Lion Head Mesa Aquiline

@Birk, Sorry for the wait!

climbing had been an ill fated venture from the start, yet the boy was stubborn and thoroughly determined to climb a mountain, be it this day or another. He made made it perhaps three meters up a particularly steep mess of rocks, after careful analyses of the best path which proved to be a failure none the less. His stumble was minor, but in seconds he was back where he had started, landing awkwardly and with multiple cuts and bruises to his name. 

Realizing quickly that this, perhaps, was not the best mountain to climb, he sat with a sigh, nursing half heartedly a small cut on his foreleg, peering at the mountain from the corner of his eye with displeasure.

Birk was not a fan of climbing mountains, considering it an activity that wasted more energy than it benefited, however, today in a pursuit of a feisty mountain goat he had broken one of his own rules. The intended prey, of course, was much more suited in moving very fast in this terrain than the rather clumsy hunter, therefore soon it left him trailing slowly and out of breath behind. 

"Oh well..." the young wolf sighed, looking at the disappearing form of the agile creature and then down to the long way he had to make, until he got back in the valley. "Well... that was a bad decision..." And with that he began to walk carefully down the stony steps and few strides later he almost ran into in another hiker, who seemed just as tired and disappointed as him. Thinking that these two common things would be great for beginning a conversation, he called out to the sitting boy: "Hey - what has brought you so high up here?"

he was not alone for long before another approached, he paused his half-hearted ministrations and focused his full attention of another, neither especially aggressive or welcoming, waiting first to see of the intentions of the other. His ears were perked, alert, atop his head and his eyes were curious, when the other spoke an amiable greeting did he smile softly.

"I've always wanted to climb a mountain; but this one doesn't seem to want to be climbed." He told the other with a grin, shifting so that he sat facing the other. "What about you?" The adolecent asked with a curious tilt of his head, wondering if the male was here for the same purpose, and if so, if he had been successful.

The other responded in the same friendly manner, therefore Birk was encouraged to sit down nearby and carry on with the conversation. "Horizontals can get boring, eh?" he asked, thinking about the question the boy had given and realizing that he had never considered mountains as something either interesting or worth exploring. 

"I have always thought of mountains as... a bit impractical?" Birk then turned to face the steep ledges and peeks behind him and called out: "Sorry guys - you are not my cup of tea, nothing personal!" Then back to the young fellow: "I got lured here by a mountain crawler. Promised me a lunch and then just ditched me."

The boy smiled an affirmative at the man's remark, feeling now, after merely a few moments, that he would be of little threat. As he continued laughing, Seff let out a short laugh, amused and in awe at the male; he had never met anyone with such a sense of humor. The ones in the Dark Wood were to busy with their herbs and training and murdering, though the boy did not know anything of the latter.

"How rude." He agreed with a smile, catching sight of a distant flicker of movement behind the make and wondering if it was one of those elusive mountain goats that always seemed to allude him. "I don't think they like me-I've never seen one up close before." He admitted with a grin, and decided then that he rather liked this male. "What's your name? Mine's Seff." He said after a beat, small smile still not having faded.

"Well, you can understand them - unlike most crawlers, these guys have actual working brains!" as Birk said this, he turned his head to look at the rocky area behind him and for a moment he was pretty sure he caught glimpse of his dinner in the distance. But then again those guys were so good at camouflage that against the reddish-brown-gray background they were not easy to spot.

"Plus, I don't know, if I would want to befriend an animal that could set out to catch me and eat my sacred flesh. No matter, how cool they were," the man shrugged. The boy proceeded to introduce himself. "Seff, good to know you! I am Birk. The Free Man. And what kind of man are you?"

At the man's words, he grinned, for his words were so unlike those of the normal company he kept, and quite simply...refreshing. "Their loss, I suppose." He said with a laugh, quite liking this casual conversation. The male introduced himself as Birk; the Free Man. Seff thought this an odd title, wondering briefly how he had aquired it. A wanderer, perhaps?

at his question, Seff's brow furrowed in thought. "I don't know, yet. I like to think myself a good one." He said, then thought that rather lame. Be knew not yet what he would grow up to be, being himself a mere boy, still.

"A good man, you say," Birk repeated and nodded. He liked the idea, especially since it would have been his second choice. Being free was just a teeny, tiny bit more alluring than being entirely good. "That's an excellent choice," he praised the adolescent cheerfully. 

"So, Good Man Seff - do you live anywhere near or are an adventurous wanderer like me?" so far most people he had met were either part of a pack or in the process of finding one. And though he was in no hurry to settle down, he was curious to find out, what options were out there, in case he decided to do so.

He talked to the youth for a while and then their paths parted. They may see each other again someday.