where the river runs

He didn’t postpone his travels even though the rain kicked hard, failing to permeate his thick coat. M’Jakuna walked alongside the river, tail waving behind him like a flag, shoulders rolling and his nose scenting. The mountains scaling high above were what intrigued him, a flicker of home in the unknown, but as he gazed and droplets clung to his outer coat and lashes, he failed to notice the presence venturing into the beauty of this little hideaway of a territory alongside him.

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She gave a small chuff as she came up alongside the man, a good eight inches away as her own tail swayed, mimicking that of the strangers own. Tilting her head, she surveyed him eagerly, eyes twinkling at the prospect of making a new friend – and a handsome one at that. Her mind twinkled back to Aloysius for a moment, but . . . she'd heard nothing from him. She hoped he was okay, but life would go on, and Aika felt awfully lonely.

“Hi,” She smiled shyly, turning her gaze away for a moment so she could study the land around her; Aika didn't want it to look like she was staring, afterall. She hummed for a moment, side-glancing at the shadowy man. “I'm Aika. You?” Goodness gracious, he was really, really pretty. The siamese knew that her sister would probably – most definitely – like him;

dark and mysterious, just how they liked 'em.

At least, how Aika did. She felt like she was going to squeal! Her smile only grew as she looked over him.

Wow.

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When she chuffed his way, his gaze dropped to hers, a single ear twitching at her steps on the earth, M’Jakuna watched her eyes flit away to the land around them—a wolf of prestige and one to never grace the likes of shy, he saw no purpose in hiding how he worked her over, brows furrowing a little; if he stared, there was a reason… and the woman was undoubtedly one. Unlike anything he’d seen, even of the snow-furred packs around his territory, touched by black and bright-eyed. It wouldn’t take a genius to take away what he did.

He dipped his head upon her name reaching his ears, lifting it to then allow dark eyes to trace her once more—even for her height, he stood effortlessly above her. Odd, he wasn’t used to such a stark difference in size. ”M’Jakuna,” he greeted, voice deep and thunderous, enough of a force within the rumbling for another to feel as though they felt it. ”It’s a pleasure, Aika.”

It was written in the way she held herself for he’d grown around and as those meant for something—bred and born for a purpose. ”Forgive me if I’m… presumptuous,” he said as he tilted his head, curiosity flickering in his eyes. ”…but you’re not of this world, either, are you? You’re not like the others I’ve met—the way you hold yourself it’s, mhm, elegant… meaningful. Beyond these lands.”

With a shake of his head, he told her then, ”Or I’ve made a sour first impression if these are your native lands.”

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The way he looked her over made her heart flutter for a brief moment, though she quickly shoved that feeling down, knowing that @Izumi probably wouldn't be happy if she dragged home a random – though undoubtedly gorgeous – man she'd only just met. ”M’Jakuna, it’s a pleasure, Aika.” The way his deep rumbly voice– STOP IT AIKA. She blinked for a moment. Goodness gracious.

The way his tone vibrated through the rock into her bones; it was enough to make her sway for a moment, her smile growing by a centimetre or two. ”Forgive me if I’m… presumptuous,” He said with an innocent little tilt of his head; butterflies swarmed her stomach mercilessly, and suddenly every thought of Aloysius was thrown out the window. Never had she ever been this impatient. ”…but you’re not of this world, either, are you? You’re not like the others I’ve met—the way you hold yourself it’s, mhm, elegant… meaningful. Beyond these lands.” Elegant?! “Well, you'd be right!” She said with a soft chuckle.

”Or I’ve made a sour first impression if these are your native lands.” “Oh, no, no. You're right; I'm not from these lands,” Aika assured, quick to make sure that he didn't think that she was upset, or anything; she'd gladly get down on her knees and make sure that he knew that – in fact – she thought he was very very good and cool; even though she knew nothing about him. Goodness, how could someone so quickly work their way into her most intrusive of thoughts? “I doubt I hold myself . . . elegantly, it's just how I was taught.”

She didn't want to immediately brag about being a princess, because what if that scared him off? Aika cared all too much about first impressions. “I take it you're not from here, either, M’Jakuna?” She purred instead, tilting her head with another naïvely sweet smile.

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While her thoughts turned and spun, M’Jakuna held himself with the same cool and calm that he did with those of high rank within his pack—attraction meant to matter little where his conversations were concerned, his mother reinforced that, outward displays of respect before fleeting emotions. It made him sturdy now, even as he let his eyes linger on her frame a little longer than a wolf with no interest should have, Aika was a creature to drink in slowly, observe; someone to learn, not take all in stride.

