Liviana padded over to the edge of the lake, her paws barely touching the edge of the water and the sand slipping between her toes. She had been out this way a few times, mostly just because she was able to get out of the pack lands for a little bit and stretch her legs. Her tail flicked behind her before she settled back onto her haunches. She still wasn't used to being alone so often. In her old home it seemed like one of her family was always there, always watching. It was both incredibly lonely and freeing at the same time. She sighed and pawed at the surface of the water, sending droplets flying and creating a series of ripples in front of her. The sun was slowly beginning to set and she was going to start heading home, but she stopped herself. She knew this place lit up at night and it wasn't that often that she let herself indulge in those kinds of things, but she was going to tonight. What did she have to lose really? It wasn't like she had anyone waiting on her to come home. Her tail curled around her haunches and she looked up at the sky, watching the blue fade into pinks and purples around her, noticing a particular cloud that was drifting by that took on a similar hue of lilac as her eyes. "SPEAK"

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*Home turf, Firefly lake*

Said all I want from you is to see you tomorrow and every tomorrow, maybe you’ll let me borrow your heart They had decided to hang out close to the lake while they grew accustom to the area, and for his lungs to acclimatize to the dryness here. As much as Phantom didn't want to leave him, they both needed something to eat. After much discussing, he agreed to stay hunkered down in the cattails. He let out a sigh as he waited, his head on his paws as he gazed out at the lake and the shifting colours that painted the skies. As he looked at the deep purples and blues that took over the pale colour that once ruled the skies, he wondered if his mother was looking up at the same sky. Did she ever look at the moon and wonder if he was looking at that moment as well? An intense wave of homesickness made his belly turn into a tight knot. He could only assume that his father had passed on from the sickness that plagued him, he had been worse for wear when Eniko was forced to leave his homeland with Phantom. How were his sisters fairing, with their brother in charge? Was he cruel to them now that he had the power that he had been so desperate for? Lifting his head, he ripped his gaze to the sky and looked around for his guard and best friend. He didn't see the German shepherd anywhere, and he urged him on with his thoughts. Eniko didn't feel like being alone right now, and he was the only family he had left. Seeing a silhouette against the setting sun, he stirred from his bed and peeked out between the reeds. It was not Phantom that he saw though, but a strange female looking up at the sky. How had he not heard her approach? He cursed at his own stupidness, for tuning out the world with thoughts of his family. He was raised to be civil, but his guard would air him on the more cautious side when he was not around. He did not know the wolves of these lands, how how they may act. Deciding to take a risk -- or do something before she spotted him nested down like a duck -- Eniko pulled himself to his paws with a soft wheeze. Pushing out of the cattails, he cleared his throat before bowing to the lady. The prince's left front leg lifted up as his head lowered in his form of greeting, before he stood on all fours. His half a tail gave a few wags, and on his face was a pleasant smile. "Greetings m'lady," he said in a kind voice, testing to see if his lungs would work for now. Eniko was nothing if not kind, but there was hardly any emotion showing through in his yellow eyes. Having been raised in royalty, he knew just how to act and to keep his emotions out of it. There was a touch of an accent in his words, but nothing too bad. Just a slightly different way of speaking, but nothing that stood out like a sore thumb. So far his lungs were behaving, so he went on after a slight pause. "I apologize for sneaking up on you, but that was far from my intentions. I was resting when I saw you come near, and I really am sorry if I frightened you," There was no doubt that he was a proper lad, it was easy to tell from the manner of his speech. And is it too much to ask for every Sunday while we at it throw in every other day to start "SPEAK"

