Lore

Silvered paws carried the wolf down from the timberline and out to the edge of one of the few roadways that crossed through the wildlands of the Valley. He paused, ears alert and swiveling to this noise and that. The only sound to catch his keen auds were the song of spring birds and the not-so-distance crash of waves further down the beach. Glancing aside to ensure his mate was near at paw, Lore sauntered on across the lone pavement and carried on down towards the beach.

"I've only seen them from a distance in the past." He started, looking across to Aniyu as his pace fell into a slower trot. "But even then.. well, you'll just have to see for yourself." Rather than spoil the surprise with a description of the whales, Lore decided to keep the details to himself.

Aniyu

The trek from their home into the neutral grounds of the Valley was a joyous occasion for Aniyu. While she had been an ounce reluctant to leave their territory unattended, Aniyu soon was enveloped in the joy of the liberty of traveling once more. She strides beside Lore with a lolling tongue and searching eyes, drawing in the subtle hints of the incoming springtime. The fringes of the beach were just as peaceful and lovely as Aniyu remembered them, though it had been a number of seasons since she'd travelled to the Bay. And her stay had been somewhat limited, since Aniyu was unaware of the presence of these "sea wolves" Lore spoke about.

Paws scrap against the quiet pavement as they near the beach, the gentle roar of water lapping against the shore echoing in Aniyu's ears. The she-wolf gives an excited pant, glancing over at Lore with a glimmer in her sky-colored eyes. "You certainly have me intrigued!" Aniyu admits with a lighthearted chuckle, eyes sweeping across the gentle tumult of waves below. Everything seemed peaceful...and either Aniyu was sorely missing these sea wolves, or they weren't there. She hoped, for her own curiosity, that she was simply missing them.

Fade & Others

Fade was never the type of wolf who enjoyed living a solitary life. So, when she had come to the valley she had managed to find a few friends that she traveled with. They all looked to her as something of a leader, but she never wanted the leadership position. Maybe she was a natural born leader and had a good head on her shoulders, but she didn't like the pressure of being the leader. She was more the type to fit in as a beta or something where she could help make decisions but not have them solely on her shoulders. But this was the hand that she was dealt.

She and her group of friends, Mirage and Memory who were sisters that had traveled to the valley with Fade, along with Bahira, the oddball of their group since she was a maned wolf, and Badra who they had met once they had gotten here. They were all hanging around on the beach.

That was when Fade caught the scent of others on the breeze. She lifted her head to scent the air and stepped forward a bit. She was a large female, but at the moment, her body language was relaxed. It wasn't like this territory belonged to her or anything. And these two didn't seem all that threatening. So, she approached with caution but a small wag of her tail. "We haven't seen many other wolves come to this area." She said in way of greeting, because what else could she say. She liked meeting others, she really did, but if they weren't out looking for company then she would back off. The rest of her friends hung back a bit, more cautious than their fearless leader.

Matako & Mikoa

Kakou was training Mikoa how to savely beach herself. However it was hunting time as she chased after a seal who just got to the beach and so she beached herself. She did see the wolves in the distance but ignored them as she turns her head to the side and grabs the seal in her jaws and then she waits and when the tide comes in she moves her body to get herself back into the ocean and off she goes with the seal and she shares it with her daughter.

Matako had already eatten and leaped right out of the ocean and splashed down to warn off any other predator in the sea.

Lore & Tyali

He was scanning the ocean for those telltale black dorsal fins, eager to see what Aniyu's reaction will be to the colossal creatures. But his coppery gaze catches something unexpected first, stopping on a group of canines further along down the beach - including one curiously leggy creature with black and reddish fur. Lore stops full on and shares a look and a whisper with his mate as Fade begins to head their way. "This isn't what I meant when I said 'wolves of the sea'."

Seeing no signs of hostility from the approaching fae, Lore let his tail wag slowly, exhibiting some healthy caution for the sheer amount of other wolves present, but with a gesture of friendliness all the same. "It's been a while since the two of us have run into others." He answered back with a smile, "Is that your pack there?" Beyond Fade, and a little ways down the shoreline, a crash of waves caught Lore's attention for a brief moment, but he didn't allow his attention to linger too long before focusing on Fade once more.

