Mizu {{Shanda, any}}

[nightblood]

As the snow fell over the little grass showing through the sand, Haruko listened to the sound of waves crashing against the shore. Coming through the abandoned town of Semone, the black and red wolf had found little to do. Although he truely wanted to know why he had been attacked in Rakine, he tried to shove that into the back of his mind. It was too depressing for him.

As the canine approached the top of a hill, he beheld an amazing sight. Though he was no sailor, he held the size of the ocean in great respect. Mother Nature deffinatly knew how to amaze. The sky was overcast, darkening the sea and turning it ominous.

Haru sat down on the top of the dune, letting the wind ruffle his mane of fur around his face. Looking around, he wandered if anyone else was watching the sea today.

[sarhea]

All was quiet on Scatterstone beach as winter once again fell across the lands, the snow fall once more blanketing the white sands. Shanda sighed heavily as she lay upon the cold stone floor of her small den. She'd finally succeeded in finding one of her own, not too far inland from where Tarot's den stood hidden. Her's was not nearly as grand or hidden, but it was her own, not claimed by any creature.

The past few months had been almost too quiet for her, and even now, she felt the urge to explore a bit, find some sort of action. She stood, shaking the bits of dried leaves from her white pelt, and headed casually towards the beach. The fresh fallen snow was pristine-not a paw print or blemish had disturbed it; which also meant, she was completely alone, just as she feared. The sound of the waves rolling ashore caught her attention; ah the sea, she'd come to love it so. As she continued on, a sight in the distance caught her eye....pawprints.

Her senses snapped into high gear, her path altered as she headed towards the set of prints...They belonged to a wolf or dog, she couldn't be quite for certain. The scent was odd, foreign. But whom ever they belonged to, the owner was quite large, and thus male, she figured. Cautious as she was, her lonely curiosity got the better of her and she followed the trail as it made its way to the water front. Soon, she caught sight of the rather large owner of the prints as he stood on the hill over looking the bay. She took in his scent as the sea breeze blew it back to her. She could sense no hostility, and took a few steps closer. This creature was odd indeed. Black, with red markings, and a mane that was woven into bundles as if by humans...then it hit her...he did carry a slight scent of humans, and upon closer evaluation, she could tell that he was not fully wolf-just as herself...

"The sea is beautiful, is it not?" she finally spoke, making a wide ark path around from behind him, as to not approach from behind. She had grown bolder over the year, but was still cautious.

"I'm Shanda, resident of this beach. What brings you hear this lovely day?" she added. She was not usually one to throw so many questions out to newcomers, but loneliness seemed to have that affect on oneself. Her tail swayed gently behind her in greeting as she sat down on the hill, giving the new male plenty of space.

[nightblood]

"The sea is beautiful, is it not?"

Haruko turned to the source of the voice, setting eyes on the white female. With a friendly smile, he silently made a vow to step up his training. Had he not been awed by the ocean, he may have heard the pawsteps behind him. The black wolfdog inwardly slapped himself for not being more alert and reminded himself how lucky he was that this black and white canine hadn't attacked him.

"Hai. Very," he answered, standing up in the presence of a lady.

"I'm Shanda, resident of this beach. What brings you hear this lovely day?"

"Konichiwa, Shanda. I am a wanderer, as of now. You may call me Iroai, but know that it is not my true name."

He turned to the sight of the ocean, taking it in for a moment longer. He couldn't trust anyone at the moment, but he wasn't about to lie to a female. He looked at her again, giving her his full attention, smiling all the while.

"I wanted to watch the waves for a while, that's all."

[sarhea]

"Konichiwa, Shanda. I am a wanderer, as of now. You may call me Iroai, but know that it is not my true name."