Liviana's ears twitched at the sound of someone clearing their throat near her and she looked toward the noise calmly with one brow raised curiously. Both brows pulled up in surprise though when her lavender gaze landed on a spotted male bowing to her in a strangely proper way. Her eyes ran over him, quickly sizing him up while he stood and gave her a greeting. "Greetings m'lady." She was immediately intrigued if nothing else by this wolf that looked more like a fawn of a white-tailed deer than a wolf that had the mannerisms of a proper little prince. She hadn't heard anyone speak with such proper terms and cadence since her grandfather and her father to a certain extent. Very little of it had transferred to herself and her siblings unless they were acting on pack business. "Good evening," she replied as she stood and turned to face him, giving him a small dip of her head in return. He extensively apologized for sneaking up on her and for "frightening" her and she couldn't help but laugh softly. "Oh no no, you didn't scare me. Not to worry about that." She had yet to encounter anything in these lands that scared her. It wasn't like she had the remnants of packs her family had destroyed trying to hunt her down around here. "I'm Liviana by the way. Or Livi, whichever you prefer." Her tail flicked behind her and her head tipped to the side slightly with curiosity while she continued to watch him. "What's your name, little deer?" "SPEAK"

Art by Evelyn

Said all I want from you is to see you tomorrow and every tomorrow, maybe you’ll let me borrow your heart He was pleased to see that she hadn't been frightened from his sudden approach, but his face showed very little of the emotion. Her head dipped simply in return, and he was almost shocked not to see her bow in reply. Eniko had to take a bit of an inhale, remembering that he wasn't back home anymore. This woman knew nothing of his rank and stature, and perhaps the way that these lands were ruled was quite different. Taking it one step forward, she stated her name and said that he could call her Livi. But why would be butcher such a stunning name like Liviana? "It's a pleasure, Lady Liviana," His muzzle dipped downward slightly, his yellow gaze not drifting far from her sapphire gaze. It was rude to inspect a lady so openly, but her soft eye markings contrasted against her darker brown body drew his attention for a moment. When she spoke again though, they quickly met her gaze once more. When her little nickname was heard, his chest expanded as he took a deep breath in -- as deep as his tortured lungs would allow -- and his lips pulled down into a frown. He was not a little deer, she was only a few inches taller than he was. The spotted male paused for a moment to keep his emotion off of his face, although his displeasure at the name was clear from his silence. "I am P-," he stopped, ears twitching as he corrected himself. "Eniko, I'm Eniko," He had to stop himself from tacking on his whole royal name, it was more than a mouthful and perhaps something that didn't belong here. Choosing to ignore her little deer comment, he turned his head to look back up at the dying sky. His body didn't turn, only his upper body shifting shifting to catch the last of the pinks that faded into the deeper blues and purples. Before long, the sun would disappear for the night and the fireflies would light up the area like stars that had fallen to the earth. But he didn't forget about his guest, turning back to find those bright blue eyes. She was the first wolf that the outsider had met, and a curiosity about the world that they had come to. "Would you mind if I asked you some questions about this area?" He asked, rocking back on his haunches. And is it too much to ask for every Sunday while we at it throw in every other day to start "SPEAK"

Livi spotted his frown at her nickname for him and her lips tugged up with a smirk, doing her best not to openly chuckle at his irritation. It seemed like she had already found a soft spot to poke fun at, not that she wanted to drive away one of the only wolves she had seen in a long time that wasn't a member of Abaven. She let the little deer comment drop for now, at least until she could feel out whether he had a sense of humor or not. He finally broke his annoyed silence to introduce himself and one of her brows lifted again when he started to introduce himself one way only to stop himself and say that his name was Eniko. What secrets was this little deer hiding? He was quite the mystery with his carefully chosen words and royal mannerisms. Certainly more than enough mystery to keep her interested and keep her standing there while he looked up at the sky for a moment. She settled on her haunches as well, her tail curling around her as she sat neatly across from him. At his question she gave him a slight smile and a nod. "I do not mind answering your questions... As long as you don't mind me asking questions about you in return." She gave him a grin and chuckled. "I'll let you pass on a question if it's too prying, but I'm just too curious about you. Your mannerisms remind me so much of my grandfather." She shrugged a little, trying not to linger on thoughts of her family too much. "But yes, go ahead. Ask away." "SPEAK"

