Turtleback Lake into the barrens

anyone pls come play w/ arion or talk to him or something -- he needs to meet others :)

He was growing so tired of staying close to the pack borders—Arion wanted to see more of Relic Lore. His father had disappeared months ago, without a word or a reason, and now his mother had followed suit. Wasn't he just lucky? The thought pained him, causing a deep frown to cut across his lips as he scurried through the trees, weaving effortlessly around the snow-dusted trunks. He had never felt more alone… Ari wasn’t even sure if he belonged in Broken Timber anymore… both his parents were gone; would they want him to stay? Surely they wouldn’t kick him out… he wouldn’t be able to survive the winter on his own, not without a pack. He didn’t even know where the local packs were!

No—he thought sharply as he gave his head a shake—they wouldn’t do that. Even without his parents present, Broken Timber was still his home, and would be until he chose to leave.

Arion hoped that his mother was searching for his father. He refused to believe that she would just abandon him.

The smudge had never been this far north before. His icy pools widened as he slowed his pace, large paws crunching against the soft layer of snow as he snaked through the trees. The trees were thinning as he approached the clearing, his movement cautious as he left the safety of the shadows behind. His dark coat contrasted obscenely against the white snow and he suddenly found himself feeling incredibly vulnerable. However, the water before him was far too intriguing for him to retreat back into the trees. It was not cold enough for the surface of the lake to freeze; however, the edges were frosted over. His breath clouded his vision as he made his way to the waters edge, his pale gaze narrowing as he studied the islands in the distance. If the water wasn’t so cold he would have attempted to swim over, but Arion had learned quickly that it was far too cold to swim in the winter. Instead, he remained rooted to the shore, silently studying his surroundings. His mind was still racing with thoughts of abandonment but the muted atmosphere of the lake begun to soothe him.

if the offer still stands... :B?

Bleak streaks of sun and a gradual wind had urged the youth from her sleep that morning to begin moving again. She was on a journey with no end - or perhaps one with no beginning, a constant slog of forward motion until something clicked. Winter's dry air forced her to a pause not too long after mid-day, when she realized her breaths were becoming shallow with insufficient lubrication. It was natural that when a big-ass lake presented itself to the youth that she stopped, but vowed to make it snappy. There were so many hours left of daylight and she needed to put them to good use before night came and brought with it its icy breath, nipping at her heels until she found a warm place to bed down.

Her forward-driven lope slowed cautiously as she neared the water's edge, reluctant to come too close to the water. Pressing her sand-colored toes into the hard earth she stretched her neck forward, angling her chin so that she could reach the lake just close enough to lap at the spots where the ice had thinned to reveal water. It was difficult to manage, but she preferred looking a fool to wetting even a single fur on her tapered paws. Frostbite was a cruel way to go, and she had no intentions of dying yet.

Finished with the drink she drew her head forward, allowing her storm-blue eyes to leisurely soak in her surroundings. In the winter time everything seemed to meld together into something grey and ugly; how she wished spring would just show up over night. The benefit, however, of the monochromatic backdrop was that when something very dark showed up against it, that something was easy to spot. Her eyes found the dark shape a great many yards down the lakes edge and to her right. She narrowed her eyes and gave the air a deductive sniff, able to conceive that it was another wolf hanging around over there.

Salmon-pink tongue snaked out from between her teeth, wetting her jet black nose and running across the left side of her muzzle. An irritated huff escaped from her chest, the cloud of her breath passing over her eyes as she closed them and resigned herself to an internal struggle. The idea of company had always intrigued the nomad - she did like to make a friend. The problem was that they were always so temporary, and the disappointment had begun to fill her heart with lead before a single word was even spoken. The choice to avoid this dark wolf was obvious, and she had in fact made up her mind to ignore him and go on her own way when she found her legs shuffling forward through the snow in his direction instead.

Frey gave considerable distance when she stopped ahead of the stranger, her gaze curious and focused. She released a loud whuff of a bark in his general direction, a casual greeting. Unwilling to indicate the weakness of caring she moved no closer, and instead placed the burden on this boy - the encounter was his to make or break.

of course!! thank you for joining! <3 and sorry for the wait!

