A cold, autumn rain had swept the coast just after dawn and left a soupy mist in its wake. Only the distant sounds of breaking waves alluded to the ocean as Aisling made her way through Monolith forest. Oh, how she loved it here. The dense trees and rocky bluffs reminded her of the Loch back home, where her blood kept watch over their claim. She had traveled to Teekon once before as a younger women - only to return to Beryl Forest - but wanderlust had struck again.
Her four beautiful children had grown, yet the love for the man she had once called mate became distant. Arranged marriages hardly ever truly blossomed. However Aisling was a dutiful women and love him as any wife could love her husband. He was good to her, as she was to him, and they had provided for one another when times were lean. It was their promise... their responsibility... yet there had been no affectionate ministrations during their bittersweet parting. Aisiling had said her goodbyes with watery eyes, but didn't look back once she disappeared into the haze.
The sea cooed a familiar lullaby as she searched for signs of a nearby pack. Many scents lingered in the sound she had passed, but they were stale and old. It seemed these beautiful lands had been forgotten, though she could not blame the natives.
Harlyn had never quite decided how far she would be going on this little excursion of hers. She had reassured Mordecai that she would only be gone for a few days at most, but now that day three was well on its way, she was beginning to wonder if she even could make it back in time to keep her promise were she to turn around right then and head home. She supposed probably not, and thus she allowed herself a bit more freedom to wander and satisfy that touch of wanderlust she so rarely indulged.
Her trip had taken her to the sea. She had never worshiped the ocean like those that had once claimed this territory as their own, but she had reverence for all aspects of nature and the great expanse of blue was no exception. She had spent some time on the shore, listening to the waves, praying to the gods that had created something so beautiful for her, before finally moving on. It had not been her intention to seek company when she left, but company she soon enough stumbled upon in the form of a sterling-wrapped woman with peaceful eyes whom Harlyn did not hesitate to approach with a friendly smile upon her darkened muzzle.
"Hello there," she said simply, her posture overall neutral but also welcoming.
Aisling bent to take a whiff of a pine stump, marked with an old scent. However, a more pungent perfume caught her attention. Her slim face turned to observe a dark woman of rich sable on the approach. She seemed welcoming and at ease. "'Ello," the soothsayer responded with a lilted voice, "'Ow are you dis gran' mornin?" Small, pointed ears turned towards the woman expectantly, expression soft and inviting.
The woman's accent came as a surprise, but certainly not an unwelcome one. Harlyn canted her head listening to the almost musical sound of it, a smile upon her face. She had always loved learning more about the histories and cultures of others, and it seemed that often times an unusual dialect came as a precursor to an interesting character.
"I'm well, and you?" Harlyn replied in kind, "Forgive me for making assumptions, but I get the feeling that you're not from around here, like myself?" Her own voice had a slight lilt to it, but nothing too pronounced. Most didn't even notice it until they caught her murmuring prayers in gaelic to herself.
Let's see if I can keep this accent thing up >__>
Aisling slipped closer to the other woman with a relaxed posture. Gingerly her muzzle extended to take a polite whiff of the stranger's scent. Deep forests and mountain aromas mingled on her pelt. The Innisfree clan had always lived by the rocky shore, and the exotic terra was romanticized in the soothsayer's mind. Any life that was a departure from her usual was enticing.
"O'im perfectly fine - watching the waves 'an the water, T'anks love," she responded.
"Oi was 'opin ter run into another wolf. Dare 'enny been any packs raun. Me luk Oi run into one as pleasant as yerself." Now that they were closer, Aisling could give the other woman a better look. A light, candid chuckle was her first response - indeed she was miles away from the Loch now. Was her accent so obvious?
"You're right," she said with a chipper inflection.
"Oi'm from the norn, up de shore... me family lives on the Loch Ailean. Ah've traveled ter Teekon before, though dis time Oi tink O'ill stay." With a carefree shrug she added,
"'Tis time fer a new chapter." Though with winter around the corner, perhaps her timing could have been better.
"Ye a traveler, too?" she asked before quickly adding,
"Ah, wha are me manners. Me name's Aisling Innisfree."
Harlyn couldn't help the wag of her tail as the woman came close to sniff at her. she tilted her head slightly to return the gesture with an eager inspection of her own. She smelled of salt and sea - a far cry from the deep woods and mountain streams she was used to. It was pleasant to her and made her feel slightly wistful for the days she had spent wandering the wilds as a lone wolf. But she had the Hollow now, and she had Mordecai. The only wandering left for her were little excursions like these.
Harlyn as intrigued by the woman's story, and she canted her head slightly to show it. When questioned, she was more than happy to share her own tale. "A traveler, yes," she replied with a smile, "But only for a few days. I'm the alpha of a pack to the South and a bit East of here. I used to travel quite a bit in my younger days and.. I don't know, I just was craving a little taste of that adventure, excitement again."