Njal sought out the Alpha for a particular conversation, but even as he caught upon her scent and took to her path, he found himself stumbling over the specifics of that conversation. Despite an even and powerful stride, Njal felt more like a fish out of water; but he pursued her regardless, eager to get the topic of children in to the air and his desire voiced. It wasn't until Fox's scent slipped from the territory boundary that Njal slowed, and for a moment or two he forgot all about his potential future family and the plans he shared with Tuwawi. It was curious that the nimble leader would abruptly change her path in such a manner, and out of curiosity - and the need to keep the yearling protected - Njal followed.

The path that Fox left behind was a winding one. It led in to the crook of the mountains. The man observed the surroundings with a careful eye; seeking out erroneous scents such as cougar or lone wolf, but all he could find was Fox. As he caught up he also caught her, at least a flash of her, as she so calmly wandered. Perhaps his guarding was not necessary - but it was safer in pairs, at the very least. The mountains were not their territory and the creek wolves were each at their strongest on flat land.

With the mountains rising around him, Njal found his mind wandering. He thought of the Sunspire and how beautiful it was; of the cavern where the Walkers would commune together. Sterntooth and his little family. Njal nearly tripped as he walked, and came to his senses - in time to see the ruddy figure of Fox vanish in to a sudden wave of shadow. Pierced by a fatherly panic, the man was off after her - and was met with an abrupt spectacle that stopped him in his tracks.

He nearly walked in to the standstill Alpha, but caught himself in time. Golden eyes grew wide as they took in the great chasm and it's inner light; and he passed a glance to Fox, with his own breath taken straight out of his lungs. There were no words for this - it was beautiful, but more than he could voice. A great find indeed.

Fox voiced what had been going through the man's mind, and he absently gave a small nod of agreement; although she did not see it. The chasm was so immense - it reached up inside the mountain as if to hollow it out, with gaps for light and tiny gaps for dripping water. It must have been the fluid that carved this ancient place over so many years. Njal found his mind wandering a little, even as the Alpha wandered physically towards one of the many pools. He thought of Tuwawi and their family, and imagined that one day their ilk would have a great impact upon the world. Tiny drops in a larger ocean, carving a living and making a name for themselves. Somehow Njal connected this with the lair that Fox had found; although, his thoughts quieted when she turned and made a quip about the water.

"The water tastes like this place looks."
He approached and dipped his own head, sniffing at the surface but not drinking from it. This place was so old - it seemed like a holy sanctum, just like the one in Kindred. When the man lifted his head next, his eyes caught upon the glimmering sun above them. There was enough of a gap for the light to filter in, the way it had when Fox had entered initially, granted now it cast a warm glow to Njal's pelt of platinum. "What will you call it?" He queried, as a small smile appeared upon his boxy mug, "You found it after all."

The air was cold which made him uneasy, but the beauty of the cavern was enough to distract him from it; whatever fluid lay still within the great expanse, it probably aided in the cooling of the area. Njal imagined the sunlight from above would be warm and inviting, but as he passed beneath the rays the sky shifted. A cloud drifted in to place and, as if on cue, blurred the light. He broke his attention away from the gaps in the ceiling at that point. Fox was talking and he, suddenly aware of her voice, scooped at it with turned ears; he gave a brief nod. There was something ominous about this place. Something sacred, maybe.

"Kholodnyy svet," He murmured as a response, and for a moment Njal slipped back in to his old tongue; with the droop of his head he began to explore the area more intently, nosing about the dry rock and taking few steps as he sniffed, probed, and came up with nothing. "The light is cold but the earth is warm. It is strange." The man's tail whisked as he lifted his head again, resting it with confident poise. He looked to Fox now, finally. "It is too big to be a cave," the man remarked with a flick of his tail, "But I cannot imagine another word for it."

Njal nodded at her words; however, due to his placement in the creeping dark along one wall, he realized she probably couldn't see that. The light flickered back in to its full power a moment later, bathing the boulders in an inviting glow - but Fox was not there. The man searched for her, expecting it to be easy to find the vivacious red of her coat, but there was so much more to look at - to be distracted by - that his attention waned once more. Instead of finding Fox, his eyes latched upon the moss. Unknown to him, Fox was also thinking about how it muffled sound; but Njal was more interested in the earthy smell it held. The brightness of the greens, even in the shadows. He had seen a few caves in his life but none like this; and the ones he had seen usually held some kind of night-glowing plant. A luminous and creeping thing that attached itself to the walls. But as he peered through the darkness - creeping along the natural incline, disturbing a few rocks - he could see nothing really glowing save for the light that shafted through the ceiling.

