The Willows were surrounded by a deep fog. Everything from the ground up was swallowed whole, making only the tops of the trees visible. The night air was cool, an eerie thing for it being the middle of the summer. Stars lightly twinkled above in the dark sky, but even their sparkles couldn't be seen by those down below. The air was so thick, you could slice it with a knife...or a good set of claws. All in all, the setting was definitely mysterious.

Amidst the shrouding of the fog was a figure. Silent and slowly stalking, he walked with an air of carrying a heavy burden upon his massive shoulders. Large paws easily panned out when pressed on the ground, leaving huge prints behind after they rose. His coat colors were hidden from the darkness of the night, but he didn't let that bother him. As he walked through the forest of willows, he couldn't help but feel another presence nearby. Maybe it was his mind playing tricks on him; he had been alone for so long already...

Despite the fog being so thick, he tried to sniff the air for any signs of another. Alas, no such proof was evident. A long sigh escaped his large lungs and he continued to walk through the never ending forest of willows. His tail swung lowly behind him, creating small whirls of fog behind his huge body. His ice blue eyes looked around before he finally picked a place to relax. Long legs lowered his torso to the ground beside a small creek and his head lowered to drink from the delicious source. All the while, he remained alert and his ears twisted on his head while he appeared to not be paying attention to his surroundings. You never know who would appear.

Chrysanthe would slip away from the territory with a quick goodbye to her daughter. She never went very far for long - and here lately she had gathered a favorite spot in the west. The Willows were lovely, and a good quiet spot to stay shaded and cool during the summer. Surely she shared this favorite place with a few other rogues, but she had yet to run into anyone during her trips here. Today though, there was an ambiance to the place that it normally didn't have - because today the area around the willows was covered in a thick fog. The night air provided a gentle breeze, but it wasn't enough to blow the fog away, only to make it roll and sink, further blinding anyone who was caught in the cloud.

The half blind woman wouldn't realize that the fog was rolling her way until it was too late - and she would be submerged with everything else in the area with only a few steps forward. She should have felt thrown out of her element, maybe even a bit intimidated by the fog - but fog was something that was part of home now with the addition of the gorge. It granted her cover and allowed her to carry herself without being seen or heard - so long as she went out of her way to keep her footsteps silent. It was instinctual to fall into a hunter's mindset when she couldn't make out who was beside her unless they were pretty much pressed up against her.

She would pause, at the sound of lapping - someone was having a drink? Her head would tilt, wondering what stranger she was caught in the fog with. Or perhaps this lupine wouldn't be a stranger at all? She had met withh er fair share of wolves during her time in Alacritia. The Adravendi would creep forward, her eyes trying to focus through the fog on the figure that was an unknown distance before her - but the fog just wouldn't relent. Finally she would stop with a huff, she wasn't sure whether she was a few feet away from the stranger or a few inches - and there was really only one way to find out. "Hellooooo, I know you're out there." She would chime lowly, but in friendly enough of a tone for the other to assume she meant no harm. "Would you do me a favor and speak to me?" She could figure out where he was with that much, absolutely.

