The woods were dense...terribly dense, so much so that it seemed as night beneath their overlapping leaves, while the midday sun beamed out above the canopy. The tall werewolf padded thoughtfully beneath the claustrophobic darkness of the woods, listening intently to the silence of this dark place. He was troubled, and so took bliss in the privacy of such a place. He could have taken another route north, but had chosen this to give himself time to think.
Soro had wanted to accompany him, the younger were felt a terrible guilt that Asmodai couldn't imagine after his mistake in their last encounter. The fang marks on his left arm were a stark reminder of that day, two weeks ago. The bite had gone deep, for the wolf who'd bitten him had been thickly built and powerful, but he felt the wound healing day by day. Soon he would recover, and then he could take his younger cousin to do what they had come here to do. To complete the task they'd been charged with a year and a half ago, the task which had gotten three of their party killed already. He had told Soro to travel apart from him, that two wolves like themselves should not be seen together to allay suspicion.
That incident...it haunted him still. Varn...damn it, Varn. You should have been a match for him. For any of these people. You are one of the greats from Gray Claw, none of this rabble should have been your better. His thoughts did not do his mentor justice...losing to someone did not make them your better...it could have just as easily been luck or a misstep. Nevertheless, he preferred to mask his remorse with a thin layer or resentment, which helped him to remain functional despite the loss of his long-time friend and teacher. The wolf who had slain him...he had been a monster, but an adept of Gray Claw should not be defeated by someone who fought with such ill form. The wolf with the mixed-coat found a ray of sunlight which shone down through a hole in the canopy as the earth beneath his feet began to angle downward. Moving to stand in the light, he closed his eyes and lifted his face to the sun. This tale of travel and tribulation would soon come to an end, he knew. He only needed to wait a little while longer, and he could go home.
She had been moving through the forest quietly as she watched the birds flit from tree to tree and off into the shadows. Her ears flicked from side to side as the constant calling of the small feathered bits of prey tried to tease and taunt her from their heighty advantage. It was fairly easy to ignore them as she wasn't hungry and there wasn't much on them to even make a meal. She shook her head at the annoyance overhead as she continued on her way.
It had been weeks since she'd visited her family in Twilight Vale and she'd wanted to check on her kin to see how they were fairing. She wondered how time had passed so quickly when she'd barely even returned to the lands. She shook her head softly as the birds continued their verbal assult as she broke into a patch of sunlight. Stopping for a moment she gazed upward trying to catch sight of one of most charming twittering featherbrains.
She snarled at their shadows and shook her head, wishing they wouldn't alert the world of her presence when she was just trying to go about her way peacefully. Raising her head all of a sudden she caught the scent of another and paused, her head turned slightly as she called out.. "Hello?" she could feel her fur bristling along her neck as she felt like the whole world was watching her at that moment, the chittering jays weren't helping.
He opened his eyes at her voice, his peaceful reprieve from the outside world seemingly over. Looking down from the hole in the canopy, he focused his senses on the direction the voice had come from. He moved silently, despite his size, until he emerged into a new sunbeam, nearby the woman who had spoken. Looking at the smaller wolf, he bowed slightly, as if in introduction.
"Greetings, white lady. It would seem that I am not alone in seeking solace here today. Forgive my intrusion into your piece of the woods." In truth, he felt like his own privacy had been invaded, but he understood that in this place she could not have done so intentionally...she certainly hadn't spied him from afar, so this was a chance meeting only. That was for the best, he didn't want to draw undue attention, and slowly easing into the territory was important...meeting a few people to learn the culture before becoming fully immersed was crucial to not sticking out. Not that he couldn't afford people to know his face...it was his intent that he needed to keep secret; Soro had demonstrated inadvertently what happened when that intent became known.
