Walk | Talk | Think   It was not often that Rune stepped beyond the boundary of his home without a purpose. Everything about his life was typically done for something, every action of his made with a specific desired outcome in mind. It was part of what had driven him to build his pack, to create this new and better life for his family. Too many others lost their way, abandoned their responsibility and ownership for their actions, but he was steady. He wanted to see things through to the end, wanted to make his mark so that his family would be protected by it. And walking about willy nilly without a care for his actions was no way to make it happen.  And yet there was no point behind his visit here to the Obsidian Beach. There were no others he intended to meet here, nothing of interest about the place that he wished to visit or inspect. If he was being absolutely honest with himself, he hardly even liked the place, but here he stood on the black, obsidian sands that were washed upon and over by the ocean waves. It was actually rather tolerable here, possibly even more so than his home covered by a thin layer of snow, but still his expression as he stared out at the rolling waves, down either side along the wide stretch of dark beach, was indifferent. This was not a happy, fun-filled venture outside of Secretua. This was just a little detour to check and see how the neighboring territories were faring.  Still far up along the beach with plenty of black sand between him and the shoreline proper, Rune suddenly sat. It was quiet here, peaceful in a sense, and the ocean air seemed to draw something new from him, a freshness that had felt somewhat stifled within the confining Gulley. Allowing the air to clear his mind, to settle his thoughts, his mind wandered aimlessly only for a moment before rounding back to his pack. He could never keep his mind from it for very long.

Kass had escaped the pack lands, still in a agitated state over his confrontation with Helios Olympus and needing to put some distance between the pack he loved and his own tensely wound anxiety. This beach was further than he usually traveled from home, but the long journey and the swift pace had burned off some of the tension. Still he was in clear disquiet as he paced the black sands, his ears to the sides and his tail cricked in apprehension. A scent penetrated the black cloud of angst around the young alpha, and he raised his masked face to regard the still form of another male he'd come unexpectedly close to. Kassander froze midstep, his still-raised paw quivering as he pulled it closer in an unconscious effort to huddle upon himself as he fought with himself in a battle of do-I-continue-on or do-I-run-away. He wasn't sure he had it in him right now to deal with interaction of any form, but he had the reputation of an entire pack resting on his shoulders...

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Walk | Talk | Think   As had been at the forefront of his mind of late, Rune considered his options regarding the impending promotions he needed to make. With a pack as small as his, options were limited, but at least he considered himself lucky to have those who were willing to step up, even if they left the remaining ranks a little more bare for it. Maybe he needed to recruit more, maybe he needed to be a little more friendly around his border. Or maybe he was being too hard on the lot of them and they were fine.  He was still considering it, trying to decide how he felt about it all, when he spotted a somewhat bright spot amid the darkness of the beach. It drew his eye easily, this russet-toned...kid, he realized, though the look that had rooted the young wolf in place, nervously it seemed, made him question whether he had wished to be seen. Which was silly - anything and everything would have stood out here.  Seeing such a look on Kismet's face typically brought about it some sense of triumphant amusement, but there was no such feeling here. Spooking some young kid who he knew nothing about, who held no ties to him and his family, was not nearly as fun as intimidating his daughter's friend. Because of that, he merely sighed, eased any tension that might have been apparent to the nervous youth, and let his frosty blue eyes drift away from his russet frame as if in disinterest. "Not going to bite," he stated a little gruffly, though the overall tone of his voice was still more neutral than was typical.

The figure turned frigid blue eyes his way, evaluating him and for a moment Kass' muzzle worked, trying to force words past the odd blank block of anxiety, but then the gaze turned away. Kass remained frozen, left feeling oddly disconcerted by the sudden removal of the wolf's attention, before the wolf suddenly spoke and Kass jumped. "N-no sir," he stammered in reply. "I - I mean I didn't think you... I mean..." He could swear his ears burned hotly enough to be seen through the white tips. So much for Ebony's reputation resting on his shoulders. He tried to force himself into some semblance of a normal wolf, not this wrecked mess he appeared, but he still could not help but hunch up even as he took a breath in an attempt to steady his voice. "I'm Kassander Xanilov. W-would you mind if I asked your name?"

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Walk | Talk | Think As the poor kid stammered his response, Rune tried not to let his nose wrinkle disappointingly at the boy's state. No, it really was no fun making some unknown youth fearful of him in this manner. And maybe, he considered, in the end it was not so funny when he did it to Kismet either. He felt rather disgruntled now for it, especially since scaring someone had not been his intent. He had not even tried to make himself boldly carry the authority he wielded as a pack leader, which he presumed would only make matters worse at this point. His dark striped tail twitched, his brow furrowed, but he did not bring his eyes back to the russet wolf just yet.  His start was poor, but after a small stop he tried again and finished a little better, at least managing to state his name and ask for Rune's before his nerve could give out. Carrying on a conversation here with a strange youth had not been on his mind when he had wandered this way - though in all honesty nothing had - but now that he found himself in the situation the novelty of it all made him tolerant, patient, and willing to give it a shot. "Rune," was his simple reply, devoid of status or title. No, he was not the Guardian for now. Now he was simply himself.  Speaking to a yearling who was not part of his pack and acted unlike any other yearling he had met or raised. With all of his own children having been outgoing and friendly, seeing one who was so timid was outside the norm for him and he hardly knew of the proper way in which to fix things. If there was anything that could fix it. "You from these parts?" he asked by way of making small talk, something to keep the kid's mind going so that it had less chance to focus on being nervous or uncertain. He was getting better at talking, maybe he just needed an extra nudge.