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It had been some time since Rune had ventured beyond his pack's borders to inspect the territories that neighbored his home. With his next litter of puppies due any day and his little mate ready to pop, he had been reluctant to go too far and had stayed close, setting aside those other responsibilities for later when he felt more at ease with the idea. Finally those new little bundles had been welcomed into the world, finally Alamea was resting again, and that meant the waiting game was over. He wanted very much to stay there with them, to be as near as he could to watch and protect them by being at their side, but checking for threats beyond his home lands was just as important as keeping the nosy creatures of the Fern Gulley away from his mate's den.

Trusting his family and pack to keep each other safe, he left the pack lands heading north. Swamps and caves were avoided as he stuck to the more forested sections of the southern region, his calculating, frosty blue gaze alert and searching for any troubles that might be lingering too close for comfort. Aside from the family that had moved in to the south of his, Rune knew nothing of his other pack neighbors and nothing of any other rogues who might have staked a claim nearby. But the quiet was reassuring. He felt himself beginning to relax a little as he wandered, starting to think that when he returned home he would have nothing but assurances to ease the minds of his family, his pack, and himself. It made his trek as he neared the roaring Rio Grande almost enjoyable, but his quick, precise pace never wavered. No matter that he wanted to be sure what surrounded his family was safe, he was still eager to get back to them.

"Speech" thoughts actions ooc. couldn't resist! Hover over speech for translation :) The woman rather enjoyed all of this wandering and exploring. Her brothers whereabouts were known to her, so she worried much less for his safety. Ria was recovering very well, and she was happy about that. The south was a place her brother had wandered in search of her, earlier in their misadventure. This place in particular was quite enjoyable, and she lounged by the river contentedly. Celestial pelt shone, cleaned recently with lavish and attention. Lately she had put thought to the possibility of packs in the area, but nothing else. Maybe it would be smart to visit some, and enquire as to the land itself. Maybe there was something to be learned about these lands, some useful information that could be gleaned from the leaders of the tribes around here. A lazy breeze caught the tresses of her thinned pelt, offering some relief from the blazing heat of the sun overhead. She sighed, mammoth form entirely lax upon the soft terra. What could be better than this? With a stronger tendril of cool air came a scent, strange and yet interesting. Male, with the underlying aroma of many others. Maybe this day could be better. The cosmic goliath would rise to her immense paws, coiled muscles stretching languidly. Jaws would part in a massive yawn, before she shook out her coat and followed the intriguing scent. She would move at a casual pace, though the ground all but quivered with each stride. It wasn't long before she spotted the stranger, a simple grey form upon the verdant backdrop. The natives truly were bland creatures. Crown held high and stance unassuming, she would approach. Maybe today would be the day she met another who spoke her own tongue. Without a doubt in her mind, she was beyond lousy at speaking the common tongue. Couldn't even string a sentence together. It was growing mightily irritating. "Zdravo tamu." Husky lyrics would drawl as she slowed to a stop near the male. His pelt was like granite, though he bore markings more akin to coal. Interesting, but still lacking somewhat. Amethyst eyes would seek to hold the icy pools of the other, wondering what his response might be. Others enquired as to her godly status, which was both flattering and annoying. Though she was vain, being called a deity could simply be a result of her immense frame. Her lineage was ancient, indeed, uncorrupted. Here, she looked to be something from the stars. In her home, that was trivial, not nearly as important as it was in these lands. She waited silently, lowering her crown in the slightest to regard the expression of the strange man. He held himself in a way that spoke of status, it was evident in the lines of his shoulders and the tilt of his head. The galactic titan was raised a mere commoner, but had grown quite haughty in her time here. She was ever curious, to see how he might take her appearance. Would he attack, feeling threatened by the overwhelmingly alien form she possessed? Or fall to his knees in awe, as so many had? Kohl rimmed optics remained guarded, observant.

Walk | Talk | Think

The focused Guardian continued to walk along with purpose, driven by his desire to return home to his family, and only felt himself stray from his task when he realized he was not alone. Someone approached, a large, unafraid someone if their blatant movements said anything about them. And as the individual in question did draw nearer, coming within sight of the grey wolf, Rune understood why. The wolf was massive, taller than Secretua's tallest member though not necessarily the tallest wolf Rune had ever come to meet. He was reminded immediately of the family who now lived to the south of his pack's territory, the familial group who had taken the beach that bordered his home. The deep blue wolf who had met with him on their behalf had been considerably large too, though not nearly as colorful as this individual was.

She approached him directly, leaving no question that she intended to intercept him, and because of it Rune slowed and stopped. Despite standing well beyond the lands over which he reigned, he still held himself with authority, still looked upon this wolf as he would have any stranger who wandered too close to the borders of his home. His brows were knit in a frown, his frosty blue eyes critical, but rather than say something as he would have on his turf she was the first to speak.

He expected some sort of greeting, a friendly word to go along with her seemingly comfortable approach, but the large, colorful wolf said nothing that Rune could have called coherent. To his untrained ears, the phrase she spoke was gibberish, ramblings of a child who was still learning how to make their words, though the look upon her face suggested she had not said something that was made up on the spot. The frown on Rune's face deepened, his natural mistrust growing as he failed to understand she was only trying to communicate as was easiest for her. He only answered her in a blunt, gruff, "What?" that sounded testy and guarded. Was she speaking gibberish or had he simply misunderstood?

