She wasn’t sure she liked Ashen now that they were eyeing the place she had called home for most of her life. She could handle change, but after that pack moved into her ancestral lands knowing the river would soon be swallowed up was all too much for her. So she skirted the borders against the islands. No matter how much she wanted to actually go in and see for herself, propriety, and likely her own skin, prevented her from swimming over.

From what she could see there was more than one island under Ashen control. If she squinted she could make out the land bridges between a few of them. There was so so much water, what did they need the river for? Aoede grumbled to herself. Disgruntled with where it looked her life, and her siblings were going. They were without much guidance these days and none of it felt right anymore. Like that big black island in the distance didn’t seem right. What she wouldn’t do to get a better look at that place.

The waves lapped at her dark toes as she paused on the shoreline, golden gaze peering intensely at the far off land as the sea breeze tousled her long twinkling fur.

"Aoede Regni"

The young Ashen prince wandered his way along the borders of the Empire's lands, following a well worn path of paw prints through the grass and soft earth. As one of Ashen's aspiring warriors, he would need to know the patrol routes for the pack like the back of his paw. In truth, Stolas would have much rather been reading one of his books or studying something in quiet silence, but he could not shirk off his duties or responsibilities, especially not now as he was getting older. The onyx and crimson furred lad followed the edges of the forest until he reached the golden shores of Boreas' coastline, the bright sun and cry of gulls overhead building a beautiful melody with the white noise of the lapping waves. It was a beautiful late spring day, perfect by all accounts.

As Stolas meandered along the silken sands, crunching the golden terrain beneath heavy paws, the adolescent wolf noticed the dark-furred stranger lurking around the edge of their borders, eyes fixated out on the islands in the distance. He followed her gaze for a brief moment, curious as he approached. She wasn't technically in Ashen lands yet, so he supposed she was okay where she was, but the way she was staring at their islands did put him on guard. Stolas approached, his paw steps mostly masked by the rhythmic lapping of the waves, though his dark form would be easy to see in the broad daylight. "Hello," he greeted the petite stranger as he came closer, now able to discern the speckling of white in her dark coat like stars in the sky. Fascinating! "I wouldn't recommend swimming out there. I'd have to chase you if you do." Stolas flashed a smile and a chuckle, showing off a rare bit of humor in amongst his warning.

"Stolas"

Sneaking up on Ao wasn’t an easy task, if she didn’t notice then Ayla would. However, as the fox took notice of the boy she chose not to alert her preoccupied master. The fox was certainly just that, and her trickster ways were impossible to subdue. For her own entertainment, she let the boy approach the girl unnoticed.

Aoede had her full attention on the islands across the water from her. The black island out there was the most interesting, but it was not the only island along the line. Each one seemed more lush than the one before it, and they seemed to call out to her. Like they needed her paws along theirs sand. Before she could take another step the sound of pawsteps startled her lightly. As she looked up to find the boy approaching her she felt ashamed at the show of weakness. He reminded her of Stolas though, and she wondered if he was as fun. So the young girl played into her natural reaction.

"Oh, hello. You startled me,” She spoke with a smile as if it wasn’t painfully obvious. She hid a glance towards where Ayla was ‘napping’ while they spoke. There was no way the fox was truly asleep. Golden gilded eyes watched the Ashen boy as he warned her not to go much further. He was much more charming than his brother, if they were brothers. Sitri had been so much fun to tease though. "What if I wanted you to chase me?” She asked with innocence as she tilted her head curiously.

"Aoede Regni"

The girl had been so entranced in her fascination with the distant islands of his home that Stolas had managed to get up close to her without her seeming to notice he was even there, despite his overwhelming size and contrasting coloration to the vibrant sand and woodland surroundings. Despite the startle he'd given her, the strange girl seemed to settle down easy enough, commenting on his ability to sneak up on her while shooting a pointed look to her fox companion who appeared to be lounging about nearby without a care in the world. "Oh, I apologize, I didn't mean to catch you off guard," he replied with a charming smile. Then it was the girl's turn to catch him off guard when she posed him with an unexpected question. What if she wanted him to chase her? Stolas blinked wide graphite gray eyes while his brain tried to process what he'd heard and come up with a response.

"Well, in that case, I suppose I'd have to chase you down," remarked the star-speckled Ashen prince with a playful grin. "I should warn you though, I'm a pretty fast runner." He glanced back out to the white-crested waves out on the surf and the sparkling sea beyond, then added, "And a strong swimmer. You might not get away from me." Although he was far from a pure, innocent youth, Stolas was still young enough to have difficulty discerning if the smaller similarly starry girl was flirting with him or if she was genuinely just adorably naive. "Are you going to make me chase you, Miss...?" Stolas trailed off, allowing the adolescent girl to fill in the blank space with her name if she chose.

"Stolas"

Ao’s pale brows lifted as her moon like features lifted to the tall boy. They were roughly the same age, but he had a different air than most of their peers. Like he was a few strides closer to maturity than Aoede had achieved yet. Still, the playful banter she offered him was willingly embraced by the rose pelted man. He apologized for the startle, which meant her assumption of him was true, despite his size he was no real threat unless she started by giving offense.

His returned statement was mostly expected, but he didn’t seem all that enthused about being forced to chase her. "Well, I wouldn’t want to make you do something you’d rather not.” She added, taking a step back from the shore line. "Not that I think you’d be able to catch me.” Ao added with a mischievous grin. Besides, she knew she wasn’t about to get to those far off islands without permission. No matter how tropical, exotic, and inviting she thought they were.

The greenery from afar looked much more vibrant than what her home did. Or what used to be her home. The sands on the beaches were bright and white, soft looking compared to the pebbly stuff they stood on now. One day.

The young man asked if he was going to make him chase her as he gently probed for her name. "Aoede.” She replied with a warm grin. "Well then, Mr…” She trailed off and let him give his name, or not, either way she went on. "What if I challenged you to a race? Does that sound more fun?” Besides, the best look she was going to get at the islands was a trip further down the shore.

"Aoede Regni"