Art by Evelyn

Said all I want from you is to see you tomorrow and every tomorrow, maybe you’ll let me borrow your heart He did not miss the way that her smile grew when she noticed his frown at her little nickname. He wanted to ask her not to call him that again, but he had an odd feeling that she would. His gaze stayed narrowed on her brown features, she seemed all too excited to see how displeased he was. Was this woman one that picked up on a sore spot and kept poking until it bruised. He had to be careful on what he said around her then, not that he already wasn’t. The wolves of this world were a mystery, but women were always such. He would play these games with his sisters, he knew most of their rules -- but if there was one thing that he learned it was that the rules never stayed the same. A constant dance is what conversing with a wolf of the opposite sex was, and he was ill prepared for this one. He suddenly longed for Phantom, often the voice of reason when he ever lost his way. But Eniko was on his own, and he was fairly certain that he would be able to hold his own against miss Liviana. The lady settled herself down as well, their positions almost squared off from one another. She said that she would answer questions for him, but there was a catch; something that happened often with females. So there were things that she wanted out of him as well? His already guarded expression became more so, but he gave her a curt nod. A question for a question was a fair enough trade, and she gave him an exit clause as well. If it was too much for him to answer, he was allowed to pass. "Shall we say one for one then? Keep it fair, yes?" He was curious as to her her grandfather was, but he pushed away the personal inquiries for now. If he spoke like himself, he wondered if this lady came from royal blood as well. But that was not what he wanted to know, the whole area around him was unknown and it wasn’t something that he liked very much. "How large is this area as a whole?" He wasn’t sure if it was a large island or a continent in and of itself. Would it take days to explore, or months? He tried to keep his question broad enough that she might even toss in the name of the area, but since they would be asking one question at a time he couldn’t very well ask it outright. Besides, he didn’t want to ruin all his questions on simple things. And is it too much to ask for every Sunday while we at it throw in every other day to start "SPEAK"

Liviana gave a little nod of agreement to his proposition of keeping their questions one-for-one. That did indeed seem pretty fair. His first question was fairly general, but she wasn't entirely sure how to answer it. She certainly hadn't seen every inch of this land mass that she called home and if the stories she had heard were to be believed she probably never would. "Well, it depends what you mean. This lake and the area around it isn't too huge, but the continent as a whole is pretty large. It can take several days to cross it if you're not stopping long to rest as you go. I've never been to it, but I've heard there is another continent almost as large that you can reach by crossing a thin land bridge as well so if you want to count that you can double that. I honestly haven't lived on this continent all that long in the scheme of things. I've been here... maybe a year now? If that." She knew that wasn't exactly part of an answer to his question, but she felt the need to give a little explanation behind her lack of knowledge. With his question out of the way she hummed thoughtfully while she decided what she wanted to ask him first. "Well you're clearly not from here either, so where are you from?" she finally asked. She figured that was a safe question to start with. "SPEAK"

