Neverwinter Forest come crashing in

All welcome! :)

Justice had managed to leave Kadezj behind for the day, though she knew that her honor would eventually bring her back to his side. Despite his lies and deceit, she knew that her word was her bond. She would help him until he was at least healthy enough to find other bloodfangs, and then she would make her decision. In some small part of her heart, Justice knew that she would remain with him, but her logical brain wanted to deny him the satisfaction.

The golden she-wolf found herself in a thickly forested area, the scent of a nearby pack thick in the distance. She skirted the borders of the pack and continued into neutral territory, unsure of the closeness of the forest she found herself in. Justice was used to the desert and open grasslands, not thickly forested areas with towering trees looming over her. She could see beauty in these trees, however, so continued into the depths of the forest. What she was looking for, only time would tell.

With the clouds in the sky and the trees looming overhead, the forest floor received an even less amount of light than usual. Sen used this to her advantage, her dark coat allowing her to blend in relatively well among the shadows. Her muscles were relaxed as she trotted through the forest at a slow pace, enjoying every breeze that rustled the leaves and ruffled her fur.
Continuing on her way, Sen soon found herself deeper into the forest than she had gone before. The treetops where denser than before, leaving the sunlight with little opportunities to pass through. She had expected the large shadows, but what she hadn't expected was a golden canine to be moving about. She sniffed the air cautiously while watching the other canine's body language, her legs ready to carry her away the second she saw any aggressive movements. She took a few steps closer to the golden canine, relaxing slightly to not appear as stiff.
"Your pelt is quick to get you seen here," Sen said, her head tilting ever so slightly. "What might be your intentions in this darkened forest?"

Justice flinched at the sound of another's voice and turned toward the darker wolf, golden eyes narrowed in concern. She had been so occupied by the arresting and haunting beauty of the forest that she had tuned out all other senses, even those adapted to help her survive. Luckily, this stranger did not seem to want to harm her. Instead, the female's words were of warning.

"I was born in the desert," she admitted with a grin. She nodded her head toward the other in greeting. "I'm not used to such dark spaces, though perhaps I should become so. Are all the areas here like this?" She had only been to the area around the big lake before this, and knew nothing of the other territories contained within these wilds. "I don't know if I have any intentions other than exploration. I'm Justice, by the way."

Sen gave a small smile to the golden she-wolf.
"You must have blended in well with the deserts," she said, then gave the forest a quick glance. She looked up at the treetops, and at the trees around them, thinking of each spot she had visited in the forest.
"This forest we're in, Neverwinter Forest, is rather dense," she stated. "There aren't many spots you can go that receive a decent amount of light, if there are any at all."
The darker wolf sat where she stood, not finding the stranger to be threatening. Her muscles relaxed when she sat, but her focus was still on the light-colored wolf.
"Exploration can be a fun thing..." Sen gave a slightly larger smile to the other wolf. "My name is Sen, and it is rather nice to meet another wolf interested in exploration."

Justice smiled, thinking of her desert home in Sedona, and briefly thinking about the khalas she had traveled with. It had been an interesting time roaming with them, since she had never before met a nomadic pack. They lived mostly in the grasslands, though she knew that their home bordered a desert, and she had enjoyed gazing upon it from afar. "I did," she confessed with a grin, looking down at her paws in slight embarrassment. She wasn't used to talking about herself so much.

She turned her head from side to side, taking in the dense forest around her. There were still spots here that allowed a trickle of sunlight in, but those were few and far between. She had noticed that, but hadn't ventured too far in. Justice didn't like the closeness or the darkness here. "Do you call this place home?" she asked, knowing that while there was not a pack within these lands, Sen could very well live nearby. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Sen, fellow explorer." Justice smiled then, a truly magnificent sight, as she turned her golden eyes back to the dark wolf.

