Ankyra Sound we're just living in it.

Of all the sights Eshe had seen in the world, there was nothing she loved more than the ocean. Maybe the view from a mountain cliff of a river winding its way through a lush, green valley, but the sea was definitely up there. After spending the past couple of weeks exploring the Caldera and making herself at home with her brother, the Frostfur felt free to venture out for a few days to satisfy her craving for the scent of saltwater in her lungs.

A soft smile had settled on her lips as she wandering along the shore, enjoying the feel of the tide rolling over her paws. She had set out late (or early, depending on how you wanted to look at it), and so her view over the water including the sun rising pink and gold up from the horizon. She loved the splash of the water against her legs as she moved, but she eventually paused for a moment to simply enjoy the view and the way this place soothed every one of her senses.

Though Lele had intended to continue her journey, eventually she had not wandered far from the beach, where she had met Dragonfly few days ago. The heat picked up during the day ands he found that, while at the flatflands, wounds on her face attracted masses of flies and this did not aid healing the least. Somehow the insects did not favour the oceanside climate and here she returned to bathe her battered face in the saltwater and sleep through the day. 

This she had been doing now, having dug a shallow, but comfy and cool hollow in the sand, sleeping soundly, when she heard the approaching footfalls of another wolf. She cracked open an eye and was a little disappointed to see that this was some stranger and not the Prince Charming clad in white. The greyscale female had not taken any notice of her, giving Lele plenty of time to observe her quietly from a distance. At the time being she did not see any point of making her presence known, unless the stranger initiated the contact first.

Crashes the party!

@Erzulie and @Rosalyn’s brood were growing by the day. Chubbier, more vocal, rowdier. He loved to watch them develop! It was like their little world expanded every day. @Sobo had discovered bugs existed and loved to wrestle with his spicier brother @Loko, while @Coraline thought their antics to be rude and @Mireille had developed a little independent streak. He could only imagine what they would all be like as yearlings - gold, silver, red, and cinnamon quadruplets.

His happiness was only tempered by the loss of @Merlin. Without him, the pack felt thinner… emptier. A small piece of Njord’s heart became leaky. Taking up his friend’s duties, the Ruby began to double his patrols and often ranged out into the neighboring territories like the Tangle and Ankyra Sound.

Dawn broke and the red-tail spotted two figures on the shores, though they had not seemed to notice one another. As a new dad, Njord’s extroverted nature was tinged with novel protectiveness. He made no qualms about intercepting these wolves and finding out if they meant any harm to his family on the cliffs.

“Ahoy!” Njord called to them both, booming his voice so it could be heard above the waves.

Eshe didn’t notice the other female. She was too taken by her surroundings to realize they were marred by the formerly sleeping wolf further down the shoreline. She could not, however, overlook the ahoy! that rang out over the sound of the tide. Surprised, she turned to watch as the stranger approached, only then noticing the girl tucked into the wet sand some distance away.

”Ahoy?” Eshe repeated softly to herself, her head canting with curiosity. His tone had suggested it was some sort of greeting, but not one she recognized. She wondered if it was a different language, or perhaps he was introducing himself? Or maybe it had been a sneeze… ”Bless you.” she said after a moment, deciding the latter was the likeliest possibility.

A third one approached from such an angle that he could easily spot them both and Lele realized that she could, of course, continue to lie here and pretend that she was just another piece of trash that the ocean had washed ashore. Or she could play polite and find out, who the duo were, before they for whatever reason decided that she was a threat and decided to eat her. In the back of her mind she knew that this was a very wild assumption, very far from truth, but who could blame her for being a little paranoid in the first place?

"Hi," she greeted the man and then the ash-clad girl nearby, when she had approached and remained standing a little distance away from the two.

The trio converged on the wet sand of the Sound. Njord’s eyes cast briefly to the deep sea caves carved into pitted rock a few leagues away – half expecting to see another voyager scavenging for prey caught by the receding tides. However, it seemed the two women were his only company… and by the way they held themselves the seafarer could wager there wasn’t a tie between them.

‘Bless you,’ the first one said. She was a silver beauty with sandalwood colored eyes, finely made and graceful looking. The freckles across her face reminded Njord of Merlin. ‘Hi’ the other greeted. She was more reserved, but no less polite. Her agouti fur was a colorful blanket of charcoal, sienna, and tawny hues – body sleek though more angular and lean. The closer she got, the more Njord could see the terrible, but healing, wound across her face in the morning light. It pulled and pinched the skin… hair missing in some parts. Yet the rich brown of her eyes was brighter than a star, and he thought of the disfigurement no further.

Njord chuckled. “Ahoy means ‘ello where I’m from,” he explained to the pair. “M’name’s Njord Sveijarn-Corten an’ I live up on tha cliffs with my kin. M’pack’s called Sapphique.” The seafarer gestured towards Dragoncrest looming in the distance. “I saw ye both on the sand an’ well… I knew I ‘ah ta say ‘ello.”

His sea-colored gaze flicked between them, and he absently thought of the smooth pink stone Kukutux had given him. These days, Njord had been consumed by love for Erzulie and Rosalyn’s children… but something about meeting two women on the beach caused a butterfly to spring to life in his chest.

Njord forcibly stored the butterfly away. “What bring ya to these Northern shores?” he asked, genuinely curious.

The three strangers converged, much to Eshe’s delight. She enjoyed meeting new wolves, especially ones who could teach her something interesting. The male appeared to be that one in this group, as he explained what he’d meant by ahoy. Eshe let out a soft ohhh of understanding, but said no more as he continued. She was fascinated by the lilt of his voice and the way he vocalized words that were familiar, but somehow changed by his tongue. She wondered if all wolves from the pack he mentioned spoke like him, but she resisted asking, not wanting to ignore the question he posed first.

”I needed a beach day,” Eshe said, a smile warming her eyes, ”Thought I’d do some sunning, chase the tide or hunt some seagulls. Probably all three. Unless… are these your hunting grounds? I can skip the seagulls. I usually just chase ‘em for fun, anyway. Birds are such a pain to actually catch.” She glanced over at the other female as she spoke, wondering if perhaps she knew already. They didn’t carry a shared pack scent, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t more familiar with the area than Eshe.

I am so, so sorry for keeping this on hold. Work has consumed all of my energy lately.

"Lele," she introduced herself to the cheerful company that had gathered here, looking interestedly from one to the other. The red-tailed man turned out to be from a local pack and the gray-clad girl seemed to be a traveller like her. Though she did appear to be more well-kept that Ukulele herself, which probably mean that she was a pack wolf herself.

"I am a lone wolf," she explained simply. "Stopped here to get some saltwater treatments - and the waters been doing miracles," she smiled and chuckled lightly. Then she fell silent, waiting for Njord to reply to the question of whether either of them were trespassing on the nearby pack's hunting grounds.