Nako was proud of his sisters for moving away from where the family had dwelled on the fjord to the south. Anais and Lior were strong headed young ladies compared to the previous year. Before they had lost their parents. His sisters and brothers had moved on noticeably from the deaths of those who had reared them from squirming and wiggling babes beside their mothers stomach into fine adults. Save Espirit. The almost yearling slowly growing out of his quiet shell to participate in hunts. In regards to his sisters again, all four of their brothers followed them until it had been time to part ways when Anais and Lior joined Ebony. Old pack. Old memories. None of it was for him or his brothers. Family mattered, and that is why the group of males had chosen to stick close by to the pack.

Even as he walked amidst the pines Nako was ever mindful that Espirit would need to be fed in a few days. He wasn't to concerned with finding prey. Deer and small game were abundant. Some company would be nice though. A female perhaps. Nako reflected on the night he and Kalliope had joined on the cliffs above the fjord. It had been nice pledging his heart to someone for a bit. But no, Nako wouldn't do that again for some time. To much going on to be tied down caring for a female and her litter should a tryst result in young. Nako sat down, rump planted in the pine needles as he waited for prey to reveal itself to him.

ooc:Sorry for the wait!! <3 Kalliope rarely left the Threar borders these days. Ever since she had decided to join them she had kept to their territory if for no other reason than it was easier to get around in a place that she was familiar with. While she hadn't been a member of the pack for long, she still had worked hard to learn her way around and make herself at home. She still didn't know many of her pack mates, but she was hopeful that it would come in time. However, today she crossed over the pack's border to start exploring the surrounding territories. Her heat had come to visit again and she was trying her best to keep herself distracted from it by exploring. So far it was working, but it took a little effort on her part to do so. She made her way through the trees, carefully moving through them and feeling her way by scent, sound, and touch. Luckily it seemed like many of the trees here were still small and young so even when she did bump into one or brush against them she didn't hurt herself. As she was walking she caught a familiar scent and her ears perked with curious interest. It brought back memories that she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to ponder on right now, but she turned her path toward him all the same. It was one of the very few wolves in Alacritis that she had gotten to have any sort of real conversation, among other things, with since she arrived here so she was intrested to see how he was doing. When she got closer she smiled a little, following his scent to find him easily. She kept a few feet between them, but gave him a friendly smile all the same. "Nako, how weird running into you out here," she commented with a chuckle. She settled down on her haunches and curled her tail neatly around her haunches. Her ears were perked forward toward him attentively as she waited for him to respond. "Talk" "You" Think

Nako tilted his head and adjusted where he sat. Something smelled off. Something familiar. Both in what it signaled and who it belonged to. The males ears flicked as be brought his muzzle around to more thoroughly scent the air for the direction of the owner. Already as the aroma drifted by Nako couldn't help but think of who it belonged to and especially the thoughts that surfaced from what had transpired between them. Kalliope. With but a few words and even fewer minutes knowing one another Nako and Kalliope had shared a fair amount of time between the two of them. The female before him halted a few steps away and smiled, Nako watching her movements. Kalliopes sightless eyes hovering over him as she spoke.

"Kalliope." Nako shifted on his paws and stepped up to take a seat next to her. "It is very strange meeting up out here." His nose quivered at the scent of heat, fighting back the urge to ask if he should tend to it. "So, so what have you been up to? Need help dealing with anything?" A paw gingerly wrapped over her shoulder to hug her close. To let her know with the familiar motion that he was willing to help any way he could.

Kalli listened to the sound of his paws moving against the ground as he came closer to sit next to her and wrapped his leg across her shoulders, much like he had when they had first met and were talking. She didn't resist his touch, but she did feel slightly more guarded than she had the last time. It was only because her heat was making her ponder things she really shouldn't, but all the same she wouldn't try to lean into his touch at all either. She tried not to think too far into the possible double meaning of his question and replied, "No, I'm fine. I recently joined a pack and I've been working on learning my way around the territory. I have the lands within the borders down pretty well, so I'm starting to branch out to the surrounding area." She smiled a little and asked, "What about you? What have you been up to since I've seen you last?" Her head turned toward him a little and her ears stayed tilted in his direction. She wasn't too worried about paying attention and listening to the area around them since Nako was there. She was sure that at the very, very least he would tell her if anything was up so she let him have her whole attention. "Talk" "You" Think

Their pelts mingled as they sat next to each other, Nako giving his paw a slow stroke down her back. His tail curled around his haunches as Kalliope replied, informing him that she had joined a pack and was getting the lay of the land. He wondered, with her traveling, how she must feel about every single step that needed to be considered before it was taken outside of her pack's land. Such as by the fjord where they first met. The cliffs were hazardous even to a regular wolf. With it's slate and chipped shale along the game trails, one miss placed step could certainly send one tumbling down to the river below.

She then matched his question and Nako stared off in the direction he had come from. "I've been minding my sisters as they go about joining a pack." He sighed. "It's proving difficult." The male looked back at his once mate. "It is my hope they find some place where they are happy, that we can guard them with as they do so. Anais was distant before we moved away from the fjord. She comes back smelling that she was in the company of a stranger." Nako's ears splayed back at the thought. "I kind of mind it. It's just that my father told me before he passed that he had prepared my sisters with a talk, made them face some realities about this land we stride around." Nako rested his chin between Kalliope's ears. "I guess we went through the same thing when we first met." His paw brushed back up her spine to rest again by her shoulders. "Did you ever mind it? Remembering what we did?" Nako asked. Realities as a rogue needed to be faced. If further interactions with Kalliope would be frequent or scarce. Tied down to a pack or not if she was wanting at a later date and a litter was the product of such actions. But not today. Kalliope said no and that was fine with Nako as he sat next to his once mate.