Silvertip Mountain under thunder’s bruised and snarling sky

there was something primordial that beckoned him to the mountain. little did he know, but the blood that flowed through him – that blood that he shared with his father – had been born of the great rugged stone. when he had left the plateau, the boy had felt a fleeting hint of guilt for leaving the wolves behind. he knew liri would worry that he was leaving. illidan did not plan to be gone for long; he just needed to get away to breathe.

the young feral had raced through the stretch of fading green, feeling the brisk wind beat against his coat. though he did not know the harsh chill of a winter storm, something in him knew that it was coming. it wouldn't be long before they would be surrounded in a blanket of white. the prey would be harder to find then, but he was not aware of the trials that came with colder weather.

once he reached the bottom of the mountain, illidan cast his muzzle upward and gazed at the looming rocky feature that seemed to sprout from the earth itself. he was impressed by the magnitude of it. of all the natural formations that he had been privy to, the mountains lured him in ways he could not explain.

They had settled nicely, Nyx thought, but the looming presence of something off lured her into spending even the days up and about as the others slept. Tulugak found the change fine; he slept and flew with her no matter the time of day and for that she was thankful. Perhaps a bit eerily, the two creatures depended emotionally on one another. Nyx thought that also Tulu had been abandoned by someone dear, but he almost never spoke of the past.

The peculiar bird led her over their somewhat defined borders and with a howl to @Damien and the rest of their group, she slipped away towards the mountains she was not at all familiar with. It looked as if a small dusting of snow graced her back, but the freckles were not the result of the weather. Ever so carefully did she follow Tulugak as he flew from ledge to rock to lonesome branch until the duo found themselves high enough for a great view. Apparently the land beyond there was blue like the sky, or so Nyx thought. She did not remember much of the sea, or if she had been there before, but she most definitely didn't recognize it.

The raven landed between her shoulders as usual, pecking her torn ear softly, before she turned her head to see if anyone was near.

near he was; the young wildling stood no more than forty yards away from the dark woman. he was at a disadvantage due to his positioning. the stranger seemed to have found a higher perch than he. the wind did not favor him, so her scent passed him by without drawing attention to her. it seemed that he was more enthralled with the prospect of the jagged stones and precarious ledges that the mountain offered. he was seeking a way to reach a higher perch than what he had found.

with a daring leap, illidan landed against rough stone. were it not for his youthful frame and fit figure, he would have surely tumbled and fractured something. instead, he was able to climb upward along a rocky path. once he had found a suitable height, the dark-hooded young man caught sight of the other wolf. for a moment, he froze in his place – hawkish yellow eyes seemed to bore holes into the dark female.

The sound of the blaring cold wind in her ears made her a little deaf to the sounds around her, but the woman had been observant from a young age. The mountains were not her preferred terrain though, and even the different air made her feel as if something was wrong. Her whole life was spent on the ground, in forests, surrounded by many of her own. She felt vulnerable.

It was then the clattering of what sounded like cobble shifting and falling caught her attention - Tulu cooed softly in response, obviously also not comfortable with where they had found themselves. Well then why did you lead me up here? Nyx thought with a roll of her eyes before her gaze landed upon the silver male. Her own bi-colored eyes stared into his yellow ones, one brow raising and rearranging the constellations that decorated her face.

Excuse me, are we somewhere where we don't belong? She asked in a serious tone, already feeling unwanted in this territory.

the dark figure turned toward him with dark features. the bird seemed as though it belonged to her, or had made arrangements to remain beside her. illidan thought it an oddity, more so than her speckled frame. the birds on the plateau had only caused him a great deal of grief. it seemed out of place for a wolf to have found a friendship with such a creature, but he would not have commented on something like that. illidan lacked most of the ability to converse normally with strangers; he wasn't sure how he was intended to behave around those he didn't know.

when the woman inquired if they were in a place that they weren't supposed to be, the rugged young man furrowed his brow and canted his head to the left just slightly. there was a moment where he seemed confused by her inquiry. “you... and the bird?” illidan asked her, gesturing toward the dark-winged thing with his muzzle. the fiery light of his eyes returned to her and he waited.

The ashy male did not seem aggressive and so Nyx's body relaxed a bit. Tulugak however was more on edge than ever. Nyx felt his claws digging in the soft flesh beneath her midnight coat as he padded, much like a cat, and pulled on her fur. Did he want her to move? But he could easily fly? Though the two creatures were bonded, Nyx was still rather uninformed when it came to their alliance. It almost seemed as if the selfish bird was worried about her in some way.

She followed the male's gaze to Tulugak, then nodded her head. This is Tulugak, my travelling companion. I believe he is leading me somewhere, but I have yet to find out where. She informed the stranger. Perhaps like this she could get to know these parts of the Teekon better. She was especially interested in what packs were crazy enough to settle so high above the ground.

the bird had a name, and the girl shared it with him in a pleasant tone, as well as the nature of their friendship – or alliance. his curiosity peaked then, and the boy took a few steps closer toward her and the dark figure on her shoulder. the bird seemed nervous, but illidan didn’t care for the feelings of feathered folk. he had never seen one bond with a wolf in that manner, and so it struck him as being an oddity that was worth investigating. the young ghost was not close enough to cause true alarm from the dark woman, but just close enough that he could see the beady eyes of the bird.
 
“can he… talk… to you?” illidan asked her with a tilting of his head. he wondered if they shared the same tongue, or if she simply followed where the animal flew and trusted that their bond was strong enough that it would not lead her astray. then again, she had named the raven, and so it was likely that they shared some form of communication or a means of understanding each other.