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Post by Joliette Thorne on Jan 24, 2009 7:14:37 GMT -5
--Somewhere, In The The White Lands--
Tanaraq lifted her face, brown and wrinkled as a walnut shell, toward the white haze of the icebound sky. A light breeze ruffled the fur at the edge of her wolfskin parka, bringing with it the smell of a storm. Two days away, maybe little more, a little less. They should make it to Frostmaw and back by the time the worst of it came. She hoped.
"I'm getting too old for this, Suluk." The white bitch crouched at Tanaraq's feet wagged the ivory, plume-like tail she was named for, her pale blue eyes intent on her mistress' face. "Too many winters now; my bones aren't fit for soup." With a sigh that huffed white from her mouth, the elderly woman packed the last of the meat, hides and pelts on her sled.
With so many strange hunters roaming the land of late, the game had gone skittish and in general was hard to come by. Too, her advancing age meant she was no longer able to hunt bear or wolves with skill, and with both her sons dead and gone to the Land of the Sun years ago, there was nobody left to help her. The old trapper had more than once heard her ancestors whispering in the thick, warm darkness of her felt tent at night, telling her that she was too elderly and hungry to stay in the mountains anymore, encouraging Tanaraq to strip off her clothes and walk into the snow naked, to join them in the temperate comfort of the spirit-world.
"Piss off," she'd tell them. "Come hiss at me when my limbs are warming the belly of a wolf."
But today, with so little to trade, and the threat of the storm driving the few animals remaining from her snares and pits, she feared she might be more inclined to listen, when sunset faded the sky from white to grey.
The white bitch, her belly so gravid it brushed the snow as her paws sank into the drift, whined gently and nuzzled the old woman's hand.
"You can't come with us, Suluk." Tanaraq said quietly, her tone implying that she fully expected the animal to understand every word. "You're to whelp any day now. Stay, I left you meat."
Frozen under snow was the supply of nearly spoiled moose meat. It should keep the dog alive, for the few days Tanaraq would be gone. "Desna, Pakak and Tiglikt will pull the sled without you, though we'll probably end up in a river without your keen ears to guide us over the ice." The bitch's head was stroked fondly, a rare gesture of affection. "Stay, and have your babies in safety."
Suluk lowered her head, her short ears flicking back against her broad skull while she circled in the snow. Soon she was curled up, a bright white ball of fur nearly invisible on that ground, with her tail wrapped tightly across her black nose. The pups wiggled in her belly, but she was too comfortable to shift, and would only raise her head once, sadly, to watch her team-mates being lashed into the sled's harness.
The three remaining dogs, all male, snarled the usual challenges at one another, as harness-brothers do, an extra element of aggression added as the males vied for the position of lead dog in place of Suluk.
"Mush!" Tanaraq snapped the tug-lines and the dogs, fights forgotten for now, heaved forward as a single unit, eager to dash away into the tundra's vast, white distances.
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Post by Joliette Thorne on Jan 25, 2009 7:23:39 GMT -5
--Frostmaw Tavern--
Leoxander didn’t quite have the same screech-to-halt effect, here. The door creaked on it's frozen hinges, a winter wind the first to enter, flickering the flames dancing in aged lanterns. He planted his arm against the door and held it open, the edge of his jaw tense in determined, angry angles, glimpsed from beneath his white snow-flecked hood. A gentleman for once, he sought to make things up to Tenebrae, not only by holding the entryway clear for the lovely necromancer, but in the cryptic demand that came next. "Point him out." Yes, he'd take care of things, one way or another.
She'd hardly have been recognised as that same girl he'd woken up with on the ship. Far from the feminine now, she was dressed in rugged gear more suitable for a march across icy tundra than lounging on feathered cushions, in leather and fur of nondescript colours and her cloak clasped tightly about her shivering frame. Tene slipped past the rogue's tensed arm with a slightly incredulous sideways glance... Opening doors, now? Not that she was at all complaining. As to his demand, the grim look on Leo's face was one she knew well, and there was only one present in this tavern who might have earned it. Tene turned her face toward the bar, wincing a little at the flatly stoic stare of Drargon, and a white finger poked out of her cloak. "'s'im there."
Leoxander turned his head to follow the point, slowly. One might notice that subtle twitch above his lip, crinkling a corner on his nose. The moment she was inside, he let the door fall shut, using the momentum of a step down onto the tavern flooring to break into a run. That sprint carried him to the bar before anyone realized what was going on (not that the place was entirely crowded), and he jumped. Crouched in mid aid to sail over the bar and come to land... on Drargon's chest. Pans, bottles, an entire shelf of silverware and plates... it would all scatter from the impact.. because giants aren't very quick creatures, by any means. More or less, the retired warrior wouldn't even have time to grab his trusty axe, which made a hell of a sound as the enormous thing hit the hard floor. Two separate blades had been removed from their sheath before he even landed on the bartender, arms criss-crossed to scissor either blade at his throat - and pause. This was the moment the old giant would likely become still, though thoroughly enraged at being assaulted in his own bar. "You move and you'll be blind in both eyes..." Leo growled, and this is how his interrogation of Tundra lands would begin.
Tenebrae only had time to suck in a breath that was to become a little sound of dismay when she released it-- the rogue was so fast that her slower senses had trouble following his motion across that room, and he had the giant in a checkmate move before she could say a word. "Cap'n..." Her furred boots scuffed across the boards, as quickly as her heavy garb and pack would let her, gaining his side. "He meant no harm by anything." The vicious frown Drargon wore, the way ham-sized fists expanded and contracted, as if in anticipation of crushing skull and ribcage, might have made her statement seem somewhat redundant, but she'd continue, "He was just lonely, love. Missing his wife." Tene's turn to be the subject of that brutal scowl now. And that she was wearing his dead wife's cloak probably wasn't helping matters.
Leoxander took full advantage of those dishonorable, preemptive attacks. He ignored the massive fist that pounded the floor in threat, like he ignored the ache in his ankles from the impact of taking down the giant (feasible only because of lycan status), and pushed the knife hard against Drargon's cold skin. It wasn't often people were there to actually start some trouble. "He still owes you a damn apology..." Leo swore hard through his clenched teeth, glaring fiercely into his ice cold eyes. "Maybe even a favor." That came a little more manipulative, a brow slightly lifting behind the mess of hair in his eyes, hiding some of that scowl. Lifting his jaw just a notch, relaxed his knees against the tender spots that kept massive arms fairly immobile, but remained prepared to sink a serrated blade into his neck, at the first sign of disagreement.
Tene knew -that- tone, too-- they'd been together years enough for subtleties and nuances to start the cogs and gears of her own criminal mind turning. "Sweetheart..." Drargon looked as though he had no intention of offering Leo anything but the lycan's own ass on a platter. Time for the maiden-in-distress routine. "Please... don't harm him. A man so full of grief can hardly be blamed for wanting company.." Sympathy all but dripped from those green eyes. "I have to admit, I was.. a little frightened." Her gaze rested on the giant, whose own eyes were briefly sharp with an old pain. "I'm sure he's sorry, for scaring me so. Aren't you, Drargon?" The last question was soft, breathily hopeful. There'd be a long and tense silence before the keep nodded his massive head- carefully, slightly- and spoke, a rumble of regret in his tone, though his eyes shifted stonily toward Leoxander. "Arr, oi deen' meanta skeer yer none, Miss Tene, 'as fer sher." More silence. The necromancer patted Leo's arm. "And I'm sure he'd be happy to make the peace with some... little gesture, or.. other."
Leoxander was fully content to play the 'bad villain' role. He didn't quite have the looks and charm his significant other had been blessed with. Managing to stay in character the entire time, Leo didn't take his eyes off the bartender, mouth quivering with a low inaudible growl to make him seem all the more menacing. And, as survey seems to say, intimidating is definitely something the rogue can manage well. Even this massive warrior might understand who holds the upper hand, because of his quick strike. "Damn right you didn't. You're lucky she likes you..." One blade twisted away would aim in a point toward Tenebrae, and he knew that the comment about her appreciation would be just enough to win the fool over. Cautiously, he removed the other knife, quickly rising to stand with his metal 'fangs' held tightly against his wrists, just in case Drargon didn't get over his only injury, to his pride, quickly enough. He knew that he wouldn't every be welcome to have a drink in that place again... but he also knew his mate would have that beast eating out of the palm of her hand. She played sympathy better than she flirted. He'd sheath only one dagger, to empty one hand, in order to steal a bottle sooner or later when the tender wasn't paying as much attention to him.
Tenebrae watched with bated breath as the danger was diffused, exhaling only when the still very disgruntled Drargon did not reach for his axe. She'd take a hasty step between the giant and Leo, just to be sure -- giving the thief ample opportunity to swipe a drink, while Drargon's flinty gaze came to rest on the necromancer. "I didn't say thankyou, properly, for lending me this..." She lifted the corner of the cloak, tenderly. "... that was very kind of you. Of course, I shall have to give it back." Tene started to unclasp the garment, her body shivering hard as it slid away from form-fitting leather clothing. ".. I'll manage in the snow... somehow.." Her look of delicate resignation was more than the giant could bear, and though he'd manage a sideling scowl at Leo, his boomish voice lowered, "Eee, you keep'un, Miss Tene, fer the warmin' o' yerselve, ain' no goodter me n'more." There was a moment where Tene's sympathy almost panged genuine, and her own tone was kindly in reply. "We're missing someone, too, Drargon. A dear friend. My ... um.. Cap'n, there, and I, we'd grateful for a little help in finding out if he's been this way."
Leoxander made certain to look stressed as he took a seat at the bar, too... not that it would matter to Drargon but it could account for his temper. Honestly, he'd just wanted the chance to knock that son of a mountain into next week for messing with his mate. Only when they were deep in conversation would he duck his head to look dejected, actually biting out the cork from a bottle of warming ale. Not that he needed it, but it couldn't hurt to boost his temperature if he and Tenebrae would be hiking no man's land. Who knew that the giant, angered, wouldn't send them into ice cold terrain? On the contrary, that's what Leo was going for. The dog would most likely be in a place no one else had gone to discover his body, yet. A grim demeanor settled over the pirate to make his mood real, as he snuck a drink.
Tenebrae cast Leo a look that might help warm him a little, too-- a knowing, wicked look, because it always made her so.. happy... when they worked as a team, like that. But it was fleeting, the glimmer mellowing once more into a soft, dovelike expression when her eyes met with the giant again. "Our dog, Jack.. black, shaggy, big waggy tail." She'd hurry on, as the giant just blinked one sighted and one unsighted eye at her. "I know, all this for a dog, but he's.. well, he's family. We're eager to get him back."
Drargon shook his hoary head, leaning an elbow on the stone of the counter. "I dunno if'n yer chasin' oicicles in the sun thar, Miss Tene, 'tis p'werful chill up in'um mount'ns. Fair ketch me death'o'cold a'times, an' I war born ter'it." The still, sad expression she gave him, then, entirely genuine, must have kindled further kindness in the gruff colossus. "Bu' if any'uns ter know, it be thar wench o'the'hills, ol' Tanaraq. Nommuch she dun see 'r knw these parts roun'." Tene struggled to keep up with the giant's thick dialect, but caught the gist, and the name, brightening at even this faint hint of hope. "Where can we find her?" Dragron pointed a sausage-sized finger westward, "Gen'ral up o'er thar moun'n o'er thar, and off'n a ways. Yer be hard pressed ter foind 'er, oi be reck'nin', Miss, bein' trappin' season'n all."
Leoxander was listening, and he was drinking. It was a start. The cork shoved in what remained of his stolen bottle, the thief slipped that into his satchel carefully. He stood with a glance Drargon's way, eyes hidden under the shadows of his hood, which concealed most of his rugged features. "No hard feelin's, mate." A wry smirk, but it faded, because his feelings about Jack were genuine, too. If they didn't find the dog this time, Leoxander would solemnly accept that his best friend was simply.. gone. He turned, giving ample time for Tenebrae to bid her thanks and farewells, because none of this would come from the rogue. But rather than slip out the door, disappear, and catch up with her later, he waited loyally at the door, ready to open it for her again.
There were a few words of parting, a promise to return. It seemed the giant did hold some remorse for his hasty action in abducting the necromancer, and was pleased at the prospect. Of seeing Tene again, anyhow-- the way Drargon gripped the handle of his axe and glared at Leo, as the couple departed through that thoughtfully-held door, suggested those two might have further bridges to mend. Outside, Tene found immediate reason to be grateful that the taverner had let her keep the cloak, and soon was swathed in its warmth again, as little snowflakes drifted to decorate her ebon braid and the tip of her nose with delicate crystals. "West, he said.." It was all one big white wasteland, to Tenebrae, broken here and there by stands of forlorn-looking firs, rising to the blank, blue-ish sheen of the mountain peak. "Love..." It was a painful thing, to finally admit. Tene swiped a cold tear from her cheek. "...what if...?"
Leoxander turned abruptly. "Don't..." He was already thinking it - he didn't need to hear it. A hand went back blindly for hers, because in this storm, Leo wasn't going to risk it. Sure, those flakes were drifting, now... but the higher they went into this maddening terrain the more aggressive those winds would become, and the thief knew it. Every time she attempted to walk at his side, he was guiding Tenebrae behind him, where she would be limited to one view and would either like it, or not. More important than her preference was the fact she would be spared from the onslaught of ice, a position which he advocated well because of lycan advantages. West they went, and he paused from time to time to check on her, unwilling to leave her behind.
-- Center of Town--
Leoxander wasn't trying to make a fuss of it, but he noted her intolerance to the cold. Nothing he'd needed to worry about in the past. Rather than question it, as some do, Leo went for a solution. Alaza... dear Alaza, the merchant knew not what was coming when the lupine in disguised passed. He hesitated, motioned for Tenebrae to wait. Posing as an innocent man, he braced his hands together in prayer and wandered passed the crowd, selecting the most naive of the bunch. She might catch Leo whispering something into a buyer's ear, and abruptly the consumer became audible, demanding a refund on his recent wolf-fur purchased product. When.. just down the street... it was a good day's work cheaper! Outraged, the crowd nearby with their freshly owned products turned on poor Alaza, and while they were dealing with the problem, the pirate found a practical solution to some of his lover's dilemma. A few items handily borrowed, and they would be on their way. While down the road, Leo would be fitting Joliette with fur lined sleeves.
She'd watch the whole sting with vast amusement in her green eyes and not a small amount of affection, and as Leo departed the fracas he'd caused, and tugged her hand once, to indicate time to get out of the marketplace, she'd be hard pressed to hold back laughter. "You're really somethin', you know that?" Tene held still while he drew the sleeves up, enjoying moment free of the sadness that'd weighed them down for most of the journey so far. Swinging her cloak down over the new garments, she pressed a hasty kiss on him, and turned westward. "Man at the food stall was talking about a storm..."
Leoxander had met her reaction with a mild smirk, though her kiss coaxed a lopsided grin, in the end. "Somethin', alright..." His reply in a quiet murmur, before they moved on. Life was better, getting damn near perfect, but that would all depend on the outcome of their snow-bound journey.
-- Not Far From Town--
Sanmichel nods. "G'day, old friend...an odd place teh meet, wouldn'tcha say?" He rubs his forearms, trying to stay warm.
Tenebrae waved to the giant. "Sanmichel!"
Leoxander said to Sanmichel, "You could say that." He couldn't resist. Although he didn't seem to suffer from the cold, he spared a glance at his necromancer counterpart, sparing her a sympathetic wink. "How you doin' with this cold, Love?"
Sanmichel grins. "The lovely missus I ain't seen in ferever...good teh see yeh, miss!" He snaps his fingers and pulls a large satchel out of a middle cupboard. "Now this is a welcome back present...'n I won't even take a copper fer 'em" He hands down the satchel, his lazy eye wandering.
Leoxander acknowledged drifting spirits with no more than a wary look, shoving phantoms away from his shoulder in shrugs, now and then. "The hell're you doin' out here anyhow, mate?" His feral eyes returning to Sanmichel, a giant he actually liked.
Sanmichel shrugs. "Better now that I've seen the likes uh you two!"
Tenebrae, unbothered by the ghosts, gave the Cap'n a happy little smile, showing a wolf-fur sleeve from under her cloak. "Warm as toast." Toast left on the rack a bit too long.. but she wasn't gong to die of the cold. Yet. Sanmichel was given an equally happy grin. "Good to see you, it's been an age.. ohhhhh..." The satchel of jewels - she knew what they were, by the tinkling sound- was weighted by the strap. "Thankyou, dear."
Leoxander eyed the wealth obtained by the merchant, so easily offered to the fair Necromancer. If only he had her appeal. It was by some unexplained miracle that Leo tended to keep his hands to himself, and away from Sanmichel's products. "Don't s'pose you've got any of that south grown herb with you, out here?"
Sanmichel blushes a bit. "Been savin' up since you left...I ain't nary sold a one to Melbane er none of his competitors...And weed? Oh, I gotcha the weed, sir..." He opens up a dark clay pot and even in the bitter cold a heady aroma comes forth.
Tenebrae gave Leo a look that implied he should part with a little extra gold for that herb...
Sanmichel shakes his head. "Pah! Fer friends...it's nothin! I woanna hear of it."
Leoxander was way ahead of Tenebrae, digging fingers into the inside of his belt for a small pouch worth. Small, because he tended to pack his gold well, in small and handy compartments. It was tossed in good spirits (no pun intended, for those present), to the merchant. "Thanks, chum."
Tenebrae slid that look Sanmichel's way, and laughed softly. "You're too kind to me, San."
Tenebrae distracted the giant while Leo pulled a shifty.
Leoxander took advantage of Tenebrae's distraction, if it should take, to steal at least twenty gold pieces and a bottle of liquor back, in good nature. It was very likely even a giant could not predict his mischief coming.
Leoxander said to Sanmichel, ""Haven't seen a black mutt 'round these parts, have you?" Once he was clear of the infamous cart, of course. "We're on a hunt, if you will."
Sanmichel 's eyes crossed a bit at her smile. That laugh of hers....it's like there were bells in her throat. He blinks a bit and shakes his head. "What? Oh? Yeah, well, lookin' fer a place, p'rhaps, though this western part o' Frostmaw ain't the most desirable, o' course."
Tenebrae's smile faded a bit, at mention of the missing mutt.
Sanmichel screws up his face. "A liddle pup, eh? Nay, neither hide ner hair...He a brother o' yers of some sort, Leo?" His honest face looks down earnestly, unaware of any possible insult.
Leoxander drifted his lycan eyes west, ignoring the flecks of snow that found places on his nose, like the sun spots there. "You could say that..." He wouldn't deny it. Jack was, coincidentally, a part of his family whether he'd admit it or not. Last but not least, he returned his attention to the giant. "Anythin' to warm up the lady fairest?" A motion toward Tenebrae, as if there could be another worthy.
Sanmichel nods. "Maybe a liddle bit of the dark-elfie juice to wet yer whistle miss,eh? I keep it near the fire so it'll be warmish fer yeh." He pulls a bottle off the rack and opens the oven, offering a little bit of heat.
Leoxander sent an appreciative wink overhead toward Sanmichel. "You're pretty handy, mate. Just at the right time, too." Naturally, this sent the wheels in the rogue's mind turning. Handy enough that they would definitely want him around.
Tenebrae opened her mouth -- then closed it again, and simply nodded. "That'd be lovely, thankyou. We've come long way since we had a decent drink." She glanced east. "Nice town back there-- what about something in the trading district, for a place to settle, I mean? Drargon seems..." sidelong look to Leo. "Nice enough, for company. She settled her behind on a firm pile of snow, shushing to let the men talk business.
Leoxander replied with a chuff of breath, similar to the disgruntled sound a wolf might make.
Sanmichel pulls out a length of parchment. "Aye, there's a place right....." His index fingers makes a small circling motion until he finds what he is looking for. "...right here! Jest northa his place...be a nice place teh set up my own tent and a hammock and..." He stops mid-sentence. "Well o' course...I could use...for the hammock...If either of yeh had a sail yeh weren'ta usin'....I'd be happy teh buy it!"
Tenebrae craned her neck, as though to catch a glimpse of the map. "Oh, what a good idea... and we.. I think we have some spare sails..?" A questioning look to the Cap'n.
Leoxander stepped in to regard the parchment he would commit to memory, in a glance. It would definitely clarify a lot, when it came to navigating that icy terrain. The question pulled his attention, and his brow would furrow in response. Asking a ship captain for sails... that could go either way. "I might. But not without a price, mate. A true sail ain't no easy barter..." And here, he looked for Sanmichel's reply.
Leoxander said to Sanmichel, "Depends on how well you wanna sleep."
Sanmichel catches her look. "Yeh like this map? I could make yeh a copy, miss."
Tenebrae nodded eagerly, but kept quiet, for the sake of the bargaining.
Sanmichel grins. "Well there ain't no perfect bed teh be found fer me...a sail'd do me right...I could give yeh a map for it...not just of this land but of all of 'em...it's mostly right, fer the most part...I'm in the middle of redoin' it fer all a Hollow."
Leoxander squinted his eyes at Sanmichel, a friendly thump to the giant's arm given, for good measure. He'd be robbing the man no more. "I'm thinkin' a step higher. What say you come work for us?" Not a promising appeal, by any means... unless you counted the alluring Necromancer at his side. "I could bring you customers you wouldn't of dreamed of, mate."
Sanmichel stutters and blinks a bit. "Buh..the Cabal? Yeh'd want me in the Cabal? I..well...garsh, an oaf like me?" His lazy eye begins to spin double time. "Oi, I'd be whore than mhonored...MORE THAN HONORED." He tries to compose himself. "Sure!" His face begins to redden and not from the cold.
Leoxander couldn't help the grin that pulled onto his rugged features, beneath the hood that kept the snow from his tousled hair. "That ain't without a price, either, mate. Not without advantages, either. You give us a hand, we'll make sure you're bloody set for life." There wasn't any lack of confidence in the pirate's tone. After all, Leo was at sea, traveling across it, the only logical friendship seemed to be with a local merchant who often supplied his weed. A glance at Tenebrae, then back.
Tenebrae was up and off her chilled behind, sloshing through the snow in furlined boots, to tug at the giant's sleeve. "Welcome to our clan. It's like you always belonged, anyway." She was grinning ear to ear.
Sanmichel , a little too excited for words, wraps a meaty arm around both of his companions, lifting them up. "Yeh wun regret it, I promise." He realizes what he's doing and sets them down gently, a sheepish grin on his face.
Leoxander grunted as he was hoisted up into the air along side his female companion, pressing a hand insistently at the giant's shoulder. After all, he'd only recently run into a not-so-friendly confrontation with a frost version. "Don' mention it. Like I said, you be there for us... we're there for you." Not necessarily the spokesperson for the clan, itself, Leo could officially speak for the business, profit part of it.
Tenebrae was still laughing when her feet hit snow. "What about a drink, to celebrate?" Another of those sideways look to Leo, and she'd say, somewhat emphatically, "And I am sure you'll find good business opportunities with us. We do like to do things on the quiet, though..."
Sanmichel scratches his chin. "Why don't we be there fer each other in a proper tavern? This middle o' the road in the middle o' constant winter bidness is wearin' thin...to Drargon's! Whaddya say?" He stamps his feet, lilting from side to side.
Leoxander offered a shrug. Their search could wait a night more.
Tenebrae swallowed, her smile turning sheepish. She'd let Leo explain.
Leoxander wouldn't bother. "Go on. I'll have a chat with the bartender.." A motion for the two to head east, and he'd follow suit, planning that speech along the way.
-- Frostmaw Tavern... Again--
Sanmichel parks his cart just outside the back of the tent. He re-enters, carrying a small wooden box, full of bottles and mugs.
Leoxander made his way inside behind the giant, for good reason. The bartender - another giant of frost behind the bar, spared the lycan a rather dirty and unwelcoming look. For this reason, he chose a table far, far from the bar, and dug out a recently obtained clay pot along with a dark, obsidian pipe, stained with resin. "I'm gonna assume you're the sort to trust, an' all that. You know we don't take our information lightly, 'round here." He was speaking to Sanmichel, even lighting that pipe. Though 'here' meant another place, another gathering entirely, he knew the merchant was intelligent enough to understand.'
Tenebrae had snow melting in her cleavage, and would pause outside to sort that out in privacy. Stepping in, she scanned the room for the men. It was harder to spot a giant in here...
Sanmichel 's eyes flit back and forth between Leo and the giant. Always the peacemaker, he steps between them. "Drargon, I got it, mate...take the night off!"
Leoxander noted the attempt. More than that, he appreciated it, and that alone was rare from the pirate. He'd puff away at his pipe while watching the tender's reluctant retreat, warily. Oh but don't worry, Gods of Hollow... he wasn't going far.
Tenebrae eyed Drargon, half expecting trouble. "Back a'ready, oi see..." This to Tene, who gave him an almost apologetic wave. The old warrior looked to San Michel, "As long a'yer keep thar villain oe'r thar outta moi bloody till." Stony gaze to Leo, he'd grouch toward the back rooms.
Sanmichel waves in the direction of his departed frostbrother. "Well, now there yeh go! Allright, what'll yeh have! On the house, o' course! Anythin that kin be found in Hollow! And while I'm pourin', the two of you conspirators can tell me what you have in mind for me." He gives a rare knowing look. "Start with you, wolfie!"
Leoxander bit back his wolfish grin, but spoke through it for the reply. "Drink o'the sea'll do me fine, mate." Rum, of course, to any that knew a pirate. Or a pirate's brew, specifically. A glance toward Tenebrae, as he awaited her to join him at the table. "We ain't ever got one thing specifically in mind, but whatever it is, I promise you we got the force behind it. I've seen that cart of yours..." Cleverly changing the subject entirely, Leo was a firm believer of 'You show me yours, I'll show you mine'.
Tenebrae said, "Something to warm me up, please." She'd give Sanmichel a smile and shift into a seat beside Leo, snuggling close -- just for warmth, like-- and took a long breath, inhaling the sweet smoke secondhand. It was a scent she'd missed above all others, familiar and comforting. "What place will he take?" This was a whisper to the lycan, as the giant prepared the drinks. "In the .. you know..""
Sanmichel opens a new black bottle and pours a generous serving into a mug more suited to ale than a shot of liquor. "Aye, miss, not sure if I heard yeh but...my place?" He opens another bottle and pours one for the lady.
Leoxander moved a look Tenebrae's way, his lungs filled with smoke held purposefully, just for the effect of it. It would seep through his well defined canine teeth as he spoke. "We all play our part..." gaze drifting to the giant, then, as he noted the mug placed before him and exhaled the rest. "Seven of us. Nothin' we can't do. Anything you should need in life, this lot'll get. An' never a mention about it." It was a vague explanation for a vague employment, but that's how it went, underground.
Sanmichel pours his own. "Well that's a clear as mud...wouldna have it any other way, I guess."
Leoxander said to Sanmichel, "I'd hope not."
Leoxander drank his own, then.
Leoxander considered Sanmichel... the lazy eyed giant, with a thoughtful stare.
Tenebrae was subtle about the way she'd neglect the offered bottles of blood for the warming ale, the tankard taken between pale hands and sipped, gratefully. "Of course, you'll now be our trader, for your beverages and the like. Ship stock, the Corpse... the island." The ale did its job well, and she relaxed against the back of her seat, studying the giant over the rim of the large vessel, "...can I trust you to procure other things for the clan, save us tromping back and forth, being seen where we should not be seen?" She added, "Legitimate goods, of course."
Leoxander wrapped his arm about Tenebrae's shoulders in that consideration, finally aiding to her warmth once he was done smoking from the merchant's fresh stash.
Sanmichel pours the lycan another. "Seven...an interestin' number...like the seven, uh...sisters the mother abbess used to speak of at foundling home...the seven naughty sisters who were born teh wreck havoc, back when the earth was new."
Leoxander said to Sanmichel, "Not to mention, you'll have your first pick of what we bring in on the Eternity. Those're goods no other merchant'll have his paws on for some time, mind you..."
Leoxander paused to listen to the giant's recollection of a tale he didn't comprehend. "Somethin' like that..." he'd reply.
Leo might feel the way Tene perked up, at mention of the sisters. She did love a good tale.
Sanmichel grins. "Well, as fer not bein' seen..." He eyes himself up and down. "That's not really my specialty, anyhow! Aye, I'm up fer it! We merchants have our back doors inteh places...all hush hush, o' course."
Tenebrae would cough softly. "What sisters, Sanmichel?"
Leoxander fell quiet, deciding to pledge with a drink, instead. Tattooed knuckles paling as he gripped the handle of his tankard. "To the Cabal." he states firmly, giving a confident look to his lover, in the midst of it all.
Tenebrae raised her tankard, a look of fierce pride in peridot eyes as she knocked it against Leo's cup. "To Cabal."
Leoxander sighs... listening....
Tenebrae might sneak her free hand under the table to give Leo's knee a squeeze.
Sanmichel smiles, trying to remember. "Back before Sven was a babe/when the world was barely new/The sky did open one bright day/Seven sisters ran right through/The first , her hunger ne'er denied/the second full of ire/the third, a mirror in her hand/her gaze had heat of fire./The fourth with eyes ablazin' green/the fifth just lay about/The sixth weighed down with chains of gold/The last with her breast out/And ever since that day it's said/You'll wish they weren't born, mister/Them seven deadly ladies, friend/Dem's called the Seven Sisters!"
Sanmichel said, ""To the Cabal"
Sanmichel drank a deep grog.
Tenebrae set her tankard down and released the rogue's knee, so she could give Sanmichel a round of applause. "That was marvellous, really wonderful!" Chuckling softly, she added, "And very apt."
Leoxander only rest back in his chair with a deep satisfaction in his eyes, hearing the tale. One of the few worth hearing. He finished his mug and set it down on the table to be collected, an arm still devoted around the necromancer's shoulders.
Sanmichel shrugs. "I dun get the word 'apt' to describe me that often. Some things stick with yeh, I guess." A wistful look touches his face and is gone just as quick.
Leoxander sought Tenebrae with his gaze, in time.
Tenebrae took one more long swig of ale and looked to Leo. "Perhaps we ought to get going soon, love? It'll be pitch dark before we know it." Scraping her chair back once the thief released her from his arm, she nodded to Sanmichel. "Forgive us. Thankyou for the story, and the drinks. And.. I'm glad we met up today."
Sanmichel grins. "Besides, Cabal er no Cabal..." - He looks away from the two littluns groping in the dark- "..some parties are better left a duo...three can be a crowd, eh?"
Leoxander stood up with a look toward Sanmichel. Not necessarily apologetic, but one of those 'we'll-get-back-to-you' kind of looks. "We've some catchin up to do. More'a that rum'd do jus' fine at the 'Corpse." On his feet, his hand found hold of Tenebrae's. Since Drargon was out for the evening, he'd take advantage and lead her toward rooms, rather than a door. "But as she said, we must be going..." And off they went. Right to a tavern room, bumping into walls and snogging just before they should manage to get there.
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Post by Joliette Thorne on Jan 26, 2009 10:42:45 GMT -5
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Post by Joliette Thorne on Jan 26, 2009 10:48:39 GMT -5
--- Amazing View---
Tenebrae stopped to catch her breath, planting her palms on her knees. The going was getting rougher; what had been a light snowdrift when they'd started out again that morning had gradually become thicker, until now she could barely see Leoxander's white-clad back at all sometimes when he paced just a little ahead. It had been hours since they last found a hut or trading post to stop at and ask for sightings of Jack, or news of Tanaraq's whereabouts. The best they'd gotten in that regard was vague, one merchant mentioning he expected a delivery from the trapper within a week. He did, however, give them clearer directions to her regular haunts, and a pulse of hope at mention of her habit of taking in strays. The snow was deep and fresh enough that her legs sunk into it, and made progress even more difficult."H..hang on, love." The request was panted, "I just need a moment." Straightening, she squinted out toward what would have, in better weather, been quite the panoramic view. "Look... how far we've come."
