Firefly Ravine what is there to answer if I'm the only one?

@Scarab

A ravine was no place for a child but there she stood, staring down into the ravine as if it might reveal something to her. Perhaps it would if she stared enough. The occasional hopping frog would be spotted along the water's edge where the vegetation gave way although she could never hear its croaks over the rapids that rushed not far from her.

She watched carefully as one hopped along before it did something that she deemed dumb. Whether by purpose or accident, the frog had met the water only to be swept away into a place she could not see. Curiosity bubbled up within her as she wondered if everything that touched the water met that fate. The Fearghal began her journey to find something worth tossing into the rapids.

scarab ventures further than he has before and while he begins in treading in firefly ravine close to the invisible protective shroud that rusalka's borders cast upon him, the golden blackguard decides, abruptly, that this is no longer enough. he cast a long look at rusalka over his shoulder, lapis lazuli gaze searching for any sign that he was followed, that he was about to be apprehended and reprimanded ...but no one appeared from the swirling shadows of the trees and confident that he wasn't being tailed he ventures deeper into the ravine, drawn by the intoxicating taste of rebellion that was so much sweeter beyond the mere tastes he's allowed himself up to this point.

the invisible shroud of rusalka's protection recedes the more distance the golden prince puts between himself and its borders, drawn back like magic that has been spread too thin and to its limits. more adventurous and curious than he is cautious he believes that his confidence and imperial bearing will be enough to stop danger in its tracks — unaware that, of course, it is but a child's fantasy. the real world is an unbearably cold and unforgiving place.

the sound of rushing water draws his ears to cup forth atop the proud set of his crown and he approaches the area with easy steps, taking note that he is not alone. a girl is there: about his age ...maybe older ( but age was still a concept he didn't spend too much thinking about ) and as brazen ever he calls out to her, hey! as he makes his way towards her, an ear twitching as a dragonfly perches upon it for a few fleeting seconds.

When the voice of a stranger called out, Dorea halted all of her efforts for something to hastily toss in the waters. A child was to assume that perhaps they should not talk to strangers but there were a few things that made her consider such a rule. He seemed like her own age which meant surely no one would be mad if they interacted. Playmates and the such. Not to mention she rarely talked so it wasn't as if she was really talking to a stranger.

Her head canted to the side as she watched an ear flick and shoo off a dragonfly. Had its presence not been so fleeting she might have commanded for them to catch it but it was gone before she could take a step forward. As she lost interest in the now absent insect, her blue gaze settled upon the boy's features. Although she didn't say anything the message from her body language was rather clear.

"What?"

the girl — draped in a pelage the mixture of moonbeam pale and swarthy night black — does not answer. at least, not verbally; but she does turn to him and for a moment their gazes brush like a whisper through the tall grasses but the contact does not last. these days far too many things feel like a challenge to scarab, even if he was the one to instigate, and left him with the feeling that he needs to assert his dominance. this was neutral land though: and his place in rusalka's puppy hierarchy ( despite being ranked beneath reyes ) has no bearing out in these unaffiliated territories; and while no one has expressed this to him verbally it's something he feels in the marrow of his bones.

some things are known by instinct alone.

instead of verbally breaching the distance of swampy bank of the rapids as he had, she appears to favor silence and the fact that she hasn't turned and begun to walk away coupling with the clear question in her body language encourages scarab to take liberty once more. ...not that he was particularly seeking permission. if he wanted something: he took it. whether it was a treasure or something as simple and common as a conversation.

what're you doing? he asks her, nosily.

It was a question she was used to by now. Adults frequently asked such and pesky playmates asked as well. Although he wasn't an adult and he didn't seem pesky — yet. Looking. She answered honestly before it struck her that she could show him exactly what she was doing. Her mouth picked up a stone carefully before chucking it into the river and just like the frog, it was sucked away with the currents. See? There was fascination in her eyes as she glanced from the boy to the water.

Since she did not deem him some pesky creature not worth chattering with, she wanted to extend an invitation. Try it. Her blue gaze expectantly laid on the boy as she wondered if he would accept her offer.

looking, the girl tells him. looking? scarab cants his head ever so slightly to the side as he regards her with unfettered curiosity at her vague response. it answers his question, he supposes, but it wasn't exactly the answer he was necessarily looking for — not that he had any illusions of what she might've been doing prior to his appearance. he was expecting a response with more detail. his ears flutter back to rest at half mast atop his skull, watching mutedly as she picks up a stone and chucks it into the water and he watches it bob in the foaming rapids a second before it is whisked away not given the chance to sink as it should've.

now he understood.

although, he wouldn't exactly say this is the most interesting thing he's seen thus far in his life. nothing could really compare to the hatching turtles, though scarab doesn't think about them long lest the memory of his brother and other adults eating and crushing them surfaces and taints it. hm, he considers and scoops up a pebble betwixt his jaws and with a swing of his head tosses it onto the rapids, watching with a small smirk of amusement as it is carried away.

There was a lively look in her eyes as she watched him follow her instructions. The pebble was sucked away into the rapid's depths without a fighting chance. She did not realize the kind of force behind it, the strength held in the actions they did but she adored it all the same. There was strength to be had in tossing something to its fate in the water.

She deemed this boy a friend now. Or at least something close to one. He had joined her in her excursion of tossing and she she would be a little more polite now. Dorea. Her name spoken with a blink of her blue eyes. It lacked what most introductions between two new faces did but she had faith in the boy's abilities to pick up what she was doing.

scarab's focus remains on the rushing waters, watching as they bubble and foam over stones rounded smooth by its rapid flow. there is something about watching it that is both calming and mesmerizing all at once; and as curious as the golden prince is he has seen how quick the pebbles are carried away without pause by the rushing waters and suspects that he would meet the same fate if he tried to cross the it. self-perseverance keeps him firmly rooted his chosen spot. his gaze lingers on the devastating waters for a few seconds longer before it flickers to his companion, his ears cupping forth atop his skull as she offers him a word after the small silence that had stretched betwixt them.

dorea. her name, scarab realizes. she doesn't ask for his return and for a few heartbeats scarab considers not offering it; and not for any reason other than it adds a bit of mystery to this chance encounter. scarab, though, has a flair for being imperious and empyrean not an enigma. scarab. he speaks then, figuring that now they are even. a name for a name.

sorry for the wait — considering the age on this im thinking we can just wrap it up? x:

Although she would never speak it, she rather liked the boy. Bold but not annoying. He hadn't spoken too much, saying only what was needed. Her tail gave an approving whip behind her as he spoke his name. A little sharp but it was unique. She'd stash it away in her growing memory in case she ever stumbled upon him again. Dorea didn't know how — or if — she would but perhaps they'd meet here again. Tossing things to wash them be whipped away into the water.

She knew her mother would not be happy if she strayed too much longer and so she had to depart from her company. There was a mischievous twinkle in her eyes as she glanced upon his features before she turned on her heel, bounding off back towards the willows of Elysium.

not much verbal conversation follows the exchange of names though scarab doesn't particularly mind. they take turns tossing a few more things into the rapids, watching the frothing water carry it down stream before suddenly, without a word, dorea glimpses at him with a mischievous look in her eye and departs without a word. it creates an air of mystery that leaves scarab worrying it like a dog worrying a bone. would they meet again? he watches her depart and when her figure vanishes from his line of sight, the rusaklian pushes himself to his paws and makes the journey back home.