Sequoia Coast ~For we have traveled a long way, the ocean is near~

@Cassian, I hope you don’t mind if I tag ya? :D Let’s say they have made it to the coast and found a resting spot to explore. @Esma, I know this is sudden, but perhaps she could meet up with you since John was with them. She has been searching for him.

They had reached the coast, by a miracle the weather was lovely and the sea winds were not super harsh. She turned to her ever eager traveling partner Cassian, “Look at it,” she said with a smile, “we are here!” “What do you think?”

She stood, her nose facing the large expanse of water known as the sea. Her tail softly wagging! It was a different sea than she was used to, grayish sand lined the shores whereas most beaches where she came from were rocky with little to no soft warm sand. She smelled the ground, picking up the sea scents… and other wolf’s scents beside her’s and Cass’s. She looked around, was someone here before her? Could it be her brother’s scent? It had been so long, would she even recognize him if she ran into him?

If anything, what if he wasn’t here? Though she pushed this to the back of her mind, it would be fine. She had her travel buddy, and they got along well. She enjoyed his company and knew the feeling was likewise.

It looked like prey near here was a little scarce and far few in between. Fortunately they had fueled up sometime beforehand. Reaching the beach felt good, but this was only one part of the journey.

The coast.

There wasn’t a cloud in sight where the sky reigned. It was just two golden wolves, the ocean, and the sun that kissed their pelts. Adah’s enthusiasm was contagious, bright and bubbly as she could be even though they were virtually still strangers to one another. Cassian saw her smile and mimicked it then took some seconds to mull over the woman’s question. What did he think?

“I think…”

A second passed by, a gust of wind pressing itself through the man’s fur before ending with the latter half of his thought.

“...that it’s pretty.”

A simple enough statement, but one that Cassian truly did believe in. When the man came to reality, Cassian was born in a vast expanse of lush green. There’d been a pond, the trails of scattered prey, an irony scent that dripped its jagged path down his maw, and forests lined with foreign scents at the time. Now, he knew they were packs, and that was likely what Adah was sniffing for right now. That, and any sign of her brother. While she sniffed, Cassian sat down. The trek here wore its weight on the man’s paws and any moment that they could simply relax and enjoy the moments for what they were was one that held its weight tilted towards his favor.

“Hey, Adah, what’s Canada like? You said you came from there, right? I don’t know what it’s like. All I really know is the place where I was…”

Where he was…what? Cassian blinked, trailing off as a numbness tore its merciless path through the man’s psyche. Brown, murky eyes widened the slightest bit before the creases formed by it waned and they returned back to their normal, resting position.

“...huh? What was I saying?” Tilting his head to the right, Cassian soon after lied down fully into the sand. It was so warm! It was like a bed full of warm meals! “Oh well! It doesn’t matter anyways, I think. Do you think there’s food under this warm stuff?”

She looked to him, as he was thinking…. What was he thinking? He wasn’t quite readable at first, but she sensed that he was at ease. He smiled, her enthusiasm being contagious she assumed.

He had said, simply, it’s pretty. She agree wholeheartedly, it was truly a pretty sight. Nothing like her home pack. Did it match anything he was familiar with? Perhaps where he was raised? She was curious, though did not press as this was a peaceful moment for each of them, though strangers still.

He sat down, letting his body have comfort. Yes, it was a very long journey, so she joined him and relished in a warm sandy-ish grassy seat. She would watch little things scatter under the sound, then turned her attention back to him. Canada? He was wondering about her home territory where she and John had grown up.

“Cold, it was cold most of the year.” She continued, “though we would have some pleasant temperatures in the spring. Not usually too cold. We also have more daylight than in the winter.” True as it was, Canada was dark most of the winter, sundown coming earlier.

“Would you like to talk about where you remember? I’m sure you’d like Canada, though where I am from is very northwest of these land borders. It’s a good trip, more than three days.” His face changed, almost to a deep thinking state. Was he having a flashback of some sort? Should she have not said anything or even asked about his home?

Cold most of the year? That didn't sound too bad! It didn't get all too cold here, but then again Cassian hadn't ventured off to the more tundra-like areas of this domain yet. If Adah said that it was cold then it must've been just that! Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold! Her explanation of the area was fascinating, though. If Cassian closed his eyes, which he did, the man could almost imagine it. Pleasant temperatures, daylight during the chilly winter days, blankets of snow, and trees that were verdant as they were full of life.

