After submerging herself in a bubble bath, drying and brushing her fur, spraying herself with a floral perfume, and having a light breakfast, Clove was ready to set out for the day- though, she couldn't deny the nervousness she felt. Even though Father had given her permission to leave the pack lands, it still felt foreign to her- almost as if she was breaking a rule by leaving without a chaperone. But she was a yearling now! It was time to start growing up. She lingered in the castle gardens for a bit, then outside the walls, in the plains, until finally, she crossed over the borders of The Hallows. The castle was far behind her now, but she could still see it in the distance- looming over the plains like a mountain range, close enough for her to run back if she encountered any trouble. Taking a breath, she continued on- drawn towards the beach, which led to a long strip of sand surrounded by ocean on both sides. Oh, how she loved the ocean.

Standing at the edge, still on the Auster side. Clove surveyed the area for several moments. Noting the glittering land bridge adorned in a mixture of minerals, rocks, and shells that washed up from the depths of the ocean. In the distance was another land formation- one that looked massive, stretching as far as the eye could see. A whole other continent. The thought made her mouth open in awe, eyes sparkling with curiosity. Moving on, she leisurely walked along the sandbar. Stopping here and there to observe oddities, like colorful seashells or small crabs.  

"Speech"

Still making the most of his new freedoms as a yearling and also doing his best to be anywhere but home right now, Rogue continued on his aimless wanderings across the world, this time moving south from familiar Boreas to unknown Auster. He had never been to the southern continent before now, but he knew his sister had come to attend some pack function down here not too long ago. The adolescent brute had left from Ashen earlier that day, eating a hearty breakfast and cleaning himself up with a quick bath lest his mother fuss over his appearance, and then he was off southbound. Seeing the Bifröst for the first time was a magnificent and kind of scary sight, with the thin land bridge surrounded by open ocean on every side. It all felt surreal; a bit like crossing over into an alien world. Still, the misty shape of the distant continent ahead of him was all the reason he needed to take those first few excited steps across the bridge.

Rogue arrived on the Austral side of the land bridge shortly after mid-morning, his midnight sky fur rustling and blowing in the cool ocean breeze. The transition from the balmy heat of summer in Boreas to the cooler winter of Auster was palpable, and though the rains were kept away for the time being, the crisp chill to the salty ocean air was a welcome refresher to the young brute. He breathed in deep; he loved the ocean and the beach! But as he approached the northern shore of Auster, his amethyst eyes landed on something he loved even more. A fae, young and beautiful, was stood on the narrow sandbar just off the Austral coast, inspecting things in the shallow waters that flanked either side of the land bridge. She was a small and lithe thing, petite and with feminine curves in all the right places. Rogue couldn't help but drink in her appearance with an appreciative gaze, his eyes roving over her form while she wasn't looking at him. It wouldn't do well for her to catch him staring at her like this and think he were some sort of creep. Already Rogue could feel familiar urges in his core, the warm flush of hormones as he gazed at her. Girls were such perfect creatures...

Putting on his easy Prince Charming grin, the proud prince approached the svelte fae of monochromatic colors, admiring her beautiful coat and physique that spoke of high quality breeding. She must have belonged to one of the southern packs, she was so well cared for and gorgeous. Rogue appreciated the lovely eye candy to start his day off with. "Good morning, miss!" he called out to her as he drew near, massive paws crunching easily across the soft sparkling sands. "My dad warned be about looking out for beautiful sirens by the sea. And I thought he was joking about that." A deep baritone chuckle to himself as he came up to the stranger who seemed only just younger than he was, his tail wagging slow in a friendly gesture. "Oh, sorry, I forgot my manners. Must be because I've never seen a wolf like you before. I'm Rogue Klein. And the pleasure..." He dipped his head in a proud bow to Clove, peering up at her beneath his lashes with a rakish grin, "is all mine, Miss...?" His words trailed off, allowing her to fill in the blank with her own name.

"Rogue Klein"

Shifting between both sides of the sand strip, Clove was finding all sorts of interesting things. A multicolored shell, one that looked like a creature might have inhabited it once, caught her eye. Inspecting it for a while, sticking a claw inside to see how deep it was, and setting it aside as the start of a treasure pile, she moved onto the next thing. A really smooth rock, white in color, that had been eroded from the ocean’s current and eventually washed up on the shore. It almost felt soft to the touch, even though it was a stone. Maybe she could add it to her lizard cage back home? Or give it to her mom? The idea brought a smile to her face, and she added it to her pile. What next? Whirling around to look for more treasures, she was caught completely off guard by the next thing she saw.