He sighed his relief, thankful his tongue didn’t overstay a welcome his mind wished to linger with. ”May I ask where you’re from then?” he said, curiosity struck. Where could a wolf painted like she was originate from? If he’d been any younger, M’Jakuna would surely have thought she’d slipped from his dreams—the tales, otherworldly as she stood. ”Ah, that’s what makes you different… My mother raised me with a sentiment of taking her place as leader, I had to learn to behave a certain way; a little bit how you do, though I doubt I’m as graceful.” He carefully stepped forward, tail tip flicking as he did so, clearly curious and interested in learning her further though it wouldn’t be without her bridging the gap—allowing him to.

”Me? Far from here… I belonged to mountains not unlike these, though in another world entirely,” he said, allowing his gaze to slip to her. ”It’s why a presence as rich as yours is so appreciated—revered even, feels a bit like home.”

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”May I ask where you’re from then?” Aika hummed as she asked, reminiscing sweet memories that seemed to come forward, though retreat once she grasped for them once more; it was an unfortunate cycle, though every now and then she'd most certainly bathe in the old times again. “Oh, a land far from here, really, though I hail from the Fujiwara Clan,” And while she wouldn't go into the case of her death just yet, she supposed she'd be able to go into further detail if he asked; she'd just have to try not to cry.

Oh, but she wasn't the only one who's parents held a place of leadership, it seemed! ”Ah, that’s what makes you different… My mother raised me with a sentiment of taking her place as leader, I had to learn to behave a certain way; a little bit how you do, though I doubt I’m as graceful.” The lady chuckled, watching M'Jakuna step forwards as if he were trying to mimick the way she stepped. It was natural for her, engraved in her blood and bones, and while the darker man seemed a lot more gruff and tough, Aika liked to think that perhaps they weren't so difference. “Your mother was a leader?” She'd ask for clarification before going on about her own royal title.

”Me? Far from here… I belonged to mountains not unlike these, though in another world entirely,” They met eyes, and Aika thought she felt the entire world slip away, until he spoke once more. Aika felt as if she couldn't tear her eyes from him, though she'd blink manually to make it seem like she hadn't been staring. ”It’s why a presence as rich as yours is so appreciated—revered even, feels a bit like home.” “Really?” The woman smiled softly, turning her head away as her cheeks grew warm with a smile. “As I said . . . It's just how I was taught. It's what was expected of me, afterall.”

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With his experience of communing a handful of times with neighboring packs, he had come to be decent at echoing their twisting names, and hers was no different. ”A gorgeous name… does it mean something specific? Mine…” he said, finally drawing to a stop with enough space between them to leave all else in her paws. ”…the Juh’harah, it’s named for the wolf who founded it—translations become muddled but most agree her name was to mean sight in the dark.

M’Jakuna settled down on his haunches, watching her, intrigue riddled throughout him. ”Yes, she led the pack for years, trained me to follow in her footsteps,” he went on, ”I had done her proud leading, so she said… and then I wound up here. Interesting how some things fall.”

He wasn’t as modest, taking glimpses of her without trying to conceal it, letting his long observations settle as he offered a smile as soft as his scarred maw would allow. ”Expectations don’t always translate to execution… My brother was raised like I was but I couldn’t bribe from him an ounce of the significance you hold,” he told her, tilting his head so as to follow her gaze a little, his tail thumping once against the earth. ”The way your body moves… it’s clear there’s careful choice in what you do, how you move. It says to me you care for your origins.

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Oh. My. Goodness. Aika found herself spiralling down thoughts that were barely intelligible, occasionally coming back to reality to see him staring at her once more, and then falling again. She most certainly did not want this to be a one-time meeting! Please let him stick around, gods above!! ”A gorgeous name… does it mean something specific? Mine…” He stopped, and they were very close- like, pretty dang close, if she were human her cheeks would be bright red- and he continued. ”…the Juh’harah, it’s named for the wolf who founded it—translations become muddled but most agree her name was to mean sight in the dark."

And then he took a seat, and with a smile, Aika found himself copying his actions, almost distracted enough not to reply. “That's really pretty! Inspiring, almost . . . My family name – Fujiwara – means Wisteria Fields. My home used to have the purple trees littered everywhere; it was beautiful, though unfortunately I don't believe there are any places in this world that resemble the violet forests,” Unfortunately. If there was, Aika would never be able to draw herself away. Perhaps it was for the better, then, or else she'd never be able to explore, and meet someone as charming as M’Jakuna!

