The Wildwood it's blue, the feeling I've got

Forum RE: Lenticular clouds can be seen hovering over Serpent's Pass from all over the Lore.

June 12th; Mid-afternoon; Scattered Clouds; 63° F, 17° C.

Staying home for so long had not been Anatole's initial plan. Getting caught in Oleander's requests for herbs had been the culprit. The longer he stayed, the longer the missing went unfound. The longer he risked catching whatever illness was going around the Backwater... and, a sick Scout meant a homebound one. Furthermore, a homebound Scout was useless at best.

Anatole knew he was better off out in the wilderness. Apart from a mild sniffle, he figured he was fine, and it was in his best interests that he leave early this time around. Fewer chances of sitting around and getting worse or infecting someone else.

He had seen Eros and Achille off some time ago, bidding them good tidings and luck. While he had meant to follow after them, he opted to stick around. He, too, would search for Archer. Yet another name to add to his long list of names. At least Ally and Jacynth had returned.

Head a bit foggy, he began walking towards the pack borders, brows furrowed as he eyed the skies. Huh. Clouds of all shapes and sizes weren't unusual, he knew, but these hovered over the mountain range. Only there. Maybe that meant something.

Hope it's alright for me to snatch this ^^

Lael had done much of nothing except wander. Not lonely, exactly, but certainly alone, and in a way he'd never been before. Even back home, he'd had someone at least nearby all the time. A parent, a friend, a sibling. Scents clinging to his fur and the knowledge of kinship present no matter if he could see them or not.

Being alone wasn't bad. He carried only the scent of himself and the wilderness, and he could go where he pleased and pretend that there weren't three tiny, endless voids in his heart.

He hadn't wanted them originally. It had even been his choice to walk away. He'd no right to mourn the distance between them like he hadn't been the one to put it there in the first place.

But still. Perhaps it was instincts alone driving these emotions.

They were illogical. Swiftly and efficiently, he filed them into the back of his mind and went along with his day. He had other matters to attend to - a meal would be a good start, or perhaps he would travel a bit, to find something new to focus on for a while.

The clouds proved a good distraction. As did the young man staring at them.

Lael was no religious or superstitious wolf, but even he couldn't figure out exactly why the clouds were behaving in such a way. He approached the figure slowly, pale eyes flicking between him and the sky.

"It's bizarre," he said, opening up the conversation, "isn't it?"

Anatole had only just stepped past a border marker when a voice rang out. "It's bizarre, isn't it?" He tore his eyes away from the strange sight. The voice did not belong to someone he knew, so why he thought the stranger would look familiar, he wasn't quite sure.

Brown eyes looked the rogue up and down, darting from each silver accent to where dark fur met light. The icy blue irises further confirmed that the man was not someone he knew. Furthermore, he was not someone to be ushered back into the Backwater's depths.

"Yeah," he replied, tone edging on being both suspicious and accommodating. "Weird." He stood firmly with his back to the pack lands, ready to turn tail if need be. Something told him to hold his ground, to let the scenario play out first before passing judgment. Having an actual friend wasn't too bad of an idea to entertain.

Like Lael, Anatole was not a man of intricate beliefs or ritualistic means. A cloud was a cloud. Simple as that. "Can't mean that rain isn't on the way though, right?"

there used to be a greying tower
ANATOLE GERAU
alone on the sea

The younger man was large - certainly larger than Lael's average height - and well-built. Handsome, masked, dark-furred. Strong and healthy-looking, he carried with him a similar scent to the man Lael had met at the pool. There was a pack around here, the silver wolf knew, but he'd yet to have the desire to seek them out. Not when he was perfectly(?) content being out here on his own.

His tone was a little strange. Lael had never been good at reading the inflections of others, but there was a touch of something there that he couldn't quite place. Something that didn't quite fall in the positive, though Lael supposed his own general deadpan voice was probably a turn-off for most wolves as well.

"Hopefully. Would be nice to have some rain before the weather gets too hot." The humidity would be terrible, or worse - there would be no rain at all and droughts could occur. This place would probably be among the least affected, with the rivers and streams cutting through it, but a bad enough drought could cause even the mightiest rivers to dry.

Icy eyes flickered over the other man's masked face, studying him. "You have a name?" he asked, hoping to prompt him into sharing.