Celestial Falls i think i left the faucet running

@Landen

This was probably the fourth mountain Nori had seen in her two-month-long journey. Her mother had spoken fondly of her missing family ever since she'd been born, and had finally given in to her daughter's desire to go out in search of the lost wolves. Akio had been much less keen on letting their yearling daughter run off on her own, but had ultimately agreed to Staryn's and Nori's incessant begging. And at first, Nori had kind of regretted leaving them. Finding food was hard on her own, and while her lean, strong figure hadn't suffered too much, she often found herself hungrier than she'd been back at home.

But it didn't matter, she assured herself. It was a small price to pay for adventure, independence, and freedom, all three of which Nori craved more than anything. Finding her family was important, of course, but she was also enjoying just going out and finding herself, too.

The waterfall here was a sight to behold, thundering down noisily into a wide pool beneath. Nori approached the edge of the water, tail swishing behind her and honey eyes wide in excitement. They'd had small streams back at home, but certainly nothing like this. She briefly wondered if it was warm enough to swim, and an experimental dip of her paw into the water told her that it was chilly, but not bitingly so. The yearling waded in to her stomach, barking out a light laugh as a few tiny fish swam away from her paws. She'd never learned how to catch fish, so instead of genuinely trying, she just nipped at the surface and chased them off quicker. It was a fun game, for the moment, and the cool water felt good on her aching legs. Travel was fun and exciting, but definitely taxing on the body. This was a nice reprieve.

(This post was last modified: May 14, 2021, 01:43 AM by Nori.)

You said you'll never be forgiven 'til your boys are too

Landen had been wandering once again, still sticking to the eastern side of the mountain because he simply felt more connected to it. He had briefly travelled to the western side but it had just felt… boring, for a lack of better ways to describe it. He was in the copse near the falls that he frequented when he caught the scent. Admittedly, he was a little starved for social interaction as of late, so he started to wander, subconsciously following the girl’s scent before tilting his head to the side with a grin on his features. She was pretty, and she was also young, but old enough to be out on her own, and she was barking and laughing.

He could appreciate the childlike perspective that he viewed her from, and he made his way to the water’s edge though he hadn’t said anything yet. “Ya know, making all kindsa noise like that means th’fish gonna run.” He stated in a gentle and nonjudgemental tone. It was a simply observation and perhaps even an offer of help. He had caught many fish in his days. “M’name’s Landen.” He offered fully before he slipped his own paws into the water. It felt good as opposed to the heat that was starting to press on his back as spring faded out and summer started to welcome them with open paws.

“Whatcha doin?” He couldn’t tell if she had been trying to catch fish or do something else entirely.

Landen is travelling with Leith and Legolas

You smell the remains of an elk nearby. Enjoy your feast! +10 Health

Nori spun around in surprise at the sudden invasion of a stranger's voice. Her body tensed up in anticipation of whatever the encounter would bring - ready to run or perhaps defend herself if need be - but she would find that that was... unnecessary. A tawny boy - darker than her, with the most vibrant blue eyes she'd ever seen in her life - stood by the water's edge, and his voice was heavily accented, but kind. Probably not someone she'd have to worry about fighting or fleeing from.

Instead, she grinned, fully aware that she must look like a sea otter, fur plastered to her body. "Really?" she drawled playfully, eyes alight with teasing mischief. "Didn't know fish could run. I gotta say, I'd love to see it." For growing up on the coast, one might think Nori would be better at fishing than she was. Turned out, it just wasn't her thing. "I'm Nori," she introduced, tail swishing behind her.

"Apparently, I'm learning new things about fish," she told him, offering the other wolf a bright grin. "I was actually just messing around - taking a break from all the travel. Nothin' serious." Nori scanned the tawny boy over, still appraising him. Studying. "What about you? Aside from the sneaking up on a total stranger, of course." All of her teasing was in good fun, and she hoped the other wasn't too offended. She truly didn't mind being interrupted.

You said you'll never be forgiven 'til your boys are too

He couldn’t help wrinkle his nose as a reaction to her taunting question. He could hear the mischief in her voice and he instantly knew that he was in trouble. He snorted softly and rolled his eyes at her retort. “Nice ta meet ya, Nori.” He offered, a hint of dry sass in his voice though it wasn’t done in a bratty or mean manner, it was simply the way that he talked. “Ya’ve never seen a fish run? Ah’ve seen fish fly.” He stated with another teasing tone, though he had seen a fish jump water before, which had been an amazing sight in and of itself.

He chuckled softly at her words, before listening to what she was actually doing. He snorted at her interpretation of what he was doing. “Ah am wanderin’… somethin’ of a wanderer always… n’my brothers wandered off n’Ah’m not sure where they went.” He explained with ease before tilting his head slightly to the side and looking her up and down. “N’apparently m’teachin’ ya about fish.” He stated matter-of-factly in order to play back into the narrative they had been holding since their initial interactions with one another. “Ya did scare off all th’fish though.” He stated with a hint of sadness in his eyes.

Landen is travelling with Leith and Legolas

"You, too, Landen." This guy was clearly pulling her leg. Flying fish had to be impossible - the most she'd seen them do was swim and jump. "You must have some pretty talented fish where you're from," she responded, pleased that he'd matched her tone. And his voice was pretty funny - where on earth had that accent come from?

It seemed they were in the same boat, then. Wandering alone, for the most part - though Landen seemed to have brothers. That would probably be nice, and she wondered briefly if she'd have siblings back home in the near future. But she didn't think her mother had plans for more pups.

"Well, you're a very good teacher. I've already learned two new things about fish," she pointed out, climbing out of the water and letting her fur drip dry - it'd be rude to shake water all over the new guy. "Sorry 'bout that. I wasn't thinking there'd be a fish expert nearby when I jumped in." She grinned, tail swishing once behind her. "Anything I could do to make it up to ya?"

You said you'll never be forgiven 'til your boys are too

A devious glint wrapped his eyes and he nodded eagerly. “That they are. They jump outta th’water n’then they fly before goin’ back underneath.” He explained in a little more detail, though it was greatly exaggerated as to what ‘fly’ meant, but that appeared to be half of the fun in this particular case. It was easy and carefree, and he found that he quite enjoyed it. Still, he took the teaching comment as a compliment, a hint of pride hidden somewhere in his fur though he did not often let it sign on the surface so perhaps it appeared as more awkwardness, taking after his father during Lachesis’ younger years.

“Ya never know what yer gonna find.” He stated, listening as she apologized and asked. He opened his maw for a moment, thinking about it before he shut it with a soft hum. “I dunno… ya scared off all th’fish unless ya wanna help me catch a land critter.” He offered, a hunt would do well to make things up, would it not?

Landen is travelling with Leith and Legolas