"This is a very dark and quiet, some might even say oppressive, place to hide that white coat of yours. What motivates a woman like you to surround herself by shadows like these?" His tone was calm and casual...just enough so that it seemed unfeasible that any added energy or motive worked behind it, that it was utterly sincere. Asmodai was not lying to her, but he was presenting a facade that wasn't quite truthful...a layer of misdirection which he could wear until he was done here, something kind and sympathetic which those around him could connect with until his duties here were done. There was no malice in this, it was a tactic meant purely for his own safety until his job was done.
She was indeed surprised when the male showed up out of nowhere, but she held her own and watched the male that was towering above her. She sat silently for a moment before giving him a nod of greeting, her voice cool and clear as she answered him politely. "Hello to you too, though I lay no claim to these woods, you're welcome to wander them just the same.." She smiled softly as she looked about the lands, the woods were indeed a place to seek peace and quiet, though the darkness seemed to creep about them, shadows and shades to make it seem less than what it really was. Shaking her head at the thought she pushed the idle evils from her mind and settled back on her haunches and turned her eyes to the werewolf before her.
With his words she raised a brow and asked him quietly. "What makes you think I'm hiding in these lands?" she turned her eyes to the scape around her before continuing. "Besides, it's only dark and dangerous if you believe it to be, there's nothing to fear of shadows and dappled light.." she knew she should be worried by the way the male spoke, but his demeaner seemed to show no plans of the darkness he spoke of and so she ignored the tinge of warning and watched and waited.
"This seems to be an out of the way place, with darkness in ample supply. Whether it is your intent to hide or not, the shadows hide you...I tried to impart a compliment, but I'm afraid I might have been too indirect." He flashed an easy-going smile before sitting down, the straps of his human back sliding from his shoulders. The equipment there was not heavy, but the synthetic material rubbed uncomfortable against his fur at times.
"As for nothing to fear, I must say I disagree. You found me, didn't you? What if I'd been dangerous? If you missed me, you could have missed anyone. Darkness hides things, and so when we fear it, what we truly fear is missing something vital to our safety." Said with a different tone, or by someone with a different demeanor, this might have been interpreted as a veiled threat, but Asmodai's outward persona, as well as the fact that this was spoken just after he had seated himself, made this interpretation less likely.
He breathed deeply, the scent of the forest pervading his nostrils. The scars on his belly did not impede his breathing...they had been healed for a long time, nothing more than lines of shiny pink skin. He would like it more here if the light shone through more frequently...hopefully he wound find more pleasing forests further along his path.
She sat and watched him, studying him as he spoke of her faults in belief. She raised a brow and kept her mouth sealed, noting how he seemed to be friendly enough though something about him still screamed that there was a darkness about him. Just, the way he spoke, the things he pointed out and making certain she knew her value of safety wasn't up to par. She grumbled mentally about how she always seemed to run into the males that believed she needed protected, but still she said nothing.
The silver and gold female watched him as he began to relax and show signs of being trustworthy, though that wasn't what bothered her, she never thought from the start that he was untrustworthy, he'd just given her a spook. She shook her head as she settled down opposite from him and spoke up. "Well, luckily I don't bother fearing because for the most part the wolves around here aren't something to fear. Unlike you I know most of the members of this territory. You would be the one I'd worry about, not anyone else who might happen upon me." she eyed him a moment, taking in his human pack and the way he sat there so confident in these strange surroundings. "Where are you from, it's obvious you're not from around here..." the scent, the sight, there were strange things about this male, not exactly scary, but not exactly family material either.. atleast, not to the first interpertation.
"Ah, well, that is a comforting thing, to know your neighbors. I'm a traveler myself, I have been for a good while now, ever since my pack disbanded a few years ago. I usually feel a little on edge, never knowing who I'll meet up with, so I like to walk on two legs...I've been gifted with a large body, obviously, and shifting to my full size seems to discourage violence towards my person, though last time I wasn't so lucky," he held up his right arm, letting the healing fang marks between his shoulder and elbow show in the light.