Leoxander didn't want to look at where they'd been, he wanted to forge ahead. He'd become something of a mad man on that hunt, like a leashed bloodhound, struggling against the few feet he was allowed. Because a few steps more, and he'd have lost the Necromancer, by now. No matter how hard he tried to forge a path in the snow, it was simply too deep to account for much; it would cave in directly behind him and Tenebrae would still have to make the effort. Flecks of white dusted the pale hair in his eyes, his hood fallen back from the wind that became more infuriated, the higher they trespassed. "Joli..." it was also a struggle to keep the impatience from his voice, but so far, so good. He turned and brought her into his arms to try to heat her up, that white leather still warm against his chest. It would be much easier to hear him as he bowed his head to speak near her ear, but lifted his eyes to afford a brief glance at the amazing view. "We gotta keep moving. This cliff'll be ice come nightfall."
Tenebrae clung to that brief opportunity for warmth and comforting, before he'd feel the slight nod of her head. "We should probably look for easier routes... or even a place to hold up 'til this passes." Peering upward at the dazzling white of the sky, she sighed and brought her head back to rest on Leo's chest, one ear warming on the heat felt even through thick clothing. "I hate to think of him, out here in this..." The thought had her suddenly obey the rogue, break free of his arms and trudge ahead a few more steps, perhaps to prove to him she did have the fortitude to continue, until it became clear the path was divided Here, she'd pause and look back to Leoxander, as if hoping he'd have the answer as to which they should travel.
Leoxander followed her eyes to the sky, briefly. It just didn't compare to the sky above the sea, with double the stars spread all around them like they were lost in their own, private universe. The Gods would never know how badly he craved to show Tenebrae that. "He's not here... I'd have smelled that mutt by now." Directing his attention west, he squinted against the snowflakes that clung to his rugged features, but melted almost immediately giving his face the appearance of sweat. Staring up the slope of a dangerous ascent. "But the quickest way over this mountain is just that. Just keep hold of me..." It was risking so much, asking too much, to expect Tenebrae to agree and make that attempt, but the more time they spent in that landscape, the more convinced Leo was that there wasn't much time, if any time, to find Jack alive. This Tanaraq... he was certain she'd be more help than the frost giant. She could have the information they needed, about how far those snowbanks and frozen rivers went, and what she'd seen in her time traveling it.
Tenebrae kept the frown from her brow at the prospect of continuing the blinding, freezing climb. She had begun to doubt her capacity to keep going for too many more hours in these conditions, but there was no way she was showing Leo this fear, and not a snowball's chance in hell that she'd be the cause of them giving up on the quest for Jack. So, Tene clung to her rogue, grateful for the way his body blocked some of the wind. "Let's go." Her words were almost ripped loose from her mouth by a sudden, icy gust.
-- Along The Cliff--
Rudra mumbles quietly to himself, his eyes narrowed in suspicion as he fails to recognize the two newcomers upon first glance. Not offering a second thought, he continues to circle about the corpse of the imp and speaking in tongue most incoherent.
Leoxander didn't express how proud he was of Tenebrae. They both needed to save their breath for the climb. Along the cliff, he was a white object moving against snow flecked winds, head bowed with one hand clutching a hood down over his eyes. The other kept hold of the Necromancer, physically dragging her along the icy terrain when she couldn't find the strength to take that extra step. Every labored breath billowed the heat in front of his face, making it even more difficult to see, and it took more and more effort to plant well-gripped boots into each foothold. Then the path got narrow. Very... narrow. Leo noticed the dragon on the other side where it widened again, and the first word he bothered to grunt was not a pleasant one.
Tenebrae wouldn't notice Rudra right away at all, what with Leo's back and the snow cutting visibility of the path ahead to nil. And -- fortunately-- the extent of the peril they were in too, saving her the panic of pondering that treacherous path and its immense drop to gods-knew-how-many hundreds of feet below. All she knew was the rogue's constant grip, keeping her feet where his had been via sheer necessity of that, rather than understanding of what dangers lay scant footfalls to the side. So intent was she on forcing herself to walk and not be dragged, that Leo's get a sharp bump to his ribs when he stopped abruptly, the necromancer walking straight into him. "Oh... oops.. what...?" He'd feel an arm slide around his waist, as the woman peeked past Leo's narrow frame to look ahead for what had caused the pause. Was that... the vague outline of a dragonlike being was spied through a flurry of snow. "Uh..oh..." It was a whisper, and not a particularly happy one.
Rudra 's steps faltered once more as he felt stares of individuals not welcome boring into the back of his skull. Clutching eccentric garments to his humanoid form with ill grasps, the Broken One turns to meet the stares of the two. Moments seem to pass before he approaches the climbers, eyes squinted as a vague recognition overwhelms his shattered mind and his bitter disposition becomes even moreso, "Well, I never thought I would find treats so delightful in such a desolate place." His voice rings solid, pronounced over the howling blasts of wind that accompany the heights.
Leoxander muttered mostly to himself. "Son of a..." Was there a place in Hollow to escape that smell? Likely not. He risked a glance down, toward that perilous drop. One wrong step was enough... he knew those snow banks could collapse at any given moment. Sharp eyes dodged ahead, locking on the circling dragon, who seemed to be celebrating a kill, or taunting a small creature until it came to that point. There was a moment, glaring toward Rudra, where the rogue considered drawing the obsidian bow from his back. But instead, the warrior was headstrong to approach, and at once Leo separated from his mate to take those countering steps that would close the distance between dragon and lycan, all the sooner. "Unless you're looking to become a permanent fixture to this cliff side, I'd get the hell out of the way." Cracking knuckles were hardly a sound above those bitter winds, but the feral glare in his eyes revealed plenty about his patience, versus his willingness to fight.
On hearing a roughly familiar tone in the dragon's grumble, Tenebrae risked the slippery ice alone to scrinch her feet ahead to where her lycanthropine lover stood, once more risking a long walk off a steep path to peek around his tensed body, even if he put an arm out to ward her back. "Ohmygoodness.... Rudy?" Her voice piped this above the wind's wail. "S'at you, pet?"
Rudra 's lips curl to form a toothy grin upon his already savage expression as the finality of it all settling upon hearing the woman's call, "Ah yes, my precious Tene. It has been awhile, hasn't it?" The Broken One's gaze settles in on the woman's counterpart as his deductions bring him to recognize the assassin, "and your lesser half seems to believe a little snow, ice, and a rather long fall would put a permanent dent in my existence here. Has he always been this brash or is he just stupid?" An ominous laugh bellows from his stomach as the avatar unsheathes his blade, lined with ancient runes dripping with death and decay. His rage consumes him once more, his steps swift and sure even along the unstable path as he seeks to slay his own summoned servant once more.
Leoxander decided to fall quiet then. He let Rudra do the talking, which the dragon seemed inclined to do plenty of it. Mismatched eyes infused with vague golden halos followed every movement that was made, and the moment his hand should reach for a weapon, both rune-sleeved arms crossed over his torso to find the hilt of two, among many blades. They're never unsheathed, Leo won't jump to conclusions about his opponents intelligence, unlike the red eyed warrior. His laughing comments say plenty on the stranger's behalf. For as stone still as the lycan remained, the definition at the edges of his jaw and that slight crinkle in the bridge of his nose hinted his anger only barely contained. He drifted a slow and menacing look toward the Necromancer, that silent communication evolved enough that she will see the question in his eyes. Is he supposed to stand around and take those insults, that claim, just because this is Joliette's acquaintance?
Tenebrae winced. Twice. First at the ancient dragon's mockery of her lover, Rudra's words tangibly sticking like pins in the lycan's indominatable pride. And then again, when Leo's ambering gaze scraped its claws across her pale features, the outraged question stamped in it. "Uh... I.. er... Rudy....?" A wan little smile to Leo, and she'd wave to the dragon as he stalked the ice-wrought demonling. "D'you.. could you just... maybe you should apologise.." She swallowed. "To Leo. I mean... he's..." Her smile became brittle. "... not stupid, really, he just doesn't like..." The necromancer's words fizzled out lamely, at the end. "... dragons. Very much."
Rudra grunts loudly as he is carried, against his will, towards the lycan. One hand still gripping his runeblade while the other traces lines about the air just mere inches from the assassin's face with the aim to be cute as another voice seems to speaks from within the avatar, something ancient and horrible, "That very well maybe, but I have plans for this shell right here, yes." His steps retreat, opening the distance just enough to be out of arms reach, "So unless you insist on meeting an early demise due to the mutt's ignorant ways, then I suggest you tighten that leash and keep him under control."
Leoxander was too hasty for the talkative dragon. While that inward struggle ensues, the wolf is stalking - hunting. The agile assassin crossed the bridge in no time, beyond that half way mark to advance onto Rudra's so called 'offense', which would quickly assume the role of 'defense'. By the time he aimed confidently at the rogue, the runeforged blade was hit by durable steel, reinforced in - ironically - dragon fire, and sparked. That bright flicker would ignite his adrenaline, a berserker rush flooding through his mind, washing away all reason and empowering his body with endurance and strength worthy of a lycan... perhaps even a challenge for an ancient dragon. Tenebrae's voice was lost in the wind, as crossed daggers struck harshly at opposite angles, threatening to wrench the sword out of the warrior's hands if it caught. More importantly it should knock aside that dangerous aim that had been level with his heart, and leave one side open for opportunity. Especially since the Broken One challenged a two handed weapon against the speed of dual wield blades. Somewhere through the fury, he caught Tenebrae's desperate plea to 'stop!'.
Rudra carries himself, tried and true, as his feet backpedal and the expertise of the ancient shine as he wields the dark edge of insanity with surprising strength and speed. The clash of the blades meeting resonate through the air as blow after blow is parried by the large blade, luring the lycan into a peril unbeknownst to him as the chilly gale began to pick up. Moment after moment would pass as the air began to become thick with unforgiving cold and strength which layered itself upon the edge of the old God's blade as it became riddled with a strange magic from his opponent's blows. For a brief moment the air stood still, silence fell between the blades before the avatar pushed back into the offensive, something his defense had been striving for as the counter-attack was unleashed. A furious maelstrom erupted from a single point at the end of the runeblade which shattered that silence as the screaming chill sought to throw everything in it's path aside like rag dolls.
Leoxander was more in harmony with the blizzard winds than the ancient might expect. Camouflaged in white, his movements were a blur as he made the effort to parry and dodge every expert swing, and as luck would have it this evening - he succeeded. The high pitched sting of metal rang out again and again, and the relentless chill of bitter winds had the lycan literally steaming in his leather armor, from the intense body heat his rapid heartbeat caused. That rune engraved blade, alive with magic, extended out his way... and in that time Leo sheathed one dagger to draw another, less complicated in design, only a second needed for a quick handed task. The movement was fluid and barely detectable through the storm, but just before the wrath of the dragon's spell was unleashed from the killing end of his weapon, the knife was thrown low. Aimed to possibly impale itself in Rudra's thigh while he concentrated on destroying the lycan. That was his last attempt. He had no defense against magic, so naturally the rogue hit the side of the mountain hard - a good twenty feet back from where he'd been, and the snow came crashing down in a mild avalanche that would hide Leo far, far beneath it. A very improper burial, you might say.
Tenebrae was entirely powerless to do more than stand against the jagged ice crusting the mountain wall, and watch the ensuing battle, gritting her teeth at every shirr and ring of metal as the two men fought. She wished for neither to win, and for them both to win at the same time, knowing that neither male stood defeat easily, nor was inclined to quit in the heat of a fray. This would never do--- but further protestations were quelled by the thought that distraction might be the undoing of her mate. As the god-wrought blade shed its dire magics, something twisted inside her, a faint call toward some dark alliance that her mind shrugged off as one would shake a loathsome insect from one's hair, and then the power was released, a blast of deathly cold that would have left her a statuesque corpse, were it not for the fall of great chunks of the wall-ice, knocked loose, and before it the great depths of snow from the cliffsides above. "No..." White ate white, and Leo vanished, not half a blink before, "Oof!", the woman was herself thrown backward by the blast, her body a dark imprint in the pristine surface beside that pile covering her Cap'n, breathless and half-witted.
Rudra roared with an old fury as the dagger penetrated his simple garments, lodging itself within his flesh which caused a darkened ooze to line the wound and edge of the dagger alike. Lowering his blade, the old God reached, gripping the dagger and wrenching it from his thigh with a free hand and held it close as the pestilence that was his blood began pouring in a rivulet down his leg. Disregarding the physical state of his own avatar, he stalked towards the burial of the assassin as he stumbled somewhat between steps as the weight shifted to and fro. Finding the freshly made pile and satisfied by his work, his attention was turned towards Tenebrae and for a brief moment darkness vanished from the Broken One's pupils as the realization of his act hit him like his own magic. The old God was instantly overwhelmed as the compassion won back control, albeit temporary, and attempted crippling himself with the plagued dagger. His own flesh was shredded by the dagger in an attempt to slow the control Arrecation had over his body, "This... must... stop." He panted, gasping for air with each laceration as he tried to incapacitate himself, "I'm so... sorry, my precious. I... have not been myself lately." His shuddering frame collapses, finding a temporary solace within the snow with his struggle to right his wrong.
Leoxander will leave the ancient a scar to remember him by.
"Unnnngh....." Tene's head was reeling, the first sign she had survived the sword's icy furore being that sound, the second a hand that groped up out of her Tene-shaped ditch, to grasp at Rudra. It reached him, and came away stained with red. Another grunt of effort, a few bloody handprints in the snow, and the necromancer dragged herself upright, dazed enough to look around for Leo, before her eyes rested on the wounded dragon. "Rudy!" His name was a short gasp of dismay. "I'm.. so sorry, pet. Sh, it's alright now.." But where was... the memory of falling white returned, and she'd whip a sharp glance to the snowheap blocking off the path. "Oh gods...Leo." Dropping to her knees, her hands were soon shovelling gravity-compacted ice off of the pile, the woman heedless of the way it stung and then numbed her hands, sharper ice shards cutting shallow slices in pallid skin. Even as she worked to free the rogue, the scent of blood was thickening around her. "Rudra, you must stop your bleeding."
Rudra groaned loudly, his body coming around some with the woman's touch as his consciousness began to waver from the loss of blood. "Flee... now. The old God would not have me in this condition for long." He struggles to pull himself up from his slumber in the snow, "Find him, take him somewhere away from here. The old One will not be pleased. He will return and it will be with a fury that not even your lesser half has seen before." The avatar begins picking at his wounds, his breathing heavy as he begins to patch himself slowly and painfully from the self-inflicted mutilation.
Leoxander was buried to the point he hadn't been able to breathe, well. Tenebrae had quite a dig, one she might wish Jack were around to assist in. One full scrape of two handfuls of snow aside, and it revealed a layer of pink. The deeper her freezing hands clawed into the packed pile of icy snow, the more prominent that vermilion color would become, the more focused on certain spots, until tattooed knuckles stuck through the damp snow brushed aside. His eyes were closed and his body temperature was no longer noticeably strong; the avalanche had snuffed out his energy and a good half of his consciousness. Whatever part of his leather clad body she happened to uncover first, she'd likely find one of several thick icicles impaled through in weaker places, driven just deep enough to make him bleed. Courtesy of the ledge above, but fortunately not life threatening. Nor terrible enough to leave a mark quite the like one Rudra was given, for his insults.
The snow-plugged path was quickly resembling the fall of blossoms in a garden they once knew, red and pink and white scattering as handfuls flew behind the necromancer, darkening to a thicker, richer red where Leo lay, and Rudra patched his wounds. When the lycan's still features were cleared of snow, she'd check for pulse and breath -- and find them. "Cap'n... Cap'n... it's me, wake up... ?" Soft slaps patted his chilly, bristled cheeks, her own small frame providing scant heat but possibly sharply familiar scent that, with her rousing, might open heterochromatic eyes. She had not known Arrecation, being a youngling of three hundred and twenty four, but wasn't deaf or.. stupid.. and had no desire for either of them to be there when the god slipped Rudra on like a razored glove. Icicles were tugged loose, left to refreeze like bloody teeth in the icy winds.” We have to get up... get out... Leo!" Her gaze shifted fearfully toward the avatar, flickering compassion for her old acquaintance. "Rudy, I'll try...."
Rudra clambers back to his feet, his balance off as he swayed nervously in place for a few moments before steadying himself. He narrowed his eyes at where the assassin lay, "I’m sure you'll attend to him proper. He has some fight in him, that one." The Broken one nods in approval as he steps closer to the lycan and inhales deeply before unveiling the amount of anger and impatience he had for the young one. "And I swear if you ever put her in such peril again, you will feel the wrath of the Relics in the most agonizing way. I will snuff your existence and obliterate ANY memory of you if you let such idiot pride like that happen again."
Rudra loses his balance once more, nearly tripping over himself as he became light-headed from the lack of air. Moments pass before he catches his breath somewhat and begins his climb back down the mountain.
Leoxander barely moved at the patter of a hand against his numb cheek, but it was enough to draw him from the icy depths, where his mind had been buried like his body. Lycan eyes rolled open pale as hole-punched moons, but lacking that brilliant glow that came with his inner fire. Rudra's violent yell sparked a hoarse, splintered growl in his throat, tension locking through pin cushioned limbs as the crystal pegs were removed. The harsh language that erupted from his mouth was an angry promise meant for the ancient as well, but the foul beast didn't stick around to hear it. That was the good news. The bad news was that... Tenebrae now had an extremely pissed off lycan who - had he not been in the cold snow - would be twitching and bucking uncontrollably, by now. He -wanted- to give in, let go of regret and allow the wolf to do the tracking. But all he managed to do so far was pant into the cold wind, squeezing his eyes closed at the sick feeling in his stomach. The storm was worse, now... seemingly provoked by the recent battle. A force to consume them.
She did what she knew to do to calm the beast within, not caring whether she risked a bite when she lowered her face to bump a kiss on the rogue's snarling lips, before sitting upright in spoiled snow. “Shh... C'mon, love, he's gone now. We have to...." A pause, while teeth chattered, so she didn't bite her tongue. ".. get out of this. Go somewhere.." But she was grateful, too, for the snow that cooled the bloody ardour welling in her mate, perhaps made him more tractable to her urging. Regret that her old friend and her greatest love hadn't exactly hit it off would surface later, paramount in her mind now was getting them both to some kind of safety-- even if just off that ledge, made no safer by the terrible groan and whip of the burgeoning storm.
He was torn between his blinding rage, his 'idiotic pride', and the reasonable suggestion offered by his mate. Once the smell of Rudra's blood was blanketed in ice, and all he could sense was Tenebrae, then he'd finally push himself to sit up in the snowslide she'd dug through to find him. Whether she offered a hand or not, cold fingers clawed into her clothing, so that she might help him stumble to his feet. Now the temperature had dropped enough that with the given situation, as his arm went over her shoulders (half searching support, half protective) he'd be felt trembling hard against her. It wasn't likely the rogue could do much to keep her warm unless he got out of the blizzard, too. Through chattering teeth, he spat more infuriated words. A horrible curse yelled in frustration, the four letter word hardly doing damage through the howling winds, since he could no longer see more than a foot or two in front of his face. Everything would have been just fine, if they'd not run into that unstable acquaintance. It inspired new hate for an old burning prejudice. Then he thought back on her suggestion to take the low, long road... and the trouble his aggressive decisions put them in. Knowing that standing there would only bring their death, he leaned forward to start forging ahead at her side, their pace painstakingly slow toward only uncertainty.
There was only white, and cold, and nothing else. Tenebrae abandoned herself to the rogue's sharper senses, even as she had to his 'surprise' on the ship, allowing him to lead her through the frozen winds and sleet with literally blind trust. Her limbs were another matter, treacherous things that shook and stumbled, refused to move as her mind willed them, and eventually simply refused to move at all. Not blessed -- in this situation, it was a blessing -- with a lycanthrope's capacity for internal heat, Tene had lost most of hers, even with Leo's arms folding about her, curling her to his chest, lifting her.. She remembered dying, then. How it felt when her human life had trickled down the throats of madmen, ebbed slowly, turned her cold... so cold. Not as cold as this, she thought, though it had become almost comfortable for her; the wind's teeth seemed less sharp as it bit at her flesh, through leather and fur. Her lips moved feebly, the necromancer's face numbed mute, but if she could have, she would have told Leo she was sorry she could not stop the fight, keep them safe from this. Sorry she was so horribly weak, and such a burden.
It was almost too difficult to swallow the panic that welled up in his throat, when he couldn't coax Tenebrae a step farther. Nervous, labored breaths near her ear as they huddled in an embrace, and then he took the burden from her and brought her nearer to his furious heartbeat. For a long time there was only that... the rhythm of his struggle, the crunch of snow and ice under his feet, the mournful howl of the wind that froze his spiked hair in those wayward angles, and over his eyes. Those steps became slower and slower, his breathless whispers to keep her awake more quiet now, the fatigue washing through pale eyes that would barely open to see where they stepped. Twice he nearly lost his grip and sent them to hell, which was awkward considering the rogue's usual sure footing. Just when their world would become a white, frozen scene that offered no hope... Tenebrae would feel the wind abruptly stop, the air crisp and scented of earth, and hear the echo of stumbling footsteps as he went right to his knees inside the mouth of the cave. That is.. if she were awake, and alive. He still held onto her tightly with one arm, while one badly shaking hand tried to bet the stiff hair from her face. "J-...J-Joli..."
Joliette wished the world would stop falling, which it then did, with a heavy 'thump' that rattled her even more then the cold. Her name rebounded, then, in faint echoes as though Leo had spoken them across some great distance, and eyelashes tipped white with frost fluttered open by way of an answer to his touch. There was no more wind, only a feeble stir of air gushing into the cave's maw, the abrupt cessation of it almost a shock. If the rogue held her close he'd feel her pulse, more sluggish now but still rhythmic, maybe scent the life still burning somewhere deep in her body. She just wanted him close now, not for what warmth was left to him, but because she loved him more than life itself. All she could see, with limited senses in the dark and the chill of mortality seeping like mercury into her bones, was the wild-haired silhouette of her beloved Leoxander. But Leo, were he still able of perception, might scent old ashes and damp wood, glimpse the blackened ring of stone that had perhaps served some mountaineer or trader holed up here in a like situation.
Leo spoke her name several times, but it became obvious there was a haze between them, a darkness that she was sinking into, gradually. Too cold... she was just too cold... even as it took him mere minutes to trap and regulate the heat of his body in leather, she just likely... wouldn't survive like this, in her condition. Beyond the lull of her far away descent, she might hear the rattle and snap as nervous hands managed the buckles on his armor quickly. Then he was stripping, first holsters of weapons, then the white hooded jacket from his torso, clothed in only a simple black shirt beneath. He dropped it immediately over her, knowing the warmth wouldn't last long, but it might be enough to blanket her into some level of comfort, and pull her from the brink of death. It didn't stop there... his boots and gloves, his belt, and then even those leather pants were tugged hastily from his legs, leaving the pirate trembling in his cloth drawers beside her. There was a purpose, a reason for this madness, but it was completely an act of desperation. A risk, considering what might happen if he failed. Both eyes closed... deep, frosted breaths were taken and exhaled... and he concentrated on the rhythm of her shallow pulse. Until a groan of pain hummed very softly in the back of his throat...
The clothing, heavy as it was, helped somewhat in trapping Tenebrae's body heat below layers of her own furs and leathers and even moreso in keeping the half-frozen necromancer's life with her body. Stirring from a half-dream, she found the will to turn her head at the sound of throated pain, a hoarser one than belonged to the human version of her man. "No..." He'd probably not hear it, it was only a whisper quickly buffeted away by the slightest intrusion of the wind on their chilly haven, but it was the only word she had to use, in trying to stop him losing control. Tenebrae couldn't know how his mind had turned inward, how perhaps this time, he wasn't a slavering out-of-control feral. All she knew was that he wasn't holding her, and she was frightened, and Eternity was such a terribly long distance from them now.
He sank lower, crouching forward until his stomach and chest rested along his legs, hands coming over his head to bury his fingers in his hair. Inked shoulder blades heaved, his breathing more husky, fairly reminiscent to those impassioned moments when he lost himself to a more sensual rhythm in her. In the dark, chilly cavern, his well tanned skin began to burn, warm vapors coiling into the air and fading away as they drifted beyond the boundaries of his roasting aura. A deep yell of pain echoed through their shelter without warning, a sound that escaped him before he could bite his teeth down on it. He collapsed forward onto his knees, into a fetal position, so close to her that she might feel the cold, wet tips of his hair touch against her face. Fingers purposefully crawled across the stone in search of her, for some connection and support even if she wasn't entirely conscious. The ache rippled down his spine as vertebrae popped out of place and reformed into a higher arch. Ears tapered, tipped with fur, and gravity seemed to pull them immediately to his skull as they grew. Then the purpose for all of this revealed, pushing from the pores of his skin like quills, swelling into scraggly coat of fur that would devour his skin patches at a time - shoulders and limbs first. She might notice the rougher texture on the palm and prints of his hand as he clutched hold of her, almost too tightly.
"No." but it wasn't fear for her safety anymore; some part of Tenebrae had plumbed the abyss of that emotion, reached the bottom of its Pandora's box and found that shred of hope that always brought her back to him, kept her looking for specks on the ocean's horizons, where day after day there was none, and now concreted in her the belief that Leo meant her no harm, as much as she might seem an easy prey. Her dismay was for his own sacrifice and even in her half-aware and benumbed state, his agonised cry tore through her more roughly than the winds. By the time his hands.. more properly, paws... reached to clutch at her, she was already stretching a shaking hand out from under his clothing to clasp on to him in return, wherever it was to take hold. "Don't leave me..." Though he showed no signs of doing so at all, and so her words made little sense except perhaps to some small, bewildered part of the woman's mind that now cried tears like rounded diamonds on her cheek.
Fingers felt through his fur, an ear twitched from it's pinned state at her words. He made them his anchor, keeping his mind stable though everything around it would tear apart, and change. Every part of him wanted to give into his wolf side, succumb to not knowing the difference, but he refused. Tenebrae stayed at the forefront of his mind, his snout nuzzling into the crook of her throat for scent even as the tip should become wet and warm, and sandpaper texture of an unshaven jaw became short fur and wiry whiskers. He was half transformed... about the same size as the rogue had been prior, but strangely formed and dressed in a sandy coat. This was typically the moment the pain overwhelmed him, but all he would do then is whine softly near her ear, heated breaths panted even as a lean, shaggy frame settled onto the rock floor beside her. His purpose achieved, as the wolf was like bundle of furs with a smoldering ember core. If only... if only it didn't hurt...
It took long, nerve-searing minutes for that heat to traverse the layers of clothing over her, minutes cut shorter when he'd paw himself closer still, his lycan's frame half-draped across her, and Tene found her limbs regaining feeling, stinging at first, tingling, and her arms were finally able to circle his neck. Burying her face in sandy-coloured fur, the necromancer breathed in his strong canine scent as though it were the finest fragrance, the rush of her own exhalations returning to warm her face until her jaw stopped trembling. "L...love..you." She didn't know how much he understood in this state, let alone in full wolven form, but as her senses returned to her more fully, she'd realise he was in pain, and remembered... "Go all the way." Fingers twined to fur, tugging gently, a weak attempt to pull him closer. "Love, try." Because she'd rather freeze, or be eaten, than lie there knowing she was the cause of his hurt, and in more than one way.
That furry body started to lurch against her, chest heaving as though he were suffering one hell of a hair ball. He kept his maw and eyes closed tightly, smothering out the guttural sounds that would have erupted from his chest when that sickness boiled inside him. Rough spasms as he stomach crawled his way closer, nails just starting to curl reflexively into the leather jacket that covered her, before large. hairy hands closed into compact fists. Then massive canine paws suited for easy travel pushed against her chest, a ragged looking predator with light brown markings hoarding protectively over her, as though she were a fresh kill he meant to keep from the rest of a pack. His wolfish head tossed and lynx-tipped ears stood neutral to either side, a deep breath stretching his ribcage before a sigh left his black leathern nose. Listless yellow eyes blinked open just before a shiver coursed down his spine, the last of that discomfort pushed away into this finalized form. Compared to the other glossy coated pack roaming the forests, Leo looked the part of a stray. Spiked clumps of blond fur, his over exaggerated ears, and a long, bristled tail gave him an almost rabid appearance, like he might have had a streak of jackal in his particular canine genetics. The lanky beast finally turned his snout down toward her, staring right into her arctic gaze.
Her breath was quick now, both with improved heat and circulation, and the wonder of what had just occurred. Peridot eyes stared into his dark citrine, so alien to the human eyes she knew, as if she was attempting to find Leo in them, somewhere. "Is it you, Cap'n? You're beautiful." But her soft smile, if he remembered what a smile was, would tell the lycan she was secure with him, whatever shape he took. Her fingers combed through fur, smoothing over that displacement with gentle strokes, about all she was capable of doing, and even then sheer exhaustion weighted those limbs to an unbearable burden. Finally, she lowered them, tucking herself back under the hillock of garments and closing her eyes a long moment before they found her mate again. "Thankyou."
There was no more than a flicker of an ear in response, his steely gaze locked on her in a hawk like manner he seemed capable of in either form. If he understood her, he had no way of really expressing it, but he did take a moment to inch his nose in to smell at her lips and breath, as she spoke. Close enough that the very tips of his whiskers might barely brush them. His ears immediately swiveled back in threat when her hand came close, jaw dropped lower with a nervous drift of his eyes to her fingers and back, but he allowed the touch, and warmed up to it so well that he was nuzzling after her hand persistently, those long moments after she'd stopped. Part of him, whether human or simply in understanding of how important she was, was determined not to let her fall asleep until he knew she was warm enough to survive the night. He shifted his weight atop her, adjusting his bony structure so he wouldn't crush the breath from her lungs.
What prevented her drifting into slumber of a healthier, less permanent sort than she might have experienced out there in the snow, or without the care of her mate, was her inability to stop looking at him.. the wolf.. her Leo, studying him even as his whiskers prickled her tender, windburnt cheeks. Tene would respond to his nudging by ignoring the torpor of her muscles, returning a wanted caress to his ruff and undermuzzle. In his half-shifted state, there were still features of the Cap'n present that her mind could grasp and attach to her image of him. Fully wolf, she had only trust and his care to confirm him. Whether he understood, or would at all remember once he gained human shape, she'd whisper endearments until her words slurred and his warmth pulled her into sleep's dark undertow.
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Post by Joliette Thorne on Jan 26, 2009 18:19:17 GMT -5
The dreams he envisioned were of two worlds, for the first time combined. He recalled the day Tenebrae had swallowed a potion, her black fur thick and sweet smelling, and that was the scent he ran after through the snow. There was barking in the distance... joyous and victorious, he thought he recognized one of those familiar yips. "J-Jack..." again, Leo was whispering his friend's name out loud, but it was likely they'd both sleep right through it. He meant to turn his head and follow the sound, and looked back for Joli to tell her so... but it was impossible to find even her black speck in among the white dunes. A hard shiver coursed through him, and he looked down at his paws - no longer paws but bare hands, subjected to the cold of those desolate lands. Further inspection revealed he didn't have a scrap of clothing on him, and he was in the middle of... no where. A stiff groan hummed through his throat as he shifted closer toward Tenebrae's warm, blanketed body... bits of wolf hair clinging half frozen to his inked skin, where he laid more or less naked on cavern floor. Loathe to escape that much needed sleep, he was just debating on whether to follow those far away familiar sounds, or search for his mate, when he abruptly realized he was awake, and freezing. A harsh breath shuddered through his lips and billowed near his face as he cracked open mismatched eyes and cursed, audibly, through chattering teeth. Hardly able to move, shaky palms braced to the ground... in preparation to sit up and figure out what the hell was going on. Instinct would have him searching out his clothes, the most obvious of which would still be layered on top of her.
