It had been a few weeks since her run in with the star-marked man and her shoulder and ankle had mostly healed by this point, but she still didn't feel like traveling super long distances was a very good idea. She did decide that perhaps she would take her grandmothers suggestion of trying out some swimming to exercise her shoulder without putting too much pressure on it which was how she ended up in the bit of ocean that separated the Lover's Mangroves from the island that sat just off of the main shore line. It wasn't a very long swim, so she made the pass back and forth between the two pieces of land a couple of times before finally settling on the Daager Isle's shore to rest. Her shoulder was definitely sore, but not in a bad way. She'd definitely be keeping a closer eye on where she was walking from now on, that was for sure. Night had crept up on her and she debated whether she would want to swim back now or not. Now that Ulric and Azariah had decided to go live with that pack that had claimed the Hot Springs she felt less of a reason to go back to the Mangroves every night. Not going with them had been a tough choice, but in the end she decided she wasn't quite ready to settle anywhere with any sort of real commitment. She liked exploring and wandering around Boreas and Auster. At some point she'd probably change her mind, but not right now and her Uncle hadn't put any pressure on her to go with him. Besides, someone had to keep her grandmother company, right? Nausicaa looked around the island as she got to her paws again. This seemed like as good a place as any to rest for the night. She'd go back to her grandmother in the morning. With that decision made, she started moving further in toward the center of the island so she could see what it was all about. She could see the top part of some kind of building or structure in the distance above the tree tops so that was what she headed toward. By the time she reached it night had pretty much fully taken hold of the sky and she building had taken on a slightly creepy, shadowy state. Anywhere that the walls had begun to crumble or fall let the moonlight stream into the interior of the building and she could see how it cast long, slender shadows across the floor as she peeked through the windows. Her ears flicked uncertainly while she debated weather she really wanted to chance exploring it on her own or if maybe it was a better idea to wait till morning. WC: 464 / 1500 Talk

Incredible... It felt as if that had been the only thought that left the lone male's mind for the past hour. The brown-furred male stared with wide eyes fixated on the dilapidated structure that dwarfed him on all sides, its thick gray concrete walls smothered beneath a blanket of vibrant greens from the lush foliage that threatened to swallow it. Large open holes across the facade of the structure where windows had once been were now draped with ivy vines from above, showing its age and all but announcing its abandoned state to the world. Behind him, the waves of the sea lapped peacefully against a soft shore of malleable gold, and the lingering scent of salt clung to the air like a natural incense. He walked slowly around the perimeter of the building, bathed in the silver moonlight from the night sky, his claws clacking against the broken tile patio that surrounded the outside of the former resort building, his teal gaze all the while following every line and angle in the structure as if he were trying to decipher some long forgotten code. He had been roaming around the outside of the structure since late afternoon and well into the night, taking in the sights, the sounds, the feel of this moment of his dreams coming to life! Milo hadn't been in Boreas for long. Just a couple days before he had been able to track down the first of many remaining relics of the Forgotten Species he had heard so many stories about. When those vagabonds from the Northern realms had told him tales of Ardent's rich lands full of treasures of the Forgotten Species, he had taken them with a grain of salt. It all sounded far too good to be true, after all. Yet here he was, staring face-to-face with what he had only ever imagined. His jaw hung slack, mouth frozen in a silent gape of bewilderment. To finally see such a magnificent display of architecture... It was almost too overwhelming for the young wolf! Finally regaining enough composure to close his mouth before he ended up swallowing a bug, Milo shifted his body to adjust the old weathered messenger bag hung across his chest and took a few trepidatious steps towards the ruins. Despite what those travelers had told him, he had managed to find his way into Boreas without coming across another soul, a fact he wasn't quite sure was a blessing or a curse yet. Solitary travel had become his modus operandi for so long that he scarcely noticed the quiet that had become his companion as of late. If anything, it just permitted him more time to focus on his research, and that was always a positive in his book. Walking through the archways that had once been windows felt like entering a dream. Milo stepped carefully over shards of splintered glass that glistened like small diamonds in the moonlight, ignoring the gentle crunch underneath his paws as he went. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, pupils dilating to take in more of his surroundings, from the derelict interior to the moss-covered furniture and cracked tile floors where weeds had begun to sprout. The air, still pungent with sea salt, also held a trace of mildew inside. He scrunched his nose at the smell, but pushed onward. The corridors were dark with the night, shadows clinging to the walls like an abysmal wallpaper. In spite of all his amazement, a real thrill of fear ran through him. Everything was so dark, so still, so quiet... Milo suddenly became acutely aware that he had no idea if anyone or anything else was living here. Pausing to take a couple of steps back, he chewed on his lower lip while he debated the best course of action. Perhaps it's best I leave this for the morning... he considered and turned, moving back towards the entryway. As astounding as this was, he was quite fond of living and didn't feel like pressing his luck just yet in the eerie dark debris of whatever this place once was. Giving one last look into the darkness, Milo stepped back outside to the patio—and found himself facing another wolf only a few paces away from him. His paws skittered on the floor as he scrabbled to stop, thankfully managing to keep from uttering any sounds of surprise as he stared wide-eyed and startled at the newcomer that had somehow managed to sneak up on him. "Whoa, hello!" he said, his inflection telling of his stunned state. "Um... Am I trespassing?" WC: 1229 / 1500 "Speech" — Thoughts

