Steady paws, silence. It was cloudy today, and the sun was setting in the horizon, casting bright warm orange, red and yellow rays over the meadow. This was the first time Raziel had been to a 'pretty' place, for he had lived his whole life in harsh, rocky mountains where there was snow year round and rocks. Even on his travels, he was usually fighting and avoiding, hunting, not time to appreciate a view. But now he could, he was free for now. Even on the edge of full winter, this place was still gleaming, it was warm colored now, when snow came, it would be topped with snow and ice, the pure whiteness.

"You see, big brother, snow is only white because its forgotten what color its supposed to be." he remembered Anselm talking to him in his solemn quiet, heavy accented tone and gazing up at him with those wide soft pine green eyes, gray surrounding his irises. His dark coat clinging to him like rags, Raziel kept him company that night and stood watch while his brother slept. Thinking of it now, hurt him badly. Like most Angelus Mortis wolves, he cared for his family deeply and would die before he let any harm come to them if he could help it. He was identical to his younger brother Shadow in so many ways.

Raziel moved to the center of Wapun Meadow without realizing he was moving at all. A creek, half frozen but not fully iced over, lay in the middle of the meadow. The agouti Roman trudged towards the edge and lapped up some water. Suddenly absorbed in a melancholy mood at the thought of Anselm. Raz worried most about him for he was frail and small, Azrael was strong and a good fighter, if he hadn't left yet, he would be the heir to Aequor Ignis. But Anselm, the hardened heart of the warrior softened at the thought of his brother.

The ashen Angelus Mortis had sworn to protect all his relatives, expecially the young, if he'd known Hadrian's kids were here and he was forbidden to see them, Raziel would make sure they were taken care off and that none of the kids knew their father was a bad wolf. He'll tell them stories of Rome and its beautiful regions. Teach them about the gods and his home, and perhaps one day they would go back and see the great Empire.

Raziel stiffened as the wind brought a new scent to him, tickling his sensitive nostrils. However he didn't turn around, already keen ears caught her pawsteps echoing across the meadow's ground. "You look like you have never seen a meadow before," she said and he smiled and turned to look at her, taking in her creamy white coat and blood red eyes. "I've never actually seen one, born and raised in the Northern mountains, then on the run ever since until I decided to settle here. Never had time for little pleasures like this. My old home was all about leading and battles." he commented in a lightly accented voice.

"Although I admit the afternoon rays of light make it a pretty sight to watch." Raziel flashed her a grin, "They are pretty, aren't they? Sunset is always the prettiest for me." Eyes of the depths of the sea observed the setting sun on the horizon for a few more moments before deciding to introduce himself. "I'm Raziel, Raziel Angelus Mortis. But ya can call me Raz, a lot of wolves do." He waited to see if she would introduce herself.

Raziel noticed the female staring into his eyes but knew immediately it was not meant to be a challenge, perhaps she was merely astonished and surprised by the intense color of his murky eyes. A lot of wolves were entranced by the his eyes that were the color of storm clouds but the depths of the ocean at the same time, particularly she-wolves. "Does that mean you never had cuddles?," she sounded so serious when she asked the question that it dragged a smile from the Angelus Mortis.

The corner of his lips quirked upwards and Raz laughed softly, a smooth musical sound that danced around in the air. The laugh turned even louder at her next sentence, he was going to like her. "I have to agree. Although I think the sight of your first litter, or maybe any litter, will probably be prettier," "Is that a compliment, milady?" Raz grinned. "D'ya want to be the mother of the litter, eh?" his tone was playful though, he was in no way a womanizer. Like most of his relatives, he was extremely loyal to those he loved and would sacrifice himself if it could save their lives.

"That sounds like a really fancy name, Raziel. I'm Scarlett. Just.. Scarlett. Nice to meet you." "Nice to meet ya, Scarlett." Raz flashed her a smile that leaned to becoming a smirk.

"No.. I meant.. From my perspective... That would be the-- Not that you... aren't--- I mean... you are.. kinda.. I think.. I--," he raised an eyebrow at her, the corner of his lips quirking upwards as she continued to stutter. "Hey," he said gently, a smile on his face. "You don't need to be so nervous, Scarlett. I ain't going to bite....yet", he smirked playfully. But Raziel listened quietly as she continued to speak, saying she would like to have a litter, be a mother but didn't have a mate. That she wanted to have someone who she would feel safe and protected with, someone she could curl up against.

