I was born to run

 Things were… quiet, as always. She liked quiet but she did not like feeling like she as more solitary than part of a unit. Their numbers stagnated and there was not much she could do about it. She remained because she enjoyed Mal’s company and he reminded her of someone but she could not place a claw on who. Regardless, these things could not hold her forever. She had been tamping it down for sentimental reasons but she was unsure if it was wise in the long run.

 She was away from the territory, not too far but far enough. She sat on a large stone that overlooked the crashing waves of the shoreline. The ocean always calmed her for a reason she did not know. It felt like home but perhaps she could find another beach pack. Vendrussel came to mind… but the woman was plagued by aggressive neighbors and putting yourself there was not wise.

 She closed her eyes, ears swiveling around as she listened to the ambiance around her… thinking of her options while the sun created a beautiful bloody display of the ocean.

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Wander.

That was all he could do for now.

Aimlessly.

Alone.

The silence was deafening if it wasn't for the wakes of the ocean crashing onto the shore. The setting sun was cold on the beach during this time of the year despite its warm colours bathing the beach and the archangel as he strode. Even with the warm colours painted across the skies, his breath froze with a pale exhale. Spring was here, but winter was not letting go just yet.

Perched upon a stone was that one dark female from the mountain crevice pack. He paused for a second while racking his memories... ... ... Blackfoot, yes that was her name; with that he continued to walk forward. Rosencrantz wouldn't avoid her, nor would he stop for mindless chit-chat unless she had something to day. Instead, he'd offer a sideway glance. Acknowledging her presence but nothing more.

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 She could hear the shifting of stone and sand behind her, instantly she was on alert. Her head turned sharply to prepare to confront who it was... but it was simply him. The white, scarred man from the Windmere meeting. Ah. He had been a simple sort, a man of few words which was something she could appreciate. 

 Even now, he did not fill her ears with pointless pleasantries and instead walked by with not but a sidelong glance. In return she would nod her head, a simple wordless greeting. Nonverbal communication was just as effective conveying what was needed. 

 Although, there was something on her mind that needed communicating. 

 She didn't speak for a moment, simply turning her gaze back towards the ocean and the setting sun. One ear remained trained on him though as she asked, "Cataloguing?" It was an assumption but if he was anything like her, he would be out trying to see what there was. The packs, the landscape, the prey. What was useful and what was not.

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Thinking nothing else would be shared but simple, silent glances, Rosencrantz was ready to part ways with the woman once more until she spoke up. An ear and a half turning to catch her single word while he took a moment to ponder how to answer it. A few distant gulls cried out in the space between words, the sea chanting its rhythm in the meantime until finally, he croaked. “Nothing else better to do.”

Which wasn't too off, the best way he can say what he's doing at least. It was productive, especially in a new land. Kept him in shape without getting fat sitting around the same place with nothing to do than hide or eat. “Is that what you're doing?” She travelled enough from the... two times they bumped into one another, it wasn't too outrageous of an assumption that she too was doing something similar if she wasn't born here.

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[narrow width=450 There was silence between them after she asked her question. The only thing to disturb the void were the calls of the sea birds out of the water. She idly listened to them, finding solace in the symphony of the ocean. She didn’t rush him for an answer, she knew he’d answer if he felt like it and if he didn’t, he’d move along. No harm, no foul.

 When his answer finally came she gave a grunt of acknowledgement. She could understand the sentiment. When alone, their were no schedules, no borders to patrol, it was a simple and you just went out to learn what you needed while caring for yourself. There was safety in boredom but there was also safety in numbers.

 He countered the question and she replied with a simple, ”No.” A pause and then further clarification. ”Thinking.” And enjoying the scenery but that was a secondary nonimportant thing. Negligible.

 The waves called between them and she thought about if she wanted to divulge further. Perhaps… a sounding board of one who seemed about as no nonsense as she did. ”About my pack.” She would glance towards him, eyes of seafoam seeking out his alabaster form. [/narrow]
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Blackfoot had more to say; so he stopped. Turning to face the woman with an ear and a half drawn lazily forward. Few words were shared between them but there was enough in the undertow of what was being said to indicate there was much more than what was being verbally said. And as though they were caught in the same current, Rosencrantz picked up on the little clues left behind.

Though they were from different worlds, it seemed that they were woven from similar fabrics.

“What of your pack?” He’d bite. Asking for more about what she was thinking about. His mind wandered to the possibilities, one of which was she might be recruiting considering how far she was wandering. For herself? For someone else? The scent on her through the breeze indicated nothing huge to take note of…

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 He turned towards her, realizing that there was more beneath the surface. She was no wordy creature, she always measured what she said to ensure she said what she needed to in as little as possible. It was better that way and cut down on unnecessary chatter. She almost instinctively knew he was of the same as she, that he could understand what she didn’t say better than most.

 She realized that she liked that. He didn’t remind her of anyone she knew –or didn’t know—and yet, his lack of words was relaxing. It felt easier to talk to him than someone who was combatting for the word space.

 ”Unsure about staying.” Her gaze would find the bloody horizon, the sun was lower, sinking down to be swallowed and nearly all the way gone. She did not beat around the bush. What was the point? Say it, get it out, get it over with. ”They’re for safety. But see none there.” She would have left before… but something had been holding her back? Mal? Most likely. He reminded her of someone that she couldn’t remember. His jovial nature held her from her ambitions of leaving. Even now, she hesitated when she should leave. It was small, had stayed that way, and she saw no indication of much growth. Logically speaking, she should be long gone… and here she was.

