Spectral Woods a bear out there knows how to use matches

Shallows Edge? He hadn't heard of it. But like he had said, he was told there were lots of packs. There was supposed to have been one with relative pretty far north by a lake or something. Azra was so young at the time it was really hard to say. He had been an adventurous youngster but only in the way he adventured and not the distance he travelled. He had coated himself in river mud and pretended to be a great monster, or he had collected as many beetles as he could in his mouth and spat them out all over his sister. Those kind of adventures. So instead of knowing about Shallows Edge he was very well versed on the best logs to overturn if you were looking for creepy crawlies.

Azra considered himself to be a bit of an acquired taste, but maybe her dad was different. If the girl's mannerisms were any hint he was possibly a bit of a grump. The Donata's own father had been... well he was smart and good, and very brave. Those were the sorts of things Azra remembered. The former lord of the Bend was probably an easy wolf to get along with, right?

But Mom and Dad had fought sometimes. Things were tense between him and he had never really known why. Deep down he could tell they still loved each other—each day they chose family and they chose to be together—and they loved his siblings. When they thought he wasn't listening they would whisper a lot.

Wasn't everyone an acquired taste, then?

Gulping to ignore the sexual hint, he stammered, "Really? Huh! I got a lot of Tainns on one side of my family. My grandma on my dad's side, Corinna, she was the mom of a lotta the Tainns. Then her mate died or something and she uhhh. Ended up with my grandpa over here. I think they left the west side because there was just so much Tainn history they wanted to make their own." Old packs he didn't know, but his ancestry he could not possibly forget.

"Not that l think there's too much of you guys, Tainns. I just always felt a bit overshadowed being like. Related but not. Is that weird?"

Marian sniggered. Was that all it took? One innuendo and he was gulping like a fish on dry land, she half expected him to follow it up with a gasp as he raised a paw to his chest, lamenting his lost innocence. But nope, he was quick to push on despite it all. What a champ. Marian's brows rose at the mention that a way back he had some Tainnage going on in his family too, which meant they were almost family if you squinted but ultimately not? No was no doubt a lot of history and juicy details he glossed over and it was quite tempting to pick his brain clean but she'd go easy on him. For now.

"West...Yeah now you mention it I think my mum was born in Secret Woodlands? Somewhere over the mountain. Didn't stay long from the sound of it."The Selwyn plomped her rump down and squinted at the oak tree in thought.

Again Marian kinda saw where Azra was coming from. The Selwyns might not have left much of a lasting mark on the Lore, not one she could see anyway, but the same couldn't be said for back home. Rebranded with a shiny new name that was even more haughtier than the last her family were everywhere, she could turn in any direction,  walk a few paces and BAM dark coated wolf with bright yellow eyes. They were everywhere, like both haughty and horny rabbits. Now supposedly a few years ago their numbers had been trimmed during an event that earned Marian a bonk on the head if she tried asking about it but she couldn't tell the difference. The potent lack of yellow eyes in this part was quite refreshing, if she did say so. Anyway! The point was it was hard to stand out when everyone that surrounded her was cut from the same cloth, with a hefty pair of names she didn't care to bear the brunt of.

"Nah I don't think so. It's like..." She raised a hind leg to itch at the spot behind her ear, tongue poking out the corner of her mouth. It helped her think okay. "Well no one likes to be left out. But I reckon it's their loss, you seem pretty aight to me. Some folks put too much value in their name and heritage anyway. In the end we're all just wolves, we all shit the same."

Secret Woodlands? Azra wracked his brain. It sounded a bit familiar? But a lot of Azra's knowledge was eastern-based. He had never even been out to the west side... where they had been heading when his dad—actually, now that Azra thought of it there was that other Tainn line that stayed over there. His grandma's first mate's brother. He snorted: so they were practically not related at all but there was so much history between them. Annie might have preferred coincidence, but this meeting was starting to feel like it had always been inevitable. In fact, if things had been different, if this forest was old instead of new then Azra and Annie might have met years ago. This made Annie feel... like he was supposed to know her.

"I liked having a name that meant something, but I mean... really I spent more time elsewhere than here. So I don't suppose it matters," and then he fell silent for a good beat before adding, "Buuttt, if your mom was born over there that makes you my half step first cousin once removed or some malarky." If he had been anywhere near her he would have shoved her playfully, but he's not sure why that thought crossed his mind. "Gross," he said with an awkward laugh.

"So are you like... all on your own or something?" It seemed kind of silly to part ways now. She was kind of family and she had a cute snort.

