Ain't nowhere I wouldn't go

Distantly, the woman could hear the tide rush in, overlaid with the song of the birds above and the water that dripped from the ruins around her. More distantly, Esmerelda could pick out the roll of thunder on the seas, a storm brewing nearby that was sure to blow in from the east. She had time before it would become necessary to find shelter, though perhaps these ruins would provide that, though their safety remained to be seen.

Cautious steps carried her forward, and sometimes up, as she explored the area. The Siren hadn't made much of an effort to thoroughly explore the ruins, though she'd certainly scouted around it. But now, with the children, she would explore the nooks and crannies across every inch of the island, before they would start to venture off on their own. She would find the dangers and run them out if she could. If she could not, then she would do her level best to protect them, while still allowing them the autonomy and freedom to learn how to handle themselves.

Pausing in both thought and motion, Esmerelda lifted her head and searched for her more wily companion, periwinkle eyes finding the form of @Drizzt a small distance away. “Find anything interesting?” She asked, voice lifted so that he could hear her.

the staff team luvs u

Drizzt had stayed in Saltwoods a whole hell of alot longer then he ever planned to. It wasn't long before he was healed and back on all fours. The reminder of his incident but a large scar to his flank, although mostly covered by fur that grew in shorter then the rest. In his time, he had come to enjoy the island.

It was a vibrant and fulfilling place and he could even easily visit the black rocks and beaches of the island just near, which he also favored. He had mostly been left alone, too. He hunted for himself and scavenged, rarely eating from caches. He marked borders (the beach, really) and ensured those did not make it further then the beach if they visited or washed up here by mistake as so many others. It was still the solitude of a loner's life in ways and though a part of him yearned to explore further, he did not stray far from the ocean either way. Maybe with his age he was getting lazy, that the thought crossed his mind that maybe this place was home for him.

This day he strayed, although not far, to the half of the large island not of their own claim. A part, mysterious and mystical as it were for him. Thunder rolled ahead and the forestry around would surely provide a little place to tuck himself away to listen and slumber through it. What he had not expected, were the ruins in this place. Long since worn away and crumbled in places, like a rock slide off a mountain. He had seen such structures before and more often then not felt they were made up of creatures or gods beyond his time. After all, Drizzt hadn't any idea about humans and their creations. He didnt care for the stories much, being a far more simple minded individual focused on the here and now, the day by day.

As he explored, he came to realize he was not the only one here. The Mystic's scent lie on the breeze. The winds picking up, the skies darkening. It made Drizzt yawn and nape prickle. Turning over a skull among a cluster of bones, he would murmur a 'hmmm' and lift his muzzle to call out. “Just some weird bones...” Looking back down, a large paw rocked the rounded skull back and forth. What kind of animal did that come from? Again, Drizzt didn't know anything about any human.

the staff team luvs u

She would make her approach lazily, letting herself get distracted here and there by her own investigations until she reached the wiry man who had become a sort of staple in the Saltwoods. He kept to himself for the most part, but Esmerelda appreciated his work and his vigilance all the same. Coming to a halt near him, she would peer down at the skull he found, head tilting as she tried to figure out what, exactly,, it had come from.

“What an odd looking creature that must have been,” She would muse aloud, brows furrowed for but a moment. She wondered if they existed anymore; it could not have been recent, for the only scents here were stone and vegetation, the faint sniff of stale water. Dirt.

Her eyes lifted to Drizzt and she spoke again. “Have you seen anything like this before?”

the staff team luvs u

Eventually, the little silvery and grey splotched woman came along his side, studying the rounded skulls with the same curious eye and ignorance to exactly what it was.

“Can't say I have.” He muttered, rocking the skull back and forth under his wide paws and eventually pushing it forward, causing it to roll away and hit a bit of crumbled ruins beyond. “Couldn't be too dangerous. Its teeth are so small and flat.” There were no tusks or antlers laying about either- no shells like large tortoise had for protection or pincers like crabs. No wonder they didn't seem to be of any living creature around here anymore.

