Word Count → 304
It'd suck for this to go to waste, so I don't mind. <3 I'm just tryin' to catch up on Wayne threads now. >> Is it weird I wanna hug Zedekiah?
Brown eyes stared morosely at the wasteland that did not seem to change even as the time and terrain passed him. He paused and sighed, wondering what there might be to gain from traveling out here, other than sating his own curiosity. He should have come riding one of the mares; at least then he would have a companion in this grim exploration of the burned territory. He wasn’t sure he would want either of them to walk across this dead earth and scent the dead wind, however, as he could almost imagine his toughened paw pads touching acid. The tang in the air was far different from the fresh mountain breeze of the lands he was guest to, ashen, heavy on his tongue like blood.
The shadow of a large bird was the only movement in the world besides the dry rustling of vegetation, and the mongrel’s eyes followed it disinterestedly as he continued to walk with an almost tired tread. He continued to move over the rocks dotting the foothills until a scent and a voice reached him. He paused, hackles stiff, but relaxed instantaneously as he saw the stranger mounted on a liver mare. They did not seem poised to attack, and he almost smirked as he saw the turkey vulture perched beside the coyote, the winged scavenger obviously not as unimportant as he had presumed.
Wayne’s instinct at this point was to shift, as he was normally on four legs only among his own pack and Dixie-May—but it would take time and effort he didn’t quite feel like spending, especially if this interaction would only last a short while. His change in shape might also be seen as a threat. It had been a while since he’d explored the neutral territories alone, so he wasn’t so used to the behavior of strangers, but he could only imagine how he might’ve acted in the other’s place.
“Nah,” the Labrador answered honestly, casually. “I live south—Casa di Cavalieri, ’round the Revenge and the beach.” He left it at that for now, but he didn’t mind elaborating if the other wanted to know what he was doing so far north. His own curiosity was up now, anyway, with the presence of the hulking bird and the powerful-looking mare he was suppressing the temptation to go greet. He lifted a shoulder. “I’ll take a guess and say yer from Inferni?” he asked with faint humor; the pack scent wafting toward him by this point was enough to keep his remark from being overly presumptuous.
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