Whatever image he was relishing in soon evaded the golden man, however. Adah went on to ask him about what he remembered. Murky, brown eyes opened once again and this time scanned out towards the ocean. The sun, hanging high above the horizon reminded Cassian of an orange. The juicy, sweet, tart ones that would rarely be sprawled out on the forest floor. Disgusting things, but they were fun to play with and kick around.

"What I remember, huh? That's the funny thing! I don't really remember much. One day, I opened my eyes and I was just....alive. I was near a lake and I walked my way down south. I could taste this weird, metallic taste in my mouth and it drooled down to the floor. My stomach felt heavy. I don't really know how to explain it, but there was this nice wolf that told me about territories. Gave me a warning about staying away from them if I didn't want to eat up hurt or worse. So, I've been following that advice since then. I guess before I was born again I just remember....nothing. If I try, my head hurts. Everything gets...fuzzy, that's the best way I can describe it. But, I'm not too worried about it. I've met some decent souls. I've met you! And I think that's good enough for now. I'm not too concerned with the kind of life I lived up until then. I'm just concerned with living the kind of life I want to live now!"

A smile worked its way on Cassian's face, stretched with genuine traces of positive intention.

"What about you? When you find your brother what kind of life do you want to live? Have you thought of anything past that point? I don't mean to pry, but I think it'd be nice to know. You know, the real you. The soul that you normally are when you aren't on a tracking mission, you know?"

Sorry I’ve been really slow, working on a well crafted response. Also got really busy with life stuff happening -_-

She listened, thoughts hanging on every word. It was interesting, almost poetic in a way, this man had clearly been on his own journey. Full of meaning, searching. He said “down” south, perhaps he came from a more higher elevation? She could tell that they were both new here, there was no doubt.

He went on, continuing the story while all the while explaining what he had seen, and feel. “Born again….” This word caught her attention, it vaguely reminded her of something that her brother would say, however her attention turned back to him, the current moment. He had explained advice he had learned, good advice too. “Kind souls” like herself, this was touching, especially since she had rarely been around other wolves outside of her family, her old pack. Even though it was relatively small at the time. She nodded with a sweet small smile, “that you have, thank you for the compliment.” “I can say the same for you, you too seem as decent a soul as I.” She meant it, she knew in her heart, or whatever wolves feel strongly with.

What about her brother? Her life after that? She opened her mouth slightly as if to speak, though no words came out. Closing her lips she contemplated for a minute…. If she found her brother, great! Although… what would be of Cassian? Would they split up, would he stay with her? These are things she hadn’t ever thought she’d think about, though she meant to come here and solely find John, she had felt more. She had learned and experienced more so far, she didn’t want to give it up. She didn’t want to give her traveling friend up.

He wasn’t prying at all, “of course, you’re not. I truly don’t mind at all.” “Well, outside of this I could say I am very relaxed and peaceful,” she thought more, “I absolutely love running through the meadows and fields, listening to birds and seeing all nature.” She also loved socialization, something that was indeed hard in a small family pack.

Her tail wagged, thinking of memories from her childhood. Very fond ones.

“I would hope that…. I Continue to travel with you, then if I find John see what he’s been up too.” She truly wondered what he had been doing all this time, barring the possibility that he may not be here. She pushed this out of her mind, if that bridge needed to be crossed she would, she’d hopefully have Cassian with her at the time. Whatever happened. With all said and done, she offered, “Would you like to go splash in the waves?” A smile spreading across her face, like of a happy little pup who just found a fun friend to play with.

"Seeing nature and all of that is nice. Everything changes so much no matter where you go! So, I can see why you take a liking to that. Although, I have more fun with engaging in nature than actually seeing it, I think. Catching fish, chasing down things to eat, and learning things that keep me busy...that sort of stuff is fun! The birds are okay but I've always wanted to steal some of their eggs just to see if they'd taste any good! You know? Or maybe they're like rocks and I'll chip a tooth or something if I'm not careful enough with them."

