Polaris had been traveling for quite some time now. All that she knew was that she wanted to leave her family's pack and explore what more life had to offer her. She knew what it entailed if she stayed back home with her parents and she did not want anything to do with it. She had no desire to run the pack, to be the Alpha and be in charge of others. That's why as soon as she was of age she took off, not telling anyone where she was going. Let's be honest though, even she didn't know where she was going. The girl was so caught up in her mind that she hadn't realized that she had reached the coast until her paws touched water. How had that happened? Last she remembered, she was surrounded by dirt and trees with the occasional bush. Then again, the amount of lands she had crossed through at this point all blurred together. She had never been beyond her packs borders, didn't know that such beauty could exist in the world. It was larger than her mind had ever allowed her to imagine. Everywhere she turned she was experiencing something new. Yet, how had she not smelt the salt of the ocean or heard the gentle lapping of the waves hitting the shore. She looked beyond the water to see an island in the distance. Cocking her head slightly to the right, she wondered if the said island could be her new home. She put a tentative paw into the water, testing it at first. It wasn't cold but nor was it incredibly warm. Deciding that the reward outweighed the risk, the woman threw herself into the water. It was a shock at first, the cold water soaking into her pelt all the way to her skin. However, she continued paddling her feet and as she continued moving, the cold didn't seem to bother her as much. It wasn't until the water got deeper and the current stronger that Polaris started to feel the effects of her travels. She was tired, all she had been doing for days was walking. She pushed through though, as she was at a point where if she gave up she would die. Finally, she reached a small sand spot at the island that she drug her wet body onto and there she collapsed. She was so tired and needed the rest, she would look at everything after she caught her breath. It took some time, but when she finally felt as if she was strong enough to do just a little bit more exploring, she lifted her head and let her olive gaze fall onto the island. It was covered in trees and lush plants. There were birds chirping and she could hear critters scuttling around in the greenery. It was peaceful, secluded, and most importantly, it was away from her family and what she would call home for the time being. She speaks

Now that he was getting older, he felt a new sense of freedom. No longer did he care about getting into trouble or feeling tied down to his family's pack. Rather, he felt excited to explore for the simple fact that he kept coming across females. It seemed that every time he ventured out away from the isle, he found someone new to preoccupy his time with. First, Ely whom he did miss dearly, then Lyss, and even that little blue girl, Hanmel was her name, right? While he waited for his sister to get the band off the ground, Scald would wander in hopes of coming across another pretty lady. He would explore and enjoy his travels while also keeping his nose slightly turned to the wind. Drawing farther west, skirting around Ashen lands, through a patch of wetlands full of cackling birds, he pauses on the main shoreline of Boreas. Not far off the shore, he sees a curving island blossoming with foliage. Had Deluge been here before? Or was that further north? Something familiar about how pale the beach was tickled the back of his mind and he needed to figure it out. Walking out into the waters with hardly a blink, he would say he was used to the frigid waters that flow through Boreas. The Raiders did live on an isle now so swimming was just another form of travel rather than an enjoyment or a hobby. Thankful that the swim wasn't very long, Scald found himself on the soft sands of the island soon. Pushing from the waves, he gave his coat a quick shake once he was only ankle-deep. Lifting his nose to the air, he glances around before noticing a figure making their way from the beach toward the grove of trees that littered the island. Now who was this? Curious, Scald continues to approach and lets out a friendly, light-hearted woof to let them know that he is trying to catch up to them. From afar, he admires her dual-toned pelt, even if it was a bit matted from what he assumed was the swim over here. "Ahoy!" Scald calls out as he draws nearer, a lazy smile draped over his lips. S C A L D

His sister was gone, and though he knew exactly where she was... Spirit was struggling. Still though he had no real plans to leave. Spending the rest of his days here in the west, staying mostly cooped up in Ashen's lands and caring for his aging mother sounded fine; he wasn't sure he could stand to leave her now, not really, no matter how much he might find himself missing Gloom. And even more than that he couldn't imagine uprooting his life again, not when it'd taken him so painfully long to get accustomed to living here.

