Totoka River you're gone and i gotta stay.

@Sinaaq

Call it curiosity, call it idiocy--whatever the force that drove the boy's paws was, Summer found himself wandering the coast line lately, trying to find the girl with the mismatched eyes. He had no doubt the encounter had a very good chance of ending just as disastrously as the first had, but he couldn't seem to help himself. He was intrigued by her, in a way he hadn't been since the girl from the Creek had fallen into his life. He had let that one go, never to be seen again. He didn't want to let it happen again--not when he had such a better handle on the issues that used to hold him back.

Unfortunately, the Ostrega knew nothing about this one. The incident was a haze of confusion in his mind, he had been so high from his poppies. He since had learned to better control his consumption so that he wouldn't completely lose himself in the drug like he had before, but he still got the benefit of its calming effects. He wanted to remember it this time if he was lucky enough to come across her, and he wanted to be able to respond to her on a way that didn't fill her with rage.

Luck did not seem to be on Summer's side that day as he strode alongside the river. There was no sign of her, no sign of Ferdie, no sign of anyone. He heaved a frustrated sigh and kicked a stone off of the river bank into its rushing waters. He watched the splash rise up from the waves and disappear, a small frown twisting upon his lips. What now?

I don't even know what this post is. xD

Sinaaq was not the type to form attachments to territories, nor, really, attachments to anything. Except the few things that happened to form attachments to him, like the infection and Frigga (but then there was that confusing thing with Solia). His lack of empathy towards much of anything at all gave with it an ease. If he allowed nothing to strike him and captivate him then nothing could capture him and he would thus remain free. Free from the poison that was love, free from disappointment and further destruction of what was already cracked and riddled with fissures. How it still managed to beat within it's prison of flesh and bone was an ever present mystery that Sinaaq had no immediate intentions to solve. Some things, the darkling knew, were not meant to be solved. He took the shattered thing that resembled his heart to be one of those life mysteries and did what he did best: moved on. Ghosted from territory to territory, from pack to pack, from Valley to Valley. It wasn't that he had the heart of a wanderer, because he did not. He yearned for what all yearned for: a home. Simply, he had trouble finding one that suited him and, further struggled to incorporate himself into that kind of life style. With the death of Frigga, Sinaaq had deduced one simple truth about himself: that he didn't belong. It was lonely but it was the indisputable truth that he had learned to simply embrace. Adlartok had given him a purpose (after three failed attempts at killing the newborn), knowing that he was needed but even that, too, faded. Or perhaps it hadn't and Sinaaq had subconsciously lost his nephew on purpose for the second or third time now. Whatever the reasons were, be it Sinaaq's fault or Adlartok's did not matter. The point was Sinaaq was alone. How he had always been and how, it seemed, he would always be.

Sinaaq enjoyed his time in Blackfoot Forest, having dined upon the ghastly creatures that seemed to, according to the lore surrounding the place, scared off numerous of wolves with their shrill, eerie calls and had been, admittedly reluctant to leave it — though not because he formed any kind of attachment to it because you know, he didn't do that kind of thing. He was searching for something, only he did not yet know what. Perhaps he would never know what he was searching for. He only knew that when he found it, he would know. He had been nearing the water source that his ears had perked to, pausing when he heard a splash out of place — a disruption on the normal noise of the water. Sinaaq, being upwind of the other male saw him before he scented him. The other male was dark, like Sinaaq and seemed to be frowning at the water. Without thinking Sinaaq offered a chuff (providing Summer hadn't already caught his scent) and then ceased his forward motion, simply watching for some kind of reaction.

Lol it's okay, I wrote this...!

Someone was coming. Some part of the young wolf's brain knew that, but it apparently decided to keep it secret for when the soft call interrupted the quiet, the boy jumped as though a bullet had just shot off. He froze on the shore, blinking at the dark wolf who seemed to have just appeared out of thin air. After a moment, he shook his head to release the tension, whining softly as the feeling of stupidity escaped him.

"Sorry, didn't see you there," Summer replied, "You need something?" It was rather a weird thing to say. Probably not the proper question. Maybe he was supposed to offer him a fish. He didn't have a fish. Gah, when would his mind stop being so damn... swirly.

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Sorry for the wait on this! :o

Sinaaq's body froze, each muscle pulling taunt beneath his dark coat as the other ebony creature jumped, quite literally, shooting up like a fire had been lit under his bum. Despite the tense, cautious position that his body had instinctively assumed Sinaaq was internally trying to figure out if he wanted to burst out into laughter or not. Never before he had managed to spook another quite so badly that they literally jumped — though that old saying “a first time for everything” did prove to be rather true. As Sinaaq struggled with his desire to laugh a wicked smirk had taken it's place upon his lips nevertheless. A reaction had been what Sinaaq had been waiting for it and what a reaction he had received. When the other apologized for not seeing him there — it did not fall out of Sinaaq's notice that if anyone should have been apologizing it should have been the Darkling not the younger boy — and spoke about not seeing Sinaaq, which hadn't been all that surprising given the severe and intent look upon the other's face previously, instead of doing what a normal creature with manners would do Sinaaq instead offered a sardonic, “Evidently,” Laughter evident in his golden irises though it did not penetrate past the mechanical rise of his lips into his usual smirk. “A drink is all,” Sinaaq had considered, briefly, ignoring the other male, getting his drink and moving on without the other any the wiser but he had previously thought that, that was bound to fail, though only now, when it was too late, did Sinaaq consider that he probably could have gotten away with it. “I was trying to avoid spooking you in case you happened to look downriver and see me,” Sinaaq admitted with a quiet laugh this time. The Arrluk didn't bother to say anything more because the both of them saw how well that attempt had worked out.

The man didn't seem to have any ill intentions, which should not have surprised him, though he felt relieved nonetheless. Another wave of relief washed over him as the stranger went further to inform him that he was only looking for a drink. Summer could offer him that easily. Far easier than he could have offered him anything else. Except maybe some grass. He could easily give him some grass There was plenty of it around.

It was a few seconds after the stranger had explained himself that Summer finally realized it had happened. "It's cool," he said after a beat, "I should probably pay more attention." He was on the search for a couple of individuals. It probably would behoove him to pay more attention. If they happened to show up right beside him and he missed it, he was going to feel quite idiotic.

The man leaned down to take a long draught of water from the river, then nodded a farewell and left Summer's company. It was a brief interaction, but the boy didn't mind. In fact, he hardly even noticed as his eyes grew heavy and he too turned to leave, heading back to the Sunspire, or to some temporary den along the way where he could rest his aching head.