Well, these days have absolutely kicked his ass.

Ever since arriving at Alukhai, his end day attempted nap sessions would carry well on into the next day. It was like his body was playing catch up with all this energy he spent. Apparently moving around all day until your legs felt like they were about to fall off had consequences. His body still complained every morning. Even the smallest movement tugged at muscles he'd apparently never used before, and the bottoms of his paws still carried that dull soreness beneath them. It wasn't nearly as bad as since arriving, though. He figured that probably meant something was working.

Or maybe he was just getting used to hurting. It was hard to tell. Either way, laying around didn't sit right with him anymore. The sun had barely begun creeping over the horizon when Yelp found himself wandering the grasslands surrounding the camp. He figured he should try to get familiar with things on his own. Lord knows he had bombarded Maral with far too many questions at this point. He needed to figure things out by himself. Or, well. That would be how the current morning would go ideally, if not for a particular distraction.

After a bundle of burrowing marmots caught his attention, he spent well over an hour preoccupied with them. Yelp would insist it was very serious hunting practice and not several increasingly personal feuds with a family of rodents if anyone happened to ask. Not personal at all. No way. It certainly wasn't his fault they kept waiting until he pounced before another would poke its head out somewhere behind him to squeak what sounded suspiciously like laughter.

Eventually, the sound of steady footfalls stole his attention.

"Oh!"

That was, uhhhh

"Ochirrr?" I think? Yelp knew it was Marals husband for sure though.

His tail immediately began wagging. No way anyone Maral spent time with was bad. And with that deduction, and without much hesitation, Yelp broke into an easy trot after the older wolf.

"Hey!" he barked, trying to close the distance. "Is it normal for you people to be runnin' everywhere?" Keeping pace proved a little harder than he'd expected, his stride lengthening as he hurried after him. "'Cause I swear everybody around here acts like walkin' is illegal or something." A grin spread across his muzzle despite the extra effort it took to keep up. He was being just a little bit hyperbolic. Even if it did seem like the wolves all around preferred to be on the move

Ochir

"We run, because we live."

...Huh.

Yelp's paws kept their rhythm beside Ochir's, brushing through the grass as the wind rolled over the plains. Running had always just been running Nothing more. It got you somewhere faster, it caught dinner, and it got you out of trouble. He'd never really stopped to think there was any reason to do it beyond that.

If running is living...

His stride shortened without him meaning it to.

...Then what was I doing back home?

The thought came so fast it almost stole the breath from his lungs. He'd spent seasons sleeping in. Wandering the same handful of areas until he could've walked them blind, never too far from the den. There was always tomorrow. Tomorrow he'd go farther. Tomorrow he'd try something new. But then tomorrow turned into next week. Next week into next season.

The wind shoved at his shoulder, ruffling through his coat, and he looked up before that thought could sink its teeth in any deeper. The plains just kept going on and on, rolling hills of stretching so far ahead they blurred into the sky. No trees waiting to snag his fur. No roots lying in wait to trip him. Just open ground. Enough of it that it was almost dizzying.

His chest swelled with another breath.

Maybe... he kinda understood what Ochir meant.

"So," A grin tugged at the corner of his mouth as he glanced over. "If runnin' means we're alive," His tail flicked behind him. "walkin' or standin' around's gotta be a death sentence here, right?" A laugh escaped him, a little breathless from the pace they kept. "My old home didn't have places like this." His gaze drifted back toward the horizon. "It was pretty much all forest. You could run if you wanted, but," A quick pause as they crested another rise together. "Five steps if you're lucky. Then you're havin' bark and your own teeth for breakfast 'cause some tree came outta nowhere." Maybe that was a slight exaggeration. Just a little. "I can't say I ever saw anybody run just 'cause they felt like it." His ears flicked thoughtfully. "Not like y'all do."

Ochir's next question drew a thoughtful hum. "My name, huh?" He'd never really thought about it before. "As far back as I remember, I was just... Yelp." His nose scrunched as he searched through memories he hadn't touched since he was barely off milk. "Don't really remember all the nitty-gritty." A few more strides passed, tongu clicking to the roof of his mouth as he recollected. "Oh! My parents wanted a girl first." He smiled to himself. "They'd been dead set on callin' her... uh..." What was it again? "Yelba?" Yeah. That was it. "Yeah, Yelba, But they got me instead."

The grin lingered for another second before slowly fading. "...Huh." His ears tilted back as the thought caught up with his mouth. "They really did just lop the end off."A snort escaped him. "Damn." He looked over at Ochir, amusement lighting his eyes, "Y'think that's lazy or they were just overly committed or something?"

After a while, Yelp spoke up again without being all jokey. "Ive been wondering somethin'." His gaze stayed ahead. "How'd you and Maral get separated?" He hesitated, wondering if he'd brought up something too personal. "When I first got here she always seemed kinda, like. I dunno. A little bit sad." Not exactly miserable looking. But enough that it made him concerned. He had been too caught up in his life spiral he never had the chance to ask her about it. "I figured she was homesick at first but then you showed up, and. well, I dunno. " A small smile found its way back onto his face glancing toward Ochir. "I guess it makes sense now."

Ochir