Nausicaa was just about to turn around and head back toward the beach where she had spent most of her day to wait out the night, but before she could do so she heard movement from inside the structure and she froze. Her over imaginative mind jumped to a whole host of possibilities from some kind of raccoon to the biggest, scariest predator she could think of and the uncertainty of it made her hesitate and watch the entrance of the structure with a healthy dose of fear. Her muscles were coiled and ready to dart back into the trees at the first sign of danger or any kind of proof that her concerns around the shadowy building had been right. When the tan and white male first appeared in the doorway, before the moonlight could cast light across his form and reveal that he was in fact not a monster in the night, she jumped a little and took a couple quick steps back from where he was standing. A heartbeat later she saw that her fears were completely unfounded and immediately felt silly for ever thinking such a thing in the first place. Her own variation of a wide-eyed, frightened gaze met his until she was able to give a relieved sigh at his question and a little smile pulled at her lips. "No, not at all," she replied and then quickly realized she didn't know that for sure. She gave the creepy structure an uncertain glance and added, "Well... not that I know of anyway." Bringing her eyes back to his, she considered him for a brief moment. He certainly didn't seem threatening in any way and after being around Ulric so much it was actually nice to see a male that wasn't the size of a mountain. He was still larger than her by a good bit, but no where near the size of her uncle. At the very least it meant that she wouldn't be alone on this island that suddenly felt extremely spooky now that night had fully set in. "I'm Nausicaa, by the way," she mentioned, giving him a sweet smile. "Or Naus - either is good. Who are you?" WC: 1596 / 1500 Talk

Milo released a relieved sigh when she informed him that he was, in fact, not trespassing on the island. The one thing he had always feared in his explorations was inadvertently skulking around on another pack's home—although that wasn't to say he hadn't done it before. After all, the pursuit of knowledge and unfound discoveries sometimes meant having to ask for forgiveness when things went awry. Now that he knew this terrified-looking wolf wasn't part of some larger pack that inhabited the island, he could relax a little. His eyes turned back toward the old resort. He had to admit, creeping around abandoned and decaying ruins in the dark was not one aspect of archaeology he could ever get comfortable with. What if he encountered some greater predator, or a dangerous threat, or even something as simple as getting turned around in a labyrinth or helplessly injured in a fall? Any of those possibilities could spell the immediate end for a lone adventurer. Teal gaze returning to meet the female wolf before him, he was able to get a good look at her now that he wasn't colliding into her. She was smaller by a few inches, and wore a strikingly similar coat of brown hues. She was slender, with a lighter frame reminiscent of his own ectomorphic form, clearly built for agility and grace. Milo briefly wondered just how long she had been on the island that he hadn't seen her before now, or if she'd only recently arrived as well. It didn't seem like she lived here, so what could she be doing here? Was she an explorer as well? A researcher, an intellectual? Or just a wild heart yearning for a new horizon? "That certainly makes me feel better," he remarked with a casual half-grin. He tipped his head down in a bowed greeting gesture. "Lovely to meet you, Nausicaa. I'm Milo." His words ended with a linger, the male stopping short of speaking his full name with only a breath's pause to punctuate his greeting. His expression betrayed nothing though, a trait he had learned to get very good at. "Forgive my assumptions, but you don't seem the type to be out wandering ancient ruins alone in the middle of the night. What brought you out to..." His eyes turned back to the forgotten resort, still gazing longingly at the crumbling facade of the structure. "...this place?" "Speech" — Thoughts

Now that she wasn't entirely alone and she had want seemed to be a friendly face with her, the ruined building didn't seem quite as spooky and scary as before... though she still wasn't entirely keen on going inside. She knew that it was probably just all in her head, but not that the fear had planted itself in her mind it was hard not to imagine what could be hiding in the shadows and corners of every inch of this place. Her imagination could run wild in a place like this, but not necessarily in a good way. Sometimes it was fun to imagine what could be or how things came to be the way they were, but this time around she could only seem to picture what dangers might be hiding and lurking inside of this place and it made it all seem very uninviting. She was happy to refocus her attention on the wolf in front of her when he began to introduce himself. The way he paused after his name didn't slip past her, but she didn't call him out on it either even though it made her curious. Whatever it had been that had made him hesitate in his introduction, he played it off well and quickly went on to a question of his own. Nausicaa chuckled a little when he mentioned that she didn't really seem like the type to wander the ruins alone at night. She couldn't even try to deny that - her discomfort in this creepy place had probably been written all over her face when they bumped into each other. "You'd be right about that. Actually, I live in a mangrove forest just off of the main shoreline. I'm still recovering from a bit of a shoulder injury so I was swimming back and forth between this island and the shore to build up the strength in it when night began to fall. I thought I'd just stay around here for the night instead of swimming back in the dark and then..." She gestured with her paw toward the building in question, giving it an uncertain look. I came across this place and was severely questioning my decision when I bumped into you!" With her slightly lengthy explanation out of the way, she turned her eyes back to his and gave him a soft smile. "What about you? What are you doing out here?" Talk

