The black sand was an interesting sight for Oberon's multi-colored gaze. The peach and black male had found himself here on the cool autumn day, his limbs carrying him easily from the eastern expanses of the land that he had come to love so dearly to the deepest parts of Southern Alacritia. Somewhere nearby, there was a pack, Oberon had heard, but he wanted nothing to do with it. No, what Oberon truly desired was peace and quiet and a respite from the company of others. As much as he loved his family, and tolerated the other members of Ludicael, it was difficult for him to deal with them for long. And so, Oberon found himself wandering once more, his paws carrying him smoothly across the ground. For a moment after leaving Ludicael's territory, he had hesitated with his gaze pointed in the direction of the smoking Mount Vulcan before he turned his head away and set off on his own. Today, he truly needed to be alone. As easy as Artemis was to be around, he did need to be well and truly alone every once in a while. That was what had drawn the young male to this mysterious beach. The black sand shifted beneath his paws much as normal sand would as he picked his dainty way along, ears swivelling wildly in an attempt to pick up any sort of sound. Were there any other wolves out there? Oberon rather doubted it. It was unlikely that any other wolves had been drawn to these lonely lands. speech,

Arella was lost. Not physically -- no, she knew exactly how to get home if she chose to -- but mentally. She had wandered much farther east than she had originally planned to, and the young woman sound found her senses bombarded by the stench and taste of salt water. She had only been so far from home once before, which was a bit surprising due to her love for adventuring and running. There was no need to be running, but she traveled with alarming speed for a creature of her size, the pads of her paws slapping loudly against the ground as she ran. It was one of the one times she truly felt free; unburdened by her family and her pack's expectations. Free to do as she pleased, with no repercussions. The wind lashed against her face, the autumn air mixed with the sea's breeze, chilling her to the bone. If it wasn't for her rapidly beating heart, pumping blood through her veins, she would certainly be uncomfortable cold. But she felt nothing but pleasure as she ran, eyes sweeping across the flat expanse of land. The horizon was ahead, and yet she could barely see where the sea and the sky met. But her attention was grabbed as the yellow sand changed abruptly. She had been pacing closer to the water, still a good dozen yards away, when the landscape seemed to change dramatically. The sand darkened, until it was fully black, shining brilliantly from the midday sun. Though Arella was a maturing girl, she still possessed childlike curiosity of just about everything -- perhaps this would be her downfall. With wide blue eyes, her pace slackened, and she began to lope closer to the strange beach. How far it stretched, she could not tell ... it went even farther than her eyes could tell. It took her a long moment to realize another was nearby. Not directly next to her, but in the near distance. Almost instantaneously her tail began to wag behind her, expression softening into a friendly smile. The boy was young, but certainly not a newborn child! He almost looked as though he might be a yearling. "Oh!" she exclaimed, ears perking above her slender head. "I didn't see you there. I hope I'm not intruding on anything." It didn't really seem like it; she glanced about, and caught no sight of another.

lovely art by canttina<3 Oberon reacted to the appearance of another with a simple flick of his ears. He would not be offended if she chose not to approach him. In fact, he might have preferred it. The introverted creature was enjoying some peace and quiet, though he supposed that eventually it might come to be too much. Eventually, he would need to return to his pack and bask in the presence of his sisters and mother. He wasn't in danger of that happening any time soon, however. Still, when the call reached him, Oberon lifted his head, letting his purple gaze settle on the figure before him thoughtfully. The celestial pup examined the black female for a long moment before letting a greeting fall from his maw. "You aren't intruding," Oberon assured her, though he wasn't entirely sure that was true. She was kind of intruding on his peace and quiet, but there was nothing to be done now. They were already conversing, after all. "Strange beach, huh?" It was mostly a rhetorical question. Oberon knew full well that this place was strange, and that was saying something, considering he had been raised on a territory that essentially glowed in the dark. With that comment, Oberon was content to let his voice fall silent in the autumn air. If this female wished to continue the conversation, she would do so of her own accord, Oberon was sure. She wouldn't need any help. And the quiet male was quite willing to let the silence stretch out as he pawed absently at the sand, multi-colored gaze focused on the black earth, examining it solemnly. Though most of his attention was locked on the sand beneath his paws, Oberon remained with one ear pricked in the female's direction, keeping distant tabs on her. speech,

