She felt as if her paws were about to freeze off her body. It was a rare joy when she found warmth, and as she traveled farther and farther away from home, she began to lose hope that she would ever be able to feel again. Sure, this terrain was home, but it was all so... bland. There wasn't much change in the overall gist of appearances. Mountains, snow - to say it was rather boring and that she craved some sort of interaction was an understatement. But she knew, as Scout continuously told her when she was losing hope, that she would see her siblings again. He was a rather persistent owl and sometimes she found herself feeling guilty of keeping him away from his own kind. Briar looked up at the white shape that fluttered effortlessly in the cold, grey sky. No, despite being a different species entirely, her family was the only family he had ever known. "You see anything?" She called, her voice holding a tired undertone. They had been walking for hours, their entire journey had taken them months. Briar wondered briefly if this was how her life would simply be, no story that she could tell others one day, just wandering aimlessly in a specific direction despite Scout telling her that 'they had to keep going' and 'they'd make it eventually.' At times she even forgot where she was going, exactly. She trusted the owl but she knew that he hadn't been away from the mountains either, and she could tell he was tired. Instead of flapping his wings, he sorta just glided; and yet, it was absolutely elegant even in the simplest mannerisms. Despite answering her like he normally did, he remained silent. The best thing to do when you were lost was following a water source and that's exactly what they had done. The girl physically perked up, ears pivoting forward as the sound of her companion became higher pitched; excitement. Two simple phrases. "Up ahead. Look." Relief. She would have laughed a year ago if someone told her that she would get emotional from a few words. She had thought the towering wall in the distance was a joke her brain had made up to entertain her. But no, it was real - it wasn't a weirdly shaped mountain. The river had led them somewhere. Her tail whipped behind her as she picked up her pace, exhaustion was something she pushed to the pack of her mind as they neared the walls. The snow drifted from existence and, with a visible and audible breath, she looked up in amazement. Relics. So absolutely colossal and made so long ago - no, these were not wolven-made. "You think it's a sign?" She murmured in amusement towards the snowy owl as he perched upon the top of a worn, craggy brick. He simply began to preen his feathers as she examined The Wall. "Briar speaks" "Scout speaks"

Scouting the north was fun and all, but Orion figured he had gone far enough. He'd spend some time in this last place and then perhaps turn south for a while. It wouldn't be the worst thing to find himself in a warmer climate before winter set in. Depending on how severe the season was perhaps he would return, but for now, he felt as if he had exhausted his curiosity. There was more he would have to familiarize himself with, and he had yet to pick up any scent of Jup or Aerndis, even near their old home. Why not check elsewhere? The thing was, he'd noticed something strange up in the distance. He had vague memories of this place, but had never explored it properly. The Wall. His tail plumed over his back as he picked up his gait, ears upright and eager. This would be a good send off from the north, right? Hopefully he'd find at least something interesting. The structure was strange. No one had ever been able to tell him where it had come from exactly, and while it seemed to make sense that it was likely the same creatures who had left all manner of strange relics behind scattered throughout the lands. Orion preferred to believe it was really a race of extinct giant wolves who were able to move stones as easily as he moved pebbles. But, regardless. He had been walking a ways when a dark figure ahead caught his eye. He froze, but a moment later realized that it was definitely another wolf. There also appeared to be a bird who had spotted the wolf as well, and seemed to be sticking around. Huh. Weird. Oh well, none of his business. He trotted forwards a ways to close the gap, but slowed to a walk so he didn't startle them. Her, he guessed, as he got closer. Her coat was darker than his and also less... vibrant. She also looked to be a bit smaller than he was, but most wolves were. He called out when he believed he was close enough to hear her, but kept a ways away unless she was skittish. Or crazy. Either. "Hey! Weird place, right? Do you live around here?" Maybe if she did she'd be able to explain it better than his guesses. He was still holding out for giant wolves, and he would take an 'I'm not sure' as partial confirmation. Never hurt to try. "Talk" "Listen" Think

Scout had spotted the wolf far before she had even become aware that they weren't alone. She had been inspecting the moss and snow and all the other things that made up The Wall, her eyes alighted with curiosity and wonder strong enough to compete against a child's. This was by far the strangest wonders of the past she had encountered and one she would no doubt keep in her memory. "Briar-" She pivoted an ear towards her friend before finally letting her purple gaze meet his powdery white feathered adornment, confusion clouding her expression. "Oh hush, Old Owl," Couldn't she admire the intricacies and the first thing she had seen that wasn't snow for once? It was always humorous to see his reaction to her words, "Old? You take that back right now-" She rolled her eyes, turning away from him with a shrug of her shoulders. The Wall seemed to go on for miles - the dark girl couldn't help but wonder what the Two Legged Giants had been trying to keep out so long ago. The Two Legged Giants had always been claimed to be folk-lore, but at the very least, most everyone was aware something came before them. From what she could see, at least, there wasn't any entrance to pass through. "It's a term of endearment," She mused, closing her eyes as she completely turned towards the approaching wolf, unsuspectingly. Her eyes snapped open at the voice and she immediately stiffened, a scowl forming on her mouth as she felt Scout land on her shoulder and utter something about 'if they just listened we wouldn't have this problem'. Of course, she tuned him out. "Hey! Weird place, right? Do you live around here?" Her tail slowed down a bit, but it remained in a slow wave. "I think it's actually beautiful," She called back over the distance, "No I don't, my companion and I are just passing through. Trying to find some family members." As he got closer, she reclined into a seated position - finally, she could rest for a moment. "Briar speaks" "Scout speaks"

