Totoka River xii. girl, you have fire in your soul

@Connor @Lokie @Padma @Condatis @Rosencrantz @Akavir @Komal @Daegon if you're with us then we've reached the shore, whoop!

The break in their journey lasted only long enough for weary bodies to rejuvenate, for the wolves in her company to grow restless and eager for the sight of home - even if they weren't yet sure where exactly home would be.

The golden aura of evening had begun to stretch into the warmth of dusk; soft, wispy clouds backlit with fiery hues of citrine and carnelian drifted across the peach heavens - reflected in the glassy, wavering mirrors of the tide pools as their group broke from the treeline and their paws met the grit of dunes.

A wide grin broke across the exile's dark features, her tattered auds pricking as the crash of waves and chorus of gulls greeted their arrival. She breathed deeply, inhaling greedy lungfuls of the salty, brine-tinged sea air.

The nightwisp allowed herself to drift from the fringes of the group, bypassing her companions as she padded to the delta's edge - tipping her head back so the wind could card into her star-speckled ruff.

As she straigthened, violet optic opening and sliding across the horizon, her gaze landed on the silhouette of a thin strip of sand further down the beach- leading out into the waters towards the distant blip of a small island.

Following the young woman as she gathered more and more followers was strange to the alabaster man. He found himself not quite fitting in. Not to anyone's blame other than himself, he remained behind the group, following by being nothing but a mere shadow in the distance, unsure of where they were going and if it mattered to him or not.

As they approached the shore, he found himself in darkness as it swallowed him, allowing his eye to close to take in the scent of the ocean from where he stood. It was soothing - but was it fitting. These individuals. The shore. As the salty air mingled with his cape, the brute was unsure of his presence. A soldier, warrior, battlebred and born to fight; what was he doing with such a group as this.

What was he doing following the petite female. With such a thought the molten sun landed on the princess, gazing at her from the distance with which he stood. Why did he chose to follow such a creature.

He promised to stand by her and that was what he planned to do. He once again found himself at the shore gazing upon the water and watching the girl he had searched for. She had gathered a few wolves together and he watched her from behind the group.

Daegon was specifically on the look out for hostile characters due to what happened the first time he was near the sea.

Connor and Lokie had been traveling with the group for a while now, he had to remember that things will be different and he has to step up to the plate. The titan male gave a smile to his best friend as they traveled with the growing group that Rhaella had formed, he was impressed that someone so young could pull this off, but he remembered not to underestimate the speckled wolf. The cinnamon male's ears perked, the sounds of waves was slowly emerging in his ears, he turned his emerald gaze to Lokie, he wondered if his friend would notice where they were going and what questions he could have. The group approached the coast, new scents were flooding his nose, and the trees were getting further and further away, there was sand approaching them.

Rhaella and another wolf seemed to have found a spot where they stood near each other, Connor tilted his head for a moment but decided not to bother. The muscular male made his own path and wandered to the river where the sand and grass were starting to blend. Connor looked down at the water, his thirst was going to kill him, but something caught his eye, just as he was about to drink, a small creature caught the corner of his eye. The man turned to look at the small creature, and as soon as he made eye contact with the creature's small eyes, something hit him, "uh oh..." Where his final words before the small animal used its claw-like hand to grab onto Connor's nose. The giant male's eyes widen and his pupils got small, the pain was overwhelming, but he resisted a scream, he reared up his large head and began shaking violently.

His vision was blurring from the pain, but he had to get it off before it caused him any embarrassment, he took his huge paw and swatted at the creature, however, some of the attempts failed. Connor groaned in annoyance that was hinted with pain as he raised his paw above his head and gave a hard smack on the creature's round back and it came crashing to the ground with a splat. The evil little thing was dazed but quickly scooted away while Connor had to take a seat to try and calm his throbbing nose, boy do I owe Lokie an apology... He thought to himself as he wrapped his large paw around his muzzle to try and ease the pain.

It’s been a few days now. Basil was not content to sit still while there was still a big new world to explore and maybe find clues how far away he is from home and if there is a way to return or not. It was horrible, not knowing the future. Will he have to stay here? In this unknown land or might there be a way back home? So Basil decided to not settle down for now, he had so much to see and people to meet. Maybe……if it shows that he will never return to his family, he might be able to create a new family here. But for now, exploring it is.
 
