Hot Springs I just don't stack up next to you

Though it didn't trouble her to tell most wolves she was a lone wolf, she did feel slightly odd not letting Faol know the truth despite the fact that she thought he would make a good addition to Nomad's Pass. This was, though, only their second meeting, but still he gave her a good feeling and didn't seem like the type Naira and Rhysis would dislike. On the contrary- she felt he could make himself useful and had the right personality to fit in with the group. While she still wasn't sure she could tell him the truth, she nevertheless did not want to pull the whole 'maybe I'm in a pack, maybe I'm not,' sort of facade; it wouldn't have been a polite way to treat someone she liked.

It was very odd, however, to have an honest compliment come from Faol. She hadn't expected him to call her a 'pretty young thing' and was taken aback for a moment. Deciding that he wasn't trying to flirt but was instead being a joker she gave him a toothy grin, revealing her teeth in a playful warning. "I think they're too scared of me." She said, a purling growl seeping into her voice.

Faol then seemed to sober and offered his opinion about female lone wolves and she laughed a very thin sounding laugh. It was kind of him to care about her safety, and she had to grit her teeth to avoid showing any sort of regret or frustration. If only he knew that it was just as unsafe for female wolves who were a part of a pack. The swirling mists and the level of the water around her shoulders served its purpose to mask the nearly healed injuries she'd sustained while out on her patrol. To deflect his attention from that or the possibility that she had the same fears, she resorted once again to humour. "I'd be worried about a pretty young thing like yourself as well, wandering about on your own." She said. Wanting to put an end to the banter, though, she too sobered up. "Why do you hate packs?"

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The path to Heaven lies

Faol Bayard

through miles of clouded Hell.

After quickly dismissing the compliment he had willingly gave Sage, she came back at him again with another joke, this time baring her teeth to make the threat seem all the more real. Of course a conflict of any kind between wolves was no laughing matter, he gave her a small chuckle and raised a furry brow in reluctance to her threat. He didn't think the girl couldn't take care of herself, but he had run into some pretty rough adversaries in his time, and they had taught him to keep his guard up and watch his back. A female cloaked in silver would surely catch the eye of someone unwanted, and he hoped she was smart enough to heed his warning.

Before he had the chance to speak again, she had retorted the same compliments towards him, and a playful smile crossed his face. The large, dumpster mash colored male standing before her might be pretty in his own way, but surely he was no longer considered young. He preferred the term 'seasoned'. However, he missed his chance at basking in the sunlight of her compliments when she suddenly asked him why he disliked packs so much. To be honest, the list would have been shorter to name the things he liked about them.

"Pack life doesn't offer me anything that I can't provide myself," he said, matter-of-factly. His joking expression had turned from a smile to one of seriousness, and he turned his face from her. Yellow eyes searched out into the fog for something he could focus on. "Every pack I have ever known has been nothing but betrayal. Killing, lying, groveling to your master and protector. Who in turn only uses you when needed," he said, trying to contain the acidic tone in his voice. His ears swiveled backwards as he turned back to her. "My family was slaughtered by a pack. Tell me the good in that?" he said, his eyes narrowing to small slits as he made eye contact with her. It wasn't meant to alarm Sagacity, and parts of him attempted to pull him back from the sudden hatred he was feeling. He didn't want to be the monster again in her eyes.

Part of Sagacity didn't like hearing that Faol did not want to join a pack. She supposed, after a bit of reflection, that it was probably due to the fact that she didn't want him in any other pack but Nomad's Pass. Had he joined another pack, she would have had to be secretive about her own life with him, and not that she wasn't denying him the truth already, but at least it wasn't that she was doing so in order to keep another pack from finding out much about them. She wanted to tell Faol about Nomad's Pass and felt that she might possibly be able to convince him to join- but how to do so without giving away too much?

It sounded as though Faol had not had great experiences with pack life in the past. When he became sharp, her ears tilted slightly; she was surprised to see him become so serious, and an edge started to creep into his voice, culminating when he confessed that his family had been slaughtered by a pack. Sagacity's ears flicked back in response and her pupils narrowed. She did not like the idea of wolves being commanded to kill other wolves...How could she be so sure that the same wouldn't happen to here in Nomad's Pass? She knew full well that they hated the wolves from Poison Path...

"There was no good or honour with that pack," She said, her voice barely more than a low growl. She waited a moment before she continued. The mere thought of packs slaughtering one another left a sour taste on her tongue. She remembered, again, how happy and free she'd been as a lone wolf. "I've never heard of anything so barbaric," She admitted quietly. "I'm sorry," She said, then, yellow eyes seeking his, having softened considerably. Now wasn't the time, she knew, to tell him not all packs were like that, or that she was in a pack that she thought he would join. If anything, she knew that might push him away.

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The path to Heaven lies

Faol Bayard

through miles of clouded Hell.

Ooc: My computer restarted in the middle of my last post >.< Sorry this one is kinda bleh/short.

It seemed the silver pelted female understood his plight when it came to pack life. After his family had met their untimely, but planned deaths, Faol was left to fend for himself. It had hardened him but at the same time expanded his horizons more than he ever knew. His life had been filled with hardships, but he had experienced a freedom that only be longed for. Nothing had been possessive enough over Faol to make him consider becoming part of a makeshift "family". The black male had yet to even think about starting one of his own; although many a time he was unsuccessfully lured into doing so. He nodded his head in agreement with her realization and for a moment looked upon her critically. "How would you know what your leader would ask of you if you are in a pack?" he questioned. Even though he didn't know of her current status, he tried to make her think. "Would you follow what your master commands you to do without question?" he paused, relaxing the tense muscles along his spine.

Of course his questions were rhetorical, and he didn't expect her to answer them, but he left them open with a soft shrug. "I guess it all depends on how much you have invested in them," he said finally. He was adverse to them, but his perspective on life was open to whatever Fate brought to him. Faol had felt that their light conversation had gone too deep to soon, but there was something about Sage that caused his walls to fail too easily. Quietly he looked over to her, trying to lighten the moment with a faint smile. "I feel I have taken too much of your time already, dear Sage. I should be on my way," he said, rising to his feet. His normally stagnant tail giving a small waver in her honor.

While he'd calmed considerably, there was still an air of tension about him, resting in his shoulders and in the corners of his mouth. His doubt in the use of a pack was painfully obvious and Sagacity felt bad that she'd even thought about asking him to consider joining a pack, possibly even theirs. Their conversation had taken such an unplanned turn that she wasn't entirely sure what to make of it now that she knew more about him. She got the feeling that these weren't facts he told everyone he knew- it felt as though these were secrets she'd earned.

She shook her head in response to his question, and regarded him with a calm gaze, wishing that he hadn't been so prejudiced against pack life. She still thought him cut out to be a wolf of the Pass. "I think we're meant to trust that not all leaders are the same." She said, even though she knew he hadn't been expecting an answer. She didn't want him to leave, but it seemed that he wanted some time alone and any further conversation might have seemed somewhat awkward, given the current tension. "I hope to see you again soon, Faol," She said, giving him as much of a smile as she could muster as she watched him go on his way. How cold and cruel life could be to those who least warranted it.

Table by Tyrant <3

Avatars by Arla!