I Whisper Into the Night

One thing Sen believed was that Malachi had returned to the Glacier, which meant she was free to go off and explore outside of the territory once more. While it was true that she was free to do so, she found herself reluctant to leave so soon. After her encounter with the albino that had made it so she would have to stay in, or close to, Duskfire for awhile, the raven coated woman had realized she'd never spent a lot of time in the territory, nor had she taken the time to explore it when she did return home from her journeys. So, while she could technically go off and explore once again, she didn't. Instead, Sen decided to stay for a while longer, that was she could learn more of the area's layout, and possibly meet whatever members she'd had yet to set her gaze upon.

Once it had been decided, the wolf with the obsidian pelt made her way through the territory, amber eyes aglow in the darkness of the night. It was her time, after all, the place in each day where she felt the most at home. With a dark coat, living on a glacier within the Winter months offered little to no camouflage for her, making her favor the curtain of night all that much more. It offered a cool, airy silence to it, one that was only ever interrupted by the calls and sounds of the night's creatures. Since coming to the Wilds, she found that the silence was often cut through by the words of other wolves. Such a realization made her unsurprised when others approached, meeting her shadowed form within her own element. With those thoughts in mine, Sen continued forward through the icy terrain, not minding it at all. She trailed through the claimed area, looking and sniffing about, working to commit all she saw, and would see, to memory.

:D

Though he did not bear a cape of darkness, Malachi found solace in the night. There was something in the silence, in the shadows that cloaked the forest in their withered embrace. There was a sense of danger, but at the same time a spirit of freedom. Night was her own domain, and while others slumbered on, Malachi preferred to explore her kingdom and everything she had to offer those daring enough to wander in the hours of her rule.

Duskfire proved a particularly difficult terrain to cover at night, but a challenge the man accepted his first night within the Glacier's bounds. Few here seemed to share his affinity with the moon's reigning hours, and he'd come to take them for what they were: not as a time of congregation and festivity as they'd been in the Vale, but rather as a time to appreciate all that hid while the sun reigned by day. He'd lie to say he didn't miss the company of packmates in these hours, but he'd come to accept that here his night wandering would often take the form of solitude, and to be honest, in a way it was a welcome change.

So when he caught the movement of another in his periphery stalking through the towering pines, Malachi's brows quirked, for he hadn't expected any others to be out at this hour. But his surprise subsided, and at the scent of Duskfire on her fur, he felt a tremor in his paws. Without a second thought he advanced toward her, thrilled at the mere idea he'd found another sojourner, and Malachi released a quiet chuff to make his presence known.

Having been too caught up within her own mind, Sen had not heard the approaching footfalls. She did, however, hear the chuff that sounded. It was quiet, but still managed to break the silence just enough to grab hold of her attention. When she stopped and turned her head, her amber eyes met a multicolored form—one she recognized as the pack's leader, Malachi. It was her first time seeing him since they'd met at the border at the time she'd come to join the pack, but the way he looked was still unmistakable.

After giving a dip of her cranium in greeting, her head tipped to the side. The movement was small, almost unnoticeable small, and seemed strange when combined with the way the woman usually spoke and acted. The dark wolf couldn't help but be mildly curious, though, as to what the alpha might be up to. “Hey,” Sen voiced, giving a vocal greeting in case her physical one had not been seen. “Did something happen that I don't know of? Something big enough to pull you into the night's embrace?” She couldn't imagine that the other was out simply to explore or enjoy the night, as she was, but didn't close her mind off to the possibility entirely.

He caught the gentle dip of her head, if only because of the up and down movement of her amber eyes. The rest of her was lost to the night, her obsidian pelt blending with the draping shadows and flowing with the darkness as a seamless whole. The tilt of her head was so subtle he did not catch it, but her question was telling enough to make up for the signal of curiosity the man had failed to catch.

He shook his head, a grin cracked upon his face to reassure the innocence of his wandering. "Just seeing what the night has to offer." His eyes lighted upon her and he tried to discern her silhouette in the darkness. Sen, his memory jogged. Though her scent lingered around the territory, sometimes strong and sometimes stale, Malachi had not seen her since the day of her acceptance, and he couldn't stop the flow of relief to see she still walked with Duskfire. Their members had a tendency to come and go like summer leaves, but to see there were some who remained loyal to the Glacier made his confidence grow. Malachi took his turn to let his head fall to the side and he met her with a question equal to her own. "And what pulled you into night's embrace?" Because it was only fair to inquire, and he was hopeful she was simply here to enjoy it as well.

The raven coated wolf was slightly surprised by his response. She'd always figured the leader would have better things to do than just wander through the night, or have things that they needed to do. It would appear, though, that the judgments she'd held towards leading wolves since a younger age were not true. Or, at least, they weren't true for the male before her.

Then, her question was repeated back to her, causing a small grin to form across her face. “Just out to explore,” Sen answered. “Getting better acquainted with the land, and enjoying the calmness of the night.” She had been enjoying the silence as well, but it didn't matter too much to her that it was now gone. Just as long as the darkness remained and the moon stayed up and glowing, she could care less about the absence of the quietness. Even the day cold grow silent when it wished to, making the trait not very unique to the night alone.

“Do you come out at night often?” Sen inquired suddenly, not worrying over whether or not it'd be considered prying. It was just a question to her, one that served only to register whether or not the wolf was a stranger to the dark or not.

His eyes adjusted to seeking out her silhouette, and Malachi caught the slight turn of her mouth. He matched her response with an equal grin, enough to reveal the pleasure at the commonality they shared. Night could be a time for business, and he'd used it for such before, but still the man preferred to use the darkening hours for what Sen sought in them herself: exploration, and calmness. The day gave enough time for worry: the night was a time to escape.