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Said all I want from you is to see you tomorrow and every tomorrow, maybe you’ll let me borrow your heart Her question had been far more in depth than he was ever expecting, but it seemed like his plan had worked. He nodded slowly along with her words, his eyes growing wide as she described just how large this area was. He didn't get a name like he had hoped, but he stored that one away for now. It was quite a simple one to ask, and he didn't want to waste either of their time. It would seem that if he wanted to see all the lands here, it would take quite some time. The kingdom wasn't nearly as large as this new place, with two continents attached with a land bridge. Eniko had never heard of something like that, it wasn't like his home had been small. He hummed thoughtfully, and then waited for her question to come. Lady Liviana started off simple enough, or so she thought. A tiny sigh passed through his lips, almost soft enough to be mistaken as a huff. While he wanted to ask her first where she came from, as she stated it was not here, he knew that he couldn't deny her question. Falling silent for a moment, he wondered just how much he should divulge into his tale. Eying her with those cautious yellow pools, a small smile touched his lips. But he couldn't look at her for long, not while he thought of home. Looking up at the stars again, he shifted so that he faced the lake. The sun finally dipped down fully, and the fireflies had started to swim around them. Pools of yellow green light drenched his coat in colour as he gazed up, his eyes closing for a moment. "My kingdom is about a months walk from this land of yours, or newly yours," he said, peeking at her with a hint of a smile on his lips. "It is not as large as you say this area is, but it was big enough," Eniko paused, his half-length tail twitching slightly on the soft ground. A certain firefly caught his eye, landing on a cattail near them. His head tilted as he watched it, a faraway look crossing his features. He missed home so desperately, and he wished that his brother would back off and let him come back. But no, he wanted him dead just so that he could seat himself in power. His lips twitched, a rough half growl rumbling in his throat. It almost sounded like he was clearing his throat, almost. Sighing, he turned back and looked to the chocolate lady. He was caught off guard by the way her sapphire eyes danced in the light of the bugs, and he blinked for a few seconds before moving on like nothing had happened. "I grew up there, but hopefully this place will hold more adventures for us," The spotted wolf didn't even realize that he had said 'us', it had been him and Phantom for so long now that it was an automatic response. It was his turn for a question now, and he watched the fragmented light on the lake as he thought. It only took a few moments, and he very quickly discovered his next question. "How are these lands governed?" For such a large place, he doubted that there was just one family in power. That, or there were some very strict rules put in place. But with that Lady Liviana had said, he highly doubted it. And is it too much to ask for every Sunday while we at it throw in every other day to start "SPEAK"

She was glad that he seemed satisfied by his answer, perhaps even a bit surprised by it. She knew she had been surprised by how large this land was when she had first arrived so if he hadn't seemed a bit surprised by it she'd have even more questions about the land he was from. Her own homeland hadn't been tiny by any means, but she was sure it was still a fraction of the size of this place. A lightning bug drifted past her nose and her eyes followed it for a moment before she heard him huff, or perhaps sigh, and her eyes came back to him. She thought that her question had been a simple one, but it seemed perhaps that she had touched on something a bit deeper for him. He didn't answer right away and she could only watch him curiously while he shifted and stared up at the stars. Her eyes drifted down his back while she waited for him to speak now that she was able to see his unusual markings a bit better with his slight shift in position. The light from the bugs and stars made the white spots stand out even more so against the darker brown. She wouldn't have long to examine them though. He finally spoke and her lilac gaze got pulled back up toward his. He seemed wistful as he spoke of his far off homeland. Him calling it his kingdom didn't slip past her and it only made her more curious. If it was really his kingdom then it offered a bit of explanation for his proper mannerisms and speaking. Her brows raised as she watched him stare off into nothing and heard a short growl pass his lips. She expected a bit more explanation when he turned toward her once again, but instead he stared at her for a moment and then just brushed the whole odd behavior aside to comment on how they might have more adventures ahead of them here. Liviana wanted to immediately ask more questions about his home, but she had to restrain herself since she knew that it was his turn to ask a question. His question wasn't so much surprising in its content, but more so in its wording. She had never heard of a whole land being governed. Even her own home had been broken up into packs like this one was. "Well, there is packs scattered around here and there. Each one has a different alpha and a different set of rules. At least that' what I've gathered from my interactions with them. Each pack has their own territory, but much of the continent is open and free to use as you please. Like this lake for example. My pack's lands are just over there-" she said as she motioned with her head toward the direction she had come from. "Most of the packs seem fairly.... friendly toward each other. Which is strange for me, but no one else here seems to have concerns over it." She was trying not to answer questions about herself that he hadn't even asked in her answers, but it was hard. She wanted to ask more about his kingdom, but at the same time she didn't want to send him into another thoughtful daze. She decided to just go with her assumption that he had ruled the place he was speaking of and move on for now. Instead she fixed her thoughts on the 'us' he had used when he talked about adventures here. "So there's someone with you then?" She didn't see anyone else around, but maybe they were just gone for the moment. "SPEAK"

Art by Evelyn

He didn't mean to be gone for so long, but finding something that he could take down himself and could still feed the two of them would be difficult. He'd passed by a few rabbits on his journey north of the lake in an effort to save his energy for something more substantial, but as he wandered more and more he began to regret his decision. Like Eniko, his thoughts drifted back to times when things had been so much easier. Like when they had a pack to hunt with and ensure that they remained well fed. Knowing now that he had to rely on himself to find their meals worried him slightly, but he was sure that he would get it done. By whatever means.