As much as he hated things changing it seemed a constant in his life, and fighting against it seemed futile. With his head spinning, he decided to go further than he usually did outside of Ashen's lands, seeking out herbs. Not that he'd received much formal training lately, but he was still interested in plants and healing and everything in-between. With winter in full force, anything useful was harder to find than it once had been, even with the west generally being blessed with mild weather.

Spotting an island off the western coast that looked promising, Spirit decided to make the swim. It wasn't a terribly long one but he was still a little nervous about being so far from home, but he'd brought along Strawberry to keep him company - and he knew she'd alert someone if something happened to him and he needed help.

Making the swim with his tattered herb bag slung around his neck, grasped in his mouth to keep it from floating away on him, he finally reached the shore of silver island with his strawberry finch companion darting around over his head. It looked very much like she was keeping an eye on him as he shook off his coat and gave his herb bag a good swing too, trying to rid some of the water from it. Anything he found would just be dried anyway, so getting his things wet was no big deal.

Apparently he wasn't the only one with an island trip in mind, though. Not far off, down the shore, he spotted two wolves. His instinct was to avoid them entirely, but he knew his arrival had likely not flown under the radar. Maybe if he pushed himself it wouldn't be so bad. Strawberry twittered softly overhead, seeming to encourage him. After a long moment he began to head toward the two strangers, paws moving quietly across the pale sand until he was within earshot of them, keeping a safe distance. "H-h-hello," he stammered out softly.

The island was peaceful, exactly what she was wanting after her weary travels. She had padded through the soft silver sand towards the greenery and was inspecting it. What type of plants were these? What about the trees? Never had she seen anything of the such before. It wasn't long before her peace was interrupted by a woof from behind her. She turned suddenly, eyes darting to find where, actually whom, the noise came from, when they suddenly landed on a rather large creature. What stunned her the most, however, was the fact that this man was colorful? Her eyes gazed over the dark man who had what seemed to be part of the rainbow throughout his coat. Was that orange, purple, and blue on him? What was that one color between the orange and purple? Polaris had never really seen the color magenta before and was flabbergasted by it. Or maybe she had briefly in a sunset before. That's what he reminded her of, a sunset. Words came from his jowls and Polaris attempted to give him a half smile. She was still stunned that wolves could be such a color. "Hello." She called out to him, her voice deep yet had a tinge of softness to it. She wasn't one with a lot of words usually, until she got to know someone or they pissed her off, that was. Further behind the first man there was another, this one more normally colored as she was. The brown and white man kept his distance from them and seemed to be shy. His greeting came out stuttered and it confirmed to her that he was nervous. She gave him a greeting nod in turn until she realized he probably couldn't see her from his distance. "Hello to you as well." She greeted. She speaks

When she turned to notice him, he saw her expression change. One of wonder and surprise. His brow furrows a moment as he pauses. Was there something on him? Turning to look at his sides, Scald doesn't notice anything except maybe some sand and debris from the water clinging to his sides. He looks back at her with a confused look but brushes it off. Maybe she wasn't used to color? He wasn't sure, but he wasn't fussed over it either. Instead, as she calls back to him, he closes the space between them with long and confident strides. Before he can say anything, he notices her looking behind him. Once more looking over his shoulder, Scald notices a man with a rather lovely-looking painted pelt approach with hesitant steps. Scald smiles in the man's direction and even lets his tail wag a few times. "Appears we all had the same idea," Scald comments as he steps to the side to allow the other male to join them. "Lovely day fer a jaun', don' ya think?" He asks, his head tilting lightly as he casually admires both of them. S C A L D

The strangers were both younger than him, something that helped just slightly ease some of his ever-present nervousness. Younger wolves were generally less intimidating, though saying he wasn't intimidated at all would be a lie. Spirit kept his distance as they both spoke, assessing the situation as carefully as he could. Both of them seemed friendly enough, which he appreciated. Slowly he took a few more strides toward them, noting the way the male's tail wagged, even more proof of his good intentions.