Tenebrae did not dream at all, hardly even moving throughout the night but for the steady rise and fall of her chest, and her arms were pitifully stiff as the still half-asleep woman grasped Leo's white overthings, tugging them back toward herself, "'Gimme't back, y'big.. stealer." For all she knew, in that moment they were in their nest on the ship, and Leo was a naughty blanket thief. "Nono, d'n take'm...." Green eyes cracked open, wincing against the pale light of morning, and would open wider still at sight of the naked rogue, the rough and frost-rimed stone room... "Oh gods, Leo, get some clothes on!" Sitting up, with an inner curse at the rocks that'd left aching dents in her back, she shoved all his clothing the Cap'n's way. It'd be toasty with her recovered body heat. "Why are you... oh." It wasn't dream, the wolf who'd come to care for her. She'd look a bit abashed, the expression mingled with concern. "You alright?"
Leoxander met Tenebrae's eyes, startled and clearly uncomfortable, curled up naked in a snow bound cave. "Well, gimme my bloody clothes, woman!" He'd reach eagerly for them, relieved to feel some of her warmth clinging to the inside as he tugged on his jacket and pants. Embarrassed and confused, it took a good minute or two before the rogue was awake and remembering bits and pieces of their difficult night before. The dragon, the collapse of snow, the walk... and then the change. All he could do was stare at his mate, judging by her awkward expression that it was in fact real. He'd... willingly changed. Rubbing a hand over his face to break eye contact, he gave a reluctant nod before dragging his socks and boots over, to tug them onto his feet. For once, his armor wasn't shredded from the struggle. "What 'bout you..?"
Tenebrae hid her grimace behind the ruffling of her scrunched-up cloak. "I'm fine..." Her body, already somewhat sore before they'd even set out for this fateful 'hike', ached in ways and places she had not thought possible. "... or I will be, once my legs stop...." A sudden hitch of breath, and she'd glance to Leo. "Did you hear that?" Somewhere, in the distance-- faint, a sharp animal staccato.
Leoxander lifted a glance as he tied his boot laces tightly. He expected her to go on and explain her dilemma, but he'd already been hearing a sound he could have swore was a stubborn background noise from a dream he was reluctant to let go of. A shocked look sent to her then, and he moved abruptly to his feet to jog to the mouth of the shallow cave, squinting out through the light snowfall. "It's fading..." He commented quietly, hand on a ledge of cold black stone.
"That ledge..." She was already halfway to standing up, likewise grabbing a rock-- her legs were still complaining, and she'd give each a hard shake as if that'd simply banish the effects of the past strenuous few days. So keen was she on keeping track of that sound, she'd only frown at her stomach when it let out a sound like a bath draining the last of its water. "We can see from there."
Leoxander would have flicked an ear toward the sound of her hunger if it was grown to permit such an action. As it were, he'd turn his head to regard the noise, instead. Securing the gloves on his hands, both would reach up to draw that white hood bunched at the back of his neck up and over his skull, down low over his eyes. Then, in a defeated tone. "C'mon, then. We'll move faster if you hang onto me. But damn well hang on." An arm went back with fingers hooking in beckon, ready to catch the sole of her shoe to help her step up and cling to his back. Whether her legs were working or not, they'd never have a chance trying to trudge through several feet of packed snow.
Only the slightest flicker of a frown, and that at her own frailty, preluded the light step she'd place upon his palms, before her arms were round his shoulders, and slender legs clasped the rogue's waist. "I've gained weight..." She muttered by accident, quite a non-sequitur to the moment in which they might gain a clue to Jack's whereabouts. It was too much to assume, that the sound was the mutt himself (even if strange coincidences had stalked them up this mountain), but she knew the old trapper they sought travelled by dogsled. "Let's go."
Leoxander grunted softly to confirm it, but he knew better than to agree or make mention. "You have not." He'd cleverly argue, wondering just how many turkey legs she'd been sneaking to bed. Tossing her a little higher onto his shoulders for some adjustment, she'd feel her body move with his, and really understand the full advantage of being a humanoid with a wolf's endless strength. As though he didn't have the extra weight of a person on his back, Leo leaned forward and broke into a run that had the wind and snow abusing their faces once more, worse than it should because of his speed. Once in a while she'd feel the traction of his boots slip on the ice, but he maintained his balance impressively enough, and without a storm and an uphill climb to face, they'd return to the ledge in no time. Compared to what seemed like forever in finding shelter the night before.
Tenebrae, for a moment, was taken back three centuries to days when Garath would run the streets with her as her lanky 'pony', though it had been less a game than a means for the elf to scope a crowd... still, it had been fun for the small girl she'd been, and it was hard to suppress the same joy now as Leo loped with an animal grace toward the ledge. The night had been unkind to it, so she was grateful for those unslippery boots he wore, when Leo halted close to the edge. Not wanting to tip the couple forward and risk a free trip to ground level by peering past his shoulder, she asked, her breath warm against his neck, "What can you see?"
Leoxander heard more than he saw. Different color eyes scanned the landscape stretched out far below, trying to pinpoint that soft echo of a familiar sound. Like a herd of Jacks, chasing a whole mess of crabs. Only there wasn't a body of water near that wasn't frozen over and void of life. "Nothin'... I don't see a bloody --..." His brow furrowed under the hood then. He saw the snow billow in the wake of something moving quickly, so far east it was barely a speck in the distance. "--...It's her." Unless there happened to be another team of sled dogs, but the mode of transportation was the most difficult to mistake. "And there's no way in hell we're going to keep up with that pace." Arms tightened on Tenebrae's legs, as though he were deliberating giving it a try, anyhow.
Tenebrae sounded a soft expletive in his ear, and then fell silent. "Love.... " Her tone was cautious. "Look down." A glance to the tons of snow covering the area they stood in had given her an idea. "Maybe the snow's deep and thick enough against the sides of the drop.. and below... enough that we could.. if we were careful, slide down here?" It was only a couple of hundred feet. What could be the harm?
Leoxander turned a glance over his shoulder to look at Tenebrae, then he followed her attention over the edge, toward the deadly drop. A knot etched into his brow, he answers by approaching the pile of snow that had buried him a night before. Taking a good sized handful of it, he promptly reaches over his head and crushes it right down on her own. Just enough to slither a few melted drops down her parka. Then he'd do the reasonable thing, and head for the path with the necromancer on his back. He may love risk, but he wasn't suicidal.
Leoxander gave 1 Snow Ball to Tenebrae.
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Post by Joliette Thorne on Jan 27, 2009 8:34:38 GMT -5
--Later, at Frozen Trees---
Leoxander eventually left Tenebrae to her own devices, dropping her carefully to her feet from that acquired ride around the mountain on his back. Rather than backtrack the treacherous slope they'd traveled before the storm, he altered their path north, grateful when the cover of trees finally allowed some of the brown earth and dead leaves to show through white patches. He took a deep breath of that forest air like a refreshing drink of water, eyes grazing the calm scene to notice a few buckets full of unsettled snow falling from mischievous branches, and ornaments of ice stalactites looming precariously from brittle bark. A glance toward his feet revealed what he'd hoped for... old tracks, two parallel lines that hadn't been erased by the snow flecked winds, so far in. "This place is just too damn big to predict where she's going..." Idle conversation, for his companion, with his warm breaths misting bits of a cold cloud from his hood. He fell quiet, a distinct pause in his words, for the chance to listen.
Tenebrae sluiced snow-rimed hair from her eyes, jogged free from her braid as they'd made the downward trek to the flatter woodlands. She was faring better here, the storm's deposit of deep snow having frozen hard enough in the morning's chill to provide firmer footing, and was only red-cheeked with the abrasion of effort, and the white light of the sun reflecting back from still snow. She'd hear Leo's words before spying the sled-trail, slushing through the rogue's own tracks in that compacted fall to stand by him. "We know she was going roughly east. That she's a trader, a trapper, and that man said he expected a delivery-- so probably, she's heading back toward Frostmaw.." Tene chewed her lip in thought, "Unless she's setting camp somewhere, to check her traps?" The woman shrugged, kneeling to the sledmarks. "Though unless she weighs a ton herself, her sled is already carrying quite a load." Her fingers traced the depth of the runner's gouges, and she stood. "So, safe bet is to continue east?" Tene hushed, then, her eyes settling back on Leoxander.
Leoxander noticed the many times she said 'Unless' in her pondering, and that was the cause of an uncertain look trailing into the distance. At least, that was part of it. He had become very still in the time it took him to respond, his voice a little more quiet than before. "If safety is our concern, here, the best thing to do would be to get back to town, put some food in you..." but that meant calling off their search again, for another inconvenient reason. A gloved hand raised, brushing the hood back off his head in order to rub at the back of his neck, pacing just a few slow steps into the woods. The other hand patted one pocket, then another, before his arm bent back to find a small pouch hooked under his arrow quicker. Tugging it free, he'd find what he could to tide her over, but even his own stomach was starting to protest. "... What if we're doin' all this for nothin'?"
Leoxander offered what he had, a small piece of dried rabbit meat...
Tenebrae was hesitant to take Leo's last scrap of food. But she did. "Thanks. And it's not for nothing. I -know- he's not gone, love. I know it. So even if we don't find him here..." Her peridot eyes drifted out to snow-capped firs, and the vaster reaches of naked snowfields stretching away from the treeline. "... we'll just strike this place off the list, and keep looking." The last words were emphatic, as she ripped the jerky in half, handing one piece back to the rogue. "You should eat something, too." There'd been little sign of any suitable game, either, but then she did not possess a lycan's nose. Speaking through the first eager bite of the dried meat, she mumbled, "I brought tinder, we could make a fire if we can find dry wood. Maybe something to cook on it, too?"
Leoxander has just as hesitant to share a half, but his tongue touched the corner of his lips lightly to reveal his hunger just a moment before he reached out to snatch it out of her hand. Shoving it quickly into mouth, he sighed a frosted breath from his nose and squinted through his hair into the distance, once more. Even when he'd thought he'd heard something, he'd been mistaken. The woods looked barren. "If we're gonna find anything it'll be in this forest..." Reasonable. But how could anything beside imps and trolls born to the ice survive out there? Leo reluctantly shouldered the obsidian bow off his back, since he highly doubted he could call upon his wolf form so easily ever again.
Tenebrae hadn't brought any weapons but her small knives, not counting the little crossbow she'd purchased from a trader they'd passed, and didn't know how to use. Maybe she could make attractive rabbit noises, or something. "If there's trappers, there's things to trap." The bow was tugged from the bottom of her pack, and studied before turned back to the trees. If she looked keen to get into the forest and hunt something, the reason likely lay in Leo's former questioning of their purpose. Better to do something than feel futile...besides, they'd not get much further on empty stomachs.
Tenebrae said to Leoxander, "How do I load this thing?"
Despite the title of this infamous weapon, Leo’s bow was more of a compound design. Heavy and sturdy, more stiff than a recurve, with several taut metal laced strings that were harder to draw, but fired more accurately. An untraditional archer; instead of reaching over his shoulder for the ebon tailed arrows, his quiver was strapped against his ribs, along side daggers, out of the way. Gripping the shaft of one cross tipped dart, he paused mid motion and gave her a bewildered look at her question. "...What?" His own laughed softly in return, a glimpse of white, canine tips peeking through this smile, while every exhale billows a short lived puff of warm breath. "..I think we've reached that point we can admit you've been bloody spoiled rotten... nock the split end on the string." Was she really so green? He'd find out.
Tenebrae scowled, her face tilted down as she placed the arrow correctly. She opened her mouth to reply, but closed it again, and simply did as instructed, until the moment passed. "I meant, love-- is there a trick to these, different from a regular bow?" Her smile was slightly frosty. "Just wanted to be sure I didn't loose an arrow in your arse, by accident. Or something."
Leoxander was still amused. Was that worth it? A smirk cast her way, and he hooked the large bow over his torso to free his hands and assist her. One gripped over hers to hold her weapon steady, and well away from targeting any part of him, the other hooked his fingers into the string to draw it back, knocking the arrow into that loaded and ready position. "Make sure the string's hooked on the nut, here..." He thumbed the small wooden peg, squeezing his fingers around to keep her hold tight, her aim upright and steady. "Shaft's lined in the tiller, you're ready to go." At this point, when he stepped back, he risked a bristled kiss to her cheek just for safe measure, to be forgiven for his taunting remarks.
Tenebrae shook her head and grinned, her gaze fixing on the bow as he explained the mechanism. Tongue between her teeth, she drew the shaft back-- requiring more strength, she noticed, that an upright bow-- and secured in place. Tene raised the weapon after his whiskery kiss, squinting one-eyed down the sights. "Let me try..." She'd swivel her stance to face the trunk of the nearest tree, and released the firing arm. "Bloody..." The action was short and powerful, and the necromancer made a note to never let her fingers slip into the path of those sinew strings. Striding through the firm snow toward the pine, she'd finger the end of the bolt left protruding from the trunk, turning back to her mate with childlike glee. "Leo... this is marvellous."
Leoxander watched her attempt carefully, always a man to admire the handiwork of a killing weapon. Lycan eyes followed the speed of the dart until it barely stuck out as evidence from the tree trunk. He started to follow after a few paces, but instinctively dropped a step back to avoid the tumble of snow from the devious branches above. "You can close an eye to aim. Open it when you fire." A common misconception the rogue had tested time and time again to understand. Gripping the upper limb of his own bow, it was drawn from his chest and back with a grin trying to pull through on his features. His spirits were high, despite the incident just nights before. "Ready to hunt, then?"
Tenebrae pondered his words, studying the way the bolt had drifted left of the knot she'd aimed for. "Will do." She couldn't miss that eager note to his words, and paused to cant her head gently from side to side, loosening the last of the stone floor's stiffness from her neck. "Be very quiet....." With a lopsided grin, she walked forestward, not looking back to see if he followed, because she knew he probably would. Her next words were to quiet for even lycan ears to make out, likely, muffled by the thick fir boughs weighted with the remnants of the storm. But it might've had something to do with hunting rabbits.
--Various Tracks---
Leoxander spared her a muttered remark from behind, under his breath. "You're the one trompin' around like a frost troll..." He heard every crunch of those fur-lined boots... where had the vampire's ghostly stealth gone? A mystery, to be sure. As they walked, he lowered his eyes to his bow, absently nocking an arrow that seemed to be tipped in... crow feathers. There was a moment when he hastily reached out a hand to grip her arm, tugging her to stumble close and avoid yet another powdered tumble of ice flecked snow that simply became too heavy for flimsy needles. The glance back he offered toward the pile revealed the tracks it only... half covered. Much larger than a rabbit. Leo paused, turned to approach, and crouched to observe the direction they traveled. Sure, the older tracks proved to head south, but his nose was failproof... and at that second a predatory look touched his eyes as they lifted, to look toward the treeline directly ahead. He didn't move from there.
Tenebrae didn't notice that her own silence had waned; her ears weren't as sharp anymore to catch the difference easily. Nor to catch that quiet comment, which was probably for the best. The necromancer paused as he did, observing the lycan’s skill at tracking with a gentle pride, her features turning the way of his sudden profile's focus. Nocking another bolt to her new bow, she stilled, too, waiting for cues from the rogue.
Leoxander unfolded to stand, one foot drawn back to turn his body at an angle. The compound design of his complicated bow was lifted, a deep breath drawing his leather armor against his ribs in sync with the way he drew back the bowstring. As he suggested to Tenebrae, he closed his red eye first, before squinting them both open in the same aim, apparently finding something beyond the wall of trees to stalk. One slow step at a time he would approach the thicket, holding his breath, not making a sound to distract whatever was the source of that scent. It could be mistaken for prey.
Mahri was peering down, so that the hood effectively covered the woman's raven locks. Her newly acquired cold-weather gear might have blended in perfectly with the snow, being as it was all white anyway. Beneath the cape, the lycan clutched a satchel, hoping that it wasn't too cold her for the vial she had inside. Mahri was tracking, and while she could have used her nose, it was a useless endeavor since she needed to carry her satchel anyway. White plumes of her breath escaped past her lips as she stopped periodically to blow onto her hands, trying to warm them. It was one of those stops that she looked up and saw a figure moving across the clearing. The wind was wrong, she couldn't scent who it was no matter how much she sniffed. If course, that could be from the snot that had frozen inside her nostrils due to the cold..how she hated it. Slowly, she lowers, hoping to blend in enough as to be missed.
Leoxander hesitated for only as long as he could comfortably hold his breath. Wolf senses narrowed in through those forest born barriers, hawk like vision narrowing in on his target. Metal string strained not an inch from his whiskered cheek, and he fired. The arrow literally cut the air to cause a sound, but by the time crystalline ear points had risen to detect it, that projectile was a foot deep in the beast's side. About twenty paces from Mahri, a terrible whine splintered like ice shards through the forest. The frozen water flecks dangling from a stringy gray mane rattled like wind chimes, cloven claws swinging the air wildly as it reared. In triumph, Leo snapped his jaws with a chuff of warm, visible breath, but even as the bucking creature was wounded, and losing strength... he hadn't counted on the herd being close by. A hard sigh, and he spoke a depressed word to Tenebrae, as the ground in the frost bitten forest started to shiver. "Incoming..." Two other mares were not very appreciative of these hunters, and looking to make an example of these two, by charging headlong. They never even noticed the white-camouflaged she-wolf.
“Holy sh..." The last syllable never left her lips. No time-- the wounded mare might flee from the direction of her pain, but the small herd owned several more, one with young, and a muscular stallion with a barrel chest and a fine, arced neck that now high-stepped into sight. His frosted flanks quivered, a clawed forehoof pawing gouges in the snow in sharp jerks. Lifting his proud head, ice-blue eyes fixed on the rogue and his mate, that big horse squealed a challenge after the herd abruptly became a flourish of snowy motion, the strange equines springing to a gallop, hurtling toward Leo and Tene. He might notice the way they gnashed their maws, the flash of fangs. Tene didn't miss it-- she shot off three bolts in rapid succession, before the beasts broke their stride and turned, melting into the forest each side of where the humanoid couple stood. Tene raised her bow, wheeled to take aim at the stallion, if Leo hadn't already fired on it-- and found it, too, vanished. The thud of hooves sounded through the trees. Tene's breath was ragged as she panted out what was probably a redundant warning. "They're acting like predators.. watch behind." Swivelling to face that way, the woman was poised, the bow's bolt swinging to follow her gaze as green eyes nervously swept the forest, waiting for the next rush.
Mahri watched all this with eyes wide with awe at the beasts. First, it was freezing, then there were horses that looked like they'd make a nice meal out of a deer, if not any other kind of meat that might cross their paths. She was glad that Sora wasn't with her. The Gods only knew what that little hatchling might do, as impulsive as she was. A few times a split hoof came close to trampling the lycan, but she didn't really have anywhere to go, keeping her head down so that perhaps the herd would simply move around her, or leap as she glanced up at an underbelly or two. Suddenly they were gone and Mahri was on the move, coming out of the trees like a wraith. Her booted feet making the snow crunch underneath, but the pounding of the herd drowned it out, at least until she came closer to Leo and Joli. "You sure know how to find trouble, don't you?" she mutters. If it was heard or not, she'd continue, silver eyes watching in as many directions as she can, "Nice shot, Leo. Missed me by a hair." Flinging back the cape she wore, Mahri widens her stance, balancing on the balls of her feet. She had no weapon, not that can be seen anyway. What she did have was natural talent. Chanting soft and fast, her words called to the earth, warming it so that the vines, shimmering silver tinged with green, could spring up around them, if Leo and Joli are close enough anyway, creating a sort of wall that rose up and around, circling the trio in a blind. Hopefully, this will fool the herd for a time. Slots were opened in the weave, wide enough for an arrow or bolt to go through.
Leoxander groped for another arrow quickly, pacing backward until a thick tree trunk was stationed behind him. The flare in the stallion's eyes, the curve of icicle horns behind its flattened ears told him enough about the unknown creature to expect a challenge. The second arrow diverted their path but missed a hindquarter target when they slipped into the cover of trees and quieted their pace to stalk. Lycan eyes swept their surroundings, caught sight of Mahri, and he gave the Necromancer a low suggestion that he fully expected her to abide. "Into the trees." Not an easy feat, considering their high, frost covered branches and petrified trunks rooted in ice, but the only choice they had when it came to keeping their clan Mistress safe. Of course, someone had to play bait, so after graciously offering to hoist Tenebrae into place quicker with a hand to her backside, he looked to the Alpha, whether or not she choice to remain on the ground. Not at all surprised by her sudden appearance and convenient aid, Leo took advantage of it. "Keep 'em low... I want these two alive." This directed with a motion toward those handy vines that Mahri had summoned from the earth. He risked a few slow steps forward and boldly dropped his weapon to the ground on the way... waiting for that stallion to make an arrogant mistake.
If Tene was disgruntled about not being voted most likely to appeal to the palate of a carnivorous equine (once she was done staring gape-mouthed at Mahri and her wall of vines) it wouldn't show-- she just did as her Cap'n bid, stowing her bow for now and scooting to the nearest low-limbed fir. "Any excuse..." A smirked rebuke at his 'helping hand', just a brief pause before her clamber up that hoary trunk, regretting her lack of gloves for the umpteenth time now, when her fingers stuck or slipped on ice, or sharp edges sliced her fingers. The scent of blood, though, might draw them out... One of those daggers, far lesser versions of the rogue's dragon-forged blades, was slipped from its sheath, and drawn lightly across the skin of her forearm, once a furry sleeve was drawn back to expose it. Tene then proceeded to wave, as if greeting the beasts that now snorted and charged the trio's magical enclosure like a mutant pack of dogs. Observing Leo abandon his weapon, she frowned-- what was he playing at now? Her own was hastily taken up and nocked, covering the pirate's back.. or front.... she could she cover all of him, at this height.
Mahri nodded, adjusting her chant so that they didn't reach more than shoulder high. Well, Leo's shoulders really since Mahri was short. Staring up into the trees, Mahri eyes the one-time-vampire in her perch. Mahri was not a squirrel to climb trees. However, Mahri had something a bit more precious to protect than her own skin. Sliding the satchel off her shoulder she sets it gently within the circle of the blind. From the protection they offered, Mahri peers through one of the slits, planning where she might draw a vine to either trip up or snare one of the beasts. Perhaps something dangling from a tree so as to loop over its head. With the blind securely in place, another appears, hopefully where Leo would notice but not the stallion, another dangles almost naturally save for the lack of frost on it, from a branch, the end looped neatly into a slip-knotted lasso. This one was just a little higher than the beasts head, just in case he reared. Mahri could from her vantage point, have it lower quickly should she need to. Small beads of sweat froze to her skin with the effort to keep all these spells going, even her hands trembled in the warmth of her gloves, but her eyes narrowed, determined to keep it going as long as needed.
Tenebrae, if she accidentally dislodged a pinecone, would be dismayed if it conked Mahri on the head. Squirrel, indeed.
Leoxander was entirely concentrated on his surroundings, until a sharp sniff cut through the silence of the forest air. His head turned, eyes catching light to flash with a rusty coin glow as he snapped his attention on Tenebrae - and her wound. That wasn't the only interest she'd caught, as right at that moment, the fanged equine came charging. He did the first stupid thing he managed to think of, and that was to turn on the mare so that the stallion would target him. Little went passed his observation, magic dangling vines easily caught in the wintery scene, and the only weapon he presented at that moment was vocals. Even a predator was inclined to pause when confronted with a lion like roar from something that had seemed, though it hadn't smelled human. As the female reared in confusion and pawed violently for the quick rogue's rugged features, the stallion would manage to noose itself, tugging and throwing hysterically against nature's force. But surely she couldn't concentrate on two at once, and that left Leo rolling dangerously under stomping legs, cursing out loud as the mare turned to attempt to trample him.
Mahri winced as a pinecone mysteriously fell and conked her on the head. Stifling a growl, Mahri kept her concentration focused on the snare, noose, and blind. Bloody hell..the blind lowered a fraction, evidence of her waning strength. As soon as the stallion's head slipped through her trap, Mahri jerked, nearly flattening against the vines she was behind as though it were she that was pulled upon when the stallion struggled against the vine's grip. Muttering a few choice curses under her breath, Mahri let the snare disappear back into the ground. Now, with only two spells to feed, the lycan willed, yes willed the noose to tighten slowly. Not enough to kill, but enough to cause the Froststallion to lose breath, possibly passing out. As soon as that was the case, that vine to would slink upwards into the canopy of ice covered trees. Trembling yet, and hoping it wasn't noticed even as plumes of crystalized breath fan out rapidly, Mahri watches the rest of the scene play out.
"For f…'s sake." Some of her words would be drowned out by various snarls and whinnies, as the necromancer watched from her squirrel-like perch in the trees, about as useful, at this point, as a sequinned handbag to a bricklayer. She'd haul herself out on the limb she perched on, as far as she could go, trying to aim at the mare which presented the most immediate danger to her rogue. Scrinching her backside along, aided by one palm, bow in the other hand, she found a position that offered better visibility through icicle-laden greenery, and looked for the best opportunity to fire on the beast trying to stomp her Cap'n flat. "Hold still you.. stupid..." Risking another inch along that narrowing branch, she'd find a clear shot, free of risk of taking Leo out by mishap, and was about to release the bolt when an almighty 'CRACK' rang out, startling the mare still a moment, and Tene's eyes wide, and Leo looked up, and it probably had Mahri's attention too. "Oh no.." Tene felt the wood beneath her begin to sag under her weight. Seconds later, it suddenly became a prickly-leaved and horribly uncomfortable slide, down which she slid, coming to a thudding halt--- on the frostmare's icy back. The necromancer blinked. The mare blinked--- and then exploded into a wild frenzy of bucking and rearing. "Ohhhhhhh shiiiiii......."
Tenebrae said, ".....iiiiiiit."
Leoxander scrambled backward, twisting and rushing forward to avoid the stomping claws that could have easily torn out a good chunk of his spine. He'd been around long enough safely say that his speed and reflexes were acquired over time, trained well enough for a wild beast, if he'd dodged godly sword swings two nights before. But the only reason he wasn't stomped to bits could likely be accounted to the sudden weight on the mare's back. A glance to his left showed the largest of the herd still tangled and straining against constricting vines, but he wouldn't allow Mahri to forfeit them yet. Just before the stallion might pass out, the lycan was jumping out of his run, boosting himself onto the able-bodied creatures' spine, similar to his mate on the female. For a little while at least, the two were in competition with their rodeo skills. Only, he had the help of Mahri's conjured 'rope' to whip around the animal's mouth, to tug it's head down and draw it into a reluctant submission. Tene'.... well, she didn't quite have that.
Mahri 's eyes dart up at the whip-crack of the limb and could only watch as the woman falls, and lands, on the mare. Wincing in sympathy..for Joli or the mare she wasn't sure..Mahri could only hope that the woman didn't get her damned neck broken. Feeling the spindle of magic being tugged once again, Mahri looks to find Leo astride the stallion and she released the vine into his hands. Meanwhile, the mare, bless the frosty one's heart, was running, jumping and twisting wildly. Mahri could again, hope that the necromancer could hold on to that mane of ice. As for what she could do, at this point was really nothing. Anything she tried might spook the mare more than she was.
Tenebrae hung on to the thing alright-- from her latest position, hanging like a panicked sloth under the enraged equine's neck. Arms and legs wrapped tightly around that muscular column, she was still yelping words not fit for delicate ears, while the animal bolted back and forth across the snowy clearing, kicking up ice and shaking its head violently. ".. little help here?" Her voice piped high across that space, if anyone was listening. Tene herself couldn't see what was going on, for the wild mare's long and flying mane that flapped in her face, and the world was just an upside-down blur anyhow.
Leoxander abandon the vines for a half nelson, his toned arm locked around the frost beast's neck, at that point. It's heated breaths plumed the cold air like the steam of a freight engine, reluctant to give the lycan an upper hand. But rather than surrender life, the stallion was willing to give in it's pride, shaking humiliation free to take upon itself a new role, for the sake of the moment. The moment was all true citizens of nature would live for, and for this, the rogue gave the strange equine a commending pat along side a dangerously spiked whither. It almost seemed scaled, rather than furry, because of the crystalline flecks frozen to it's durable, aged coat. Naturally charcoal but given a silver tint due to this icy sheen, it wasn't beautiful but it was an appearance that could be respected, even feared. Noticing Tenebrae still didn't have control of the situation, Leo mustered a sigh and dug his heels into the creatures ribs, a ripple of muscle revealing it's irritation before it lurched forward in an anxious trot toward the mare. The communication was unspoken, but when the wolf allowed the stallion a rough bump of a horned skull against the mare's flanks, she might finally cease some of the bucking, and resort to just shaking the Necromancer off. "Now if you can't get ahold of one stinkin' mare..." The pirate's words were not at all helpful, and he'd probably pay for them... but how low had the mighty fallen? Truly not to the rank of 'squirrel'.
Mahri eventually ventures out from the blind, keeping herself down wind, hopefully, of the as yet tamed beast. One hand braced against the surprisingly smooth wall, mostly so that Mahri wouldn't end up on her face from exhaustion. Blowing a breath out, she can see for herself that the two are just fine and dandy and will most likely share a laugh over something hot and liquid later. Edging back inside, the pack is retrieved and a hand delves inside, checking the vial she had only retrieved from the crone not too long ago. It hadn't frozen, surprisingly, and Mahri had to wonder which of the ingredients she'd found was responsible for that. Shaking her head, she was not going to dwell on that, not now. Maybe after, but not now. Putting the greasy looking stuff back in her pack, Mahri hitches it up onto her shoulder again, content to wait for the pair's return as she finally allows herself to slide down onto the snow covered ground and close her eyes. Sleep sounded wonderful right now.
Tenebrae's indignance was once more muted by an enraged whinny from the feisty mare, lighter in colour than her stallion by several shades, though her pearly hide was dappled all over with deep charcoal spots, the same shade that ringed its eyes and stained its muzzle. Tene was almost thankful for the spikes and rough ice her hands found, though they suffered further future scars for it. And, as ever, ire was the necromancer's most effective motivator-- in under minute she had, in an awkward tangle of furs and limbs, managed to swing herself up onto the mare's back again; the exhausted animal seemed almost grateful for that and, perhaps soothed by her stallion's calm under Leo's seat, dropped her head to pant great gouts of white breath from her distended nostrils, lower lip set in a sullen line. Tene was too breathless for words, which was perhaps Fate being kind to Leo, for once, and she'd merely tangle her bloodied fingers hard in that pale and frosty mane, adjusting a practised horsewoman's seat so that her weight dropped through her heels, offering greater balance on the slippery steed. So, that was two down... and still they had no food... and still, there was one mare loose, and another wounded, running free and nowhere-- as yet, to be seen.
