In the days since his arrival here, he and Ceartas explored as much as they could, learned as much as they could. They had found many things both familiar and new, never before seen in their original world or others they've visited. The unfamiliarity of the land made it difficult to find good places to rest, eat, and find safe water, but such is life. One day they will be able to settle; for now, there was work to be done.
They had both also discovered that each of them possessed their own form of magic. He practices it now as he explores this land. It is a warm, slow windy afternoon. The rapid currents of the river ran to his left, and he followed it north as it led him through the valley. He kept his senses alert to his surroundings as he walked, but eventually decided it would be better to stop and focus more on his magic.
The rapids were too fast and foamy to get much of a reflection, but there are smaller, very shallow pools of water separated by the rocky ground that he could get a reflection on. Using that, Gabriel would watch as he focused on the bone spurs along his spine. It took several moments for them to slowly and audibly grow in length. The bones snap and split at the middle, sharpening in texture so that he looked like a bony porcupine.
The effort to use such magic strained him; face contorted in a grimace, he tries his best to make the bones split and grow longer... but soon it becomes too much, and just like that, they revert back to their original positioning.
That was the feeling that woke him from the nap that he had been taking between the stacks of books and vials and whatever else was in the looming piles. Now he was jumping to his paws and staring at the green grass beneath his paws, trees, and mountains. Ones that he definitely didn't recognize. It just made that sense of wrongness feel more intense as it dripped down spine. This wasn't home, and this sure wasn't any place that he had been to before.
So where was he?
Hackles raising he took a cautious step forward, and then another. Each step was taken and tested, waiting to see if this was an illusion or some strangely intense dream. Everything seemed very real though. He could smell the dirt, grass, trees. Hear the leaves rustle softly as birds moved within their boughs. Zane could even hear a river. It was only when he glanced at his own pelt, when he looked around once more, that he noticed the faint yellow residue that lingered on him. It wasn't much but it was something that was off and he couldn't help but stare at the harmless looking color.
With a frustrated growl Zane whirled to stalk towards the water, head low. Harmless looking or not he wanted it off. He had no idea if it was some sort of toxic dust that would slowly eat away at his fur and flesh, and wasn't that just a lovely picture. If Elcid was with him this whole thing would be easier to deal with. They could have laughed...
Where was Elcid? Zane stopped in his tracks, frozen. If he was here did she get thrown somewhere as well? Had one of his mother's customers been unsatisfied and decide to attack the three of them? Thoughts whirled in his head but it all narrowed down to two things. Find Elcid and figure out where he was. So with that he took off running towards the river. He needed this yellow stuff off of him.
It was only when he arrived at the river did he see the other wolf on the bank, bone spurs extending dangerously before they fell from his back. Zane kept one eye on them as he waded into one of the pools of water, yellow immediately starting to stain it's surface. Once he felt sufficiently submerged he called out to them.
Out the corner of his eye, he had noticed the figure of another wolf coming in his general direction. He watches with passive curiosity as they submerge their body into the water, an unknown yellow dust staining the water's surface. He was mildly curious to know what it was.
At the strangers inquiry, he raises his voice loud enough for the other to hear without straining, "i have a minute. But i can't tell you vhere you are," a thick, german accent coats a deep tone, "are you new to ze area, or have you suddenly arrived here vrom... var away?" far, far away.
Zane's ears perked forward as the horned stranger responded back. The answer however was lacking as they didn't seem to know where they were either. Their accent however gave him a better clue. This wasn't anywhere near where his home was. None of the traders that had wandered through had one quite like that, he would remember. It also told him that this wasn't some sort of illusion or dream since those tended to pull from things that the wolf under the illusion already knew about.
"I just arrived not even a few minutes ago." Zane barked back with a wry grin. At least he hoped that it had only been a few minutes. "And from what I'm seeing it's far from home. Did you arrive the same way?" He quested with a curious tip of his head.
This place was going to be more than a little strange if it was pulling wolves left and right from their homes. "And if you don't mind answering more of my questions have you seen a gray wolf by the name of Elcid?" He hoped that the other wolf had, it would make his search that much shorter, if not he would just keep looking.
The other wolf spoke of arriving suddenly, rather than just being new to the idea. It would be the first time since Gabriel's own arrival where he'd meet someone with similar origins as him. Gabriel was curious to get answers, but deciding to answer the others' first. A nod of his head is given to the first question, and then he rises from his seat to walk a bit closer to the water's edge. At the moment, they were just far enough that voices had to be raised over the river's current, and he'd rather avoid airing out their conversation for all to hear.
Thankfully, there were plenty of stepping stones to bridge part of the gap, but he would still have to wade abd swim the rest of the way. Unless... he had discovered another one of his abilities not long after his arrival, and had been practicing that too. With a bit of concentration, Gabriel formed a shield over part of the water, and then began to walk on said shield over to the other side. It was working!
It would be embarrassing if it failed midway, but the stranger's presence gave him the boost he needed to ensure such a circumstance didn't happen. Gabriel managed to make it successfully over the bridge, landing several yards away from the other wolf. Still far enough now for both to stay comfortable with the distance, but close enough now that he wouldn't have to raise his voice to speak to him, "vhat do zey look like? I do not know anybody by ze name, but perhaps i have seen zem around," he doubts he's met them, but he could have at least seen them in passing.
