Ajax liked spending time with Theory, was more than happy to trot after her, rump wiggling as he struggled to keep up with her long-legged pace. She seemed a little happier too, less confused and spacey-outey when they were together. They'd become fast friends and it was great, the more time he got to spend with her the better! Except that he'd asked to go north to play in the snow, but was very sad to say it wasn't snowy at all at this time of year. Tragic! He would never recover from the disappointment, except that he was quickly distracted by the sniffs and wandered off into new territory. Theory would catch up with him...eventually. With a prance in his step, the boy wandered into the marketplace. New sights and smells rushed into the forefront of his mind, where should he start? Here or there? This or that? W E T

They were allowed into the market now though they had been warned to avoid touching anything without permission from each market wolf, but hey it was less boring than just wanding the open area of the Col. Here at least there were interesting things to look at and not touch. There were also the new scents. There were wolves who weren't part of the pack here regularly, and it gave him a chance to learn new scents, memorize them, and start putting names to some of the more regular scents, other packs who visited occasionally.

But today there was a scent Crux did not recognize, one that it seemed mostly stayed away from the marketplace the Armada hosted. So maybe he was curious. Crux lifted his head and tried to remember the tracking lessons they'd started, eyes scanning the wolves but he wasn't able to see much considering his height and the adults around him. He didn't know yet but the height of the wolf he was looking for probably also didn't help. So he had to trust his nose, Crux was learning well enough how to weave through the crowds even on his bad leg and quickly picked up the stranger's trail. It took a few minutes more before he spotted who he was looking for, a fire red pup, only a little older than himself but clearly already bigger. Crux tipped his head to the side and trotted unevenly towards him, curious where the kid's parents were. "Don't touch anythin' without askin' first." He said, adopting a bit of a haughty tone, if the pup's parents weren't here to watch him then it was probably Crux's job since he'd found him and he was a Fatalis.

But when he spoke next it was much more appropriate for his age, a friendlier tone that did little to hide the excitement in this meeting. Crux hadn't met any pups his own age who weren't his siblings! "Y'ever been here before?" Then he realized he should introduce himself. "'m Crux Fatalis!" He tried to give a greeting reminiscent of one he'd watched his father give to others before, but his head dip was a bit too deep and he stumbled forward slightly, bumping his right leg into the ground painfully.

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Art by Twonahalfer

Ajax turned, his splodgy ears twitching as a voice called out for him, more than loud enough to cut through the hustle and bustle. He was a little like a fish out of water here, out of his element and so he found it natural to gravitate to someone who seemed to know what they were doing, even if they were a bit younger and far bossier than he was. Since he had so many age mates back home he wasn't all that taken by the sight of another pup, but they were shiny and new and that was more than enough to keep Ajax's attention. "Aw okay." He agreed easily enough, as was natural for the sweet natured boy. All sugar and no spice, yet anyway. His poor, sore tail still wagged all the while, happy enough to listen to whatever the pack wolf had to say. Foe was not a word in his dictionary, everyone was a potential friend! "Nuh. I'm Ajax!" Just Ajax, as far as he was concerned, no fancy name to go along with it. That was fine, there were no other wolves like him, right? "S' nice to meet you Crux! I like your teeth and your leggy thing!" He had no idea what the gathering of blue on his hind limb was, but it looked cool! Like a shiny rock he was holding onto for sake keeping, cause it was special and matched his eyes. Kinda. Blue was blue right?

Luckily for Crux the other boy wasn't particularly upset by his choice of introduction, soon he'd learn how to be better about setting the tone he wanted to when first approaching another wolf but for now his initial thoughts were openly showed whenever he spoke. Still he let his own tail wag as the other boy responded and a smile pulling at his lips. Ajax... Crux filed the name away, he didn't have any particular thoughts on the other boy's lack of a familial name, he had no real context for if they were common or not, after all like half of the adult's he'd met were his own family.

