Flycatcher Downs today we live, today we breathe

@Keyni Hope this works for you! I never know how to start in an interesting way haha

Kaito rose from his prayers at an hour quite later than usual, yet the sun still hung at quite a low angle. If he had to guess - and guess he did, because why not? - well, he would guess it was about mid-morning. Or maybe late morning. At this time of year, it was hard to tell -- and honstly was probably more like early afternoon, by summer standards.

But summer was long gone, and so, soon, was autumn. Kaito sighed a deep and heavy breath, but left the cover of the trees he'd come to shelter in, and spread out into the meadow. Snows had already come, and proceeded to melt, but some still lingered, packed in heaps of ice here and there where the drifts had formed a little too deep for even the sun's rays to melt.

He wandered with his nose to the ground, and pushed around for any flowers, roots, or herbs that still lingered in the sweet smelling grass. He reckoned the cold snap would have killed most of what was left of the warmer plant's growth, but there were always the winter plants, or the ones that held themselves year round, to forage and collect. But he knew his heart wasn't really in the looking today, and eventually he stopped, at an unremarkable patch of grass, and just simply... stood there. Sighed again. Head now raised, and eyes lifted to watch the far, far, far distant horizon, the clouds which billowed in, and he found himself quite blind to everything but the very normal and unextraordinary display of the sky.

All good! I'm never the best at IC starters either. <3

She was still alone. Still adrift...out of place. Winter was very nearly here, and it might as well be, with the patches of snow lining the ground. With this thought in mind, she was seriously considering whether to join a pack again, for the tough times ahead. With food as scarce as it was, she wasn't so sure if the great herds would return now that the quakes seemed to have settled.

She stretched, letting her muscles loosen. Immediately after, she set off at a brisk walk through the meadow, knowing that the more she moved, the faster the blood would circulate to her limbs. Though her face was as serene as always, a certain hollowness was in her eyes. It was from being alone. From having experienced pack life once, in Asterism Grove, only to be cut off. She tried to put it behind her, focusing back on her usual skills. As she moved, scanning the patches of grass for mice, she listened for signs of life. There was only but silence. If only she had seen the other lone figure, looking so lost amidst this open plain.

Don't worry, you're gold! <3

As Kaito watched the horizon, and allowed the clouds to encompass his thoughts just like they covered the sun, he well forgot where he was. There was only him, and the sky, and the ever present knowing that the One stood with him, too... even though he couldn't feel Him, couldn't sense Him, quite like he used to.

The grasses ruffled, and he would have missed the stranger, if not for the smudge of grey she broke against the canvas of rolling slate. His concentration broke for her, and he tipped his head at a curious angle. She hadn't seemed to notice him -- and he fancied the fiction that he would later weave, of the magical hold this meadow possessed, to render prey and predator senseless to everything but those thoughts which consumed them.

But later -- for now, he sought her welcome distraction. Who could tell if stranger was friend or foe, unless you tried to befriend them? Kaito let out a playful bark and bounced a step forward to slap his paws into the tall meadow grass. He plumed his tail high in the air and waved a welcome, to greet her and beckon her whenever she turned. To romp around, to play, to do something other than dwell in the uncertainty he'd dwelt in long enough already. His eyes sparked with the warmth his entire posture already possessed.

Her focus, her total sense of solitude was shattered. All by a playful bark, directed only at her, for there was nobody else around. Keyni's head shot up as she jolted slightly, looking left and right. Only when the thrumming of her heart slowed, did her eyes steadily trail to land on the figure of the stranger.

For a moment that seemed to stretch on, she eyed him, expression unreadable. He was posturing, playfully. Inviting her closer, to join him. An emotional lump formed in her throat. Oh how it felt so good to see a face, finally after all these weeks! And a very friendly one at that. One step, and then two, brought her nearer. The similarities between them were startling, save for his slightly darker coat and lighter eyes. Once she was a simple stride away, did her expression break, morphing into one of a gentle smile. Then away she bounded in a crescent leap, looking back at him over a pale shoulder eagerly. 