The dark pelted male had become absorbed in the water source he was drinking from. He had lowered his guard while doing so and didn't realize he had, either. Whenever he came to a new area of the world, he ended up being fascinated with how the pure liquid tasted. Secretly, the male would compare differences and similarities of places he had been before. It was only to see which ones tasted the best or the worst. In this case, the water was pure enough in his eyes and on his taste buds, that he didn't want to stop drinking! What a strange observer he was.
All good things must come to an end, and it did for him a moment or two later. Since his guard had been lowered, he was startled to hear a voice nearby. The tones indicated that it was a female, one older than a yearling but not up in age. The assumption was done in a flash, for he ended up being startled by the pretty voice and created an aquatic commotion. His massive head hit the surface of the water, making him breathe in some of what he meant to take in as air. Loud sputters and splashes from his front paws making contact with the water to regain his balance could be heard behind the foggy curtain and a low grumble that evolved into a cough left his large chest. The male ended up falling back on his round haunches, and a soft "Oomph" echoed in the small area of the willows.
Water dripped from his facial fur and the ears that had folded against his cranium. Annoyance etched itself across his face as he started to look for the source of the voice. Where, exactly, had the pretty tones come from? He was going to find out, one way or another. Slowly, he rose from his forced spot on the ground and his large paws began to pad in Chrysanthe's direction (to his right).
From where the Valhallan Gamma stood, a piece of fog had been taken away in front of her. The willows and their massive trunks and connecting roots stood out plain as day, allowing the moonlight to shine in that spot. With the help of nature working its magic, his shadow of a body stepped from the dense atmosphere and he materialized as the moon hit him. His primary coat color, a deep ebony, made his glacial-blue eyes with the silver outward tips shimmer more than usual. He stepped out with one massive paw, which spread out against the ground with his weight added. One would notice the way his muscles moved beneath his fur just from the movement, but they would not want to focus on just one part.
The stranger's ears pricked forward, white outlining the inner edges. His massive head and broad shoulders broke through the fog as the rest of his large body followed. His hind paws matched his front - all four were dipped in silver, as if he had stepped in paint. His tail had faded silver at the tips of the fur, of which he swept behind him lazily. White fur was faded at his front elbows and the fur of his upper hind legs, catching the moon's light by just a bit. The scruff on his neck and shoulders rolled with each long step he took, indicating the flurries of white and dark grays mixed together. Slowly, his body took in air and his large lungs then gently pushed it out.
As he slowly walked through the small gathering of willows, Garth's frame stood out against his background. It was oblivious to him, for he was more focused on the russet-faced female in front of him. Her one good blue eye and her other white one made him want to keep her gaze for more than a minute. His own North Pole eyes blinked slowly and his forty-inch frame stopped a few inches in front of Chrysanthe. "You rang, m'lady?" he asked softly, tones deep with a rich baritone. "I hope I am not seeing or hearing things and that you are real...The fog can play tricks on the mind, both tempting and cruel." He raised a wet eyebrow, wondering if she was the mirage that had spoken to him.

Chrysanthe had expected a voice in return to her request, but she must have scared whoever was out there because a flurry of splutters and a few splashed could be heard from where she stood. She would blink, her head tilting slightly as she listened for the stranger, taking purposely gentle footsteps in the direction of the commotion. Unknown to her, the other lupine was doing the same - stepping through the fog toward her. When they finally crossed paths, the woman would be surprised to have to look slightly up at the brute standing before her. The Adravendi was a larger lupine herself, it was rare that another have more than an inch or so on her. The water that slid off of his fur would make his muscles that more distinct - well built, it was surprising that he didn't smell of any of the surrounding packs.


His size wasn't his most peculiar trait either - glacier eyes and a silver trim would detail his dark coat, making him stand out against the fog and moonlight. The alpha would meet his gaze as he spoke, her one good eye taking in the details of his face. He seemed genuine from what she could tell, with a hint of a tease to his tones that was just enough to capture her curiosity. 'Alright, I'll bite.' Who was this mystery lupine? She wanted a name, and a bit about him if he was willing to share. "Figments of the mind usually take forms of those we already know." She would reply. "And I don't believe we've ever met." Her tones were gentle, mirroring his own - and yet there was a touch of mischief to her. Perhaps it was knowing that she had spooked him well enough to get him to fall into the water he was drinking out of that pulled the reaction.


Or perhaps this brute was just interesting.


"I do apologize though, if I scared you before?" Holding back the grin took a smidgen of effort, but she would do so - only revealing a small smile alongside her words.

The black male remained standing at his full height as his head leaned to the side with interest. She had a witty tongue about her as well, something he hadn't found in many wolves that had crossed his path. The change of pace in the pretty stranger was enough to make him give a soft, but deep chuckle. It rumbled from his chest and remained there as some of it escaped through his dark lips. White teeth perked from beneath his upper lip as it pulled back in a small grin. "If we haven't met before, it is a shame we had to wait until now." Ah, smooth. Reeeal smooth.
Garth didn't know what kind of game the world was playing with him, but if he had a pretty partner involved, it would probably not be so terrible. The female, whose name he had not received yet, continued to speak after the appropriate pauses. She gave him an apology and he silently shook his head from side to side. Droplets of water sprayed in various directions, and he silently hoped they didn't touch her dry fur. It was enough to deal with facing a lady with a wet composure, but he would live with the shame, however short it was. "There is no need to apologize, m'lady," he countered, tones ringing deep and soft as he spoke. "I shouldn't have lowered my guard to where it was. You would think that since I have travelled enough miles in my life, I would know better."
His North Pole eyes glistened in the moonlight as he slowly reclined to his haunches. A soft thump echoed in the small, occupied area as his hind legs became accustomed to the wet ground. "I suppose not many wolves venture out to this part of the woods...unless the fog rolled in when I did?" Garth was not sure about the weather of various places in Ala, so he only went with what had been given to him upon his arrival. Weather talk could be boring, but he ventured through it anyway, hoping to find a worthy candidate in the female to sort through the norms of it all.

