Stone Circle ACT II, SCENE I

Takes place directly after this thread! So a little bit backdated! :)

 Having stuffed himself with as much food as he could, the scraggly boy, now thick at his stomach- waddled in search for a shaded area to lie down and digest. Surprisingly to him, sleep had come, and in it's comfortable embrace Ikaros soon found himself waking with a jolt. 

Dappled rays of sun shown through the treetops, and wincing at the harsh light he pulled his body upright to sit. He couldn't remember the last time his body felt this comfortable, and he marveled at what a good meal and rest would do.

But he couldn't rest- he had a debt to repay.

Morning broke and Skáld rose with the sun, trotting through the long gilded and gleaming in the light of dawn. The mist lifted as the sky changed to blue, and by the time the air had begun to warm up, Skáld had come no closer to catching a meal.

While he’d thought himself opportunistic to get such an early start, his lack of focus led him down several half-attempted paths. He’d stopped to drink, and decided to gather moss for the den he and Tauris now shared. He carried the moss until he caught the scent of a rabbit, and followed that until he saw something sparkly in a dry patch of sand. Some mineral in the soil made it glimmer but he thought he might find another piece of quartz for Tauris- 

- and so he spent some time digging as well. 

He was dusty (but slightly shimmery too) when he moved through the wooded area, hoping to redirect his focus though he’d begun to feel the tug of tiredness behind his eyes. He lifted his muzzle to try and catch the scent of something edible when he noticed at last, a stranger lying in the shade.

It startled him. He skittered sideways, neatly fainting into a crouch, before he lifted himself and peered over the tall grass to take a better look. After all- someone this far into their pack couldn’t be a stray.

 The soft sound of distant shuffling alerted him of the other's presence. Perking up to turn around, Ikaros caught sight of the brightly colored individual fleeing into the grass. Staring, Ikaros waited for green eyes to peek through the tall foliage to finally approach with caution.

"Hello...?" He called. They looked almost scared of him. "I-I'm friendly. My name's Ikaros, I just joined and uh, it's nice to..."

The words fell out of his mouth like vomit, spilling outwards with little thought.

Skáld lifted his head, the curly fur around his ears sticking out as he lifted them tentatively. The sound of the voice that met his ears was pleasant, light and youthful. He spoke quickly, perhaps too quickly for Skáld to understand little more than that he was apologetic. His name was spoken too fast for the curly-coated youngster to understand, but the inviting tone and look of the yearling drew from his hiding spot. 

With cautious curiosity, they regarded one another, both still somewhat gangly and slim. The earth-toned boy before him couldn't be too much older, Skáld thought. Perhaps only a few months. "Am Skáld." He offered, timidly, though his tail waved gently at his hocks. "You are...Bróðir?"

Ikaros had no idea what a Bróðir was but nodded as if understanding. 

Skáld was an interesting name that held the same consonant as the word said moments ago. Ikaros wasn't sure if he would be able to say it, worried it may be butchered by his untrained tongue. But puzzle pieces fit into place, and steadying himself Ikaros  realized perhaps this boy was like Bjarna.

"Ikaros," A paw touched his chest softly. "I'm Ikaros." 

He couldn't stop his brightly colored tail from mirroring Skálds. Given they couldnt communicate by words he even went as far top drop down into a blay bow. 

"Play?" He smiled.

"Ikaros," Skáld repeated, with a shy smile. He'd never heard the name before, and tongued the pronunciation as well as he could, asking with a tilt of his head for approval. He noted the mirroring of movement, and even before the invitation was spoken, the jade-eyed boy had broken into a smile, and dipped into a play bow as well. The word was one he recognized- and triggered an immediate reaction. 

He yipped, tucked his tail- and made one light chomp with his jaws in the air at Ikaros' side before he dashed off- eyes wide and wild as he succumbed to a tough case of the zoomies and began speeding in wide circles around his packmate.