As she was growing older, she was beginning to feel restless -- quite unsure of her place in the world. She longed for the days when she was surrounded by her siblings, with all the love in the world. But she knew things were changing in Valhalla, and her family was not exempt from that. Where was Gabriel? Lyric? Castiel? How badly she missed them. She knew her mother felt terrible pain, especially since their father had left; so Arella knew she had to be strong for her. And so it was only when she was alone that she allowed herself to truly feel, to reflect on her life and wonder what the hell she was doing in it. But the male before her arrested her from her somber thoughts, and her blue eyes widened as he turned to face her. He was rather pleasant-looking, with nice purple eyes; she smiled kindly at him. "Never seen anything like this," she admitted openly, letting her gaze leave him and slowly drift across the black sand with obvious interest. "But then again, I don't go too far from home much..." Perhaps she ought to? The smile remained plastered on her features as she turned to watch him again, ears flicking as she listened to the sound of the crashing waves on the shoreline. "My name is Arella, by the way."

lovely art by canttina<3 Oberon examined the black wolf thoughtfully for a long moment, and his ears pricked in her direction even as his gaze began to wander across the beach once more. She was interesting, but perhaps not the source of the most stimulating conversation that he'd ever had. Still, the male appreciated the fact that she was willing to let silence fall ever once in a while, and didn't seem to feel the desire to pepper the silence with meaningless words. "Me neither," For a moment, it remained unclear as to which statement he was agreeing with, nd it took the thoughtful creature a long moment to elaborate slightly; "Never seen another black beach, and I don't leave home much." Would it truly be considered a home if he left it often? Well, perhaps not if he left every day for hours on end; that would hint that he wanted to be somewhere, anywhere else, which was unimaginable to the celestial male. Her introduction would echo in the air for a moment before Oberon answered, "Oberon Illiadis. Pleasure to meet you, Arella." He was polite, if not exactly as friendly as one might expect from a pup; they were often social butterflies, after all, and Oberon couldn't get much further from being a social butterfly. A soft exhale escaped him and he turned towards Arella once more, "Are you from a pack?" If he was correct, he could smell the scent of a pack on her fur, but he didn't recognize the scents that clung to her bodice. They smelled of nothing that he had scented on his territory, which ranged from the scents of Ludicael, to Amenti wolves, to rogues. He had had limited experiences with other packs, however, and was rather curious. speech,

What had caused the sand to turn to black? Perhaps it was some kind of rock? Slowly she let her paws shuffle, shifting her slight weight from one paw to the next, stretching out her toes to feel the sand. It felt the same to her; she wrinkled her nose, considering what else it could be. "I don't leave home as much as I want to," she admitted thoughtfully. "She wouldn't admit it, but I think my mother would get lonely. Three of my siblings have disappeared, and my father left long ago..." Though she wasn't particularly happy -- her voice did not betray the sadness she felt. Instead, her tone was simply somber and thoughtful, though not at all seeking his pity. Arella was simply considering something aloud, which she hoped was not troublesome to him. She tended to speak before thinking; it was likely her greatest downfall, other than her overly-cheery nature. "And nice to meet you too, Oberon Illiadis," she replied, testing his name on her tongue. "Oh! I'm sorry... I should have told you that. I'm from Valhalla. My mother is Erani, the lead healer." The black-furred girl's tail would lash out behind her back, clearly proud of her mother's status, even if she had contributed so little to her birth pack. "What about you?" Briefly she leaned forward, and sniffed at his scent rather conspicuously. He smelled of something like a pack, but had no idea which one!

Oberon nodded his head almost absently as Arella spoke, ears pricked in her direction. "I doubt my mother would," Oberon had to admit that. Jupiter liked her children, but it seemed to be in a more distant manner than some of the other parents that he had seen within Ludicael. Jupiter had her paws full with her pack, and seemed to focus less on her pups than, say, Song and Cherokee did. Was that his fault? "My sister would." This was a solid fact. Gira would miss him if he left home too much. She adored him as much as he adored her; they wouldn't be complete without them. Valhalla. Valhalla. Oberon was drawing a blank on the name, which meant little as he didn't pay much attention to Ludicael's politics and alliances. Perhaps he ought to. Though there were no promises that he would become Sol one day, it wouldn't hurt to know at least a little about the lands that he lived in. He was only familiar with Tortuga and his own pack, and the name Valhalla meant nothing to him. "Ludicael," Oberon spoke simply, "My mother is the Sol." He hadn't the faintest idea of what that name would correspond to in a typical pack. For Oberon, Sol was the typical name for his mother's rank, not Alpha. The male would examine Arella for a moment, considering his next course of action for a long moment before his maw opened once more, "What's Valhalla like?" Curiosity in his gaze, he waited in silence for her to answer him. speech,