Close to the Border{open}

[~:Aqua:~]

Muscular frame wandered across the warm, sunlit beach. His paws threw up sand with every pawstep. A slight breeze blew across the ocean waters, ruffling his white and sky blue fur.
He was very close to the borders of the Senya pack but he didn't seem to worry about it. He had stepped across the borders of both the Senya and Kavaran packs, ignoring their scent-markings before. He had met a few wolves from both packs during these trups and had only got into a fight maybe two times or more. Most of the time he was only warned about tresspassing and escorted off their lands.
He had never come in contact with a cat of the Kavari though and wasn't sure he wanted to. So much blood had been shed because of the Maotu. He didn't desire his own blood being spilt over something silly like tresspassing.
Malik deeply sighed and pounced onto one of the relatively flat rocks that dotted the beachline. He sat himself down, facing the dark waters of the ocean. His blue eyes stared at the salty waves that crashed against the sand. He lifted his maw into the air and let out a bold yet lonesome howl.

[Cinder]

Moonshard walked slowly across the sands by the border, gazing out at the vast sea. Her heart ached with sorrow as she remembered coming here with her mother when she had been just a little cub.
But that was before...
A long, mournful howl echoed along the sea breeze. Moonshard shook her head like a dog trying to rid its pelt of water. She longed to howl back but knew that she couldn't.
Sand crunched under her paws as she made her way down the beach, looking for the wolf that had howled. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw him: a loner.

[~:Aqua:~]

He lowered his maw and continued to stare out across the water. Off to his side he could hear the sand crunch under the weight of another being. His auds perked and swiveled in the direction of the noise. His dial turned in the same direction. A dark wolf met his orbs. He spotted a blue lighting bolt below one of their eyes and recognized it as a Senya tatoo. The Senya were the only pack with a certain tatoo that their fighters had to wear.
"Hello."

[Cinder]

Moonshard looked up as the loner hailed her. She was slightly surprised by this; most loners were unfriendly, or even violent. Thrown slightly off-balance, she called, "Um... hello..."
She looked away quickly, out over the dark waters of the ocean. What is on the other side of the sea? Are there other wolves there? She darted a quick glance at Malik, mostly to make sure that he wasn't trying to sneak up and attack her, and then gazed back out at the endless waves.

[~:Aqua:~]

Malik noticed slight surprise on her face when he said hello. He had met other loners before and none of them had been very kind, so perhaps she thought he would be the same. He saw her gaze turn to the sea then quickly look back at him. she seemed quite fascinated with the waves or what was beyond them. "I'm not going to attack you if that's what your thinking. I'm not like the other loners around these parts." He said following her gaze to the waves. "Amazing isn't it?"

[Cinder]

Moonshard stirred with surprise. Hmm... She narrowed her eyes slightly, but decided that the loner was probably telling the truth. What could he gain by deceiving me, anyway?
"Yes, it is impressive," she said quietly, eyes silently drinking in the beautiful scene.
The waves made a soft rushing noise as they hit the shore, sending up a spray of foam. The same relentless wind that drove them ruffled the wolf's fur, chilling her to the bone. From high in the sky, a single gull let out a mournful, screeching cry. Moonshard's eyes alit on the bird for a second.
I know how you feel.

[~:Aqua:~]

Malik's auds twitched when she replied quietly. 'Yes, it is impressive.' He slightly nodded his white and sky blue dial. The ocean always had a hypnotic sound when the waves crashed against the shore. More then once he had found himself imagining what could be beyond the salty waters. Since he lived alone he always had the time to daydream about things like that. Of course, the ocean wasn't what was on his mind the most, as of late.
Recently, he had begun to wonder whether being alone was a good way of living. He had begun to ponder the different directions he could steer his life. He could stay alone for the rest of his life or become a family wolf. His mind leaned more towards being a family wolf but he wasn't sure.

[Cinder]

Moonshard tilted her head to consider the strange loner. If he was going to attack her, wouldn't he have done it by now? Maybe he really was telling the truth.
She wasn't one for conversation, but she wanted to say something to break up the silence. "Um... Was that you howling earlier?" As soon as the words took flight off her tongue, she wished she could snatch them back. Of course it was him. There was no one else on the beach!

[~:Aqua:~]

Malik glanced at Moonshard somehwta surprised. He was the only one on the beach besides her. He figured it would be somewhat obvious it was him. "Yes." He replied. It was a simple answer but it was true. "That's not exactly a good way to start a conversation but......anyway. I am Malik."

[Cinder]

Moonshard blushed under her fur at Malik's words. Yes, i know it was stupid! You didn't have to point it out! But she hid her angry feelings well, replacing them with an impenetrable mask of calm. "Nice to meet you, Malik. I am Moonshard, of the Senya Pack."
She dipped her head to him in respect, and then turned to gaze out over the endless waves once again.

[~:Aqua:~]

Malik felt somewhat foolish mentioning that her question definately wasn't a very good one. It probably made her angry but if it did she hid her emotions well. Then she mentioned she was from the Senya pack. "The Senya pack huh? Is the pack doing well?" He asked unsure if she really wanted to answer that. She would probably suspect him of wanting to attack the pack. It wasn't him she would have to worry about though.

[Cinder]

ooc- Sorry for the wait.

Moonshard nodded vaguely, cautious about revealing too much to the loner, whom she still didn't entirely trust. "Yes, they're fine."
But I'm not, she added silently.

[~:Aqua:~]

Malik nodded unsure of what she may be thinking. Then something else came to mind. "May I ask why you came across the border instead of staying on the Senya lands?" He asked curiously. Normally he would never spot a pack wolf on loners' lands unless they were traveling somewhere. So why was she out here?

[Cinder]

Moonshard shuffled her paws into a more comfortable position on the damp sands, not wanting to answer right away. "Well..."
The usually cool and collected black wolf was flustered. "I... I was curious, that was all. I wondered what a loner would be doing so close to the border..." She didn't dare say anything about how sad his howl had made her feel. The old pain in her throat coiled like a snake, choking her, and she felt like crying.
I'll never be like other wolves, will I?

[~:Aqua:~]

Malik looked at her, unconvinced that it was just curiousity that lured her over. "I generally ignore the pack borders. I have crossed them on multiple occasions and have yet to be attacked. So it's not unusual to spot me nearby." He replied.
Then she suddnely seemed saddened by something. "Is there something wrong?"