Despite Nausicaa's farfetched explanation of why she ended up all the way out on the remote island in the middle of the night, Milo was just grateful for the face that she didn't seem to be a threat to him. He had no idea what to expect of the wolves from these lands when he'd ventured his way into them. Granted, he had no reason to assume any of them had any ill will towards strangers, but he had also been chased away by his fair share of wolves in the past as well. Any day when he didn't have to run felt like a good one. He did have to admit that he did find it more than humorous that this wayward female had stumbled upon him entirely by accident, it seemed. But she was being friendly enough, so he reasoned he'd entertain conversation with her for the time being. "Well, you must be feeling better already if you swam all the way out here on a whim. You probably made the right call not swimming back in the dark. I'm not exactly familiar with these lands, but I'm sure there's more than a few aquatic carnivores about, especially at night." he replied, then added, "Me? Oh, I'm here for that!" He shot her an enthusiastic grin and made a gesture of his head back towards the crumbling ruins of the human resort. "I heard from other wolves along the road that Boreas was rife with ruins and artifacts of the Lost Species, so I had to check it out for myself. I'm so glad the stories weren't exaggerating!" Milo turned fully towards the ruins again, taking a few eager steps closer to the dark entrance once more, beaming like an excited pup all the while. "Just look at it all! It's splendid! I've never seen one so large before!" A few long moments passed before the brown-hued male realized he'd lost himself in his own fervor and cleared his throat, hoping to cover his embarrassment as he turned to face his temporary companion again, a sheepish smile on his face. He had a habit of letting passion get the best of him, and sometimes he couldn't help the eager rambling that came with anyone who would listen to him. "I was planning on exploring the ruins more thoroughly, but the night made that difficult. Not exactly a safe idea to be playing around in collapsing buildings on your own in the dark, y'know?" "Speech" — Thoughts

She smiled a little and nodded when he mentioned how she must be feeling better - though she couldn't really say that she had done it on a whim. It hadn't exactly been a fun swim, but it felt necessary to start strengthening those muscles again after a few weeks of not putting much pressure on it at all. It had been an easier workout than venturing out across Boreas and trying to "walk it off" so to speak. She didn't know if all that swimming was actually helping anything, but it at least made her feel like she was doing something to actively help herself get better. She wasn't the best at sitting around and doing nothing and the last few weeks had really emphasized that in her mind. When Milo gave her a very enthusiastic and pointed reason to why he was out here, her eyes widened with surprise while she listened to his obviously thrilled reaction to the ruins behind him. An amused grin pulled at her lips while she watched him turn and look at the crumbling structure with nothing short of amazement. She couldn't really understand what he saw in the broken building, but his enthusiasm was contagious and quite honestly one of the most adorable things she had ever witnessed. She couldn't remember a time when she had ever experienced such an emotion since she was a little pup exploring the world for the first time and she felt and odd bit of jealously over it. It made her wonder how someone discovered something they were so passionate about. She'd been working on her hunting skills heavily over the last year or so just to make herself useful and to feel some sort of accomplishment, but she couldn't say that she had ever been as excited about that as he seemed to be over this ruin. He turned back toward her after a stretch of silence, clearly a bit embrassed by how he had gotten lost in all of it. It made her a little sad to see him try to cover up his excitement in the end, but she didn't really address it besides by giving him an encouraging smile - at least for now. He gave her a bit of very sound logic about not thinking it wise to explore a crumbling building in the darkness of night and she nodded in agreement. "Yeeeeah... I think you might be right about that," she replied with a glance toward the building itself. What she wouldn't give to see how excited it would make him to see all of this in broad daylight... With that small desire planted in her mind she looked back to him with a determined smile. "Well then we'll just have to come back in the morning!" she declared. There was no asking about whether he wanted her to join his exploration or any hesitation about putting herself into his plans - she just did it unapologetically. With an unfazed grin Nausicaa gave a little nod back toward the shore. "Come on, I think I saw a place we can stay the night over that way. I can build a fire too if you want! My uncle showed me how!" Talk

Milo's expression shifted to a surprised gape when Nausicaa said they would have to explore the ruins more in the morning, reason one being that he had not been expecting her to show even a sliver of the interest he had in studying the human ruins, and reason two that she had just invited herself along on a journey with a complete stranger—check that, invited a complete stranger to spend the night camping with her! Her emphatic resolution on the matter caught the male off guard, leaving him unable to respond beyond a slack-jawed stare, mouth moving but no sound coming out as she started leading the way back towards the sandy shoreline. In all his travels, Milo had always adventured alone. Now it seemed as if he wasn't being given a choice in the matter. "Uh... Uhm, yeah... Yeah, okay, sure!" he stammered as he slowly collected his senses again, paws following swiftly behind the smaller female as if on autopilot. What on earth is going on? Are all Borean wolves so hospitable, or is it just her? he wondered as he followed close behind as she led the way back to and down the shore, the soft sands crunching almost silently under their paws, drowned out by the rhythmic lapping of the waves against the beach like a natural aquatic metronome. He peered out over the endless black sea, unable to see much save for the crest of each rippling wave that gleamed with an outline of silver in the moon and starlight. "Thank you for sharing your shelter for the evening, Nausicaa. What, uh, what can I do to help? Do we need to gather up wood, or tinder, or food?" "Speech" — Thoughts