"T-that's what I was thinking," he agreed quietly, loud enough for the two of them to hear but probably just barely. He shifts to adjust the tattered satchel hanging over his shoulders. "M-my name's Spirit Destruction," he offered his name, feeling a bit awkward at saying so much but trying hard to be reasonably social anyway. "A-and this -" He gestured to the sky, where his red-colored finch companion was occasionally circling overhead, sometimes pausing for short breaks. "T-that's Strawberry."

Both of these men were interesting in a different way. The way the colorful one spoke through her off, it was an interesting accent and use of words. The other one seemed like an anxious mess, but honestly who wasn't? Just as the other man gave a wag of his tail, she decided to as well and offered the anxious man a smile. It felt foreign to smile, she hadn't done it in so long. When the other man responded to the colorful's remark about a jaun, whatever that was, she figured maybe she should too even though she had no clue what it meant. "Uh... yeah, it's a super pretty day!" It was obvious she had no idea what he meant. She listened as the brown and white man spoke his name. Destruction was an interesting last name. He seemed like anything but Destruction. Then again, her last name was Titan but she was no where near a Titan. Her eyes gazed up to the sky as he introduced his companion. How neat! How did he get the bird to be his friend? Wolves could do that here!? "My name is Polaris Titan, it's nice to meet you Spirit." She offered the other man and then looked to the colorful one, waiting to see who he was. She speaks

Scald looked between the two he stood with. While the girl was around his age, he could tell the man was a few years older but didn't wear it as terribly as others did. Rather, some might even think this Spirit was around his own age. As Spirit agreed, Scald's tail wagged a few times, pleased that others were agreeing with his ideas. It is when Polaris responds does he stifles a chuckle. Had she not understood what a jaunt was? Truthfully, his thick accent was hard to understand sometimes, he knew that but wasn't going to correct himself. Too lazy for that nonsense. After the next quick lull of silence, Spirit introduces himself and then Polaris shortly after. Both of their first names fit them nicely he thought, but their last names were hardly anything they could describe themselves as. When they both look at him expecting a name, Scald smiles. "Ah, yes, 'm Scald Fallen," he tucks one paw closer to his chest and dips down into a short bow before coming to stand on all four paws. "Nice ter meet ya, Spirit an' Polaris," Scald looks between the two as his tail gives another few wags. "Now, we gon' 'xplore this place er what?" He asks as he lifts a brow before looking off toward the rest of the island that lay around them. S C A L D

Maybe he should've expected he might find someone traveling out here - well, not just one someone, but two someones - but he hadn't really prepared for possibility of social interactions. Not that he was ever really prepared for that. The younger male, who was quite a bit larger than he was, introduced himself as Scald Fallen. Spirit acknowledged it with a polite nod. "N-nice to meet you, Scald," he started. "A-and you, Polaris." They both seemed like nice enough company, so Spirit would try to let his nerves settle as best as he could.

His question earned a faint smile. Exploring sounded like a good idea, albeit a little nerve wracking with strangers. It was something he could handle though and so he nodded in slow agreement. "W-which part did you want to check out first?" Spirit asked, hoping that either of them were more decisive than he was. He'd go along with whatever they decided, if it seemed like they wanted company along the way. The last thing Spirit wanted was to tag along uninvited.

Art & Code by Rex 2023

The woman gave a slight nod to both of them, ready to explore the land. She was already intrigued by the Solent little island, but now she had others to explore with. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, but she figured she better make friends since this would be her new home. A small smile stayed on her face, and her tail gave a small wag behind her, trying her best to be friendly. The other man, Scald he said was his name, had a strange thick accent but she would do her best to understand. There was no use judging or making him possibly feel bad that she didn't know what he was saying. She took a few steps towards the trees and greens that lay a few yards in front of them, the sand slowly getting more impacted as she reached the edge of it. Elation surged through her at the thought of visiting this beautiful.... what was it? A forest? "What about starting with the forest?" Her eyes raked over the green palms and ferns and other items growing. There were other things littered on the ground, a brown circle, a yellow thing, and various other items. Curious, she approached one and tried to move it with her paw, and the brown circle ended up rolling a small distance. Maybe she could play a game with the others with this? She speaks