She moved silently, paws pressing against the earth with practiced ease. They were placed in spots that they had touched many times before, following a path she knew all too well. This had always been her home... Or at least one of them. The lake would always be her favourite place but for now it would remain in the paws of another and that would leave her with just this place now. It was still beautiful. Not as beautiful as as the luminescent algae that covered the lake but still... Every so often the ice would melt a bit, just enough to uncover the very tip of a tree. The beautiful green needles only green for a short time before the cold withered and destroyed them. It was one of her favourite things. To find the petrified trees before they were completely destroyed. Today was one of those day she was making her usual rounds. She moved with a strange serenity, an odd lightness to her step that had never really been present before. Though her expression remained solemn there was still something there, something beyond the line of her lips or hooded gaze. A sense of feeling that had never been there before. A soft tune would vibrate through pursed lips, a soft morbid thing that flowed with ease. Since discovering her voice it wasn't often that she didn't fill the silence around her. Her aura was still off, seeming to push away the sounds around her. It would take some time to figure out who she was now, who she was now that her whole world had come clattering down around her. She had not seen him in ages, she had not seen him since she had found her voice. Though for once in her life she did not fear the solitude, she did not weep for him. No... Today she was to find the melted trees and that was all. She would not let the sorrow seep into her heart.

Autumn had long ago made its mark against the world, littering the surroundings with burnt tones as numerous as a sunset, and a soft chill already crept into his bones. He knew winter would not be far off, but rather the deter him from his chosen path it spurred him on, inviting its bite against his skin as through the pain brought life to what otherwise felt dormant or dead. He didn't understand what spurred, not fully, he was far to deceived by his heart to know how it felt about the wolves around him.Yet... he had seen something, and it had brought out a pain in him that he could not face. A pain he was forced to run from. He had seem Themesto and Twig embracing, caught a glance of their entwinement and back unsteadily away. He did not know the reasons behind it but his mind did not welcome rationality.


His breath was hitched as through he had run a mile as he moved across the border of Valhalla territory, the soft warmth of his exhalation a visible tentacle before him. It was as through he had been running hard, it didn't matter that he had barely started his pace. He felt a soft twinge at leaving Twig to the pack, but it brought him more upset then anything else. Besides... she had Themo, she did not need him any longer. His steps where quickly taken over Valhalla territory, and he did not once look back as his thundering heart spurred him onwards.


He didn't pay attention to the passage of days, only knew that the further from Valhalla he moved the more his hear coiled in confusion, and softened for the distance put between him and the cause of his pain. He moved through territories unknown to him, barely registered them in his mind. He came across no wolves in his journey either, which relieved and surprised him. It wasn't until he reached the submerged woods that the scent of recent wolf would touch his senses. He would slow, and stop, realise a hunger growing in his belly for his lack of hunting during his time in rogue lands. He pushed it aside, and moved on more slowly, until the sight of the stranger would reach him. He would sit, uncertain, was he crossing her territory? Did she live her?

Precious babe would move with an easy serenity, paws placed carefully on a path she had followed many times before in her search for the life beneath the ice. Head was held parallel to her spine, lowered as to see where her paws would fall and yet lifted so crystalline eyes could scour her surroundings, drifting over the perfect ice and to the beautiful forest far below. Though only the tips of the tallest trees could be seen on days like today she had seen it all before. Seen the beautiful land far below, the still green grass and the lovely flowers. Often she found herself wondering what had happened here, had a great wave crashed through and flooded the whole place then frozen? Or had it been a more gradual thing? Had spring run off from the mountains slowly filled this area to the point where it had been over many years? A part of her needed to know but the logical side of her brain told her that she may never find out and that she would simply have to live with that. And so she was left with hunting for the evergreen tips. Though she had learned quite early on that even once the greenery unfroze and wilted the sticks still protruded from the ice and would quite happily jab the paws of the any who wasn't paying attention. She had always enjoyed the solitude of this place, enjoyed weaving her way through the tips of the trees as if she was apart of the petrified forest. It had been a long time since she had enjoyed the company of another other then her brother, not since she was a child and had met the strange male from Glaciem who had mercifully fed her when she had been starving. Though her interactions with other wolves had not been unpleasant or bad she still found herself avoiding everyone she came across. So when the scent of another hit her the young babe would freeze, the muscles in her legs tensing to the point where she might as well have been a statue, leaning slightly forward and paw raised in mid step. She was frozen like a deer in the headlights, head having snapped around to follow the direction that the scent had drifted from. Large ears were poised and pricked atop her skull, swivelled forward to catch any sounds but already her eyes had locked onto the source. He was seated easily a fair distance away, looking pretty relaxed but it really didn't help her own situation as her raised paw began to ever so slowly lower to the ground as if any sudden movement might set him upon her. "Bon-" Her voice broke and croaked, usually smooth tones cracking painfully as unease tightened her throat. She was struggling with english still, having been around only her brother who had religiously stuck to their native language around her. Though her short time in the pack her brother had joined allowed her to understand english her sentences were still choppy and harsh. "Bonjour?? Hello?" Though the french greeting dripped off her easily the english equivalent felt awkward in her mouth like she was trying to spit out a bone shard that had gotten caught in her throat. She wouldn't move from her spot, now standing with all four paws planted firmly on the ground and leaning slightly away more out of habit then fear. A slight curiosity bubbled up within her chest but not yet strong enough to close the gap between them.