A boy. And a handsome one at that.

He seemingly appeared out of thin air- a boy around her age, swathed in a deep blue coat that was speckled with lighter spots. As if he resembled the nighttime sky that enveloped the starlit plains on a warm, summer night. And his body, oh, it was muscular and toned- valleys and peaks forming beneath his pelt as he sauntered along. Her heart picked up in her chest, face becaming warm as he approached her. A tickling feeling sparking inside of her belly, the tip of her tail flicking nervously. She’d never felt like this before. Hormones running wild inside of her, as she fought back the urge to sheepishly smile and turn her eyes away. Why were boys so freaking cute to her now?

“Oh, hello.” She said, an initial response to his good morning. But what came out of his maw next, completely caught her off guard. Beautiful sirens of the sea? She wasn’t sure what that meant, but she picked up on the word beautiful. He thought she was pretty? Little ole her? The warmth in her face amplified, bursting through her white cheeks. She’d never been called beautiful by a boy before.

Dipping down and introducing himself in what she perceived to be some kind of royal greeting, Clove couldn’t help but look away for a moment- bashfulness overcoming her features, as she pulled her gaze back and peered at him through her thick lashes. “Clove Carpathius.” She said, raising a paw towards him, wanting him to rise back up. “And I’m no siren- a princess, yes, but not a siren.”  She smiled a bit, trying to be coy with him. Did he already know she was the daughter of a king? Was that why he bowed?

Waiting for him to straighten back up, she continued on, wanting to keep the conversation going. “What brings you here? Well, besides siren hunting.” Another coy remark, as she raised a brow at him. For some reason, she wanted to keep bantering with him, because it made her belly feel light and airy. Was this called flirting? She didn’t even know.  

"Speech"

The girl looked up at him when he approached, and- oh wow! The duo-toned jewels that looked back at him were nothing short of flawless and breathtaking. Like faceted citrine and sapphire gems set into a face sculpted by the seraphs themselves. That tingling in his belly grew, and Rogue almost got caught up on his own words as he spoke them, his tongue thankfully not falling into knots the moment their gazes met. Thank the gods above he'd inherited his sire's charm or he might actually be in trouble! When she spoke back to him, the voice that flowed from her angelic face was equally as lovely as the rest of her, sweet and almost musical in its tone. Cute, pretty, and as nice to listen to as she was to look at? This girl was the stuff teenage boys' dreams were made of—or at least she was the stuff his dreams were made of.

His chivalrous gesture seemed to turn her bashful, the girl putting on an adorable show of averting her gaze as she recomposed herself and smiled at him. The girl took his invitation and offered her name in return. Ah, a Carpathian! His parents had told him all about the families that theirs were friendly with, so he knew a little bit about her. That explained her luxurious appearance and fine breeding. She wore the mantle of princess well. She motioned for him to rise, and rise he would back to his full height, proudly showing off his dire genes gifted to him from his sire. Perhaps she would recognize his family name as well, or would she have no idea of his royal lineage as an Ashen prince? Time would tell...

"A princess, huh? That makes sense. A fae as stunning as you is the picture perfect example of royalty—or a goddess come to earth." Rogue flashed Clove a lopsided smile, a charming show of pearly white teeth and lively sunset-hued eyes. She was so much smaller than him, svelte and smooth, with lean planes and feminine curves that spoke of an active lifestyle and top notch pedigree. She looked freshly groomed and her scent was mixed with a light floral perfume, accenting her natural pheromones in an alluring, addictive manner. She smelled delectable and made Rogue want to press closer to her. The brute couldn't help but wonder how soft her fur must feel.

Clove asked what brought him to Auster, aside from siren hunting, and the young brute chuckled with that signature Klein grin. Oh, she was flirting back with him now. His favorite game was now afoot, and Rogue did so love to play this game. "If I said I was here to slay dragons and save fair maidens, would you believe me?" he teased playfully with a raised brow, fully committing to his playful banter with her. "Nah, I've just never been to Auster before. But I'd heard tales of how different the lands were, how exotic the cultures were, and how lovely the ladies are, and I had to come see it for myself." Casting a debonair smirk to Clove, the midnight sky brute casually added on, "I see that at least one of those rumors is true."

