There was a whole world below. It looked so still from up here, so extremely... other. But, if he watched long enough, the signs of life became apparent. The water glistened, light breaking off the surface as it danced along its course, and the trees swayed gently in the warm breeze. Still, it felt tranquil, more peaceful than the young wolf knew it to be. Down there, in that world, there were rivers that ran dangerously white and trees that snapped under the force of that seemingly gentle wind. There were oceans which would heave you about like a plaything and beasts which hunted and fed off one another. But, from up here on Spirane's peak, Noel could be reminded of the beauties of life. For all he had been through, he could stand here and rationalize the natural balance of life. Chaos and order, however at odds, made things of wonder.

The young male took in a long drag of the thin mountain air, closing his eyes against a fresh gall of wind that whipped his silky white fur about his body. It was growing warmer as the spring made way for summer, a rather comfortable change for the lithe male. These daily treks to the mountaintop were much more pleasant without the harsh winter cold cutting through him, ice cracking his pads and making the journey just shy of treacherous. For all his height and hardened, youthful muscle, Noel wasn't the burliest of wolves, nor did he sport a particularly thick coat. But he made due with what the universe had given him, probably better than most considering the rather nasty bones of fate he'd had cast.

Noel opened his eyes as the wind backed off a bit, the amber and split amber-blue lingering on the scenery below for a moment before he turned off the ledge and began his journey back down to the more frequented part of the pack lands. He had things to do, not something that could be said for every day. Turning into his third year meant a transition from puppyhood into adulthood, though, and he would take to that notion gracefully if he had the choice. Today, he would seek out either Taliesin or Nootau to get on top of those tasks MoonGlow had provided. She had given him a choice between attending a pack hunt lead by Tal or entering into a friendly sparring match with the one called Nootau, but he didn't see why he needed to choose when both sounded interesting.

Large paws wound their way down the narrow mountain path, their placement sure and memorized by now. Noel figured he might find Tal first, considering he had met Taliesin before and could remember the scent. This Nootau was a rather new wolf to Spirane, from what he gathered, and Noel wasn't entirely sure what he would be looking for on that front. That gave him a small bit of shame. It felt wrong, living in a pack and not knowing the faces. The only way to rectify the injustice was to find this Nootau, though, which was already on his list of things to do... So, he found a little reassurance there.

The wolf halted abruptly, ears standing at attention as the sound of his own name being called rolled faintly through the trees from somewhere down the mountain. The tone was pleasant enough, but the voice was unfamiliar which warranted for a bit of caution. Noel picked up his pace once more, his paws hushed and body low as he veered slightly off the path, heading toward the call's origin. He was headed toward the same clearing in which he had first met Tal, strangely enough, his charcoal dipped muzzle twitching as he picked up the stranger's scent. It was... vaguely familiar, something different and mixed with the home scent of Spirane, and as he neared the clearing he found a male of similar age pacing about.

Noel paused in the trees for a moment, watching the other's impatient display as he came to a probable conclusion. "Nootau?" Noel asked with a small amount of uncertainty as he stepped from his cover to join the other in the clearing, ready to apologize if he was mistaken. Curious, mismatched eyes studied the stranger, though he kept his expression a friendly neutral. Meeting new people was never the easiest thing, at least not for him, and he rarely knew what to expect or do. Thus was the curse of someone thrust into a life of utter chaos for their first year. He'd spent the last two making up for what he had missed, but these things took time.