When he asked about how he could help she turned her gaze back toward him and she nodded with a grin. "No problem! I’m happy to have the company. Yeah, gathering some wood would be great. If you could find a few larger pieces I’ll gather up some kindling!” With their tasks assigned, she split off from him for a moment to gather up a nice sized pile of dried leaves, thin twigs, and other small, dry bits of vegetation that would do nicely to get their fire started. She brought it back to where they would be spending the night, deciding to start building the fire in question on the sands a short distance from their den rather than right in front of it since there was so many trees around. The last thing she wanted to do was set the whole forest on fire. When Milo returned with the wood she had requested, she gave him a pleased grin, her tail wagging gently behind her. ”Perfect!” she started to place them in a pile with one log leaning into the other and placed the kindling in the middle, leaving out just a bit to help get the fire going. "Now we just need to find a couple flat rocks, though a bit of metal might be even better…” She hummed thoughtfully and looked back up at Milo. "Do you want to hunt for some dinner or look for our fire starting rocks?” Talk

Milo nodded to acknowledge Nausicaa's request to find them wood. Once he had a general idea of where Nausicaa's base camp was to be set up, he veered off and ventured into the denser forest surrounding the rest of the island. Finding wood for a campfire was as easy as finding a stick in the woods—literally. It didn't take more than a few minutes for the male to find a good number of larger sticks and deadwood, wonderfully dry and perfect for burning. As he returned to the shore and began making his way back, he spotted some darker shapes of beached driftwood washed up against the lapping waves. His eyes brightened in excitement, recalling a unique trait to driftwood another wolf had taught him in the past. He eagerly ran up, setting the sticks down to stick a few smaller pieces of salty driftwood into his messenger back, then gathered up the sticks he had collected again. He trotted back up to where Nausicaa was assembling the campfire, the variety of wood he had collected sticking out almost comically on either side of his jaws as he carried them back and dropped them to the sand beside her, keeping the driftwood tucked safely away in his bag for now for a little surprise to try and impress her. "Thanks! I had no idea what makes for good firewood, so I just took a shot in the dark," he replied with a sheepish grin. He watched with intrigue as his female companion began to arrange the wood and kindling about in a crude structure ideal for burning. He had always been impressed by the resourcefulness of other wolves, having not picked up on a tremendous amount of survivalist skills himself. Hell, if it hadn't been for the kindness and generosity of strangers he ran into the first few months after leaving home, Milo doubted he'd have survived as long as he had! When she asked if he could go find some striking stones or food for them, his ears perked up and he nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, of course! I'll be right back." Just as he turned to leave again, an idea struck him, and he turned back to Nausicaa. "Did you say metal works best?" He smirked, then carefully slipped his messenger bag off from around him and tossed the weathered canvas bag over to her. "Check in there. I've collected a few random knickknacks and I think some of them might be metal. If none of them help, I'll go find some metal when I get back." With that, Milo turned and trotted back out into the nighttime forest. While he didn't know how to build a fire, he did at least know how to hunt small game. The woods were quiet at night, with most creatures turned in for the evening and only the soothing rolling sounds of the nearby ocean breaking the otherwise stillness. In the dark, it was difficult to navigate the forest floor silently without stepping on any sticks or leaves, but Milo did his best, following his sense of smell to locate a hare burrow hidden beneath some bushes. Some digging and snarling later, Milo was padding proudly back down the beach, the two former occupants of the burrow hanging from his jaws and a content smile on his face. "Dinher esht shervid!" the male declared through a muffled mouthful of rabbit while he strode back into their campsite. "Speech" — Thoughts