Where Lore had to temper his excitement, Tyali was free to approach the small family feasting in the bay. The orca was a resident here, along with the rest of his pod, and was always happy to see new faces. "Nice catch there." He whistled out, slowly approaching the group, while still giving them healthy distance - he didn't want to instigate any trouble with the other large male, after all. "The name's Tyali."

Aniyu

When her blue eyes fell upon the small gathering of wolves in the sand, her tail wags a bit and a chuckle comes from her mouth. "Oh, so you meant literal sea wolves," she hums teasingly, licking the side of Lore's cheek before trying to scan the waters once more before they indulge the group of wolves on the beach. It's in that moment that Aniyu catches sight of the ebony fins of a hunting orca. Her jaw drops as she watches the orca emerge from the waters, dragging one of the scarce seals dotting the shores and retreating back into the waters. A little yip of excitement exits the she-wolf's mouth as she turns to Lore for a second. "What the hell was that?" She gasps, following her statement with a loud laugh.

Fade closes the distance on the pair of alphas, Aniyu's tail wagging to portray the pair's receptiveness to her approach. Aniyu remains in close proximity of her mate as Fade approaches, her thick winter fur billowing into Lore's by the gentle breath of the ocean breeze. Eyes keep stealing away to the crash of waves, wondering if she'd see another one of those black and white beasts emerge again. But she tries to shift her focus on the friendly wolf before them, nodding a soft greeting. "You must be the sea wolves Lore spoke about," Aniyu jokes towards Fade, bumping her hip into Lore's, "Or perhaps I'm mistaken with the giant dragon we just saw?"

Fade & Others

Fade was a bit distracted from the meeting at hand when she heard the splash that indicated that there was something big happening in the water behind them. Luckily, they were far enough from the water so that they didn't have to worry about being snatched up and dragged into the water never to be seen again. They had learned to keep their distance at times like this, to give the big animals a respectful distance. She pauses her approach of the other two for a moment to watch the scene that took place.

Then her attention turned back to the other wolves that she had seen walking along the beach. They had both seen them approach. The two seemed friendly enough, the male cautious but not unfriendly. "Not my pack, just my friends." She explained. She didn't think herself a leader. A little laugh left her vocals when the female asked if they were the sea wolves. "I guess you could call us that. We've been staying here for a while." She explained with another small laugh. "Those things live here, they will come up and drag anything close enough to the water in with them, best to keep your distance." She gave a little helpful advice. "I'm Fade." She introduced herself, then paused before introducing her friends. "My friends are Memory, Mirage, Bahira, and Badra."

Kakou, Matako & Mikoa

Kakou gives the seal to her daughter when the other male orca comes up. Even though he seems friendly she stays between him and her daughter. What never beached for your food?She asks. Kakou, Matako and MikoaShe says.

Mikoa takes the seal and eats it. As her mother talks she decides to wants to practice beaching and so she moves fast toward the beach and beachs but then frowns when she realizes she doesn't know how to move herself back into the water.

Matako doesn't beach as he isn't confident enough to do os he keeps an eye on the unknown male.

Lore & Tyali

As excited as he was to see Aniyu's reaction to the marine mammals, Lore himself was momentarily awestruck by the swiftness of the attack Kakou preforms, and couldn't deny a smidgen of worry. 'Just how far could they come out of the water...?' Careful to keep such concerns clear from his expression, Lore had a murmur of a response to Aniyu before his focus shifted back to Fade and her comrades, "That, my love, is one big sea wolf."

Fade soon had some helpful information to share, and Lore was nodding along with her advice on staying clear of the waterfront, all the while his slowly wagging tail began to loosen and sway in a lighter manner once he was certain these stranger were friendly. "Nice to meet you all. I'm Lore, and this-" A gray tail was flashed against Aniyu's side, not so unlike an arm being draped affectionately over one's back, "-is my mate, Aniyu. We've recently established ourselves in the SunSet Beach territory, but have been itching to revisit the rest of the Valley." His copper eyes move back towards the water, watching those giant fins cut through the waves. "And we appreciate the advice, Fade. I actually don't know much about the sea wolves."

