Silverlight Terrace a lovely night for stargazing and poorly behaving

@Chai - Perhaps some alluring scenery will persuade her even more ;D

Atticus decided to stay at the terrace overnight, planning to head back to Buffalo in the morning and perhaps even spar again now that he was feeling better. As the moonlight faded in his mind was lifted away from any thoughts of the numbing cold, enamored by the night beauty. With full confidence of his solitude, the boy began to sing to pass the time.

"There's a starman waiting in the sky
He'd like to come and meet us
But he thinks he'd blow our minds." 

He dragged the tune with a slower beat than the original, bopping his head back and forth with the rhythm and patting his tail against the frozen ground. What had been such an unrewarding couple of months seems to completely turn around within a few days- what kind of luck was that?

For Chai, the night was cold and lonely. She was still no closer to finding a true home in this vast new wilderness. She had only met one pack wolf so far. The other was a drifter like herself. And while her encounter with each of them had been pleasant enough, she felt as if she must move on. She still wanted to get to know the place, to take her time in doing so.

But not too long. Not while it was winter. 

Kept awake by her thoughts, the young woman strolled aimlessly through the stretch rolling hills. The frozen snow crunched softly beneath her paws, to where her icy eyes were cast. She had to remain optimistic. The sound of a voice...of singing, pulled her out of her trance. Shaking her head as if to clear out her ears, she strained to find the source. After a couple of glances this way and that, she spotted another lone figure. Unsure if she should approach or be on her way, she stayed put, waiting to see what they'd do...or if they'd notice her.

Atticus was rather lost in the song, eventually, he grew into a crescendo and stood up to accurately express the energy of the song-
"Let the children lose it
Let the children use it
Let all the children boogie!" 

The last lyric was fumbled and clumsy, for right as he began to belt the note the scent of a wolf filled his nose and his heart dropped. Atticus bolted around only for his glacier of eyes to spot a girl of all things. He felt ashamed, what a vulnerable thing to witness in a gentleman's life. His ears flattened against his head, he attempted to hide any embarrassment but failed miserably. "Oh! Uh... Hi there, miss."

They continued to sign, seemingly unaware that they were being watched. Expression neutral, russet ears flicking slightly, Chai considered the lyrics. His little song wasn't half bad...she had heard worse. She wondered if there was any significance behind them, or if the male simply sang what came naturally.

As he whirled around with a look of surprise and shame written all over, she took a step back. Her eyes widened. His own were exactly like hers. Were it not for the difference in scent, she could have easily mistaken him for a relative. She quickly averted her gaze, down to the snow at their feet. "Oh, hi. I wasn't watching...promise. I just...happened to be passing through..." She started to turn away, to proceed back in the direction which had been headed, to leave him in peace.

She seemed just as sheepish as himself, only making guilt wash out his shame. Atticus took a few trotting steps towards her, "Wait! Uh, you don't have to leave. I mean, if you don't want to that is... if you do that's fine too." 

He was talking too much, wasn't he?

The boy plopped his rear to the ground and sighed a half-exasperated-half-amused breath of air. He smiled kindly and tilted his head. "I won't bite- or sing anymore, I'm sure it was horrendous to hear." He chuckled lightly, hopefully humor would convince her to stay.

Chai paused as he called out for her, inviting her to stay. She twisted her neck to look over her shoulder back at him, pale eyes filled with a curious inquiry. "Oh...I thought I was intruding." Retracing her steps, she cautiously moved to sit across from him. She sniffed once, testing the air around him for any traces of others.

"Your singing...it wasn't all that bad." She managed with a half smile. Tipping her head, she decided to ask. "Those words...did they have any particular meaning? Or were you just having fun?" Gosh she hoped she wasn't being too nosy.

"

Her eyes.  They were stunning, frosted mountains. For a moment he didn't even process her response, mesmerized by her gaze. However, being the gentleman he was, Atticus forced himself back into reality. He smiled in a comforting way,  "Hardly an intrusion to me." He insisted. 

He processed her question, he hadn't really thought that deeply of the moment. In fact, only now did he realize he was singing a song from his past... the past that he couldn't even remember! Such a revelation made wheels began to turn, so desperately did he want to think this through- but no, he couldn't. That would be rude to his guest! She didn't need to hear of his memory loss, that his lyrics had poured out from the hidden depths of his mind without any invitation. 

Either way he had to give her answer.  "I've known it for a while, well, at least I'm pretty sure I have. To be candid, I'm not entirely sure where it's from, but it does mean something that's for sure. It's the story of a starman visiting earth." Boy, he sure did like to talk around her.

His ears perked once he realized he had forgotten to ask her name. "Forgive me, miss, I'm Atticus Percival- and you?"