He wandered until he came across a series of hills. The climate was dry and left the grass yellowed, but he could only imagine the beauty they could hold in the lush of spring. While he was admiring their slopes, it was coming over a hill that he encountered a small herd of bighorn sheep and he immediately dropped his body so that he would not be noticed. Dancing with them alone was one of the last things he wanted to do, knowing well that the horns that they carried were not just for show, but the appetizing look of the lambs within the herd made him unable to change course. He needed to try.

He watched them there through blades of grass and studied what each of them were doing. So far he could only identify ewes, but it was hard to tell since all of them carried horns regardless of sex. The lot of them were resting, though there was one grazing mother hovering dangerously close to him with her lamb. He kept his eyes on her and waited for the other ewes around her to distance themselves, one by one they were returning to the bulk of the herd until it came time for the closest mother to return as well. She lifted her head and flicked an ear and for a moment he thought he'd been spotted. He held his breath and lowered his head, remaining as quiet as possible until she turned and began to walk back to the herd, her lamb toddling around for a moment.

It was that moment that Phantom emerged from hiding and took off down the hill at full speed. His jowls swung wide and he knew he didn't have much time before the mother would turn around, the bleats of the lamb already alerting her. He didn't have time to kill the lamb, only to grab it and pick it up with all his strength and run. He could feel his grip slipping around the lamb in his haste and he was forced to slow down and readjust it in his mouth, it's kicking limbs making that quite difficult. He heard the pounding of hooves draw closer and closer to him and he could only imagine that the mother was charging his way. He picked up the lamb again and started to run, but the mother managed to clip his tail with a force that made his ears shoot down. He'd managed to avoid the charge, and his tail would be fine but he could tell that if that had been his hips, he would not be able to stand and run quick enough to get away with the lamb.

He continued the chase for some time, carrying the lamb and pushing the limits of his stamina until finally the mother gave up and returned to the herd before he led her too far out away from them. He slowed and eventually stopped and dropped the lamb that was now in shock, setting a heavy paw on it as his chest heaved quickly in a series of hard pants. He watched until the mother was out of sight and then lowered his head and ended the life of the lamb, then laid beside it long enough to regain his strength. That had been a vigorous chase and he could barely believe that he made it out without injury, and all for a little lamb that would barely keep them fed. He sighed at the thought and forced himself to lift to his feet and pick up their meal. At least they would eat and not starve.

He was nearing the lake when he smelled the scent of a stranger, and it wasn't long before he saw her. His hackles prickled as he worried for Eniko out of reaction, but he then noticed the prince, as well. He dropped the lamb and looked between the two of them, noting that there was no hostility but now instead of worry there was a bit of jealousy that washed over the shepherd, not that he'd ever let it show. He twitched an ear, "What is this?" The correct question would have been who is this, but given his current state.. he was prone to error.