Nausicaa grinned at his enthusiasm that he had around helping them get settled in for the night with getting tools to start their fire and some dinner. He surprised her with tossing the bag he had been carrying to the ground beside her and she eyed it curiously. He went off to hunt so she flipped open the bag she had been told to look through and started rummaging around to see what she could find. She’d really only made a fire a couple of times with her uncle’s assistance, but how hard could it really be? If her big, clumsy uncle could manage surely she could too! With a bit of digging through this bag of random treasures, she found a fairly long bit of metal. It was just a thin bar of some sort - perhaps a piece from a larger something or another. Whatever it was, it would do just fine for what she was thinking. She sat down the metal piece and trotted over to where the cave was and searched around a bit till she found a piece of rock that was big enough for her to strike the metal against, but not so big that it would be hard to carry over to where she was building the fire. Collecting her tools, she brought it over to the edge of her little wood pile and settled down next to it. She gathered up a bit of the kindling she had gathered and sat it right at the edge of her rock and began to strike the metal against the surface with some quick flicks of her head. It took a few tries for her to get the angle just right, but eventually she got a few sparks flying and with a bit of careful blowing she got the kindling smoking. Nausicaa had nudged the smoking kindling into the heart of the campfire and was carefully blowing on the embers to stoke the fire when Milo reappeared with two hares dangling from his mouth. She gave him a pleased grin and replied, “Wonderful! We almost have a fire going too! Your bag of treasures over there was super helpful.” She turned her attention back to her embers long enough to get a small fire going and then slowly fed in a few more bits of kindling and small sticks until it was finally going with a full fledged fire. With a proud smile she took a couple steps back and admired her handy work. Even though it was summer and the days were pretty warm, she at least thought that the nights still got pretty chilly. Besides, it would give them a little extra light to see by if nothing else. She turned her attention back to Milo and the hares that he had hunted for them, her tail wagging gently. “Thanks for hunting for us!” she said as she settled down beside him, pulling one of the hares closer to her. Talk

At Nausicaa's praise, Milo's tail began to wag happily behind him on reflex. He watched as she finished fanning the embers she had kindled into a full-fledged campfire, bathing them in heat and light. Part of him was slightly disappointed that he hadn't gotten to watch her process of creating their campfire, missing out on a valuable lesson to learn a very useful survivalist skill. But his disappointment was short-lived when she turned to him and thanked him with a wag of her tail. He smiled as best he could around the hares in his jaws, placing a hare down in front of her as she scooted to sit closer to him by the fire. He placed his own dinner down, then picked up his messenger bag and brought it back to his side as he settled down onto the soft sand, shifting to get comfortable and enjoy his meal. As he tore into his dinner, Milo took a few quiet moments to really appreciate the moment they were in. The island was so tranquil, with the warmth of the fire a comforting contrast to the cooling night air, the scent of burning wood and salty sea air mixing together, and the sounds of the crackling flames snapping above the roiling waves hitting the shore a short distance away. The silver moon hung low in the early evening sky, casting the world in an ethereal veil of silver light. In this setting, Boreas almost felt magical. "This place truly is something amazing, isn't it?" he spoke after a moment, still staring awestruck at the beach, watching the silver crest of the waves disappear back into the black void of the ocean. "I never knew somewhere so incredible could be real." He turned to face Nausicaa again, intrigue in his teal eyes. "Tell me about yourself, Nausicaa. I'd love to learn more about the fire starting swimmer wolf who wants to come explore ancient ruins with me." "Speech" — Thoughts

Nausicaa settled in next to Milo with the hare he had brought for her and smiled to herself as she enjoyed the lovely weather and the nice company she had found. The warmth and light of the campfire was a nice addition to the peaceful scene and she was content as she began to dig in to her dinner. The weather was nice and clear so at least out here where the trees couldn't block the light the moon provided a nice bit of light for them to see by, even if they hadn't had the fire to assist in that endeavor. The crash of the waves helped to fill the silence as they ate and gave a pleasant bit of background noise. She was just about done with her hare when Milo mentioned how amazing their surroundings were and she lifted her eyes to look at the ocean again and how the silver moon cast such an interesting hue over the pale, soft beach. She nodded in agreement as she licked her lips clean. "It really is very beautiful here." There was lots of beautiful places across Boreas, but she knew from the time she had spent wandering through lands outside of this place that not everywhere was as packed with these scenic locations. It was easy to forget or not pay attention to how beautiful the landscapes were after a while when they began to feel more common place. When he turned the topic of conversation to her, she chuckled a little and gave a little shrug of her shoulders before she moved the remains of her dinner off to the side and out of the way. "Oh I don't know if there's really all that much to say about me!" she replied bashfully, giving him a smile while she tried to think up some interesting tid bits about herself. "Um... I live with my uncle, his mate, my sister, and my grandmother in the mangroves just off the main shore over there," she said as a start, motioning with her paw into the darkness where the opposite shore was hidden somewhere in the dark. "I lived by myself for a while when I was younger just because I went exploring and got lost. Luckily I found my uncle and he was able to get me back to Boreas so we could find my mother, but that was a few seasons ago now. I don't know if it really mattered since my mother apparently took off for some reason, but... It's fine. Uncle Ulric takes good care of us." She gave another little shrug of her shoulders as she picked up a longer stick she had kept off to the side so that she could poke at the embers and keep the fire going. She tired not to think about the fact that her mother had left too much since there wasn't really anything she could have done about it and she didn't want to blame anyone for it, but it was still pretty tough to accept. Talk

