For a place that seemed to be teeming with wolves, the ivory and charcoal brute hadn't run into many wolves since his arrival. The only two he'd actually had a conversation with were the creamy, clay faced girl, Chrysanthe was her name if memory didn't fail him and the oddly colored fire traced queen whose name he never caught. Since then he hadn't had much luck with starting another meet and greet. All the wolves roaming around seemed to belong in this strange place, to have somewhere where they were needed. They all looked so busy, like if they always had something to do. Cherokee didn't want to bother anyone so he kept to himself, simply observing those around him, wondering what they were up to. He hadn't explored much, not knowing where the pack borders started or ended, preferring to avoid unnecessary conflicts. He still wasn't familiar with the layout of the land but from the bits and pieces that he'd gathered from his observing he'd figured out that the forest he was currently wandering in was dubbed the sparse spines. He could understand why, the limited amount of timbers surrounding him giving away as much. The early morning sun filtered through the tree tops, casting lengthy shadows across the terrain, both obscuring and presenting the brute at once. Dual colored gems flickered back and forth across the quiet landscape, simply taking in the morning. One of many on this new land he was sure. Barely anything stirred as the massive knight quietly strode through, the chirp of a bird quiet in the distance. The usual flurry of wolves was stilled for the time being and yet Cherokee knew it wouldn't last long. As soon as the sun reached beyond the mountain peaks he was sure the activity would start once more. Kissers parted, a quiet sigh slipping through as he padded towards one of the few trees, limbs bringing him to a halt before folding beneath him as he lowered himself beside the trunk. After a while walking got boring. And so did lying down. But it didn't hurt to lounge around for a bit. Limbs were extended before him, placed side by sids as he lowered his crown to rest atop his forepaws, hind limbs tucked beneath him to lie on their side, plume curled lazily around his hind paws, gaze slowly roving his surroundings. Would anyone notice him lying down and want to strike up a conversation? He supposed he would have to wait. Talk like this

Walk | Talk | Think

She had been reluctant for a while to even consider leaving her home, and for good reason. After narrowly escaping the wrath of the mentally unstable wolf who had called himself the brother of Awaken before attacking him and leaving him painfully injured, Mercianne was in absolutely no rush to see the wolf again. He knew where they lived, knew where to find them should their guard ever be let down, and it made her skin crawl. He was out there, somewhere, watching, waiting, and when the moment was right she had every certainty that he would make another strike. He had threatened her once, solely for the fact she had been keeping Awaken company, so who was to say he might not try targeting her again knowing she was his friend? The timid white wolf had waited a time, never venturing too far to the border, before eventually she felt she needed to leave just to prove herself that she could be safe, would be safe, if ever she had reason to step passed those boundaries that marked the edge of the Glaciem.

Still fearful of her life, she padded quietly and cautiously, slow and attentive to everything around her. So nervous, she was practically crawling, her shoulders hunched and her body rounded so as to make herself appear as nonthreatening as she possibly could. Her tail didn't quite lay against her legs, but there was no easy sway to it, nothing to suggest any sense of comfort at all. Even her face, lowered and peering about as if to spot the crazed wolf at any moment, was a worrisome mask of anxiety, her ears indecisive on whether they wished to perk attentively or fold in fear against her skull. Only her dark brown eyes showed any spark of life, but it was mainly just her nerves causing them to jump about as she walked, praying that she might spy anyone in the wood well before they spotted her.

Needless to say, when she came around a lone tree, still turning her head and glancing every which way, the sight of a figure curled up upon the snows at the base of a tree gave her a fright before she had time to register anything about them. Her body reacted before her mind could, jumping in place and spinning her around to face the wolf as she half fell into a frantic crouch. But as her dark brown eyes set themselves at last on the figure, lying there in the snow with no look or intent to harm, not even crouched and poised to strike, she knew she was mistaken. This was not Sixx. She was still safe.

Her heart beat rapidly and practically thundered in her ears, suddenly in need of a second to catch her breath. A sigh slipped from her muzzle as she took a moment to compose herself, closing her eyes as she took in a slow, measured breath and then opened them to regard the stranger. What a mess she must have looked! Jumping merely from spying someone she didn't know when she didn't expect them. Perhaps she should have asked someone to join her when she left. "I'm sorry," she murmured softly, shamefacedly glancing down with her ears tucked back while still attempting to calm her breathing and heart rate. She didn't really feel she had done anything wrong, but panicking as she had seemed an awful way to make introductions. For a half a second she considered tucking her head again and continuing along her way, unsure how to move the conversation now that she had gone and exposed herself as a cowardly, easily spooked creature. Her eyes shifted back toward the direction she had been traveling from, considering how fast she might get back to the border of the Glaciem as she paused to see whether the restful wolf might acknowledge her.

