TERRITORY DISCOVERY | strange and beautiful

I don't know the name of this place yet! BUT YES MORE BEACH TERRITORIEZZZZ.

she had followed the veins of the river until they poured into the ocean. the blood it bled was her blood, and again she could hear her heart beat true to the siren song of the sea. anemone had a strange affinity with the body of water; she had been raised by the cove, and her first steps were aided by the guiding hand of the waters that easily could have taken her then and there. nearby there were a string of caves, surely that might intermingle with one another internally, as though a network. her reunion with the ocean would be shortlived it would seem; her curiosity got the better of her, and anemone thought that if life with her current pack failed, she could live here. anemone entered tentatively. the scents here were old, and so she knew for certain that none lived here, not even those of another species. perhaps once, but now it was abandoned. a shame. the entrance was strangely thin for as large as the exterior promised it to be, but upon pushing deeper, she was met with a rather grand cave. she had been right in her presumption that inside, there was more; other tunnels she could take, move around in, explore. streams of light entered here and there, but it was difficult to see within. mainly it was the passages out that lit the way. she decided to continue to move, to see if she could be brought anywhere via the network within.

Just gonna warn you now, I'm up to my ass in paperwork for my microbiology lab tomorrow so my posts are probably going to suck ass compared to yours. XD Also, could you please use a larger font? I have old lady eyes, lol. <3

It was the first time since his acceptance into Blacktail Deer Plateau that he had stepped foot outside their boundaries. Events of late had just pushed him too far, pressed too heavily upon his mind, for him to be comfortable anywhere near his brother or Hawkeye. The very scent of them bothered and upset him. Having decided that a few days away would do him some good, he now found himself wandering aimlessly in a place that was as radically different from his pack's landscape as an oasis was from the desert.

It was magnificent. He had grown up fairly close to the ocean, but had never once taken for granted its boundless power, majesty, and beauty. The sea flirted with him in kisses of salt upon his lips each time he licked them, and the hypnotic, dull roar of the waves transported him away on wild, tumultuous wings of imagination. He could live here. The idea of leaving Blacktail Deer Plateau still tiptoed at the edge of his thoughts; he had tried to find the good grace to forgive Peregrine, but it was lost somewhere in the bleak darkness within him. It was truly a thing that only time could tell.

As he lingered at the entrance to a mysterious network of caves, he let his thoughts on the subject drift away. Peregrine and Hawkeye and all that drama were many miles from here, in another place, another time. There was only here, now. And these caves beckoned to him, a dark labyrinth of secrets and discoveries yet to be explored. A fresh lupine scent lingered on the beachy air, and he wondered who had beaten him here. A soft woof into the dim light of the cave announced his presence here, its deep timbre echoing gently off into the darkness.

TAKE YOUR TIME. And wtf that post was beautiful.

the echoes of his voice rebounding against the walls of the cave caused her to stop altogether. she had been heading in one direction, but it occurred to her one might get lost if they did not know the way. it was a hypocritical thought; she did not know the way, and yet she turned, moving to follow the scent, for the sound was unreliable given that it had rebounded against every facet of the massive places ribs. the scent of the sea was the strongest thing, but the winds wildly whipping around brought in the scent of him. it was sweet, the perfume not at all what she was used to. anemone would soon smell of the vale, but she liked to think she would always wear the oceans aroma. beads of the salty sand clung to her chest from her tryst with it during her immediate reunion; anemone was at home here, and she looked it. it took some time to meet him. the way was longer than she had thought, and she had made it deeper than anticipated. anemone was not sure which she had come from, and it mattered not if when she returned to the many open doors that she did not return into that particular cave. she would return to it later, surely. her eyes adjusted to the bright light that haloed around him. initially, he was difficult to see. he was darkness. but he was lovely to behold, not like wolves she had seen; she was used to paler colors, or even a silver. cinnamon, too, like her mother she had seen (she was tinged in that, partially, aside from her gunmetal grays), and her eyes roved over him with approval. anemone was not a discreet woman by any means, and her tail waved loosely, freely; she was willing to be in his company. anemone knew he had only been alerting her of his presence, and it was not her specifically. still, vainly, she imagined it was. since you're here now, she purled, as though they were old friends, how would you like to get lost with me? her eyes are bright, and she is thrilled by the prospect that she does not have her brothers to stop her from any flirtation of her own. admittedly, the opposite sex never truly intrigued her... then again, all she had known was family.

Sorry for the long hold-up! <3

At first, there was nothing but the sound of the sea in response to his soft vocalization. He remained where he stood for a moment longer, ears alert, eyes scanning the depths of the shadows beyond. Just when he was contemplating moving on, he heard from deep within the belly of the darkness the soft sounds of feet upon sand. Backing up slightly, he left himself plenty of room to maneuver and escape, if need be, should this stranger be vexed at being disturbed.

But it was no foul sea monster nor hideous beast befitting such a dismal, briny cave. No, it was a beautiful maiden, draped in all the subtle hues of the storm-tossed sea itself. Her coat glistened in the daylight like rays of liquid sun on glittering waves, while tones of rainclouds and windswept foam mingled beautifully over her curves. Ocean eyes, full of intrigue and mystery, greeted him with intelligence and appraisal. He was simply awestruck. He thought he knew a thing or two about gorgeous females. He had thought Hawkeye an enrapturing creature of beauty. His Alpha female was an ogre compared to this sea siren.

