The priestess' cycle had ended, thankfully, leaving her to walk about the flatlands without fear of attracting any unwarranted attention. And yet, she felt that she had not left this heat cycle unscathed. As she walked about the creek, her pelt glimmering in the pale moonlight, Meldresi stopped in her tracks, sensing something in her. Stirring, growing, feeding off of her. It could only be one thing, really.
Pups.
She had been pregnant before, but she had rarely carried full term. And when she did, her pups were sickly and died, because she forced them to be. Meldresi was not much of a motherly figure; neither was the Night Mother, her goddess, to be honest. The dark priestess narrowed her eyes, wondering if this had been the reason her goddess tasked her to find Moon Bane. So she could carry his children...
The Russian had strayed East of the Spine, to explore the place in which he had run to desperately. Perhaps he would find a new lead, more information on where his home was. After a few days of sleeping and strolling, he had time to think. He had two options: go back down South into the unbearable heat to find his pack mates, or try to find out where exactly he was, and how that related to his home.
Stomach rumbling, Dijax ventured along a thin creek leading towards a steep mountain. He was hungry, but he preferred to hunt in his host pack's territory, just to be safe. Being a guest, he would not want to stir trouble between the packs of the small world, and even if he could tell it was neutral territory, the two toned wolf would rather wait to eat.
Dijax spotted a woman ahead of him, who'd just halted for an unknown reason. Maybe she sensed the wolf approach. The male perked up a little, hoping the she-wolf had some information. Trotting up towards her, he looked over her. She was a swift thing, the color of birds he had seen often in the Wilds. Beautiful, really, but Dijax payed no attention to that. He could not have anything tie him down to this place.
To her personal disdain, she had not sensed the wolf nearby. She was too distracted by the sudden revelation of Moon Bane's purpose to notice, but she spun around to face him when he approached. Her indigo eyes focused on him, watching him curiously, wondering why he was walking towards her. "Is there something you need from me?" She asked with her normal sultry tones hiding the worry in her.
The woman eyed him remarkably, speaking to him in a voice drowned in voluptuous tones. Returning her focus, expression obviously resistant to her, he countered: "Well hello to you too, madam." He paused, thinking of the right words. "I seek to know which ocean we are nearest to. If you have any idea, pray tell. If not... I'd best not disturb you," he said in his Russian-American accent, acknowledging the fact the raven probably had other things on her mind.
Dijax knew the waters of his planet well. Perhaps he could share some of his knowledge with the English speaking wolves that roamed this land. He knew which oceans, seas and channels were where, however the crust that separated them were completely unfamiliar to him. That would indeed be useful, and he doted on one day recognizing them.
He turned his gaze briskly toward the narrow stream and back, unable to see his full reflection on the water. The charcoaled male had taken care of himself; cuts fading away, energy returning to him with a new power, full stomach... He was lucky to have even escaped from the monsters Mordecai seemed to know about.
The ocean? Was he using it to find himself on his internal map, like some birds she knew of? Interesting, but she answered his question regardless. "The Pacific, it's not too far from her, perhaps a day or so west." She said, noting the Russian accent tingeing his voice. "Вы русский?" She was a jack of all languages, knowing the basics to many different tongues, from Russian to Italian to Chinese, with a few rare ones scattered in between, all a result of her work as a courtesan. She had been trained well, for she still remembered the Cyrillic language.
The Pacific. Dijax's heart lifted; he had not expected to find an answer to his question so quickly. And, most of all, his heart lifted because the Pacific was off the coast of his land, too. безбрежный океан должны разделить свой дом, где я нахожусь, the arctic thought. A new lead. Perfect.
Then, the alluring wolf spoke to him in Russian. Dijax did not attempt to hide the surprise upon his features — the lady spoke English without an accent, and her Russian was near perfect, but he could tell she was not a native. "Да." He studied the female before adding: "и вы знакомы с языком?" The question was unnecessary; he would find out soon enough.
As he awaited her answer, Dijax allowed his mind to trail back to the information the woman had provided him with. The Pacific. He would make his way to the coast as soon as possible. He needed to reach the Bering Sea, which was further North as far as the tundra wolf could tell. One step at a time.
"Да, я знаком с языком, но это было некоторое время, так как я сказал это." She said, though despite her rustiness the language flowed off her tongue with ease. It has been a long time since she met anyone who spoke the language, at least those she wished to have a conversation with. "Есть нет никаких россиян здесь, что я знаю о, если Вы задаетесь"
Unfortunately for him, what he had hoped to be true wasn't. There were no Russians here.
Maybe Dijax had been hoping some of his pack mates had escaped, too. But now all he wanted to do was head South again to come to their rescue. It had already been weeks, so the survivor wasn't convinced they would still be there... But their scent might still be strong, considering they had been a number of wolves. It could lead him to them.
"Если Вы знаете о Беринговом море, вы знаете, как далеко это отсюда?" Dijax asked, reverting the conversation to the coast. He reminded himself he was here to find his home, not to make friends, as much as he wanted to.
The Bering Sea, the gap between this land and another, something that, for all of her years of travel, she had never crossed. It was too cold for her liking, and she was not much of a fan of swimming. "Это очень далеко на север. Было бы долго в пути, и это не является идеальным, чтобы иметь возможность путешествовать в это время года." He must be looking for a way to get back to Russia, but winter was the worst time to travel north. Perhaps when the snows have melted here, then he could start moving towards the northern lands, but crossing the strait was another hurdle all together.
Dijax chuckled softly, "мадам, сезон не беспокоит меня. мой дом гораздо холоднее, чем здесь," he said. But the woman said it would take a long travel to reach his destination. This made the decision of finding his pack mates first much easier.
The South was terrible. It was so hot, and Dijax could feel himself start to sweat just at the thought of being there. He wondered if it was always like that. The Litke wolves were family though, bonded by blood and loyalty, so it was his duty to attempt to find them.
"Могу ли я спросить; как у вас есть все эти знания?" Dijax didn't think many wolves would know this kind of information, and he was lucky enough to walk straight upon one.
She smirked, thinking of the freezing temperatures that the Far North was known for. If he truly came from those lands, then he would have no problem surviving the winters here, of course. She had only been there briefly, and even with her naturally thick coat, she could barely stand the cold winds, and it was summer. Maybe it was a mental trait as well, to be able to stand the cold.
He then asked how she knew so much, but it was really not much of a secretive thing. From her first year to the middle of her fifth, she had travelled, wandering from place to place, picking up languages as she manipulated and spied her way around the continent. "Я много путешествовал в молодости. Я поселился в настоящее время, мы надеемся, для остальной части моей жизни, но я был на всем протяжении." She thought back to the frozen ocean she had gazed across, wondering if there was really another side to the cold waters. "Я никогда не приходило в Берингово море, хотя. Я видел только его."
The woman indeed was a jack of all trades. How did she cross oceans to come across land? Perhaps the same way Dijax hoped to cross. A chain of islands.
The muscular wolf elicited a charismatic but tender smile after the raven had spoken of the Bering sea. "это проблематичным, чтобы пересечь." He didn't even know if it would be possible to cross because of the so many earthquakes the volcanoes caused. Dijax did not need to voice his thoughts, for if the gracing wolf had truly been to east Russia, she would have noticed there were plenty of volcanoes to go round.
So he spoke again, collecting himself up to part away: "Я считаю, что это время для меня, чтобы пойти. Я обещал Уроборос позвоночник я хотел бы помочь с колодой обязанностей." And with that, he dipped his ivory crown to the she-wolf, and turned away, back towards the Spine to do some productive thinking. The woman had helped him a lot, and he would be eternally thankful for that.