Blackfoot

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She inhaled deep through her nose, breathing in the sweet scent of the flora around her. It was nice, just as nice as the sound of rushing water that cascaded into her ears as she neared the waterfall. She had no particular destination in mind, no particular thing to do. She just wandered as she saw fit and today was no different. She walked to the river the rushed downstream, down to that great fall of water. There, she lowered her head to drink, quenching her thirst with the cool water.

It was a few moments later when she lifted her head, looking around to make sure all was still clear. Right now, it was. So, she sat down and closed her ears. Focusing on everything around her. The sounds. The smells. The feel of the wind on her dark fur. Everything. It was all peaceful. Calm. Tranquil. She sighed to herself contentedly. Letting her mind wander for a few blissful minutes.

"Dialogue"

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You gotta be so cold to make it in this world

The sound of a roaring waterfall nearby was comforting, even despite her slightly sullen mood. For awhile now she hadn't tended to go far from Tojo-Kai's lands, but since Kuroo had gone she'd found herself feeling a bit more restless. It wasn't like he was gone forever, but she couldn't help but feel like she'd really lost him. The fisherwolf didn't usually tend toward being so cynical, but how could she not when something so lovely had been put on pause as soon as it had begun? A quiet sigh left her lips as she drew closer to the water, growing more immersed in her surroundings - and pushing her uneasy thoughts to the side - with each step. The air here was somewhat humid but not unpleasant, and all around she heard the sound of birds and insects buzzing from every direction. This season that Auster had been blessed with was all around a beautiful one, so at least there was that. Moving closer to the edge of the falls, she noticed another wolf sat near the water's edge. A potential distraction - great! A smile crept over her features, friendly and genuine as she let out a bark of greeting. "Afternoon!" Nami called out, moving over the ground, brimming with grass and flowers as she made to slowly close the distance between them. "Hopefully I'm not bothering you?" Something about the scene was so tranquil that she worried she'd be a nuisance, though she'd trust the stranger to tell her as much.

Blackfoot

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And those few blissful minutes were up. Her ears twitched when she heard the voice heralding her from behind. She breathed in deeply and then out, then, she turned her head to focus sea-green eyes on the newcomer. A she-wolf, one about the same height as herself but of lighter build and a totally different color. She was made of earthen tones with a bandana around her neck adorned with shark teeth. An interesting getup but she wasn't really one to judge.

"No." Perhaps if she'd come before the blue woman had had time to think to herself, the answer would have been different but for the moment she was, well, okay, she supposed, at entertaining company. However, that meant. She wasn't really a conversationalist and as she racked her head for anything to say that was more than "hello" she was coming up short.

She also didn't want to take her eyes off of the newcomer either, lest she swiftly find fangs in her neck. So, she simply studied the other woman. Before finally settling on, "No one owns this spot." Quite welcoming, as far as she was concerned. The woman was free to stay or go as she pleased. If she proved to be annoying, Blackfoot had no qualms with getting up and walking off or telling her as much.

"Dialogue"

---

You gotta be so cold to make it in this world

If anything about Nami was guaranteed, it was that she would absolutely disturb a perfectly quiet, serene moment - not because she wanted to be annoying, but she just liked the company of others too much to resist. Annoying was a word that had absolutely been used to describe her, but she tried quite hard to not come across so eager all the time. It was proving easier as she settled in here, as she felt secure in her surroundings and her home in Tojo-Kai, but with Kuroo's departure... well, she wouldn't think about that right now. Better to focus on appreciating the company around her currently. "Oh, good!" Nami exclaimed softly, giving a slow wag of her tail as she approached. Slowly enough, not wanting to give the impression of someone trying to impinge on her personal space, but with a loose and relaxed posture. Not at all threatening. "I know, I just didn't want to..." Not intrude, persay, but making others uncomfortable was the last thing Nami wanted to do. "Get in your space, I guess?" Fumbling a little, she shook her head, rattling the shark teeth that adorned her bandana slightly. Enough feeling sorry for herself. "Are you from around here? These falls are so nice. You just missed the best season for salmon fishing here. If you come just before midday when it's starting to warm up, you can see them literally flying out of the falls! It's so neat!" The excitement Nami felt at such a spectacle was obvious, her eyes bright and full of mirth as she explained what she knew about this place. She realized all at once she was likely oversharing, and she looked a little bashful when the thought hit her, ears flattening atop her head.

Get in her space? She snorted, a sound that didn't convey much to the average stranger but to the blue woman it was a sound that showed some amusement. Mildly, at least. "Wouldn't have let you." If she wanted someone to fuck off or leave her alone and she felt strongly enough, she certainly had no issues saying as much or making them piss off. While she wasn't as prone to finding others to talk to or going out of her way to be social... well, she wasn't going to be a dick and tell this lady to leave. At least she wasn't feeling like it today.

The rattling of the other girl caught her attention and she eyed the strange bandanna around her neck. It was adorned with shark teeth, quite interesting, to say the least. She had a fascination with the ocean and the things within it. Not that she ever talked about it much... but the curiosity was there in her gaze, even if she didn't speak on it.