As was so often the case, Chai remained oblivious concerning her features. Sure, she knew wasn't bad looking. But she never boasted. She preferred to be humble. The muscles lining her shoulders eased when he assured her that she wasn't being a bother. A hint of a smile came again to her lips. "Well, that's a relief."

Out here in the open in these rolling fields at night, she noticed the sharp chill in the air. When a stray breeze would blow by, it ruffled through her coat, reminding her of how dearly she would like a warm place to hole up in. Which got her thinking... She should look for an ideal spot, since it looked like she wouldn't find a pack anytime soon. 

Drawn out of these idle thoughts, she dipped her head in a nod, paired with a soft hum. "I would like to think that all songs have some meaning, whether we know it or not. A...starman you say? Sounds kinda whimsical to me." He did talk a lot, but she hardly found that bothersome. Being lonely on her own, she could use a friendly face...or two. Or three. "Don't worry...it's all good. I am Chai. I've...been trying to get to know the area...mainly the packs. I'm...new to being on my own."

Her smile allowed him to relax as well, she seemed a rather kind one. 

Atticus wasn't new to being on his own, at least he didn't think so. His hesitated with the offer, they were hardly a conversation into knowing each other. Nonetheless, months of solidarity has an effect on someone and he couldn't withhold such an opportunity, especially for her, who seemed to dislike such insolation. "You can stay with me for a while. I plan to join a pack soon, I'm sure they'd accept you. They're just starting out so they'll take anyone they can get." 

He avoided eye contact, hoping his offer wasn't too forward and brash like his encounter with the black she-wolf. 

Both delicate brows shot up in surprise. Did she just hear him right? She tipped her head slightly (while managing to look cute doing so) in consideration. For a long moment, she securitized him with her eyes, carved of ice. "That's...very kind of you to offer..." She began slowly. "But we did just meet." She pointed out bluntly, though her voice was anything but unkind.

The sheepishness was radiating off of him; that she could see. Chai seized the moment while his eyes were elsewhere, and came closer, the crunch of her paws in the snow the only clue to her approach. Atticus seemed harmless enough. While she didn't like to fight, if she had to, she could hold her own. Hopefully. "I suppose we could try and get to know each other a little better, if I am to travel with you." She planted her butt down to sit squarely in front of him, to get his attention. "What is this pack like? I would hate to be hasty in case they are not a good fit for me." She longed for pack life again. But what kind of life would it be if the pack wasn't a match for her?

Tiny, hot needles pierced into his skin as she pointed out the obvious- god, how foolish was he? Was he always lacking such a level head? His stomach had dropped, he truly had never felt so embarrassed... well, at least from what he could remember, which wasn't very much. 

But then she continued on and his shame subsided (for the most part). She actually took up his offer! The boy finally dared to look in her direction once more, a tiny smile begging to poke through his maw. But he didn't allow it for more than a miniature smirk that lasted a second.  Her question forced his ears to perk as he pondered its answer. Truly all he could think about was Buffalo- and therefore he'd base his response around him. "Well, they're welcoming from what I've seen. They're supportive- smart- kind- they're..." He was so overwhelmed with thought his eyes darted back and forth, deciding to choose what thoughts to say aloud, the perfect fitting words for this pack. "They're like family." 

Chai was a girl who had no problem voicing her opinion or stating the obvious. But, she usually tried to do so in such a way so as not to offend the other person. She didn't like hurting the feelings of others. To her, it was uncalled for, unless of course, someone had gone out of their way to hurt her first. Even if her relatives had been less than gentle in expressing their emotions around her, Chai still took the high road.

She caught the barest hints of his smile, holding his glacial blue eyes, rust ears pricking attentively. She gave two silent dips of her chin, listening patiently. From what he was describing, they sounded like a genuinely good pack. One word stood out to her the most, of those he said. Family. Oh how she missed her siblings many a time...longed to be back at their sides. But she needed this freedom. 

Her brows pinched together softly while looking at him as he had spoken. Gosh, Atticus looked so nervous. She saw no need. Ah but she was one to talk. She had gotten nervous a few times on her earlier encounters. Letting out of soft hum, she beat the ground with her tail gently. "They seem...ideal. Family....it's so important..." She trailed off distantly, hung up in thoughts of her own. Quickly she pulled herself back to the conversation. "Sounds worth checking out. But I can't make any promises until I meet them, face to face." First impressions were everything. She would go by her gut instinct. If she wasn't meant to join, then she would resume her search for a better fit.

A sharp sting stabbed into his heart. How was he to know the importance of family when he couldn't even remember the face of his mother, or if he'd even had one? His closest encounters to "family" were his old companion who abandoned him with no warning and the hearty buffalo he sparred with not too long ago. It never reached his mind that joining a pack would grant him new brothers and sisters, he'd only considered the safety and warmth. 