The area behind the massive boulders narrowed considerably, with forking paths naturally cut in to the rock. "I wonder what caused this." Njal mused aloud, more to himself than his companion; although a moment later he caught her comment about lairs and turned his head, pivoting his ears like radar in order to find Fox's location; he should have been paying more attention. "But a lair could be the home of a great beast. And I imagine a great beast would have to have lived here at some point. Perhaps it is still here?" Maybe only in spirit. But it was enough for the two wolves to notice something off about all the splendour and beauty around them.

With a lift of the eye, Njal could see the shifting and dusty light from over the hill-like rocks; particulate floated through it, like dust through the open mouth of a fresh den. "It is the lair of the sun." And for a moment, as his comment registered fully within his own mind and was sucked in to oblivion by the muffling moss, Njal thought of Kindred - and he felt absolutely content.

With the past on his mind, Njal's face creased in to an easy smile. This faltered and slipped away when Fox began to speak, but only briefly. A little bit more nosing amongst the mossy rocks, and the man was content once more. It was an unnerving cavern but also a beautiful one; and Njal couldn't help but find some level of peace as he wandered, probing the soil. "Sunbeam. It is a good name." He murmured in response while following the natural curve of the sloping ground; crawling over some of the lower boulders and then climbing atop a section of rock that protruded in to the empty space above; from that vantage point he loomed, casting a blurry shadow when the light caught upon his back.

"Did you follow me here?" Fox queried towards him, and Njal sank to a precarious laying position atop the high rocks. He was quiet at first, suddenly nervous about the topic that lingered within his mind; yes, he had followed her. He had pursued her out of a sense of care, but when the two wolves were secluded here in the lair, his mind ticked away about other things. As Njal watched Fox he did not see her - instead, her features briefly shifted to the figure of Tuwawi. The shadows played tricks, warping bits of the girl so that she resembled his wife. Yes, he had ulterior motives.

The man shrugged with a small motion of his shoulders, and then began to explain.

"I was on patrol and saw you wandering. I thought to follow for your own protection, since you are our leader now," His voice rumbled quietly, slowly, as he tried to pick out the right words to use. Njal did not want the girl to feel weak or inferior. He had only been looking out for her. "And, well.." How hesitant and silly he was being now! Was he really so afraid of asking a simple question? Given how close they had started out, he and Fox, did he really ruin everything with that stupid stunt days ago, when he brought Tuwawi in to the territory?

Perhaps now was not the time to ask. But he had started, and now he had to finish. "Tuwawi and I have been thinking about.. Building a family." He carefully outlined, and lifted his head with a glimmer of pride in his eyes; the sunlight casting him in a warm glow. Njal was tentative. "We would like to try in the spring, but only with your blessing." There, he said it. Now all he had to do was sit and hope Fox would understand their wish.

Njal respected the role of leadership in the pack, even if it was held by someone younger and less qualified than many other wolves may have been comfortable with. Fox had a level head on her shoulders (most of the time) and knew what to look for when it came to the power of Swiftcurrent. He waited for her to give the go-ahead (and dreaded the possibility of a refusal), but she did neither. Instead, the girl remarked that it would take more time to come to a decision. It was a neutral response, one that on some level, bothered Njal. But he would accept it; there was no point in pushing the issue if Fox required more time. He understood. And with a dim look of unhappiness he gave a little nod, and let the expression pass.

"Thank you." He commented next, although there was a lacklustre quality to the man's usual timbre. "Just to have our desires considered is.. Good." There was no ignoring the fact that Njal was dissuaded by her response, depressed by it, but he knew it would take time. Work had to be done, and the man would happily prove his worth - and Tuwa's worth - to the rufus girl. The happiness of their growing family was tantamount to the Delta.

Taking on a more pleasant expression, Njal began to climb down the rest of the way from his perch. He stumbled awkwardly, but managed to reach the bottom without harm; and then began to scout out the rest of the cavern. It was dark and deep, with few trails of light to help him where the boulders naturally blocked it. In an effort to move past the topic of children, the grey man poked his head over some of the smaller boulders and watched Fox, chuffing playfully. "Do you think there are beasts in here? Maybe I should root them out."

She had a point. This area wasn't exactly claimed by the pack, which meant there was little interest in scouring every nook and cranny. Fox's refusal garnered an abrupt lift of his head, a shift of his body towards her. He stood at her side when she asked him, in the playful manner that was rather charming, to escort her home. Njal dipped his head to the request. "I'll keep the monsters at bay if they are here." He commented. So far there was no trace of life within the massive cave. The man took a few steps towards the mouth and paused, ushering the red girl out in front of him; and with his senses alert, he began to trek back to their home. There were many things on his mind now - some which Njal could bring up to Tuwawi - and they kept him from being overly talkative on the hike back.