"Always." He said with a slow sway of his tail. "Ever since I was a pup. My parents loved the night." It hadn't taken them long to learn of their parent's shared affinity, and there was little question how he and his siblings had come to love the evening time almost stronger than they. The fondest of his memories had been shared beneath the night sky, when he'd had none but his family and the starry host to keep him company.

"Is it safe for me to assume you often travel by moonlight, too?" The shadows gave Sen a second skin, blending her well with the darkness draping the woods, with eyes blazing from obsidian like the stars themselves. If she wasn't comfortable in this time, her admittance would take Malachi by surprise.

Sen was unsure what to do with the information of both the leader and his family enjoying the night. A part of her was rather jealous at the fact, as her parent had not shared the love of the darkness with her. Her brother, Khoi, had been a night owl like herself, allowing her to have some company while out and about growing up, but that was it. Neither her mother or father, or even her sister, were fans of the night. They'd preferred the day, where everything could be seen and the monsters could not hide. Sen had often felt sorry for them when she was younger, knowing that they would never get to behold the treasures and serenity the nightly hours had to offer. “That is interesting to hear,” she commented lightly, a piece of her mind still lingering on her childhood memories. “My parents never liked the night. They claimed it was a dangerous time, one that could not be trusted, but I could never stand to stay away from it.”

Abandoning the night to live solely in the land of the sun was an unspeakable thing for Sen. It was something that was impossible, and something she refused to do for as long as she lived. So when the man inquired her as to whether he could assume she traveled in the moon's realm, well, she had to do everything in her power not to laugh in some fashion. “Of course! It is perfectly safe for you to assume that,” the woman responded, a bit of humor dripping into her words. “I travel at night as often as I can, but sadly I get stuck out during the day more often than I'd like to.” It was true that she traveled during the day somewhat often, but it was never a comfortable journey. The night would call to her even while the sun was still high in the sky, wishing for her to walk into it and dance with it's airy shadows. She could never force the day away, however, so each time the night came she made up for her act of betrayal by wandering and moving all she could through it's comforting space.

Malachi understood the concerns of Sen's parents, but only through indirect experience. When his mother had birthed her second litter, he'd still been young himself - barely over a year old, and those had been different times. Whereas the only real threat to he and his siblings had been the chilling winter, their pack had faced a different threat at the time of his younger kin's birth. Like Duskfire, they had not been threatened by other wolves, but by the wildcats who had come to take residence in the safety of the nearby cliffs. Their family still thrived under the darker hours, but his parents notably took to the night with an extra air of caution. It was a caution that was necessary, and one not only reserved for the evening hours. Yet it was a caution that had failed to save them in the end. "The day can be just as dangerous," he returned, and left his musing at that.

A breathy laugh escaped him at Sen's quip, for from her response, the answer to his question was as obvious as the moon in the sky. "Well, if you want any company, it seems you're gonna have to live under the sun for at least a little while. A compromise, though I don't think it's a fair one." Of course, they could just go around forcing wolves to give up diurnal habits in favour of nocturnal ones, but Malachi wasn't convinced he'd want that. The night was a time one had to discover on their own volition, if they had the courage to brave her embrace - a courage Sen clearly had. "Hey, you ever see the Glacier at night? I bet it looks amazing in the moonlight." An invitation, for against the odds they'd found each other's company without the cover of the sun, and Malachi wasn't willing to part ways so fast.

The day could be just as dangerous, but sometimes it could often be even more so. To Sen, the night offered covered, as her pelt could easily take shelter within it's shadows, but the day was never so kind as to offer such a feat. The sun was a cruel king, and the Winter only encouraged that cruelty. He would take away his warmth in favor of the Winter's coldness, but would continue to shine his light upon everything. It was always so bright when it reflected off the snow, and the combination made a wolf like her stick out to the world like a sore thumb. It was an unfair thing, but also something that couldn't be changed. “The day can be especially dangerous at times, more so than the night on occasion.”

Her head nodded in agreement to the male's words, finding he understood both her words and unspoken thoughts. It was a pleasant thing to realize, though odd as well. “Or find those who enjoy the night like yourself,” Sen added, a smile slipping into her features. If she could ever enjoy only one thing, she would continue to love finding those who have things in common with herself. It was a feeling that couldn't be beat, knowing that there were others who enjoyed similar things. Her brow furrowed when she heard his question, though, and shook her head. Realizing that might not be the best thing to do in the darkness, her mouth opened. “I haven't, yet,” she informed him. “I would love to see it, though. I'm sure it does look pretty nice.”

A grin filled his face at Sen's reply. It was no secret that night wanderers were an elusive bunch, but if he managed to find one, he wouldn't deny their company - if they wouldn't deny his in return. He felt no aversion from Sen, and took her to be accepting of his presence. So when Sen admitted to never seeing the Glacier in the evening hours - and when she voiced her desire to change that - Malachi couldn't help the tremor of anticipation that coursed his paws.

"Then let's see it," he countered, his statement firm and his mouth curved with mischief. She wanted to get better acquainted with the land, and what better place to see than Duskfire's namesake? "The sun won't stay down forever."

“It would be a miracle if it did stay away forever, though,” she added, though she knew that wouldn't be a very good thing in the long run. Hunting and observing would become much more difficult if the world was cast into a period of eternal darkness. The idea was only slightly appealing after that came to mind. The night was great and held it's own form of glory, but having it last forever would take that effect away. It would become something like the day, with nothing more than a neutral feeling directed towards it.

Sen took a step towards the male before stopping, showing she was ready to go when he was. “Lead the way,” she said, waiting to see the movement of his form. He was easier to see in the darkness than her, given the differences in their coloring, which would make following him much easier. Besides, she figured he would have better knowledge of a path to reach a good viewing point, whereas she did not.