Firefly Weir I know that dress is karma

August 11th; Partly cloudy; Early afternoon; 71 ° F, 22 ° C.

Since venturing north and towards the closest source of water, Sawyer had been grateful. Her paws ached and her muscles screamed but the sight of the lagoon had been a welcome sight. The pack she had briefly stayed with prior to her arrival to Relic Lore had been amenable despite the possessive Leader and the numerous women that had made up his pack and family. That had all been temporary to begin with, though, and that in itself was something. She had heard of stories of this kind of wilderness, whispered to her particularly by Leader, and her curiosity had piqued at last.

Wide orange eyes drank in the sight of the watering hole, her paws never stopping until she found the small weir. She dipped her head down and quenched her thirst, drinking as much as could without feeling too full. She had more miles to travel she was sure and she did not want to have to stop every so often to relieve herself - she also did not want to accidentally mark anything that might have laid near local pack borders.

A sigh lifted from her as she shook the water from her ivory chin. She placed her paws in the pool and gazed up to the sky, counting the nimbus clouds and wondering if they would make way for a long-awaited summer storm.

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

deron selwyn

But you're not coming home with me tonight

Where was he going? What time was it? Who even was he? Well, Deron could answer two of those questions, partially. The sky would share that it was perhaps creeping into mid-day and he was himself. Even if he never really felt like himself. Especially times like now where he mindlessly wandered through foliage to make his way to nowhere in particular. There was never any goal besides feeding himself. In a way, he was like a child. Only thinking about when his next meal and nap would be.

He weaved through a few more trees before being greeted with a sparkly sight. Water. "Ah, what a relief.." The older male thought with a small smirk and few gentle sways of his tail. If he had cared or been paying more attention he would have realized he wasn't alone. Someone else was here too, doing almost the same thing as him.

As he finished his drink he raised his head and gave a brief shake sending droplets flying everywhere. The Selwyn wondered if he could go for a quick swim to beat the heat. Even if clouds lined the sky they weren't enough to stop his darker (but greying) pelt from soaking up the heat. Slowly he eased himself in until he was about chin deep. Before he could fully enjoy himself he then realized what he should have in the first place. He wasn't alone. Out of the corner of his Selwyn yellow eyes, he could see a figure. His head turned to examine just who or what it might be. Deron could say that he was pleased. It was a slightly younger female with varying colors. But Deron really didn't care about the little things. He was curious if she would make for good company...

The woman's attention was pulled away with the rustle of the nearby grasses. She visibly flinched but she mastered herself as she watched the dark male come into view. This was not the man that had led the pack to south (he really could have been but there was something about the man's posture that was off), but this was not one of her younger brothers either. He was much too... one side of Sawyer's muzzle scrunched up and her head tilted... handsome. This wasn't to say that her yearling brothers were unattractive, but there was just something about the stranger that kept her stare.

He, too, brought his muzzle down for a drink, removing the water drops from his chin with a shake just as she had moments ago. There was a pause, a sudden shift in the air that seemed to remain too still for too long, and Sawyer had to hastily turn away. Her eyes fluttered as she came to the present, exhaling through her teeth and flicking her ears back against her nape. She could have been embarrassed, but she was determined not to be. After all, it was probably more gentlemanly for him to announce his appearance versus her turning on her ladylike charms.

Half a smirk began to climb up her maw and when she came to fully look at the brute again, she waved her tail as an open invitation for conversation. "Come here often?" she remarked, her whiskered brow quirking as if to bait into coming closer.

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Deron wasn't the best with women. That had been more of Savion's thing. Flirting it up, swooning the ladies, being rather bold. Derry more or less gawked and hoped for the best with them. Which was likely why he had no mate and or sired any litters in his lifetime. Oh, well.

As he stood there rather defenseless deep in the lagoon, yellow eyes took in the view. Her question was intriguing and he slowly made his way out of the water to the shore. "Nah." He answered slowly trying to buy himself some time to find something charming to say. "Should I, though?" The elder Selwyn raised a brow as he closed some of the distance between them. His fur still dripped from the lagoon's water but that wasn't his focus here. There were bigger fish to fry.

Up-close he could notice some things better. The way her orange eyes seemed sparked with life, that dark mask guarding those fiery orbs or how she stood shorter and seemed to weigh considerably less than him. He wanted to wonder if the world was turning in his favor but the last thing he wanted to do was jinx himself right as something good was happening.

She stood as tall as she dared. This part of the Lore didn't seem to belong to anyone and she was quite confident by now that she was not in the presence of a pack wolf. If that had been the case, he might have been more domineering or adamant that she knew just who he was and where he had come from. Her father, brothers, and that other dark Leader were that type of man. Much too proper, too traditional, too patriarchal... This guy was a breath of fresh air.