Her voice came like the sussurus of salty water upon sand, rolling over him like the tide, inviting him to get lost with her in the bowels of the cave itself. His eyes lingered on her a moment before moving back to the darkness within the cave. He was uncertain. Beautiful and alluring though she was, he did not know her, nor her motives. He remembered the stories his father had told him when he was just a boy, wild, fantastical stories of myth and adventure. He recalled stories of sirens, creatures of unimaginable beauty and chameleon evil, luring lustful and wonderstruck explorers to their watery graves. He was not afraid, but rather, wary. Flicking his arctic eyes back to her, he whispered softly, "What is this place?"

He was darker than the sky at night, she realized the longer she looked at him. His pitch was so black that even the shadows that played on him were indistinguishable. His eyes contrasted so from him... they were beautiful. But he, he was handsome. She does not realize that she inches closer, ears twitching atop her head. And then he speaks! His voice was silk easing its way across her... and then she realizes that he had spoken words. The backdrop of the ocean behind him was another sort of distraction. This stranger was perfect. It was as though Kei herself had crafted him for her...

Ah, yes, she must reply! I am not sure, she admits, looking over her shoulder. My name for it is Cerulean Cape. The place was mostly water and sea with the exception of the massive cave that held within it a maze, each leading to something different. She takes a step back, wondering if he would come closer, wondering if he was at all interested. She was not certain if she preferred he be interested in her activity, or her. But by looks and sound alone, she was intrigued. He was the sky without the moon and stars, and strangely more attractive for it.

The various emotional traumas he had endured recently made him very susceptible to a beautiful female. He was like a fish who knew what would happen if he bit that hook, but bit it anyway. He latched on to this she-wolf's allure, intriguing and beguiling as it was. She was breathtaking beauty, the kind that no male in his right mind could willingly walk away from. And Atticus, for that matter, wasn't in his right mind at the moment. Anger, indignation, hurt, and fear had changed him, made him vulnerable and weak, easy prey for temptation and seduction.

And so she seduced him with those cool ocean eyes, whose depths sparkled with coy intelligence, and with her voice that pooled luxuriously around him, beckoning him to listen and obey. The darkness tempted him, drew him in. Suddenly he didn't care if a great sea monster hid in those shadows, if this fair maiden led him to his death. What difference did it make? Everything at home had gone to shit anyway. And so Atticus looked at the sea-temptress with a willing and mischievous gleam in his eyes, a small, wily grin creeping across his face, and rumbled softly, "What the hell. Let's get lost."

His acquiescence was not immediate, but when it came, Anemone could not withhold the smile that came across her features then. Loneliness was not something the triplet was used to, but the feeling had took root within her soul. Anemone did have her friend, Xi, but her presence was not so constant as her brothers once had been. Her shadows. It did not occur to her that she had even felt lonely until Atticus was content to stay in her company, to follow her in the dark. Her eyes were bright, as though a stray ray from the moon or the sun had hit the cold, winter sea.

She shimmies to the side, and frowns when there is no room for him to weasel in beside her. There's a bit more room up there, she informs, and then turns to make her way into the caverns depths. Anemone does not move too quickly so that he can follow her lead, knowing it would be dark until they moved into what she imagined was the main area of the place she had found. Cracks of light littered the floor there, but in the darkness, Anemone would be his navigator. I've been this way before, just a little ways to go...

He followed her willingly, trusting to her sense of navigation and the familiarity she claimed with this place. In the close confines of the passageway, her scent surrounded him, intoxicating and sweet as it mingled with the acrid stench of standing salt water. He listened intently to her footsteps to gauge distance and hopefully not abruptly run into her if she stopped. For the moment, silence reigned as the two strangers eased their way along in the darkness.

The woman moves, sure not to go too fast. There could be no losing him then, given the space they were confined to, but Anemone would not rush his movements. Ears swiveled back to listen for him, but she could only hear the stable sound of his breathing. It was... soothing. The absence of loneliness was something Anemone enjoyed, even with their silence. She knew Narcissus would surely holler, and Hawthorne might prattle about where they may end up. The gunmetal and cinnamon woman pictured it in her minds-eye, and grinned in the darkness... but her expression fell as they entered the room that introduced the web of caves within, thinking the distraction of their memory was quite silly. It was pointless to think of.

Her eyes spanned the dark mouths of the caves before them now, and glances to him. She contented herself in the silence they shared, and waited for him to move beside her since he now had ample room to do as he pleased. An ear twitches as she catches the sound of trickling nearby, though the source was unknown. The place was a labyrinth, and the echoes could play tricks on the most perceptive mind. But she was eager to get lost, and allowed him to lead the way as she gestures to the sight before them. The lighting inside was dappled, but it was not enough to impair their sight.

A few moments of quiet movement through cramped the cramped tunnel brought them to a larger chamber. Drawing up alongside his unlikely companion, he rolled his shoulders and looked around. Thin rays of sunshine spilled into the dim cavern through cracks in the rock overhead, falling on the damp, puddled floor in shards of broken light. He glanced at the beautiful female beside him, struck by how the soft light played upon her lustrous pewter coat and danced in the tidepools of her eyes. "What's your name?" he suddenly asked her in a soft voice, its quiet rumble echoing gently out into the dark network of passageways around them.