For once in his life, since his father's death, Aureus was in a good mood. He hummed to himself as he slipped through the Avian Estuary. Moments ago the sun had burst free from the clouds and was shining down warm on his back. It felt so good. Not to mention he was enjoying the odd light sensation that had settled over his body after a strange drink a raccoon had given to him. He knew better than to accept questionable drinks from strange animals, especially the masked kind, but his recent view of life had been along the lines of 'fuck it'. Aureus was tired of pain, he was tired of sorrow. He was allowed to have a little fun.

Life was bustling around him despite the scars that still remained from the volcano. Birds flew about in the air, singing and calling. He had spied a heron and pair of swans on his journey so far and even some fish and a few turtles. There were clear patches of water, the spring rains having washed much of the ash away but there were still occasional goopy black piles.

Settling down in front of the draped limbs of a weeping willow Aureus stretched out to bask in the sun a little longer. When night fell he could retreat under the willow for a little privacy and what he hoped would be a good night's sleep.

For the first time in a long time the sun was out and Jupiter, for one, was loving it. The volcano had made an awful mess of everything and the near constant ashfall had forced him to postpone his plans to travel and trade. Well, the trade part, anyway, as very little could keep him from wandering, but it was awful pain to pull a cart or a sled through the sludge. So for now he said to hell with all that. He'd go from place to place and see what the masses needed and then and only then would he bother with dragging his wares around.

The tall, pale and handsome man stretched out at the feet of a shaggy weeping willow drew Jupiter in like a moth to flame. He simply couldn't resist. His curiosity knew no bound and he was a sucker for pretty things. "Greetings, friend," he boomed with a broad grin as he approached. His demeanor was lazy and friendly and though that was basically him in a nutshell, in this instance it was weaponized and being used to hopefully disarm the stranger. Though his intentions weren't noble they weren't malicious either. In his experience friendly strangers got what they wanted more often than surly ones.

Jupiter stopped a respectful distance away and leveled his affable eyes on Aureus. One side of his mouth curled up in a self-deprecating smirk. "Don't supposed you'd be willing to help a poor traveler out, would ya?"

Aureus felt himself starting to drift off. The warm breeze in his fur, the smell of the grass tinged with the slight burning smell of ash. An ambience of singing birds and buzzing insects would have lulled him to sleep if it hadn't been for a sound that was slightly off. That sounded like foot steps. His eyes cracked open and turned toward the source just as a powerful voice called out greetings. Huh? Friend? Aureus lifted his head, his expression leaping to surprise at the stunning stranger who was addressing him.

Oh, he knew of wolves with celestial patterns but he'd never seen anything quite like this man. His gorgeous pelt hugged his muscled frame in a way that made Aureus glad he was lying on his stomach. Aureus cleared his throat, trying to get ahold of himself. Shock melted into a coy smile as he stretched his front legs forward for a moment before curling them back under his chest. "That depends, friend. What is it you need?" His tail curled over his back, waving lazily as his head tilted slightly to the side.

Oh, what was this? Had he heard that correctly? Had his ears just detected the masculine purr of piqued interest? Fuck yes they had. Look at Sandy all head cocked and coy and shit. If that didn't scream interested Jupiter didn't know what did. He shrugged and the corners of his mouth depressed in a way that emphasized the action. Jupiter then moseyed closer because that distance needed to be closed somehow and now was a chance to steal some space without it being odd. Now the distance needed to be closed because that would make talking easier. "I'm lost, you see."

"Actually, I've been on my feet all day so I might just call it quits for the evening." His expression darkened as though in thought and then brightened as though struck by an idea. "So if you could just point me in the direction of uhhh a cave or an inn or something, I'd be really grateful." He chuckled self-deprecatingly then added, "I'm not picky; I'll take anything. Just need someplace warm for the night. Them chilly ass clouds have a way of just rolling up out of nowhere." It was pretty now, but the weather could revert back to shitty at any second.

Aureus' eyes were drawn once more to Jupiter's shoulders with the man's languid shrug. His stomach was starting to twist into knots as his body and brain failed to communicate. He had no idea what he wanted. His body wanted one thing, his mind wanted another but they could both agree that this strange was interesting enough to at least talk with. Surely there was no harm in talking.

The man moved closer and stated that he was lost. Aureus said nothing but he was listening. He was listening intently. The man went on to state that he was ready to turn in for the night and looking for a place to bed down. Aureus paused as if thinking, taking a deep breath as he tried to get his mind back in sync with the rest of himself. However, what was his mind vs his body was now rapidly becoming part of his mind versus another part of his mind and his body.

"Ah, that would be a tough one if you're looking for anywhere close. Nothing but crocodiles and giant lizards to the west. Ocean to the south and if you head north or east you'll hit a pack." Assuming they were still even there. Aureus grinned smoothly at the man. "If I'm being quite honest, this is the best spot to bed down in the area. The willow branches will offer a good amount of protection from the rain." Aureus reached out a paw and patted the ground next to him. "Rest for a spell. I wouldn't mind hearing about your travels. My name is Aureus by the way. I'd love to hear yours."

Aureus made it sound like they were surrounded by shit places but Jupiter wasn't quite as lost as he said he was. Which was to say, he wasn't lost at all. He had a rough idea of what was around the estuary. Not that he was going to complain that the other man was encouraging him to stay. Nope, not at all. It was exactly the kind of validation he needed. "Seems I lucked out, then," he offered as he stepped over to Aureus and settled down beside him. "Found the West's sweet spot on my first try. That's a rarity." He just couldn't resist.

"Name's Jupiter. I wish I had the kind of stories that would make a retelling worthwhile, but it's all the same shit nowadays. You meet people, you get a kill, you eat, you move on. There was a time not too long ago where it seemed like interesting shit happened every night, but perhaps that was the novelty of youth." Yikes man way to go serious. He salvaged it with a chuckle and a self-deprecating roll of his eyes, "How about you? You seem like a man accustomed to travel. Surely you have a yarn or two worth telling."

Aureus' heart quickened as the man moved to settle in next to him, his scent tickling the golden man's nose. The stranger introduced himself as Jupiter and proceeded to tell what he could. It didn't sound like he was having too great of a time traveling. Aureus shrugged lightly at his question. "Everything was better before that bloody volcano blew up. Now it seems travel is depressing no matter where you go." He smiled. "But at least the western lands here escaped the worst of it. A lot of them are dangerous or barren but there are a few sweet spots as you say." A rumble of thunder rolled across the sky and Aureus gazed up, wrinkling his nose.

"Hmm… what do you say we move beneath the willow. You won't have a very fun night if you get soaked." Aureus rose to his feet and gently used his head to move aside the curtain of leaves.