He bowed his head briefly. "Thank you, my lady. That means a great deal to me." Friendless, and often shunned the man was surprised to hear her words, but was no less grateful. His tail wagged as she smiled at him. She quickly accepted his offer, "As you wish. A moment, my lady." He undid the tie of his cloak, allowing it to float to the ground where it lay. Next was his belt. Although she seemed much more accepting of him, he still kept his movements slow. He unbuckled it carefully and allowed it to fall. It thudded dully on the ground with the weight of his bastard sword. There was nothing remaining now but his pants. A blush crept on his cheeks as his hands passed over the laces. With a sheepish glance and a single note of nervous laughter he turned his back to the woman, fingers fumbling over the leather. Clumsily he unlaced himself, getting his fingers caught in his haste once or twice, but soon the pants became loose and he shrugged out of them. He glanced over his shoulder with a crooked grin, his face still decidely flushed.
Fully unclothed the man's body began to lower and morph. First were his feet which turned into large paws. The bones in his legs popped as they shrunk downwards. His spine crackled as it bent, his upper body becoming bulky as his mane grew, darkened, and thickened. The brown saddle on his back stained his hips as it extended to cover a larger area of his body. When his hands touched the ground they became the bestial paws of the luperci secui form. With the change complete he shook out his pelt, turning his head to glance over his shoulder once more before facing her. He'd kept nothing but the silver sun amulet during the change and there it hung on his cream chest.
He pawed his head a moment, as he often did in optime, the habit remaining with him even while shifted. "Apology accepted." The tawny wolfdog grinned, wagging his tail. He turned away from her a moment to nose and paw his clothing into a heap next to his pack. When he returned he promptly sat in the grass, wrapping his doggish tail about his paws. His ears twitched and perked and he listened to her. "I hope you mean interesting in a good way." He teased. He sighed, however, when she asked after him.
"Well, like I said...I'm a bastard. I never knew my father... or my mother as a matter of fact. She died shortly after I was born." His hazel eyes, possibly the most telling about the man were sad, mourning the family he'd never had. "This..." He lifted the hollow sun pendant for her to see with a paw. "this pendant, it was hers. The only thing I have of hers, actually." He lowed his leg to let it fall gently back to his chest. One of his brown ears twitched absently. "She reached my father's clan just before she gave birth. After her death the Beta of the clan, Eirick, took me in. He didn't have to, but I guess he pitied her, or maybe he felt obligated because of my father? I don't know." His voice was soft, contemplative for a moment as he pondered the man's motives. "I wasn't really treated like family, however...I slept under the house." He continued in his softly accented voice, nonchalant as if it truly didn't bother him; another front. "When I was old enough, he sent me away to live with the warriors. I hated it there, but the training gave me some solace. It was all I had, really."
"I trained with them for months, it was a tight regimen. But, I can't say I didn't benefit. I know quite a bit about combat. We're trained with all sorts of weapons, and by the time we come of age, we have to choose what we like best. I know everything from hand-to-hand, to daggers, to two-handed swords, to bows...but I've uh." His gaze fell to the ground and he peered up at her beneath his lashes, flashing her a crooked grin. "never been all the good with..ranged." That was an understatement, but he was still far too embarrassed to elaborate. The arrow had been a pain in the ass to get out, a literal pain in the ass, and the woman hated him for it ever since...
He shrugged casually and continued."I left only about a month ago...just after my first mission." He left it at that, voicing nothing of his sudden departure, or what it was that had happened during the mission that had made staying so unbearable. "It was hard to leave, what with the war still raging, but...I made it here, surprisingly." He nosed the map and grinned sheepishly. "I'm uh...not really the best navigator."
"So, what of you, my lady? Surely someone as gorgeous as you must have quite a few tales to tell." He lowered himself to lay, gazing at her attentively, eager for whatever she may have to share.
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