“Reckon this was their home?” Perhaps. The bones were here after all and he had never seen them before just like he had never seen structures like this before either and dead men would tell no tales. “Maybe it's magic.” He said with a mocking, eyes wide and clicking his teeth as though chattering with fear. Tis the season, after all.
the staff team luvs u

“True. Its head is... was so... round. But more awkward than a squirrel's...” Squirrels had rounded heads as well but they seemed more useful and survival-appropriate. This creature, whatever it had been, seemed like it would have been awkwardly shaped and sized, unable to defend themselves judging by their teeth. “Huh...”

“It might have been,” She would answer as her head ducked to sniff at the ground where the skull had been. Whatever scent had been there was long gone, though, and all that was left was stale and old. “Would magic create something so... useless though?” It was possible, she supposed; "magic" was something that was relative, subjective. One could look at the sun and moon and think that it was magic that they rotated in the sky above. But that wasn't useless.

“How do you feel about going further in?” She asked with a sideways glance and a small grin. “Scared?” Esme teased him, knowing that Drizzt, of all wolves in the Saltwoods, was the least likely to shy away from such things. Another rumbled of thunder played in the background, a subtle soundtrack to their exploration.

the staff team luvs u

Drizzt shrugs, unable to answer her question in regards to magic and whether it would create something so useless. “Who knows...” He grumbles under his breath. “Mother nature made fleas 'n they pretty fuckin useless.” Said as he lifts a back leg to scratch along the side of his ribs.

“Aye. Not scared of anythin.” Another grumble and he snorts, walking on past her and further into the center of the broken up temple. More bones. Shiny gems which caught his eye. The skies only got darker somehow. The thunder louder. Closer. And here in the depths of the temple center were stone sculptures of wolves. “Look”, He spoke with a jutting of his muzzle.
the staff team luvs u

She laughed, the soft and gentle peal of a crystal bell. Drizzt was not wrong, not at all. Fleas were useless, quite so, and though she was sure they hadn't been created by magic, who was she to deign to know the secrets of creation? She certainly didn't understand it in this place, at least. Esmerelda did not miss the pause to scratch at his ear, the flop of the soft appendage against his skull, combined with the innocuous timing of his scratching following the comment about fleas bringing a wry smile to her face.

Her smile only widened as the man made his proclamation of fearlessness before forging ahead, the Mystic trailing easily in his wake. While she felt safe by herself, she felt safer with her surly companion; she was rather surprised he'd stayed so long after he had made mention of leaving when they had first met, when he had first come to the Saltwoods. Funny how things worked out.

Her ruminations halted when he broke her concentration, her attention turning to where he indicated. A full stop came to her paws, looking in awe at the great stone structures that stood so proudly before them. “How...?” For even the Mystic was stumped at this discovery. They were wolves, certainly, but had they been turned to stone? Or had someone made these? If so, how?

“Amazing... What do you make of it?” She'd ask him, appreciating his candor in things like this. He was grounded, while she was often spiritual and afloat in her thoughts.

the staff team luvs u

Now Drizzt would gather a wide smile, as Esmerelda took to a full stop as she looked up at the large stone statues of wolves. Drizzt watched her and the great awe in her gaze. Slowly, his tail began to wave behind him, happy to have come upon something of much interest to her.

After all, Drizzt had come to enjoy the women of Saltwoods. His Captain and Mystic, mostly, and would keep a sharp eye on any little ones they round' up. They had healed him up well, given him free roam and space, dealt with his grumpy attitude. Everyone else could kiss his ass.

Now he hummed, thinking on her question. He moved to walk around the statue, examining and once back to its front, settled down before it. “I'm stumped on this one, Mystic.” He admitted with a sigh and shrug of his shoulders. “Maybe magic did create this.”

Then, after another moment and roar of thunder, the clouds above opened up, raining heard pouring down onto the structure they walked within. “Suppose we should stay here for the night?” Surely if anything were to happen to the pack's pretty (tiny) Mystic while under Drizzt' watch, he would get quite the beat down from his Captain. Best play it safe.
the staff team luvs u