The morning seemed to drag on, the moments blurring into one another to eventually seem like one giant endless circuit. For a place jam-packed with wolves, Cherokee was surprised that he wasn't seeing at least cross his path every so often. Perhaps most of the wolves here belonged to packs and they liked keeping to their own stretch of territory instead of wandering through what he assumed had to be the unclaimed lands. Would he ever become part of a pack? It wasn't something the young man was actively looking for, but if the opportunity came along, he wouldn't deny it. Hardly a sound echoed in the vast landscape, only the quiet chirping of far away birds letting him know that there was indeed life. After a while the onyx and ivory stained knight began to think that perhaps he wouldn't run into anyone and he would pass another lonely day, with nothing but the comfort of his own pawsteps to keep him company. Crown was lifted, muscles contracting as the thought of rising crossed his mind. But before he could lift himself properly, a shuffling from beyond the tree line caught his attention. White green and silver jewels flickered to the source of the noise, noticing a small ivory figure coming around the bend of a tree. Dome cocked curiously to the side as he watched the wolf, it's movements shuffling and unsure. An experimental whiff was taken, realizing that the newcomer was a she-wolf. She smelled strange, like a mixture of her own scent with a hint of others. Did she belong to a pack? He wouldn't doubt it. She didn't move much closer, tucking her head against her chest as she apologized for having been startled. An easy, welcoming smile curled Cherokee's lips as he rose from the ground, shaking his dark pelt before padding towards the smaller woman, stopping at a respectable distance. Hind limbs folded beneath the massive brute as he sat, gaze steady on the shy woman as he spoke. If anyone has to apologize, it is me. I beg your pardon if my presence startled you miss, it was not my intention to. She appeared older than him, maybe by a year or two, so the knight called upon his long-imprinted manners, trying to show her that he meant her no harm. Talk like this

Walk | Talk | Think

To her great relief, he did not seem put off by her less than welcoming behavior, merely smiling at her startling and rising slowly to his feet. Mercianne shifted a little nervously upon her paws, wishing she had decided to stay inside the pack's territory after all. The danger here seemed to be less than what she had anticipated when she had spotted the wolf, but there was no denying a better sense of safety within the Glaciem. But thankfully the stranger's smile was not twisted or malicious. If anything he seemed somewhat amused by her reaction and patient enough to overlook it for the sake of conversation. And so long as he kept the charade up she would be willing to play along.

He surprised her with an apology of his own, assuring her that giving her a start had not been his intent. No, she supposed it wasn't. If she could have made any guess she would have assumed him just to have been enjoying himself there beside the tree, nothing more. And she had come along to disrupt that peace. She couldn't bring herself to smile - not just yet - but she did manage to wag her tail in gratitude, eased by his gentle manner and kindness. All promising qualities to the skittish white wolf.

Needing to say something to fill the silence that she could feel beginning to stretch between them, Merci shifted her paws a little where she stood and glanced downward nervously. "I was just walking through. I didn't expect to see anyone." It felt like a pitiful attempt at conversation, leaving very little for the wolf in question to latch on to and talk about, but it was the best she could muster under the circumstances. She was still nervous by being away from home, made fearful of strangers by the bad encounters she had already had. She let herself claim one small victory in being out there at all by allowing her dark brown eyes to rise and meet Cherokee's timidly before drawing them away, always unwilling to cause a stir by that simplest of gestures.

She was the first wolf he'd run into since that day at the battlefield when he'd stumbled across the lass Chrysanthe with the clay-colored face and the fiery pelted queen. She was a quiet thing, on top of being small in stature. Her pelt was a flawless ivory, untainted by dirt nor patches of any other color. Her eyes were a milk brown, ordinary and plain, not something that would cause people to stare. Though she seemed to struggle with making conversation with him, Cherokee took a quiet liking to the shy woman. She wasn't hostile but then again she wasn't overly friendly. She was somewhere in the middle and the dark knight didn't see anything wrong with that. Though lounging around had been really fun and all, he was glad the ivory maiden had stumbled across him. Conversation with a stranger, a shy one at that, was a welcome change. Cherokee wasn't exactly the talkative type, holding a natural distrust against all others, but he'd arrived in a new land where packs ruled most of it. He needed to get with the program and figure out who was who and what better way than talking. The woman before him showed no signs of possible hostility and even if she did, his size alone would give him the advantage. There was nothing wrong with a simple conversation. He noticed that at his apology she wagged her tail. It was a subtle movement, one to portray friendliness. She obviously wasn't going to warm up to him that quickly but hey, he wasn't necessarily in the market for friends. Her quiet voice broke his thoughts, dual colored gaze flickering her facade as she spoke, watching as she fidgeted before speaking, saying how she hadn't expected to run into anyone. I wasn't really expecting to run into anyone either. I figured I'd be lying around for the rest of the day with only my heartbeat as company, but your arrival is most welcome miss. My name is Cherokee and it's a pleasure to meet you. He spoke in low tones, keeping in mind her shyness, a slight bow of his head presented to the woman as a sign of respect and acknowledgement of her elder age. He hoped she would keep the conversation going. Being alone wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. Talk like this