The world was his teacher and he was ready to learn whatever she had to offer. Fights, disease, love, death, whatever it was Cherokee was willing and ready. He hadn?t set out from his birth pack just for no reason. He was two years old now, having just turned two in the recent passing of winter. He wasn?t fully grown yet, a fact that his sisters had never missed a chance to remind him of, but that didn?t deter him from wanting to learn and experience. He was at that perfect age where his mind was still somewhat moldable and yet he was coming into his own, beginning to discover who he was and who he wanted to become. Still young enough to be influenced but old enough to begin to make his own decisions about where he wanted to take his life.

He?d been traveling for a while, how long he wasn?t entirely sure. The landscapes had blurred beneath his paws, all of it just seeming like one huge piece of dirt that had no end. His pads had callouses on them from the many different terrains he?d traversed when he arrived on the strange new land. He?d only encountered one or two wolves in his short travels, his interactions of just simple curiosity, no harm or anything really becoming of them. Other than the scarce few of his kin he ran into, the scent of wolf was not something that had been a daily occurrence during his wandering. And yet in this strange land the heavy stench of other wolves invaded his nostrils, sending his senses reeling. Pace was halted, large obsidian, ivory stained mass coming to halt at he assumed had to be the border of the strange territory. Darkened nostrils flared, testing the heavy air, tasting blood on his tongue. Blood? Steel and jade orbs scanned over the terrain, dark splotches of crimson staining the earth, groves dotting the dirt. Blood stains and the stench of many wolves...a battlefield? Cherokee struggled to come to terms with the idea.

How could there be a designated place for those of his kind to come to duel for their lives? He had never heard of such a thing and most certainly had never seen one up close and personal. He half expected to see rotting carcasses but it appeared there were none. Perhaps the wolves here did not allow the carcasses of fallen opponents or victims to remain, but instead got rid of them? He could only wonder. The afternoon sun cast a warm glow across his onyx back, heating him up from the inside out. Charcoal and ivory audits swiveled atop his fine skull, listening for the tell-tale signs of the approache of another creature. How many of his own species had come to this place of death and blood only to find their lives finished at the fangs of another fellow wolf? Why did they come here in the first place? Was it to defend family? Fight for ranks? Determine the outcomes of challenges and to see who could claim the betting rights? The onyx and ivory stained brute could only wonder, the millions of questions whirling in his head in a nonstop cycle. Was this land part of a pack's territory? Could be invading someone's territory?

A slight disconcern settled in the pit of his stomach. From the mixture of the various perfumes hanging over the battlegrounds, it didn't appear as if one single wolf had claimed the land or that the land was even claimed at all. There were no scent borders to mark the begining of pack's territory. Could these be freelands, open to any who had a death wish? Crown was titled to the sky blue heavens, inky lips forming an O as an alerting bay was released into the atompshere, a signal to any nearby wolven that he had set foot in the foreign territory but that he meant no harm. The call was cut short after a moment, skull returning to it's former positions, mismatched gems dancing over the bloodied landscape, searching for the signs of any approaching. Auditory system remained alert, in case there was an answer to his call, his onyx, alabastared arrowed tail swaying gently behind powerul haunches as he waited to see if he could recieve some sort of response.

She was growing more and more every day. Each passing season saw to it that the female was filling out the slim figure that all but sprouted into. Long legs and a slim figure were quickly growing more muscular, and it was apparent that the lupine would be a rather large wolf when she reached her full height and stature. Yet the way that she carried herself was not that of a behemoth - her footsteps were graceful, her gait confident and undettered. Her trips to the battleground had become more frequent, but no longer did she crave the feeling of battle. She was here for business - it was something that she needed more practice in. As on of Valhalla's betas, she would have to get used to coming here to wrangle up members or at least tease them with the prospect of joining their pack.

She had done so once before, but her trip with Demonio, though interesting and had gained her a personal friend - was unsuccessful viewing it as a whole. He had decided not to join Valhalla in the end. The call of another was what brought her toward the heart of the territory, and she tilted her head back and howled back. It was short, simple, to the point. She was not an alpha here, only another lupine. A wolf willing to let the one on the other end of the call know that he wasn't alone. Chrysanthe couldn't tell much about the stranger, other than that they were male. The voice was somewhat baritone, and she couldn't help but wonder just what he looked like.