Basic information likes the insides of an egg or where birds flocked to were not privy to Cassian, but there were things the man had been able to pick up here and there simply through trial and error. It wasn't as if the man's instincts left him when he'd been inflicted with amnesia, after all. Those never left and likely never would up until the last breath was breathed from this soul. Onwards she continued to speak and Cassian clung to every word. Her answer about what she would do after finding John was one that the blonde could get behind, too. Travelling with her was engaging so far! If it stirred up Cassian's dopamine then that would be the high he'd continue to chase. Was it her though or just the situation? It was difficult to tell.

"Travelling with you sounds like loads of fun! It already is, I've come across new areas I wasn't exactly aware of before and it's nice having someone I can chatter off to about things. Especially when you keep offering fun things! Splash in the waves? Sure thing! I'll race you!"

Chivalry was a dead concept to Cassian. The moment the words left his mouth the wolf sprinted off towards the waves. Would she win? Would he win? It mattered little to him, actually. So little, in fact, that the wolf's eyes were closed up until he crashed into the salt water and felt it rush over his fur. Only then did they open and immediately sought out his companion.

"Woohoo! This is fun! How far out do you think I can swim? I see some islands off in the distance! Think I could make it?"

Whenever your ready to end the thread let me know. No rush, I absolutely love where this is going. :) I learned that John is one of the islands. So I’ll reach out to his player

She agreed, engagement was wonderful. Especially in nature. He had mentioned bird eggs, she had never heard of this concept…. Were they good? That could be something they try together! Though, what if there were young inside the eggs? This didn’t totally disturb her, though it was a bit of a foreign concept to her.

She listenend, he had so much to talk about. It was wonderful being able to hear another wolf instead of the silence felt and heard when she first stumbled upon the Teekons. “Bird eggs…. Interesting, I wonder if they’re gooey?” Eggs were gooey in the middle right? I guess they would one day find out. “We wouldn’t want them to be hard surely, a chipped tooth sounds like no fun. Also painful.” He stated that he enjoyed adventuring with her, and the feeling was reciprocated.

She raced him to the water, his speed was quite impressive. Though his slender build helped with that. She had good stamina, and was built a little stocky from her higher elevation heritage. He splashed, she laughed. “Thats wet Cassian!” She said in between laughs and gently splashed him back. This was so fun, she hadn’t had this much fun since her childhood. It seemed like he hasn’t either. “Swim?” She looked out to the water, the tide looked like it was going out so it would be relatively shallow. Though she was no expert. “Alright, let’s try it! It’s refreshing anyways!” She would follow him.

"They're definitely gooey! You bite into them and the shell is a bit crunchy, but the stuff inside is really yummy! Oooo, I should climb up a tree and get you one when we're out travelling again! I think that'd be really fun! Yeah, yeah, yeah! I'll definitely do that!" Adah went on to explain that chipped teeth wouldn't be fun and Cassian couldn't do anything short of nodding his head. "Yep, I almost chipped my tooth on one! But it was because there was a rock near a tree that looked ALMOST like an egg! I made that mistake and since then I've never fallen for it again!"  Nobody ever said Cassian was the smartest cookie in the basket.

They were wading in the water together and Adah seemed like she couldn't be having more fun than in this moment they were sharing together. Then, she agreed to swim! Grinning ear to ear, Cassian nodded eagerly.

"Woohoo! I'm so excited to swim out there with you! Maybe we should stay close to each other so we don't get lost? I think that'd be a good idea! Try not to talk too much though, you'll need all of your stamina in case the tide comes in! Ooo, I can't wait to get to that island! Do you think there's any yummy food over there? Maybe something we can find and take with us as a keepsake? I'd love to have something to remember this by, Adah!"

@Cassian, Whenever your ready we can wrap this up and I can work on planning our next future thread. I love the character dynamic between them so far.

He talked about eggs, and did almost crack a tooth. She winced for a minute, that sounded painful, though the man was in good spirits. Though, egg sounded interesting, so she would give it a go barring there was no chick in it.

He suggested that they stay close together, this was a wonderful idea. That way they had each other near in case of issue or strong currents. She was having fun, and enjoyed the water, it was surprisingly warm! “That is a very good idea! We shall do that then.” He was right, they needed to conserve stamina, so she made it brief, “I don’t know, but it doesn’t appear very far. What if there’s others on it?” “Maybe we can find shells or tree saplings! Or some delicious treat….” The possibilities are endless!”

She continued swimming. They were nearing the island now, little by little. It appeared to have some shallow hills.