He found himself almost entirely consumed by the insatiable desire to see Malina now. As he stared off into the slow movements of the shoals of the river, every flicker of light against the surface of the water reminded him of her single white audit, flashing brilliantly atop her head. It was only when Valerian commented on what Sleekwing had only just described to him that he was brought back to reality, grounded in the fact that Malina was somewhere far east of here, hopefully safe within the confines of Diveen. His eyes flashed back to those of his darker hued companion and he let a slightly self-conscious smirk pull at his lips, feeling a bit foolish for having let his emotions get the better of him. It was so uncharacteristic of him; but one can only assume it was another side effect of the imprinting. A living hell, Valerian had referred to it. “Hadn’t really thought of it that way, but that sounds pretty spot on,” he said, though he could hardly associate Malina with anything negative.

Valerian’s request to see Spirane caused Sleekwing’s tail was wave back and forth across the ground where he sat. The wolf had beaten him to the punch, but the heather painted lad was glad for it. It would be another good distraction, and hopefully would result in an invitation for permanent residence within Spirane. Sleekwing could hardly see any reason not to make such an offer to the charcoal brute, but it would certainly be best for both parties to show him around a bit before extending the invitation. It would give both of them a chance to test the waters, for Valerian to feel out if the pack suited him and for Sleekwing to feel out if Valerian suited the pack. “Certainly,” he stated as he rose to his paws, eager to be on the move. He waited a moment for Valerian to stand and join him, and then set off due north.

They weaved idly along the banks of the river, following it towards its headwaters and the looming mountains. As they jogged along, Sleekwing glanced towards the soot masked male. “Spirane is presently ruled over by my father, Alcide. My mother was the first alpha of these mountains, but a long time ago, when they held a different shape and were named Solevion, my grandmother was the monarch.” It was a brief and easy history lesson, but Sleekwing was proud of where he came from and felt compelled to share it with Valerian. He hoped the sense of their fast forming friendship was not a one sided intuition.

When they reached the borders Sleekwing did not pause, but moved across the line that was heavily marked by Alcide’s scent. He quickly located a well defined trail that led up into the mountains and began to ascend it, momentarily glancing back at Valerian as it was a path that was only wide enough for one by one travel. Rather than leading him into the heart of the pack lands, he navigated up a northeastern branch of the trail that brought them to a large clearing that created a wide overhang that looked out across the southern base of the mountain and the river which they had just traveled up. They were not so far up the mountain that they could see all the way to Iromar, but it was still an impressive sight. Sleekwing’s tail waved behind him as his sides rose and fell from the slight exertion required to ascend the mountainside. Pivoting his body he stood gazing out across that of Moladion which laid out before them. “I don’t think there is much that can compare to the views from a mountainside; other than those seen from the mountaintop.” Sleekwing smiled as he glanced towards Valerian, hoping he enjoyed the view.