From how shy the gorgeous slate and ivory fae had gotten from his first round of flirting, Rogue presumed she must have been somewhat new to this game. So the charming devil changed tactics, not wanting to overwhelm her too much and scare her off. This game was a delicate balance, after all. "What about you, Clove? What brings you out to the far ends of Auster if you're truly not a siren trying to lure me to my doom?" Another chuckle as Rogue took a couple steps closer to the edge of the water, youthful muscles rippling beneath his plush coat when he moved. He peered into the tide pools around the sandbar. Small lifeforms of all sorts could be seen in them—including a few oysters.

An idea suddenly popped into the Klein prince's head; a way to act suave and make his sire proud. "Y'know, I bet you'd make a perfect model for a pearl necklace," he said, as if remarking on her beauty was a casual observation and not a deliberately crafted compliment. One giant black paw dipped into the tide pool and fished out an oyster, extending one of his unique black diamond claws to pry open the mollusk. "Aaaaand, voila! A pearl for the lady to- oh dammit." Rogue frowned as he stared down at the empty oyster, silently cursing the sea creature for ruining his perfectly timed moment.

"Rogue Klein"

Oh my, was he tall. She hadn’t quite noticed it before- but after she motioned for him to rise, the boy morphed into a giant. Towering over her, threatening to swallow her whole with his bulk. The musculature beneath his pelt was captivating- the way each muscle group flexed in unison, rolling beneath that starry, midnight pelt. It brought another wave of heat to her face, the tingling in her belly starting to crawl up into her chest. And those eyes! They were so brightly set against his dark features- like a twilight sunset, just before it morphed into a celestial sky scattered in stars. How fitting for him. The longer she stared the more handsome he became- even if he was a total stranger. How come she liked boys who looked like the sky so much!?

Truthfully, she wasn’t able to dwell on the family name he provided- it did spark some recognition in her mind, but her thoughts were quickly becoming muddled by the dashing boy who kept dishing out compliments. Calling her a stunning fae, and an example of royalty. Even a goddess come to earth. Was she dreaming? How could someone so handsome appear out of nowhere, walk right up to her, and be so charming? And when he smiled, she wanted to melt- those pearly white teeth shimmering in the sunlight, as he peered down at her with those lively eyes. “Oh, I’m no goddess!” She said, raising a paw to cover her mouth- trying to hide the coy smile tugging at her lips. There was no way she could openly accept such a grand compliment. That would make her arrogant, right? But wow, given the boy’s perception of her, maybe she was more beautiful than she originally thought.

Her ears perked up when he laughed, finding her little comment amusing, as she tried to take a wack at bantering with a cute boy. Was she doing it right? Maybe she was, because he started making funny jokes- which she found so amusing, she giggled out loud! Dragons and maidens, it all sounded like a fairy tail- but of course, there wasn’t much more to it than that. Just a fantasy. "Well, if you like this place,”  She said, using a paw to motion toward the sandbar in its entirety. “You’d love the castle I live in!” Well, he’d said something about dragons and maidens- maybe a castle with ballrooms and dungeons might peak his interest?

Smiling back at him, she feels the tip of her tail start to twitch behind her- a nervous tick, as she fights back the urge to shy away from him. Even in the short moments of silence, there is an undeniable tension building between them- one that thrills Clove, and yet,  makes her apprehensive. Because she’s never done this before. So, she’s glad when he moves the subject around.- asking why she’s out on the sandbar. “Oh, well,” Her eyes tracked him as he sauntered towards the edge of the water, roving across him as the musculature beneath his pelt flexed and shifted. Her heart started to beat faster. “I just came out to explore a bit. I’ve never been here before.” She admitted, feeling a bit silly for not having a different reason. Something cool like, scouting for enemies or collecting seagrass to craft with all sounded more interesting in her head. But those would have been lies just to try and impress him.

He seemed fixated on the tide pools around the sandbar, which drew Clove towards him. Gravitating near his side, and peering down into the water. She watched a few small fish swim around, a sea anemone close up around a shell, and a crab scurry into a crevice. If he wanted to check out the tide pools now, she would gladly join him. Oh, maybe they could hunt a fish together! Or was that too tomboyish? Did dashing young boys like tomboys? Suddenly, she felt conflicted again.

Deciding to stay quiet, she waited for him to say something- and when he did, her face lit up again. Her white cheeks overcome by a rosy color, as warmth spread across them. You’d make a perfect model for a pearl necklace. A model? He wanted her to be a model for a pearl necklace? There went her heart again, hammering inside of her chest, as butterflies swarmed in her belly. “Oh, I’d love to!” She beamed, tail wagging behind her. Clove had always adored jewelry- and if a hunky boy wanted to give her a pearl necklace, how could she ever say no?