He felt blood rush to his face as Ajax complimented his fangs and his leg, his ears twitching slightly. Crux wasn't used to anyone commenting positively on his leg... He shuffled akwardly and managed a very mumbled "thanks" before he quickly tried to re-direct the other boy's attention. "Wanna see my favorite stall?" He asked, voice hitching in childish excitement to get to show around a brand new friend.

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Art by Twonahalfer

Ajax didn't see why Crux's leggy thing would be a problem, but was gracious enough to accept his thanks with a pleased little hum and a tail wag for good measure. At the mention of visiting Crux's favourite stall, Ajax perked up, ears standing to attention and eyes wide. The bluest blue to ever blue, blue enough to put even the great open sea to shame. A myriad of questions rolled in like a flash flood. What was it about the stall he liked so much? What did it sell? Did Crux go there often? But with a surprising amount of self-restraint(ish), Ajax merely shouted: "Do I?!? He bounded on his paws, springy and all fox like as he pranced on the spot, like he was ready to dive head first into thick snow. But wait wait, he had to stay beside Crux, how else would he lead the way?

It was exciting to have a companion so close in age, Crux was young enough in age that their few shared words were already enough for Crux to assume they were friends. He'd have been pretty heartbroken if it turned out not to be true. But the possibility of that was far from his mind, not even in it right now. Ajax's excited shout made his tail beat the air harder and he started off after the red-speckled boy, his leg making him a little slower than his new friend but it seemed Ajax realized that Crux couldn't show him his favorite stall if he ran off.

Crux made his way through the market, taking a few moments to explain certain places of note as they went. "This place isn't always open but it smells really gross, I sometimes see adults come out of it all wobbly. There are two guys who run it, the one with the funny thing in his nose is nice but the one with a pink eye seems unfriendly." He said as they passed one of the caves that were occupied by members who ran a bar in it. "This one has some really good-smelling meats!" He said as he passed a stall that even now had the smell of spiced meats wafting from it. And so on it went until they arrived at his destination.

"This one." He said, giving Ajax a grin before turning his attention towards the stall and doing his best impression of his father as he spoke with the wolf who manned it. He gestured for Ajax to join him after a few words, the wolf who was running the stall pulling out small puppy-sized chunks of honey comb.

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Art by Twonahalfer

Ajax took a sniff, noting how similar it smelled to a few of the pirates back home after a night of adult only partying. It wasn't a very nice smell, if you asked him, so he was more than happy to continue onto something that smelled a whole lot nicer. Meat! And lots of it, all cooked and prepared, ready to go into his belly! Or at least that's the line of thought that crossed through his mind as he kept pace with his new buddy. Trusting Crux with his whole heart, he wasn't at all disappointed when they came to a final stop. Licking his lips, Ajax forgot all of his manners as he accepted the offered honeycomb. Sweet stuff like this was a rare treat and he was happy to spend it with a new friend! "Tank yooou." He managed to mumble, mouth full with honey dripping down his muzzle.  He finally concluded when all of the honeycomb had been eaten, he was still a mess of course but it added to his happy charm. "You're so smart. It's such a good stall. Say Crux, do you want a duck feather?" His companions dropped them all the time, they were very pretty and it only felt right to share.

Crux had been chastised a few times, his parents gently telling him it wasn't right for him to be so eager to take honeycomb from the wolf who so clearly was eager to offer it freely to pups. But today was different, Crux had asked for a sample because Ajax was a visitor, and while he probably wasn't going to be buying much of anything right now it made sense to Crux to interest the other boy now, maybe he'd come back with his parents and they'd properly trade now... At least that was the reason he'd told himself to get to share a sweet treat with his new friend.

He waited for Ajax to take the first bite and then eagerly lapped at his own honeycomb, his little tail beating the air behind him with such strength that he had to make his stance quite wide to keep himself on his paws. He grinned a very sticky grin as Ajax thanked him and the boy started trying to clean his muzzle of the dredges of honey. Ajax offered him a feather and Crux nodded eagerly, his eyes shining with excitement, today was a great day! He'd made a friend and even gotten himself a keepsake for it!

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Art by Twonahalfer