Milo's chipper expression turned a shade dour as Nausicaa explained how she had come to be living in this part of Boreas. He certainly had not meant to dredge up any painful memories and was hurrying to find a way to backpedal. "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that..." he responded, empathy toning his voice. His ears folded back against his head; he knew all too well about the sort of pain a parent figure could inflict on their children, whether it was intentional or not. "Well, I'm glad to know you have someone like your uncle there for you. Everyone should have at least one person to care for them." He offers her a reassuring smile, hoping to bring her some comfort and tried to think of a way to shift the conversation to something more pleasant. "Still, I think you're pretty lucky to call such a lovely place your home," he stated after a beat of silence. "I haven't seen the mangroves yet—or anywhere else, really—but if this is my introduction to Boreas, and the wolves that live here, I can tell I'm already going to be green with envy." He looked back over to Nausicaa, his signature crooked smile on his face. "Thank you for being so hospitable to me, Nausicaa. It's been a while since I'd met anyone as generous as you. I must admit, it's a nice change of pace." He finished his dinner, discarding the remaining bones and sighing contentedly. The evening was still early, and as he was not yet ready to turn in, he turned back to Nausicaa with a roguish smirk as an idea crossed his mind to take their minds off of the conversation of family. "Do you like stories, Naus? I know a few good scary ones I've learned in my travels, if that's your sort of style." "Speech" — Thoughts

Nausicaa gave Milo a grateful smile and a small nod in response to his condolences and his statement about how it was good that she at least had Ulric. Her uncle really had stepped up to take care of all of them even though none of them had asked him to... not that she was surprised since that was exactly what he had done for her grandmother after her grandfather had been killed. She wasn't sure what they would do if anything ever happened to him. Of course life would go on she supposed and she and Memento were both plenty old enough to be taking care of themselves at this point, but he certainly helped hold their family together if nothing else. The topic luckily shifted to how they were lucky to be living in such a place and she chuckled a little with another glance over their scenery around them. That was true at least. No matter what happened they could always know that they had such a nice home to live in and she wondered if anyone that had been born and raised here really had a frame of reference for how good they had it. When he thanked her for her hospitality she looked back to him and met his grin with one of her own, her tail brushing against the sand. "Oh, no need to thank me," she insisted with a little shake of her head. "I was always taught to be kind to others unless they give you a reason not to and you certainly haven't done that!" If anything he had only met her kindness and friendliness with even more of his own. It had been a nice surprise for what she thought was a totally deserted island. She admittedly hadn't really crossed paths with a lot of wolves outside of her family so perhaps she had a narrow, overly innocent view of the world, but she liked to think most wolves were nice like she was. At the very least she felt like if she put kindness out into the world then she'd get it back to her in return. When he mentioned telling her scary stories she gave him a skeptical look with her ears flicking uncertainly. She couldn't really say that being spooked was her favorite thing, but his interest in the topic and his smirk was hard to resit. "Well, I do like stories, but I'm not so sure about scary ones..." she mused, but then suddenly felt like she was being a baby and didn't want to come off as a scaredy cat in front of her new friend. "But... Sure, I'll listen to your stories," she agreed after a moment before shifting a bit to lay more comfortably next to the fire, giving him her full attention while she waited to see what stories he had in store for her. Talk