She had managed not to grin - at least wanting to start her interactions with this male as somewhat polite. But he was quite good at making her want to smile, to laugh - and his flirting may not have been taken completely to heart, but she appreciated his ability to think on his feet. Her smile would not waver, but she would not be able to keep her eyes from curiously trailing over the brute's frame when she wasn't holding his iridescent gaze, her tail from wagging a little faster behind her as she let herself enjoy this stranger's company. "We can blame the fog and call it a day, then." Honestly she couldn't see too far ahead herself, and didn't think any less of the man for being surprised.

"The willows are one of my favorite places to be - it's loveliest when the wind blows through here." She hadn't seen it fog up like this before - an omen, perhaps? It didn't seem to be too thick at first - it swept by faster than it did over the moors back in Valhalla. and flowed around the woman until her vision was nearly useless... oddly enough, it didn't seem as thick now that she was here with this nameless brute that had just enough charm to him to hold her attention. "You're the first I've run into while coming here." She would admit, and honestly she was glad that she had run into him here. It was best that she not get selfish about sharing the little rogue territory. "I suppose that makes me rather lucky." She would tease lightly - lucky to meet him - she wondered whether she would feel the same way at the end of their meeting.

"You're not a native to Alacritia - where did you come from?" She would wonder aloud. If he didn't want to tell her she would understand - she was just moving the speech along and honestly - she was curious about this man. Regardless of her apparent curiosity though, she then realized that she had gone and asked him about his past without even introducing herself first. She would make a small noise, a little mixture of surprise and sheepishness - before she bowed her head toward the other. "Sorry - I didn't give you my name. I'm Chrysanthe Adravendi, It's a pleasure." And she would look back up to the other and wait for him to give his name as well.

ooc: sorry if this isn't good my muse is being a poop lately

The unnamed female flirted back and it made the inner core of the giant silently rumble in delight. He hadn't met anyone who shared the same mannerisms he displayed in a very long time. The change was nice and he felt a bit more of him open up as the conversation continued to carry on. Ice blue eyes didn't miss her own gaze sweeping over his frame, taking in the details of the obvious silvers and whites against his black fur. In turn, he looked her over with a gentle, yet firm gaze as she spoke of the fog getting the blame. Politely, he met her own blue eyes and gave a tiny nod. "Such a horrible culprit, it deserves the blame." At that, he couldn't help but chuckle.
The russet-faced beauty spoke of the willows being her favorite places and he couldn't help but take her word. He was new, after all, and this was the first place he had sought refuge for safety, food, and water. It was a good thing he did, then, for he had no idea he would come across another wolf upon his first night there. Silently, he tried to imagine the willows at the break of dawn, when the sun would first appear over the horizon. "I will have to wait and see what beauty is captured here in the morning, m'lady," he commented. Her stroke of luck finding him was verbalized and he couldn't help but let another grin appear. "So far, I feel lucky to say the same thing. Not many females I come across in strange lands are as genuine upon first encounters." Garth hoped she realized that she was indeed one-of-a-kind.
Ice blue eyes would display a natural shimmer in the moonlight as she inquired to his origins. "You are right, m'lady," he confirmed her assumption before continuing. Even though they had just met minutes before, he felt pulled to tell her. "I come from a land named Neopia, one that has many continents and places to explore. Many different wolves and species live there, but I felt I had to see more than what it had." The memories was one of his reasons for leaving, but he didn't expose that part of him just yet.
The female then apologized and offered a soft smile as she gave her name. Introductions were a custom to keep in Garth's book, but since he was new to Ala, he wasn't sure how their customs were done. "I was wondering if such a pretty wolf had a name..." He couldn't help but give a smile that showed his pearly whites again. "Chrysanthe..." he said softly, letting the name roll of his tongue like a foreign delicacy. "A lovely name, to be sure," he said shortly afterward. "And please, the pleasure is all mine." His wet ears, now being dried by the lessening humidity in the air, perked forward as he revealed his own identity. "I am Garthinaw Liathorn, but most use my first name more often than not since it is all a mouthful." Garth couldn't help but chuckle and he flicked his large tail out to briefly wrap around his large hind legs. "So, Miss Chrysanthe, what all can you tell me about this...world I have come across?"