"A simple misunderstanding," he said with a tone like he was delivering an unfortunate bit of news, "He was a new member to his pack, a little quick to the fang and forgot where the territory border was drawn. It worked out in the end, everyone walked away. Still...a little more caution and goodwill might go a long way in some parts of the land. You say you know a lot of people here, are they friendly? Or should I expect to be on edge a little while longer?" Smalltalk was nice enough, he hadn't spoken so with a woman in a good long while, though he wasn't about to get any ideas. He wasn't here to make advances, nor was he here to make any one else uncomfortable. No...he had business, and then he could leave. The best thing would be not to make ripples before then.
She sat quietly while he explained everything, she was polite but didn't offer her thoughts on much. She could see very well that he had been gifted in height and body tone but she knew as well that always didn't prove to be the best, except when it came to fighting, and sometimes even then it failed the owner of said body. She flicked her eyes to his arm and stared at the scars for a moment before being reminded of her own scars and flicking her gaze away she kept her ears perked for the explaination.
When it came it was to be expected, the simple things of youth and muscle over mind. She could have expected it anywhere, youth was where you gained wisdom and sometimes it came at the hand of stupidity. A slight smile ran across her lips as she thought of that idea before speaking up on his question. "You can't blame the youth, I bet at one time or another you were younger and too quick to prove your worth in the eyes of another. Sometimes it's not easy to come by wisdom and mistakes have to be made to gain knowledge." she grinned and joked slightly. "Besides, most of us don't like to admit our faults, and you're luckier than most, your senior packmembers aren't here to point out your own youthful mistakes. Some of ours still are.." Her eyes danced at the humor of remembering some of her more foolish moments before she moved a step closer to the male.
She turned to gaze towards the territories beyond before shrugging at how they were like. "Well, for the most part as long as you mind their borders and don't go looking to be rude the most of them can be pleasant. Some of course can be a bit grumpy and gruff, but that's just who they are. Just.. watch out for the coyotes, they can be foul from time to time but not all of them are bad.. given half a chance." She knew she was giving the coyotes too much credit, though she also knew if you didn't approach them looking hostile that you could find yourself with a somewhat friendly face and be able to relax for the moment. She knew it wasn't always true though, which she thought was sad.
"I suppose your right," he said, returning her smile with one of his own. "I made my share of mistakes when I was younger, though I do like to think that I learned from them, and make far fewer any more." As for senior members...he had been around one until quite recently. He had worked hard to earn something of an equal status with the older member of his family, though the other had never gone out of his way to make it hard for his younger cousin. He valued that relationship a great deal, and had been looking up to the elder for a long time. Life took cruel turns, sometimes.
"Coyotes, huh? Well, I'll mind my manners, then." The idea of coyotes being a threat to wolves seemed laughable, given that most of the time any hostilities quickly ended with homeless or dead coyotes. It wasn't their fault, really...coyotes in general were doomed to lose against wolves, they were smaller and their social structures were too small to compete with wolf packs. Nevertheless, if Iskata said that the coyotes were the danger here, then he'd keep an eye out. After all, he certainly wasn't looking for trouble. This told him something important, though. The wolves here were tolerant. The prevailing society here couldn't be dog-eat-dog if coyotes were the meanest things around.
"So...I suppose introductions are in order. I am called Asmodai. What of yourself?"
Iskata grinned as he admitted his own faults and mistakes in his time. Her gold shot sky eyes shone with humor as she listened to him, remembering her own times as a youth and the things she still did from time to time. She chuckled softly at how he phrased the words. She raised a brow as teased. "You're not getting cocky with age now are you? Still believe you can make mistakes from time to time?" she knew she shouldn't be joking and teasing the male since she barely knew him, but anyone who could admit their faults couldn't be that bad. Maybe with time he would grow to be able to laugh at his mistakes and share them, who knew.
