The early morning was chilly, though not unbearable for winter, the rising sun setting the horizon and skyline on fire. Honey golden eyes squinted against the brightness of the sun upon the snow that blanketed the earth that was gradually beginning to warm. Spring would be upon them soon enough. In hailing the crisp, cool morning air Luxuria turned her attention to the landscape around her. Her ears twitched forward ever so slightly, the sound of a nearby stream tinkling, accompanied by the drifting of ice scraping against the earthen bank and other sheets of ice. The trees around her were mostly barren, trunks twisted and knotted, branches dipping low enough to skim the top of her head as she shrugged through them in attempts to reach the stream Luxuria could hear. She followed the deer tracks that wove intricately around the trunks, the criss-crossing hooves prints carved into the snow knowing that they would probably lead her to the stream she sought.

Not much attention was expanded towards the trees themselves, nor the green buds that cling to the branches like bulbs. It did not take long to reach the small stream, and the Spartan lowered her muzzle to lap at the icy water, pausing only to lift her muzzle when a drifting flower caught her attention. It was a rather unremarkable thing, small and pale pink with a star of darker pink at it's core. Another one passed not soon after and subtly Luxuria inclined her muzzle in the direction the flowers had came from. It was taller than the others, probably older too, but unlike the other cherry blossom trees it had not lost it's flowers in the winter -- not entirely anyway. They stuck out, defiant against the layer of snow that perched on their branches.

There had been but a few cherry blossoms in Thantos Valley but they were spectacular to see in full bloom, beautiful to boot. Glancing from the stream to peer at all the barren trees around her, Luxuria couldn't help but imagine how breathtaking this place was when they were all in full bloom. "Cherryblossom Vale," The Spartan breathed softly, giving name to the previously unnamed land.

Company was not exactly what Luxuria had intended to find, though in truth, she had not intended on discovering what had been lost, either. The lack of wolven scents - not even faintly - had told her what she needed to know. It had been many years since a wolf had stepped into this territory before her - if they had ever ventured this far to begin with. Though the flora aroma that clung to the defiant cherry blossom tree was well womanly (and would likely cling to her fur for a few days) it was not overly unpleasant. As it was, there was a slight possessiveness over it, knowing that the territory would remember her, and any other that came across it this day. Company, unsought as it was, had seemed to find it's way to her, nevertheless.

It came in the form of an ebony creature, female the ebony creature's scent informed Lux as the Spartan's nostrils flared to take in what information she could get. Beyond that, and the tell-take scent that she, too, was a loner, it did not tell Lux much. Honey golden eyes took her in slowly, with the barest hint of caution though Lux hardly felt threatened. A Spartan's greatest glory was to die in battle, after all, if that was what the Fates had destined, though Lux doubted it. She made her own fate, not three old ladies, nor an did an oracle define it. The other woman was the first to speak, and for a few moments Amekaze's words were met with a blank look from the Spartan as Lux tried to work out if Amekaze was speaking of the tree or her and if it was the last, if that had been flirtatious or if Lux was just interpreting wrong. Deciding that she had definitely been interpreting wrong, Lux broke herself out of her hesitation. "Mhm," She drew, brazenly lifting her eyes from the woman to the tree for a few seconds before they settled back to the other wolf. "It's rare to see a cheery blossom in full bloom in winter." Not impossible (Tokio looked it up) but certainly unlikely.

In the fail clutches of the circumstance the Soartan confirmed with a resoluteness that the ebony woman was speaking of the Cherry Blossom and not her. Which was too bad, Lux though giving the other woman a brief, appraising look before she let the thought go. The Spartan was not an overly haughty creature and knew, nevertheless, that not many wolves were like her. Or she assumed, at any rate. The woman spoke further then, referring to the Cherry Blossom tree as a Sakura leaving Lux to assume that it was another name they bore, simply in a foreign tongue to her. As it was, 'Sakura' had a nice ring to it and was beautiful in it's simplicity. The ebony woman had Lux's interest when she spoke of old tales, and spirits inhabiting cherry blossoms though there seemed to be a catch. Lux was a bit of a skeptic when it came to 'magicks' of any kind, having had enough of the voodoo crap with Persephone a self proclaimed oracle of the Gods. Lux would admit she was a witch but not the kind that had anything to do with supernatural or paranormal. "What kind of magical ash?" Lux inquired despite her internal skeptism. It sounded like nothing more than the ebony woman had proclaimed it to be: a tale. A bedtime story for children.

"Maybe," The Spartan allowed, wondering what sort of wild fairy tales a true story teller could weave from this place - archaic and untouched as it was. "This vale is probably incredible in Spring though," In fact, Lux did not even doubt it. Turning her honey golden eyes from the tree, twisted an weeping from time back to the ebony stranger once more. "I'm Lux." She offered without an society expectation of a name in return, though it would have been nice. After all, they could both claim the credit of discovering this vale, Lux felt that they should at least leave with each other's names if nothing else.

There were only a few tales that Lux knew of, and even then they were less of fairy-tales and more of history. She knew of the brave Leonidas and his soldiers of 300 and that the first King of Thantos Valley had given his life for their freedom. She had always though the "three hundred" soldiers was an extreme exaggeration as was the sea of a horde of enemies. Nevertheless, it made for a good inspiring tale; and in that she had found a figure to aspire to. Leonidas. She had always wanted to be like Leonidas, and spurred by his legacy she had trained hard and sparred often to prove to the mentors she was a worthy boy. Worthy to be a Spartan. In retrospect, she did not recall much of her brief time with her parents - wisps of a name they had once called her, and an foreign language that she remembered bits and pieces of. Lux's stories were nothing so fantastical as the ones she assumed Ame heard, given the whole magical ashes thing. "Sounds so," Lux concured in a soft, thoughtful murmur, tail flicking against her haunches as she eyed the tree once more before she rolled her shoulders casually. To each their own.

"Sort of hard to imagine that no one else has discovered this place before us." It almost seemed impossible but the land smelled clean of wolves, as if it suddenly just popped into existence. "I'll make it a point to return to see it in full bloom," Lux determined, sparing the ebony woman a brief glimpse from the corner of her eye. To her subtle surprise the other woman - Ame - gave her name and took it further by inquiring if Lux was traveling with a purpose. She had to be, though she did not state it and would never speak it so bluntly. A soldier without a purpose was a dangerous thing, a mercenary, a dog for hire and that was nothing but shame to the Spartan. "I'm pack hunting most of the time but today I decided to deviate from that." It was a impulsive choice Lux did not regret.

"Maybe next time we meet you can tell them to me," Suggested the Spartan with a wiry smile and a soft roll of broad shoulders. Of course Lux could not be certain they would ever see one another but she could not deduce that them meeting again would be an impossibility, either. Pack hunting was a tedious thing that Lux had no intention of willingly putting herself through. Thantos Valley had took her in when Agrippa had stolen her from her parents and though her true admission into the pack's ranks was hard fought and truely won she had never had to gather information -- what little she could siphon from passing loners at any rate. Most so far we're not so willing to converse, or greedy with their knowledge.

A brief silence seemed to settle over them then, for Lux could not particularly think of anything to add to their conversation before the footfalls of another caused triangular ears to perk as her head, a few seconds after the other caught Ame's attention, snapped on the direction of the newcomer. The muscles tightened beneath her coat ever so slightly, but the Spartan did not feel worried, even if she found the newest female's silence a little unnerving. Ame took the bold move and invited the unknown female into a conversation while the Spartan merely observed for the moment, assessing.