The air around her was dry, clear and crisp as the wood nymph cut across the creek spawned from the Lost Lake to the southeast. It was freshwater no doubt but as it traveled around the Sacred Grove and through Heartleaf Creek the gypsy felt sure that it wasn’t as clean as it could be up there. She would have to visit there soon, as she had heard many things about it including that a pack had been located up there last Elettra knew and it was her job to find out about changes in the Lore.

With each subtle step she took it led her directly north into an orchard of round, red objects—something that she had never quite witnessed before. However, she certainly didn’t bother to try and see what they tasted like and instead swatted one down from a tree before squishing it with her right forepaw. Curiously she lifted it up and sniffed at it, gingerly getting a very faint odor from it but none that really gave her reason to trust the strange object. So instead, she simply walked over to the nearest grassy patch and slid her paw across it to rid herself of the juice that had been eliminated from the circular item.

Exhaling, the Willow Ridge scout took a glance around the open land of the orchards that seemed to be filled with these strange objects. Briefly she wondered if Elettra knew what these things were and what their purpose was but for the moment, it didn’t seem to matter as she was only here on scouting business. All she had to do was continue exploring new places and picking up information and any stragglers she could find to bring home.

Having gotten his fill of the blackberry fields, Erebos swung south, cutting through another dictatorship of berries. It was an odd change of pace, a quick jog altering his world from grass that would drown you to ordered, easy-to-navigate paths created by the oddest of tiny trees. Over it all, he spied a forest that seemed just as spacious, and made that his destination. As pleasant as the orchard was, Erebos had had his fill of being surrounded by masses of the exact same plant.



As he crossed, however, Erebos quickly discovered that he wasn't alone, and naturally took a slight detour to investigate. As he approached the stranger, a chuckle escaped him. Her curiosity drove her to test one of the cherries, and both her methods and her reaction were amusing. He himself wasn't all too certain what these plants bore, but held little interest in playing detective. No, it was the girl that interested him, as Erebos was a beast of instinct through and through; he was enjoying this nomadic trek, but every second spent without a companion formed a numb kind of knot in his stomach. He grew lonely far too easily, and always sought conversation when given the opportunity.



Thus he made no secret of his presence. Cutting through a section of rather closely-grouped trees, Erebos waited until being within the same clearing as her before speaking up.



"You look like you're searching for something," Erebos proclaimed, assuming by the wandering of her eyes and determined draw of her dial. "Maybe I could help?"

With the way that things were Narcissa was always looking for reasons to explore and adventure elsewhere. She loved the Ridge more than she wished to admit, but the scout had also come to realize that she couldn’t stay pent up all the time. After being scolded at the borders during a woman’s blatant display of disrespect with her passing over the borders uninvited, Narcissa had felt somewhat heated towards the male. She had thought she would like him but after that, she wasn’t so sure. He wasn’t like Elettra, and that was probably why the wood nymph was not so fond of him.

So when the jagged breaths of a stranger reached her ears she turned her head slowly to see him clearly, eyes resting upon him before nodding her head in greeting. A man whose coat consisted of something similar to a tawny creature such as herself but he was coated in silver instead of brown—a darker mask upon his crown with fierce burning eyes that scorched the foliage within her mind. “I am simply a scout,” she drawled peacefully towards the knight-like stranger as she turned her body to face him and with this she was able to detail that was larger than herself, “keeping myself nimble for anything that comes along.” She mentioned it in a sly manner, simply alerting him that she was capable of many things—including likely outrunning him as well as fitting herself into his metaphorical palms.

Taking a second to look up to the cherry tree above her, she turned to him with a shrug to say: “what is it that has brought you here?”

Erebos' eyes never left her as he waited for any breed of stimulation. While her physical actions were placid enough to utterly bore, her words strummed to a different rhythm. This could be a very fun interaction indeed. With a roll of his shoulders, the boy stretched out his forelegs, giving a pause beyond her question.



"Sounds a bit like a challenge," he commented, trotting a loop around her. As he moved, his paw caught a fallen cherry, thick and hardened by its time detached from the tree that birthed it. He kept it with him, batting it between each forepaw with every step until once more he stood before Narcissa.



"I'm on a path of self discovery."



The response was accompanied by a crooked grin, making it clear he didn't have a serious answer to give her. Erebos couldn't tell anyone the reason why he happened to be at this place, during this time, because there wasn't one. Just as long as he kept moving, he would be content. That was assured.



With a swipe of his leg, the make-shift ball bounced across the grass to rest at Narcissa's paws. A game, if she wished it to be.



"Want to have some fun, scout?"

“Self-discovery?” she thought to herself as he spoke, grinning from ear to ear. That sounded like a plea to be tantalized and wooed. Narcissa could not help but feel the heat rise within her chest and a cruel smile to erupt within her darkest of minds. However, when he pushed the berry towards her he understood what sort of a game he was meaning. “Oh,” she said with a frown as she lowered her head to pick the cherry up gently between her teeth. Gracefully she stepped forward a couple steps to close their distance before she reached her head out in an attempt to put the cherry in his mouth and therefore touching noses. If that didn’t work, then she’d simply try a different route. “Where’s the fun in a cherry, hm?”

There were so many other games they could play together that would be much more exhilarating. The Scout simply had a bunch of time but none to run around batting a cherry around with her paws—as an aged or experienced male he should know what fun could be had when it was least expected. Months had passed since she had caused any chaos or anyone had been open to it, but it certainly did not mean that she had stopped trying. The web of intimacy was a thrilling one, certainly anyone would know, but as her Queen was not going to open up any time soon she might as well rest her inner-thoughts elsewhere.