Leoxander reached around the stonewashed stallion's throat to gather up the veins that were no longer alive with magic, a glance toward Mahri offered with his unnecessary question. He wasn't going to forfeit them, either way. "Mind if I hang onto these?" Looping them in his hands like a rope, he allowed the horse to roam around with the weight of the thief on his back for a few minutes, and not too surprisingly, he knew how to grip the animal with his knees and move in rhythm to a surprisingly quiet step. Rather than hooves, he guessed them to have solid claws.. it had been difficult to see when two inches from his face. A lazy swing of one arm slung the vine around the equine's throat, and it never seemed to notice. Fashioning some quick, makeshift reins with a knot, he drew a dagger to snip the already withered vines in half, to toss the other end to Tenebrae. With it, he removed his sturdy gloves, and finally got a gentlemanly sense to offer them to her by tossing them right into her lap, without argument. Now that her hands were already bloody and torn. "There y'go, Love." A hint of a compliment, along with a pleasant grin offered, and he was due to solve another problem, soon enough. Coaxing the creature to turn, he offered Mahri a hand and a ride with him, with intentions of moving on. "C'mon then... before dinner gets cold."
Mahri opens her eyes enough to peer at Leo, nodding at the question about keeping the vines. They'd do til he found a bit of rope or leather. Glancing from the offered hand to Joli, Mahri made a quick decision, getting to her feet and letting the blind slip back underground, Mahri takes the offered hand and leapt nimbly onto the stallion's back, settling behind Leo. For a moment, she was quite unsure of where to put her hands, and with a apologetic shrug to Joli, the slip around his waist. With her thighs gripping the stallions flanks, Mahri ducked her head, "Heat..just get me somewhere warm, and I have something for you." she mutters, quite sure he'd hear.
"Thanks..." There'd not be any wryness in the word, Tene was grateful for both gloves and makeshift reins. After tugging leather over her sore hands, she soon had the vines twisted to a kind of bridle, easily slipped over the mare's nose while she cautiously leant down, put in place without having to startle the animal by drawing the cords over its face. This accomplished, Tene sat back, in time to watch Mahri circle Leo's waist. A flat stare, and she'd shrug off her natural possessiveness of the pirate, legging her mare into a turn, and a smooth-gaited trot to catch up with the stallion. "Dinner...?""
Leoxander encouraged the brute forward with a nudge. "Tenebrae will take care of that..." only in the company of others did he use her name of darkness. Moving one equine along side the other, for comfort in the same way a pack traveled in pairs or greater, he looked over toward the Necromancer to remark quietly. "You're bleeding." And the way he said it, there was concern, but something else. Warning. His jaw had become tense, up close to her again. His eyes were drawn against his will toward the wound. Mahri might feel him shiver bareback on the creature that took them through the cold, dark forest. Eventually, they might come to realize that the rogue was following a thickening blood trail upon the ground. If that failed to catch their attention, nothing would clarify the situation like a large motionless corpse upon the ground, answering Tenebrae's question. That fourth frostmare was no longer wounded, but long since dead - Leo's arrows didn't easily fail. Strangely enough, the captured beasts they rode seemed immune to the gruesome scent and sight they approached... survival of the fittest a rule all beast understood. Before he'd dismount, he'd wait for the alpha behind him to do the honors, meanwhile scanning their surroundings for dangers. "This ain't the best place to camp..."
Tenebrae gave the rogue something of a dark look and used her teeth to tug the site of the deepest cuts free of a glove. Lowering her head to the wounds, she'd suck them clean of blood as best she could-- how that coppery tang tasted good to her all those years, she did not know -- and improvising a thin bandage from the lining of her vest. The glove replaced, she'd mutter something that sounded like, "..bite me.." while she waited for the clearly more capable wolfess to 'do the honours'-- and hopefully carve up that carcass, while she was at it. Tene was happy to sit on her high horse for a while, and let somebody else do the dirty work.
Mahri did notice the shiver, her fingers tightening inside her gloves. It couldn't be a good sign at all. She smelled the blood as well, and it didn't have the same affect, not like..well, she'll not think about that just now. Her eyes trained to the ground that passed, Mahri took note of the trail they followed, letting her own body sway with the left to right movement of the stallion. When the name Tenebrae is mentioned, Mahri asks in confusion, "You two brought someone else up here? Where are they?" As soon as they stop, the lycan has swung her leg back and over, causing her to lean forward into Leo as she dismounts. Clapping her hands and stomping her feet, Mahri tries to get some feeling back into them. Even if the clothier was good at his job, being out in the cold left something to be desired, mostly a fire. Walking in small circles, the lycan checks her pack again for the cargo she had brought up. It was still there. Now, to wait for the right timing to give it to it's intended recipient.
Leoxander spared Tenebrae an impatient look in return, because he was convinced he'd done nothing to earn her disfavor, tonight. Sure, a few verbal jabs here and there, but even Joliette could respect that rugged pirate behavior for what it was - he wouldn't ever stop pushing and challenging her, no matter what she was. Opting to pick up a handful of snow and casually toss it toward the sulking female atop her steed once he'd dismounted, he headed toward the dead mare and drew a knife, hoping the horsemeat would suit over a well made fire. If the necromancer decided to be civil about it. "I meant the Ice Queen, o'er there." A nudge of his jaw in Tene's direction. Oh yeah - he was talkin' to her. The next sound from his general direction was not pleasant. Flesh ripping, fur tearing, but then that beautiful smell of a fresh kill that caused the hair on the back of his neck to stand. He literally growled his pleasure, his possessiveness, under his breath. On the contrary, it was best for Mahri and Tenebrae to both stay away from him, over that fallen corpse. He couldn't resist a small bite of bloody tissue, torn from still warm insides. Ah, the life of a wolf.
Tenebrae wasn't so much sulking about anything Leo had done, more to the sudden chagrined revelation that what she lacked was going to be a pain in her 'royal' behind, at times; she already felt at its mercy, but the possibility of being considered prey irked her beyond belief. The snowball to the face broke her from her reverie. Thanks, Leo. As if the spotted mare under her concurred, it'd give a loud 'hurrumph' while she swung off its back, her feet landing lightly in the snow. Tethering her mount, she scanned the place for sticks and dry wood, planning on taking some with them, while it might be available. Time to apply human resourcefulness... the woman who'd once drawn nations and armies into her fist like withered vines went about the business of collecting dry firewood.
Mahri stared at Tenebrae a moment, maybe she'd heard wrong but, "I thought her name was Joli. 'S what you called her while you recovered.." pressing her lips together, Mahri inhaled, savoring the scent of a fresh kill. That salty-sweet copperiness making her belly rumble in answer. It took a lot of self-control, but she managed, just, not to rush Leo over the mare. Nope, she'd done this before and waited patiently for Leo to have his share. Or as much as he wanted really. Mahri watched ..Tenebrae/Joli?..wander off, she'd hesitate a moment, thinking now might be the time to present Leo with her gift. Assuming that is, it worked like the crone had said it would. Shifting from foot to food, Mahri practices patience..of which she has found in short supply lately, for Leo to be done dressing the carcass. She might have offered to help, but she was better with tooth and claw than a knife.
Tenebrae would wait until Leo was bent over the carcass, to tug the back of his belt-- and stuff a handful of snow down his pants. Tenebrae gave 1 Snow Ball to Leoxander. Tenebrae stood back hastily, pointing to Mahri. And blinking innocently. Tenebrae went back to gathering wood, then, like a good little ice queen.
Leoxander didn't bother to answer Mahri when it came to Tenebrae's name. Not out of disrespect, but in a grim acceptance, he assumed she'd figure it out. Just like he assumed the Alpha knew his real name. Somehow, she managed to gather these bits of information, and yet she kept them to herself. Maybe this was one among many reasons he liked her enough to make certain the other lycan shut up and listen to her, when necessary. Despite that he called and referred to her as 'Alpha', he did the very thing she should have had the honor of doing, and that was the first bite. But there he was, hoarding over the meal in the beginning, filling his empty stomach in a few quick bites even while he worked at carving the meaty flanks and hindquarters from beneath it's durable outer skin. Tenebrae's actions were rewarded with a snarl that he quickly corrected into a curse as he stabbed his blade into the dead beast's ribs, and shoved a hand down his pants to fish out some snow with a grumble. Then he had the audacity to throw that same melting slush back in her direction, but fortunately, or perhaps purposefully missed. A sidelong glance at Mahri, and he knew she was likely hungry as well, so wiping the blood off his face with the back of a white sleeve, he climbed to his feet and started kicking wet leaves aside to clear a place for Joli's fire pit, reeling in the taste of fresh blood. Strangely quiet, because of it.
Tenebrae had found below several dead and dying trees some branches blown loose in the storm that’d not lain long enough on the ground to be completely soaked yet. She was every bit as hungry as the lycans-- though only her belly growled, to her embarrassment, as she toppled one load of kindling into the pit. Returning for sturdier fuel, she would soon have the makings of a decent fire underway, and sat on her pack while she sharpened several straight sticks in serviceable skewers. If her Cap'n was less than playful, she understood it. Mahri's behaviour less so-- the female was looking shifty, and really, she'd had enough of shifty women hanging round the rogue for one week. So, while she gave them privacy, in her place apart, she'd watch the wolfess narrowly with subtle glances.
Leoxander hadn't abandoned the kill without a gift... a very strange gift but meaningful, when coming from a rogue wolf. The horse's leg had been stripped and carved like a hearty limb of venison, and who knew that the equine wouldn't taste better, on the end. With it came a handful of sliced steaks that would fit on the end of the skewers she'd bothered to carve, and leave his hands tastefully bloody. Privacy was offered to the she-wolf instead... and Leoxander made it painfully clear why he'd never truly taken a place in the pack. Because his heart belonged outside it... and his steps came to gradually follow. Settling into a seat beside Tenebrae near the start of her fire, he turned a solemn look her way, and offered out the hunk of animal leg in a barbaric and silent thanks, as a gesture of peace.
Leoxander placed the satchel, containing the strange vial aside, for now. Explanation for that would come after his Necromancer was fed.
Tenebrae's pale eyes were full of that expression a young girl might give the boy who'd just handed her that first, perfect rose.. She accepted the rogue's gift with that same, shy and adoring smile, setting the bloody chunks to one side while she smoothed the splinters off the last skewer. Only when the satchel was placed in the snow did she glance at it curiously and with a little relief-- if Mahri was dealing drugs, or contraband, things the thief would interested in, then she wasn't being -that- kind of sneaky, after all. "What a day, love..." She'd use her knife to cut a small hunk of steak free and toss it to her mare, who deftly snapped it up. ".. and still no Jack. But those two.." her head canted toward their mounts, "..oughta make it easier." The necromancer couldn't help a smirk crossing rosy lips. "Bet you laughed at me, riding the wrong side of a horse." She shifted aside a little now, to make room for him. Mahri was feeding, probably oblivious to the pair. ".. you've had enough to eat?" She was threading the meat onto the sticks now, pausing to poke at the crackling new fire, and offer him an uncooked skewerful.
Leoxander skimmed over the comment about Jack to focus on better things. Even before she coaxed him closer with words, he was settling into a seat on the ground near her legs, in a place where he could lean back against her and still stay out of the way as she needed to cook her meal. "I'd never laugh at you, Joli..." and how sincere the thief could sound, though the grin he tossed her way with his head tilted back revealing his good humor, pulling back through. He was willing to forget the icy glare she'd tried to focus on him, earlier. His skull rested to her thigh, and he'd test her patience with him in a murmur. "Could use a couple more bites, if you're willin' to share..."
Tenebrae's deft fingers unravelled a bit of meat, which she dangled over the rogue's mouth, the steak dropping a spot of blood to stain his lower lip. His head was warm on her lap, his shoulders nestled to her thigh. "Open wide." If he did, she'd drop it in, before leaning over him-- with an apologetic sound-- to rake a few coals over, and balance the skewers between two rocks placed for that purpose. Hopefully, he wouldn't be too deprived of oxygen, for that brief time. Leaning back, she took another raw scrap, repeating her offer. Times like these, they could have been just any regular couple, relaxing and enjoying each other's company. Except, of course, that they were not.
Leoxander reveled in moments like those as much as she would, basking in firelight and the scent of blood. Head rested back, his eyes fixed on her, shining with an amber glow, and he obeyed her suggestion by separated his jaws and revealing the elongated tips of canine teeth corner the top row. The meat hit his tongue and he squished the blood from it in a satisfying bite, closing his mouth to chew contently and closing his eyes as she bowed her voluptuous curves overhead. A smile existed there on his mouth before he opened it for a second bite, and then with his lips still bloody he whispered a gruesome request, an ungloved hand pawing the side of her face gently, and settling there. "Kiss me..." It didn't matter if Mahri was still nearby, he wanted to rekindle the affection she had shown him in the last few days. As easy as it might seem for him to shrug off her dirty looks, each felt like a dull knife in the pit of his stomach, whether deserved or not.
It hadn't been all that long since Tene had revelled in blood nearly as much as she did the rogue's attention, so she'd bend once more to grant his request with unabashed enthusiasm. However long it lasted, the kiss was sweet, and she'd purposefully ignore the scent of charring meat as long as she could, to savour it fully. When the stink grew too much, she raised her head and laughed. "'Spose I ought to get used to my meat being well done." One more soft press of lips, and she'd keep one hand free of grease while she ate, so she might stroke bandaged fingers through wild blond hair.
Leoxander nuzzled her thigh, his nose twitching at the smells as she tore apart that cooked steak. The blend of her nearness, that soothing touch, the warmth of the fire, and the feel of a full stomach all lulled him to sleep, with his cheek pressed to her leg and an arm wrapped possessively around it. Leo would wolf nap the first hour, then snooze the rest of the night to watch over her, and the pair of equines settled content and secure in range of their new companions.
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Post by Joliette Thorne on Jan 28, 2009 11:10:34 GMT -5
-- Morning--
Satoshi shakes herself, not from cold but happy relief, as she passes the gates of Frostmaw and closer to the wilderness. The feline stretches her arms above her head with a wide yawn before promptly plopping herself atop the nearest snowdrift, conveniently placed in the center of the road. She sits cross-legged and with her back to the city gates, head turned up to stare absently at the overcast sky and the flakes that drifted from above. Mdf trills softly and tightens his coils around her neck, a living and almost ever-sleeping scarf.
Tenebrae shouted, "WHOA"
Tenebrae would first be heard by that cry, then as a hammering of split hooves across hard ice, approaching so rapidly that Satoshi and her dragon may not even have had time to sit up and look for the source of the terrible din. Which would really work out best for all concerned, considering that moments later a massive frostmare carrying a slightly irritated necromancer went soaring over their heads, the mare committing a lucky last-minute jump, probably to avoid the dragon which sent the animal careening into a new series of pigrooting bucks and furious whinnies. Tene, to give her credit, remained seated the while. If only barely. "Whoa, damn you, or I swear...it's lycan chow for you!"
Satoshi observed the horse’s hasty flight with a slight scowl marring her features. Big dumb animal was blocking her view of the sky, it was! The feline huffed and tilted her head toward the bucking mare, the peeved expression vanishing as the rider’s threat reached her furred ears. The little mage couldn’t hold back an amused laugh at the threat; Mdf echoed his own sound, although it could be translated as more of a voice of interest at the beast being made food. Satoshi began a short round of applause for the sake of the frustrated necromancer in gratitude for the show produced between mare and rider.
Tenebrae had managed to settle the nervy beast into something less than a bronco rodeo spectacle, though the mare's glacial blue eyes rolled to show whites, and violent spouts of white fog huffed from distended nostrils as the animal trampled the snow restlessly. A small, bandaged hand reached to pat the creature's dappled neck. "Good girl, whoa... attagirl..." Murmuring such soothing niceties, Tene eyed the feline and her draconine companion, as did the frostmare, who had stilled, arced her spiny neck and now quivered like an equine jelly, staring moon-eyed at the reptile. Tene gave Satoshi a half-apologetic, half-unimpressed smile. "Your dragon is spooking my horse."
Satoshi blinked at the rider and turned her head to look down at the dragon, his bright blue eyes fixated on the horse with tiny talons flexing anxiously. Satoshi covered the dragon’s head with a light head, cutting off his view of the nervous mare, and whispered in a conspiratorial way to Tenebrae. “Don’t listen to what he says. He really only eats fish. Just likes to talk big in front of the prey critters.” These words earned an angry squeak from the shielded dragon and with an upturned tail he slipped into the mage’s pack to skulk in privacy, displacing a glass bottle with the action. Satoshi watched her companion’s disgruntled departure with bewilderment--catching the bottle as it was tossed aside--for a moment before shrugging it off and returning her slit-pupiled gaze to the necromancer. She offered Tenebrae a half-smile and tossed the bottle towards her. “For spooking the pony.”
'Tenebrae s 'pony' - almost 18 hands of solid muscle, horn and spines - would shy again at the sudden mid-air bottle, which Tene deftly grabbed in it s flight, despite the fact that she was actually travelling sideways at the time. "... lump-headed ice donkey..." The necromancer spoke it in a kindly tone, however, and legged the frazzled beast toward Satoshi. Given its rider's silent signal to halt, the mare returned to staring and quivering, allowing Tene at least the chance to take a drink without spilling it. The bottle's cork was spat with a soft 'pop;, to land on the snow below. "Haven't I seen you, somewhere before?" Peridot eyes, near as pale as her horse's blue, regarded the feline with an arctic sort of interest.
Satoshi regarded the rider’s control over the frostmare with unveiled interest, her long tail’s lazy movements picking up in tempo with her mood. “You don’t see obedient ice creatures around too often,” she commented in a tone almost to herself, azure eyes hazing with the words. The feline gives a little jerk at Tenebrae’s question as if startled out of deep thoughts, her ears perked forward as her eyes looked over the woman. “Seen me? Likely. I wander from one end of the land to the other often.“ Her nose lifted a fraction to sniff the air briefly, and with the scent the feline’s face brightened and she leapt to her feet. “Ah! You’re the one that was covered in muck in the swamp! You flattened that poor toad too…” The mage gave a cheerful little laugh and clapped her hands together. “Cuki was right, swamps are not the best places for picnics, indeed!”
Tenebrae 's right brow arced high over its pallid, jewelline eye - though whether it was due to the memory of the swamp and that most unfortunate toad, or at Satoshi's observation regarding ice creatures wasn't apparent until she spoke. "They're not much different to normal horses. Bit more... fangish, but really...Cuki?" Tene had tromped off in such a snit that she had not seen the mage, only glimpsed a white feline shape in the mire's gloom. "You know the monk, then?" The mare’s pointed ears flickered back and forth as though it were listening the while, now and then stamping cloven, sharply-tipped hooves.
Dergious stomps through the snow cursing and breathing heavily. He stops suddenly and eyes the unexpected company.
Tenebrae 's nervous frostmare snorted at the sudden appearance of the dwarf.
Dergious looked at Tenebrae.
Dergious said to Tenebrae , "Get out o' me way corpse."
Satoshi nodded at Tenebrae’s words, her own light colored brows rising at the mention of the monk. “I know him well.” She paused a moment to bite her lower lip in thought. She avoided mentions of her attachment to the monk to most, but this woman had spoken of him by name in a way that suggested familiarity. “Yes, he is a very dear friend of mine. You know him as well?” A single ear flicked down occasionally at the stamping of the mare’s hooves. “By the way,” the mage added in a sudden afterthought, “you look much better without all the duckweed and mud in your hair.” She gave the necromancer a smile, lightly colored eyes bright with amusement.
Leoxander was just another rider through a frozen world. Ice and leaves crunched beneath every step of four, a rhythm that beat steadily louder, indicating his approach. His shoulders and skull moved like a mellow dance, blending into the beast's steady gait, a living embodiment hunkered down against the creatures spine. Dressed in white, the two were ideally camouflaged for those hunting grounds, the stallion's frame a dusty coal brown enhanced with a frosty silver sheen, similar to the petrified tree trunks that provided a base to snow covered branches. Behind Dergious' noisy entrance, the rogue circled this unique mount around to step into the clearing behind him, fingers tightening on tangled tendrils of two-tone mane to bring the animal to a halt. The nostrils of both horse and rider twitched, the first of which would snort a warm breath that billowed a misty cloud in front of it's fanged maw. He'd only watch, to make certain the dwarf and the stranger weren't trouble for his mate.
Leoxander said, "I didn't quite catch that..." But really, he did. Eyes would gleam beneath the shadows of an overcast head cover. "Problem, mate?"
Dergious turns his creepy, angry gaze towards Leoxander and snorts. "Varmit, ye best be mindin yer tongue."
Tenebrae would have decapitated people for this knowledge-- but since she was three, she had always dreamed of a white knight on horse galloping to save her. And alright, Leo was hardly a knight, and the horse had fangs, and Dergious wasn't really a danger so much as just plain irritating… Still, it warmed her a little inside. After she beamed a smile of greeting to Leo, Tene left the men to their talk a moment, replying to Satoshi: "Cuki is one of my people, like family." She chuckled a little. "And yes, I feel much better without the mud. Are you a friend of his?"
Satoshi flicks back feline ears at the sound of approach before turning her head to view the new arrivals. The mage blinks once at both males, her nose twitching as she took in their scents. Pointed ears press down in involuntary response at the smells. One carried too much of a canine scent.
Leoxander pushed both hands against the spined wither of the beast to dismount, responding calmly. "That's amusin', comin' from that filthy fungus hole of yours." Teeth clench, chiseling the corners of his jaw as he fixed that equally eerie gaze - not entirely human - on the dwarf in return.
Tenebrae 's mare tossed her pale mane and whinnied softly upon sight and scent of the herd stallion.
Dergious grins and shrugs, "Been called worse, an I gots brains enuff not te be gettin me panties inna bunch o'er a few werds... unlike yerself, varmit."
Leoxander said to Dergious, "Walk around 'er. Nice an' quick like." It wasn't necessarily a suggestion, that might be determined by how he pushed the words through his biting jaws. "Lest you find yourself unable to walk at all."
Satoshi returned her gaze to Tenebrae at the repeated mention of Cuki, her ears pressing forward while her tail flicked excitedly. “Yes, he is like family to me as well.” She then offered the woman a rare thing for the normally introverted creature: she bowed, one hand across her chest with legs stiff as she bent deeply to Tenebrae. “I am Satoshi. Any friend of my favorite monk is a friend of mine. ...Usually.” She spoke the last word half-jokingly.
Dergious said to Leoxander, "Ye seen da size o' dat ass? It be takin me a week te be trudgin round dat."
Leoxander took his attention from Dergious at that point, no matter his response. Though, not entirely. Not enough to be caught off guard if the dwarf should do something drastic.
Satoshi is assaulted with the lycan's attention, now... no more than a silent stare from beneath that white hood.
Leoxander would definitely not take that opportunity from Tenebrae, either. Wherever the fan was, Leo was inclined to get out of the way when the ... well something was going to hit it.
Satoshi returned the hooded man's attention with a sidelong gaze, no effort made to turn towards him. The only hint of her anxiety under his look was a swift flicking of the end of her tail.
Leoxander might be caught smirking to himself, whether pondering what the Necromancer might do to the loud dwarf, or perhaps contemplating exactly what that aforementioned backside looked like. He'd seen it, but it never hurt to look again.
Tenebrae narrowed her own stare thoughtfully upon the catlike woman, before dipping her own head slightly, a wisp of a smile on her lips. "It's odd I have never met you then..." A gap in the males' bickering had her glance to Leo. "She's a friend of Cuki's, love. Met her in the... uh, met her the other day." Dergious was bestowed a more venomous look, and if her horse was to accidentally stand on the dwarf's foot, well, she wouldn't cry about it.
Tenebrae said to Dergious, "At least people can tell my backside from my face. "
Dergious chuckles and heads west, making it a point mime a long journey as he alters his path around her waaaay more than necessary.
Leoxander noticed the woman, but more importantly he noticed she was... something of a cat. Annoyance immediately creased a line or two in his brow, his stare harder than it necessarily needed to be. Lupine eyes darted to a swish of tail and back, and he finally turned away from the pair with a chuff of breath, retying the vines that held a large black bow to the flanks of that strange looking beast. He did notice the way Dergious made certain to avoid Tenebrae, now... and the shadow of a smirk at the corner of his mouth revealed him satisfied with that.
Satoshi let a partly inaudible hiss escape her lips at the man’s hard look, boots shifting in the snow until she stood in a stance that would allow a hasty retreat if needed. When he released her from his gaze, the mage could not stop a sigh, a sound falling in unison with the man’s and for her sake she hoped it went unheard.
Tenebrae's brow hitched high, a thin black flag raised at the rogue's subtle amusement, though a half smile of her own graced her lips. "We were just out for a little.. gallop." Tene glanced down at her mare, who was a deal less skittish now the stallion had arrived, though white still showed around the chill blue of its eyes. She'd swing a leatherclad leg -carefully- across its spined wither, to sit sideways on the rough fur of her makeshift saddle, pausing there to watch the exchange between feline and canine. "Well..." Her tone was emphatic, "If you're family to Cuki, you're good enough for my company." Boots hit the snow lightly, and she patted the frostmare's neck through its long mane before leading the creature toward the white-clad rogue. "Are you on business in these lands, or just sightseeing?"
Tenebrae said, aside, to Leoxander, "Behave, you. And I have good news, perhaps."
Satoshi made a hasty bow to Tenebrae and after a moment's hesitation does the same to the man. "It was... interesting, meeting you. If we cross paths again, I'll try to remember your face without the soggy weeds." Throwing the pair a salute the feline scurries off in the direction the dwarf passed not long ago.
Leoxander said to you, "Sightseeing." If he did have business, she couldn't expect him to discuss it in front of this stranger, whether she was the cook's acquaintance or not. A tug of a makeshift rope to make certain weapons stayed in place, and he reached up to grab a handful of the stallion's mane carelessly, pulling himself up onto the equine's back by way of that grip. The creature didn't even seem to notice, and only paced in the direction of his mare, without lead, until Leoxander should take control. "I hear there's a great ass around here."
--Later, In The Forest---
Leoxander was no purveyor of stealth that afternoon. On the contrary, his rugged laughter might catch the ears of wary snow rabbits hunkered in near burrows, along with any other creatures prowling the white washed path. Flecks of torn snow sprayed the air each time the massive, blue-roan beast bucked, a seesaw rhythm from snout to tail that he attempted to kick his rider with. A pale knuckled grasp tangled in that black and white streaked shag, the equine's mane was his only means of staying on the stallion as it vented its annoyance and fought for freedom. His other arm bent up near his shoulder for balance, and he relied on his dexterity, rather than fear, to carry him through the wild motions in a stable and centered position. Split claws tore viciously at the ground, displaying the animal's outrage even as fatigue caused those ribs to flare, a fanged maw presented with a labored pant for breath. Just to keep the beast's spirit stubborn, Leo gave him a light kick. "C'mon, then. You ain't done already, are you?" An angry snort from nostrils was met with a firm thump on the horse's neck, resulting in a ripple of muscle beneath its grullo coat.
The pirate muttered, amused. "Tryin' to impress the lady..."
Tenebrae's mare was suitably impressed, and showed it by coyly highstepping up to the stallion's side, "Quit makin' eyes..." Tene censured her own mount, her laughter trailing as she pressed her fresher horse ahead, a charcoal-flecked phantom against the purity of snowbanks. The necromancer turned back, about to call 'race!' when her mare skittered sideways, snorting a bellowed breath, fanged maw gnashing. "Whoa, girl..." Tene was used to the mare's temperament now, and wasn't unseated. Peridot eyes would rapidly scan the area for sign of what had frightened her mount so.
Mircea slows to a halt, the altered climate seeming to have little ill effect on the oddly half-dressed lycan. He stands silently, looking from Leoxander to Tenebrae and then back to the other wolf. Speaking first doesn't seem to suit him oddly enough however and instead he gives them a half-hearted smirk. The appearance from his pale shadow of a ghostly feminine figure is set to note, she floats just behind and to the side of the strange male, thus encouraging him in some extent to speak, odd as it may seem. " Evening.." The exotic inflection is easy to catch, in another time, realm, and place taken as an almost Irish lilt.
Leoxander had a brogue of his own, though it was likely Mircea would not notice it beyond the growl. In the time it took him to catch his breath, he also caught the flavor of a familiar scent, and turned his head to regard what had spooked the mare. That's when the sound erupted low in his chest, a frosted exhale seeping from the corners of his mouth. It wasn't so much that Leo was a rude, villainous low life (which, he was), but he could recognize this lycan without having ever seen the male's face, and was less than pleased to see him show up so casually. Bare hands also unaffected by the chill pushed against an ice-spiked whither, and he dismounted fluidly from the chrome gray stallion, heavy treads planted in the snow, eyes locked on the new arrival.
Tenebrae calmed her frost horse from atop her makeshift, wolf-fur saddle, knowing better than to dismount a beast so unraveled. The mare nodded and shook her pale, charcoal-streaked mane, stretching her neck out to lip a nearby icicle appending a frozen firbranch as if for self-reassurance, though kept arctic blue eyes keenly upon the interloper. Tenebrae, barbaric in furs and leather, held the slackening rein with one hand, raising the other above her brow to shield the snow's reflection. The necromancer did not know the stranger, but the mere fact that her Cap'n saw fit to dismount told her to keep herself near, and for the moment, quiet.
Mircea Lifts his hands, allowing Leoxander to view the lack of armaments, upon his side. The 'battle' Leoxander seems so prepared to have is lax in happening, perhaps even non existent. Instead the alpha allows his hands slide back to his side. He makes no comment about Tenebrae's dress, her horse, and even Leoxander’s coming under scrutiny for the barest of moments before he eyes the thief, the rogue once more. " I 'aven't come t' battle with you Leoxander. You dunno me and I dunno you, I get your problems with what happened... With the pack, but that's why ah'm here now. If I'd wanted t'fight you..." He actually pauses looking back down along the path the duo had rode with a serious set to those roguish features. " I'd 'ave dropped you from your horse, and not bothered coming unarmed or in this form; though I think you know that. So, what say you, can we speak, no demands, no playing 'who's got th' bigger pair'?..."
Leoxander said to Mircea, "If you ain't lookin' for a fight, friend, I'd ditch about half of those vowels." Mircea wasn't his friend. He wasn't even known. At this point, the Captain would feel more comfortable with his simple name, of 'Leo'. A handful of Hollow denizens and criminals knew the rest of it, and that handful politely kept it to themselves. How the self-proclaimed Alpha knew of it, was beyond the rogue's understanding. Leo listened, and even as the wolf suggested they not flaunt their pair, the thief heard the little threat hidden in his statement that threw them on the table, anyhow. He opted to keep his pride in his pants, his weapons in their sheaths, gave the lycan an unimpressed stare that suggested he wouldn't have so easily dropped. His deep voice puffed a warm breath for every grim syllable. "I suggest you talk fast."
Tenebrae's mare made a soft snorting sound. Or at least, the noise came from that general direction, not long after the stranger's brash boast. The necromancer had by now slid from her mount to land in soft, furred boots in the snow, and was poised, intent upon the conversation at hand. If she looked highly amused, it was probably because she was.
