He wasn’t hoping, or trying, to run into the silver-eyed girl. If he did it wouldn’t be completely awful, for he owed the annoying girl an apology. Not because he wanted to, but because Everly thought it would be a good idea. Sure, the boy felt a little bad for being so rude to her, but he had no desire to be friends with her. He had enough friends on the monadnock. Adult, mature friends.

Cutting through the tundra with ease the smudge headed for the body of water carved into the tundra. There was lots of little beasties for the knight to chase around the pond and keep him entertained for a few hours before he had to return to the monadnock. Cyril did not like lingering in the lowlands after dark. He was still too small to properly defend himself and he did not like making his parents (or Everly) worry about him. The little Kael liked thinking he was much bigger than he was, for he certainly had a big mouth, but his legs were still stubby and his paws chunky. It made running away from strangers much more difficult.

With the sun warm on his obsidian fur the boy slumped down at the pond’s edge, his forepaws flopping into the water to cool himself down. His tongue lolled from the side of his mouth as he watched the ripples spin across the surface of the water, his brows narrowed softly. The scents of the silver-eyed girl and her brother had faded—it appeared neither of them had visited the pool recently. Good, he thought idly to himself, his tail thumping gently against the ground. 

The little Kael had risen from his position and was prancing about the edge of the pool, chasing little bow-legged beasties, when something stopped him in his tracks. His body tensed as a familiar scent reached his nostrils, causing his eyes to widen and a scowl to from across his dark maw. Both Bug and her brother, Théo, had shared the same scent, but this one was slightly different. A packmate? His ears twitched in annoyance. Perhaps this was a popular watering hole for the wolves of the forest, for Cyril only seemed to encounter them when he visited the pond. Maybe it was time for him to find a different body of water to entertain himself with…

The little smudge approached, her movements cautious as she drew closer, her paws inches away from the edge of the water as she ducked down to take a drink. I’m Sana, he introduced, his nose twitching as he committed the name to memory. She seemed similar to the green-eyed boy he’d met a few weeks prior, as she her lips remained shut once she had asked for his name. It appeared Bug was the odd one in the group, which did not surprise the Kael. How did her brother and the ebony cub in front of him handle her intense personality? “Cyril,” he introduced with a dismissive shrug as a single brow arched, his yellow gaze still focused on the dark girl. “You from trees too?” He asked, his head tipping to the side. Getting to know new wolves was so boring!

The raven cub reminded him of the green-eyed boy he had met here a few weeks prior, for her demeanour was much more subdued. Which suited Cyril just fine, as he was not a rambunctious pup either. Not unless he was in the presence of his parents or his teacher, Everly. Strangers did not interest him, nor did acquiring new friends. But he was willing to amuse the little raven and get some information out of her while she was willing, for she might not be as talkative once she grew older. And that was if they ran into each other a second time. It appeared that they were neighbours, so it was likely that they cross paths again, but it did not mean she would still be into sharing.

They don’t know I’m gone. Interesting. Were all the forest cubs this defiant? Perhaps there were different rules beyond the trees… They not agree with it. How odd! His parents were not always fond of his excursions either, but they never discouraged him. He frowned in response, his brows narrowed. “Then why ya here?” He asked before he could stop himself, his head tipped to the side. He was not opposed to defying his parents’ rules but he was curious as to why the raven youth had chosen to disobey her pack (and/or her parents).

“There’s some cool hoppy things ‘round ‘ere,” he answered as he motioned toward the water’s edge, the frown still present against his dark lips. “They’re fun t’chase.” Alone. 

Because she was thirsty? The boy blinked, dumbfounded by her statement. Surely there was water beyond the trees, otherwise wolves wouldn’t live there… right? His lips curled into a soft frown as he stared at her, unsure how to answer. Cyril knew that his parents were not always fond of his excursions, but he couldn’t resist. His paws often thought for him, dragging him down the monadnock before he could protest. But he didn’t mind. He had seen enough of the lowlands from his secret cave atop the rock, but it wasn’t the same as seeing everything up close. However, his perch did not involve dealing with strangers, and the Kael wasn’t sure he liked those.

He offered a shrug at her words and motioned to the water’s edge with his nose. “Hoppers like water,” he added as explanation before taking a step toward the pond. His yellow gaze narrowed as he tried locating one of the hoppers, his ears still pointed toward the little raven as she continued to speak. “Esplore?” He asked, his tail twitching with peaked interest. “Esplore what?” He was curious as to what the little smudge wanted to see, for it seemed like she was unfamiliar with the barren land. Most of it remained a mystery to Cyril as well, as his legs weren’t long enough to carry him to the corners of the lowlands.  But he had seen enough. For now.

The boy almost felt bad for the girl. She had been cooped up beneath the trees for too long—clearly the lack of sunshine was not good for her. She seemed determined on exploring as much as possible during her little excursion, but Cyril was not sure he wanted to show her. That meant spending more time with her and if she smelt like the silver-eyed Bug, the boy worried that the annoying cub would find them and bother him more. And the Kael was not in the mood to be bothered. “S’kinda borin’,” he admitted with a lazy roll of his shoulders, a lopsided frown tugging at his lips. The monadnock was pretty heckin’ cool, but the lowlands weren’t too interesting. It mostly looked the same, which was preeeetty lame. But it was home and he was getting used to it. Once he was bigger he would explore further and see all sorts of terrain. Unfortunately, for now, he was restricted to the lowlands.

Beyond the forest, huh? “You’re lookin’ at it!” He chirped back in response, his tail wagging softly behind him as he motioned to the tundra with a flick of his nose. “S’all the same!” It wasn’t entirely true, but it mostly was. And that was good enough for Cyril.

Without hesitation the boy flung himself toward the water, racing past the little smudge and barreling into the cool liquid. Lowering his stomach to the bottom of the pond he crouched, his brows narrowed as he kept his nose afloat, his yellow gaze searching for the small hoppers lurking in the shadows…