The day had already slipped from morning to afternoon, making the sun rise into the sky to its highest spot. Winter was nearing its end, even though the bitter, chilly air was still surrounding most of Alacritis. Faolan's silvery frame could not handle such cold, so he decided to avoid the wind that pushed at him from all angles by leaving Ludicael for an hour or two. Despite being a year old, he couldn't help but let his mother know where he was headed. 'Near the ocean...' That explanation alone opened the possibilities wide open, but Silent's relaxed nature and her morning dose of lavender made it easier for her to firmly nod to his desired trip. Without another word, he set off for the beach. Where Faolan ended up was not exactly the beach, however. Once he was born free of the pack lands, he had decided to change direction and follow a nearby stream. It was shallow (about a foot deep) and he told himself there was no way he could get lost by following the water. Curiosity, for like many wolves, peeked its small head in his mind and his silver paws carried him beside the happily dancing water. As it bounced over rocks, twisted and turned at small angles, Faolan tried not to let negative thoughts intrude on his newfound joy. Before too long, the stream separated into five or six different smaller creeks. His ears flattened at the confusion that rose from realizing that his little stream was not so isolated anymore. His gaze rose to see where the other six creeks led and was surprised to see a bunch of empty bushes blocking his view. Slowly, he continued to look at the small wall of shrubs until there was a break between two of them. Cautiously, he approached the unknown trail and slipped between the bushes, lightly brushing the branches with his silvery pelt. What he found took his breath away. The bushes had blocked the view of the ocean, stretching out as far as he could see. His eyes blinked slowly as he tried to take in the magnificence of it all. Faolan continued to walk then, leaving the bushes behind to sit on the grass that spread out to meet a narrow strip of beach. All of it was magical, as if no one had ever ventured to this spot before. His heart began to ache as he thought about how he could describe it to Enola. The weight of not having her there pulled down on his beating organ and his head lowered to face the grass at his paws. Not having her there with him was indeed a saddening thought...one he had come across more than once that week. What was he supposed to do if he could not move on from the smart, sweet girl he had fallen for so long ago? Speech

Now that her health had returned Isi had the urge to get out and wander for a bit. It wasn't that she disliked Ebony, it was certainly better than the old Ebony she had long since left behind but she was eager to explore and enjoy her freedom of no longer being den-bound. All of that being cooped up and nearly dying stuff had left her with an abundance of energy, well perhaps even more so than normal would be the better way to describe it. She had strayed rather far from the Ebony pack lands, passed around another couple of packs, fortunately having the sense not to trespass on any of them. It had been rather exciting to see all of these new places though truth be told a part of her was feeling somewhat bored as well. The little adventure was far more quiet than she had anticipated and not quite as fun as she had hoped. Surely she should have met lots of new wolves that could be her friends or perhaps at the very least gotten some really interesting story to exaggerate when she returned home and shared it with anyone unlucky enough to be forced to listen. Walking along by the streams she would soon catch the sight of another wolf ahead, his back turned to her as he stared at something ahead of him. Curiously she would venture closer "Whatcha looking at?" She questioned as she moved to join him, sitting rather close considering neither of them knew each other though there was no sense of personal space from this girl. All she could see was the ocean ahead of them, to be honest she had expected something a little more exciting but it was all still and quiet apart from her presence.

LIFE OF LIVES beginning to the end His head had been resting against his thick-furred chest, eyes closed from the thoughts of earlier memories involving him and Enola. The ocean hitting the shore was the background music, while the wind was less harsh to him than at home. The serenity of his isolation was enough to help him fall into a soft nap, but before he could even move to the ground, someone broke that peace. An unfamiliar scent and voice combined shook him free of his stupor and he raised his head to identify the source. She was a russet-furred babe, older perhaps, but not by much. Her inquiry was of only three words, but the impact it had for his situation could not be contained within a similar answer. Instead, he tried his best to sum up everything in his mind into a string of different words without sounding dumb. "The ocean, but, not really looking at it...More like looking past it." So much for all of the different words. His response sufficed him for now, so that was what he stuck with. His light green eyes with the brown spikes around the irises watched her with a slight bit of interest. She had approached him and then took a seat right next to him, something he deemed unusual. Not many would be brave enough to try and break his personal bubble, but then again, how many other wolves had he met aside from his family? He blinked before looking at the landscape in front of him. "I have a lot on my mind, actually." He wondered if she would be curious enough to ask. Man Talk we are alive foreverFAOLAN ARADCOR

