Explain freedom to the birds, to the trees, to the plants... they'll look at you like you're insane. Freedom is all Wake has ever known, and it's all he'll ever know. Why does it feel so lonesome, right now? Without the chattering of his siblings banging around in his head, or the yoke of responsibility around his shoulders... he feels a little lost. Remaining with the Raiders seemed like his duty, but when has duty ever really resonated with him? Making sure Davey and Tide, and even Jael, got back safely... job done. What did he need to do now? Getting back to normal seemed like a farce, but here he was.

Getting back to normal. Making his way through Fern Gulley, taking in the summer plants. Poppies. Hell, he's always looking for poppies. They could do with more cannabis plants as well, and transplanting it wasn't overly difficult. Careful gaze on the lush ground around him, nothing else mattered much to Wake. It's his full focus on the ground that likely leaves him vulnerable to whatever may come next, whatever could rise from the world around him... but what does that matter, either? Another quick swig from the flask at his hip, and he continues his search. Summer sun shining around his shoulders, just a man doing his best and hanging out with the plants.

WAKE UP

The idea of leaving the mountain she had been raised on had felt inconceivable at one point in her life, but there were plenty of things that had at one point felt impossible that were now a real part of her life. When she was little her family had felt invincible, larger than life. Ah, but that was the innocence of youth, wasn't it? Once the pack changed hands it no longer felt like her home. She had stayed there for a while simply to stay close to what scraps of her family remained there, but eventually she felt like there had to be something else out there for her. She had no particular destination or goal in mind and in some ways that was freeing and in others it was maddening. She liked having a purpose, but her purpose was stripped away and now she was left to figure out what that was on her own.

Rúna had spent some time on the far edges of the southern continent and had only now begun to make her way back through the southern parts of Boreas once more. She had passed through the gulley on her way south the first time, but hadn't really stopped to look around. Leisurely she made her way through, only pausing once the scent of another wolf caught her attention–with the sharp tinge of alcohol lingering with it. She turned her head into the breeze where the scent was coming from and spotted the orange, cream, and gray marked male through the foliage, another seemingly lone figure out here on his own. She wasn't typically someone that sought out company, but it had been awhile since she crossed paths with anyone and even longer still since she had shared a drink with someone. Curious, she moved in his direction, giving him a nod of greeting as she approached. "Do you have enough to share?" she questioned, nodding toward his flask.

"Rúna Trygg"

Pulling plants out by the roots, dusting them off, tucking them away in his pack. It's methodical, and he's doing it with little additional thought. Almost robotic, but then, if he thinks too hard then maybe he'll forget how to do it. Wake is a strange creature, he's never going to deny that. Instead, it's just relaxing. Letting his mind go unfocused, lost in the rhythm of it. All of it seemed pretty natural to him, especially when all he'd been up to lately was gardening and babysitting. A regular house husband-- that's a laugh.

The voice that shakes his concentration, brings his gaze back around, belongs to a girl. Around his age, probably, with a crown of antlers. Head lifting, peering at her with a gentle (dare he say, friendly?) look in his eye. "With pretty girls, of course." Honeyed words, beckoning her closer. "It's stronger stuff than just booze, be careful." It was only right to warn her, the laudanum flask sticky with the tincture. Plenty full, but it would only take a bit. Even Wake, with all his tolerance, had been one to make it last.

"I'm Wake." A soft introduction, offering his name with the silvered flask. Every movement fluid and easy, maybe he's flexing in the only ways he knows how.

WAKE UP

The response she got from the orange-hued man brought an appreciative smirk to her lips. She was old enough now that pretty much all of her puppy fat had fallen away and she had reached her full height that brought her up to be able to stand eye to eye with her father and brothers. All of her recent traveling had toned her muscles, revealing the beginnings of a very womanly, fit figure. She hadn't really put much thought into the opposite sex or attraction yet, but she had to admit that a compliment like that–as subtle as it might have been–was still nice to hear. She stepped closer at his invitation and reached for the flask while giving him a curious lift of her brow at the mention that it was something stronger than booze. Her family had treated mead as interchangeable with water so she wasn't exactly new to the world of alcohol, but that was the strongest substance she had tried thus far. It didn't dissuade her though and she still took the flask from him willingly.

"I'm Rúna," she replied to introduce herself just as simply, her words carrying the slight accent she picked up from her family. She gave him a grin before taking an experimental sip from his apparently intoxicating brew. It was a very unusual flavor for her, but it brought to mind the herbal sort of flavors and smells that she had begun to learn from her mother as a pup. It was a skill she hadn't pursued very studiously since her death, but those initial lessons still stuck with her. With a hum she passed it back to him after taking a second small drink, licking her lips clean from where the sticky lip of the flask had left a bit of that stickiness on her fur. "Well, now that I've had some of it... What is it?" she questioned with a bit of a laugh, glancing over him curiously and noticing the pack he was carrying and the smudges of dirt that spoke to the herbs he had been collecting. It was easy to pick up information about others if one was observant enough.

"Rúna Trygg"