His journey finally managed to lead him to another river that was fading into the ocean, the smell of the ocean on the wind guiding his paws further down. If this is really a big ocean in front of him and not just a large lake, his journey would hit a dead end. Basil wasn’t a fish so swimming for a long time was unimaginable. If this was a dead end, the young male would have to turn around and head back inland. He had been following a large mountain range when he first arrived at this unknown land. Maybe he could try crossing it or just climb it and get a high vantage point. But that was an idea for another time.
 
His paws carried him towards the river where dirt and grass slowly meet sand. It’s been a while since he last drank something. At least he wasn’t hungry this time. With a grateful sigh he dipped his head towards the river and started drinking. At least it was still drinkable water and not saltwater. The fox colored male stopped drinking midway. He suddenly smelled wolves; the breeze carried their scent towards him. It was a whole group but it did not smell like a pack. His gaze drifted downstream and then he saw them. It must have been around 9 wolves. Basil wondered what they were doing here.
 
His curiosity was piqued. What could a group of wolves be searching for here? They looked like they were on their own journey. Maybe Basil could join them? If they were really traveling then at least he wouldn’t constantly be alone. Loneliness was a shitty friend.  Even though he wanted to get closer to them, he did not know them. So Basil was cautious. If they weren’t friendly they might rip him apart. Basil might be fast but even he could probably not avoid a whole group of wolves hunting him. So for now, he would watch and maybe follow them from a distance.

Lokie wasn't really sure what to think as they stopped on the beach. He hadn't had good experiences here, but he wasn't one who held on to that too tightly. Still, it made him a bit weary. The group came to a halt, and Lokie's eyes searched the area for things that could attach themselves to him. He didn't find any. 

But, as he turned his head toward Connor, it seemed his friend had found one. Connor had to make several attempts to get the creature to release its grip on his nose. Lokie simply stood with a look of Hurts, doesn't it? on his face. He wouldn't give an I-told-you-so, as that wasn't his nature. But at least maybe now Connor understood that those things freaken hurt! 

gonna try and move this thread towards completion since it's getting a bit stagnant :)

Eyes were felt upon her skin, a benign sensation but one she felt all the same - dark countenance turning slightly as her gaze struck the amber of Rosencrantz's. It lingered unreadably, seemingly with the same searching his own held. 

Why did he follow? Of all her recruits, he was the most surprising though a secret part of her couldn't deny that she was grateful for his decision - though she convinced herself that this was purely for his strategical advantages. 

A low groan of pain drew her gaze from his, concern crumpling her features as she caught sight of Connor thrashing wildly. 

"Gods' mercy," the exile exclaimed softly in Lirean as she padded swiftly to the ginger male's side, wide eye watching as the crab scuttled away. 

"Are you alright?" She murmured softly, gaze seeking out his as she smiled kindly - trying to bite down on a laugh at the comedy of the situation, knowing it likely wasn't as funny to Connor whom she was beginning to view as an older brother of sorts. (Big brothers were typically embarassed when younger sisters laughed at their mishaps.) 

Her attention was not to be devoted to her friend so readily, however, lilac gaze snapping up to land on an unfamiliar wolf as he approached in the distance. 

"Hello?" Rhælla called out to the stranger questioningly, rising somewhat protectively from where she sat at Connor's shoulder.

premission to skip!

The titan was too busy to notice what was going on around him, he was rubbing his nose after it got rudely pinched by a crab. The male thought he was being harmless, but he might as well assume at this point that crabs just didn't like him. Lokie approached him, Connor turned to his friend, there was pain in his apologetic gaze, his friend returned to him with a, I told you so, look. "Ok ok you win..." He sighed in defeat, it seems that both had learned their lesson when it comes to crabs. The cinnamon male tried to flare his nose to see if that would stop the pain, but to no avail, he was beginning to feel numb from it, but he heard the voice of Rhaella, she said something that he couldn't understand as the female came padding up to him.

She asked if he was okay to which Connor gave her an assuring smile, "yes I'm fine, I think we just have bad luck with crabs," he chuckled as he looked at Lokie with an amused glance. The man noticed that Rhae had turned her attention to something else, or someone else, she called out to the stranger and noticed how she was by Connor's side, standing beside his shoulder. The titan looked in her direction, he could see that there was someone, but he wasn't too worried, he knew they were a group and if someone attacked, they would be met with fury, but first, he had to attend to his nose.