is this really necessary...

The boy hadn't been one to wander, not without his sister dragging him to the world's end, that was. This time though, it was a sight that pulled him away from his twin's side, seeing the glimmer of light on the horizon. Carefully picking his way across the muddy grounds, he made his way towards the sea. Gus constantly looked over his shoulder, sometimes both just to make sure that Mara wasn't looming around the corner with more mud to fling at him. He wouldn't put it past her, really. So the merle pup was cautious in his steps, blue eyes peeking from time to time at the sparkling horizon that started to expand in front of him. After some time it opened up to a huge, black sanded beach. Each grain of sand caught the light of the afternoon sun, glimmering like diamonds. A gasp of awe left the Adrevendi child, mystified by the glowing beach. He knew that it wasn't really glowing, that it was in fact the light glinting off of something with many faucets, but still, it really did look like it was glowing. Sometimes the truth took the magic out of the words, even though it was the knowledge that he craved. So what, then, was it that the sunlight was catching? Sand could come in many colours as he had learned, depending on what it was made up of. Black sand though, he couldn't say that he had seen anything like that himself. Curiosity pulled him forward, outstretching a white cloaked paw as if to touch the beach. At the last moment though, he paused, sucking back his paw with a vigor, tucking it into his chest. What if it was black because of some kind of chemical or something that washed up from the shore? It could be glass that caught the sunlight too, or something else that wanted to hurt him. Astra whined, shifting his weight across his limbs as he stood back on all fours, staring at the beach in a longing nature. While he wanted to know what it was, just what it was could possibly kill him. The unknown was a very scary thing, he much preferred to get himself into, or onto, things that he knew wouldn't try to eat him, poison him, or generally seek to harm him. Battling himself and his two passions, Astralagus dramatically flopped on the grass just before the shoreline. He rested his head on his outstretched forelegs, eyes squinting as he tried to puzzle together what the substance could be. Only once he knew for sure, or saw someone else walking along the beach without being eaten by a flesh-eating bacteria, would he set one paw on it. If Amaranth were here, he was sure that she could have rushed head long for the ocean, no matter how cold it might be, not a single care in the world. Sometimes the boy wished that he had her passion, and her sheer disregard for all the little things that could attack her. She would be dragging his butt through the strange black sand, like it or not, until he touched it. While it was annoying most of the time, deep down he knew that without her, he would always be stuck on the sidelines of life. Astra's heart beat painfully in his chest, missing her so fiercely all of the sudden. He had seen her this morning, but all these thoughts made him suddenly miss her, where he had only recently been paranoid about her muddy tackles. Gus could call for her, but he didn't want to take his eye off this strange beach. The answer would come to him soon enough, right?

Astralagus Adonis Adravendi

Ryan's thin coat and skinny body made him a little unfit to be anywhere where winter had too much of a hold on. Thankfully, down south it wasn't as bad. At times, the wind still bit at his pelt, and he found himself making fires a little more often than he'd like, but it was a lot better than freezing off his tail in the north. He was just wandering the area, exploring and acquainting himself with more land, when the wind brought forth the smell of a young child. Weaned, it seemed, the scent devoid of any milk, but young nonetheless, and wolf too. He decided to investigate--up ahead was what looks like the opening of a cave, as well as a shore. Could the child be searching for something in the caves?

With nose in the air and body moving, it wouldn't be hard for the pup to spot him, either by sight or sound; the wind was blowing his way. Nor would Ryan even try to hide himself, wanting his presence to be known and, therefore, not seem like he was up to no good. He soon deduced the child was not in the cavern, after a quick glance inside and absence of smell. A quick glance around the area soon brought him to the discovery: there they were, by the shore. A black shore.

Ryan walked closer, his steps slowing to a stop as he got near, keeping respectful distance. He was still on the grass itself, having come from the northwest. “Hi,” he said, a small smile on his face. He sat down and looked around again, now searching for anybody who the pup could possibly belong to. “Is your family around?” there was a bit of concern on his face, showned by the slight creasing of his brows.

is this really necessary...

Blue eyes refused to move from the ocean shore, pondering the exact reason on just how it got its colour. He was so focused enough that the approach of a stranger when unnoticed until the sound of his voice called out. It was a gentle, standard greeting, but was enough to make the child leap up to his paws, scrambling backwards on the grass just before the sands. Astra quickly became embarrassed at his show, trying to put on the best brave face that he could. He fixed up his ears and flatted his fur, raising his nose towards the sky. He wasn't afraid of no thing, no sir! Not even a stranger coming up to him! Gus' nostrils flared wide though at the older male's next question, in asking where his family was. He looked the stranger over once again, quite critically for one so young. It seemed like a pretty standard question, given that he was not yet a yearling and on his own, but he knew that the weight of those words could hold a whole other meaning. "They are around," he said slowly. He wasn't blind to the concern on his face, but he knew from his twins antics that emotions could easily be faked on the face. She was quite dramatic... Besides, it wasn't exactly a lie. They were around, scattered about. He had ran into one brother already, and his sister was probably somewhere plotting to cover him in mud again.

Astra's eyes narrowed slightly, moving from the other wolf back to the black shores, shuffling his weight across his paws. He wanted to ask about the sand, to see if the other knew anything, but he wasn't too sure about the intentions of the stranger. "Who are you?" He asked instead, in the blunt way that children went about things. He was not accustomed to meeting too many others, and wanted to get past the introduction part to see if this was a wolf that he could ask questions, as well as impart his own vast knowledge on. Astra shuffled again, tearing his eyes off the other for another second to look back towards the sands. He needed to know why it was black... but also why this male wanted to know where his family was.

Astralagus Adonis Adravendi