Mircea seems only to join Tenebrae in her amusement, though he did imagine it was for entirely separate reasons. He moves towards the other lycan for a moment then turns to glance a bit more closely at the horses. " Beautiful creatures, fiery too, ah, right..." His amusement doesn't seem to leave, though his commenting on the horses seems to have helped to keep him from chuckling. " As I said before, I've no intention of fighting you. and I don't think you are an easy target, though obviously you think I think little of you, amusing that. I hear your name alot, not just from Mahri, but have heard it from other members of the pack. Seems you like to be called Leo instead, I should have remembered that I suppose. Still, I have met you, and even Isen... Isen is an alpha, he has the power, the capability, though seems uninterested in the ideal. You, you are a beta, a powerful one, perhaps even an alpha, but most rogue lycans, are seldom considered alpha's to a pack. Though it's mostly due to the insecurity of the pack alpha in question. Mahri has told me that you are like family, you and the one called Tenebrae. I would venture a guess that this, 'Tene brae' is the lovely lady with whom you were riding. " He dips his head towards her as he says it, focusing as quickly as he'd addressed her. " I'm not out to hurt the pack, I made challenge to Mahri, but I have not taken from her the position of alpha. I share it with her, having merged the small number of my own pack with your's. I came here from years of roaming, travelling. I didn't come to make a greedy conquest. I came to finally give my pack a place to call their home again, to rest, mate have children and grow old. I crave to, with Mahri's help... even your's do nothing more than make a true pack, a structured, close-knit group , a family. If you need any explanation further, you've but to ask... I'm aware of how you helped construct the pack, and helped keep it together, Mahri told me, as well Isen. Which is why I came to speak, rather than fight. I care for Mahri... There is a possibility, though at current it is little else than the call between our wolves that we may even become mates. I care about her opinion, again, that is why I am here."
Leoxander kept his mismatched eyes targetted upon the bold lycan, feet pressing harder into the ground like a wolf might weigh down on its pads in preparation to pounce. Tension locked through his shoulders and spine to make this possibility all the more believable, but at last, Mircea broke into his speech. The 'rogue' as he was so often referred to, in one form or another, continued to listen. People gave away their souls through their words, if one had the sense and the ear for it. "What I am, and who she is, isn't the issue here. Who the hell do you think -you- are to lay your rules down on our territory? She, and the pack, are under our protection. You step into her forest and you answer to us. Her family." And he bit down on the word with those canine fangs for emphasis. This unfamiliar wolf said a lot, like he knew a lot, and yet this was the first time he'd bothered to stick around to look Leo in the face. So to expect the thief to hold his opinion in high regard, right away, was just unreasonable. There was no respect, not a shred of it shown or received, yet.
Tenebrae’s upper lip drew back from her teeth briefly, as she listened to the stranger's monologue, but she would, unlike her rogue, maintain a demeanour nearly as cool as the arctic environment. Drawing herself to her full height-- which wasn't all that high, but she did manage to possess a certain regality-- as she dropped her rein in the snow, the woman stepped toward the men, having heard quite enough. She'd wait with due deference to her mate's right of first reply, seeing that the matter pertained to his ilk, and his pack, but there ware bigger issues at stake than these squabbles, matters of state clearly beyond the knowledge of the brogue-tongued Mircea, whose name she knew not and, by now, cared less about. "You do realise..." There was no bluster in her tone, no need to brag. "That by simply walking into that particular forest and staking claim, without my consultation, you are encroaching on my land, on my people..." A chilly little smile perched upon rosy lips. "On my rule of Vailkrin, itself. I know you not, nor your capabilities, if any, to provide me with the very services for which that land was apportioned to the lycan race." She'd let that sink in, sucking a cold gust of air between her teeth before continuing. "Which I can just as easily take back, am I not satisfied that it can fulfil that purpose. Would you take on the entirety of Cabal, and our allies, to prove yourself worthy of mounting a bitch, or leaking on a tree first? If so..." Green eyes sparkled with ice reflections. "Then you are a far bigger fool than you have proven yourself, so far."
Mircea glances curiously towards Tenebrae and then to Leoxander, frustration is vaguely evident, and yet he doesn't loose himself to the temper, rather allowing a deep breath and thenofferin a sigh of resignation waves them both off. " You both miss my meaning, my goals entirely as far as my coming here... I came here.. and I have laid down no rules, no orders to any member of that pack. I gave orders to my pack, mine, no one else's. As it seems that as much as I try to explain this situation, this whole ordeal, that without Mahri I'm going to do little good at all. I'm not one for human politics, I know lycan politics and I stick mostly to those. So I suppose this 'meeting' is best left to whenever Mahri is able and present to mediate." He suddenly pauses, looking to Tenebrae. "And I never stepped foot on Vailkrin soil, I rarely go near the town and the forest I have never bothered to tread in. Mahri and I fought our challenge in the front yard of a home in the place called Kelay. Still either way. I think it best we leave this whole ordeal until Mahri can be present. I'm often blunt, and more often prone to miscommunicating what I aim to say, good evenin' to you both."
Leoxander stood there for a while. Long after Mircea had turned, and once again the rogue saw the self titled alpha retreat. Arms folded over his chest, heavy boots planted at shoulder width, it took minutes for him, fuming in silence, to gather the composure to stay right there along side his mate. She would know from everything about him, the aura he portrayed, that Leoxander was less than impressed or amused by all of this. There was old burning rivalry, there.. he'd hunted this same problem in search of a solution before, and always... this is what it came to. There never would be a shred of respect, as far as he was concerned. "Son of a bitch." There. He said it. And that would be worth any time in prison spent for his crimes. But that's exactly what Mircea was and there wasn't a soul beside Tenebrae around for miles to know it. Leo turned, stalking back toward the stallion that started slightly, feeling the anger stirring inside the lycan. If he'd had his way, Mircea's bloody face print would still be evident in the snow. To show there were no hard feelings, he gave the horse's shoulder a firm pat of his hand, slapping skin against an icy coat in a resounding smack that broke the silence. 'Clyde' only seemed to enjoy this, settling back on his sturdy feet.
Tenebrae was an expert in distraction, a skill that'd helped earn her many a meal and fortune in her years of life and unlife. Rather than speaking anything of the interloper's departure, though many questions pricked at her mind, her thoughts rampant with possible paths of actions, potential repercussions, she chose not to risk further enraging her already clearly steamed-up mate. Tene simply watched him mount his horse, and was soon to follow his example. That regal mien was still upon her, a hard-to-shake response to her own anger and, with her spine straightening, she tilted her delicate chin toward the highest point of that frozen forest, where she'd planned to lead Leo as they'd travelled. "Race you." Her mare was urged on with a sudden pressure of heel so that the equine gather powerful haunches under itself, a picture of energy compressed. Tene then released 'Bonnie' like a silvery bolt from a bow, and the two would fly like the wind itself, into the trees.
Leoxander heard the words, yet was slow to react. But her summons to contest could not be ignored; Leo was thrilled for the distracting challenge. His stomach slid across the back of the frost beast just shy of its deadly withers, a boot swung over to punt lightly into its flanks, sending them charging eagerly after their mate - both rider and runner. "Yah!" The sound was instinctive, it encouraged the brute on. Claws kicked high and noble as it had well learned to canter, giving the weaker female the chance to possible outrun him before he... as Mircea had so delicately put it, flaunted his pair for display. But Leo rode upon the head of the herd, the racer, the hunter, their leader... and it took the thief and his newfound companion mere moments to tear up the cliff side and catch up with their competition. These beasts could go where a typical horse could not, finding footholds and dragging the combined weight up those treacherous slopes as though it were the marathon of their lives - blame short memory span. A bonding moment, between this hiding 'alpha' and the bull of the frostmare herd.... they would win that race, that was for certain. But perhaps the sympathy of Bonnie and Joli would allow them their pride, that victory, and the right to claim them in the end.
Tenebrae's laugh was as silver as her mare as they moved like a drift of darkly speckled snow, the horse's split hooves nimbler even than the austere mountain goats that stood, horned sentinels, upon jutting rocks above. A muffled thud of hooves behind, the great stallion was swift to do his master’s bidding, and the sound had her urge her own mount on, knowing full well that her younger horse had not the muscle nor endurance, nor yet the knowledge of survival in this harsh landscape, to outrun the male. Still, Tene's blood was up and, as the necromancer flung her slim shape forward she shortened the reins, preparing for a leap across a fallen log. As the mare rose, Tene let out a shrill cry of pure joy that brought birds careening from the trees, knowing this to be her last moment of victory in that race. The mare's neck arced like a swan's as it glided gracefully over the jump, fleeting forward with a swish of hock-length tail, and only turned aside briefly when the grullo herd leader surged by. Was that a grin on Leo's face, as they passed? The pewter-toned shadow and its white rider were soon lost to sight over the peak of the hill, and Tene slowed to a more collected gallop, not unsatisfied with their defeat. The mare, though it strained against leg and rein to charge onward, was made catch its breath at that pace for the rest of the ride to the crest.
-- Watchful Eyes--
Tenebrae said to Leoxander, "Next time..." There was laughter still in her eyes, though her flushed features grew suddenly more still. "I found traps up here. Rabbit, deer snares.. no bear traps." Green eyes roamed the falls of white. "Wolves, maybe."
Leoxander had come to a stop ahead, thus their arrogant moods had changed. Though the horse did all of the running, they both seemed to be catching their breath and scanning the area around. Tenebrae would soon approach to confirm their sense of danger. "There's more'n that up here..." He'd add mysteriously, circling 'round the beast to be congratulated silently by the mare. They touched their noses to shoulders and necks, but that was as far as their affection went, when devoted to their riders. This gave Leo the opportunity to be close, along side Tenebrae. He met her eyes, in a moment, before averting them to the situation at hand. "These'd be hers, then?" A motion toward a snow pile that looked inconspicuous enough. But the thief knew there to be a snare under it, and made certain the horses stayed clear. This race, and the prospective outcome of 'next time' already forgotten.
Tenebrae shrugged lightly. "Talk in the places we've passed is that these are her favoured territories, I couldn't say if they were hers or not, but while I was on that ride this morning, I saw what could have been a sled track, most of it lost to the snow..." Tene inhaled deeply, and nodded, the crisp air almost stinging her lungs as her eyes settle on the trap. "Perhaps we should leave the horses."
Leoxander was very reluctant to leave his newfound companion. You could say that the rogue had always gotten along better with animals, than people. Their lack of deception, their bold honesty... their actions always meaningful and with purpose. Even if that purpose escaped human reason. Still, the cold air warned him... it would be a dangerous trek for horses, or anything else less than immortal. He looked to Tenebrae, then. "If luck's with us, she'll take the same route back. Like you said, best bet is to head east from here. We'll follow what tracks we can and bloody hope to run into her." He complied, dismounting yet again from the trustworthy Clyde, who seemed to attach at the hip to his mare quite literally the moment he was allowed, and Leo guessed they wouldn't be going far. "Stay warm... an' keep your ears open."
Tenebrae liked it when he took charge like that, as he did on the ship, and with the pack, places where his strengths came to the fore. Here, where he was master of the wilderness, compared to her frailties. His firm tone lit her with a glow of pride, and she'd follow close in Leo's tracks as they once more took to foot across the powdery ground, her cloak tucked tight to her frame, it hood drawn close around her face. She'd not hear much that way-- but that's what she had a lycanthrope for.
Leoxander walked along side the Necromancer quietly, listening carefully despite that he told her to be the proprietor of that responsibility. He tried so very hard to maintain his independence, to focus on the surrounding woods and the path ahead, but more often he would glance toward her. And then finally, he reached to take her hand, trying desperately not to make a big deal of it. Even though she wore his gloves, his hands managed to stay fairly warm. The bow that had been untied from the stallion's side was now adjusted over his upper torso, hugged to his chest and spine. "What're you thinking..? I can tell it's somethin' big..." Because, sometimes he longed to know, and cursed his inability to read her mind. Her silence had given her away.
Tenebrae's lower lip was half-drawn between even white teeth while she slid Leo a look of amused chagrin. "You know me too well now. I'll have to trade you in for a something less clever." Chuckling, she tightened her grasp on Leo's hand, squeezing it a moment. "Lots on my mind. Jack. Vailkrin. The island..." Tene paused to take an exaggerated step over a suspicious pile of snow. ".. little job I had in mind. Take your pick." She kept no secrets from her Cap'n, just a headful of prioritised ways to keep the pirate from becoming bored.
Leoxander considered his options. Jack was the topic at hand, but worn past its nub in conversation, so he skipped it. Vailkrin held no interest to him, the Corpse was just his mate's pub, so he tended to hang there on occasion, finding it a safe point. The island... that held a little interest to him, save those damn pygmies, and he nearly asked about her concerns there until she mentioned the word 'job'. Bingo. If the thief had a sweet spot it would be right around there. Anything to do with money, profit, could coax him back from daydreams and death alike. "What kind of job?" He asked, as if he didn't know. The sneaky, get rich kind, his conscience said. Didn't he realize why he loved this woman, yet? "Please tell me we're gonna off that idiot boyfriend of Mahri's..." An off hand, almost humorous kind of comment. Hell, it would be a laugh between them, if nothing else.
Tenebrae didn't seem to be joking when she replied, "Maybe for dessert." Her features were half-obscured by the fluffy rim of her cloak's hood, darkly-ticked wolf's fur rustling with the breath of her words. "I... well. It seems a bit silly now...." She had all but forgotten the letter until then, a spur-of-the-moment confession, the plan every bit as off-the-cuff. "But I thought... what if there was a way to fleece a roomful of cashed-up people, while they drink and have a good time, and we stay above suspicion..." Tene winced a bit. "Because we are the hosts." She'd pause there, waiting to see what he thought.
Leoxander had read the letter, he'd kept and cherished it as another of his hidden treasures. But he revealed none of that as he carried on the conversation, holding her hand with their fingers laced together. "It would put us in a spotlight to be hosting something like that. Why don't we find someone more important to take the blame if something goes wrong? I know you could talk one of those upperclass men into throwin' a party." He'd alter their path with a tug to that arm, avoiding one of Tanaraq's well placed traps. "We'd be better off servin' as entertainment, or waiterss, to keep an eye on things."
Tenebrae could not help the way she almost startled, narrowly missing having her foot snapped to the bone by the metal teeth Leo had stepped over. "Uh... yes, marvellous idea, love..." Honestly, it was if the rogue -could- read her mind, at times. "I was thinking, we make sure it's a lavish event, lots of cash and jewels on hand... maybe a charity thing...? ...get 'em all properly sloshed, and then have our crew do the light-finger waltz through all their coinpouches, while they're not looking." Tene frowned. "We'd need entertainment. Good entertainment. Song, dance, maybe a magician?" The crease in her brow smoothed, and she leant her shoulder in to nudge Leo's. "You could do a fan-dance!" Once more, Tene didn't look much like she was joking.
Leoxander cast a sidelong look her way at that last remark. "Or not!" He'd reply, all enthusiastic and sarcastic at the same time. A shake of his head, and his hand squeezed tight on hers now that their walk had returned to a safe path, once again. "You really gotta learn to let other people handle the work, darlin'. Find someone else. Have a plan. Come out with the profit in the end. Simple as that and you got nobody askin' you questions..." One thing led to another, and the thief couldn't help but let a small feeling slip. "Sometimes I don't know how or why you put up with the government bull..." There was more to that word, but we'll leave it to the more accepting imagination. "Why don't you entertain the crowd? I'll worry 'bout gettin' them drunk."
Tenebrae gave him a rare smile, both shy and happy. "Sounds good to me. And.. I won’t be putting up with it much longer. The government thing.." Her voice was quiet, though it sounded crisper here, almost amplified by the utter stillness of the air. ".. I'm abdicating as soon as I find proper replacements. One for each sector." Her eyes sought the tree-tops, then, as if she'd somehow find his approval for her plans up there, hiding in the branches like a squirrel. "I'm tired of it, Leo. I want out. Publicly, at any rate."
Leoxander kept his eyes low while she spoke, taking in all those words she had to say. Meanwhile, she would look up, in more than one way. She wouldn't find it up there, hard as she might look, because he would draw her attention undoubtedly back when he admit a few vulnerable words, that might as well have been those considered most 'special' when it came to love and romance. "I just want you..." He always had. There was never a moment he would have denied her a ride along side him on those ship voyages, but he knew where her loyalties remained. Just as his remained upon the sea. His gaze held hers then, pining for some reaction to his moment of weakness. The walk had paused, in the middle of the snowbound forest, to offer the necromancer and the thief that minute to themselves.
Tenebrae, for once, eschewed words in favour of an approach more suited the generally silent rogue-- she leaned in and up, to bestow a tender kiss on wind-chapped lips, drawing back to return a long look into differently-coloured eyes. Did she really need to say that he had her, already? That he'd had her with 'hello"? ...though it had actually been more like, "give me your money," but she wouldn't quibble about that, now. Her fingers swiped hair that really was getting too long-- he was rivalling his horse for a winter forelock-- out of the way of that gaze, before she finally broke the silence. "Let's find Jack."
Leoxander closed his eyes as she swept aside his bangs. He didn't mind his hair in his eyes, in his face - it was a face he wanted no one but her to see. Silently, he trudged on down the snow bound path without making much noise at all, but for his human companion he couldn't quite say the same. She did well, considering the size of those fur-lined boots.
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Post by Joliette Thorne on Jan 31, 2009 9:10:12 GMT -5
--A Snowy Path---
Leoxander was complacent in this silver-tone woodland. The wolf in him might even consider it his own, but the rogue would never settle. The tracks he left behind were not his own hard soled boot prints, but the solid pads of cloven claws, ideal for carrying their rider through the icy terrain. It was an apathetic pace for a lazy morning, the soft crunch of snow playing a slow percussion in a four-step gait. Atop the grullo beast, Leo's shoulders moved to that rhythm, an obsidian bow strung across them while a white hood concealed his features. He dug his knees into muscled flanks, tightened his gloveless grip on the overgrown shag of the frost stallion's mane, and moved with the creature when he effortlessly leapt a frozen creek, trudging quicker up the opposite side of the bank. Lycan eyes roamed what nearly proved to be barren lands, catching the panicked retreat of a winter rabbit here and there, but that was a lot of effort, and no a lot to eat
Terra was nowhere near as adept at travelling these lands in comparison to Leoxander and the stallion he was aboard. Instead, she was stomping and trolling over the banks of white in hopes of finding something warm. Now, she had learned her lessons in these lands and had promptly decided that the cold was something to be loathed, but promises had been made. This one was to an owl that moved near her. Winter-white and perfect in the land of Frostmaw, the creature would continue to lead its companion along. It was as though the vampiress had become pet to the animal. "I ha-ha-hate you," Blue lips chattered out from behind the press of a cloth scarf. No response would come from the owl as he began to hover, circling above at the sight of Leoxander. While it was a welcome vision before her, she'd sigh. How come the owl and Leo seemed to go hand-in-hand in these lands were she felt hopeless?
Leoxander lifted his head slowly, a frosted breath pluming in front of his features as mismatched eyes raised instinctively to the sky. As though his rounded ears caught the stroke of wings through the air, high above. That wasn't the only noise he heard, and after spotting the white speck circling above, he turned his attention over his shoulder in the direction of icy words. The way he straightened his spine was enough to tell the beast beneath him to stop, though the stallion pawed anxiously at the ground until earth and leaves uprooted from beneath a blanket of snow. A half turn of that frosted chrome body, the equine tossed it's overgrown forelock enough to reveal a predator's fanged maw, thus revealing why the lycan was able to ride it. This was no typical horse. Terra was met with a solemn expression, mouth compressed and framed by a five o'clock shadow that was working it's way toward beard status. He calmed the snorting animal beneath him with a pat to it's neck, because the vampire smell had the creature tense. "Don't tell me you're still followin' that damn thing..."
Terra stared at the mare who roamed these frosty lands and dismissed it as a threat. Horses were too stringy and this one would be too cold. Besides, Leo seemed to have developed a relationship with the creature and wouldn't be pleased if she seriously considered taking a bite... Blonde ringlets that were near frozen shook, particles of ice falling to join its brethren on the ground below. "P-p-promisssed." A sharp sound of teeth clacking together sounded, the vampiress wincing as though her tongue may have been caught in-between. At least she had learned to dress appropriately for the onslaught of bitter winds, wrapped in fur and warmth. Unfortunately, the cold-blooded creature couldn't appreciate the warmth. It wasn't enough. Jaws remained clenched, the effort shown in the dimples formed on red cheeks. Up above, the owl that remained without a name continued to move. Occasionally, it would take off towards the west but it always returned much to her dismay.
Leoxander stared, in silence, for an unnecessary amount of time. Once, he'd avert his eyes above, squinting against the light through gray clouds, which almost washed out the sight of the owl, completely. One last look in the direction he'd come, and he pushed a heel against the equine's rubs to encourage it reluctantly forward, toward Terra. Without the typical fear most of herd would present, this toned beast arched it's neck proud and kept it's skull high in threat, letting the vampire know that if tried anything, she'd earn herself a deadly fore claw in the gut. Again, this was no typical horse. It's fur was a dark brown-coal but almost scaled with an icy layer that gave him a pearly sheen. Both mane and tail were extremely long, mixed strands of black and white flecked with frozen bits that rattled like beads, each time he shook his sharp ears. The killing tusks protruding from it's lower jaw were unmistakable. "You're gonna freeze if you head west from here. It only gets colder..." Hesitantly, he offered a surprisingly warm hand down to the vampiress, willing to help her onto a seat behind him, on the stallion. He knew that he was risking being caught in that predicament, separated from the Necromancer, but the only other option seemed to be letting his friend catch a cold death (if it were possible). And Leo wasn't willing to do that. Whether or not she accepted, his other hand went to his mouth, bare fingers set between his teeth to produce a sharp whistle that would snare the owl's attention.
Terra was a fan of all the creatures that roamed these plains with the rare exceptions: the owl and this horse. That would be the source of her glare while Leo searched above for the owl, watching its direction. When the hand was offered it took her a moment to realize the offer. Time was limited and the options were bleak. Either accept the ride and hope that she didn't face death at the hands of another, or trail after the owl and receive a frost burial. His hand was accepted, the warmth a welcoming feeling that she would relinquish once she had mounted. Surely riding horse-back was similar to dragon rides, and with that in mind she'd be capable of handling this despite her feelings towards the supernatural creature beneath her. "Owl. Talksss." Forming sentences took too much effort but it was important that Leoxander understood why she had bothered to follow after this creature. Then again, he could think that she suffered from hallucinations due to the climate. S'not like she was known for remarkable moments of sanity and quick-thinking. "T-t-too k-ca-cold." Likely an indication that this adventure needed to come to an end before it began.
Leoxander would generally be thrown off guard by a comment like that, and perhaps laugh it off, but he maintained his solemn expression as the equine shifted beneath them, and Terra settled in. A shiver coursed his spine on behalf of her chill, able to feel how thoroughly frozen the vampire behind him is. The aura and scent naturally cold, and was well beyond that, and he subtly lifted the fabric of his collar over his nose, as it was tailored to provide a mask. "That's not an owl..." He'd reply calmly, still uncertain exactly -what- the creature was. "At least... not your typical mouse hunter." Feeling the impatience of the stallion below, he relaxed his hand on the mane and allowed the beast to start forward. Not quite like a dragon's hide, there was no saddle on Leo's mount and therefore it would be a more dangerous ride, bareback. But somehow the rogue stayed in perfect momentum with the animal speeding up it's stride in the snow, well centered with his legs locked just behind front shoulders. Leaning forward when the equine trudged uphill, and back against Terra on those necessary slopes. Mismatched eyes raised and his hood fell to the back of his neck, while he scanned the sky in search of their guide. "You know where it's goin'? I can't stray far and there's not much shelter once we get over this hill."
Terra would have breathed a sigh of relief if her lungs required the action. Sometimes she did it just to make herself look and appear like she was alive, but the appearance mattered little to her in that moment. Warmth seemed like a distant memory and owl or no, it's what she wanted. Then again, if she continued to deny the creature when it demanded to travel, it would never leave. Leoxander's assurance of the creature merely posing as an owl was delighted in. For once, someone took her serious when it came to that bird and didn't try to convince her that it was just that; a bird. The inquiry posed was addressed with a snort as she'd follow the movement of horse and rogue. Had she known where it intended to go, she would've been there. Instead it took her in circles, through buildings, down tunnels and through shadows as opposed to a distinct route. Frustrated and freezing, trembling with the efforts to regain warmth, the vampiress was near the point of relenting. "Need warm." That blasted 'owl' had led her through the snow, stopping only for a few hours to watch a blizzard plague the lands once again. Speech was limited and the desire for pursuing that owl again had diminished. "Done."
Leoxander had the 'owl's attention, that's what the whistle was far. And he wasn't so much following the winged beast as it was now following them. He backtracked the way he'd been traveling, aware of Terra's request before she even spoke it. "Yeah, I know. Tenebrae and I have a camp not far from here..." A grim demeanor settled over Leoxander as he thought about that. Here he was, with the woman he'd kissed pressed up behind him, and he was taking her right to his mate. ...Someone just stamp 'stupid' on his forehead. He listened to any other words she might have tried to say, and the rhythm of the frost stallion's patient walk for a long time before he bothered to let the blonde know. Calm, despite the weight he felt in his stomach. "...I told her what happened."
Terra wanted to be somewhere warm and craved sleep. That was what she wanted more than anything. What she hadn't wanted was his confession. It obliterated all thoughts of sleep, erased any thought in her mind that things could ever be salvaged, dashed any hope that had blossomed with the ability to forget and move past. Now it became something she would have to address, to accept, and to apologize over. How could she begin to form that? Then again, would she really be able to set up camp with the two of them and expect her survival to be a possibility? Good thing she didn't need to breathe. Even better that her heart didn't beat. It couldn't break with guilt, nor would it spill anguish anywhere. For a long moment she'd stay quiet, and when she spoke it was low in hopes it was easier to form words. "I would have told her if you haddd not." Longer than was normal for the vampiress, she'd finally form a complete sentence. "She hates me?" The end went upwards, turning it to a question. Not that she'd hold it against Tenebrae. Hell, part of her wanted to hate herself for it.
Leoxander had worried, briefly, that she might jump the horse and run off into the frost bitten forest. He sighed his own relief when he finally heard her response, a slight nod seen from the back of his head, all too glad to accept that. This was before her question, which... Leo truly didn't know the answer to. "She forgave me... s'much my fault as it was yours." Hopefully this would give her a little reassurance. When Terra first climbed up behind him, he was nervous, fearing things would get worse. But during their walk he started to feel a little better about the situation. Avoiding Terra wasn't something he could ever easily do, even if sometimes it seemed for the best. "...and..." The next part came reluctantly, because manners often elude the pirate. "M'sorry I bit you... if makes you feel any better, you made me sicker than a dog." No pun intended to that off hand remark.
Terra’s face wrinkled up in shock and threatened to freeze in that position if she didn't force it back. Of all the things he could've said, that was one of the few that made her want to take the flying leap off their ride and abandon ship. Had he really just apologized? " ... Sssshi left m-me that night." It wasn't one she wanted to re-visit nor discuss by way of an apology, even if she was pleased to hear that he was capable of recalling. "Sssuffered too." Addressing his sickness, perhaps? One could never be sure when it came to the vampiress. "He needsss to know too." Since everyone else knew, it was only fair that he did as well. "Tonight. Here." Why fight one battle when the war could come and it all could be ended here and now. " ... will you let her attack me?" That was what she feared the most, it appeared. Being attacked in this condition by someone she admired with no hopes of allies. While it only seemed fair for her to retain a physical scar from their previous encounters, she wasn't quite capable of coping with it now. Not with everything that was currently occuring. "...Sssh-sshi will. Again."
Leoxander didn't recall any of it. Mahri had let him know what had happened when he'd woke up without his clothes and bandaged in the Den of Iniquity, just moments before Tenebrae left the room in disgust. The tension in his spine and his white knuckled grip on horsehair was all that he revealed of that moment, and he listened to her plan. It seemed like a bad idea to the rogue, knowing very well it could result in a fight. Not just between the women... but Shishi undoubtedly had a bone to pick with him, by now. He didn't speak again until she asked that particular question concerning his mate, and his answer was firm and resolved. "No." Though the camp was in sight, ahead, he spared a glance east and contemplated on taking her back to town, closer to the vampire that should have been there with her. The stallion beneath him stamped his feet impatiently with Leo's indecisiveness, not typical behavior from what the beast knew of his rider, thus far. But Terra needed warmth, more than anything else right now... so he eventually pushed his hands down near spined withers to dismount by drawing his knee to his chest, rather than swing a boot back into Terra. He'd leave her seated on the wandering animal, as it began foraging for the scent of a dead animal, or old meat.
Terra knew that it wasn't the brightest of ideas that she had formed, but it would help her feel better. No matter how things may have seemed at the time, the more she reflected on them --which she was forced to do on nights when she couldn't sleep-- the more she realized the situation became out of hand before she knew it. As such, she should've fled at the first sign of the dam breaking as opposed to when it crashed down around her. When Leo moved and the owl settled down, the vampiress opted to follow after. It was an awkward jump from the horse but she'd manage and stand careful in the center while trying to track everything around her. Which was the greater threat to her in that moment? The impending feeling of doom, an unidentified owl, the horse who she trusted even less than herself, or the rogue? Eventually she came to the conclusion that it was herself and so she'd isolate herself, standing with a chilly stare. "Thingsss are normal again thankfully."
Leoxander went directly to the firepit, though his eyes scanned the area to notice the pale frostmare and the necromancer were both gone, likely out riding and exploring the area just as he had been. A boot kicked the pile of ash aside, with a disturbed stone placed back into the ring as he crouched. Fortunately, a fresh snow hadn't tumbled through the trees to bury their camp spot, yet. A piece of canvas was lifted from the ground serving as a graveyard for old twigs and leaves, and beneath it, still dry, Leo grabbed a handful of kindling and evergreen needles from the stack. Safe to say Leoxander was a cheater... when it came to producing fire, that gnome tinkered device drawn from a pocket would take care of it, easily. A snip of metal clipped the cold air as he flipped the tin lid on it's hinge, thumb striking the flint wheel geared to create a spark on a wick. Meanwhile, his other hand sought a different pocket for his flask, and after a drink to warm him from the inside, he kept just enough alcohol in his mouth to lean over and spit the fuel through that flame, onto the dry needles. The 'whoosh' send him leaning back to avoid singing the ends of his hair... it was overgrown, anyway. He swallowed the rest of his drink and closed the firemaker's lid as the wood started to burn, absently wiping his mouth with a sleeve. Turning his head toward the sound of her voice, Leo beckoned her with a gesture as he stood, unable to know the turmoil going on inside her mind. "At least get the feelin' back into your feet before you run off..." Noting that look in her eyes, he would only go so far as to stop her, being a very solitary and isolated being, himself. Even then, he busied himself doing other things beside droning conversation to fill the silence, and hoisted himself onto a low branch to grab a pack off the limb even higher above it. The owl's eyes were likely locked on him the moment he opened it, drawing a few strips of bloody meat that brought the frost stallion trotting up from the trees, nostrils flaring with an eager, exhaled breath.
Terra had considered fleeing and had the feeling in her fingers and toes been present, she likely would have. Not that she wanted to be labeled a coward, but because all of this business with confessions and emotions was starting to make her grow weary of both. Who wanted an empathetic being about who was incapable of producing her own true emotions? Perhaps that was the downside to being immortal. Did everything start to seem like it was lessened, boring? Irregardless of the thoughts that plagued her, leaving her in silence, she'd move towards the fire and bask in the warmth without a question as to Leoxander's capabilities. The usually chatty Terra found that she had no conversation to make, even though the ability to string together words was returning slowly. "I'm so-sorry." At last she'd say it, watching as the owl swooped low with the hopes of snagging a bit of the raw meat laid out. "You know none of this would have happened if not for my pushing."
