Duskfire Glacier Fallen empire

Maybe someone from SD...? >w>

The further north she'd gone, the more familiar things had started to become. She'd recognized the land, memories of it having lingered in the back of her mind since returning to Teekon. Once she'd neared the moraine, however, those same memories had hit her like a bag of bricks. They were neither good nor bad, they just were. They existed within her mind, but inspired no emotions. She felt nothing towards the land but, even still, her stay at the moraine had been especially brief. Without realizing it, she'd began moving towards the glacier, the path to reach it all too familiar beneath her paws. She knew the territory and the land around it, she'd lived too long within it's domain to have been able to forget. Not only that, but it'd been the first pack she'd ever joined; that in itself made Duskfire unforgettable, even if she wished for the memories to leave her.

No time was wasted when it came to progressing deeper into the unclaimed lands, every step taken more familiar than the last. Way back when, she had been angry over the fall of the empire. She had blamed the fiery woman who'd led it, insisting she should not have abandoned them as she did. Over time, though, her anger had diluted until not even a trace remained. Sen was no longer bothered by it, seeing it presently as an event that had opened a great number of doors for her. It'd given her the chance to leave, to establish something of her own, and for that she felt something entirely new: gratitude. As soon as the feeling had risen, it was shrugged off and left behind in the snow, feeling as if she had no reason to keep her. Besides, the lake was well within her view already, giving her something far more interesting to focus on.

Sen had approached the water and immediately leaned down to take a drink, savouring the cool liquid until her thirst had been quenched. Rarely had she spent time near the lake back when the pack resided there, so, naturally, she was a bit curious of it presently. It was decided right away that she would remain there for a bit longer before her journey was continued, wandering aimlessly along the edges of the chilled water.

Since sliding his way into the ranks of the Sleeping Dragon, he had stayed there on the mountainside because it was easiest and he wanted to get to know the place. He had acclimated a bit, done a minimal bit of socializing, and largely stayed much the same as he had been but now he had some sort of attachment worth sticking around for. At least it was a marked improvement over traveling aimlessly through winter's long days, so for that, he picked up some semblance of a routine.

Yet today, he found himself motivated to rove abroad, but knows he isn't going far. His path meanders its way steadily to a swatch of land he's never put his paws on before, and he delves steadily deeper. The history of it all is lost on him and all he can note now are signs of prey, predators, and otherwise.

Eventually he begins to smell a water source, so moves towards it. Along the way, he notices the hints of a trail a bit more interesting than what he's run across so far.

Coming from a pack he realized to be largely dominated by female scents, he first thinks it may be a pack mate.. but a few steps of further investigation trigger nothing familiar that he's smelled around the Dragon so far. However he knows his assessment may not be flawless, so he moves closer, to the lake and the unknown female all at once to find out more. He's purposeful in his approach and zeroes his mismatched eyes in on her the second he spies the silhouette.

There was no purpose in her steps as she lingered along the water's edge, silently reminiscing about things long since gone. While she held no intention of ever attempting to fill the glacier with life once more, she could not help but wonder what her own life would have been like had it never been abandoned. Perhaps, by now, someone would have managed to tether her down, though that was highly unlikely. Still, it was a thought, one that inspired more humour than it did seriousness. It was enough to make a smirk break out across her maw, but the expression was destined to live a short life as she caught wind of another wolf. Though the scent was that of a male, she knew it not to be Depp; they smelled nothing alike. That prompted her to question who the stranger was, and so she brought herself to look upon him.

The stranger was light in colour, quite the opposite of the man she'd taken to traveling with. That only seemed to ignite her curiosity, silently wondering who the male was and what had brought him to the glacier. Looking to acquire the answers to her unasked questions, Sen moved away from the lake, assisting in lessening the distance between them. Her paws came to a stop a few meters off from him, knowing better than to blindly trust someone she knew nothing about. The knowledge caused a small war to brew within her mind, however, one portion of her thoughts insisting they get closer, while the other was convinced keeping her distance was for the better. Not looking to risk a fight of any sort, she chose to favour the more cautious notion and remained standing in place.

While she was still a distance away, the serpent had noticed the mismatched glow to the stranger's eyes. It was an imperfection, really, but one she found to be appealing. His appearance, however, was not what she'd wished to ask about. No, it was his reasoning she had found herself wanting to know, as well as his intentions. She was not protective of the glacier—didn't really care what he planned to do while within it's bounds, either—but if he came in search of trouble, that would be crucial information to acquire. "Silent type, huh?" Sen had called out, just then finding it odd that he'd not announced himself. "What brings you here?"

Space eases between them with her help and he watches with keen interest. She's dark, unmarked by scars, and notably leggy. There isn't really anything about her besides her being here to inspire too much suspicion, but he's still looking and listening when he draws his paws to a stop

Dio isn't choosy about the distance between them yet, so lifts his head with a small cant when she decides how close to come exactly. He does find his posture beginning to fall into old habits of the Rise with his tail-tip arcing upward, but he keeps the display measured thoughtfully for now. He is still gauging this situation, and consequentially, how to approach it and how he feels about it. "Only when it suits me," he answered in truth after a small chuckle. "You noticed me fine without an announcement anyway," he smirked.

After casually shaking his coat, he strides closer. He keeps her question in mind as he moves, although means to see if she's at pressured by him coming nearer too, and how else she reacts. "I live near here," he answers, painfully simple but intentionally vague on what it meant he was doing. "You?"

Finally got to this. x-x;; Apologies for the hold up!

