She'd come a long way since leaving her pack, but how much she had seen of the world- things she'd never imagined existed, more than she'd ever smelled on the wind, seen with her eyes or heard with her ears. There was always something new to track down, more places to explore. She doubted, even if she tried, that she would ever be able to see everything before she was old. Hardly deterred, she'd kept on. She might not be able to cover this world with her pawsteps, but she could certainly do her best.

She had doubts about the desert, though. The sun, even in winter, was hot on her fur, which was made for cooler weather. Nights were better. But she'd had trouble finding this place, with its water supply, and she'd been utterly parched before stumbling upon it. Guile, too, had glowered at her with his nose nearly brushing the surface of the river, both of them drinking as much as they could hold between gulps of air. As much as she wanted to explore more, it might be better to keep to the edge- or turn her sights elsewhere.

Guile had woken before she had, possibly off to find his first meal of the day. Toril yawned as she unrolled, stretching her front legs out, toes spreading wide. An easy shake of her ruff and she rose, padded the few steps to the river and took a quick drink; one ear twitched as the slight scrape of claws caught her attention and she turned, expecting Guile, only to freeze at the scent of another wolf.

Thaddeus had wandered away from Poem and had become utterly lost. he didn't know where the yearling was now, only that he felt shame he wasn't with her to help look for her sister. he tried to find the Abaven girl, following the water to this area. it was the scent of some furry little critter that made his jaws salivate. half-expecting an easy meal, he bounded forward only to skid to a halt when the wolf came into view. he didn't blink; he stared at her with his head lowered and the fur around his shoulders prickling.

she appeared startled to see him, but he took it offensively. everyone stared at him for some fuckin' reason. he was sick of it. he showed his teeth but made no move to attack her. he was being defensive, trying to assess what she was doing here and what she could want from him. his floppy ears were pinned against his skull, both wary and uneasy. eventually, he did move; though he wasn't going at her. Thaddeus wasn't cool enough to say a simple 'sup' and start a conversation. he grumpily moved to the edge of the river, sating his thirst before thinking.

he needed to find Poem again but had no idea where to start. he looked away, breaking eye contact with the stranger to stare back at the entrance to the Deluge. he didn't offer the woman any words. his experience so far with the purebloods were less than ideal. Thaddeus sat, reaching a limb forward to scratch idly at one of his ears. for once, he was silent. maybe the other being would move on if he didn't talk to her. he could only hope.

Toril's nose twitched rapidly for a few minutes as her gaze located the other, ears up and eyes alert but tail held low in a friendly manner. No words were spoken by him- not a greeting or a challenge- and Toril remained quiet herself as she took him in. He was a strange-looking creature; she'd seen all sorts of colors and frames, but nothing quite like his skinny, long-legged body with the drooping, furry ears. He looked like he was made to run, and briefly the thought of challenging him to a race flitted through Toril's mind.

Maybe later. Pup-games could wait. Holding her ground, Toril dropped her head a bit and whisked her tail, jaws parting to let her tongue loll out as she spoke. "Hello. You surprised me, I wasn't expecting others out here in the desert. Though I suppose you're better suited to it than I am. My name's Toril," she finished, and settled onto her rear as she waited for either a like reply- or for whatever else the stranger decided to give her.

he didn't know why the wolf was talking to him. let alone with a more polite tone that he ever heard from someone in Boreas. lifting his mouth from the water, he licked at the stray droplets of water before regarding her.  his piss-colored eyes squinted over her body but she didn't approach or attack him. unlike the wolf that had suffocated him days prior. she even gave her name to him. "er..." the mutt hesitated, awkward as hell around new people and even more uncomfortable around females. he never knew what to say to them. some men could be so charming, but he was just... there. "T-Thaddeus." his voice sounded uncertain and he subconsciously felt himself edging away.

the mutt wasn't looking to fight but he would if push came to shove. he didn't say 'sorry' to the woman because he felt he had no need to. Thaddeus hadn't announced his presence due to the fact he would be moving on again. but she apparently wanted to chat and he could not hope to know how to handle that. he lowered his head, even more, his tail slipping between his legs. "guess yer new here?" he hadn't seen her around and she smelt of... outside. outside of Boreas that is. she clearly was a bit saner looking than a lot of the pureblooded wolves here. she was polite at the very least. he dropped his eyes away from her features, looking at the ground as he spoke to her.

it was quite clear he'd had a rough go of things, and was more submissive than he'd like to admit.

He seemed nervous of her. Or maybe just nervous in general. Whichever it was, Toril tried to ease him by backing off just a couple steps, offering a wag of her tail, and speaking in what she hoped was a quieter, calmer voice. "Hello, Thaddeus. Yes, I'm new- to the area, at least. I was born in the north... and, well, I left them. Thought I'd check out more of what the world has to offer. Gonna see as much as I can before I go gray in the face."

Her tongue lolled out in a grin; a moment later she glanced to the side as Guile slipped into view, running to her side. His paws and muzzle were wet, the smell of some fish now on his breath. Her own stomach gave a quiet growl but she ignored it. She could get her own food later. She blinked at him, at his downturned face, and gave a slight frown. "Where are you from? Do you live here- or somewhere close by?"

he shuffled his legs uncomfortably, not understanding why this wolf was even bothering to speak more to him. he gave an awkward grin at her joke; he didn't want to be attacked again and felt it was best to humor her while she was in his presence. when she asked where he was from, if he lived around here well it made a big stabbing pain in his memory. Thaddeus had the plan to settle in Olympia, but their unacceptable of him pulled him away. he had only wanted to help the people who had helped him. he wanted to be allowed to help. but it had all blown up in his face.

"no... I..." he bit the inside of his cheek before replying, trying to focus on the pain there instead of his feelings. "m' a loner." because of his knowledge, the wolves were unaccepting of differences. his only plan now was to escape the volcano's wraith. get as far away as possible, or even leave Boreas all together. there was nothing for him here. the people he thought would take him in had not. he had nobody. even Poem would leave him in the end. maybe she already had; maybe she had abandoned him to go on by herself.

Thad didn't know what else to say to the wolf before him though. he hesitated visibly, not meeting her eyes. "are ye gonna attack me?" he asked, at last, wanting to know an answer straight up before diving in further.