When she broke through the foliage and got a first glimpse of the brute, she smiled politely, her blue eyes flitting quickly over his figure. He was an adult, but there was something almost youthful about him. He was older than she was, but perhaps not by much? The female let his eyes land on her before she approached him, her tail swaying gently behind her. "Hello there. Don't worry about tresspassing, you're on neutral grounds." She explained to him, wanting him to be able to calm down some. "And although this is at times a battlefield, I haven't come here for a fight."

"My name is Chrysanthe. Are you perhaps, new to these lands? To Alacritis?" The yearling would ask him a few simple questions first, wondering whether there was anything else that stood out to her about him. He... had a peculiar set of eyes, as well as a pattern about him that strikingly resembled her own, or perhaps more precisely, an inverse version of her sister. The girl did her best not to stare, not wanting to make the male feel uncomfortable with a hard pressed gaze, but she couldn't help but wonder whether he had any attachment in his history to her family somehow. They were not markings that she had ever seen on any other.

He hadn't expected a response to have come so soon, thinking that perhaps this battlefield of sorts was empty. The multitude of scents cricrossing the bloodied landscape didn't allow the young man to be able to discern if a pack resided within the area or if a pack was here at all. He would have gone further into the battlegrounds, but his uncertainty about it being claimed or not kept him rooted to his spot. He didn't want to get into a fight for having crossed onto the wrong place without knowing. He would rather be safe than sorry.

It had seemed like he had barely ended his song when the response of another burst into the atmosphere in respone to his own. Audits pricked with attention, coming to the conclusion that the other wolf was a female, one perhaps like him. There was no hint of an alpha's tone in her call, but perhaps she did hold a rank were she a part of a pack? He supposed he would find out once she came. And he didn't have to wait long. Not long after her call rang out in response, the woman responsible for it came trotting from the treeline. Her azure gems flickered over his large mass, seeming to do a quick assesment as his own bi-colored gems roaming over her figure. She was beautiful. Cream fur and clay stain on her facade as well as her leg. Seems like he had lucked out, having such a beautiful woman come meet him on such ugly grounds.

As she approached closer, he could see the smile that curled her clay lips, a polite to show him she too meant no harm. She appeared to be younger than, but not by much. She carried herself regally and there was an aura of power that was subtle, but stll noticable. He face remained emotionless as she approached, her tail wagging gently behind her as she spoke. He wasn't surprised when her voice was just as beautiful as the dame herself. Ivory and onyx audits rotated forward to catch her words, a gentle nod being given to her first set of words, the tensing of his muscles disappearing, relief flooding his system, glad he hadn't overstepped any boundaries that could possibly bring out repurcussions. She continued on, introducing herself as Chrysanthe, wondering if he had was new to the lands Alacritis as she referred to them. He cleared his throat, speaking for the first time in a long while. Pleasure to meet you miss Chrysanthe, my name is Cherokee. I do happen to be new to these lands here and I was hoping I could be given some information about them.

He spoke quietly and to the point, giving her his name in return for hers. A beautiful woman with the voice of an angel and a name to match. Her coloring was odd that was what made her that much more attractive. Cherokee pushed his thoughts aside, dual-colored gems watching Chrysanthe as he waited for her to respond.

jupiter illidais she stepped forth, bodice engaged in a rolling gait that didn't bother her sore muscles too badly, and mostly hid the fact that she was still injured from her battle for ludicael. celestial eyes of lavender sought out any presences in the battlefield that weren't engaged in violence. it didn't take long to pick two figures out that fit this description--first of all, they were standing, and second of all, it looked as if they were calmly talking. the lass advanced steadily in their direction, a smile crossing her features even before she neared. snippets of their words snaked into her auds, taking the edge off of her nearly-unquenchable thirst for their dialogue. she came near enough in time to capture the tail end of the lad's dialogue, and by the time the last syllable dropped from his ebony lips she was nearly-parallel with the lass he had referred to as being chrysanthe, though there was two yard's worth of distance between them. jupiter's ears pressed forward to capture any after-thoughts that had the possibility of escaping either of the wolves, and after a slight moment she claimed the gap of silence as her own, filling it with her voice. "greetings, cherokee. and, chrysanthe, if i heard correctly," she said gently, nodding to each one as she mentioned their names. the fire-pelted, planet-patterned lass settled down onto her haunches, shifting to make herself relatively comfortable. the less she had to stand, the easier it would be to make her injuries less apparent. she allowed for her lavender gaze to linger on chrysanthe, affability radiating from the relaxed set of features etched into her countenance. "i was born in these lands, and i can also offer my information." her timbre was fond and helpful, features positive as she awaited a reply. ? 300 words ? [ o o c ; ] hope you don't mind if i throw jupiter in! c:

Ah so he was new to the place. Chrysanthe listened to him speak, letting him introduce himself and explain a bit of his situation. Cherokee - she liked the name, it reminded her of the pines within the forest near her home. For the most part he seemed to be lost - and although she was vaguely sure of it by the way he had called earlier, now she was positive that he hadn't a clue where he was. The yearling nodded, she didn't mind telling him what she knew at all. It was the least that she could do for the traveler - one that had made a decent impression on her. He had a good presence, and seemed well mannered so far. "Alacritis is run by its wolves - we have quite a few packs around here. Valhalla, Glaciem, Tortuga, and Seracia are the ones that I've at least heard about." She started her explanation, recalling the names of the packs and trying to recall information about them as well.

It seemed that she wouldn't be doing so alone though. Another wolf appeared, her orange russet pelt standing out against the terrain. She wasn't someone that Chrysanthe had seen before, and she turned toward her, offering her a small smile to acknowledge her presence. The woman seemed to have heard enough of their conversation to know both she and Cherokee's names. She didn't offer her own though, settling down and offering her knowledge of these lands instead. If she hadn't been so polite about it, her tones less friendly or words less willing to offer advice, Chrysanthe would have been mildly annoyed. But she was perfectly benign, a good natured woman that the Valhallan would be a fool to snap at or turn away.

"That would be helpful - thank you. Might I ask your name and where you come from?" She didn't smell like a rouge, but her pack wasn't one that she was familiar with.

Turning back to Cherokee, the female decided to throw in what she knew most about Alacritis. "I come from Valhalla - a quickly growing pack in the south west. The wolves there are strong and good natured, and it's quite beautiful if I do say so myself." She wondered whether he would end up joining the pack today, or at least show interest in Valhalla. A part of her hoped that he would, but she knew better than to get her hopes up so quickly.

He wasn't afraid to admit the fact that he was lost and more or less clueless. He wasn't the type of guy to put up a front just to impress others. He was the way he was and if someone didn't like that, then they had every right to walk away, as simple as that. From the warm smile Chrysanthe had presented him, it didn't seem as though she would be leaving anytime soon because his mannerism displeased her. Alacritis is run by its wolves - we have quite a few packs around here. Valhalla, Glaciem, Tortuga, and Seracia are the ones that I've at least heard about. she spoke, catching his interest as she began naming off packs. So, there were packs here after all.

Maw parted, only a moment from responding when suddenly a second creature drifted in, another female by her perfume. And what a sight this female was. Her pelt was a striking, fiery orange, strange markings adorning her crown and frame, her eyes varying shades of violet. If he had thought miss Chrysanthe was a bit odd looking, this new fatal took the crown. She strode in confidently, coming to rest a little ways from Chrysanthe, settling herself down upon her haunches, offering up her own knowledge of the land they called Alacritis. This new woman carried the aura of an alpha, though her body language hardly spoke of such. A low bow of his skull was presented to the fiery alphaess in acknowledgement, dual-colored gaze returning to Chrysanthe as she turned towards the fiery woman, thanking her for her added help and asking her name, sufficently having covered Cherokee's own question about who she was.

While the fiery damsel came up with a response, Chrysanthe turned her attention back to the onyx, alabaster stained knight, adding in a bit more knowledge about the land Alacritis, confirming his earlier assumption. She did come from a pack and now that he noticed, her scent did distinctly smell like one belonging to a pack. The way she spoke of her home, Valhalla, it appeared as though she really loved her homelands and cherished them above all else. Are they all as pretty as you are miss Chrysanthe? Surely a beautiful landscape only houses beautiful wolves. He was purposeful with his words, wanting the cream and clay faced woman to know that he thought her looks to be very unique and fitting. He had noticed her slight stare upon her initial appearance but he had not gone out and blatantly called her on it. Everyone was allowed to look; it was no crime. She had simply gotten his thoughts swirling once again, the question if there was something about him that intrigued her runnig circles in his skull.

OOC: everyone's welcome ^-^