The moment the other caught his scent and sight, he would know it. He could see the ripple of alarm that ran through as an almost visible tremor. Frozen, as one in need of assessing the situation before any decisions could be made. He stayed still, kept himself fairly neutral and un-aggressive as she made her assessment of him. The paw would slowly hesitantly to the ground and he had a feeling his attempts to look non-threatening had fallen short. Perhaps she was simply unaccustomed to intruders against what could well be 'her' land. Her voice would stretch out before them, breaking the airy silence of her hesitant movement and his stillness. It would falter, and creak as she uttered something undecipherable before them. She would try again, finishing the first word she had tried to utter in clearer tones. It was a greeting, abid a strange one called out over the distance before them. Uncertain how to ensure her he meant no harm, he would incline his own head her way. ?And Hello to you, ma'am" he murmured, his voice soft and oddly sedud. He made no move to go forward, afraid she would turn and vanish once more into the trees like some strange ghost. Suddenly, he couldn't bare the thought of being left alone again, his thoughts where an untrustworthy herd galloping storms across his mind. He felt oddly ashamed of his behaviour, of his flea from Valhalla territory. His shoulders would droop slightly at the path his thoughts where taking. Had it truly been as he had seen? He had not waited to find out. Besides... if it was, why would he be so unhappy as to deny Twig a piece of happiness in her broken world? He could feel his mentality wilting in shame, but he tried not to let his inner heartbreaks show. He would clear his voice softly, eyes still upon her form. ?Am I.. intruding?? he would ask, the uncertainty of his thoughts dripping into his tones. "Speech"

She was silent, old habits falling into place even as pieces of her facade started crumbling down around her. A wave of emotions she could not place crashed down around her, threatening to drown her and drag her away. She couldn't place half of them, couldn't figure out what she was feeling even as muscles trembled beneath sleek pelt. Though eyes would relax slightly from their startled state she would remain standing where she was, leaning away slightly even though a part of her told her to close the distance between them. Something about his stance soothed her, made her feel slightly more at ease despite the fact that her muscles seemed to have decided they would forever tighten and tense. Nothing really clicked in until his words broke the silence and paralysis was broken by the sudden need to translate the strange words coming from his tongue. Though she knew the language well enough her mind still needed a time to stop and fish the words out from the river of knowledge in her skull. Though the last word he spoke she didn't understand, not having heard the term before. "Ma'am? The word tasted wrong on her tongue and yet she felt the need to ask anyways. A sudden curiosity igniting in her as head tipped and ears pricked forward in a more inquisitive manner. Tension seemed to melt away after that, the cement that had bound her muscles chipping and flaking off until she was standing in a more upright position, joints looser now and muscles relaxed. The distance between them gave some added comfort that allowed her to relax further then she would have if they had shared a closer proximity. The fact that he also remained seated helped and slowly her body would turn, black dipped forelegs stretching forward to pull her a few steps closer towards him and bring herself facing him fully, tail hung low though every so often it would give an uncertain wag at her heels as if trying to hint at friendship but plagued by uncertainty. Again he would speak, this time questioning her and slowly she would cast her gaze around. Intruding... She knew that word.. Something about it was familiar and yet the context that she knew it in did not fit here. "Non, pas empieter..." She said slowly though as soon as she said it she realized she had slipped back into her native language. Would he understand? For a moment she studied him, waiting and watching him to see if there was any sign of recognition on his face towards her words. "No... No interruption. Why. You... Here?" Words were choppy and broken, she struggled with forming the complete sentences and though she could string them together there wasn't any flow to them as there would be with someone who spoke the language naturally. So she forced out the words as she found them, brows knit together in concentration. Head would tip curiously before, eyes trained on the ground as she spoke but once they finished eyes would flitter back up to the white male in an almost questioning manner, everything about her just as uncertain as he was. Slowly she would take a few more steps towards him, closing some more distance, though she was content to keep the space greater then normal for two wolves to talk. Though she was still curious she was cautious. Two years of living alone had her used to doing things a certain way and it would be hard to break those habits.

This strange creature before him did not turn and flee as he half feared she might. Her tension if anything seemed to ease by his words. Her expression one of a strange concentration and he wondered if perhaps by her previous words her grasp on his language was tenuous at best. He didn't think he had ever encountered a soul that did not speak English before and the concept baffled him for a moment. He knew that there where more tongues out there then the one he spoke, and it it had surely been only a matter of time before he encountered a wolf that spoke one.


The next time her voice would grace the air, it would be in the form of a question, pondering and probing to the meaning behind Alpine's own words. ?Its.. its a term of respect to a woman? he managed to say past him own mild bafflement. If this woman did not know many words in English then perhaps a conversation would be far more difficult then previously assumed. Yet.. the thought of the challenge was a welcome distraction from his own very confused mind.


She would move closer to him, as through in the battle of curiosity to fear, it was her curious side that was slowly wining out. There still a comfortable distance between to ease her worries, but not so much as to make conversation difficult. She would speak again, her words again a strange twirl and drop, their wholes unknown to him. 'non' he thought.. 'no..?' pass? his eyes would grow puzzled as he tried to distinguish meaning from the words she had given him. Before he could go much further however she would speak again, English slipping uncertainly from her maw. Yes, non had meant no, she told him he was not interrupting. ?I am..? even in normal circumstances had had no way to truthfully answer such a question, but with the broken communication between them it loomed forth as an impossibility. ?wondering? he finished, uncertainty still within his words.