Milo took note of the apprehension in the young female's eyes and made a mental note to try not to scare her too badly. After all, she had been nothing but kind and welcoming to him, the least he could do was not scare the living daylights out of her. He had heard many tales from wolves throughout his travels, some more farfetched than others, some mild and some downright terrifying. They seemed like the perfect selection for an evening around a crackling campfire. He pursed his lips and tapped his chin with a paw as he mulled over which story he wanted to tell her. After a brief moment of debate, his eyes lit up as he selected one. "All right, but just tell me if you get too scared. I don't want this to be traumatic for you," he said with a soft chuckle. "Listen closely, Nausicaa, because I'm going to tell you the legend of the fleshgaits. I've heard this story told by several different tribes of wolves far beyond the borders of Boreas, in cold, barren lands where snow is more common than grass. Despite the differences between these wolves, the story has always remained the same, which means it's either been told very well, or it's entirely true..." Milo started to grin a wicked grin, then broke character as he realized he'd forgotten something. "Oh, wait, I almost forgot!" He reached into his messenger bag, producing the pieces of driftwood he had acquired earlier. He held up two of the larger pieces, giving them a sniff and was rewarded with a strong scent of salt. "Have you ever seen what happens when driftwood burns?" he asked her, then tossed the two pieces on top of the fire. The campfire sparked and crackled violently for a moment, then the flames burst into bright blues and purples, a chemical reaction to the salt and calcium in the saltwater-soaked wood. Their little campsite was suddenly engulfed in an ethereal blue light from the fire, adding to the atmosphere Milo was trying to create. "There we go, perfect! Now where was I...?" "Far away from here there lived a small family of wolves out in a dense forest. The family was otherwise normal: a father, a mother, and three young pups. They lived normal lives on their own in a large den with multiple rooms; in the summer the pups would play in the nearby stream, and when winter came they would bound through the snow. But one cold winter's night, something woke one of the pups from a deep sleep. As the pup stirred, he realized it was the sound of his father's voice, calling to him. Confused, the pup got up and went to look around for his parents in the next room over. But as the pup passed by the entrance of their den, they heard their father's voice call again—from outside the den." Milo paused for a brief moment to put another piece of driftwood on the fire to keep the blue flames burning when they started to turn orange again. "Very confused, the pup called back for his father, inching close and closer to the mouth of the den. He could feel the icy cold air rushing by just outside and he could see the heavy snowfall. Why would his father be outside in this weather in the middle of the night? Maybe he had gotten hurt or needed his help for something. Again, the pup heard his father's voice calling and beckoning to him, urging him to come outside. Just as the young pup neared the entrance, he heard another voice behind him. "Son...? What are you doing out of bed...?" It was his mother, groggy and confused as she approached him. "Dad's calling for me outside," the pup replied. "I think he needs help." The mother stared at her son, bewildered and perplexed. "Your father's sleeping in bed. What are you talking about?" she explained. Before the pup could explain further, a strange, shrill shriek tore through the silence outside, followed by the stamping of heavy feet. The mother rushed to pull her child back into the den, staring in horror at the darkness outside as she screamed for her mate. The father rushed to her aid, hurrying outside to face the threat... only to find nothing but darkness and snow. There was nothing there..." Milo grinned again as he took in all of Nausicaa's facial expressions as he told her the story, using her reactions to gauge how well he was doing and to make sure he wasn't spooking her too badly. "What the father did see though was a trail on prints the likes he had never seen before, circling the den, and then running off into the darkness. What was strange about these prints though, was that they began like normal wolf prints, then became something... unnatural. More disturbingly yet, those wolf prints perfectly matched his. Terrified, the family all slept together that night with the father staying up on guard duty. When morning finally came, the mother decided to go enlist the help of a nearby tribe of wolves for protection. She left her family in the care of her mate and set off. She did eventually find the tribe and explained what had happened to her family the night before. Concerned, several of the tribe's warriors escorted her back to her den to investigate. But when they got there..." Milo paused, holding his breath while the blue flames cast deeper shadows across his face. "...there was nobody there... Her family—her mate, her children—had all simply vanished. There was no scent trail, no paw prints in the snow, nothing for them to follow. They were simply gone. Despite a desperate search, the family was never seen again. Heartbroken and with nothing left, the mother returned to the tribe with the warriors. What was she supposed to do now? Her family was gone, and they had no way to begin to find them. She didn't even have the slightest clue what might have happened to them. Well, she didn't have to wonder for long... because a few nights later, on another dark, snowy night, she heard her son's voice calling out to her from the darkness, beckoning her to come back into that forest..." The driftwood was finally beginning to burn out, the normal orange color of the fire returning to bathe them in its comforting light. Milo prodded at the fire with the stick, flaring up a few lingering blue embers in the flames. "No one really knows what a fleshgait is, you see. The common thread in all their stories is this: they are unnatural, paranormal creatures that feed on any living being, be it hare or bear or anything in between. No one knows what they truly look like, because they have the most effective hunting methods. A fleshgait takes on the form and voice of another creature, like a shapeshifter, and use their disguise to lure out their victims. Often, they will choose to mimic loved ones or friends, although they can never do it perfectly, often using only a few lines of speech they may have overheard. Once a fleshgait gets you alone, however..." Milo chuckled a dark chuckle. "The scariest thing is that unless you know how to identify one, you could never tell who or what is a fleshgait, hunting you from plain sight... It could be your best friend, your significant other, a pack mate, a family member..." Milo locked his gaze on Nausicaa's, leaning slowly closer to her as he spoke. "...It could even be me... BOO!" He punctuated his last scare with a quick, playful jab at her side with his paw, hoping she had been too engrossed in his story to notice him trying to startle her as he laughed in a humored, good-natured manner, secretly praying he hadn't scared her too much. "Speech" — Thoughts

Nausicaa steeled her nerves for the scary story to come since as soon as he began she could already feel herself being creeped out by the just the introduction to the tale. His delivery was eerie and when he surprised her by dropping a piece of driftwood into the fire to change it to a creepy blue color she immediately began to wonder what she had gotten herself into. She was locked on to every word as he spoke, her eyes wide and shoulders tense by the middle of the story when the female went back with the warriors to find her family. She was like a coil ready to spring by the time he closed out his story and leaned closer to deliver the final line so when he poked her side she leaped up like a rabbit with a squeal. She danced back from him and the fire a few steps with a nervous giggle as she tried to figure out a way to play off her very obvious fear at what was supposed to be a fun story... or at least she hoped it was just a story. Right then a rustling in the bushes behind her made her jump again and with another squeal she went running to Milo's side, dropping back down to the sand as she pressed into his side and her wide, blue eyes looked toward the bushes in question, half expecting some creepy creature to come lurking out at them. Instead, a bird flew off into the night and her ears feel back against her head with embarrassment. She giggled again and glanced toward Milo, a flush quickly coming to her face when she realized how close to him she was. "O-Oh! Sorry!" she apologized, stumbling over her words about as much as she was stumbling over her own feet. She scooted away from him so that she wouldn't be encroaching on his personal space and gave him another embarrassed glance with an apologetic smile. "You're really good at telling scary stories," she admitted as well, chuckling again as she gave another glance over her shoulder just for good measure. Talk

