Cassiopeia's View little bird, i have branches above my head

@Célnes

The lanky wolf lay with dark back legs sprawled beside him, but his fronts pleasantly crossed as he rested along the shelf's edge with the sun illuminating his dull fur. The view it had to offer had already become a favorite of his, and although he'd surely need to come down from the mountains soon he wanted to enjoy it's beauty just a bit longer. Curious green eyes scanned about the horizon from his vantage point, he could swear that every time he looked he'd find something new to behold no matter how many times he'd gone over it, there was so much to see...

And he was far from the dangers behind him now.

At least, he hoped. He was still a lone wolf in an unknown land. Despite his comfort laying in the setting sun, there was still an ear rotating to and fro every now and again taking note of the sounds around him.

The group would start their move. She made the announcement, and knew not many cared about leaving, as the land was unblessed. She seperated away from them to scout for any potential lands to temporary claim, but alas, nothing was to her liking. She preferred flatland, with forests, and definitely not on the mountain. 

Though there seemed to be another scouting out- someone who looked oddly familiar. Of course, Célnes has never met Henryk, but it was the fact he was brown-pelted, it could automatically be assumed to be somesort of Déorwine. Personally, she had not seen many typical brown-wolves in these wilds, majority being grayscale, so she could only assume it was a lost relative.

"Are you lost?" The elken woman approached with a calm, and relaxed smile.

Henryk's head tilted back over his shoulder, eyes meeting the form of another brown wolf approaching him. He'd yet to form any sort of noticeable reaction on his features but in his mind he did take note of her radiant pelt right away, and her smile. His tail gently twitched.

Lost? He pondered in response to her question, cocking his head ever so slightly. Such a thing to say out of the blue...

I? Uh... Depends on what you consider lost. Because technically, he was? He'd come down the mountains on the other side of his view and trekked all the way here, but he was nowhere close to knowing enough about the area. But was someone really lost when they were, well... Aimless to begin with?

I'm not exactly from around here.

If he did not recognize her so, she wasn't sure if he was a Déorwine. As of royal blood, majority would recognize who is on that throne-line. Previously, Célnes didn't care much on the specifics, remembering her fathers obsession with such.. However, now regarding herself as a King, slowly the thoughts were coming forward to herself. She wasn't realizing how much the thoughts were coming forward.

"I'm new as well," she admitted, "but we are adjusting to the land." 'We' was referenced to her family, but the elken woman didn't directly infer they were here. Simple mentions of so, "where were you previously from?"

Henryk's pointed face nodded as he listened, meanwhile raising himself up into a sit and turning to face her properly. It couldn't be too polite to just... Carry on a conversation over the shoulder like that. There's a lot to take in, isn't there? He mentioned pleasantly in regard to the land that lay sprawled within their view. He couldn't say he'd adjusted to it yet though, his legs still tended to want to move him along per what he'd been doing the last few months near-constantly. He wasn't exactly settled yet, not as much as he wanted to be.

The fact that she'd said we did, in fact, go over his head at least for the time being. Instead his darker ears flicked in response to her question. North-east, a pretty far trek from here... I used to live around a river called Athabasca. It was a vague answer, but he figured it was enough to gauge whether she knew of it or not. 

What about you?

He was a rather.. Scruffy man. However he would pass as a Déorwine regardless of body-form, the only alternation she would make would be his olive-like eyes. Her own family consisted of orange, yellow, reds, and rare pinks like her own fire-lit gaze. She was greeting him with a poetic smile, one a duchess would give at a ball. Inspecting him closely-

"I am from Kingslend, known for the Déorwine family," the elken woman announced them so, "we are currently reannouncing its survival, and thriving."

A shiver of uncertainty tingled up his spine as her fiery eyes looked him over. Suddenly he was hyper-aware of his current state, the thinness of fat between his skin and ribs a clear indicator of his prior struggles during his travels. His fur was not as fleshed out as it should be at his age (having literally just turned four), he looked more akin to an adolescent at the moment with thin legs and unmatched gaudy paws. It was temporary as far he was concerned, but that didn't stop him from feeling uncomfortable about it in the eyes of a rather graceful stranger.

And her family's name was just as such. Déorwine. He echoed the lofty name to himself under his tongue. The brown wolf couldn't say he knew about it before now, but that wasn't surprising to him. Nonetheless, his focus honed in on what he gathered from her last sentence- she was a pack wolf. The first one he'd encountered so far.

The man still had his hesitations about joining a pack in this new land, but he had been thinking about it greatly. The coming winter wouldn't be kind to him alone... Distant howls of gathered wolves would tug at him forlornly. Though his outer expression didn't change (as it seldom did) his inner thoughts tumbled.

Kingslend... Quite a proud name. I wouldn't mind learning more about it. He tried to ride the edge of not being too forward, but still trying to communicate his genuine interest. 

I'm Henryk, by the way.