Said all I want from you is to see you tomorrow and every tomorrow, maybe you’ll let me borrow your heart His eyes held fast to her gaze as she spoke of there being several different packs, all with their own set of rules. Confusion was clear in his usually stoic face, blinking slowly as his head tilting to the side. A whole different way of ruling, all spread out through the land? Her answer only left him with more questions, and he hummed as he followed the path of one of the fireflies. It was so odd, and nothing that he had ever heard of happening before. There was no other kingdoms around his own, no competition for the land or the prey. Just loners that refused to follow his father, but they were easily suppressed with their knights. But they were all friendly to each other? But how? With different ways of ruling, would there not be an opposition to the way that they were run? This was just all too much, and Eniko found himself shaking his head. It was simply too much to process, he just couldn’t wrap his mind around how this all worked out. Maybe one time he could meet one of these alphas and speak to them about it. It was so different, but obviously it had been working out for them so far. Deciding to just move on, he looked back at Lady Liviana as she asked if someone was with him. His maw parted to explain when lo and behold, Phantom showed up. His jaws snapped together as an easy smile tugged his lips upward, a small chuckle following. "’Speak of the devil and there he shall appear’, is that not what is said?" he asked the woman, before turning to the shepherd. But as the question left Phantom’s mouth, his brows knit together. He had not missed the twitch of his ear, or the way that he asked what this was and not who. "Phantom, that is no way to speak to a lady. This is Lady Liviana," he said, gesturing to the chocolate woman with a single raised paw. He was disappointed in how the dog was handling himself, it wasn’t like him at all. Was he just worried because he was speaking to a stranger in a land that was mostly unknown to them? He didn’t know, but everything made his chest contract with the sudden surge of emotions. He turned his head to cough slightly, successfully hiding the wheeze that almost pressed through his tight lips. Raising his head once again, he looked between wolf and dog. "Lady Liviana, this is my..." he paused, looking at Phantom. How should he be introducing him? As his guard? He didn’t want to come off as weak, so flicking his attention back to the lady before him he settled on something. "companion, Phantom." Eniko let out a soft sigh, rolling his shoulders slightly as he tried to take deeper breaths. His lungs were trying to ruin everything for him, but he wouldn’t take it. Clearing his throat, he quickly tried to move on. "Lady Liviana is helping me learn about this land, and you interrupted me before I could ask my question. It’s only fair, as you answered her last question with your entrance," His laugh was muffled, slightly strained. His face remained stony, he wouldn’t give away the panic that was fluttering in his chest. Of course his asthma waited until now to act up. His tail tip twitched, his ears pulling back slightly. He cleared his throat once again, trying to remember what he had wanted to ask her next. Oh yes, she had mentioned a grandfather that spoke like him. "You said I reminded you of your grandfather. Was he of royal blood?" They learned about other kingdoms in his history studies, but he was never sure if they were just tall tales. And is it too much to ask for every Sunday while we at it throw in every other day to start "SPEAK"

Moments after the question left her lips she heard someone approaching them and she glanced over to see a tri-colored man dragging a lamb toward them. She looked back to Eniko to see if it was someone he knew and sure enough it seemed that he did. She looked toward the other man to give him a slight smile- that was until he asked what this was. She frowned slightly and her ear gave an irritated flick. Well, it seemed that Eniko's manners hadn't quite rubbed off on his friend. Before she could say anything Eniko spoke up instead, calling her Lady Liviana. She looked toward the spotted man with a small smirk. She wasn't used to being called a lady like that, like it was a regal title, but she couldn't say that it wasn't flattering in a strange way. He introduced his companion and she looked toward the other male briefly, giving him a small nod and saying, "Hello, Phantom." She couldn't quite put her paw on it, but Phantom didn't quite look like a normal wolf. She had never seen or known of a dog before so she didn't know the term for it. She felt like it was rude to ask though so she left it be. She noticed Eniko's slight strain in his breathing, but she didn't want to draw attention to it and ask if he was okay. Weaknesses were not taken lightly where she was from and she was quite enjoying her time talking with the man across from her. She didn't want to risk embarrassing him. Instead she focused on his question and put her attention toward answering it. "Well, in a way, I suppose... We never really considered ourselves "royals" or had any titles other than the alpha. My family led the largest pack in my homeland for generations and my grandparents were very traditional in their ways. Some of it filtered down to my father and to me and my siblings, but it's become diluted over time I guess." A soft, sarcastic chuckle broke up her speech, her lilac gaze glancing out over the water beside them. "Well, some things stayed true anyway. They were pretty particular about having a male heir. That was the only tradition my father was a stickler about. I assume they're still ruling it. I wouldn't know." She paused for a moment, her ears flicking as she thought about her father. So set in his ways yet always breaking the rules. A sigh passed through her nose and she pulled her gaze back toward Eniko again. "Anyway," she began, giving him a slight smile. "Back to you, hm? How'd you and your friend here end up here?" "SPEAK"