Instead, her seafoam gaze shifted upwards and away from the bandanna, to the woman's face as she spoke again. Spoke a lot. Her tattered ear tilted back, her good one tilted forward as she tried to make out this stranger. She'd never really interacted with a chatty person like this and she didn't know what to make of it. "No." She replied at length as she sorted through the barrage of words. "From nowhere." A wanderer. Here and gone with the winds. Would that be forever? Who knew. "Easy prey." She rumbled thoughtfully, turning her eyes to the water. "Fall, then?" For the easiest fishing of her life?

She could easily see the excitement and it was... well, strange, to her. She'd never been around someone who showed positive emotions so easily. She dealt with reserved wolves, one who angered easily, those she had to be on guard with --although she was usually on guard with most others at all times-- but someone like this? No, she didn't think she'd ever seen it before. Intriguing. Her impassive gaze flickered with just the tiniest hint of amusement at the other's displays.

"Dialogue"

Death inspires me
like a dog inspires a rabbit

Coding © Plymouth | Images © bulletblend, Lakela, Saurabh Gupta

It was hard for Nami not to scrutinize the stranger closely, not wanting her to seem too seen. It wasn't out of nosiness, but rather just wanting to be acutely aware of whether she was being an annoyance or not. At least the other woman seemed mildly amused, maybe? It was hard to be sure. Nami merely nodded along to her words, whatever they might imply, not putting much thought into it. From nowhere, she answered Nami's question and she nodded, acknowledging she'd heard it. Okay, maybe this lady wasn't a wolf of many words, that was okay- Nami could do all the talking. If she let her, at least. "I'm originally from far away myself. From a fishing village in the far north," she volunteered the short version of her backstory with ease. Divulging too much information with strangers never bothered her. "Spent a long time wandering around without a home after that though. So I get being from nowhere, in a way," she admitted, wanting the stranger to know she could relate, at least in a small way. Talking about fishing seemed to excite her more than anything else though. Her smile was plain as day, her face split from ear to ear in a friendly grin. "Yep, fall. If you time it just right it's about the easiest fishing you can get! I think this is a pretty decent fishing spot all the time though. It's easy to see the fish come over the falls," she gave a gesture toward the falls.

Blackfoot listened in the way she did, not interrupting and showing some mild interest. Hearing the way others grew up vastly different from herself was interesting, in a way. How many different places there were to be born. How it was just chance that they ended up where they did.

She just wished her upbringing hadn't been so shit... but there was no real point in lamenting over it. She was dealt a shit paw in life, and she just made the most of it.

"From somewhere now?" As if it wasn't obvious enough with her scent, but she was curious where that home was. If she wanted to share, anyway. If she didn't, Blackfoot wouldn't press. It was really none of her business in the grand scheme of things.

Although... there was a question that could potentially be her business and she asked it after a brief heartbeat. She was taking opinions on what others thought of loner vs pack life. Weight pros and cons. "Like being from somewhere better?" She never had any frame of reference so had no idea what it was really like in a pack.

Only that that gnawing feeling of loneliness that she tried to push down might be fulfilled.

Smiling wasn't really her thing, but the neutral expression wasn't unfriendly as she peered back at the other woman. Then, she looked at the falls. She looked closely at it and then after several moments thought she could see the flash of scales in the sunlight. To which she gave a small "ah" of understanding. "Always need good food spots." For obvious reasons. Plus, the food being around water was a great plus.

"Dialogue"

Death inspires me
like a dog inspires a rabbit

Coding © Plymouth | Images © bulletblend, Lakela, Saurabh Gupta

Nami's rambling finally elicited a few more words from Blackfoot, and even a question. She tried not to look too pleased with the other woman opening up a little. Even if it was only a minuscule amount, it was better than nothing! Her smile barely wavered as they spoke, and she nodded in response to her question. "I do! My pack lives far south of here, in the bamboo forest, by the sea!" She knew just how reclusive Tojo-Kai tended to be and she feared overstepping, so she wouldn't say much more than that. Where they lived was general knowledge, not something she couldn't divulge, right? "I do like it much more than being on my own," she started, sounding a little more serious now. It was hard to not want to convey what Tojo-Kai had done for her. They'd provided a home when she hadn't expected to ever find one again, and she was deeply thankful. The importance of that was not at all lost on her nor had she taken it for granted for even a second. "I got really lonely before settling down. I don't think being a loner is for me." For some wolves she could see how it'd be good, ideal even, but not for her. She'd certainly tried. Did Blackfoot feel the same? At the very least she seemed quiet and composed, like maybe keeping to herself was a way of life. But Nami didn't need to make any assumptions about her. She noted her watching the falls, noting a glimpse of the fish that swam over the tumultuous water. Her grin grew just a little wider then as she adjusted her weight from one side of her body to the other. "The fishing in Auster - that's what the locals call this continent - is pretty good in general," she volunteered easily. "Definitely check out the southern coast if you ever make it down that way. There's a big wide stretch of sand that's formed into a circle, so when the tide comes in all sorts of fish and sea critters get caught in there!" Too much information? Probably. Nami never knew when to shut up. Still she grinned sheepishly, hoping that the information was at least marginally helpful to her.