In Marian's not so humble opinion names were just a jumble of sounds, smushed together and repeated enough till a meaning stuck. But she guessed Azra's point of view made sense, it all looped back to the fact that everyone wanted to belong somewhere, to be whole. Try as she might to pretend otherwise even Marian could remember times when she'd found comfort in being part of something great, stars had shone in her eyes when she'd heard the stories of old and she'd felt...important. Not that she cared for that sort of thing anymore but yeah...she understood, mostly.

Azra was quick to point out what she'd thought just a moment ago. The family tree had always been and would always been a muddled mess in her mind, so the string of words that passed his lips had Marian squinting as she tried to piece them together so that they made sense. Removed cousin half step. Yep that some hell of a malarky if she'd ever heard it, weird and gross but like in a personal joke kind of way. Laughing too, Marian was more than bold enough to make the move Azra was too chicken to. Getting to her paws she stepped forward and gave him a shoulder bump, it didn't feel like she was overstepping since they practically friends at this point, right?

She shook her head at his question, ridding her coat of stray flecks of snow in the process. Standing right by his side made Marian feel a little smug to know that she was just a little bit taller than he was, not by much bit it still counted thank you very much!

"My sister's about somewhere but I mostly like to do my own thing." And what did that consist of? Well...um. "But being honest with you...we didn't really plan that far ahead. We just wanted to check out Shallows Edge and see what all the fuss was about. And now we've gone and done that I got no clue."

When she just stood up and shoved him lightly he made a little helpless grunt of surprise before, steadying himself with several rapid blinks. When he thought about it, he didn't think he had made any physical contact with a girl since his own sister. And when Kisina had pushed him she meant it with a passion and not some light-hearted fun. Nonetheless, Azra liked it immensely.

Annie had a sister too, in fact, travelling with her. Azra focused instead on how his snout had to lift up, ever so slightly to look back at his new friend. "I don't plan very far ahead either," he huffed with another shrug. His warm breath spilled out into the air as a sigh. "I mean I'm here and. Now what? Staying here... I mean. I have a lot of good memories but...the last one was very bad.". He most certainly could not spend the night. Not in the den that was merely around the corner. Not the place he had crouched and cried, mewling like a baby as his dad shouldered his way through the smoke and they both coughed and gasped. It was more of a grave than a den now. He shuddered.

"So we could do something...some where else?"

Angels above his reaction was hilarious. Marian was unable to contain the giggle snort that passed her maw but with a sharp clearing of her throat she managed to rein it in, mostly. There was something oddly charming about his reactions, as though everything was fresh and new, like he didn't know which way was up or down. She tried not to linger on the fact that it was probably because he was lonely and instead saw it as a quirk, an Azism if you will.

She looked around at the young forest and her brows drew in, her lip twisting at the corners as she imagined the roaring flames and the crackling of wood. She inhaled sharply, as though the waft of smoke would fill her nostrils. Yeah, she couldn't blame him for not wanting to stay here, if she'd been in his paws she would have ran for the horizon and never turned back. Whether a mysterious force had brought him here or not it was brave of him to return, to face his past without letting it break him.

"Mmm, for sure we could." She turned a little and looked to the sky for a moment, thoughtful. Then her gaze was back on him, certain and knowing. This boy needed an adventure and pronto! "Pick a direction. Any one. "

"Uhhhhm," he considered his options. There was north, which he'd already come from. There were the Sierra Hills to the east, that would carry them out of Relic Lore and into...well, another place. Then to the west was the cursed-looking mountains that he was in no rush to scale. "South, I think. I've heard that there are some interesting places down there."

"Like a lake named after some Heiress, the old pack lands of a cousin of mine, stuff like that.". The lake particularly interested him because it sounded like there was quite the story around it, not that there was anyone left to tell it or any clues that would help him tell it. Umbra Copse had quite a "reputation" about it, but he figured there were still plenty of bright gems hidden in the shadows. There was a swamp, too, that he was sure held a lot of good secrets. "Yeah, I think I'd like that."

South huh? She pursed her lips, pretending to think about it real long and hard. Honestly, it was a good call, aside from Shallows Edge nothing up north had caught her interest and despite how much her dad probably loved that place it just didn't resonate with Marian in the same way. It was cold and empty, and aside from a few dens and raided caches there was nothing to show for all their efforts. Just another waterfall lake in a world full of 'em. She couldn't see any harm in playing along though, maybe that lake might be more interesting that her old man's haunt.

"Yeah sure, lead the way Az." She said with a grin, bumping her shoulder into his again to get him going. The sooner they left this sad dump the better.