Art by Evelyn

He'd caught himself and his lack of manners before Eniko had, though it was understandable to him as to why. He was wary of outsiders for good reason, Phantom didn't suspect the prince's brother to let go of them so loosely. He knew someone would be seeking them out eventually, as Eniko's brother would not allow a possible threat to his claim over the throne run free without his knowledge. Still, when Eniko's words scolded him for the way he spoke, his ears went back and he bowed his head respectfully to the fawn marked man. He remained quiet and observant, his eyes lingering over to the woman as Eniko took to introducing him.

'Lady Liviana, this is my...'

Phantom's eyes went wide for a second as he looked over to Eniko, though he quickly collected himself and returned to a neutral stare before his eyes fully reached the man. What was that pause for.. surely he was not going to refer to him as his royal guard? Not here, this wasn't the place.. they needed to keep a low profile, but Eniko knew that. A flutter in his stomach nearly made his heart jump out of his chest.. hmm.. was Eniko pausing for another reason?

When the words finally came, Phantom smiled as his skull turned to return to facing Liviana, though the smile didn't seem to transfer with his stare. He gave a nod of respect as she greeted him, "A pleasure, my lady." His words were eloquent despite his intrusion though he returned his attention to the lamb at his feet, an ear flicking to show that he was still paying attention to their exchange of words as he worked his teeth into the fur of the lamb and did his best at pulling enough flesh back to expose the muscles beneath. He wasn't actually eating yet, but rather.. preparing the meal for easier consumption.

He looked up as Eniko spoke of him interrupting and he flicked his ear again, "My apologies." There was an irritated tone in the Shepherd's words though he said nothing of it. The grump simply returned to his work and let the two talk in peace until Liviana posed her question. It caused him to pause for a second, his icy stare flashing to Eniko as he worried inwardly about what the man would say. Not to draw attention to himself, he remained quiet and continued down the body of the lamb, mincing and pulling wool from the carcass.

Said all I want from you is to see you tomorrow and every tomorrow, maybe you’ll let me borrow your heart He watched both the wolf and the dog with a steely face, but he was struggling internally. He could feel the contractions in his chest, and he knew that he needed a good cough to clear them. But he didn't want to do so in front of this lady, a stranger still at this point. He wheezed softly as he sucked a breath between clenched jaws, but his features showed nothing of this. He was so used to hiding his condition now that it was pretty easy to not react outwardly to it. Eniko remained calm as he just focused on his breathing for a moment, turning to Liviana as she posed her next question. Ah, that was a bit of a more difficult one to answer. He peeked towards Phantom, seeing the worried glance that he tossed his way. He knew that his guard was concerned that she was a spy for his brother, they weren't sure if they would ever be safe. "Well, we pretty much walked until we couldn't go any further. We came upon the shore here and decided to check it out," he said calmly, glancing at the pale shepherd out of the corner of his eye to see if that was an acceptable enough answer. He was tempted to say that they got here by walking, but sarcasm wasn't really the best way to treat a well behaved woman like the one in front of him. Coughing ever so slightly, he forced a pleasant smile on his maw. When it was his turn to ask a question, he fell silent to mull over his options. He needed to control his breathing before his words came out forced, so he turned to look at the fireflies dancing across the lake. What to ask now? Taking a subtly large breath, he cleared his throat before gazing back at her. "I can't think of much else, so I am going to turn that question to you. How did you come here?" His voice was noticeably a bit more hoarse, and he mentally cursed himself. His ears flicked back slightly as his eyes shifted towards Phantom. He was trying to keep it from him as well, but the canine was very good and picking up everything about him no matter now subtle he tried to be. And is it too much to ask for every Sunday while we at it throw in every other day to start "SPEAK"