"The female mind is interesting, all I ever think about is surviving. There was never time for that kind of pleasure." Raziel said quietly and watched with fierce green eyes as she moved closer to him. The Roman, afraid of too much affection and physical contact his whole life, yet secretly craving it, was astonished as she nudged him softly. A look of confusion, surprise and curiosity covered his usually stoic features before he brushed his nose against her cheek.

Raziel blinked at her, "Why not?" he questioned her. "I think your beautiful, especially those eyes of yours." a light smile graced his lips as he spoke, if there was one thing you had to know about this particular Roman, was that he didn't lie much, only if it would protect those he loved dearly. To him, there was no reason to lie about something like this, he thought her pretty so he said so. If he thought she was ugly, he would probably have said it too. But perhaps not so confidently, Raz didn't like hurting innocents feelings, unlike his father Aku.

Raziel gazed at her, in a mixture of confusion and surprise as she licked the tip of his nose, the Roman's tongue flicked outwards, attempting to lick her cheek as a symbol of their friendship, or the start of their friendship if that was going to happen. Hopefully it would, now that he'd 'hopefully' settled down, perhaps he would be able to enjoy the simple pleasures in life, such as having a mate.

"I should return to my pack sometime soon," she spoke, drawing a smirk out of the rather youthful Roman. "Sometime soon, Scarlett. Not immediately I hope. I rather enjoy your company here, and besides, since I've never had cuddles before, aren't you going to teach me?" There was something about this girl that none of the females back home had, perhaps it was because they were all busy training to become fighters and best wolves of the packs. Roman she-wolves had to double their efforts to get noticed as they were immediately prejudiced since birth.

The silver boy laughed, a soft musical sound that resonated through the air, "You're welcome, Scarlett." he responded, smiling brilliantly at her. Realizing that this was how it must be like to be hanging out rather than running and trying to live another day, perhaps he might actually enjoy this life of peace. And perhaps, if the gods were nice, he would find himself a mate he loved. Keen eyes did not miss the way her tail rose when he licked her back and her tail began wagging, when he said he wanted to spend more time with her, it moved even faster. Raz decided he like this Scarlett and would like to spend more time with her. It was too bad they came from different packs, but that could be easily fixed if they wanted to fix it.

Raziel stared at her, surprise evident in his features as Scarlett leaped up at him, using all her weight, trying to unbalance him. His paws were solid and didn't give way so easily, so he let go and let her push him against the ground. Her body fell against his, half rolling off him, Raz laughed, a large grin plastered across his face. The white female curled up against him and sighed contently, the Roman echoed her sigh, there were not much duties here to attend to, they were less than those he had back at home. This was pure freedom, thank the gods.

It seemed the day was full of surprises, because moments later, he felt a rough tongue against his ear. Raz smiled, and exhaled softly, content with everything that had happened today. Eyes the color of the depths of the mysterious sea sought out Scarlett's blood red ones, the Roman reached out and attempted to wrap his limbs around her, pulling her closer to him. "Do this is cuddling." he said in a thoughtful tone.

Raziel smiled, Scarlett's furry form snug against his own and he found that he liked it. That he like someone cuddling with him, especially if that someone was Scarlett. She was especially cute, probably because of her sweet and childish nature. All of the females he had seen were battle hardened warriors, he had never actually seen someone like her, who had such a gentle and sweet personality. Perhaps that was why he was drawn to her, he himself was a typical warrior, not gentle nor kind. It was interesting how easily they bonded.

The Roman's rough tongue moved gently over her crown, carefully grooming the fur between her ears and her nape. His strong limbs still wrapped tightly around her smaller form, probably providing her a sense of comfort and safety. He hugged her closer and resumed licking in a casual pace, like they had all the time in the world, like time stopped for only the two of them. Two strangers that only knew each other for some minutes and they were cuddling and grooming each other. Beautifully strange and rare.

"Yes. This is cuddling, although the licking is not necessary but it just feels really nice. And I wanted you to know how that felt too." Raziel laughed, his chest rumbling as he did so. "You're an interesting little lady, Scarlett. An interesting pretty lady." he spoke softly, his tail thumping contently against the grassy meadow ground. "I recently joined a pack called Swiftcurrent Creek. It isn't far from here." Raz replied, still grooming her fur.