It's up to you whether he hits or misses haha <3

She looked quite startled, but Kaito maintained his playful posture -- because honestly, who wouldn't be startled by a random bark on the wind? At first he wasn't really sure how she would take him. Her initial reaction didn't seem all too promising, or forwarding moving. But she broke into a slow approach, soon enough, and the boy waved his tail to goad her closer.

He could see her more clearly now. Silvery fur broke to charcoal and cream, and painted her in a patchwork of muted hues. Not so much unlike himself. But where he was lanky (as he would probably forever be) her proportions mimicked something much more normal, more natural. Modest, if he could choose a single word to describe his first impression, of her nature and her beauty, for her actions seemed in line with her image.

Kaito wasn't so sure what she would do, until her cautious face warmed, and he felt his eyes sparking with the gentle light she passed him through her smile. A graceful arc carried her away in Act II of this playful number they wrote together, and Kaito sprung to his paws and leapt forward in timed tandem, nose outstretched and eyes sharp with mischief in the aim to tag her. If he succeeded, he would take a wide arc away from her and run. And if he failed? Ha! Nah, he'd definitely get her -- but if he failed, was he ready for the chase.

It was oh so true. Keyni really was a novice when it came to play. Throughout all of her young life she had focused on her studies in her natal pack, choosing an interest in the world around her, rather than others. She had been the pup often on the sidelines, content to watch and observe rather than getting in the mix.

Perhaps she just needed someone who could bring out that lively spirit lost deep inside her.

Watching him over her shoulder, she made sure to keep pace just ahead of him. Letting him close, but never quite close enough. She teased him in this little game, knowing that she could put on a greater turn of speed if she wished. But he was quick as well. His nose inched out, aimed for her side, eyes intent. Keyni sensed no danger. A misplaced paw was all it took for her to stumble, faltering in her smooth stride. The damp contact of his nose against her fur signaled his win, and just as quickly, he was off again.

Eyes glinting, she spun back to regard his retreating form. So that's how it was huh? Oh that is fine by her! Bolting after him like a bullet, she tried to catch up. If she got close, she'd knock her side against his shoulder, just hard enough to swing him off course.

She gave chase -- he had missed! But he smiled -- all the better -- and he took off after her with a shout of laughter. Life on the road - life alone - provided very little of this. This... freedom, this fun. His worries of food, and water, and buckling down to shelter from the cold, those all seemed to peel away, adrift on the wind that so graciously whipped across his face. And, if he pretended (which, he did), he could almost, almost believe he was back in Caper Meadow, and this stranger -- she became one of his sisters. Chise, perhaps. No, maybe Padavina. And he felt himself falling into the comfortable space of a brother again, with neither guilt, nor reason to change that.

When she stumbled, his brotherly instinct continued to kick in, and he gasped a little, even when his nose collided with her side and he found himself a spring ahead. "Are you o -- " but he had already hopped some paces away, the thrill of the chase still light on his toes. She hadn't fallen -- only stumbled -- and all the better he'd begun to run again, because one glance told him... this girl had more fire than what she'd first let on.

He jumped, his chest seized with a crashing wave of heat, and he tore off just as she peeled like a freaking hellion toward him. Oh no no no no NOPE!

The warmth of her breath on his heels became the full force of her body; he felt her weight fall against him and Kaito yelped and gasped and laughed all the same. He felt himself turning, staggering -- and honestly, probably could've fought to stay upright -- but where was the fun in that?

So he let himself fall, to follow through with what his companion had started anyway, and prepared for full impact with the ground. And all the while he figured, that maybe, just maybe, if his friend had given juuuust a little bit too much of her weight to tip him off scale, he'd "accidentally" drag her down with him.

This little game of catch and chase almost didn't feel natural to her. But she enjoyed it while the moments lasted. She hadn't anticipated catching up with him so fast. Before she knew it, the hairs of her own form were meshing with his and the forward momentum of her own body forced her recklessly against his frame. For the second time, she struggled to control her footing, from toppling over while he, was already mid-tumble.

Then she gave in at the last second, allowing herself to become enveloped in this youthful, innocent delight. Her fore legs clung to his shoulders in an attempt to hold on, to steady herself. Her back legs buckled beneath her and his downward roll brought her into the tangled summersault with him. Yelping softly in surprise but unharmed, she flopped onto her side, awkwardly but gently nudging a flank with her rear paws.