She probably should have felt like an idiot. At least a little bit. It probably wasn't anything to be proud of that she had been shamed into pursuing a trade by a four-month-old. Finley didn't particularly know the details of what was involved with being an Outrider, but she did know that it involved exploring and ambassadoring and... talking a bunch. She was good at all of those things, so why should she not have a fancy job title too?
There was another draw to this trade that Finley wasn't prepared to admit to herself. It was probably this reason that compelled her to visit a pack so far from where she typically spent her time. But Fin felt it better to blame her desire for new sights and experiences, and where else could she manage something like that except for at the ocean?
Finley approached the Stavangar Bay packlands to their Eastern borders. She knew her main mission was supposed to be to meet this neighboring pack and make small talk and be friendly and whatever, but.... big water.... Fin's eyes were as round as plates as she stared out at the waves that swept up upon the shore. It was beautiful. She couldn't remember the last time her heart had felt so light in her chest. She stared for quite a while before her resolve disappeared and she ran forward with a burst of playful energy to begin a game of tag with the tide.
The ocean's lull could be heard from the forest, but it only made the trees sound strange. Like they were breathing, or beating a pulse. Tiarnan had stayed within the confines of the trees for a few days now and he was quite content (aside from the wound on his neck, but that would heal eventually). Against his better judgement the boy had the urge to explore. This place was his home now - or something like that - and the captive wanted to at least figure out where it started and ended.
He was careful as he traipsed along, but curious. His streaked muzzle was pointed towards the ground as he moved, sniffing here, licking there, until the grass gave way to tall, dry reeds; and beyond that, the salty tang of the ocean. When he ran out of forest to survey the boy lifted his head and began to scour the sea, and found that it was endless. The big blue seemed to go on forever, vanishing in to the sky -- but something in the distance moved. The horizon broke where a stranger crept along, leaving Tiarnan feeling exposed. He bayed a sharp call in case this was a friend (maybe another Stavanger wolf), but kept himself rooted to the spot.
Finley staggered back towards the land, stiffening her legs to keep herself from losing her balance completely and falling over. Once she was confident in her footing, she bolted out of the water that swept past her legs and back up onto the shore. She shook her now drenched silver fur but succeeded only in making herself look like a fluffy drowned rat. With a sigh, the Blackthorn turned from the water and made her way towards the stranger, resuming her friendly attitude as she approached.
"Did you know," Fin started as she came within a respectful distance of the man, "that water is wet? Especially when there's a whole crap ton of it?" An amiable smile was on her face and shining in her eyes as she watched him for his response.
His call seemed to... Not exactly spook the stranger, but cause them to become distracted, and thus soaked by the ocean. As the wave hit Tiarnan lurched forward a step - not knowing what would happen if the waif-wolf plunged in to the sea. Surely Ragnar would be agitated if one of his wolves were to meet an untimely demise; the boy didn't even consider what would happen to him if such were to happen. The girl launched herself out of the surf in the next instant, no worse for wear (but very wet). Rivulets of salt water dripped from her coat as she loped closer.
The chill of the water didn't appear to dampen the stranger's mood at all. Oops was that a pun. "Did you know," she piped up in the next moment, her voice sounding quite friendly but the words falling upon deaf ears (more or less). "that water is wet? Especially when there's a whole crap ton of it?" Tiarnan swallowed nervously, not knowing what to say in response. He recognized little in the vocabulary of the girl, but knew by posture and tone that she was trying to be friendly. In silence he advanced upon her, slow and deliberate, and prodded with his nose - inspecting for injury. It was then that he noticed the lack of Ragnar's scent upon her, and withdrew quite suddenly.
Fin was pleased as the male leaned forward to greet her, but delight was quickly replaced with confusion as he backed away suddenly. Her head tilted slightly to the side as she studied him curiously. Very slowly, she turned her nose against her shoulder and took a deep whiff of her fur. No, she smelled pretty normal to her. A little salty and damp, but what was wrong with that? It wasn't as though living in the wild, any of her kind smelled like roses. Unless they had just been rolling in them, which would be painful with thorns and all. So what was going on?
"You alright?" she asked. The platinum-laced epsilon lowered her head and tail in an effort to make the other wolf feel more comfortable, wondering if maybe she was just too pretty that it was making him feel intimidated. That wouldn't be a first. "I swear this to you now, I have no ill intentions, nor am I prone to sudden violent urges. I come in peace.. and in perfect health. No contagious diseases or anything." She smiled gently.
Her words seemed to fall on deaf ears as the male turned and fled from her presence. She called after him in surprise that was quickly overtaken by offense. "Oh, come on! Now I DO have ill intentions!" she barked after him, her frown turning into a pout as her mind skipped to the only logical assumption it could possibly make--he didn't think she was pretty. She turned her almond eyes to the ocean and gave it an angry glare. Finley was much sexier when her hair wasn't all splashed and weirdly matted from being attacked by waves.
"This is all your fault," she hissed at it before leaning down to begin preening herself.
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It wasn't long before Fin's solitude was interrupted by another member of the pack that lived nearby. She frowned gently, wishing she could have at least finished straightening out her tail fur before someone else found her when she wasn't looking her best. She shook herself again, trying to shake free more water her from pelt and give herself the adorable recently-fluffed look.
She peered down at herself and shrugged. This was probably about as best as she was going to be able to do, so she turned her attention to the handsome white wolf as he approached. Fin donned her most charming smile, only to be met with a somewhat grumpy young man.
Her smiled flickered as he spoke to her, saying something... What the hell was he saying? She was so thrown that she almost missed it when he translated his own words. She shook her head lightly to brush off the moment before tactfully plowing forward.
What the crap did you say the first time?Fin asked, unable to help herself. It kind of sounded like he said "Where ate poo". Before she attempted to answer that question (which was going to be weird), she wanted to make sure that was what was being said.
Just like a woman, Fin was quick to change her mind. As the man opened his mouth to explain, she cut him short.
You know what? I don't need to know,she said, climbing to all four paws.
I'm out.And with that, she left the grumpy wolf and the scaredy wolf and decided to report to Peregrine that Stavangar Bay was full of weirdies. Outrider mission accomplished like a champ.