The point made was one she could not deny. She had noticed him just fine without an announcement being made, yet it didn't change her thoughts on the situation. It was still strange, to her, that he'd made no move to alert her of his presence, making her wonder of his exact intentions for being there. Soon after, though, the topic was dropped from her mind, deciding against lingering on that which could not be changed. Inwardly, the subject had been cast away, and she'd soon done the same on the outside by offering a slightly shrug of her shoulders.

When he drew closer, she made no move to counter the action. The woman instead stayed in place, seeing no reason to act against him—yet. A clear threat had yet to be made, and a part of her doubted one ever would be, leaving her with no reason to warn him away. "I used to live right here a few months back," Sen answered, attempting to ignore the vagueness of his answer. "You living nearby doesn't answer why you're here, specifically." Well, she'd tried, at least.

She doesn't move in light of him and he listens, pleased that she's answering him at all, so he will continue to do the same. "Well, it isn't a long walk and I may as well get to know the area since it's all new to me," he shrugged, otherwise staying as he was. Being such a recent transplant to this stretch of the taiga came with certain drawbacks and he does hope to remedy what he can -- especially if he was going to be living here for any span of time and so far, he's still able to find himself content at the Dragon's slopes.

"What happened to living here?" he asks first although remains unsure if she will expand and in what sort of detail. She'd not said if it was a pack setting or just where she stayed as a loner, and his newness to the area meant he had no idea of its history. "Do you stay nearby now?" he presses on, looking for confirmation.

She nodded in response to his answer, showing she'd heard but would question it no further. He lived near to the glacier, so much so that it fell onto his radar as a setting in need of becoming acquainted with. Presently, she wasn't too sure what she would use such information for, but stored it away for safe keeping anyways. Who knew if it'd ever come in handy. It was likely she'd be somewhat cautious during her next trip to the old territory—if she ever returned again, that is—if only to avoid gaining any unwanted attention from whatever pack lived nearby.

"I didn't see a point in staying," she'd returned. "There was a pack here, but the leader left. The pack disbanded and everyone went off to live their own lives, I guess." She'd recalled how another had wished to form a new pack afterwards, but she'd left the region instead of joining them. The idea of serving beneath someone who was, originally, an equal was something she'd been unable to do. That was something of the past, though, and so she'd refocused on the present. In response to his latter query, it was then her turn to shrug. "Might be, might not be. Currently I'm just traveling and reacquainting myself with the land here. Haven't thought of where I'll be living." Rather, she didn't know where she'd be staying. Depp hadn't informed her of any territories he was interested in just yet, leaving her in the dark.

He was in the middle of changing times for himself, and honestly, had been for quite a while now. It was the shift from loner to pack wolf that he engaged at present, and the next step would either be upwards or out. He was leaning towards the former and that meant proving his worth to the pack's whole. Since he was a straightforward sort, he knew where his strengths were, and from here, it was left to him to hone himself.

It should not take him long to get a good grasp on this place. He's a fairly quick study when it interests him and with that, he makes note. "Reasonable enough," he chuffed. "So the leader just up and left?" he asked, curious of the cause if he may be privy to it. Without a leader, a pack was bound to crumble but what she had told him so far gave him the beginnings of a vague timeline. Several months ago, this place had successfully supported a pack, and it did not seem as if trying times for resources drove them away. Instead, it was the flakiness of an alpha. Or so it was as he could see it -- there could always be more and he couldn't quite be bothered to be that extensively invested in the histories of something that had faded.

"I traveled in from the coast. Nothing there really seemed worthwhile, so turning for inland seemed the best choice," he shrugs. Then of course, that had tangled him into the new chapter of his: this life he'd find on the Dragon.

In the time frame during which it'd happened, the topic had been a tender one. It'd been best to leave it alone, to not question or even speak of it, but never had Sen respected such wishes. For the longest while, a seething hatred had brewed beneath her breast, churning dangerously like the waves of a storm. Eventually, though, her life had carried on. She'd departed from Teekon altogether, and the burning irritation she'd felt had been diluted. Presently, though, things were shifting slightly. In the presence of the man, whose query scrounged up any remaining hostilities, she'd felt herself be hit by the weight of thoughts and feelings from so long ago. "Yeah. Never knew where she went or why, she'd just left us all one day," she'd answered, then, though that wasn't the truth. A series of events had taken place, of which that had lead up to the leader's departure, but Sen made no note of that. No, just as she'd done so long ago, she'd looked at the situation only from her own perspective.

A morsel of information pertaining to his wanderings was given, and without a request having been made. She could appreciate that, as it saved a considerable amount of time. "I probably won't be heading to the coast, then." If he believed nothing had seemed worthwhile, then why should she waste her time heading all the way over there to see things for herself? Since it saved her time, Sen was able to accept his words.

She reveals a little more and he nods, weighing whether or not he should ask more, and eventually he settles on leaving it be. He's satisfied well enough by what he has, anyway. A leader up and leaving at random is not unheard of, but highly unfortunate, and he casts a thoughtful gaze over the nearby lands in silence

Then, on the coast, he shifts his train of thought and nods again. "Packs scattered here and there just frequently enough to be troublesome, the typical scenery, not even that enthralling of food choices either -- or it was when I was there," he elaborates to give his indifference a reason. If he were in her place, he wouldn't waste his time going. Then again, the coming days could always change it.

While remembering the sea doesn't make him miss it all that much yet, he does find he is ready to get moving again. "Anyway, I'm moving on. So.. safe travels," he manages as a farewell, although it seems just a courtesy if anything and he lingers long enough to hear anything else she may have. He doubts she intends to creep any closer to the Dragon's claim, so he's less concerned about that now that he's learned a bit about her doings here. With that, he takes to motion and leaves her.