Gilded Bay timshel

aw but paging @Zosar if you'd like! <3

little things had kept anu busy; little annoying things. like eating, or trying to. he was a dismal hunter, and thank rama for @Anti for his skill where anu had little; they ate meager meals split between them, but it was enough.

anu was never really a wolf to admit defeat, but the more time they spent here, the more he wondered if perhaps his pilgrimage was a sick joke; the wolves here were indifferent to a higher learning, and some outright hostile. supping from a stream that fed into gilded bay, anu reflected on how different it was here, and if he would ever be a wolf to make a difference upon this cold and unwelcoming shore.

left it open for you to decide if they know each other/how much

Cold and unwelcoming the shore was but Zosar did not mind. It gave him plenty to explore as he roamed the bay with heavy interest. It was different than what he was used to. The constant spray of the ocean water and the rough, gritty ground that left sand stuck to wherever it touched his fur. He had learned by now that washing himself was a pointless task.

Ah put up ahead was a figure who might know where in these wilds it would not be pointless for him to bathe. A deep bark escaped him as he announced his presence before he even bothered to speak. Ahama. It was informal but he was away from home and he had not always been so traditional.

anu felt his thirst slake; the water here, far less brackish than the water of the bay, was a crystalline blue. anu missed the water of his homeland -- cool and soft to the tongue.

while he was suffering from mild nostalgia, anu saw a red figure lurk between tall edges of seagrass. the male that approached had seen anu first (silently anu cursed his own lack of attention -- anti would have never been so caught unawares). lifting his muzzle carefully, anu regarded him warily until the vernacular slipped from the stranger's lips.

disbelievingly, anu almost lost his composure. keeping tight rein on his excitement, the male found himself rushing into the tongue he so sorely missed speaking. "gol domora," he did not wait for a response before he launched into excited gabbing in their mother tongue. "where did you come from? have you been here long --? come, come -- the water here is not so distasteful." anu gestured to his side of the bank, his gaze hopeful.

A brow raised sharply on already sharp features as he was greeted with gol domora instead of some babble in common tongue. He had not expected to run into anyone like him or someone who could so fluently speak in his native language. Zosar should have been kind and answered the stranger's questions first but the dryness of his throat from all the harsh environments he roamed prompted him to greedily lap at the water he had been offered.

Only once he felt bloated from drinking so much did he lift his head to speak. Jullundhar. No. Quick answers as he licked the droplets from his lips and chin. What of you? So fluent and — is someone with you? Did he have an akal perhaps?

anu steeled himself to be patient as the man dipped his muzzle, and took deep draughts of the crisp river water. he understood, he truly did -- but he was besides himself with barely contained excitement to find a peer among this... well... ruinous wilderness.

his stern features remained composed, despite the anxiety that rippled under them.

the man at last spoke, and he too was from the homeland. anu's expression broke into a rare, very brief smile eclipsed by pride. jullundhar was the better kingdom, he thought to himself -- indikus was but a small settlement poaching off of his forefather's inimitable success.

"i have one with me, my protector anti -- he is chela until my kurra is complete. why are you here? do you too have a kurra to complete?"

He soaked up the information like a sponge. Zosar was not alone in these lands. At least two others were present. Anti and...whoever this questioner was. He had barely parted his jaws to return a few questions when he realized that he had been asked the grand question.

I do indeed. It had been what his parents had sent him out to complete, full of pride and joy of their dear Zosar. He had turned this trip far more though. He had wandered far and wide without doing truly anything worthwhile. Of course, he never forgot what he had been taught and the things he should be doing.

Where are my manners? He murmured the words as tall ears slicked back for a moment. Zosar. You might be?

ah, this man came with his kurra. anu's heart swelled, for the man was on the noblest of missions. a twinkling in his eyes showed his pride, his head dipped in acknowledgement.

it would be prying of him to ask what the man's purpose was, but anu was awash with curiosity. perhaps after small talk, the stranger's mission might be revealed. for now he was pleasant, and genuine -- it pleased him greatly to find his kith among the wildwood.

"well met, zosar. i am anu." he apprised the man approvingly, a sweep of his tail offered. "we strive for a similar purpose. will you travel alongside me, or seek your own path?"