Áki longed for his reindeer. He had herded them for the first three years of his life, studying their movements and their behaviors. Though he never directly interacted with them - the herds were often far too large, and too dangerous to approach directly - he knew them well enough. The smaller herds were the easiest to understand, and he found he understood them best during the harder months, during the months they fed the best - like the winter, when they broke into smaller groups to forage under the trees. During the spring, clusters of dozens of reindeer would grow to hundreds, and even thousands, as they migrated to give birth in safe numbers and to forage freely.

He missed them. Surely in the north he could find a herd to follow, once the winter hit. Áki lifted his tusked head to the sky, nostrils flaring as he took in the scents that the wind brought him. Winter was coming, that much was obvious. Some wolves dreaded the winter.. it was the time when food was more scarce, when living was hard and dangerous, but Áki longed for the snow to fall once again. In the winter, his manner of living was easier. The reindeer would be hungry and weak, and he could find one whose life was coming to an end. Not only would he end their suffering, but he would give himself life in turn, and so the cycle would continue on. Though he knew he couldn't take down a reindeer himself, unless he found a calf, which was unthinkable to him - it could not be acceptable, not unless the calf was frail or unable to continue on with the herd once spring came.  Perhaps Sabine and Sunniva would be willing to join him on a hunt soon..

He cast his gaze at the range of mountains ahead of him, taking in a sharp breath of the frigid autumn air. The pass between two of the mountains he was facing was clear, though didn't look particularly welcoming. Still, it led further north. His head tilted further to the sky as he gazed at the sun, confirming his northerly-facing position. With that, he would begin his journey toward the mountain, with no clue he might find today, if anyone - but a quiet day of reflection didn't sound bad either, and the morning was indeed serene. Today, he decided, would be a good day.

table by argent/neffs

Note to self: Set in Fenrir's Maw!

The long, easy stride of a wolf used to long travel carried the gray-coated through the rough terrain with ease. Out of his element in the mountains, far more suited to the tundra steppes and pine forests of his childhood, he was nonetheless very comfortable in his own skin and felt no discomfort being away from what he knew most. He was saddened, of course, to have left his home, but the freedom of travel was a joy all of its own.

Mikkal was ready, though, to find the reindeer once more. He missed their scent, missed the clink of tendons on cannon bones as the herd migrated, missed being lulled to sleep at night by the faint sounds of hooves on ground, the soft snorts and huffs of the reindeer as they too, slept. He wondered how the family's herd would fare this winter; he wondered how his own family would fare. But with one less mouth to feed, it should be easier on both his family and the herd.

His ears pricked up at the soft sound of paws on the ground, eyes peering forward down the path towards the wolf approaching him before they suddenly widened. "Vau! Oletko ... Oletko Aki?" He bounded a few steps closer, his eyes trained on the wolf's... unusual dental anomalies. He'd never met his cousin Aki, but how many wolves had tusks? And looked nearly identical to Sunniva and Sabine, who Mikkal had met, quite often since they were his cousins, so it would be more of a stretch to believe that this wolf wasn't their tusked brother, his older cousin Aki Jarvela. "Olen Mikkal! Mikkal Jervala!"

He had met quite a few wolves here that he cared for. They were, probably, the main reason he did not seek to return home. Many were wildly unlike him, their cultures so different than the one he had grown up in. His crimson gaze was locked on the horizon, or what he could see of it between the middle of the two mountains before him.

His attention was captured for a long moment. His nose caught the distant arrival of another, but his mind was busy. Though alert, he didn't tend to the stranger immediately, but instead continued staring toward the pass, serene and thoughtful as he considered what today had in store for him.

He did not expect the voice that greeted him. He hadn't heard his native tongue in quite some time, and immediately his brows would furrow as he spun around to face a man that was... well, very clearly family. Or, a wild coincidence. He bore the look of a Jarvela, plain and simple, and he knew his name, which made him certain.

"Se on,", he answered the boy with a curious grin. "Ja... olet Mikka.", he would repeat his name after he introduced himself gleefully. It was not at all a stretch that he might have cousins he may not have met before, but it was even more intriguing that he'd come to Alacritia. "Tiedän, olenhelppo tunnistaa," he'd joke with a hearty laugh, eyeing the young male with a certain adoration received by few other than family. He moved forward to embrace Mikkal then, briefly but firmly, before pulling away once again..  "Mikä tuo sinut niin kauas etelään? Onko meidän perhe kaipaa minua niin paljon?" He laughed freely again, all in jest; he knew they would never send anyone to find him. If they left, it was always of their own accord, as it had always been and always would be.

It was indeed his older cousin Aki, and Mikkal returned the larger male's embrace with glee. "Kyllä," he said with a mock-solemn nod. "Sinut on suuresti kaipaamaan, kyllä. Tyttö serkut ulvoa surun menetys tulevaisuudestaan perämies. Kuinka kamalaa! Että heimo ei täynnä monia pieniä tusked pentuja tulevina vuosina!" He was referring, of course, not to the literal cousins such as he and Aki, but the scores of unrelated "cousins" of either different families or newly joined. He grinned and winked. "Mutta varmasti teidän gazzi on pitänyt hyvää huolta sinua tässä vieraassa maassa. Näytät hyvin, Aki." ""

While it was not surprising that his cousins had taken on the wandering ways, it was a incredible that this one had found his way here. Perhaps it was simple as things were meant to be - not that he spent too long dwelling on the concept of fate and destiny.

Mikkal joked that the women wailed in grief for their loss of him - he would laugh heartily and freely as they removed from their embrace. Their culture had never stressed the importance of monogomy, though some may choose that life, he most certainly had not.   "Jotenkin ei ole lapsia lähettää takaisin Jarvelas," he teased with a wide grin. "Anna sille muutaman vuoden ja Lupaan ei anna linjamme kuolla pois ." Not that there was a great fear of their family not continuing.

It seemed Mikkal had been raised properly. His grin was in no danger of weakening now. It was not.. uncommon for males back home to have children with women who were not interested in their ways, which was fine, but it was humbling to know he had family like him. "Voin hyvin. Mutta nämä maat ovat hyvin erilaisia. Sudet täällä ovat pehmeitä ja outoja." He'd met wolves considering killing themselves; wolves bound by duty and obligation to parents and to mates. It was definitely a strange world to him, and he wondered if Mikkal had found the same things to be true.