When he finally introduced himself she bowed her head in a gesture of greeting and smiled, softly releasing her name for the male. "Iskata Sadira." She didn't know why she still went by the surname, everyone else it seemed to be attached to didn't really care or want to be connected to it. She should just do the same, but she'd never had any real reason to, she had no problem with her name, not one thing. You could also just say she was stubborn as hell too.
She raised her eyes back to gaze at the male and asked, "So what brings you here?" she was rather curious how al lthese strangers did find themselves in this land when there where so many other places to end up. Why here, or how here? It looked so deserted from the outside, why would one even want to stop on these shores and trampse through the woodlands...
He smiled at her jest, happy that she could feel at ease around him. That would be very important. He couldn't afford for the people around here to be fearful of him, no more than he could afford to be seen as abnormal. He had a job to do, and he would have the patience to get it done...he just hoped that he would have the time he needed.
"I think the best word for it might be luck. I would never have traveled if my pack stayed together, but once I did, I found that there was a certain joy in the freedom of wandering. You see all manner of places, meet all kinds of people, and hear the very best stories. I think that every person should try it at least once, even if they feel happy at home...it's an indispensable experience, in my view." This much was true. Though he had suffered great, grievous loss during his journey--a loss which he did not hint at in his speech--he had undeniably gained a great deal also. He did not regret the journey; he might wish he had gone alone, but he did not regret the journey.
He had met many people during his journey, done good as well as questionable things, and gained and lost much. Soro was like a brother to him now, their bond had strengthened immeasurably since leaving Gray Claw. His relationship to his mentor and even to Muaru had improved as well, though he regretted not having spoken with Lonna more often before she passed. No...one lived and one learned. The format of a journey allowed one to move ahead, to avoid being bogged down by past mistakes as could so easily happen in a static environment when the trees and the air and the faces never changed, but to move ahead and forge forward. He had learned a lot from all this. Sometimes he wondered...did he even want to go back?
She nodded in agreement as he spoke of the experience of travel and learning, of the stories one learns and the people you'd meet. She knew from her own travels exactly what he meant and she knew it could be a valuable thing to have as an individual. Grinning at the memories of her first real trip into the unknown, past the small rural pack settings she spoke. "I know what you mean, some of the others and I are gathering to create our own pack.. I think it could be a grand thing to have the young ones go out on their own adventure before settling down in the pack.. Sometimes they assume they know the whole of things to learn to late they don't." She turned her gaze away for a moment towards the direction of home as she admitted. "My children did just that, atleast a few of them. I believe they are wiser for the travelings.. One still roams so it looks like he hasn't found enough of the outside world yet." She shook her head slightly, wishing he would return but knowing he had his own life to live as well.
She stretched out her legs as she grinned, wondering where in the world her children's paths would go next or if they were going to settle here. She shook her pelt to rid some of the dirt from it as she asked, "So is this the part of just passing through or settling for a while?" She really did like to know the wolves that lived around her world, but even if she didn't it was sometimes great to see what was out there in the eyes of another. "Seen anything interesting past our lands?" She was mightly chattery today and she knew that, but where else was she going to learn what else was out there, she wasn't about to head out there anytime soon.
Ah, she agreed with him. That was pleasing, to know that others believed as he did. He doubted that most would journey so far as he had, at least not without some sort of goal they strove for. He knew that there had been times when he would have turned back if not for the driving purpose of the expedition. He was worried about Soro, though. Would the younger even want to go back after all that had happened? With all that guilt weighing so heavily on his shoulders...
"I don't know," he answered, looking up towards the canopy and smiling slightly, "If the entire place is like this, I might pass, but provided you have a little more sun, and a few more as friendly as you, it might not be a bad place to settle for a while." Certainly, if her manner was the norm, it would be a welcoming place, indeed. He and his cousin could benefit from such a place after their ordeal.