Sen found the she wolf to be interesting. During her travels to all different places, she had never once met a wolf, or any canine, that had lived in a desert. She had come across coyotes, yes, but those she met resided not in a desert, but within forests much like the one they stood in now.
"I do not," the she-wolf responded. "I have not called any place home in quite some time."
The ghost of a smile lingered within her features, her mind pulling forth old memories. The mountains she was born in had been the last place she called home, and even those she had left behind to travel. Her mother and father had encouraged her to go, and to continuously travel and learn of new places. The thought of someday finding a new place to call her home had never entered her mind until the golden-furred wolf mentioned one.
"Do you call a place near here home?"

Justice shook her pale head and wondered at the thought of not having a home. That was her position now, and she felt sad for it. "No, not nearby," she confessed with a frown. "My true home is in the desert, far from here. I haven't found a place to rest my head in the safety of a pack, and I don't know if I'll find it here." The Khalas had been the last place she had felt safe, at least until Kadezj had betrayed his khal and nearly gotten them both killed.

But this wolf didn't need to know that, so Justice didn't mention it. The sadness surely showed on her face, though, and she did little to hide it. She was a very empathetic and sympathetic wolf; it was against her nature to hide her emotions, whether good or bad. "I hope to find that feeling of safety here, but I have my doubts. Hopefully a pack here will become my home."

While Sen respected the she-wolf's decision to have called a desert home, she was confused as to how she could live in one. Having never had the chance to actually visit a desert, she could only go by stories she'd heard of what it was like. Hot, dry, lifeless... How one could survive it, she didn't know, but she was not prepared to voice her questions just yet.
At he mention of a pack as a potential home, the dark-coated wolf cocked her head to the side.
"You have to desire to join a pack?" he question, confusion etching itself into her features.
Sen had been born and raised as a lone wolf, and still lived as one to this day. Due to never having that experience of being among others of her kind constantly, her mind was unable to wrap itself around why another lone wolf would want to join a pack. Wolves were social animals, yes, but they were able to meet many others during travels. The thought of being tied down to a specific piece of land left the she-wolf feeling rather troubled, and yet curious all the same.

Can we wrap this up in the next few posts? :)

Having always lived in a pack, at least when she was not traveling or having just been kicked out of one (thanks, Kadezj), Justice was confused by Sen's confusion. "Why would I not have that desire?" she asked sincerely. "Pack offers a place of refuge, friends and companionship, and a support structure to call upon whenever needed." It was more complicated than that, but it was the gist of things.

"Especially since winter is coming, find a pack is essential to my survival. My traveling companion isn't as healthy as he could be, and he needs care." She hadn't meant to tell Sen that, but it wasn't exactly a great secret. "I would rather have others to help me care for him rather than try to do it on my own during winter." Just shrugged, smiling. "Don't you want to join a pack?"

Sure, of course. c:

In a way, the cold lupine could understand where the other female was coming from. Winter had snuck up on them this time around, and she was sure snow would be falling before they could see it coming. How she had described a pack lured the she-wolf in, finding her words to make living within the ranks of one sound good.
"I suppose so..." she murmured, her voice drifting off towards the end. "I will have to put more thought into joining a pack, at least until the winter months have come and faded away. I hope you and your companion can find refuge within one as well."

I'll get this archived. Thanks for the thread! :)

Justice had always lived with the idea of pack ingrained in her, and imagining a life permanently without one was actually quite scary to her. Living as a lone wolf for a time, especially while traveling, was something that was normal for her, but being one forever? That almost sent a panic attack thrumming through her veins. Sen seemed to consider her words, though, and Justice was able to smile and forget the idea of permanent loner status.

"Thank you, Sen. I hope you find one as well, even if it is only for the winter. You can never be too careful when the snows fall." She grinned again and the pair said their goodbyes. Justice hoped to see the wolf again; she had been kind and forthcoming with information. The golden wolf left the darkness of the forest behind her and headed back toward Kadezj, wondering what he'd like for supper.