The other would jump slightly at her unannounced arrival, a perfectly acceptable response really and Isi either didn't notice or didn't care much to comment upon it. Instead her orange eyes remained fixed ahead for a moment longer, still attempting to decipher what was so interesting about the ocean. Had he not seen it before or something? She would look back to the stranger as he responded, head tipping to one side as a confused expression crossed her features not at all sure what he was actually talking about. Gaze would shift to the ocean again but sure enough that was still all that she could see and she would give up and look back to the other. "But there isn't anything you can see past the ocean." She pointed out to him. "There's just water, water and more water." There was a little more emphasis each time she said 'water' just to further make her point. He would then explain that he had a lot on his mind. Oh that made a little more sense then, so he wasn't really looking at anything in particular. She had moments like those, where she'd drift off into a daydream and not concentrate on the world around her. "Ahhhh. I get it now." She would state, nodding her head understandingly. She would pause for a brief moment before speaking once more; "So whatcha thinking 'bout?"

Her observation about there being nothing but water made Faolan raise an eyebrow. He figured that there was a reason why she was telling him this, but he didn't catch on until he realized that she didn't quite get what he meant. Instead of voicing his thoughts on it, he let it go and she continued to voice her interest in what he was thinking about. His light green eyes watched the ocean in front of them as he started to explain. "I was in a pack called Seracia a few seasons ago...I met this girl and she was the prettiest girl I ever saw. She was sweet, kind, and even though she didn't let it bother her, she was also blind. We started to become friends and hung out almost every day. Then, a couple of seasons ago, she disappeared with her family...I haven't heard from her since." He continued to watch the water move on the shore, pulling out and then pulling back. "I miss her all the time, and there is nothing I can do about it." His voice became heavy with guilt as he thought about her then, imagining her face with its bright eyes. Speech

Seracia. She hadn't heard of that pack before. Come to think of it, Ebony and Olympus were actually the only packs that Isi had heard of, and that was only as she belonged to one and often had visits from the other until Raisa's disappearance. Oh but yes, she was supposed to be listening, she could find out more about this Seracia pack later if she had to, but the stranger was still speaking now and so she swiftly pushed the thoughts away to focus some more. He was speak about a pretty blind girlfriend or something like that. She would catch the end easily enough though and understand that whoever she was she had apparently vanished from his life. "Maybe she got lost." She suggested, it was after all the reason that she had failed to return to people she had wanted to see, her own family back in old Ebony. "I got lost once, that's why I'm here now. Not here, exactly but Ala-wotsit in general. I'm part of Ebony though. Raisa found me when I got here so I've not really explored much. She could be exploring too. But wait you said she's blind, do blind people still explore?" Off she rambled from what was originally meant to be a helpful piece of advice, or at least the best she could manage and now who knew fully where she was going with her words.

LIFE OF LIVES beginning to the end Faolan's expression was incredulous when he listened to the stranger speak. He had turned his gaze from the ocean to her, both eyebrows now rising above his light green opts. Quite frankly, he didn't know if she was picking at him or being serious with her ramblings. Faolan was intrigued, but also caught offguard with how perky this lady was. He had been depressed and heavy hearted before she came and now such thoughts had flittered away without giving him a second thought. How was he supposed to react? Her question about blind people exploring made him snort. For the first time in a long time, Faolan's face cracked a smile. It brightened his features and made his silver fur gleam in a sweet light. He shook his head to begin his answer and a shrug rolled off his darker shoulders. "I would say they do, even if they aren't confident with their adventures. When I was with Enola..." Saying her name made him wince from the pain of thinking about her. He paused to take a sharp intake of breath before continuing. "...she wasn't sure about the world because she had been attacked by a bird as a pup. I took on the role as guardian to make sure she didn't get caught again. We would walk around the pack and I would explain everything in detail for her. It worked out that way after the first couple of times...I hope that, wherever she is, she is able to do it without fear." Puppy Talk we are alive foreverFAOLAN ARADCOR