Leoxander was not one to indulge in those things.. emotion, confession. He lived his life keeping everything inside, and that really seemed to work for him until his lycan diseased relied on the first to work properly. An arm came up against the owl swooping in, but not to bat it away, onto to catch those deadly talons on his bracer, rather than his bare hand. He flicked a chunk of meat toward that deadly beak and to his pleasant surprise, the owl was able to narrow in on the scent, the sight, and snatch it before it ever hit the ground. Whether or not it took flight again to enjoy it's meal in the branches, or lingered back to inhale it and await more, this unlikely 'beastmaster' had another hungry animal shoving it's tusked snout into his leather covered side, trying to get to the backpack slung over his shoulder. A rough, unappreciative smack upside the equine's head was offered when it almost took Leo's fingers with the meat he offered. "Knock it off, Clyde." Unphased.. the horse lifted it's head and ears in surprise, listening intently to the lycan, while masticating that tough strip in it's jagged back teeth. Finally, he looked over toward Terra, having heard that unnecessary apology. "Let's just stop feeling sorry for ourselves and fix it." Okay, Leo. Open up a moment. You can do this... "Look..." In case she wasn't paying attention before. "I don't wanna lose you. As a friend. And... I -can't- lose her. I don't know... what... -how I feel about you, Terra. But I know I damn well love that woman." No one could ever possibly understand how much it took for the rogue to say that. Hell would have to be frozen over way more than this for him to ever take it back. He wanted to wait for her response, but he looked away at that point. Almost apologetic in his own way, without really saying it.
Leoxander would likely search out seconds for the owl and stallion in whatever pause of silence might settle between them. True, he was feeding the annoyance she despised, yet again... but he believed the owl might be more willing to stop taunting her with a full stomach and a content mood.
Terra didn't shiver from the cold so much as the glimpse of Leoxander. Now, over the months she had been able to steal away tidbits about him, coaxing them out with a childish game and briefly celebrating the tiny victory. All of that considered, she'd smile to herself even as she watched that cursed foe of hers be satisfied again. Cold fingers lifted to brush away even colder, wet hair and in the process she'd come to a realization. "...I was going to be engaged, y'know." A sigh fell from her lips as she briefly recalled that moment. "And when that moment came, I knew there would be no other. I do love him, and ..." And what? "That's all I can say. I don't want anything to mess that up." ...even though there was nothing to mess up anymore, considering their state of things. "That's why I'm going to tell him and beg for forgiveness and make amends with Tene. Then everything will be okay." So she hoped.
Tenebrae's frostmare harrumphed loudly, bits of blood and meat flecks spraying to further spoil the once-pristine snow above her kill. Wild things, though due to their predatory and pack-forming nature more easily tamed than their regular equine counterparts, the horses of these wintry reaches were well-fitted for survival in the deep chill of their home. Unlike Tenebrae, who'd cuddled up to the mare for the scant warmth it might share, its cooler blood imparting little heat but enough to stop her suffering too badly. They'd run down a lame caribou calf, abandoned by its migrating herd, and Tene had lost her seat when Bonnie lunged in for the kill, slipping free so the animal could have its private moment between killer and prey, which she understood was best enjoyed for the intimate moment it was. The mare's fanged maw snapped shut over the calf's spine, a vicious shake breaking bone and sinew free, and then the victim was only a limp bag of meat to be devoured at leisure. If Tene was surprised when the mare trotted awkwardly to her, its prey dangling from it mouth, and dropped it at her feet, she wouldn’t show it. Instead, she took her knife, and sectioned a haunch away, stepping back so her horse might have its fill. So, this is how Tene came to be blood-flecked and cheerful, glad to for once be bringing home the bacon-- or veal-- the haunch tied to the back of her shaggy saddle, the mare prancing lightly through the crisp snowfields as they drew at a collected trot into the area of the campsite... in time to see a blonde figure hurriedly departing the scene. Tene stilled her horse, her lips suddenly numb, and sat astride Bonnie for a long moment, in silence. The snow wasn't the only vast cold that Leoxander would experience as the necromancer unstrapped the caribou meat, aimed it with narrowed eyes, and threw it at his head. The cold had not affected her aim much.
Leoxander tried to feel a tinge of sympathy for her, but it wasn't there... no sense in forcing it. Matrimony wasn't the be-all, end-all of existence for him. Maybe love existed after all, why did that have to be proven with laws and rituals? The rogue knew the outcome of a long and 'happy' marriage. "So you're a bloody psychic, now." That was the only sarcastic remark he could come up with to let her know her love drunk speech sounded a little ridiculous. No relationship came without trials, tests... and who should know that better than those two? He'd shrug his comment off just in case she didn't have the will to do so. "Sounds like a plan..." It was about the same route he'd gone, and he wouldn't blame Terra for swallowing her pride, too. If there was more to that comment, it was never finished. He quieted hearing the crunch of buoyant steps, turned to see the vampire possibly retreat, for one reason or another. The owl took flight to harass her, feathered appendages fanning open, in a deceiving resemblance to large, angelic wings. At the scent of blood, he turned his attention fully toward Tenebrae, a little concerned about her alluring aroma and appearance, and that was why he kept some distance. As for his silence... well, he was prepared to take whatever lashing she'd give him for bringing Terra into their camp. No excuses.
Leoxander watched her unhitch that piece of meat and throw it. Instead of catching it, he'd drop his skull and take the punishment with his teeth slightly clenched in irritation. Now he had a bit of blood in his hair, and the dark coated stallion quickly snatched up that scrap before skipping victoriously over to the frostmare.
Tenebrae swung her leg over the rump of her horse and dropped to the ground before her erstwhile club drew the horses together, and would stand there in the snow with her arms crossed, and her lips as thin as string.
Leoxander , staring at his furious mate in return, would risk a slow step closer. Bare hands opening as though to show he's not armed, and she has no reason to be either. "Joli..." in that 'let's be reasonable' kind of tone. But what the hell was he supposed to say? What reason could he have for possibly bringing her there? His mouth opened lamely, while a hand went up to nervously brush his fingers through blood stained hair, which clumped those pieces a bit.
Leoxander was caught without a plan. It wouldn't ever happen again.
Tenebrae didn't have any words. Her contribution to the day's hunt was being enjoyed by the horses while she broke that stolid gaze and slushed through snow to her pack, where she'd rummage about, stowing sundry items she'd left nearby, maintaining her silence the while.
Leoxander feared she might be leaving, right away. Her turn to walk away motivated him to close the distance and follow. "She's was chasin' a bloody owl through this weather, half frozen..." Alright, that sounded almost as ridiculous as he'd credited Terra to be, but he didn't know -why- she would, other than a promise. "...Just... talk to her, Joli. We wouldn't be doin' this if we didn't know how wrong we were." Now he was closing in to the point he was in range to be hit.
Terra had returned in time to witness the meat fly across the sky and smack Leo who took it without a word. Following his example she'd arrive on the scene with no words to be said, but the tightening of the cloth that was about her neck. Obviously she had nothing witty to say when Leoxander proclaimed her a psychic and left it be in silence, after all, he said to warm her feet before she ran off. They had become significantly warmer in the passing silence. Bottom lip was bit into and she'd look back and forth between the former vampire and the current rogue. Did she have good timing or what? Hands remained in the sky as to show she surrendered, Behind her was Shi, who trailed along at his own leisure because he was confused. On the way to this path Ter hadn't bothered to elaborate other than mentioning that she was sorry. Things weren't looking good for this peace treaty.
Tenebrae wouldn't hit him-- with a fist. She knew her limits, and his. Buckling the straps of her pack, she turned eyes near as dead frozen as the hills toward the pirate, listening to his speech with as much expression on her features as those blank white reaches. When he was done, she parted thin lips as if to say something, and closed them again. Were her horse not engaged in feeding, she might have simply left but, as it was, she was stuck there in a situation she'd rather not deal with. Finally her breath came as a white huff, and she gathered her thoughts. When it came, her tone was emotionless. "Be happy, Leo. You just... be happy."
Leoxander said to Tenebrae, "Don't -do- this again." Now he was getting angry. Not on purpose, it was just those emotions pouring out of him, triggering his lycan temper quickly. A growl melted through his words, and just to make certain she didn't go anywhere, maybe foolishly provoking her violence in the process, he grabbed hold of her. Her arms, or wherever he might reach if she tried to dodge away. "For once, Tenebrae... stop and listen. I'm not happy. Terra's not happy. We're damned miserable and until this is fixed, and you understand that I'm never gonna be happy unless it's right bloody here..." His face was close to hers, just so she had no where else to look but his eyes, a fierce stare hidden only slightly by his own overgrown mane. Hands tightened on their grip. "..I'm not gonna let go of you."
He may as well have been holding that leg of veal she'd thrown, for all the response he'd feel from her. Once more she listened, almost blankly. Was he serious? She could really care less about Terra's happiness or lack of it, right now. Where undeath had gifted her, ironically, a hot temper, its reverse wrought in the necromancer the capacity for utter withdrawal. They could stand there until they froze into icy statues, for all she cared, be damned if she'd give him another minute of her life. Especially now every minute was precious. But her determination was broken abruptly by her frost mare’s suddenly raising its head from the feast, letting out shrill whinny of warning. Tene shifted in the lycan’s arms, her stony gaze whipping to alight on Terra.
Leoxander wasn't defeated by her response, or rather, her lack of one. It frustrated him to no end, but he'd learned in their long relationship when to bite down on his tongue, and not push a matter. When she turned her shoulder to his chest to look toward an approach Leo expected, he did drop his head to her fur lined collar, a warm breath possibly sneaking down her throat to relinquish the ice queen from her bitter chill. Even she abruptly shoved him off. From the corner of his eyes, he looked warily toward Terra and Shishi, hugging Tenebrae tightly like she could float away. He didn't want the Necromancer resorting to a fight with two vampires, to express her rage. Everything would just become a bigger mess than it already was.
It appeared that the one who retained the highest level of calm was Blue, but that could be because he had yet to grasp the situation at hand. Tenebrae was obviously upset with Leo, and judging by the way she turned to look towards Terra, the rage extended to include the vampiress. What had the two done to make her this upset? With an expression that spoke wonders of guilt, Ter turned towards her companion with a grimace. The immaculately dressed, though obviously chilly Blue stared back. The two had issues -- like Ter expressing a short-lived desire to snack on his children--, but they were easily worked through. Surely this was another of those issues... Now his promise to kill a certain friend of his, that wasn't as easy... Leaving his thoughts to linger he'd snap back to watch as Ter explained the situation starting with an apology. "I made a mistake, and I'm sorry. Tene, let me start by saying I'm really sorry. And Leo will never be as happy as he is with you. Remember when we discussed it in the meadows?" An interaction that occurred nearly a year ago, when Tristram roamed the lands. "Please believe him. People who are vulnerable do really, really stupid things. Haven't you made that mistake?" Shi, stoic and still said nothing. There had been a time not long ago when he was on the other side of this apology.
Tenebrae wasn't attacking anyone. She's drawn into a still, small space inside herself, where sounds were louder, grating, and every motion, every beat of her pulse was painful. She listened to Terra with that same dire calm, her gaze now and then flickering to the almost equally reticent Shishi. There'd be a silence which, were crickets to survive the cold, might have been filled with their chirping before grimly-set lips parted again. "Yes, Terra I have. But not that one. I haven't stuck my tongue down the throat of my clan leader's mate. I have never slutted my way through a clan's males, one after another..." Eyes on Shishi, for that moment. "... leaving nothing but wreckage in my wake. And I have never caused such suffering in the relationships between my clansmates." There, she laid it on the line, no wrath in her tone at all. She may as well have been reading a shopping list. "I thought you may have learned a lesson, from the last time you got handsy with my... with Leo. What sort of dumb f...." There it was, a hint of rage, now, but she'd bottle it quickly. "I strip you from my clan, for being the poisonous influence upon it that you are." She was still in Leo's arms, passive, cold. Trying to ignore the warmth of his breath on her throat.
Leoxander wasn't as good with an apology as Terra was, that was for sure. He barely managed to say those two words that formed the base of it, let alone explain how meaningful he meant it to be. So he was silent, listening to Terra's words and finding himself able to agree to the part that involved him. He wasn't sure how, or why Tenebrae would believe someone else's well articulated words over his mumble, but his goal was only for her to believe them. He wouldn't even listen, or look, for a trace of a mistake. That wasn't important to him right now. The necromancer's bitter reaction caused a slight wince, though he refrained from detailing how simple a kiss could be. What did cause him to speak up was her remark on a lesson learned - the first time. What first time? "What're you talking about? I told you. SHE told you. It was one small mistake, Tenebrae." That name of darkness, again, but for a reason other than secrecy, now. "What the (censored) is it gonna take for you to believe me? I've never once lied to you." True to his word, he wouldn't let her go, but he forced her to turn and look at him now. "All this... for what? Why do you want to hold onto this?" Demanding questions from her, now.
The nose of the taller vampire wrinkled as he forced a fanged smile when Tenebrae's eyes rested on him. Now he understood. "I don't want to be involved." At long last he would speak, but it wouldn't be words of forgiveness nor come to the defense of the diminutive creature who had turned to stare at him when he spoke. "This ... doesn't involve me." If he refrained from becoming attached, he'd be able to resume being Blue. There would be no cursed eyes and no shadowed thoughts. Of course, this reason wasn't revealed and Ter, already teetering on the edge of an emotional break, said nothing. Not even when Tenebrae read off her punishment. "I understand," murmured as a response to them both and all she could manage since Leo had since stolen away the Necromancers attention. However, not wanting to appear as though he didn't care, a cold hand that shook with the chill found its way to Ter's and loosely held it there. Even if he was upset with her comment the night before, he was still a present being in her company, and the only positive one. Sure, he remained in bliss given that he wasn't quite sure of the situation, but he understood it to be a rough one. Tongue pokes at one his fangs to be reassured of his presence as he stands there, quiet yet again. "There really wasn't any other time, Blue." Since the others seemed to have a conversation amongst themselves, she sought to elaborate.
Tenebrae said to Leoxander, "Sometimes I really don't know." Perhaps she'd mistaken his meaning. "But I do believe you, Leo, that it was just one small mistake." Her resolve flickered, then, though what that shift in her deadened eyes was, might be hard to pinpoint. "But how can I be sure there won't be more, her ..nature.. being what it is... and yours? Alright, nothing happened.. last time. But it was easy enough an assumption to make. She's always skulking off like a yellow dog, the minute I arrive, you're always somehow ending up alone with it, naked, no less. She’s got her hands all over you, people tell me. What am I to think? Tell me, Leo. Boot on the other foot, can you tell me that a male who paid such attentions to me would even now be alive?" Terra's voice was an insect noise in the background. Tene's stony countenance crumpled a bit, her stiffness yielding. "What do you both expect, of me?"
Leoxander was just a little humiliated when she would drag his condition into this, and usually the condition he ended up because of it. The pirate took a moment first to lift his jaw and make something very clear to his mate, though he muttered under his breath. "I get enough remarks without you assumin' the worst. You know damn well I can't help that." And he thought about the vial in his bracer, then... A dose that would make him never unwillingly transform and make an idiot of himself, again. Or so, that was the plan. But these plans seemed to be falling apart at the seams, lately. "I'm not going to delve into our past, Tene'... but I've walked in on you cuddled up on another in my time. And I'll be a sonuvabich, but they're still breathin', I'm sure." He had one face in particular that hit his mind then, and part of him had always regretted not breaking the pianist's fingers. But a good thing he hadn't, or he'd be hypocritical for that comment, then. Naturally, he could understand her anger, and chose to move onto less hurtful topics. Answering her question, for instance. "Honestly..? I expect you to get over it. It's not gonna bloody happen again." and you know when he said 'bloody', he meant it.
Terra would say nothing that her jaw tightened considerably with some of the comments that came from Tenebrae. Now, the vampiress was capable of understanding pain as much as the next scorned lover, amplified by her empathetic abilities. Pain or no, there were only so many comments that one could take before something broke. Fortunately, everything remained glued together as Leoxander's voice carried and she'd remain silent. No point in making things worse for any of those involved, even if it was to defend herself against an acid tongue. Still neutral, Blue said nothing on the matter. His free hand came to his tie worked on adjusting that; at least that was something he could manage. Unsure of herself and still unwilling to interrupt unless further addressed, she'd look towards Shi. "I leave wreckage." Blue turned to her with that same forced, fanged smile and offered what he did understand to be truth. "So do I."
Tenebrae faltered, utterly, when Leo raised the ghost of the King of Roads, a sore point that hadn't quite stopped festering. She might've reminded him that she'd stuck a pickaxe through the Wanderer's chest, such was her affection for the pianist but, like Terra, Tene chose to avoid opening a can of worms, in favour of an attempt to stop her heart feeling like it was splitting into two. She'd only nod at first, lowering her gaze to study the fastenings of his armours. A long breath preceded her answer, "She can earn her way back in. If it.. if she.. wants. It'll take time..." That small gesture, she hoped, would tell him an indirect way that things weren't mortally wounded between them. "But this is the last chance I'll give her. So you know." Was she even still talking about Terra? An ungloved hand, still scarred from the trees and ice, fussed with a button. "Didn't mean to pick on your.. you know. I'm sorry."
Leoxander wasn't paying any attention to Terra, and it was likely the healer would understand why. Even as Tenebrae used a 'she' for the gender, the rogue knew damn well who she was talking to. He collected her hand from his front, and although he had the most intense glare fixed on her arctic green eyes, he raised her hand right up to his slightly fanged mouth, and roughly kissed the meaty part of her thumb. Almost like he wanted to take a bite of her. She finally understood, so that bruising grip on her upper arm, or into the center of her back, was released. He physically shook off her apology, taking a step back and shivering hard in leather armor, much like a dog out of water. Then, after realizing the odd looks he may or may not receive from the vampire trio, he chuffed a familiar, annoyed sound through his teeth, and went to find the pack the white owl had already invaded and picked clean. He needed a moment to curse, to himself, and the pale feathered beast gave him the ideal opportunity to vent. Now there wasn't a scrap left to feed his rage, and he'd been smelling blood all night...
Terra was inwardly satisfied that the owl had cleaned away Leo's supply. Maybe that would tell him to stop feeding the bloody beast if he wanted a bite to himself. Had it been appropriate she would've laughed, but instead she'd speak the first thing that came to mind even though it wasn't her that got addressed in Tenebrae's forgiveness. "Thank you." No telling if it was towards the clan leader herself, or the vampire who still stood with silence his constant companion.
Tenebrae wasn't sure, herself, so she shrugged noncommittally and turned to watch Leo rifling in his somewhat flattened pack for meat. They had been in need of that haunch the horses had enjoyed (if Leo's skull had not) and she'd frown a little at the time it took him to search the bag.
Leoxander didn't think anyone would be watching him when his hands went nervously through his hair, the empty pack dropped at the place he crouched upon. Blood was like a drug, at that point, the smell triggering his hunger, his addiction, and he'd just barely contained his sanity through all that anger. Shoulders heaved, and the werewolf could only smell.. vampire... a bitter and eye-watering scent that warned him not to bite into one, again. Dropping his head, he was about to groan in frustration when something suddenly caught his attention, causing him to look toward the south. If he had wolf ears, they'd be forward in alert, judging by the devotion of his unblinking gaze.
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Post by Joliette Thorne on Jan 31, 2009 9:18:24 GMT -5
Across the icy expanse of the mountain she'd trudged beside her sled, no choice now that she was left with only two dogs, and a load of fresh skins and meat to take home, supplies for tanning, and few little luxuries that's been made affordable by last winter's bounty. No such richness this year, with new hunters encroaching, scaring her game away... The elderly woman, aptly named for the goddess of icy hills, groaned a little as her shins redoubled their ache. She was looking forward to a rest by a fire, and a bellyful of yearling moose. Beside her, Desna and Pakak panted loudly, too tired to fight now for leadership, an ongoing rivalry made worse for Tiglikt's disappearance.. The uphill climb was wearing on them all, Tanaraq herself forced to walk, so as not to put undue strain on the pair remaining. "Where'd he get to, my sons, that trickster?" The silver-coated Desna flicked a blue glance her way, and Pakak's mismatched eyes, blue and brown, followed, the tow never breaking stride. "Back home, I think, and it's clear now which of you is Suluk's mate." Her small, dark eyes glittered with amusement in her walnut face, "Trickster.." The dogs she had named for her two long-dead sons slid to a sudden halt, noses lifted to the higher grounds, and Tanaraq glanced up. "Well? What is it?" They were her eyes and ears in this vast land. Pakak, true to his name, bolted crosswise to tangle in the larger Desna's tugline, falling on his nose in the snow. "Go and see." Tanaraq laughed, untying the harnesses while the dogs struggled to get loose in their eagerness to chase whatever they'd scented on the hill above.
Their howlish barks, legacy of a mostly wolven heritage, would be heard first by Leoxander and by Tenebrae last of all, as they ploughed through powdery snow until they halted at the edge of the campside, barking furiously at the group gathered. The elderly trapper waited below, knowing the dogs well enough to discern the source of their tirade merely by the pitch of their yelps. "Company, eh?" But without the dogs, she would remain there, not owning the strength to pull that load up without them.
Shishi wasn't exactly expecting any thanks to come from Terra so he'd assume that it was sent Tenebrae's way the vampiress offered it. He'd been more or less oblivious and quiet the entire night. Staying silent had kept him out of the conversation, which in his mind, he had no part in in the first place and also served to keep his irises that cool oceanic shade of Blue. Tene and Leo are both afforded brief glances, Leo's a bit longer for one reason or another until the dogs come running up the hill. The paranoid vampire's stance stiffens when the canines come rushing excitedly towards the group, it might almost seem that he was hiding behind Terra when their informative yelps were sent back down the hill they had just raced up.
Mahri trudged through the path, working her way through the snow. God's only knew what she was doing back here. The cold was not her thing at all. Especially the snow. Most especially when it got into her boots. Feet numb, Mahri stops just long enough to pull them off and shake out the wet stuff, grumbling under her breath. Taking the time to look around, she spots a couple of white rabbits peeking from behind frozen vegetation. Scrawny things they were, hardly worth noticing really. Lucky them. Her stomach growled hungrily as she pulled the boots back on, wriggling her toes to encourage a bit more circulation. As Mahri continued her trek, a pair of odd tracks comes into view. Two smooth, unbroken tracks and paws between. To one side are boot-prints. Stopping down, the lycan puts her fingers into the sled marks..it must be pulling a heavy load for how deep they are. Curious now, and the cold forgotten, Mahri rises, following the sled's path until she comes up to the vehicle and it's supposed driver, the dogs no where to be seen. In the air, Mahri smells smoke. There's a fire not to far from here, and possibly a meal? Though..the offerings on the sled seem appetizing enough to her. Clearing her throat so as not to startle the person..an unknown entity bundled against the cold, she approaches with caution. This person might be particularly protective over their possessions. The empty harnesses are noted, at least there wouldn't be company to contend with, if she chose to make off with a bit of the meat she could smell coming off that sled. "Do you need help?" she asks casually, as though she did this everyday.
Leoxander heard the sound. Not wolves, but barely shy of that deep pitch. He went to his feet slowly, pupils within mismatched irises dilating to focus through the thicket, at the approach of two intrusive, and far too domestic beasts. He hesitated only a moment, seeing them more focused on the vampires, before trudging forward around anyone in his way to approach the dogs. All he'd offer them is a look, eyes moving left to Desna, then right to Palak, and his brow furrowed in slight confusion. Without fear of these lean canine, he dropped right to his knees on the snow a few feet away, nostrils twitching at the familiar scent clinging to their cold, shaggy coats. It was safe to say Leo had become quite barbaric in his time spent in the woods. He forgot all about Shishi, Terra, and Tenebrae, possibly watching this silent communication between rogue alpha, and lesser species, and pressed his nose right to the more submissive male's ribs to sniff at fur, settled on his hands and knees. There wasn't a chance either dog was stupid enough to challenge his authority - even if he did appear fairly... human.
Terra felt the fear travel down her spine faster than the cold. When Leo began to move towards the gathering, she'd tug Shi towards her and out of his way. No need for the two to have any contact tonight. Everything seemed to be alright when the rogue began some form of communication with the dogs, so Ter would glance towards Shi with wide eyes. Their last interaction with wolves hadn't gone over so well. Out of habit she'd squeeze his fingers and then began the trek down. Mahri was briefly studied but the vampiress wasn't in the mood to bicker with the lycan, but she was remembered... If only there was a cage around.
Sanmichel pushes a large cart before him; each of its wooden wheels stands as tall as a man. The sides of the cart are finished off in black brick. A chimney extends up the front of the cart; a merry fire can be seen burning in the brick oven below. At the back, a small mountain of crushed ice can be seen in a large built-in pewter tub. Dozens of steins, wine-skins, barrels and beverage containers of almost every shape and size tinkle and clink in the wooden racks below. Baskets and bins of bread, meat, fruit, fish and sweets fill the air with delightful aroma.
Sanmichel nods. "Oi...good teh see yeh bunch." He opens the oven door and jolts back for a moment, momentarily overcome by the heat.
It was Pakak, of course, who'd let out the first panicked yelp when Leo dropped bestially into the snow to sniff the out. Desna, the older brother, had always been made of stronger stuff, and let out a full-throated growl before turning tail and bolting back down the hill. The dogs, tails low, yipped madly as they dashed for the sled, to the comfort of the wise Tanaraq, who'd taken them in as half-dead pups and given them love and food, and work to do, which is all a good dog could ever want. Below, Tanaraq had watched her dogs descend, knew the fear sounding in their voices. "Hurry, my sons.." The dogs were generally fearless... and they'd only made that particular sound once before. The elder would jump, herself no coward after how many years in the harsh mountains, nobody knew anymore, but Mahri was faced with tiny, black eyes almost hidden by wrinkles and folds of deeply browned skin, and a near-toothless gape. "Keelut!" she cried, and with surprising nimbleness hurled herself toward the sled, grappling for a steel-tipped spear, which she'd wave at Mahri. The dogs were almost hysterical already, but what met them downhill, lurking too close to the sled for liking, was another of the monsters they'd fled, its thick, unnatural scent unmistakable. Lowering their heads, ears flat, legs stiff, the dogs were prepared to die to defend their 'mother', their true pack leader, if necessary. Tenebrae, alarmed at Leo's possible shift to animal state, had unwisely crept toward the edge of the peak, peering down to the scene below, though she kept alight distance from her mate. After all, she smelled lot like a caribou, right then. You was most relieved to see Sanmichel, and would offer the giant wave. "Look, Leo..." Poor distraction from his hunger and pain, but it was all she had. "Look who's here."
Leoxander rocked back to his feet, settling on his heels in balance, for a moment. Arms draped across his knees, Leo looked after the dog's retreat, puzzled until Sanmichel's arrival proved a surefire distraction. His portable fire is a little more impressive than the campfire still smoldering in the center of this gathering, but it's the sweet-leaf smell buried in hidden clay compartments that has caught this lycan's attention. Almost enough to drag his attention from the unending scent of blood, frosting his necromancer like icing on a cake. He gave the giant a typical, silent look, before gazing down the hill Terra had roamed, hearing the woman's shrill, startled cry from afar. More importantly, he had to share with Tenebrae what he'd smelled on Pakak's winter coat.
Mahri edged a look towards Terra as she came down that hill, very glad there weren't any handy cages. She was just about to make some kind of smart remark, probably along the lines of, "I see no one's pissed at you. You're not caged," when the old woman, all weathered and temperamental for having just been offered help, screeches something unintelligible. Whatever it was, it wasn't good seeing as those dogs came racing back to stand on either side of her. Blinking in mild surprise, Mahri takes one step back, half raising her hands. "Oh..c'mon. Two dogs? One I might have handled, but two?" Reaching up then, very slowly, the lycan pushes her hood back. Her breath coming in soft plumes of condensed vapor as she blows out an exasperated breath. Keeping a wary eye on that wicked looking spear, Mahri directs her next set of words towards the vampire, "I don't suppose I could convince you to distract at least one of those things," meaning the dogs, "could I?"
Terra was in a state of panic. The dogs reminded her too much of her brief imprisonment in the cage. After all, something similar had been the reason she was stuck to begin with. Not to mention Leoxander's ability to become something akin to them. Even if they had let it go, the memories still plagued her. Cautious and weary, she'd continue the trek down the path but not to further spy on the on-goings, but to keep moving. Since Blue was still attached by her hand, their connection yet to be broken, he'd follow suit. The two eventually vanished and not to be forgotten, the owl went with.
Tenebrae would only blink a little as Terra walked herself into what was looking like a fun situation below. She'd recognised Mahri by now, and her fingers gripped her cloak hard, the garment wrapping tight against the chill winds. "Leo..." Her look would tell him that she expected him to help out, somehow, in some way. Sanmichel wasn't spared that appealing glance either. Annoyed at herself for needing to ask, she started down the slope.
Sanmichel retrieves a cold turkey leg from a tiny cupboard and pops the entire length of it into his mouth, swishing it around his teeth and tongue. He spits the bare bone into his hand and tosses it over his shoulder into a small snow bank. He seems rather nonplussed despite the palpitable tension in the air. "Oi, Miss Tene...yer walkin' funny, there...what's on yer clothes?" He ambles down the slope after her. Mahri would have growled at Terra, if she didn't think the dogs would attack. Instead, she curls a lip at the retreating vampire, the owl and the male vampire. Not once does her attention waver from that spear, or the dogs, expecting at any moment to find teeth snapping at her. Not to mention the nice shiny point of a spear heading for some vitally important part of her anatomy.
"KEELUT!" The spear was jabbed forward, and the tiny woman, barrel-shaped in thick bearskin garments didn't seem to be backing down. "Devil-dog!" She had seen a lycan around here years ago, when several villagers sent her to find missing family members, presumed lost in the snow. What she'd found... Tanaraq glanced to her dogs, "Get back, or it will kill you!" Desna managed to rush in for a sharp nip, before retreating, paws digging hard to snow. Pakak needed no urging to dive to the mountaineer's feet, though his paws were lowered, and wolf-bred fangs showed white. "You will take no more of my sons!" This, to Mahri, and the elder's jaw set firm then. "Monster." Tene wasn't far away, not sparing look back, such was her concern for the small party. "Mahri!" She made the call, and hurried as fast as those furred boots allowed. You forelegs* were lowered
Leoxander had... strangely enough... disappeared.
Mahri bit back the growl that rose, simply narrowing her eyes at the woman and her spear. "I don't eat dogs.." she mutters. Behind the threatening elder, Mahri almost let out a breath of relief. If anyone could reason with a hysterical person, it'd be Jolie..right? She hoped so. "Well, hurry up would you? I'm about to be shishkabobed." she calls back, keeping a relatively harmless stance.
Leoxander projected a heavy growl from the thicket. He was hungry, and he'd scented the fresh skinned pelts on Tanaraq's sled from afar. Now, the lumbering lycan stuck between his metamorphosis - yet again, came barging into the scene, terrible evidence to Mahri's case. He was the monster, the 'Keelut' that made the aged woman hysterical. Thick hind paws were better than feet, they were padded claws with traction better suited than the tread of his boots. There was some definition of the pirate left... that chain sparkling around his furry neck. The bone hoop in his left ear. The way those hand shaped, vicious claws tore through his hair in frustration, resembled the pirate's idle actions. Safe to say the attention would be torn from Mahri now, and Leo fixed a threatening look upon both dogs that suggested if they stayed clear, they would survive. He shook himself and growled, and portrayed the role of aggressor, here.