"Speech" thoughts actions A look of cold scrutiny would form upon the features of the granite pelted man. With such an expression, her own began to mold into something a little less open. Amethyst optics would narrow in the slightest, any facade of friendliness upon her lips gone in an instant. Resting bitch-face, the chronic disease that plagued her more often than not. She held his stare, and he let out a grunt, with a questioning inflection at the end. Gods above, they were all bloody fucking morons. Was it so hard to learn the tiniest bits of other languages? She was trying her best here, but they weren't even attempting to make learning a new language easy at all. A soft snort would escape her, mildly irritated by the uncouth minds of these natives. The common tongue was still unfamiliar, and she was loathe to use it. "Said, hello." She muttered, low melodies thick as molasses with foreign syllables caught in her throat. Celestial tail tip would flick in annoyance, gaze drifting from the other for a few moments. What had she done to deserve this? Sure, running away from one's own death could be seen as deserving of bad karma, but this was just plain torture. Damn the gods and their infallible minds. "You are tribesman, yes?" She grunted, returning her ethereal look to his dark features. Frosted optics were interesting, but she paid them little mind. Critical amethyst stare would flick over his form again, noting hardened muscle and wary stance. "Leader?" She would offer casually, brow quirking inquisitively. The cosmic goliath was merely interested, maybe she could find something of interest in the mind of this stranger, should she find herself able to pick through it at her leisure soon. It would be nice, to have a better idea of what this place was really like. She had but a ghost of an image now, as helpful as a rock in an avalanche.

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He could see almost immediately that he had misunderstood. Where she had approached him openly and unguarded, all sense of it seemed to vanish as he did not welcome her with the same sort of hospitality. Her defenses rose to settle within the contours of her expression and a new hardness entered her bright eyes, lending her an expression that he had to assume was similar to the one that he wore as he looked at her. It could have gone better, their meeting thus far, but Rune was never one to put on friendly fronts when he was not a naturally friendly being.

With obvious distaste, she tried again, using words now that the Secretuan Guardian could understand without issue. Ah. She had only been greeting him. While it was a relief as it meant she was merely a curious stranger and not a brightly colored demon in disguise, Rune still made no attempt at extending the same sort of courtesy. No, this whole trip had only been to scout and make sure lands were safe, not to wrangle up a new acquaintance. But his apparent distrust did not seem to deter the tall girl. She pressed on by asking about him and his station in the land, picking up on the status that he held and his possible place in this world that she very clearly did not belong to.

He might have been a stony, immovable, stubborn man of few words, but even he was prey to curiosity, and his was currently wondering what his station and status meant to the girl that she would ask about it. "I am," he stated with simplicity, his gruff tone still direct, "My pack is called Secretua." Since she seemed so very new to the area, he doubted she would know anything about his family and pack, but there was no hiding the scent of them on him or the authoritative stance that he could never quite shake, even where it was not warranted. Nor did she openly appear to have intentions of causing potential harm to them either, or at least by first impressions. He hoped dearly that she meant his family no harm; their safety would always be a constant worry for him.

"Speech" thoughts actions It took only moments for the male to prove he understood her speech, thankfully. He grunted that she was correct, adding the name of his tribe. Only, he called it a pack. Was that the name they used for their tribes? Or maybe it was different, like a clan? She would blink at him, but say nothing of it. Her attention would drift toward the landscape, absently scanning over the terrain. She could do with a little further exploration of the area when she was done speaking with this male, of that she was sure. Broad cranium would nod a few times in understanding, humming acknowledgement quietly. Quizzical rosy gaze would flicker back to the granite features of the smaller man. "I can have- er.." She stammered awkwardly, frowning in irritation, talons would flex and dig into the soil. Why couldn't she fucking speak a single sentence? Honestly, it would be so much easier if everyone else spoke her own tongue. "ask, question?" She finished lightly, hesitating. Had she even said that right? At this point, she wasn't even sure. A soft sigh whistled through her nostrils, brows knit together as she plaintively gazed upon the male. She felt like a damned infant all over again, learning a new language without any opportunity to learn it beforehand. Ria was trying to teach her, but it was slow going right now. There was only so much they could do before other things came up, like hunting or moving from their current den site. However, she really couldn't pass up the opportunity to speak to some sort of tribe leader. They had a lot of information to offer her, and it might help her and her misfit group get around these lands without messing up horribly.

Walk | Talk | Think

The Secretuan Guardian was still not entirely sure how to take the stranger who struggled to speak his language. For the most part, she reminded him of a curious pup, but the fact she seemed irked bothered him, particularly because he could not place its source. Was she irked with him, because he was obviously different than her? Or was it something to do with their language barrier? Could it be something else entirely that he had not picked up on yet? It left him a bit on edge, but because she had done nothing to rightfully threaten him Rune tried to remain neutral too. The last thing he wanted to do was cause an incident simply because his paranoia and distrust got the better of him.

She asked, in her broken way, if he would indulge a question of hers, and though he typically liked to keep his information close to his chest where only he could use it he tried to be a bit more generous. He shifted a little to stand more strongly, angling his head as he did so in a puzzling tilt. "What question do you have?" he asked in turn, accepting that he would give an answer, assuming he had one to give.