There were too many wolves with the last name Destruction. She hadn't met one wolf without those half-circles beneath there eyes, or lines. Not one wolf without that last name. It was pretty humiliating. She felt like the only she-wolf that had no Destruction blood- a complete outcast. And at the same time she was regretting the choice of pack she made. All of the wolves, Destructions. Not one other wolf that's not in that family. She thought that yeah, Ludicael was a perfect pack. They were smart, divine, lightly aligned. But there was just absolutely no comfort within the pack- for her. She wondered if she was missing something. Like if there were other Ludicael members that felt the same as she did. That'd be nice- especially when now she felt like going insane. That night, the woman felt like taking a little walk away from Ludicael. If she stayed in Ludicael all the time she was likely to meet more of those Destructions- so maybe luck would get to her and she'd meet someone else. And maybe whoever that was was going to get their paws kissed. Eh. The woman thought about the numerous amount of Destructions as she calmly entered an unknown, unclaimed territory. It smelt of ashes and smoke, and just standing in it's air felt pretty uncomfortable. She uneasily glanced toward the fallen tress, then to the ones standing. These looked as if they were about to collapse at any moment. Wren sucked in a breath fleetingly- but immediately she choked. She coughed and hacked for a moment as her ears moved back slowly. Oxygen in this place seemed vaguely scarce... The babe soon recovered from hacking and allowed her breathes to become shorter, but quicker. Her heart quickened in her chest and felt like it was about to rip through her skin and out of her body. Perhaps this forest wasn't the best place to take a walk...Wren took a moment to muse to herself as she scanned the area. Damn. What is this, hell? Usually the woman doesn't curse too much, but considering she was in a bit of a pissy mood...she didn't give a crap. The tall warrior exhaled smoothly and found a niffy spot beneath a fallen tree. Her small paws carried her over, and slowly, she sat, sprawling her thin body across the ground. The sky was grey and ashes arose from the ground behind her. It looked like a hell-spawned beast totally wiped this place off the map. It concerned her- and no doubt she would leave soon."Speech"

Castiel had explored what felt like every nook and cranny of Alacritia so far, and still he had not found his mother. Didn't help that he remembered nothing of Valhalla nowadays - how long had it been since he was last here? A year? Long enough that none of this was really familiar. Some of it still had some semblance of familiarity, but none of of it really comforted Castiel. Really it just reminded him of how long it had been since he'd last seen his family. His father was dead; his mother and sisters somewhere close but not close enough. It was frustrating, to say the least.

The white male's ears twitched in irritation as he glowered at the ground, hoping that that it would reveal some sort of sign that would lead to his family. Father, what would you have done? Castiel found himself wondering inwardly, breathing a soft sigh. It was only when the voice of another reached his ears that Castiel stirred from his reverie, really looking at where he was putting his paws for the first time. There was a girl in front of him, and for a second his heart stilled as he thought that it might by Lyric or Surreal, but as quickly as his excitement grew it was gone when he realized that this wolf was nothing more than a stranger.

Still, it wasn't in Castiel's nature to be impolite. "Hardly, Miss. It's as natural as anything else out here." Castiel spoke easily, voice even despite the sudden disappointment that dominated his thoughts. "The name's Castiel, by the way." With that, the white male settled back on his haunches, ignoring the dirt and ash that swirled into his pelt as soon as he moved. He was unconcerned by their dreary surroundings - he had seen similar things in his journeys, and there wasn't much to be worried about here. And there was nothing interesting either. His family was obviously not here, and it was likely that Castiel would be on his way soon enough. But there was no harm in having a small conversation, right?

"Speech"

Even through the nasty thick area, Wren could drink in the suspicious aroma of a stranger. A male, in fact. But evidently she was in a bad mood and wasn't in quite the mood to flirt or talk. Usually she was always in the mood to act naughty and be devious...by why did she need to have a headache, or just feel like shit? Before the man could really speak to her, the tricolor babe whipped around, flustered. She aligned her head with her spine and bent her knees, growling softly and flattening her small ears against her skull. This boy seemed perfectly friendly and welcoming. And yet, Wren decided to face him with hostility. She splayed her toes into the frosty soil and continued to growl. But then, he spoke. "Hardly, miss. It's as natural as anything else out here." Just now realizing he was no threat, Wren slowly lifted her head, standing normally and adjusting her expression to where it seemed less aggressive. The dame huffed with exhausting and fell back onto her rear, tail folding over her paws. She felt guilty. She also felt like a pregnant mother going through moodswings. Wren looked up at him and pushed her ears forward a bit as he addressed himself. "The name's Castiel, by the way." Managing to smile, the chapter tipped her head politely and replied in quite a muted voice. Oh...uh, sorry...about that. I have a headache and I'm really jumpy today. Her softened voice was full of anxiety and guilt. But then she continued. I'm Wren...what makes you think this nasty hell hole-...I mean...place, is like all the others? Ludicael and Abraven are much prettier. She could honestly say this place was the nastiest, creepiest place she's ever encountered. All the areas she'd been to were much nicer and lots more...peaceful. This place was just the aroma of smoke, fallen trees, hardly standing trees, and ashes. Easily she could disagree with this man. She started thinking that anyone could."Speech"