He had been so used to being shadowed by the sisters—or shadowing them—that it was odd being completely by himself. As nice as it was, it would have been nicer if his thoughts weren’t being plagued by his absent parents. Arion refused to believe that his mother was gone for good. Yes, she had abandoned him, but surely she was seeking out his father… There was no way that she could’ve just left him—she was all he had, and vice versa. Why would she purposely throw that away?

Despite forcing himself to remain positive about the situation, little R couldn’t deny that it was still upsetting. He frequently tried to busy himself with adventures—either solo or with the trouble twins—to forget about his current situation. It was only when he returned to the dens that he was consumed by his thoughts. He always hoped that he would return to find his mother—or father—waiting for him, ready to scold him for being out for too long. As much as he hoped his father would return with his mother Arion was doubtful. He couldn’t remember much about Inkheart; he had abandoned his mother and him at a young age. While he missed him, Arion had accepted the fact that his father was gone and unlikely to return.

He just wanted his mother to come home.

The scent of another distracted him from his thoughts, causing his lanky body to turn to the source as the stranger whuffed a greeting. His pale, ice-coloured orbs blinked slowly as he studied the washed out female, his interest peeked. She was relatively new to Relic Lore—her pelt still held onto the scents beyond the land of Lore; scents that only increased his curiosity. She was not much older than he was and unusually quiet for someone relatively youngish. A soft smile broke across his delicate features as his paws shuffled awkwardly, his head tilted. “Hi stranger,” he responded in a bright voice with a slow wag of his tail. Arion was still young and still incredibly awkward when it came to meeting others. He didn’t really know how introductions were supposed to go, or who was to speak when. The little smudge was mostly just excited to be meeting those outside Broken Timber Pines.

Her baited breath did not hold long; unlike other strangers she encountered the dark wolf turned toward her rather quickly, catching her off-guard with a gaze as bright as the winter sun. Frey lifted her chin quietly, felt herself caught in the intensity of his review. But it was brief, and there was a blink before he greeted her with a genuine, if somewhat bashful, interest. Hi stranger. Those two words combined produced an instant grin on her pale muzzle, stretching wide as she watched his dark paws shuffle awkwardly against the cold ground. "Hello, stranger," she echoed, eager. Curiosity drew her closer, if only by a couple of small-spaced steps, so that she could get a better look at him.

He stood taller than her, but on legs that were a bit too long or gangly to be fully grown - a boy still. Frey tested his identity by way of a wary sniff, noting the myriad of scents in his fur came together as a solid identity. One that she could not name, of course, but one that still represented a pack. The boy belonged to a family, a family whose scent she could not catch near this lake. For whatever reason he was displaced, vulnerable like she was. Then it was easier for her to let her stormy eyes settle upon him once more. "You're all alone here," she observed with a simple tone, but the question threaded in to the sentence was, why?

Her response was warmly received — the smudge gave a slow wag of his tail as an additional greeting as she approached with cautious steps. Not much older than he was, she was a curious array of desaturated browns, her pale blue eyes contrasting beautifully against her dark mask. The scent that clung to her was wild, causing him to yearn for a wanderlust he didn't know he had. He remained uncharacteristically quiet as the girl studied him silently, her expression growing soft before she spoke once more. “Sometimes, yeah,” he responded with a slow roll of his shoulders to show his indifference. “Nice gettin’ away from noisy pack life,” he commented further as an explanation, his head cocked slightly to one side. Had she been part of a pack prior to her current life as a loner, or had she been born a rogue? Curiosity swelled inside of him, threatening to burst as he struggled to bite his tongue. Some wolves weren’t so keen on playing twenty-one questions and Arion did not want to test what could be a potential friendship. The more friends the better.

“M’names Arion, or R, from the Broken Timber pack a lil’ south of here.” Way to be super formal, R — well done. “Are you from around here?” He asked, his curiosity getting the best of him as he kept his pale gaze fixated on the yearling. This was how interactions typically went, right? A little Q&A, getting to know each other — all that fun shenanigans. He was adulting… er — attempting to, at least. It was a start. It also offered as a good distraction from the absence of his parents. He knew his mother would return to him soon — even if his father didn’t, Zia would. She wouldn’t abandon her only son… right?