ooc:

Scrounging was perhaps the least favorite activity the she-wolf purposed, but the advantages of doing so could not be denied. She had taken up a task of finding particular items, mainly representations of pieces to build her companion a chess-set. Since the night of the debrief and subtle confessions there in, a less that casual disposition had been taken by the both of them. Not awkward, but just beyond it. It was well known how the other felt but nothing immediately could be done about it. However the Issor had every intention of bring them back to a state of comfortable normality even if it seemed the cause was lost before it started.

She had trekked out earlier that day to rifle through the neighboring remains of the lost times. Nerves were set on edge when wandering through the skeletal remains, and were it not for the comfort of seeing nature have its way again, the excursion would have ended much sooner than it let on. She roamed through several shops and houses, nosing through the decay on the off-chance she would find something akin to what she was looking for. It came as no surprise that she was out of luck, but not wholly so. A collection of beads and feathers, some wooden and metal goods were found and added to the hide sling draped around her shoulders. But nothing that remotely resembled the chess pieces she remembered as a pup. Perhaps if she found another place to explore her success would be more certain, yet the idea of wandering into another decaying human village was not an appealing one to entertain.

By the descent of the afternoon sun, she decided to call her explorations to a close and began with a quick step back down the road that led toward home.

ooc: No worries

Her thoughts were where they had been since the beginning of her venture; dwelling in the past on such a cliché instance. When life was simpler when compared to the other cultures of these lands, and she was young, bonded and very much glad for it.

She could not help but wonder though, had she never left what would her future have been? Would she still learn of love and its complications? Would the bond between herself and X'ies flourished into something monumental for the pack? Would her father have been proud to see his seedling blossom with wonderful fruit? The possibilities went on as long as she thought about it. They teased her, they hurt her, but they were the creations of her own mind and she had none but herself to blame.

They were kind of a punishment really, to force her to reflect on what she had chosen and what she had forsaken. It was unfair that the Ancestors would do this; guide her down this dramatic path. Had she never left, they could have been... something more exceeding the limitations provided by the bond of friends. Perhaps by now she would have had offspring to nurture, to teach as the new family Shepard with someone she cared for beside her. It was senseless to think about it now. Better her thoughts were spent on trying to excavate the items requested by her friend...her vulture.

The wind was favorable to the hidden wolf, who incidentally took the female by surprise as he emerged from the ruins on the roadside. She paused immediately, her hackles raised beneath her long autumn mane but her body was tensed to exhibit her wary. Her tail became straight and bristled as her ears folded back against her skull. From a distance she observed the lone male, small by her standards but not unappealing to the eye. He had the physique of one well-fed and able, but in that praise came a caution to mind, that should he be able, he would also be dangerous. X'yrin remained where she was, even after the male offered a greeting gesture. "Am I in your path?" she inquired, gesturing with a tip of her muzzle to the road.

ooc: Apologies for the delay

She had but a word to go on, though it was nothing so significant as to change her attitude toward this male. Caution remained the air that surrounded her, coupled with the small smile on her lips. Reason for being rude was nil and it often served no other purpose than to make encounters awkward or tense. Last the needed was to endure on of the like when it was apparent her mind was already tense and bothered.

"Good day to you, Roland," the Nomad greeted politely with a casually dipped head. "I am glad to know I can provide a friendly face on your travels. I am X'yrin, a Nomad of Sangi'lak. Are you walking on your 'Endless Path'? Or on an errand from your village?"