Watching him fish out an oyster, he went to work on prying it open- separating the mollusk with precision and ease, his claws much sharper than her own. In fact they looked like… black diamonds? Was that why they were so sharp and strong? How cool! And when he was content with his task, he whirled around with the oyster in hand, ready to present it to her. She leaned forward on the edge of her seat, anticipation set in her gaze, as she withdrew a breath- ready to see a gorgeous little pearl!

But there wasn’t one. Oh damnit. It took a lot of willpower for Clove not to giggle. “Oh! It’s okay!” She said, motioning back to the tide pool, not wanting him to feel down about it. “There are a bunch more- I’m sure we can find one.”  Even if he was just trying to charm her - which Clove was a bit oblivious to - she still felt the urge to try and help Rogue find the pearls he wanted to gift to her. “I’ll help you,” Reaching a paw in, she scooped up the first oyster she saw. Setting it in front of him, hoping he’d use his cool claws to pry it open. “But if I pick an oyster with a pearl,” A sly little smile tugged at her lips now. “Then you gotta trade me for it!” A fun little game to keep their banter going.  

"Speech"

Rogue sincerely hoped his sire would be proud of him. The son of the dashing Maverick Klein had a lot to live up to when it came to romantic flights of fancy, and though he was still a young brute, nothing thrilled him quite like navigating the intimate dance of romance with the fairer sex. Hearing Clove's almost lyrical giggle as he entertained her made the butterflies start up in his belly, the heat radiating from within his core. It made him want to pull her closer, to feel her petite form in his paws, to worship her physical beauty in ways he'd only just begun to discover himself. He could understand why his sire had been such a playboy in his youth before his mother tamed him. Clove spoke in that alluring voice, the voice he imagined angels would possess, inviting him to come see her castle home. Oh, right! The Carpathians lived in a giant castle by the sea! That had been in his lessons about pack histories. "I'd love to see something as fantastical as a castle! Perhaps I'll be lucky enough to have a personal tour offered to me when I'm in the neighborhood." Rogue shot a playful wink at Clove, not at all subtle in his suggestion that she could be his lovely little tour guide for such an experience.

Clove may have felt silly for the reasons she gave for her presence on the sandbar, but Rogue was thrilled to have found a kindred spirit in the wanderlust that he experienced himself. "Exploration's the reason I'm down here. Sounds like we've got something thing in common." The dire brute was careful to omit the parts about not wanting to be at home right now. Clove didn't need to think of him as some troublesome youth on the run from a bad home life—even if it did give him that dark and brooding edge the girls seemed to swoon for. Was she the type of good girl whose taste ran towards the bad boys? The kind of boys that got you in trouble with daddy? Guess he was about to find out.

As confident as he was when he fished out that oyster, his ego immediately deflated upon finding it empty, especially after Clove had gotten so excited to find some pearls. Well, shoot, this hadn't been part of the plan! Rogue could already picture the look on his father's face if he heard of his son's epic fail to make the pretty girl swoon. Thankfully, his misfortune still seemed to work in his favor as Clove was struggling to keep from laughing, and making the girls laugh was good too, right? At least it made his pride swell again. Okay, Rogue, time to save some face! Clove suggested they look for some more oysters and Rogue's bushy tail immediately began a happy wag behind him. It seemed like she wanted to keep their time together going as well. Score!

Following at Clove's side over to the tide pools once more, a challenge was issued to him by the small Carpathian fae: if she found an oyster with a pearl before he did, he'd have to trade her for it. Rogue's sunset eyes flashed with a playful mischief as a good number of things he could offer her for the pearl came to mind. The brute was starting to hope she found one before him. The lovely little fae set an oyster down in front of him and the debonair prince wasted no time scooping up the mollusk in his giant paws, a lopsided grin on his muzzle all the while. "All right, Clove, you've got yourself a deal." With a flex of his digit, Rogue extended a jet black diamond claw and once more carefully pried open the shell. Not wanting to ruin the surprise, as soon as he had popped the mollusk Rogue held the still mostly shut shellfish over to Clove in an outstretched paw. "Care to do the honors?" Time to see how lucky Clove was with her guess. And if he was lucky too, maybe he'd end up owing this gorgeous girl something worth trading for.

"Rogue Klein"