To be honest her intention wasn't to cheer the silver male up, though if she was succeeding in doing so she certainly wasn't about to complain about it. She often realised that others could find her a little annoying at times, that had been far more obvious in old Ebony though the girl wasn't changing for anyone, she didn't care too much, as long as she had fun that was all that mattered and if others had a good time around her too, well it was a great bonus! He would go on to answer her question about blind exploration. So he'd been a guide to her as well, must have been nice for her. So why on earth had she just vanished, maybe she really had gotten lost then, unable to find her guide without her guide there to see and explain things for her. Or perhaps more birds had arrived and chased her away which had gotten her lost. She didn't know the other very well, but she couldn't see why someone would purposefully run away from him, he seemed ok. Having never been a guide or had one herself honestly Isi wasn't even entirely sure what else to say on the topic, he'd explained it all pretty well and even she could tell at least in a slightly calmer state, that it wasn't all that wise to mention her ideas of vicious bird attacks or confusion in her guide-less state. "Oh!" She suddenly said after a moment of silence had passed. "I forgot to say, I'm Isi!" She knew the missing blind girls name now but the silver boy didn't know hers and she didn't know his.

The girl had listened with rapt attention, which seemed to be something she wasn't used to doing. Faolan was silently happy that she had come to his neck of the woods, for he hadn't a friend in the world outside of his family. He thoughtfully considered her possibly filling in that spot, especially since she had approached him without any problems. His light green eyes watched her still, his mind wondering where Ebony was and how far her home was from where they sat. Finally, she talked again and voiced her name: Isi. "Isi..." He tried out the name in one breath and lightly shrugged. "That's a new one for me. I am Faolan." His own name was unique, but he didn't meet many others who had said the same. Slowly, his silvery gray tail wrapped around his haunches and he cleared his throat to move the conversation away from anymore talk of Enola and the heavy heart that came with it. "Do your siblings have unique names, too?" Speech

Friends were always good. As far as Isi was concerned Faolan could certainly be a friend, he seemed nice and it didn't take much more than that really for her to decide who she could possibly be friends with. Distance wasn't taken into account nor the possibility that Faolan might not want to be her friend, Isi had made up her mind already. It was Isidora technically though the girl certainly preferred her nickname to the full thing. She hadn't thought much about her name beyond that though, whether it was common or unique she really didn't mind too much and she looked at her siblings with the same view. "My brothers are Rurik and Artemiy, my sister is Liliya." Not that she ever typically called them by their full names either. Faolan too would perhaps find himself with a nickname if he stuck around for long enough, she needed a little longer to work it out first. "What are your siblings called then Fao?" Actually, maybe she didn't need that bit of time. It only seemed fair to ask, he'd questioned her on it first.

Isidora went on to tell him her siblings' names and he patiently listened. Ah, so she only had three littermates? That wasn't too bad. At least she didn't have as many siblings as he did...The list would go on in his opinion. If she didn't ask him the same question, he would be okay with not having to think of them all. Unfortunately, she did. The silver male watched her for a minute as he let her nickname for him sink into his mind. No one had ever called him 'Fao', so the sudden change was indeed a surprise. He leaned his head to the side and gave a large sigh before looking up to the sky above him. The ocean continued to be his background noise as he tried to think of all the siblings his mother and father had blessed the world with. Finally, he was able to speak. "Mom and Dad had Light, Cloud, Artemis, and Apollo...then they broke up and Mama had Rionark, Eshiru, and Nyrti...Then they got back together and had Alione..." He thought really hard about any missing siblings, but was happy to realize that he had covered them all. "After Mom came here, she reunited with Dad and they had me, Mercury, Ara, and Jendai." He firmly nodded and exhaled. "Those are all my siblings." Faolan gave a large grin, proud of his parents for taking care of such a large amount of brothers and sisters. Speech

Three had seemed like plenty to Isi as she grew up, in a large pack she'd certainly had lots of other company anyway and had never thought of her family as being small. Now however as Faolan began to list his family her eyes would grow wide with surprise. The history of it all mattered little all she could think of was that he had a lot of siblings, she wasn't sure whether to feel envious or glad about her small amount in comparison. "Wow! She would remark as he finished, face still clearly expressing her shock at the numbers. "That is a LOT of brothers and sisters." She wasn't sure if he realised that for himself or not but it certainly wouldn't stop her telling him the fact for herself. She couldn't imagine such a large family and now she thought about it more she decided she didn't like the idea too much. It was often hard to have fun with her siblings prompting her to work harder, to follow the rules or just stop being annoying in general. She loved them of course, but three was enough. "Poor you! I thought it was bad enough having three siblings trying to tell me what to do!"