Atticus hid whatever melancholy he felt behind a kinder smile than his last, for the next few days he was to have another companion- and perhaps even longer should they both join! "They aren't very far from here, I'm sure you'll like them." He insisted. 

His mind drifted back to his newfound friend, one that was presumed to spend a fair amount of time with- what's a better time to get to know each other than now? "So, what brings you out here- if you care to tell?"

Chai returned his smile with a faint one of her own. She was still coming out of her shell. It would take time for her to fully open up, to show her true colors. One naturally wasn't themselves when lost in vast new place, where you knew no one. "I hope so." She said with a note of optimism in her voice. "Glad we don't have to travel too far either."

Feeling no particular rush to get moving right away, the honey and fire colored wolf stood and stretched her spine in smooth arc. It felt good to stretch out her tired muscles and once she got the chance to rest later, she was certain she would wake up feeling refreshed. Openly, she looked at him, offering a shake of her head. "No...I don't mind." She smoothed her tongue over her lips which had felt a little dry. "I think it was purely by accident. I was travelling with my brother and sisters...but then I lost their trail. It was in a ice storm that I got separated. And well...here I am now."

His ears perked as she began to tell her tale of origin, although they quickly lowered once she finished- how sad! Atticus frowned, although she seemed to be handling it rather well, or hiding it that is.

"If it makes you feel any better, I can't remember anything beyond a few months ago- I don't even know how I got here." He gave a poor half smile in an attempt to cheer up the situation, it was only afterward did he realize how insensitive his comment could be. 

"We all have similar situations in the grand scheme of things, right?"  He hadn't heard of a wolf without hardship, but then again he didn't recall many at all.

Chai's feelings on being separated from her siblings were mixed. On one hand, she missed the companionship they offered. She was a social creature and being alone was not something she was yet accustomed to. On the other, she almost welcomed the change. That way, without their constant presence, she wouldn't be reminded every waking minute, of how she just did not quite compare.

Visually, Chai didn't seem too great a deal upset. Unhappy about her situation of course, but doing her best to make the most out of it and stay positive. It had happened and there was nothing she could do to change it. "I guess fortunes can be different for everyone." She mused aloud. Curiosity came into her eyes then. "What....do you remember? Before you found yourself here?"

The question was simple enough, which usually meant the answer was equally simple- but that was not the case. Atticus knew he had a short-lived traveling companion for a while, but he abruptly abandoned him without much notice. That had been one or two months ago and he knew he was wandering alone before his partner had come along...but what was he doing? The past few months, in retrospect, he had been aimlessly walking miles and miles like a lost child that didn't know they were lost. 

"Not much, really. For the past couple of months, I've really just been doing the same thing; traveling." He shrugged with the end of his sentence, he found the best way to handle his loss of memory was to not care about it too much. For now, he had been doing somewhat below mediocre, but he was still okay.

Traveling. That was another thing they had in common, besides going to Shadewood Keep. Chai hadn't really been on her own terribly long by herself, but she was sick of it. The nomadic life wasn't for her. She was a wolf through and through. She craved companionship. Socialization. Sure, she had all that back in her native homeland with her family...but it wasn't the same. She had always felt excluded. Sidelined.

"Stretching your legs is all well and good...but I think this is a little much." She grinned slightly. "I'm ready to put it behind me." Just a little more putting up with this traveling business, and she could settle. "Speaking of...which way is this place? What's the best route?"

The icy-eyed boy began to gesture his nose in one direction before pausing, shifting to another and then pausing again. Wheels turned in his brain as he attempted to calculate where he had come from. "That way," He finally decided with almost complete positivity. 

He took a few steps towards Shadewood glanced over at his new companion.  "What'dya say we rest here for the night and we'll start in the morning?"

At first Atticus seemed undecided as he looked from one direction to the next. Or maybe he was just refreshing his memory...getting his bearings. Chai looked on with the patience of a saint. She was the one out of place in this brand new land. She would rely on him, contently letting him take the lead. And if they got lost along the way...well then at least they had each other.

After he made up his mind, she nodded. "I trust your judgement. You are all I got." She added in playfully. As he stepped in the direction he indicated, surely where Shadewood awaited them, she fell in line beside him. "Sounds good enough to me. It's already late as it is." Chai loathed the idea of having to sleep out in the open, exposed to the cold. She approached the base of hill, just large enough to block out the wind, if only slightly. Checking over her shoulder to see if her friend was following suit, she only began to move the snow away when he drew near. Soon after she hunkered down into a tight little ball of warm brown and cream fur, succumbing to sleep.

She seemed content with the situation, rather surprising to Atticus. However, he wasn't very difficult to satisfy either. He supposed their aimless pasts have diminished any pickiness. He followed after her to lay in the most comfortable place she was able to find and plopped down directly next to her, sides almost touching, before closing his eyes and faded into a deep slumber, one of the first he'd had in months.