Ricin had awoken early, slipping out into the darkness to head toward a new, unexplored (by him) place. The boy had heard a story of strange stones that reside in a moor and he had decided to find them. As the sun rises, fog clings to the land, obscuring normal shapes and twisting trees into strange, terrifying creatures. The moor is eerie in the dim light of morning, the fog only adding an otherworldly feel to this place. Various broken pillars jut out of the ground, their smooth faces carved with strange symbols. The pup steps close to one fallen pillar, the urge to touch the peculiar stone undeniable. Glancing around to make sure no one is watching, Ricin lifts a paw and gently touches the strange pillar. As soon as he touches it, the boy retracts it, afraid that it might, somehow, hurt him. But nothing happens, so he replaces his paw, running it along the smooth surface and trancing the strange symbols.

"Speech"

Location: The Runestones

Duchess was starting to think it was time to head back up towards Boreas and the band. She had been gone for quite some time and since her blinding she had assumed that maybe Emersyn would be a little more concerned than not after she had been gone for so long. Or maybe she thought it was a dead end trying to find her. She tried not to worry too much about it. She at least didn't think Emersyn would physically harm her for it.

In the darker skies of the sunrise, she started to prepare for the journey north, coming around the rune stones and noticing Ricin examining one of the fallen ones. She could have almost giggled as he gently tapped the rock hoping it wouldn't hurt him in return. Coming up from behind he she stated, "You should come here when the moon is out. The stones glow."

"Duchess"

The stone didn’t kill him when he touched it, so that is a plus. As Ricin runs his paw along the etched surface, he rapidly becomes enthralled by the strange cravings. The pup is so taken by the symbols that he misses Duchess sneaking up on him. Suddenly, her voice breaks the silence and startles the pup. He gives a very undignified yelp and leaps on top of the fallen pillar, tucking his tail and turning to see who scared him. The purple lady stares back him and the blue pup says, “Duchess! You almost killed me!”  Yeah, he is being dramatic but his heart does feel like it is trying to escape his chest.

Ricin’s brain finally catches up with him and he looks down between his paws, eyes wide and mouth agape. “They glow?! What makes ‘em glow? Are they toxic?” It strikes the pup that, if they are toxic, maybe it isn’t the smartest idea to be standing on one. Paws scramble as he tries to get off the fallen pillar as quickly as possible. Long legs tangle and send Ricin crashing down to the ground. A soft, “Oof” follows his descent. The pup is unharmed, laying in a tangled mess of limbs and indignity in the grass by Duchess. Huffing a sigh, he asks, “How have you been Duchess?”


"Speech"

Duchess too jumped as Ricin did, she guessed sneaking up behind him wasn't a good idea. "I'm sorry." She spoke, but didn't fret too much about hurting the pup's feelings at least.

Duchess laughed as Ricin thought that the stone was harmful, not to humiliate him but just as someone would laugh at a pup's over dramatic reaction. "No, I don't think they are toxic." Duchess stood up with only her front paws on the rock that Ricin was originally inspecting, her claws too running the length and feeling the grooves of drawings in the stone. "I think it's the kind of stone it is." She informed him.

"Do you have someone that watches you Ricin?" She questioned, maybe a little concerned for him to be alone so often as they met. But more so he could come with them to see the stones at night. She wouldn't be around here for long after all.

"Duchess"

The blue pup smiles widely at Duchess when she apologizes and says, “It’s okay, you didn’t scare me that much.” Ricin puffs out his chest, trying to pretend that he is extremely brave and did not just jump on top of this pillar. His question about the stone being toxic and his mad scramble to get off the object sends the boy tumbling to the ground. Duchess’s laugh has him grinning as he untangles his legs and stands. With his tail wagging, Ricin moves to stand beside her as she runs her claws over the grooves and speaks of stone. With a bob of his head, Ricin points to the symbols and says, “I wonder what those mean.” The drawings are strange and they peek the boy’s interest. Duchess’s next question has the boy nodding as he explains, “Oh yeah. Chade and I are in a band with some really cool wolves. Mrs. Manea is the leader and she says we’re going to be moving soon.” The sudden reminder that he is moving has the blue pup looking to Duchess with worry and he asks, “Will you come to visit me? I like you Duchess, you’re really funny. I… don’t have many friends.” His voice wobbles and falls of as Ricin looks away, the worry of losing one of the wolves he likes crushes his heart.

"Speech"

Ricin asked what the carvings could mean, but Duchess doesn't quite know herself. She squints at some of them, trying to make out the worn stone drawings that had diminished over time in the elements. "I don't know." She stated quietly. Her paw raising to point a claw at one of the thin carvings, "But look, this one looks like the sun a little bit. Maybe it tells a story, or maybe someone was just having fun."

Ricin explains that he is traveling with a band, which puts Duchess at ease. He is much bigger than her, so she isn't too concerned about his capability getting back to them especially all these times they had met. Duchess felt a pain in her chest as Ricin asks if she will come visit him. That longing sense of missing her lost pups there once again as it had been in the last few meetings. "I'd really like that Ricin." She assures him, though it wasn't really that easy to just wander home to him to see him. "I'm going back to Boreas for a while, but hopefully I will see you again really soon."

"Duchess"