Tenebrae hadn't lost her wits, along with her strength and sharper senses. She summed up the situation pretty quickly, and would beckon Mahri toward herself with a hand signal, while she spoke to the old woman, only a brief glance behind spared for... Leo? There was no sign of the rogue, so she looked back quickly to the trapper and her snarling dogs. Tene adopted a tone she hoped was calm and full of assurance. "Call 'em off, lady. Mahri there won't hurt you. Nor will I...except to defend ourselves." A sharp glance to the lycaness, "Best you move slowly my way. Then lie down." She really didn't think one old lady and two dogs could hurt a lycanthrope in any lasting way.. but then she hadn't noticed how shiny that steel was.. tipped in silver, precaution Tanaraq had taken since her two boys were taken by the Keelut, many long years before. "Show her we mean no harm." ......and then Leo arrived. Like the anti-version of that white knight he'd played before, his presence only made things worse. "Tonrar! Evil spirits! My gods will hunt you forever, in your graves." The spear was raised, javelin-like, about to fly to the lupine Leo, while the dogs prepared to launch for Mahri. Tene gasped, and did the only useful thing she could think to do--- she shouted "STOP!" and threw herself in the way of that spear.
Mahri saw all this in slow motion. The dogs leaping, the spear flying and Tenebrae..or is it, Jolie,hell, she didn't know, but either name fit the woman..threw herself in front of the spear. Making a quick decision, the lycan doesn't back off or lay down, not with the dogs coming. Besides, what the heck was the woman thinking in telling her to do that? As if. Mahri reacts instinctively, protecting pack in her own way by putting on a sudden burst of speed, nothing more than kicked up snow left in her wake as she speeds towards Tene, intending to knock her out of the spear's path with a tackle. Leo would hopefully have had enough of a warning to move nearly as quickly. If Mahri's attempted rescue was successful, well, there was still the dogs to worry about. Mahri and Tene might end up in a tangle of limbs, the copper covered scent of the woman in Mahri's nose causing her stomach to rumble again, the cause of the current situation.
Leoxander adored the reaction, the scent of fear. And even better, Mahri, the trusted wolf she was. A wicked grin showed through the lycan's maw as he witnessed the Necromancer tackled out of his way, a vicious swipe of his dangerous claw ripping the spear from mid air and thrashing it uselessly to the ground. Eskimo lady and her sons hadn't met a beast quite so out of control and violent as he was. Fortunately for this little old woman, and her dogs, there was one scent that brought him leaping forcefully forward, landing on the sled to topple it onto it's side, his paws tearing apart the leather straps to free the carefully packed bundle on the crate. But as fresh, as bloody as those skins smelled when he pushed them against his leathern nose... there was no taste to be savored from the underside of recently carved fur. An offended snarl sounded as he bit into the doeskin, ripping his hand-paws in opposite directions to tear the perfectly good pelt apart, in his rage. He wanted - he needed meat.... and so his eyes went to the dogs.
Tenebrae was abruptly a pile of fur, limbs, snow and... lycan. "Ooof! Gerroff me!" She'd catch Leo's actions from the corner of one snow-filled eye, and do her best to haul herself free of the tangle, her voice rising sharp through the air, "No! Leo, stop!" She had no desire for any of them to cause the now-terrified elder any more distress. Mahri would have to forgive the way she was shoved aside, while Tene scrambled to her feet. In fur.. covered in blood... "Over here! Hey, LEO!" And then she started running, in those ridiculous low-heeled fur boots, through the snow.
Leoxander snapped his attention to the thrill of a chase. His breath and heart skipped at once as he realized... it was his -mate-... howling for him, running. The sled went careening across the forest flood, end over end but not bent beyond use, as the werewolf lurched forward to go chasing after her. It might as well have been a ball thrown for one of those winter coated dogs, the enthusiasm was unmatched and the distance between them would be closed in no time. Tenebrae must not have counted on the fact that he might possibly chase her, because now she would have more than she bargained for, with the lycan growling at her heels.
(OOC: For posterity: Blaze appears in a cloud accompanied by lightning and thunder. Blaze gave 10000 gold to Leoxander.)
Tenebrae knew exactly what she was doing -- even if it wasn't the smartest thing anyone's ever done. Still, it drew the hungry lycan from the possibility of eating an innocent. One hungry lycan, anyhow.. "Come get me, Leo!" And that was the extent of her genius, in this situation. Behind her she heard dogs snarling and yelping, and prayed the old woman wasn't feast for Mahri after all... And just as the wolfen rogue's heavy, clawed hand would reach to grab her, like an answer to her prayers, came a deux ex machina in the shape of a colossal ice-elk, drawn from a casual stroll in the forest by the canine din. Its massive rack of antlers swayed the branches of trees aside, as the beast snorted t the much smaller beings gallivanting too close to its territory. Nine feet to the shoulder, and almost a ton and a half in weight, the stag had never had much to fear from anything, not even wolves.
Leoxander felt his claws skim through familiar ebon tresses, just shy of gripping into that mane and tearing his prey down, when a scent, a sight pushed his claws into the ground and skid the lycan to a stop. At beyond seven feet in height, albeit slouched, this was accommodable prey. A heavy snort from his throat, and he breathed deeply at the aroma of warm fur, ears pricked to the pulse of a rapid heart. It was only a second of hesitance before the wolf altered his course and went tearing after the elk, met with a disgruntled rear and a valiant dip of its head, to meet claw with horn. But honestly... in the throes of survival, even a stag such as this compared not to the ferocious half wolf, lost in his mind altering pain and hunger. It was apparent he hadn't taken Mahri's potion, yet, and it remained with the rest of his lost belongings. A pitiful sound as the deer fell, kicking its legs violently in its futile attempt to live, but fangs were inches deep into the vital artery of its throat, and he knew the pure satisfaction of that kill. Tanaraq, her dogs, even his fellow packmate and lover nearby went to the back of his mind as he proceeded to rip the still half alive creature open with his maw. No sympathy for those weaker, in the food chain.
Mahri half rolled and was half shoved off Tene, snow billowing about the lycan as the other woman took off, foolishly teasing a very hungry Leo into following her. When the flakes cleared, Mahri'd see two..well, three things, all at once. Blinking the clinging snow out of her eyes, the blurry images above become much more clear at. A scowling, fear filled Tanaraq flanked by two, very big dogs. Both with their eyes trained on the immediately perceived threat. Desna stepped forward first, hackles raised and teeth bared, the canine fangs gleaming in the light reflected off the snow. Turning her head slowly, Mahri watches as Pakak advances soon after, the same expression on his near-wolf features. From her position, there isn't much that Mahri can do, either to help Tene and Leo or even herself. Scowling, she turns her silver gaze towards Tanaraq to say from between clenched teeth...done so to keep them from chattering, "I'm not going to hurt you, or your dogs." Not that she would believe the lycan, not after Leo'd made his presence known in such a memorable way. The weathered features of the old woman creased even more in a ferocious looking frown, her own lips pulling back in a very human sneer, "Evil spirit, you deserve death. Unnatural and evil!" Again, Desna was first to come closer, and Mahri had a hell of a time trying not to scramble backwards. "You killed my sons!" Gapping at the woman, Mahri can only shake her head, "Not me. Another maybe, but not me." Just why in the world she'd be carrying on this conversation was beyond her. And just for good measure, hoping it's true, she nods her head in the racing lycan's direction, "And not him either."
Tenebrae spat out a mouthful of dirty snow and drew herself from the Tene-shaped imprint she'd made when Leo's grab for her had sent her face-down into a thick bank of the stuff. Sluicing her eyes free of the ice, she once more glanced wildly about her, trying to figure out what was best to do. She wasn't torn apart-- that was something-- probably due to Leo being occupied with dead stag, the elk's hind legs still kicking feebly in its death-throes. So that was him taken care of. The dogs were another matter.... "Mahri..!" The few yards she had to run seemed like a mile, but she'd arrive just as Tanaraq spat her insult, and the dogs started to run for the lycaness. "Call them off!" Her arms spread as if to shield the wolfess, she once more put herself in the way of harm by stepping between Mahri and the dogs. "It's true..what she said..." The necromancer was panting, red-faced. Clearly closer in nature to the trapper than the lycan."... they... they're -my- family. Please... call off your dogs, before.. before you lose more sons." Tanaraq was no fool, and had not earned her reputation for wisdom lightly. "Tavra! Tavra!" her hoarse voice sounded, the wolf-bred huskies sliding to an obedient halt, though their hackles were up and teeth showing. The old trapper gave the ruin Leo'd made of her sled and skins a long, sad look, and trudged toward the other women. Meanwhile, Tene had turned to Mahri, whispering, "Might want to join Leo, for dinner.."
Leoxander was practically whimpering in his pleasure, curled up protectively over his kill and savoring the taste of fresh blood. On his claws, his face, covering his blond fur. A gruesome sight, to be sure, but thus was the life of a harrowing wolf. He wasn't forty paces from the frozen scene, painting the snow red with vicious swipes of foreclaws, tearing open elf skin to reveal still-twitching organs beneath. And that was the rogue-alpha's feast, and thus his attention would remain devoted to this primal need, while the confrontation between sled pack and cabal pack went on.
Mahri turned her head, accidentally baring her throat to the dogs, just as Tene started to yell. It took her a moment to realize what she'd said. Family? Ah, well. Yes, she had referred to them that way herself to Mircea. Not that he'd really quite understood. Twisting back around, Mahri watches as the dogs back off, as though the words were some sort of magic, a spell. "And what about you?" the lycan questions, peering behind her to Leo. Yes, it was entirely clear he'd not tried the potion, to which she lets out a sigh. If Tene assured her she'd be safe with the dogs and the old woman, Mahri'd get up and wander towards Leo and his kill. Oh, she wouldn't get too close, of course. Mahri had no desire to be ripped apart as the elk had been. Respect is given to him, as he deserved from Mahri, and she waits patiently for him to have his fill, calming the cravings she knew must have been tearing him up.
Leoxander feasted, for lack of better description. Oh, there was in fact better, but no gruesome details this time. Safe to say the winter worthy elf would not be recognizable in it's red paint when the male was finished. But he'd paused in his meal to regard Mahri in the distance, and as though to prove some respect to her, he purposefully stopped himself when there was just enough meat left on flanks and ribs to satisfy her. Maw rubbed against his shoulder, growling bitterly along the way, he stumbled back away from the open stag corpse to offer it to the she-wolf, whether she remained in her humanoid form or not. He licked his own paws in satisfaction, content and appeased of the craving that had been taunting him all night.
Sanmichel stomps up the hill out of breath and red in the face, his arms swinging purposefully at his side. "Gaddang rabbits got out again...not a lick a sense in their head...don't they know they're like to freeze...There's a couple!" He pauses and then (as stealthily as he can) begins to sneak(?) up on them.
Tenebrae huffed a very relieved sigh, and looked to the furious little woman. "Thankyou. And.. I'm sorry about your sons." That she had twice put herself at risk for the sake of others, wasn't something she'd ponder just yet. And the look of sympathy in her eyes was likely the most genuine one she'd given anyone outside her clan, ever. "But these are.. not devils. They're just...." Tene inwardly grimaced at Tanaraq' unconvinced expression, when the trapper's dark, narrow eyes flickered toward the feasting lycans. The elder sighed too. "Well, girl, will you stand there like a lump, or help me with my sled?" She'd suffer terribly for the ruin of her goods this coming year, but Tanaraq had never been one to cry over spilt milk. "Pakak, Desna." The dogs fell in behind her, three ice-blue eyes and one brown one glaring at the feeding pair. "And you might have said," the trapper continued, "that you were giant-friends." She hitched a gloved thumb toward the sneakery of Sanmichel.
Sanmichel slips one rabbit under a warm armpit, careful not to press down too hard. "One!"
Leoxander watched a rabbit tear through the snow, past him. Leoxander flickered a lynx-tipped ear in response.
Sanmichel launches himself into the air, his arms extended in a dive before him. His reach is just long enough to push one rabbit four feet into the snow. He rights himself to an all-four position and digs down into the snow, his tongue stuck out to the side. "Gotcha!"
Mahri 's lips twitched, but didn't quite turn up into a smile as she approached the kill. Rather than take her much preferred and oft missed form, Mahri remains human. Mostly so as not to scare the woman further, no matter how calm Tenebrae had gotten her. And as well because she felt it would be unduly showing off the ease with which she found the transition in front of Leo. She'll question later where the consideration of others had come from, but for now, she'd stare down at the elk, "I need a knife.." she mutters, searching her person for the sadly lacking tool. She wasn't above eating raw meat while in her human guise, but she'd also learned to savor the aroma of roasted meat and the hot juices that came from it. With a wistful kind of sigh, she settles down next to the carcass, "C'mon, Leo. Eat up. Might as well not let it go to waste. Besides, your still too skinny." Sanmichel picked up 1 rabbit.
Mahri blinked as rabbit after rabbit was caught neatly. For a moment she wished she had as much luck with the long-eared rodents.
Sanmichel finally stops long enough to take in the situation. "Wuntch you lookin' fer a dog er sumpthin?" Before anyone can answer he scoops up another rabbit and slips him into his apron. "Not so fast!"
Leoxander seemed to recognize his name in this form, judging by the erect status of his tall, fur tipped ears. Yellow eyes locked on Mahri, his wolfish skull low, he waited for her to delve into the kill... but she would not. Instead, she coaxed him forward, a lycan in human disguise. Rather than take off after one of Sanmichel’s rabbits, or the awkward giant himself, the ragged looking mixed breed wolf (or so it would appear from his rabid appearance) began to approach Mahri, relatively calm. In this hyperventilating state, she was the one that could manage to bring him back from his insanity, to a more instinctive form of existence. Muscles beneath fur still twitched and spasm 'd in aggravation, he still bucked his shoulder uncomfortably from time to time, but he showed his peace by ripping off a chunk of warm meat in his maw, and dropping it into the dirt at Mahri's feet, ears flat. It would seem that he respected her as an equal, in this mindset.
Tenebrae did what she could to help the woman overturn her sled and gather up the remnants of her dog lines. Her canine 'sons' stayed close, still growling, but calming as Tanaraq spoke to them in her native tongue. To Tene she said, "I don't understand why you run with their kind." A sharp sniff, and she'd bend to pick up torn hides. "But if the giants'll tolerate 'em, I will, too." The necromancer nodded, and turned to look at Sanmichel. "He's family too." Tanaraq raised a greying brow, but said nothing else. "Maybe he'll help you get your sled fixed." A frantic wave to the giant, then, "Sanmichel, lady here needs a hand."
Sanmichel nods and sighs...the last rabbit is always just beyond his reach, it seems. "Right..gladly, miss...." He takes in the entire scene. "Oh!" He averts his eyes from the carnage and attends to sled. He assesses the damage and lifts up the wrecked end. "A bit o hammer and nails and jull be good as new!"
The little woman canted her head up toward the massive man, her birdlike eyes twinkling. "Always such good boys."
Mahri breathed a soft sigh, relieved he'd not immediately run off after the giant or the rabbits, and also because she now had a nice sized chunk of meat. Slipping off the white gloves that kept her hands warm up til then, the alpha picks up the elk steak, turning it hide-side down and bringing it to her mouth for a bite. The warm coppery blood leaves a crimson stain on her lips, smearing up her cheeks as she tears off a bite with inept teeth. Oh well, she'd think to herself, it was still good, even if it would take longer to consume. Chewing slowly before swallowing, Mahri watches Tene helping the old woman, taking in everything from the broken sled, the mess of the load that'd been on it, even the giant's reactions and actions. It was all of great interest as she files away bits and pieces of information mentally. Eventually, her share, or what she could eat of it, was gone. Leaving her with bloody hands and face, and a great reluctance to wipe off either on her clothes. They were white after all, purchased with the thought of blending in, and a scarlet stain would defeat that purpose. Her fingers she could lick off, after setting the remaining few bites down.
Leoxander kept his lunar eyes fixed upon Mahri as he crept around her human visage, ears pinned to his skull. Low against the terrain, gratified when it came to that obsessive hunger, he pulled himself along the ground on four claws, through the snow, toward the necromancer. And thus he came to circle around Tenebrae, sharp eyes locked, a scrutinous look settled there, dangerously close until the fur of his tail swished irritably against her arm. Then she'll feel his wiry whiskers against the leather of her leg, as the werewolf has wandered near. So near that she is considered his. A lupine gaze would regard Sanmichel, but the help he offers at this hour, in the middle of nowhere, falls upon dear ears, and a blank mind. In such a feral state, he knows only a few things, including the now of the moment. And right now, Tenebrae's scent overpowers him, somehow coaxing the Lycan not to maul the human covered in blood. Though he does nudge her roughly, dominantly, from time to time.
Sanmichel drags the sled closer to his cart and sets it down. He rips open an empty wine case, setting the pieces aside for spare parts. He begins to whistle, a sad tune on his lips as hammer finds nail and nail finds wood. He remembers the words. "When the wind blows/when the snow blows, when moon is bright and fey/Then the White Rose/As you all know/Starts to howl, starts to bay."
Tenebrae held her breath as her mate stalked near, and Tanaraq froze. The dogs were trembling with suppressed desire to attack, but remained obediently at their 'mother's' side. "It's alright.. he's my..." Tene faltered. "He’s mine." A pale hand stroked Leo's scalp, while she continued, "The female -- she won't hurt you. On my blood, I swear it. But we... " She slid her eyes the male lycan's way. "We should go. Sanmichel?" To the giant she turned. "I'll reimburse you myself for whatever help she needs to get home." Guessing the woman too proud to accept help beyond that, Tene slipped Sanmichel a small pouch fumbled from her sodden pack, "Make sure she gets this." The coins clinked as she handed them over, and then Tene bent to press a kiss to Leo's furred head, stepping away into the snow, trusting him to follow.
Sanmichel 's hammer finds the beat of the song. “Why he cries, see/is no mys’try/If yeh listen, you will see/For his lovely/blessed lady/lies there bloody near the tree”
Sanmichel winks and places a finger to his lips, a quick nod and then back to work.
Mahri watched Leo warily, his hunger might be satisfied, but his protectiveness and possessiveness of Tenebrae wasn't. In a moment, Mahri was to her feet, wincing as scarlet smears appeared on the hood, the cloak, then the bodice and pants and finally those boots. Her most prized possession. All had either a finger or hand print marking them and they were all in a haphazard pile on the ground. Maybe it was a good thing, at least she would find them again. With the woman distracted by the giant and the offer to fix her sled, Mahri slips just into the line of trees. Sharp ears might catch a grunt of pain that turns into a growl, soft and low. They might even hear the sickening pop of joints being rearranged. Sinew and muscle shift to allow for the canine form to take shape and shimmering black fur sprouts all along her sleek form. From between those threes she steps, sneezing as the cold freezes the moisture on her twitching black nose. The only recognizable feature of the woman who'd been are her eyes, still that light silver-grey as they took in the group not too far away. Lowering her muzzle, she rips a smaller chunk off the elk. A bit of something on the go as she trots down towards Leo and Tene, yes, even Sanmichel is given a cursory glance as she gets closer. At least the smells of food and drink that wafted off him didn't have her stomach growling.
Sanmichel sets the sled back on the ground. He kneels down on the ground, checking it for level. "Who has done this, you may wonder/but the scene speaks loud and clear/For her limbs lay all asunder/there’s her blood mixed with his tears."
Leoxander stalked after his Joliette, a likely shadow to fade amidst the wild scene.
-- Next Day, On The Journey To Tanaraq’s Camp--
Tenebrae brought her horse to a halt, the big dappled mare lowering its horned head to nose about in the snow for hidden ice-mice or perhaps a scrap of meat left by wolves. Something had the silvery animal's interest, so Tene left it foraging after she slid gingerly from its back and dropped the rein. Ahead in the distance, the odd band she travelled with were preparing to make camp, so she'd leave them to that-- the men surely could cope without her weakness in the way-- and take the opportunity for a little time alone, to unravel some of the knots in her mind tied there by the past week's events. A fallen fir served for a seat padded with snow, and she relaxed, allowing her thoughts to drift with the snowflakes. Wherever they would go, it would be to things that needed addressing, likely in order, such was the structure of her vault-like mind. She might've gathered a fair dusting of the light snow that fell now and then, such was her reverie, by the time her mare lifted its tusks from the ground to snort anxiously. 'Bonnie', she was discovering, was an excellent early warning system, which was very handy in this terrain, considering the necromancer's impaired faculties.
It is neither steed nor weather that heralded the forthcoming vision provided so morbidly by the increasingly active Lord of the Dead, though the former is certainly quite advantageous to the situation. But rather, a sound emits, a hellish sound of child's plea; wailing in the suffering that no child should bear, echoing in thick melodies across the expanse of snow and ice. Its origin emanates from somewhere off the beaten path of oft-traveled ice, toward the thickening darkness that exhumed in the nightfall, and even shrouded against the pregnant moon hanging high in the sky. The wind seems to stall, waning and ebbing before finally ceasing altogether to allow the snowfall to drift only a straight-lined path downward; the chilled air become more deathly. Much thinner, and silence encompassing the area in tense sanctimony. Even the haggard breaths of the present seem to defile the presence of this silence, the reminiscing echoes of a sobbing child carrying cadence in a soft, sad backdrop.
Mahri followed the tracks of the mare, sure they would lead her to the necromancer. Little did she know that much more was ahead. Flattening her ears against her head, the wolf crept forward, silvery eyes darting about the path. There was something..here. Something familiar and it wasn't the woman that she was looking for sitting on that log. With a low growl, the lycan dug her claws into the ice to get better traction on the slippery path. With her tail held parallel to the ground, she trots as quickly as possible to the resting Tenebrae, ready to tug and pull the woman to her feet should any sort of threat make itself known. This seemed eminent what with the suddenly dying wind, along with it the eerie cry of a child. Shivers of dread raced up and down her spine, causing the lycan to shake violently.
Tenebrae's mare was used to the scent of lycan, and thus lacked a certain panic the flighty animal might've felt upon the approach of a wolf. Nor did it startle at the keening wail that even now wracked the necromancer's ears, sending her shooting out of her seat, her sudden motion heedless of the pang of deep bruises and dire aches garnered the afternoon prior, her eyes darting about. A deep shiver shook her frame, having little to do with the cold, the dead wind having stilled its bite. Perhaps whatever the source of the sound was not apparent to a true animal's ears... Tene had noted Bonnie's nonchalance as she‘d made her hurried surveillance of the site. As Mahri slipped like a shadow from out of the rimy trees, she might notice the woman looking nervy as she raised a hand in greeting, while the other rested casually on her knife. Tene was pretty sure she knew that canine... though bereft of a sharper nose, she could never be entirely sure on first sight.
Mahri slipped into a more at ease stance, her tail wagging in greeting as the necromancer rose from her perch. If she'd had the warmer clothes somewhere nearby, she might have made that shift from wolf to woman, though often times there was difficulty in distinguishing if the two were any different. Sitting back on her haunches, Mahri tilts her head curiously, silver-grey eyes lingering on the hand which had gone to the knife. Curling her thick tail around her hind paws, she lifts a fore-paw, batting at the air as though to say, "Oh, put that thing away." A curious glance was given the woman's mount, briefly wondering if it might be worthy prey, but seeing the reigns and signs of domestication, changed her mind. Dinner would come from somewhere else.
That "somewhere else" was provided by a sudden flurry of action that plumed the snow as Bonnie drove sharp, cloven and clawed hoofs into a bank of the stuff piled against a boulder. Something or other's burrow, thought Tenebrae, while she allowed the subtle fear engendered by the strange sound to be blown away with the resuming wind. "Hello Mahri.." her voice was quiet, "The others are up ahead, making camp." Whether the wolfess was paying attention to her, or to the prospect of a meal that burst, in the shape of six fat snow-conies Bonnie'd sent squealing from their winter bed under the rock, Tene continued, "We sorted things out, with that old woman.." A flashed smile, almost as white as their surroundings,"..and we think she has Jack. She found us.. er, yes… quite the story." Mahri probably didn't know the mutt yet but if not, it'd be apparent that 'Jack' was someone pretty important to the necromancer. A faint groan escaped rosy lips as Tene lowered herself down again, and her cheeks flushed pink. It could have just been her aches, or the wind slapping her face as red as it went.. but who knew? \ Mahri hadn't meant to make it seem as though she wasn't listening to Tenebrae, but when those fat little rodents burst from the safety of their burrows, she gave chase. Not going far really, and it wasn't all that hard to snap one up between her powerful jaws. With her head and tail held high, the wolf trots back to the woman, shaking her head sharply a few times before dropping the carcass at the woman's feet. She takes a moment to lick a snow and ice encrusted paw before huffing an answer. It was rather hard to communicate in her current state, and going halfway was entirely too uncomfortable and painful, as evidenced often enough by Leo. But, in order to keep semi-warm, the lycan growls, trembles and shifts, forcefully stopping somewhere in between. With her hands bony, ending in lethal claws as well as her feet, the semblance of a tail is left hanging, useless, half way down her naked bottom. All other features are morphed into something that resembles a woman, her mouth full of oversized teeth, yet she has no problem speaking through them even if her voice is a bit more on the gravely side, guttural mostly, "That..woman..wanted to kill me, kill Leo." Snorting, she picks up the rodent, using a razor claw to gut and proceed to skin it. "Jack..is a good friend?"
Tenebrae nodded, toeing the cony dubiously with the tip of her boot. "Jack's Leo's dog. Been missing a long time, we're out here to find him. Perhaps we have." She'd watch the lycan's process of change with a great deal of interest. "I wish it was so easy for Leo. And did you hear that sound before?" She shivered again, and let it not be forgotten that Tenebrae was no stranger to the grave nor its occupants. "Creepy.." As Bonnie stomped several conies flat, and tore into them with her sharp teeth, Tene continued, "And the old woman.. her sons were killed by a lycan, when they were little. I can understand shed not be fond of 'em." Was that compassion, on the woman's face? "Anyhow, she's calmer about things now." Why, exactly, was something only three people in the world would ever know. She hoped. "We're going to her place, to see if this other 'son' of hers is Jack. Sanmichel's coming along, too. Will you join us?"
Mahri grunts, "The mutt is Jack. Charming..dog." Her hunch shoulders shook with suppressed laughter, remembering the antics of that particular rogue. "I'll..come." As far as shifting being easier for Leo, Mahri lifts her head from the now skinned and cleaned rodent, "Gave Leo a potion..suppos' t'make it easier for him. If he takes it." Thrusting the carcass towards Tenebrae, the lycan seems to be offering the kill to her, even as her own stomach growls hungrily, "I'll join, have..business to take care of first. Eat, you're too skinny."
Tenebrae dangled the dead critter by one hind leg, trying to look appreciative. "Jack's like a ... he's family, to us. And um, thankyou... very much.. but I've eaten already. You have it." She'd swing the cony three times before releasing, hoping Mahri might catch it. She gave a low whistle, and Bonnie, the horse now replete with its deep, grey muzzle stained red, trotted over to the pair. Tene took up the rein. "Potion?" Moving off toward the camp, she'd let Mahri explain as they walked-- slowly, thanks to Tenebrae's painful gait.
Mahri caught the rodent, gracefully despite her current state, and begins to gnaw on the raw critter. Her teeth crunch wetly through bone and cartilage before tearing of a leg. Eying Tenebrae from the corner of her eye, she matches the other's slower pace easily enough. So, he'd not told her. Mahri wasn't particularly surprised by that. Oh, and yes, she had quite ignored the question about the sound, creepy as it was, and suspecting what had caused it. It was difficult for the lycan to admit she just might be scared of anything. Back to the issue of the potion. Swallowing the leg after a few bites, Mahri nods slowly, "He has it. Hasn't used it. Got it for him." with a soft sigh, that sounded more like a growl in her current form, Mahri continues, "Didn' tell you?"
Tenebrae frowned, her lips pursing a little before she spoke. "No, he didn't." But what was she to expect, he never did fill her in on much that wasn't a 'need-to-know' situation. And apparently, often much that was. "What does it do, and .. got it where?"
Mahri hmm's a low rumble in her throat. "Got an extra cloak?" she asks in lieu of an immediate answer. This half form was making the lycan weaker, as evidenced by the occasional stumble, which only served to irritate her. Besides, the sparse fur spotting her vaguely female form wasn't doing much to keep her warm. "I'll explain..soon."
Tenebrae didn't have an 'extra', and the one she had was borrowed, but she wouldn't let the lycan shiver naked in the snow. Unclasping the garment she wore, Tene bunched it up and tossed it toward the half-changed Mahri. "Wrap that round you. But return it to Tanaraq, can you, when you're done?"
Mahri nods, wrapping the cloak around herself, and while she does that, her face flattens more, giving way to the human side of the lycan. Wiry wolfen hairs retreat and Mahri's own raven locks take over, spilling down her back and over the cloak. While her feet might freeze, at least the rest of her was warm, "I got the potion from an old crone. She assured me that it would work and might even be permanent." Darting a glance at Tenebrae, "Jolie, I care for Leo. I hated seeing him suffer like that."
Tenebrae muttered something about Leo being the luckiest dog alive, what with all these women caring about him, but turned to Mahri with only curiosity on her features. "What do you mean, 'work'..." She interrupted herself, as Mahri's meaning sunk in. "It can help him, with the change? He won't get .um, stay half-shifted, anymore?" A guilty and selfish thought or two would strike her later, perhaps, but for now, she seemed genuinely pleased. "Permanent, you say?"
Mahri sighs softly and stops walking, turning to face Jolie squarely, woman to woman, her sharp ears having caught the mutterings, "Listen. I know your his mate. I know he loves you very much. I won't encroach on your territory. Ever" sincerity shades those normally hard, cold eyes, softening the gaze, "I think, you must be the luckiest woman alive, to have him." Moving on to the important part of the conversation.."Yes, it can and should help him shift. Not without pain, there is always pain, but without the stop in between, as I was a moment ago. That is..torture." With a slow nod, she continues, "It might be permanent, the crone wouldn't say, only hinted."
Tenebrae's look wasn't quite apologetic, but it wasn't suspicious either, and she was happy for the conversation to move along as it did. "Well, that'll help great deal, especially when we're at sea. The water calms him, but being stuck on a boat with Leo when he's like that.." She shivered, recalling how that'd been last time, the shudder helped along by a gust of chill wind on unlined leathers. "I wanted to talk to you..." Tene pulled her lower lip through her teeth. "About the pack."
Mircea shouted, "* A victorious howl tears through the evening air.*"
Mahri sucks in a breath, stiffening beneath that cloak as she hears the howl. Under her breath, she mutters something about a damned insulting bastard, though, it might hold a bit of regret, not much, mind.
Tenebrae twitched a bit at the sound, and nodded to Mahri. "Away from the camp, though, I think."
Mahri nods, ready to follow Jolie, since she knew the way. One of these days, Mahri was going to have to explore this place.
Tenebrae led the way to a recently-abandoned campsite, though how temporary their solitude and warmth may be was uncertain. Coals still glowed dimly in the fire outside the mouth of the tent, warming the interior, though the atmosphere was resultantly smoky. Tene coughed softly. "We can stop here, for a bit."
Mahri wrinkles her nose at the acrid scent of the smoke, but nods all the same as she took a seat near the embers. Uncaring of her nudity, she moves the cloak aside to let the heat penetrate past the cloak, "What did you want to ask, Jolie?"
Tenebrae didn't betray the wince she felt as she joined Mahri by the fire, settling onto a giant-sized chunk of firewood. "There's unrest in the pack... I met that thing calling itself an alpha. You know.." She gave the lycaness a sideways look. "The one you brought in. Pissy little creature, totally unsuitable..." She paused, gave Mahri a somewhat harder look. "You -do- know the purpose of the lycans being given that forest, the reason the Vailkrin pack exists at all, don't you?"