He had stood, obviously taken by surprise by her sudden appearance, but she was thankful that he in return had smiled. And his speech-such a unique accent, and Konichiwa? She did not understand the word, but figured that it must have been some sort of greeting. This large fellow was far from home. She noticed the scars over his heart. They did not appear to be very old, and had to be painful. Her ears swiveled back slightly as she glanced out over the rolling sea. He'd been hurt some how, and even as he spoke his name, and that it was not his true name, she could sense his hesitation and distrust. He wanted to watch the ocean....

"Feel free to stay as long as you like and watch. This is a mostly quiet beach, a stopping place for travelers such as yourself. No one will bother you here."

At that she stopped, looking back across her beach home. Several burning questions raged in her head, things she would love to ask this newcomer, but she kept them at bay. He did not want to be bothered, she could sense it. But the longer she held her thoughts back, the harder it became to sit still. Finally, her gaze fell back to him.

"I'm sorry to intrude, but I couldn't help but notice the faint scent of human about you. Did you happen to travel through one of the villages around here?"

Shanda was curious. Prey had been extremely scare here so far, and if she could not find steady food soon, she would be forced to go to the villages to find nourishment, a thought that made her shiver. Any intel on the human establishments would be very helpful to her.

[nightblood]

"Feel free to stay as long as you like and watch. This is a mostly quiet beach, a stopping place for travelers such as yourself. No one will bother you here."

"Are'gato," he said, taking a seat once more. He watched the waves crash upon the shore, but noted Shanda's reluctance to leave him. His expresion, turned one of sollumness as he watched the water, lifted into humor when the female spoke again.

"I'm sorry to intrude, but I couldn't help but notice the faint scent of human about you. Did you happen to travel through one of the villages around here?"

In his mind, Haruko frowned when the subject of humans was brought up, but he kept his outside facad the same. He turned his head to her.

"The town directly south is abbandoned, but I travled through the Port called Rakine before that."

The was a twinge of uneasiness as he brought up the port. His voice faltered a bit, but he managed the keep the memory at bay.

[sarhea]

An abandoned town? Shanda inwardly cursed herself for being so cowardly before and for not exploring the lands around the beach more throughly. There could have been a wealth of prey there. Old human structures always seemed to hold a treasure of goodies. Her empty stomach growled loudly at the thought, so loud that she hoped the male who called himself Iroai had not heard.

"....but I travled through the Port called Rakine before that."

Her ears perked at the comment. Rakine...she'd heard the name spoken several times by passing creatures, coming and going from the place. She knew it to be further southward, but from what she could tell, the place was not too inviting, and the hesitant voice of the black male only confirmed this further. She sighed and looked away from him. She was probably annoying him by now, but her hunger prodded her on.

"I have been thinking of traveling to the port in recent days. I love this beach and it will always be my home, but the winter has made food scarce around here, more scarce than normal. I've heard many comments mentioning Rakine, and hoped to find food there, as it is the closest settlement to this area. I don't mean to pry..." her voice trailed. He'd had a bad experience there, she could tell, but would not bother him about it. But she wanted to know her chances of finding what she sought.

"...but how much danger would one be walking into if trying to find food in the place?"

[nightblood]

The smile finally faded from his face as Shanda told him of her plans to go to the Port. The last thing on his mind was returning to the place, but it was not his consern wether she wanted to go or not. He was not about to lecture her about safety.

"...how much danger would one be walking into if trying to find food in the place?"

"I believe you would be in less danger than I would be if you were to enter the town. If I were you, I'd find a friendly local dog and ask if they would get food for me. Humans tend to over react when a strange canine enters their territory and tries to get food from them. They don't like to share."

A sudden gust of wind managed to send some cold sand barreling toward the black male's face. Having visited a beach many times before, Haruko instinctively pulled his head up higher, allowing the sand to pass without hitting his eyes. They were already damaged enough.

With a scoff, the male turned his eyes upward toward the sky, an action that would have awarded him with a blinding white light on any other occasion when the sun was out. Dark clouds were gathering in the distance. He scowled. This always happened when he came to a beach. Perhaps Mother Nature did not intend for him to stay and gaze upon the beaty of the water.