Oblivious to the attention they were receiving from the wolves, Tyali listens patiently to Kakou. Seeing her protective positioning, he wisely maintains his distance from the small family. "Nah, I've never tried that before. Neat trick - how'd you learn that?" He'd heard of such techniques from a few transient orcas, but Tyali himself had always been too fearful of getting stuck on land to try it himself. And just as those thoughts were going through his head, he watches the youngster fling herself towards land, and inevitably gets stuck herself.

"Um... how long- er, does she need help?" Not sure if this was part of the maneuver or not, Tyali anxiously lifts his head above water to watch Mikoa. Though it had been several years, two of his own podmates had gotten themselves beached, and it took the intervention of humans to free them.

Aniyu

The retreat of the orca back into the water, Aniyu wasn't sure if they would be gifted with another appearance by the giant sea wolves. Yet, Mikoa, large but not as large as the former orca that had beached, breaks through the water and lands close to the shore. Aniyu's blue eyes widen as she glances from Fade to Lore, a little laugh escaping her mouth. "And here, I thought wolves were some of the most dangerous predators," Aniyu mentions with a wag of her tail, "Seems the ocean is withholding a lot of secrets."

Although she isn't meaning to be disrespectful, Aniyu can't help but stare at the younger orca still perched in the shallows. She forces her attention back to Fade, offering the fellow she-wolf a small smile. "Our home has a beach as well...but we haven't seen any of the sea wolves...at least not yet," Aniyu mentions with a fond swish of her tail. There's a mix of new anxiety as she considers the implications of being more concerned around the waters at their territory. The last thing Aniyu wanted was herself or any of her family to become fish bait. "Have you lived here very long...? Lore and I were also wanderers for a while, until we found each other." A sheepish pant comes from Aniyu as she gently brushes her shoulder against Lore's, recalling how wandering brought many together -- such as it did with Fade and her friends, and as it did with Aniyu and Lore.

Fade & Others

Fade herself couldn't help but to let her attention be caught by the big black and white creature. It's sleek body beached on the sand in a way that doesn't seem quite safe to her. But she had seen them before, had seen them beach themselves on the beach and snatch one of the funny looking animals that barked almost like dogs from the beach and dragging them back into the water as if they had never been. They had learned to stay away from the water for just that reason.

The creature was back in the water by the time she looked back to the two wolves who she was speaking with. "Lore, Aniyu, it's a pleasure." She said with a swaying tail. She shook her head slightly as the questions came. "We haven't been here long. Like you, we've been wandering for some time. We banded together for safety and company, we've been here for a short while." She said with another wag of her tail. "It can be both fun and stressful to have no real place to lay your head at night." She said, glancing around at the beach. She did like the beach, but she wasn't sure this was the place where they could stay long term. Fade was beginning to think that settling down and finding a home was beginning to sound nice. She would eventually like a home and a family to call her own, after all.

Kakou, Matako & Mikoa

Not alot of male orca's beached to catch prey because of their share size Matako use to but he hasn't done so in a long time. She turns her body around to see her daughter on the beach and she waits a few minutes before moving fast and speeeding to the beach beaching right beside her daughter. She eyes the wolves in the distance warily knowing they could very well be in danger even for their sheer size. SHe tries to use her body to help shove her daughter back each time the waves come in.

Matako watches wanting to help but he would become stranded because of his size.

Lore

Lore was learning a few things himself today, with one rather pertinent question soon rising as Mikoa surges up out of the water and rests upon the beach. 'Could she move any further on land, bouncing along the shore like the seals did?' A few moments of observation suggested not, but Lore felt it was still a good idea to give the creatures a safe distance. Especially once the larger orca rode out from the waves a second time to beach herself next to her daughter.