Mahri raised a cool look to Jolie, the glow of the embers reflecting in their icy depths. "He is not..my alpha anymore." Reaching nearly across the fire, the lycan grabs a chunk of wood, small enough to stir the coals into a cheery flame. " I came in kind of late, here, you know. Creature...she was not herself and we fought, suddenly I find myself the Alpha of a pack I hardly know. Fill me in, if you don't mind." Soon, flames were licking at the hunk of wood, and another is added.
Tenebrae grumbled something about old dogs, and kicked a loose stick into the flames, to further fuel it. "It is primarily a military structure, not just a social club. It's the eastern defence of a territory that will one day soon be ruled by a triumvirate. I can't have just anybody wandering in and taking it over, without being assured they are capable at keeping a tight organisation that in turn is able to defend the land, if needed." A frown perched heavily on her brow. "If the pack is not able to fulfil its function via infighting and unwise choices, and by not keeping me informed, then I'd rather move a platoon of trolls in, instead, and be done with it. They're stupid, but not stupid enough to deprive themselves of what could be a very secure home and a profitable treaty all round." Her frown deepened. "Okay, not trolls. Maybe orcs."
Mahri sits a little straighter then, raising her chin proudly, "There will be no infighting, and no..unwise..decisions. I've been chastised enough, don't you think?" Relaxing, Mahri offers a slight smile, "Besides, orcs have to be told at least more than once to get it through their thick skulls what's needed." Tilting her head, Mahri can't help but replay the conversation that had led to the split between Mahri and Mircea, "I'm not your puppet though, Jolie. I'm not, in anyway, subservient to you, or Leo. What this is, the pack acting as a line of defence, is an agreement and a partnership. I'll consult with you, but I reserve the right to have final decisions over the pack."
Tenebrae gave Mahri a very serious look indeed. "I'm not lycan, what you do with your people is not my business. But if it affects my people, or I see the pack weakening substantially, I will step in, and I will revoke the lands, and that will not be a lot of fun for anybody. Just so we're clear." The woman paused then, huffing a breath. "I do not want puppets. I can have as many of those as I'd like--- but puppets have strings that need pulling or they fall down; they're not capable of making independent decisions appropriate to any bigger picture, outside of their own immediate gratification. " A small smirk curved Tene's lips, as she spread her palms to the warmth of the flames. "I do hope you prove to be string-free, Mahri."
Mahri lifts her arms and shakes her hands, a grin playing across her features, "No strings on me." Chuckling softly, Mahri rises, removing the cloak and handing it over to Tenebrae, either name fit the woman. "I will find you here, tomorrow, or somewhere near here. For now, I must take my leave." Moving with stealthy grace to the entrance of the camp, she pauses a moment, turning back to the once vampire, "I meant no offence, Jolie. Something I was told bothered me, that is all." A tinge of shame shaded those words, and she hopes that Tene didn't ~quite~ catch it.
Tenebrae tucked the cloak around her own shoulders, not ungratefully. "Very well. It was good to talk." She had already guessed what that something might be, but kept it to herself.
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Post by Joliette Thorne on Feb 1, 2009 1:46:52 GMT -5
--Icey Path--
Tenebrae's brow was still puckered with thoughts of Vailkrin's forest as she left the giant's tent, the brief glow of the fire still upon her. The others, still some way ahead, would be ready to break camp and continue their westward hike any time now. She returned to where she'd left Bonnie and found the mare sitting on her haunches, gnawing the remains of a snow-cony. "C'mon, girl." The dappled equine huffed and clambered upright, whickering a soft greeting. The necromancer took the reins, unwilling to resume her side-saddle ride, and lead the mare toward the sound of Sanmichel, the giant's voice rising over the clamour of sudden wind with a song about why dragons don't fart.
Shishi was using sound as his guide through the frozen lands as well, but unlike Tenebrae, he wasn't exactly sure who's voice it was that was leading him or where to... Following a giant's voice (despite the topic of their song) seemed like as good an idea as any that the vampire could think of, certain he was unable to find his way through the snow and ice on his own... The mystical, liquid scarf around his neck had frozen solid during his trek and now he was unsure if the thing was serving its purpose to keep him warm. A pair of thinly framed eyeglasses were tilted up above his forehead, pushed up that way once he had become fed up with clearing snow off the lenses. In his hand was a wriggling baby Ice Wyvern. He was holding it upside down by it's tail, keeping the thing as far away from his body as possible. His trip up this mountain had been taken without his children and had left him with a bit of Orange and Yellow flavored guilt. His hopes were that a new pet would appease them. Once his clan leader is spotted, Shishi makes a point to hasten his pace to catch up to her and the ride she was leading. The paranoid assassin had been wondering since they had last seen each other if she was angry with him, if only for the reason that he could be so easily associated with Terra. He calls out with a bit of hesitation while approaching her, "'Ey! T-tenebrae."
Tenebrae was walking close beside her horse, as the creature’s thick body did well for a windbreak in lieu of the thick copse of trees further down the mountain. Despite the pervasive chill blustering on the acute winds of this more barren part of the terrain, the necromancer had her hood down to prevent losing the thread of Sanmichel‘s song under the warmth of thick fur and hide. Beside her, Bonnie drew to a sudden halt, equine ears pricked sharply, while a deep shiver trembled its massive frame. Tene tugged the rein gently, “S’matter, you silly mare?” But her glance slid greenly toward the direction of the animal’s uncertainty, Tene having learned to pay attention to the nervous creature’s moods, and would already have narrowed her eyes for better sight through snow flurried along by the wind, trying to discern the lone figure approaching before Shishi’s voice made his identity apparent. A thickly-gloved hand was raised in greeting, no anger at all in Tenebrae’s reply, “That you, Shish?” She’d turn Bonnie that way, the pair soon standing a little way from the vampire. A twinge of awkwardness froze her tongue then, so Tene would only repeat her wave of greeting to her clansmate, somewhat more lamely.
Tenebrae's horse snorted loudly at the wyvernling.
Shishi , with his free hand, pressed the glasses to the top of his head to keep them from falling off as he closed the rest of the distance between he and Tenebrae, only forcing himself to hop a few feet back when the horse seemed to panic at his presence. The assassin swung his hatchling holding hand behind his back to conceal the newborn wyvern. This however, didn't serve to silence the cries from the dangling beast, which Shishi thought sounded something like the cracking of brittle ice. He presents the woman with a nervous smile, his fangs chattering slightly as he confirms his identity after his proximity to Tenebrae could serve the same purpose, "Yeah, it-t-tss me."
Tenebrae's smile was slightly rigid, this having not so much to do with how cold her lips were. The frostmare's neck snaked as it took a half-hearted snap in the baby dragon's direction. "She doesn't like dragons..." A soft slap to the shoulder had the horse paying attention to its mistress again, though Bonnie still snorted and rolled her eyes to show whites. Tene, being Tene and therefore not inclined to subtlety in the company of friends, was not willing to continue her inner squirming, and blurted out, "I don't like her, Shi. I really don't. She's not who I thought she was." The topic of the blathered comment probably wouldn't need to be explained, and after it Tene shoved her gloved hands deep into the pocket of her cloak, and shuffled snow about with the point of her toe.
Shishi considered, for a moment, playing the oblivious role he enjoyed hiding behind so much (perhaps pretending to think that Tenebrae was still referring to her horse), but after his short inner deliberation, he decided that the best this would have done was buy him some time as the woman clarified herself. A chapped frown crosses the vampire's lips as he takes a couple more steps back to appease Tenebrae's ride, apologizing to the horse, "I'm sorry... I just found this thing, actually." before he responds to his clan leader, "Well..." He was unsure about how to proceed, having mixed feelings about the topic of their conversation, "... your trust was betrayed...ah, by both of them. It's natural for you to be...angry." He did his own bit of squirming, partially because of the struggling hatchling behind his back, before finishing his speech, "Hmm... I'm not sure what else to say to you... I mean; I'm not sure how much I've forgiven her myself..."
Tenebrae sighed, more plume of white air than a sound, and dropped her rein in the snow; a signal, the mare knew, to stay put though it'd sidle toward Shishi, ears pinned flat, before sullenly dropping its nose to the snow and pretending interest in some scent or other. Tene took the few steps between herself and the assassin, passing him with a brush of fingers to his sleeve by way of invitation to walk, wrinkling her nose at the reptile. "I can bet you she was throwing herself at him. Probably half-dressed as usual." The anger was finally smoldering free of the ice within her, and while it might be uncomfortable for Shishi it sure felt good, to Tene. "To be honest, I was pretty much expecting it." A sideways glance, if the vampire had indeed accepted her request, would bring a chill pair of eyes to rest on him. "If you do take her back, I suggest you keep a leash on i.. her. And let her know, upsetting my apprentice is another unhealthy pastime." She'd lift one brow in an arc and feign a sudden desire to look toward the mountain's peak to hide the little curl of a smirk resting on her lips.
Shishi blinked once and spun around, taking one long step so that she wouldn't leave him behind, and then falling into stride beside her, the baby dragon dangling from his hand at his side opposite Tenebrae. When the woman gave her theories about how these things had come about he frowned, deeper now, and dropped his oceanic stare to the snow covered ground, listening to she soft crunches he made with every step just as much as he was listening to Tenebrae. The assassin would have liked to shrug up his shoulders and hide the bottom half of his face behind the safety blanket that was the scarf around his neck, but the frozen water that made the mystical cloth up was much too rigid to allow him to exercise this nervous habit. He only had the heart to nod along with most of what she was saying, remaining silent, and only taking his eyes off his feet when something she said made him curious, "Your apprentice?" he asked, eager to change the subject of their talk any way possible.
Tenebrae had no desire to inflict further, inadvertent pain on her clansmate, and was glad when he took the bait for a change of topic. "Orange. If you'd agree, I think it's high time the girl entered proper study in the arts of necromancy. She has quite the natural talent for it, and a delightful lack of squeamishness." The smile was no longer hidden, and a sight more genuine than her former one. "Bright little thing. She can start as soon as we return to Vailkrin." Tene brushed a bit of snow off her nose, studying the flakes as they turned to water on her fingertips. "If the child is amenable to it, of course."
Shishi let out an overt sigh of relief when Tenebrae made her offer. It was a proposal that had the vampire blinking curiously at the woman... He had been babying his daughter since the girl had been swallowed whole by a creature in Vailkrin's Black Pond, instead focusing on his son's skill set. "You really think she'd be good for it?" he asked, a bit incredulously. He had no doubt in his mind that the blonde six-year old would be eager to engage in some necromancy art lessons with Tenebrae, Leralynn held her in such high regard. "Ah~! I mean... I'm sure she'd love for you to teach her." He smiled, exposing a bright pair of fangs, happy now that the conversation had moved off of inner clan feuds and onto something that would make his children happy, something he thought he'd need after this unexpectedly long trip up the mountains with Terra.
Tenebrae nodded, her own grin markedly less sharp. "I'm sure. Natural disposition, as I said, and..." Tene coughed softly. "For a child, she's not all that horrible. I am sure I'd get used to her company. Her study fees are, of course, waived, being practically fam... er, clan, but she'll be required to gather her own raw materials." Tenebrae paused, frowning. "I've never taught anyone as young as she. Might need a little help, in that regard."
Sanmichel pushes his cart into view; it comes to a grinding halt as the right front wheel digs itself deeper into the ice. "Good 'nuff place teh stop, I guess...Oi, all! Who’s thirsty and needs some warmin' up?"
Mahri was prepared this time, dressed as she was in her cold-weather gear, albeit a bit stained so that it no longer worked as well for camouflage. Draped over one arm is the borrowed cloak, of which she is quite surprised she remembered. Lifting her head into the chill breeze that blew, Mahri took a deep breath, following the scent of Tenebrae mostly, though it was mixed with something a bit more stale and earthy. That was a scent the lycan associated with vampires. There was the giant, and a few other familiar scents. Stepping lightly, Mahri fails to notice just how slippery the trail had become, both feet sliding out from under her that she falls right on her not so well cushioned behind. With a whoosh of breath, turned to vapor in the cold, the lycan lands in a rather undignified way, bruising a bit more than her pride. A quick glance around is taken, being sure no one saw the little misstep as she gathers her feet under herself once more and, this time being more careful, continues on until she joins the gathered group. "Ah, see now?" she says cheerily enough, casting a wary glance towards the vampire, though the words are directed to Tenebrae,"I said I'd find you."
Lloyd slips along the path, the barefoot druid sliding into a mound of ice as he mutters, "Oh my."
Shishi had a chance to nod and respond to Tene before their crowd significantly increased, "I'll do anything you need me to to help." squirming a bit at the fact he awkwardly used two adjacent 'to's in his response. At the giant's and Mahri's arrival, the paranoid Shishi takes a few sideways steps to place Tenebrae between him and the new arrivals. The blue, baby dragon held by the tail in his hand squirms and dangles, emitting weak cries as Shishi tries to hide the beast behind his back again, offering a polite "Hello..." to the giant and a cautious glance towards Mahri...
Tenebrae glanced up at the sound of timber wheels lumbering over ice, which was of course preceded by the frostmare's warning whinny, and her grin only widened at Sanmichel's greeting as she spoke her reply, "A sup of warm ale'd go down a treat. Are the others gone ahead of us?" The necromancer blinked. "Don't tell me..." Tene gave the giant an ingenuously incredulous look, her gaze drifting north, ".. that Leo and that old woman are alone? I do hope she doesn't try to skewer him again..." Returning her attention to the giant, Tene flapped a gloved hand toward Shishi. "This's Shishi, if you don't know him yet. He's Cabal." It was all that was needed, by way of credentials to good company. "Shi, this is Sanmichel, he's Cabal, t..." The mare once more raised its dappled head to herald another 'intruder' on the company, this one less alarmed, as the scent was familiar. Turning to surmise the source, she was in time to see the lycaness' undignified 'entrance' to their now quite motley company. "And that..." she hid her smirk as best she could, indicating the other woman, "Is Mahri." Any further speech was interrupted when the tamed frostmare, its nerves shrill with all the activity, let out a furious snort, pawed the ground with cloved, clawed hooves and charged across the snow with its fanged maw snapping, in the general direction of... Lloyd, whom Tene recognised from a rather disappointing expedition to Gualon's swamps.
Sanmichel cocks his head to the right, trying to peek a glance at the dragon. "A little sumpthin' teh keep 'im from bein' so squirmy, eh?" He opens a long, wide drawer and pulls out an expanse of fur.
Sanmichel hands the aforementioned pelt the man and snaps his fingers, winks and sets up a line of mugs.
Mahri arched a brow as it seemed that Shishi was "hiding" behind a female. With a snort, the young hatchling not going as unnoticed as he'd hoped, Mahri would point out, "Your dragon's upside down and hungry I'm sure." Why a vampire has a dragon is beyond her, unless he was planning a bit of..self-help second death type of thing. The last time Mahri'd seen that particular male, he was intent on hurting someone, though now he seemed a bit more stable and calm, which wasn't saying much in Mahri's opinion. The mention of ale, and something warm, was what brought her attention around to the giant, Sanmichel, "If you've got something warm, or a drink that gives the impression of it, I'd take one." Sifting through the conversation she'd slid in on, Mahri shuffles and files away names and faces for later examination. The last to arrive though, didn't seem to have one, though Mahri was sure to remember his face if not his scent. Shishi - the vampire, was put in a special filing cabinet in her mind. He was one to keep an eye on. Whether or not Tenebrae trusted him.
Tenebrae clasped her hands about the offered mug, nodding thanks to the giant, and turned back to the spectacle of her mare chasing Lloyd down, or trying to.
Something is amiss, some aloof nature, a creepy silence; the birds of the frozen wastelands have stopped their chirping, the chatter wind has died out; all that remains of sound is breath and voice belied by the almost funereal calm that seems to encompass the vicinity. Even in the skies, warnings are shown, stars covered by clouds, and the pregnant moon feebly attempting to hide with it's children 'neath a vague outline of more clouds. Something is aloof, something is amiss; the air seems to plummet colder, despite the lack of windchill.
Sanmichel , without looking up, gives a thumbs up and begins to pour. He pauses mid-pour, looking up and away, his mouth moving a little as if he were trying to remember something.
Tenebrae shivered, suddenly, wrapping her cloak about herself a little tighter with the hand not holding the ale.
Lloyd erected himself, brushing his pants off, and shaking himself free of the snow. The man was still shirtless, and apparently crazy to be so in this weather, though he had focus, an inner attribute that let him seem to weather the cold. His head turned as he sniffed something funny, gaze snapping towards Tenebrae, "You... I almost stepped on you..." He walked towards the group, heedless of how many they were, "At least, I think you did... What the bloody hell were you all ruining my hunt for!" The last sentence flared up, out of nowhere, but the druid seemed to have a chip on his shoulder and all signs pointed to Tenebrae placing it there.
Tenebrae's mare was dangerously close to shearing something off of Lloyd with its fangs, the necromancer staring at the apparently nonchalant and half-naked male.
Shishi wearily takes his oceanic blue stare off of Mahri, sweetly asking the lycan woman, "You think it's hungry?" after Tenebrae had made her introductions. Sanmichel gained his attention with the offer of a method to calm the gift he was bringing his children down. The assassin vacates his hiding spot behind Tenebrae and makes his way to the giant, daintily plucking the offered pelt from his hand and struggling to wrap the hatchling in the fur, it's cries getting louder before it would quiet down, "Ah~... thank you..." The growing crowd was making him uncomfortable, from the sudden chill to the stressful scenario of a horse charging at a shirtless man, not to mention the looks he was getting from Mahri... but then again, he deserved those... right?
Tenebrae said to Lloyd, "Oh do watch out..." Her voice was soft, "Don't for goodness' sake be eaten." She was remembering the indignity of the mud, and that unfortunate bullfrog's demise.
Then, with the abrupt change, with the foreboding silence bearing down on them like an unseen veil, a curt blanket of eerie and looming disaster, comes the sobbing of the child. It begins as a horrid shriek, quite easily identified to belong to the throat of a young girl, to only die out and be trailed by some loud, hellish sobs.
Sanmichel nods absentmindedly. "Oi, she's right. Dun go pokin' it, eh?"
Sanmichel turns his head about, trying to find the source of the wretched sound. "Word o' the fathers...what the hell?"
Tenebrae, too, would cast a concerned glance about her, at the keening cry-- and shoot the same look to Mahri-- it wasn't the first time they'd heard it, after all.
Sanmichel spins around, jerking his head back and forth. "I feel like I lost a week off the end o' my life er sumpthin'." His shoulders slump perceptibly.
Shishi shudders, holding his children's gift like the infant it was now, cradled in his arms. When the disembodied sobs descend on the group the assassin is left wishing that he hadn't abandoned his hiding place behind his clan leader.
Mahri took one of the ale's, breathing in the heady aroma, but not quite yet taking a drink. Something..oh there was that awful feeling again, and the lycan moves closer to Tenebrae in a subtle motion of protectiveness. Damn this..thing. Silver eyes scanned the surrounding area, ready for anything really. A ship, a window in the middle of no-where, even the death's head she'd come to expect looming over her shoulder. Such was her study that she completely failed to see the frostmare's charge at Lloyd, which she would have found rather amusing under normal circumstances. If that weren't enough, the sounds came then, causing the lycan to bare her teeth in a snarl. If she'd been a wolf, her ears would have flattened against her skull. With no such luxury and her arms and hands full, Mahri simply ducks her head, peering up beneath her lashes. Somewhere in all that, a nod is given to Shishi and his new pet.
Tenebrae surmised the need for the group to stay close, the aura of impending doom was as thick as to be almost tangible, and the very air seemed weighted with the expectation of something wicked, this way coming. She'd shift a little closer to Sanmichel, noting Mahri's approach, and would beckon to Shishi. "Don' have a good feeling about this.." Whatever would rattle a necromancer of her experience so, couldn't be merely the wind through the trees, or just any old pathetic ghost whining a windward lament.
Lloyd ducked down, missing a swiping bite from the frostmare, though the duck was induced by the shriek from the young girl, shaking his head, as he looked towards the horse, "Hey.. Watch it.." His gaze turning towards Tenebrae, "I don't get eaten.." His head tilted down, gaze running her over quickly before turning back to the horse, "So, what are you and snippy doing here?" It was odd to try and figure out which one he was addressing, perhaps he was calling Tenebrae snippy?
Sanmichel reaches for a small torch hanging on his cart, his eyes still darting around. He opens the oven on his cart and inserts the torch, lighting it. He holds it out like a talisman, his right eye spinning nervously. "Oi, enough o' this, eh? Show yerself!" His voice catches in his throat a bit. He coughs a bit and tries to offer a reassuring glance as several in the party have inched closer to the cart.
Tenebrae's horse might've paid Lloyd a sharp reply courtesy of its gnashing fangs, had not the grievous sound penetrated to even its animal brain, and sent the mare into violent wheel of motion and a panicked gallop to the north, perhaps seeking its stallion for comfort. Tene regarded Lloyd with a flat look. "Having a tea party. What about you?"
The area suddenly goes pitch black, as if the very light has been snuffed from the outside world like a candle beneath wicked fingers; curtaining everyone in a darkness so thick that one could not even find their hand before their faces. Pupils would dilate, attempting vainly for any grasp of light, and they would be answered with a small pool of such to flood the snow in the center of their party. Bells toll, belying the sobs of the children, ringing as if a funeral procession for the recently deceased, church-like and in harmonious melancholy. Abruptly, as if out of a horror film itself, appears a gaunt figure, draped in black, seeded with the very malice and malevolence that commanded his ire, his presence, and his entire figure. A figure in the deepest of ebony, as if a silhouette in the spotlight, only to reveal the diapason to this deathly chorus in wicked grin. Such expression trapped in the marrow and rotting sinew of the face, accompanied by twin orbs bearing neither iris nor pupil. Grinning, and always so. Then, with the flickering, it is gone, and light returns to this night, leaving them with churning stomachs and wide eyes.
For just an instant, Mahri went completely blind. Not even Sanmichel's torch seemed to penetrate this inky blackness. Automatically it seemed, her hand reached out to grasp at something, anything really, to reassure herself that she'd not gone anywhere. Even if she did still feel the ground at her feet, vertigo was an unsettling kind of feeling. "Tenebrae..Shishi, Sanmichel.."she calls out, needed to hear them if not see them. Which was useless anyway as she suddenly found her gaze transfixed by that familiar figure, that face that promised unending horrors. Just as suddenly it was gone, and Mahri still had a tight grip on whatever it was she'd reached for.
Shishi tried to distract himself with thoughts on what it was a infant dragon would eat, wondering if perhaps the giant had something for the blue hatchling on his cart. Then there came the darkness and Shishi was left thanking the heavens that his eyes were not in their accursed crimson state and he could not hear the voices of the shadows that fell upon the area. Laying his eyes on the being that materialized from the darkness, Shishi hugs the fur-wrapped creature in his arms close to his chest and takes more than a few backwards steps away from the dark figure, despite the feeling that the being was slightly... familiar.
Lloyd shook his head, looking away and not bearing witness to the scene behind him, "Oi, damn... Lights." He didn't know what to say, there were no lights to be doused but it felt like their had, and almost in a prophetic tone does he mutter, "Something wicked indeed this way comes..." And the light were back, looking towards Tenebrae as he mutters, "Ruining a tea party, apparently."
Tenebrae whispered into the lifting of that pall, when the sardonically-grinning and skeletal being seemed to melt out of the pale light itself, manifesting first as a blot against the shine of it, then to something more solid... and recognisable. Tene winced, feeling somebody grip to her arm, but wouldn't notice who, so rapt was her attention on the ghastly visage before the nerve-wracked group. Her voice came in a choked few syllables, even as the darkness enfolded once more, and then fled like a bad dream. "Diiroehn..."
Tenebrae snapped her gaze upon the three more familiar of the company. "It's the Lich, Diiroehn." Her eyes carried a vast concern. "He's one of ours." That Mahri was included in that collective was probably apparent to anyone paying attention to such things. Lloyd was next to receive glance, "You alright?"
Lloyd blinks at Tenebrae, "Am I alright? Heh." He seemed to not want to dignify that with a response almost, "You got in my way the other day and your horse just almost ate me... Give me a reason I shouldn't be very upset with you right now?" He gave her a rather harsh glance, not really paying attention to the others, the moment of darkness fleeting in his mind.
Sanmichel remembers to breathe and gulps down hard. The blotch on his face has been set to swirling, a tornado of black and white. "The hell's a Dear-un er whatever yeh said?" He begins to pace, the icy crunch of snow echoing loudly in the space. He looks at his torch and drops it as if it was diseased.
Shishi repeats the word almost fondly to himself, "Lich..." as memories of his children's Corpse Guardian bounce around his head... Yes, that's where the familiar feeling had come from...
Mahri gave Tenebrae a rather incredulous look, "One of..ours?" She'll not readily admit, even to herself, that was one being who could, and did, scare her. Being Cabal probably didn't make it better. When she finally noticed the near death-grip she had on the necromancer's arm, Mahri lets go, idling noticing that the borrowed cloak was now on the ground.
Tenebrae lifted a brow to the druid, her eyes sliding first toward giant, then vampire, then lycaness, and finally back to Lloyd himself. "I think your best reason for not being very upset with me right now is that you find us suddenly the most delightful of company.." Her features wore a grim, no-nonsense expression. "And for that, I suspect you to be rather wiser than you look." She'd nod to Mahri and glance to the cloak that'd fallen in the dark, before patting Sanmichel's massive forearm , a comforting gesture, and addressing them both. "He's a Lich. Not as scary as he looks." She smiled, "Well, yes he is.. but he's nice to his own." Shishi's reminisces were guessed at, a sympathetic glint in the necromancer's eyes, "He's a good sort. I think the kids will like him.."
Sanmichel drops to a sitting position with a dull 'plump' on the cloak. "There's 'dead'/There's 'dead'/and then there's 'DEAD'/The wretched, skinless beast/That fills the sky with hopeless dread/North and south/west and east."
Tenebrae joined Sanmichel, taking a seat in the snow, "Grinning like a fleshless skull/ Breath like poisoned gas,/ Don't mistake him for a ghost / He'll kick your sorry ass."
Tenebrae nudged the giant, hoping to cheer him up bit. Her sense of humour was, as always, quite wretched.
Mahri raises a brow at the thought of that Lich being nice to anyone, so far all he's done is manage to make her uneasy, "Ah, well, now that that is done with." A curious glance is given to Lloyd, wondering just where he fit in with this little group, "Shall we be going then?"
Shishi smiled sweetly to Tenebrae as he shook the last bits of the memories of his Rotten former babysitter out of his head, "Mmmhmm, I'm sure they'd like to meet him." he said, before exhaling silently for the sole purpose of watching his breath rise in the cold air as he daydreamed about the prospected meeting between Orange, Yellow, and the Lich.
Sanmichel brightens up a bit. "Yer ass! Yer ass! He'll kick yer sorry ass!/He's jealous of your derriere/for his has long but passed.
Lloyd scoffs at Tenebrae, "Wiser than I look, ha! The joke's on you... Did you see what I was fighting?" Okay, he had a point, but at the moment, the druid was just playing crazy.
Tenebrae chuckled, adding to the song, "He's been dead for a thousand years/ Perhaps for two or three,/ He feels just like a cactus /When he's sitting on your knee..." She canted her head up to regard the other two, and said, "Shishi, this Mahri. She's Cabal." Tene would let sink in, wearing a grin that was slightly more sly now, while she looked to Lloyd, who was clearly.. the oddest among them. "Terribly sorry.. I didn't catch your name."
Lloyd grinned at Tenebrae, "That's because I didn't give it... Yours first, and an actual reason I should start liking you and your group... Then I'll give you mine." A hmph was given as muscular arms crossed, oh what a stubborn one he was.
Shishi puffed out his cheeks slightly as he nodded towards Tenebrae and glanced Mahri's way once again, muttering, "We've met... briefly... Bad first impression on my part, I think." Lloyd was then regarded with a curious stare, awaiting the introduction that he was stubbornly guarding. The Ice Wyvern was rocked gently in his arms, the assassin lamenting how quickly his children have grown up...
Tenebrae narrowed her gaze at lycan and vampire alike, and in turn. "What, exactly, is going on with you two..?" She quirked a brow at Lloyd, when he spoke. "They call me Tenebrae. And really, it's much better you decide we're your friends.." Her smile was saccharine. ".. because most of us are very scary when roused. And the rest... " She frowned and shook her head. "...never mind."
Sanmichel stands, brushes the snow off and resumes the song. "D' beetles came/they ate his face/and then they promptly died/The couldn't bear the taste of his/wretched dirty hide!”
Lloyd grinned at Tenebrae, "I don't scare easy, dove... I can handle my own." He was cocky, and it showed, "I am Lloyd." That was all the vampriss seemed to be getting from him besides a half-cocked grin.
Sanmichel burps loudly at the vampire's comment. "Hairy?"
Mahri seemed to take the announcement in stride, as for her being Cabal. "Indeed, bad first impression," she agrees, giving Shishi a once-over. Cabal, eh? Well, that meant she couldn't really harm him for the antics he'd pulled down in the cellar..much. Giving Lloyd a bland sort of look, Mahri might seem bored at first, but the stance she took held a bit of warning, "I personally don't care if you like us or not. She is a Lady, and you're being rude."
Tenebrae let her gaze drop an inch or two below Lloyd's waist. "I have no doubt you 'handle' your own." That blatant stare lifted. "And don't call me 'dove', I'm nobody's 'dove'." Scrambling to stand beside the giant, she looked upward to Sanmichel. "Do I look like a dove, to you?"
Lloyd eyed Tenebrae's glance, "Oh now?" His gaze turned towards Mahri, "She and her friends interrupted me on day... I am merely looking for an explanation, however round about I go about it.." His gaze moving back towards Tenebrae, "Got an answer for that one? And my face is up here, give me my answer and I'll stop the names, Tene, and entertain you later."
Sanmichel shrugs. "All yeh liddl midgets look the same to me, what with yer tiny legs...and...and..yer tiny arms...and, er...HEADS...tiny heads." He slips an open hand under his apron to scratch his chest. "A dove? Bout as much as a dove as turtle, I'd say...which is to say, 'No'." He folds his arms over his chest. "RIght. Not a dove." He hoped this was the right answer.
Tenebrae snickered, and poked the giant in his knee. "C'mon. let's find Leo." She’d turn to the other three. “You coming, or not?”
Shishi wrinkled his nose at Tenebrae's question. He would allow Mahri to elaborate if she wished, but he'd prefer that he do as little explaining about that night in the Hanging Corpse's cellar as possible. Again he's lost in a daydream, thinking about winged and tortoise shelled versions of his clan leader, muttering to himself as he looks down at the bundle of Dragon in his arms, "Turtle doves..."
Sanmichel nods. "Aye...and a partridge in a pear tree!"
Tenebrae muttered, "A crow, I could understand, a vulture maybe... not a bloody dove...."
Sanmichel grimaces at the cart wheel which has become even more inextricably stuck in the ice. He leans his shoulder in to the cart and it breaks free with a loud 'crack'.
Shishi made a bit of a face at the suggested prospect of seeking out that particular lycan and was all of a sudden in a rush to continue on the path he had been walking when he first came across Tenebrae, "Ah~... It's not... I mean... I really should be heading back down... I didn't mean to leave Orange and Yellow this long..."
Tenebrae could still be heard muttering, even as she disappeared into the snowdrifts, heading north, following the tracks of her mare.
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