The shewolf seemed a bit startled by his sudden appearance, but that was hardly a surprise to him. It was the reaction Orion usually got, given his coat and the fangs peeking out from his upper lip. He quirked his head to the side, waiting to see if she would flee or even attack, but she seemed to smooth herself out rather quickly. The bird from before, a white owl he noted, landed on her back. "I think it's actually beautiful," she replied, and Orion turned he head back to the side to give the Wall a second glance. He supposed it could be considered as such, but the young male found it hard to find beauty in something so strange and seemingly meaningless. The dark shewolf continued on, dashing his hopes of questions answered by informing him that they too were merely passing through. "Hmm, that's a shame. I was hoping to learn a bit more about where this thing came from." He shrugged, and smiled again. It would take more than that to keep him down for long. She was apparently searching for her family as well, and his ears perked. "Well, that's a coincidence. I'm trying to find my family too. I was born not far from here but travelled a long ways since. I'm hoping to find my siblings now that I'm back. I don't suppose you know of any Aeris or Imperialis wolves around here?" It was worth a shot, anyways. It wasn't like anyone with Aeris blood was easily mistaken for another wolf. Their pelts tended to be bold, and one of a kind. "Oh, er. I'm Orion, by the way." Manners and all that. She hadn't taken off running yet either way, so things seemed to be going well enough so far. At least his siblings were pretty easily recognized and hard to mistake. He would bet his task would be a bit easier than hers. If her family shared her features, well... He'd met a plethora of dark coated wolves in his travels. "What about you? I don't know many wolves in the area but if I run into them I could let them know you're looking. Being apart from family sucks." He ended his sentence on a more solemn note, betraying a bit of the frustration hiding behind his normally chipper outer self. He missed his siblings desperately, and he would do anything to be reunited with them. This shewolf probably felt the same. "Talk" "Listen" Think

"Hmm, that's a shame. I was hoping to learn a bit more about where this thing came from." That caught her interest. The dark girl took a step forward - Scout must've not expected it because there was a small 'whoa' and movement on her back and she offered an ear flick in silent apology. "There's a lot of relics and things that are yet to be turned up. This is far the largest thing I've seen." Perhaps that why it caused her to become that much more interested in the land her siblings had wandered into. The homesick feeling that coiled in her gut previously had all but vanished; replaced with the curiosity and admiration of what was before them. Apparently, her head turned in emphasis to her statement, her eyes scanning the wall in hopes of it laying out some sort of secret that was lost to thousands or hundreds of years in the past. "The lore behind it is that it was forged by the hand of a specie that was gigantic which also stood on two legs. They were a numerous specie, relying on each other and our ancestors to get things done." She was such a nerd. A book-worm, perhaps. She couldn't help it; it was all so unbelievably unreal to her that they hadn't always been the most intelligent creatures on the planet. She was glad that Scout couldn't read her mind. Wistfully, she turned her head back to the boy. "All that remains are what they created." She shrugged her shoulders as if to say 'i'm not sure why'. The conversation continued on and Briar found herself suddenly indulged. "No, sorry, you're the first wolf we've seen in a long time." She wished she could offer otherwise, give him hope, but she had barely any left to spare. Sometimes the truth was best served cold. As he offered his name, Briar shifted. "Pleasure is ours, I'm Briar and this is Scout. We come from the North. We're in search of the Wreckage bloodline." "Briar speaks" "Scout speaks"

Orion was admittedly fascinated by the bird that chose to keep this wolf's company. He'd heard of other predators working together, but it was his first time seeing an owl do so. The shewolf mentioned a multitude of relics hidden in the world, and then spoke of an extinct species of two legged creatures, and Orion decided that whatever her myths and legends were, they were definitely inventive. He couldn't decide whether he believed her or not, but figured it'd be rude to disagree regardless. So he said, "Are those your people's legends? I've never heard of two legged giants before, but I can't really imagine how wolves would manage this either." He laughed as he pictured wolves stacked atop one another, hefting stones somehow, bit by bit. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Briar and Scout," he said with a lopsided grin, which somewhat diminished the formality of the moment. "I was born in the north, but I've been tracking down my mother these past few seasons. To be honest, I don't remember it perfectly but I'm learning again." He shrugged, glad to be older and more able bodied this time around. It didn't change the fact that he was going to turn himself southward to look elsewhere. He hoped he'd be able to catch word between rogues of any wolves who looked like him, having been only slightly shaken in that faith by his meeting with Lyrae. He turned to the wall and trotted closer, until he could prop his paws up on the stones. He could likely scramble over it if he wanted to, but mostly he just wanted to expect it closer. "If wolves could build like this, what would we even do with it?" He dug a bit at a patch of moss that had grown atop the stones. He could not tell if there were intentional carvings there, or if if was just scratching upon the stones. He bounded back down to the level ground again, energized by the questions he doubted even Briar could answer. What did they look like? Where had they gone, and why? He definitely wanted to see more. "Maybe we'll find more of these relics farther along. I'm going to explore a ways, if you want to come with." He left the invitation open, not really expecting the older shewolf to decide on coming along. She probably had better things to do, but it sounded fun either way. Maybe he'd find buried treasure or something, or one of the dead giants! Either would be fine by him. Needless to say, his expectations were rather high. "Talk" "Listen" Think