Feeling a nudge against his shoulder, Lore pulls his gaze away from the cetaceans and smiles back at his mate, seamlessly keeping pace with the conversation despite his wandering eyes and fractured attention. Pressing his side against hers in a wordless act of affection and devotion to his second half, the silver brute is nodding along to her words, "No sea wolves to speak of that we've seen, but plenty of squirrels." His smile is briefly taken by a knowing grin as he shares a little inside joke with his mate, before tilting an ear back to Fade and her group. "No official place to call home?" Again he shares a glance with Aniyu, this time a questioning look in his copper eyes before they're returned to the group of strangers, "As long as Aniyu is okay with it, you can join us as the SunSet Beach." It was an offer given tentatively, as he waited first for Aniyu to agree to such a proposal.

---

Tyali too was reluctant to stray too close to the shore. Instead, he hung back with Makato and watched as Kakao tried to use the waves to help her daughter back to the sea. "Here comes another one, brace yourself!" He encouraged from the sidelines, alternating between lifting his head above the water, and watching from beneath the surface. At one point, as he lifted his face clear of the rolling waves, Tyali caught sight of the wolves on shore, and his dark eyes lit up with unbridled joy. He wouldn't abandon this little family at the moment to investigate the canines, but they had definitely caught his attention.

Aniyu

The she-wolf's tail wags as she listens to Lore propose to Fade, eyes lightening up at the thought of more companions to join them in their home. "Plus, if you like the setting, we have a very similar getup, minus the massive sea predators..." Aniyu mentions with a little laugh, blue eyes tracing their way back to the massive black-and-white mammals. They were so captivating, these creatures accustomed to chilly Bay waters. Aniyu tilts her head a bit, still amazed by the strange habits of these finned predators. She watches the mother assist her confused and beached daughter. "Good thing they don't have paws for the earth," She mentions with a meek smile, mostly to Lore, "If we do ever have them near our beach, I don't think they'll follow us up into the forest!"

Fade & Others

Fade couldn't help but to keep part of her attention on the killer whales who had chosen this very moment to begin bringing themselves up onto the beach. It made her glad that they had had this little meeting plenty far enough away from the water that the orcas wouldn't be able to reach them. It seemed like there was a whole pack of them today! Though, her attention was also split as she paid attention to the two wolves in front of her as well.

She noted the look that Lore gave Aniyu, one of questioning, asking her opinion on something in the silent way that only those who were very close would be able to fully understand. She followed up with the same type of look towards her friends as the offer was made. The look being followed up by nods before Fade spoke for the others. "We accept your kind offer. While we have made this place our home, it isn't the type of place that is easily defended and those things do make me a little uneasy." She admitted along with her acceptance of their offer. "They don't come up onto land too far, thank goodness." She agreed, her tail wagging a bit.

Lore

A glint of excitement hits his eyes as he sways his tail, bumping it against Aniyu with every swish, "Welcome to the SunSet Beach pack, friends. And Aniyu is right, I don't think we'll have trouble with the sea wolves in our land; save for our secluded beach, much of the territory is in the mountains and thick forests." As his attention drifted more to this small group of wolves that was now part of their extended family, a new kind of happiness was lifting his spirits, and it showed in his expression and relaxed posture. "We can lead you back to your new home if you want, or..." As with most decisions he made nowadays, Lore was always keen to have his mate be part of it, and looked once more to her as he offered a second option, "..Aniyu and I had plans to explore today, if you want to travel with us before we head back?"

Aniyu

A smile of elation crosses Aniyu's features as Fade accepts their offer. Her tail wags, though the she-wolf attempts to subdue the excitement. "You'll certainly love it," Aniyu adds to Lore's words, blue eyes sparkling. She glances at Aniyu, an unspoken excitement dancing behind them as if to say 'look, our family is growing!' Turning her attention back to Fade, she nods softly to Lore's question of whether or not they'd like to follow the pair on their sojourn through the Valley's wildlands, excited to get to know her new packmates. "Only if you guys are up for it! Otherwise, there's plenty of space and places to lounge and relax at the territory," she tells Fade with a little laugh. The she-wolf flashes a coy look at Lore, poking his cheek with her nose before adding teasingly, "Lore can probably direct you to some of the best napping places."