Though, apparently, he'd led his own pack, which was quite impressive, especially to Aika, who's social anxiety barely allowed her to even breathe in someone's general direction. Both the hermit and yet the butterfly, unable to pick a side. ”Expectations don’t always translate to execution… My brother was raised like I was but I couldn’t bribe from him an ounce of the significance you hold,” Significance? Aika felt as if she may faint right here, right now. “Significance? I– I don't understand?” Play it modest, and safe. Well, that, and also because she genuinely didn't get it. Significance? What was that supposed to mean?

”The way your body moves… it’s clear there’s careful choice in what you do, how you move. It says to me you care for your origins." Aika's eyes widened quickly, her jaw dropping briefly before she swallowed and looked away quickly, shuffling her paws in embarrassment. The lady nodded with a shy chuckle; her most iconic move. “Well, yes, I long to make my family proud; both my parents, and my Quintet.” As much as she missed her parents, Aika had been trying to move past it lately, and while her eyes teared up at the thought of such strong leaders, Aika refused to be actively brought down by bad memories. By remembering that she'd been . . . slaughtered.

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He'd not heard of something quite like she described but the concept of something so vibrant did make him think of the grove he passed through when he began his travels through the temperate. "This world is... it doesn't have certain wonders, I'll say that," he told her, flicking an ear before he shook out his fur, not quite ridding it of the rain trying to seep deep but leaving him a little dryer than he had been before. "But there was this grove that I moved through some time ago, vibrant wildflowers like a sea, so many shades, too. It'd be no Wisteria Fields but maybe you'd allow me to show you, eventually. It could be nice."

The flick of his ear, the shift of his hips as he settled a little more comfortably. It was odd, he thought, a wolf of note behaving so oddly as to not verbally acknowledge herself for what she is. "The wolves I've met, I've learned, they... they behave as though they're not proud, whether for their origins or themself... that they're unaware or uncaring for their purpose, whatever it may be," he said, humming a little, the compliment clear. "But you, Aika, you're proud—subtly so, there's purpose in your veins. You're rich in it, same as I am. Not only because we must be but because we choose to be; that's significance."

It didn't strike him that a flush had washed over her, merely attentive in his watching, "Not that my opinion matters much, stranger as I am to you, but I'd say you're certainly making each proud," he said, just as the sky thundered and the world flashed bright. M'Jakuna looked up, shaking his head and blinking to rid his eyes of droplets. "I don't prefer soaking. Shall we go find somewhere significantly less... damp? It looks like there could be some caverns further up that way."

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It was unfortunate that this realm didn't hold any resemblance of her homeland; the winding trails decorated by fallen, lilac-hued petals that drooped from the trees her family was named after. Aika sighed at the thought, wishing to be home, though the clan had likely fallen apart after Homura's attack. She shivered, though perked up as M'Jakuna continued to speak. "But there was this grove that I moved through some time ago, vibrant wildflowers like a sea, so many shades, too. It'd be no Wisteria Fields but maybe you'd allow me to show you, eventually. It could be nice." “That sounds . . . nice,” She said softly, as if coming out of a dream-like state.

"The wolves I've met, I've learned, they... they behave as though they're not proud, whether for their origins or themself... that they're unaware or uncaring for their purpose, whatever it may be," Aika quirked a brow. How could someone not want to uphold their legacy, to make their family and friends proud? While it might've been something Aika had been raised to do, she still thought that it made sense to keep your familial name secure, whether or not it was an expectation to be raised with. "But you, Aika, you're proud—subtly so, there's purpose in your veins. You're rich in it, same as I am. Not only because we must be but because we choose to be; that's significance." Her eyes widened; if it hadn't been for Aloysius – of whom flickered back and forth in her mind every now and then – she would've been deaf to the compliment. But . . . in this case, she was only sent pining further.

“I– Thank you,” Was her only words, looking away quickly once more as she tried to hide her face. Goodness, she was truly a mess around people like him; it hurt to know that he may not mean it, though Aika suspected that he'd have no reason to lie, nor fib. “I thought significance was . . . having a purpose, or meaning, and being able to, well . . . fulfill it.” Superficial thinks like walking didn't really mean much to her, to be honest, but she appreciated the kind sentiment from the charming man. "Not that my opinion matters much, stranger as I am to you, but I'd say you're certainly making each proud," “Really, thank you, M’Jakuna. I do try my hardest.”

To make her family proud was her biggest goal in life. She wanted to be perfect for them, as it felt she was expected to be. Though being an heir to a clan may seem fun, and special, the expectations and requirements bore down upon Aika's shoulders, even though her past life was long gone. "I don't prefer soaking. Shall we go find somewhere significantly less... damp? It looks like there could be some caverns further up that way." She'd barely even realised it was raining until the shadowy man shook out his pelt, and Aika gave a small nod as she stood. With a warm chuckle, she'd flick her tail. “Lead the way!”

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