Nausicaa's fearful reactions instantly made Milo get remorseful over his choice of story. He hadn't intended to scare her that badly, and even though he saw the nervous smile and weak laugh she gave him, he could see she was feigning it, probably for her own sake. His smile softened and an apologetic expression replaced his mirthful grin. He had just opened his mouth to apologize for scaring her so badly when a snap of a branch and rustling from a nearby bush made both of them look up with a start. The next thing he knew, Nausicaa had scrambled over to press herself against his side for protection, using him as cover and startling him in the process. He blinked through shocked teal eyes at her, reflexively moving a paw across her shoulders to cover her from any incoming threats, when they saw a nightingale burst from the foliage and fly off into the inky black sky. Milo gave a soft, relieved laugh as he watched the bird disappear from sight, then looked back down to meet his companion's embarrassed gaze. His paw moved off of her immediately as she began to scramble away, his own face flushing warm and hoping he hadn't intimidated her or put her off somehow. Everything had just happened in the blink of an eye and on sheer reflex. "Oh, no no, you're okay," he replied, trying to offer her a reassuring smile as comfort. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have scared you like that. I saw that you weren't into it, and I went forward with it anyway, so I'm sorry. No more spooks from me, cross my heart." Milo made a gesture of making an X over his chest with his paw. "I do have other non-scary stories I can tell if you ever want to hear them! One of the benefits of being a wanderer: you get to experience so much of what the world has to offer." He smirked at her, a frisky gleam in his eye. "Unless you'd like to try to scare me for revenge. How about it, Naus? Got any good stories to tell, scary or otherwise?" "Speech" — Thoughts

Nausicaa began to relax a bit when Milo started to reassure and calm her down. She knew it was just a story, but he had just been so convincing! With the spooky lighting from the fire, the darkness of night, and the crumbling building still looming in the distance it had just all accumulated into what had turned into a very, very scary story... at least to her. She chuckled a little and some of the tension left her shoulders when he crossed his heart about no more spooks. She believed that he would hold true to his word and she certainly appreciated a little humor. She decided maybe scary stories just weren't for her. She'd have to stick to the funny and historical stories instead. His challenge to scare him in return with a scary story of her own brought a real laugh from her and she was quick to give a shake of her head in response. "I definitely couldn't top yours! And if yours didn't scare you then nothing I could come up with would even make you blink," she insisted, a smile lingering on her lips. "I'd certainly like to hear some other kind of stories though! It sounds like you've done a lot of traveling so I bet you have some good ones." Even though she had spent a bit of time outside of Boreas, she hadn't really crossed paths with many others in that time and didn't really find anything of note so she was sorely lacking in the story department since she didn't really think he'd like hearing stories about her family. She loved to listen to stories though so if he was offering then she would certainly continue to listen. Talk

This time, Milo was unable to stifle an airy laugh when she mentioned she could never out-scare him, citing his bravery to even tell his own story. "Oh, believe me, I was not as brave as you think the first time I heard that one!" he reassured her with another laugh punctuating his admission. His smile widened and his eyes seemed to glisten with life in the firelight at the prospect of sharing his adventures with her. "I'd be more than happy to tell you some other ones! I haven't done that much traveling, but I did spend the last year of my life just wandering and exploring, so I guess you could say I've been here and there." He sighed and stared off into space—literally, gazing up at the stars and the moon overhead as he recalled where his paws had taken him over the past year. "Gosh, where to even begin... It's so hard to keep track of lands when each day you just go wherever your paws take you. Whatever place sounds interesting, you just... go for it. It's total freedom, and it's exhilarating!" His smile widened, almost hurting his cheeks as his eyes moved back and forth through while sifting through the archives of his memories. "I've seen tribes of nomadic wolves in the frozen tundras where I heard that last story told. I watched as colors danced in the night skies above those snowy lands, painting pictures by merely existing. I wandered through dense pine forests and met wolves who lived in old abandoned towns that the Forgotten Species used to live in. I walked along the coast for two days before I finally found Boreas. I saw plains with golden grasses as high as a wolf, just a sea of wheat for as far as the eye could see. I saw lakes and rivers and streams and lagoons in all different lands with different creatures. I've met many friendly faces that welcomed me as a guest and many bared teeth that chased me away." He turned his head and shot Nausicaa a mischievous grin. "I've gotten very good at running. It helps when you're trying to explore Forgotten Species' ruins in a territory with less-than-friendly wolves occupying it." He sighed and blinked to bring himself back into the present, receding from his library of memories to shift his body and face Nausicaa. "I'm sorry, I probably sound downright silly with how obsessed I am with a dead species of creatures. I know it's not the most exciting of subjects... I also promised you a story!" He cleared his throat and sat upright. "How about a true story this time—one of mine? Would you rather hear a story of the friendly wolves I met, or the ones who chased me?" "Speech" — Thoughts