"As for anything of interest, certainly, yes. I've seen vast herds of grazers that could run faster and with more elegance than any wolf, the woven history of the Narrowglen Quilt, and the vast irrigated fields of the Halbien pack. I've met one of the fearsome Hounds of Ponnud, I've spoken to the Seer of Rennich Mountain, and walked over the shallow graves of over a hundred wolves in the Princes' Cemetary. I've heard tales featuring figures that I would never have heard of back home...characters like the monster Targul from the south, or the Golden Warrior from the north. The world is a big place, and there are many things I am pleased to have seen during my walking of it."
She grinned at his words, she knew quite a few who were just a friendly and welcoming as her, though there were also just the same ones who wished nothing more than to be left alone. When he spoke of a bit more sunlight she chuckled as her eyes sparkled, her words warm as she answered. "Oh you've just picked one of the worst spots to start your journey in. You should try the beaches.. all the sun you could want and the gentle lull of the ocean. There's not too many places as dark and dank as these lands.. except maybe past the coyote clan's lands.. it's like a bare wasteland there." She shook her head, remembering the lands that she'd journey'd through to find the beaches on the otherside, remembering those she gave hint to the wonders on the far side of the deserted lands. "Though there are beautiful beaches past the desert lands too.." She liked the lands they'd settled in but it wasn't the old home she knew, all they could try was to make it into something more than it was.
She sat quietly as she listened to him speaking of the places he'd been and the wonders he'd seen. With a shake of her head she admitted, "I've been to the port towns and see the wonders of the different cultures mixing there.. but never off to their lands and to see what home was like in anothers eyes.." She was a bit jealous of the male but she also knew unlike her son she wasn't one who could go on forever wandering and be happy. She needed to settle down and find home, to built something with her hand and pour her heart into it, knowing it was hers and spending her life watching it grow. That's why she dreamed of the pack that was to come one day, some day. She smiled at him and offered him her friendship, as well as their pack, if oneday they were able to get off their feet and finally belong. "If you ever do decide to stay.. you're always welcome to seek us out.." She felt a little shy at offering the newcomer a place, but he seemed a decent soul and they could use the help and friendly face around the lands.
OOC: This was fun. I look forward to their further interaction, especially once the pack starts up =)
IC:
"Beaches, you say?" He smiled at that. He had not known of the ocean until recently, and if he could carry it with him, he would gladly do so, having the sight of the ocean horizon and the sound of the surf always nearby. Indeed...having beautiful beaches was an excellent boast, and not one he would take likely. He expected to spend quite a lot of time around those beaches, if Iskata spoke truly.
"I will certainly need to see those, though I may pay you a visit once I'm finished looking around. You have been very helpful, I thank you, Iskata." With that, he nodded, and went on his way, leaving the white lady to what business she had in this dark corner of the land. It may be a place in which she wanted to linger; not so for him. He would explore some, before reuniting with Soro and comparing information. He expected that Soro, being more eager and wanting distance between the two of them would move faster, and be further north than he was shortly. They could compare information, maybe he would take Soro to some of these beaches. Perhaps there would be time to visit Iskata, as well.
She smiled as the once stranger now a known wonderer was getting himself ready to depart. She noticed how he seemed to perk up at the mention of the beaches, though she herself could understand that as well. Beaches were just a magical thing all in themselves, day or night they were so amazing that sometimes they just took your breath away. She nodded as he questioned her once on the beaches and then he seemed lost in his own little world for a moment before returning to the real dark forest around them. She was quiet while she waited for him to gather himself once more, a polite action if anything at all.
She smiled softly as he addressed her finally before deciding that it was time for his parting. She spoke softly before he'd turned away. "Well, I won't hold it against you if you find something even more interesting out there than these humble hills and valleys." She shugged it off for a moment before she watched him began to gather for some more adventuring. She didn't really expect to see him again but if she did she'd be glad enough, the male didn't seem to be any sort of threat. She didn't know many dark souls who could appreciate the beauty of the beaches then turn around and seek to destroy an innocent soul. She hoped she was right about him though.
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