Elias hadn't yet dared to venture into the forest. Not this one at least, it was thicker, denser than the one to the east of the Keep. Darker too, who knew what secrets hid in it's depths? Elias had no real drive to venture forth into the unknown, he wasn't particularly brave nor was he an explorer. Things were still rather tense and Elias had no interest in annoying any other neighbours that had claimed the land before @Nineva and her crew had even thought about crossing the mountain.

Things had seemingly come to an impasse. But not the good sort, their was bad blood between the two neighbouring packs and Elias wasn't sure if anything could ever be done to make it better. He couldn't help but wonder if the Driftwood Surge wolves would take offence if they knew he was there, limping around somewhat close to their home? He sucked in a deep breath through his teeth, hopefully it wouldn't come to that, today at least.

He kicked a pebble with his good paw and watched it tumble into the lake with a soft little splish. He was half tempted to jump on in after it, it was so hot today-and every other day. Maybe that was why everyone was so cranky and on edge.

Elias glanced away from the lake to see an unfamiliar dark from in the not so far distance. They weren't close enough to say they'd snuck up on him but he should have heard them coming. Probably would have if he hadn't been kicking stones about. Nonetheless, he stood up a little straighter and waved his tail in-arguably, an overzealous- greeting. He'd gotten so used to running into coyotes these days, a friendly face was all he needed.

"Hey! It's hot out today, right?" He stepped forward to wade into the lake a little, inadvertently hiding his bird-feet in the process. "Come on in, the water's great!"

Okay, maybe it was laying it all on a little too thick. The words tasted sickly sweet the moment they left his tongue. He couldn't help but cringe as he internally hecked so many times he lost count. Maybe this was salvageable, they seemed young-ish, maybe they wouldn't call him out on his cringeyness. Hopefully. A boy could dream.

Oh.

Elias flinched, hard, at her harsh words. She hadn't yelled or growled at him, but he couldn't help but feel as though this was worse. That it was so effortless, automatic, made him regret even offering, even trying to be nice. As if he could be anything but. His tail nosedived down between his legs before he flicked it back up. It wasn't a big deal, there was no use in getting all upset about it.

"No no, it's okay. It was stupid." He was quick to backpeddle, to force another smile to pretend as though everything was peachy. No hard feelings, not from his side anyway. "You can never be too careful."

Elias knew that well enough, he'd met enough savoury sorts to understand the world was never going to be as safe as he'd once thought. The fact that her dads had instilled that knowledge in her was good...He was a little jealous, maybe. Ignorance wasn't always bliss.

"Huh?Oh." He mumbled, snapped out of his reprieve. He lifted his front pays up and down as he splished about, as if he needed a moment to think about it. "Vigils Keep. We're...sort of recent? Set up a moon ago ,or so. Across the lake." If he squinted hard enough he could sort of-maybe?- see the rocky shore, the edge of Nineva's kingdom.

"Would...would it be rude if I asked where you were from?" He was half tempted to add whether her dads had warned her about that too, but he didn't want the yearling to think he was mocking her.

Shallows Edge? That name vaguely rang a bell. Was that one of the packs Nineva's Queensguard had mentioned? The tall dark one? Possibly, Elias didn't have a lot of time to mull it over as the stranger went onto ask for his name. Unlike the dark yearling Elias didn't hesitate, he had no qualms about sharing his name. The Selwyn had nothing to hide, the way he saw it he had to lead by example. Maybe if he was friendly and honest she'd relax a little too. Or maybe not, it was impossible to tell.

"Elias Selwyn."He offered dipping his head to make it formal, proper.

He wondered how much he was supposed to say, would Nineva be interested in relations with Shallows Edge? Maybe? Friends and allies were always good things to have, right? His uncle had always stressed the importance of inter-pack relations, that whilst they weren't manditory it was always good to have allies to fall back on when times got tough.

"I'm sure my... Queen would like to speak with your... dads?" He could only assume they reigned over her pack. "Maybe they could come pay her a visit?" Was that too presumptious to ask? To expect her leaders to make all of the effort? He shifted his weight from one paw to the next.

The wind rusted the branches of the nearby trees and-oh. More coyotes? Would Elias never have a peaceful day at the lake? He sighed as, had he hands he would have pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Maybe...I'm not being creepy, promise but there are coyotes. Maybe we ought to get a move on?"

Look like what? Elias tipped his head to the side in obvious confusion. He'd been about to ask, but the yearling continued on before he could even get a word in edge ways. From her -strangely familiar- squint he could tell that she didn't approve of his questioning tone. He hadn't meant to insult her, or her father figures for the matter, he had just been a hesitant to refer to them with such...casual titles. It wasn't all bad though, she didn't shoot down his suggestion. Maybe Vigils Keep could get along with some of it's neighbours, they just had to make the effort, maybe even take the incentive.

At her suggestion Elias nodded. He would have done pretty much anything she said, because for some reason or another he trusted her- and maybe it was because...he wanted her to trust him too.

"Of course, lead the way? I've never really been in those woods before... And Elias was pretty good at getting himself lost. At that point it didn't really matter where they went, all he wanted to do was to shake the coyotes off his scent, lest he lead them back to the Keep...