"Nah," he had replied. Sawyer inwardly chuckled to herself, the only evidence of it being the growing grin on her face. There were men like those in her usual social circle and then, clearly, there was this guy. He drew closer and she took a seat at the water's edge, keeping her paws rooted in the wrist-deep shallows. "Should I, though?" he then asked.

Her eyes went to her reflection, the sides of her face rippling from where her paws disturbed the glassy surface. "Maybe," she hummed before looking back at him. "It depends." Her tail had curled, kept in motion with a friendly wag, "You one of the locals 'round here or just passing through?"

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Local? That wasn't the right title for him. Did he linger around this place like a smell that wouldn't fade? Yeah, but he didn't really know anyone here or even know the name of the places he was at. He had no ties to this place (that he was currently aware of). Local was far from his current title and he wasn't afraid to admit it.

With a soft shrug, his Selwyn yellow eyes settled on the new girl's face. "Not local at all. Suppose passing through is one way to put what I'm doin'." He wasn't sure if she'd understand exactly but he hoped she would. She was pretty and often times the pretty girls didn't have a whole lot going on in the mental compartment. Only sometimes, though. He didn't count at all pretty females because sometime's he had been proven wrong with harsh words and a click of their teeth. What rough times to be a Selwyn.

"And you, miss...?" He trailed off in a likely less-than-sly attempt to get her to give up her name first. No one said he was the smoothest Selwyn out there but he was giving it his best effort, which wasn't all that much mentioning it was kind of hard for him to muster up an effort for anything. Regardless - he'd give a little bit of work for her unless she proved unworthy of it.

So, the guy wasn't local. Sawyer was neither impressed nor displeased. She, herself, wasn't setting up camp or making any sort of permanent residence any time soon (as much as she presently knew). Her gaze raked over him again, taking in the patches of grizzled fur and the places along his ears and muzzle where his fur remained pitch black. She shot him a coy smile; he was probably a little older than her, but she had been a true adult for some time now, refined by freedom and groomed by the ways of the wild. There was no doubt in her mind about holding her own ground. It wasn't like the guy was going to pup-nap her or one-handedly (pawed?) seduce her at this time of year.

"Sawyer," she filled him in without even missing a beat. She canted her head to one side and gave a flick of her plume-like tail, a gesture nearly equivalent to her human counterpart flipping her hair, "New to the area. Looking for a place."

She hummed again, the sound almost like the beginning of a laugh but never continuing further than that first note. Two could play a game like this. "You wouldn't happen to be able to tell me anything about any nearby packs, would you, mister...?"

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Sawyer. What a nice little name. So formal and crisp. It seemed like the kind of name he might hear belonging to one of Savion's flings. Not in the bad way of course. She seemed really pretty and nice but those were the kind of gals that usually got hooked onto his brother's smooth talking. Deron on the other hand? He was lucky to have even made it this far.

He offered a small hum and nod when she announced she was new to the area. This area, in particular, he was new to also but he'd traveled around a bit. Not a whole lot, though. Past a river, up the mountain before coming right back down again. He'd likely stick on this side of the mountain for a good while unless he discovered some other way to get over without going around the lakes again. Stupid lake wolves.

"Deron. But Mister is a title too formal for me." He said without much humor. She looked like the kind of lady you called miss and had your best manners around but him? He wouldn't admit it out loud but he was a little rough around the edges. Graying here and there while his fur was usually ruffled or dirty. Mister certainly wasn't the kind of title he deserved. "Don't know 'bout nearby but I'd stay away from those mountains to the east. Rude pack of wolves up there who will pretty much wanna kill ya just for going by somewhere nearby the borders." His head shook back and forth softly before he looked back at Sawyer.

"Deron," he lent, going so far as to admit that the prefix of 'mister' was a tad too formal for his taste. What information he was able to supply was not much, but in her book, it was just enough. She had not been planning on heading east anyway. At least, not yet, but perhaps now the idea was scratched off for good. She had no intentions of cutting her adventures short or accidentally offending anyone.

"Fair 'nough," she gave him another rather coy smile. "Well..." In one fluid - perhaps what one could call "slinky" - move, she rose to her feet. She gave her paws a shake as she removed them from the water and stretched out her left hind leg for good measure. Truth be told, even if Sawyer did have the whole afternoon and evening ahead of her, she was going to get a head start on finding some sort of place to settle down in for the night. Besides, it would seem that Deron had little else to offer her. What she had wanted to know was if there was a pack nearby and if they were hospitable.

"It's been a pleasure," she wasn't going to let him down gently or invite him to tag along or tell him to just get lost. It wasn't Sawyer's style with this sort of chap. "And I won't keep you. So, catch you around... Deron?" Again, with the flirtatious grin and flick of her tail.

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