Castiel

The girl's growl was met by a confused gaze on Castiel's part. Had he done something aggressive or threatening? But since she didn't seem about to leap at him, Castiel contented himself with watching her, tail wrapping around his paws as he gazed at the tri colored femme. The stolid male would not have attacked if she had attacked, though he would have defended himself. He did not believe in hurting the weaker, but that did not mean that he was simply going to roll over in the event of an unwarranted attack. Still, she seemed content just to growl and posture, and so Castiel was content to wait it out, allowing her to spend her aggression - and then apologize before he spoke. "It's no problem, miss." Castiel simply shrugged, rolling powerfully muscled shoulders. Wren. Huh. It was a nice enough name, Castiel supposed, though he cared little for it other than as a way to address the female before him. "I am sure that there many prettier places than this, Miss Wren." Castiel twitched his ears, shrugging again, "But this is just a place all the same." Again the large male seemed mostly unconcerned as his golden gaze wandered the area. Lots of dust and ash, yes, but nothing otherwordly - or should he say underwordly? He was almost amused by his slight joke, though he didn't manage to crack a smile. "Are Ludicael and Abaven packs, Miss Wren?" Castiel queried idly, working to swing the conversation perhaps towards the topic of Valhalla, and thus, his family. Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think

Guilt continued to fliter through the tricolor babe as her minty green eyes drifted down to her small paws. One a shadowy obsidian color. The other, a blonde tan color. She pushed her ankles up against eachother and turned her digits outward, before looking back up at this white man. Her inky black lips stretched weakly into a crooked smile as he seemed to accept her apologie- and to continue to be completely polite afterwards. Men like that indeed impressed her, and she'd rather show them a fun time then growl at them from the start. But again, the babe felt evidently ill, and didn't have the strength to be too welcoming. Besides...Bass had already embraced most of her interest. She found him funny, sweet, and- and just attractive. It was hard to explain her feelings most of the time. But either way...the girl was no player. Before the girl could reply to his first lovely song, he continued, suddenly agreeing with her that there are prettier places than this. But he sounded as if he was repeating it. Again the babe's ears flattened back against her firm head, and her paws shifted around the ash-littered soil. Dust roiled into the air and brushed past her cheeks while his question was asked, and once he finished, Wren let out a soft huff. Then replied calmly, Well...I guess your right. She admitted and rolled her shoulders forward, tail folding over her paws slowly. But yeah, Ludicael is my own pack. Abaven is my friend's pack. Then there is Glaciem, Covari, Tortuga, Ebony, Arcanum... The woman paused and thought for a moment. Then quickly added, Oh! And Valhalla. I heard it had recently been taken over by someone. But I don't know who. Wren shrugged her shoulders calmly and casually let a yawn split her maw open, neck craning to the side. "Speech"

He would have answered her comment, but when Castiel heard mentions of packs he found his attention drawn away from anything she'd said previously. He waited, breath held, for her to mention Valhalla. A soft hiss escaped him when she stopped, saying nothing about his homepack. Were they gone, then? And then she continued, speaking of Valhalla, and for a moment, he could feel excitement building, and then it was gone. Taken over? Did that mer someone had challenge for Valhalla? Or had a new Alpha stepped up? What did she mean?? But if she didn't know, there was nothing that Castiel could ask.

Castiel had to force himself to take a few breaths before he spoke. There was no use in him peppering her with questions about his family when she clearly knew little about Valhalla's current state. "Do you know where Valhalla currently makes its home?" His voice was surprisingly even considering the wild swirl of emotions in his mind. "There are many new packs, it seems, Miss Wren." Castiel wasn't sure how many of them were simply new because he had not paid any attention to them when he was a pup, and how many were actually new packs. His father would have known more.

Castiel tilted his head a little, eyeing the multicolored female with vague curiosity. "And what is Ludicael like, miss?" the question fell from his maw with an idle curiosity - he wasn't entirely sure he cared, but he didn't want to seem rude and simply talk about Valhalla for the duration of their conversation.

"Speech"