it he didn't really know who it was but the name seemed familiar, his gaze turning up to look at the ledge she had just been standing on moments ago. Was he trying to remember better? Or did he remember something going on up there? Seraphine had no idea and she definitely wasn't going to ask. He looked back to her ad asked if she lived up there, at the top of the ridge. The girl turned, lifting her head and looking to the ledge. ?No sir, our den is a little further down away from the others.? She said, turning to look back at him, her little stump tail wiggling behind her. ?Is your den close?? She asked curiously, taking a step towards him.


"normal.
talk.
think.
you"


Awesome table by Spriggan. <3

Walk | "Talk" | Think The young pup followed is gaze, her multicolored eyes shifting to glance over her shoulder up toward the ledge she had been standing on and beyond to where he had gestured. In her distraction, he couldn't help but study her, to wonder what it was that had happened to her to leave her in such a condition. For all her seeming comfort in her skin, Seraphine looked like a ragged thing, missing an ear, her tail, and fur where pink skin shone through. But maybe it was best not to know. Likely it was a sad tale he wouldn't be all that interested in recalling later. Once she had taken in the location Rune had mentioned, the pup turned to regard him again, answering affirmatively that the white wolf had lived where he had pointed. At the unexpected news, a little smirk began to draw up the leftmost edge of the young male's lips, his frosty blue eyes lighting up slightly. So she had made it after all. The grey wolf had often wondered about her, whether she had made it despite the wound that had been inflicted upon her leg at the time he had known her. Never once had he gotten up the nerve to properly check on her, but Luce had been in his mind nonetheless. It was an experience he was liable never to forget. "I met her once," he admitted, "My father helped her, and I helped him." Maybe just a little his pride entered his voice at those words, though not overbearingly so. His own vanity was a subtler thing than most, but still present. He wondered briefly if this pup had noticed the scar that the white wolf had received upon her foreleg, or whether it might not have healed itself enough to be unnoticeable now. "I'm Rune, by the way," he added as an afterthought, realizing that though he now had a name to call her by he had yet to supply his own. OOC: That confused me a little but I'm just going with the "pretend she said yes" part. xD Hope that was right.

ooc: My bad lol I guess I was thinking something else when I wrote that. xD

Her little ears twitched when the man told her he had met her adoptive mother once, that him and his father helped her. Helped her? Seraphine grew curious, wanting to know what they helped her with. At the same time though the girl didn't want to know, it was none of her business and if Luce thought she should know then she would have told the girl. So she was okay with not knowing.

Then he gave her his name, Rune. Her head tilted to the side, taking in hi colors and his eyes, sticking the name to his face. It was how she would remember people, taking in how they looked then sticking a name with it, repeating it a few times till it was stuck in her head. Who would wanna be forgotten? She surely didn't.

"What are you doing over her?" She asked curiously. The girl wasn't doing anything and the day was going by slowly and very boring, she wanted to do something fun, hoping Rune would be able to help with that.


"normal.
talk.
think.
you"


Awesome table by Spriggan. <3

Walk | "Talk" | Think Rune could see a little touch of curiosity enter the pup's mismatched eyes as he mentioned her adopted mother, but no question accompanied it. All the better as far as he was concerned. It was only after he had made the implication that he realized the tale behind the meeting might not have been one suitable for such young ears, and even more particularly if she held any sort of high esteem for the she-wolf in question. It could have been, too, that she didn't even know of the story, that Luce had never intended for her to know. The last thing he wanted to do was breach the rules set down by a mother wolf. He knew from experience how stern they could be about their rules. Thankfully she did not remain hung up on the topic and instead changed it a little, asking him about his intentions being in this part of the forested mountainside. And honestly he had none. It had been just by chance that he had walked past this area and remembered the waterfall, coming towards it to grab a drink and then presumably to continue on about his business. But curiosity had a funny way of changing things, and so when he answered it was mostly with a shrug. "Nothing, really. I was only passing through." Though that didn't necessarily mean that he had anywhere else important to be in that moment and had to be back on his way again. In all honesty, his independent siblings were likely off doing their own thing, and with his parents being as distant as they tended to be, he didn't even have anyone to truly worry about him if he disappeared off the map for a few hours or possibly even a day or so. "Does your...mom allow you to go places on your own?" he asked, fumbling a second over the proper term for Luce in her relationship to Seraphine and hoping that his word choice might have been acceptable. A part of him also hoped that the white female would be a lenient mother just as his was; having company on the remainder of his walk, even if he needed to keep it close to this rocky mountainside location, would have been enjoyable, and it wasn't everyday his company was younger than him and not at all overbearing the way his siblings could be on a regular basis.