 Why even talk about it? Perhaps, she was just looking for a likeminded wolf to give her that push. Even so, where would she go next?

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The woman was open about what was on her mind. Someone without secrets nor games up her sleeves, he could admire that; and be thankful for it as it didn't feel like pulling teeth to participate in the conversation that she had started. He could use more individuals like her around. “If you question it, perhaps it's time to roam.” That is what he did after all. No longer did he see himself useful to the group, no longer needed but instead just a sentinel on the outskirts of their travelling gang.

“A pack is all about give and take... if you receive nothing from it, it's a waste of time.” Perhaps he was seeing a little too much of his situation with The Wayfarers through Blackfoot, but he spoke what Rosencrantz to be the truth as he saw it. After all he had no one to tell him he was wrong.

In all honesty he didn't know what he was doing here. If he was trying to help Blackfoot in any way or maybe just in some way or form seeing himself trapped as she was and projecting. Was he helping in the end, or simply exercising his frustrations on a pack that he knew nothing of?

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 He spoke, sounding like one of her own thoughts. Although she didn't know where to roam and the life of a lone wolf was one that could be dangerous. Granted, she was no stranger to the loner life... it just seemed daunting to fish out a new pack to go to. But that was life and she would live. To his words she let out a contemplative grunt, her tattered ear flicking along to go along with her thoughts. 

 He continued speaking, and again, she found herself agreeing. Perhaps it just took someone else saying it before she felt that she was validated to take action. She felt that there was a lot of work here to be done but so much time had passed that she felt that it was hardly worth it anymore. It was time to move on, she'd stayed longer than she needed to. "Agreed." She said at length, her gaze once again finding his scarred face. Should she let Mal know? He would likely realize when she was no longer around. The door was always left open for her to leave and now, she felt as if she should do so. 

 She sat up on the rock and let out a sigh, feeling lighter. The road would be here home again, until she found somewhere to settle. "Thank-you. Needed to hear that." She said simply to him. Appreciative of his logical, sound reasoning. She didn't know if he was intentionally helping her or just speaking what was on his mind, but either way, it did help her. 

 She looked at the sky, wondering where she would head now. "Need to figure out where to go now." It would feel nice to just wander again until she figured out where to go. South? East? North? She hadn't been north yet. Hmm...

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Had he unintentionally shattered something fragile? It wasn't unlike him to do so... not quite out of character all things considered and so he didn't linger on the thought for long. If her position in this pack that was barely present in the air around her was that fragile to begin with, it was only a matter of time before she would head out on her own with or without his little push.

A single grunt and nod was offered in her appreciation to his "logic" he supposed. An odd way of assisting someone but he would take it. Heavens kew he needed all the good karma he could wrack up whenever possible.

“Where do you want to go?” Slowly he was growing curious. Curious of what her next move would be. Of what she would make of herself. Blackfoot was obvious the loyal type, an admirable trait to have seeing how torn she was of leaving a pack she deemed as not-so-worthy of her time.

Their conversation so far was simple to most. Few words being shared but much information was being exchanged. The archangel found himself not minding sticking around a little longer to hear what else she had to say.

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 Where did she want to go. That was the million-dollar question. She shrugged and said simply, "North, maybe... or East. Never gone there." And she was curious. The woman was partial to the oceans but was not against traveling elsewhere for the sake of visitation or finding new horizons. 

 But then, she eyed the white wolf, a flicker of curiosity in her normally impassive gaze. Although she blinked and then it was gone but the question, she asked next was clearly indicative of the inquisitiveness that had been in her mind. "You?" As short as the sentence was, it carried everything within her brain. Were they heading in the same direction? What was he up to? All in that very simple word. She, surprisingly, was enjoying his company. Usually she tolerated most wolves, there were few that she enjoyed being around. Perhaps it was that wavelength that they cruised along together that made things easier with conversing with him.

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It didn’t matter where she would go, the best was for her to move at least he supposed. It was better than to remained rooted in one place for too long before it was too late. Before those roots dug themselves too deep and it became impossible to leave a pack she didn’t feel was worthy of her time or efforts. North or East, it didn’t matter really.

What took him by surprise was she asking him the same question. Why did it matter to her where he went? Where he was going? Averting his gaze from her and onto the path ahead where he was heading to originally, the man shrugged. “Nowhere in particular.” He had a certain end goal he would have liked to occur, but he didn’t hold his breath on it ever happening. 

“Do you want to join?” He wasn’t sure what he was expecting from this question of his. Was it some kind of half-hearted invitation from her to join his aimless wandering? He had done so for Miriam before, so this didn’t seem too strange having it be the second time to do so.

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 Nowhere in particular, it was a similar answer to when they'd first met. Just wandering. It was as good a bet as any when you were a loner. The road was your friend, going places to scout out the best spot to lay your head and where the prey ran fruitfully. 

 His gaze turned away from her, onto the trail that he'd been walking when she stopped him. That way, wherever it went. It seemed like as good a path as any. "Yes." Because there was a rule as simple as could be and as old as time itself. Two wolves together were better than one. It was easier to hunt, easier to have someone that had your back in a pinch. It worked even better when this someone was a person like yourself, one that didn't mince their words. Who wouldn't talk too much. Who seemed quite logical, all things considered. She would see if anything would change with time, but for now, this was her path forward. 

 The woman would take one last look at the ocean but at this time the sun had been completely swallowed and the last bits of light were fading away. She rose to her paws, shook herself, and then padded over to the white wolf. Her head would dip once, showing that she would follow him.

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