Turtleback Lake a fine frenzy

Oops, kept you waiting. Sorry ;-; @Reyes!

She hummed thoughtfully at his words. His tongue was strange, she had to admit that much. Chica meant girl, which meant she had been correct. He had different words for things. So wolves from far away had different words, did they? That made sense, the more she thought about it. Language must've been a local thing ... but how had this stranger managed to pick up the words of wolves in these parts so quickly? Talented fellow, Lena reckoned. She could barely grasp the little she had heard of his home speech.

So caught up in her little whimsical thoughts about his home and his words, she forgot to extend politeness. Offering a sheepish grin and a quiet chuckle, the young girl offered a wolfish roll of her shoulders, a lax shrug. Whoopsies. "Reyes," she repeated, storing it in her memory. "A'ight, I'll remember that!" In all honesty, though, she would probably struggle to recall him if she crossed paths with him again--times of stress left her thoughts in jumbled heaps, and a cloud of black, toxic smoke drifting across the horizon was certainly stressful.

She wondered if she would be like a cloud on her journey across Relic Lore, or if she'd be a stifling, black pillar of ash. Snorting internally at the thought, she discarded the notion that her company would be unenjoyable; as if she weren't lovely!

"Somewhere t'go? Er ... not really. But, I'm headed South. Lookin' fer a place, and fer the people there, y'know? What about you? Got anywhere? Or someone?"

@Lena -- Feel free to archive or post your own exit! Maybe they can meet again after this. :9

“Came from the south. Way south, though.”

Reyes rolled his shoulders in a bored shrug, aware he could offer to accompany her. It wasn’t so interesting, not when you’d lived there your whole life. He missed some things – the sun, for one, beating down on him. The heat was preferable to the snow. His sisters, but who knew if he’d find them, if they’d lionize him or villainize him for being away so long.

Who knew? Don’t ask questions you didn’t want the answer to.

The wolf whuffled a sigh, rolling his shoulders again. “Think I’m headed further north? Or maybe just away from this damn cloud. Ain’t good for nobody.” The questions about others was left carefully alone and he turned about, glancing off towards the distance. First order of business was safety. Then, filling his belly, and a better place to sleep. Less exposed, for one thing. Ears rolled forward and he tipped his head. “Guess this is see you later, chica. You go far enough south and I think the smoke’ll clear.” He ducked his head in something like a farewell and turned around, pointing his nose in a clear direction. “See you.”

And with that, the wolf set off, and he was gone.

Exit.

Lena hummed thoughtfully once more, momentarily day dreaming of a place where wolves spoke different words for things, where fire was a regular occurrence. Where it was flat, with endless skies that must have stretched on for days and days. Some days the sky was blue, she imagined, and others it was painted in billowing black smog. A place of extremes, so to speak. Fresh, and then toxic.

The tawny girl snapped to attention at the sound of Reyes' voice once more.  "North ... there's not much up north, 'cept tundra and snow. I mean, if that's what you're lookin' fer, don't let my words stop ya! But, yeah, I think I'll follow you on that; away from the smoke sounds good." No doubt about it! Lena definitely didn't want to choke and suffocate (by extension, die) before she had a chance to reach the family roots, so to speak. No sirree. "Definitely bad news," she muttered to herself, furrowing her brow thoughtfully as she returned her gaze to the building, spreading column of black.

Away from the smoke was absolutely a great idea.

"Huh? Oh. Okay! Yeah, uh, maybe I'll see y'round. If I'm ever back up north." Dragging her saturated eyes back to the inky male, Lena offered a bob of her head and a wolfish smile to boot. "See ya, Reyes."

His form disappeared from view, like he was made of smoke himself, and the Donata could only chuckle to herself. Don't be daft! Wolves can't turn into smoke. Only horrible abominations could do that, and Reyes definitely hadn't seemed like a vile beast. Putting it down to simple shadows playing tricks on her with his black fur (smoke and mirrors and all that), Lena herself straightened out, rising up and wading out of the shallows.

She'd get back on the road headed south ... way south ... but not Reyes'-way-south.