"I am Célnes Déorwine, a pleasure." She made it obvious that she held the name dear to herself. Even though there has been some clashing with her family regarding the culture they held close, she was still proud of her name. But the backwater ways of how they are is deep-rooted, she couldn't help but think especially so on Calhoun, Rohesia, and Odessa- some like Chad, and Corliss were the same, but less expressive over the issues.

"Kingslend prides themselves in following the High Elk, he with a thousand horns. We follow where he goes- because where he is, the land will forever be blessed." And yet, despite crossing mountains and rivers, they had trouble finding him. They saw apostles occasionally, signs and so, but finding him.. Proved difficulty. 

For the sake of what remains of the family, the elken woman would not give up.

"We are blessed by him through our names." Only those of their culture, and accepted by their God, may take the Déorwine name.

The pleasure's all mine. The earthen male replied in politeness, dark face tilting softly to the side as he listened to the Déorwine woman explain. Kingslend was indeed a prideful pack just as he'd thought. From what he could gather, they centered around this High Elk. His face gave no indication of how many pieces he was attempting to put together in his mind... Was the High Elk a god of sorts? An epithet for another wolf in power? An actual being? 

Henryk knew of gods, though admittedly not about this one. His parents once told stories to him and his littermates about the deities of the seasons, who chased each other around in a long circle around the land. With them, they brought changes that adhered to their personalities... It had always bothered him how his parents always regarded Autumn as a dying crone. He always thought of her as a beautiful she-wolf, gently plucking the excess tufts from her fur that would litter the ground like leaves...

Blinking, the man stopped himself before his mind wandered too far. Did you follow him here?

"We are still looking." The elken woman shook her head while giving a pity of a smile, "our land had been burned down, and we had no choice but to flee to here."  She wasn't sure what kind of destiny brought her family to this lands, but it has been interesting, to say the least. Especially since majority of the wolves she came across have been the gray-scale kind, not too many were black or white, but a singular gold man as well.

He was one of the first that was brown, and not of family.

"We hope to find him here."

A somber expression crossed the man's dark face, upon hearing that their land had burned down. He could only imagine how unfortunate that must have been, how many lives had been uprooted, how much-sacred land had been lost. There was no way he could yet know the true extent of the devastation... But he could surmise.

I'm terribly sorry to hear that, Célnes... He murmured, for a moment averting his gaze as he thought of what to say next. Gradually... The ears atop his head that had lowered in empathy now began to rise back to their usual perk, as his eyes returned to the elken woman. My... mother used to tell me to run from the sight of smoke, but not to fear the fire. It's dangerous, yes, but... The ground that grows after it will be born anew. Some forests can't grow without it.

If that makes any sense. He wasn't very confident in his own ability to relay such a metaphor. It's... unfortunate, it's not always understandable... Nor fair... But I like to believe there's a silver lining. You're here now, and that must mean something... Right?

"You're mother sounds wise." She did not agree, nor' openly disagree with the matter. As one who personally dealt with the fire, she saw the destruction it could give, and did not see it causing life. It was just a simple fire, but instead set the whole forest ablaze. The mountains, the flatlands, everywhere there was green, it went into the smoke. 

Many perished, wolves, deer, and others. They were lucky to survive, and even today she could see the fire in her dreams. Célnes wasn't sure how to describe the feeling, it wasn't fear or caution, nor excitment or andrenaline.. She wasn't sure, and only remembered staring into the flames, as it stared back at her so.

"Destiny always finds a way for us- perhaps it was meant for you to find so. Kingslend always opens our arms to others." She said, opening the gates to an intitation toward her group.

He was surprised at the offer, to say the least. Admittedly it was something he'd greatly been silently praying for, finding a pack and becoming a part of something larger than simply himself as he had been for far too long. But perhaps he hadn't expected it so... Out of the blue. Her wording seemed to suggest their meeting itself may be a matter of destiny, and Henryk would in days time find himself to agree with that sentiment. 

But here, caught in the moment, a great hesitance overcame him- a nasty symptom of his own ill confidence. What could he offer to them? What worth could he be to a pack that frankly sounded far above him?

A silent swallow trickled down his throat, as he found his words to respond. I'm honored at your offer, Célnes. It's a tempting thought... May I think on it? He hoped the question wouldn't nullify the offer altogether.

"Of course." She was pleased he did not decline the offer right away. Hopefully enough was to be lured for the boy, and family to be satisfied. She had brought the gray-scale wolves within Kingslend, but showing she was bringing one of their own kind, a blessed color, would satisfy them more-so.

"We will be over the mountains. Find me or my family, when you so choose. We welcome you with open arms."

aaa short but this is all I could think of to wrap it up in one post ;w;

Thank you... I'll remember that. Be safe in your travels.

And with that their rather formal interaction came to a close, he nodded thankfully and bid her receding form adieu. His eyes would follow her hazel-hued pelt until it was no longer in his visor, turning back out towards the horizon over the shelf once more to resume his deep contemplation. The pointed wolf now had quite a bit on his mind that he'd surely mull over all night... And many days after.