Mountain of Dire Royals & Kings

Takes place in the foothills of the Mountain of Dire, around about here. Give or take.

I don't care if heaven won't take me back

Askan never ventured out this way. He'd claim that it was just a coincidence, that he hadn't yet gotten around to it, but the truth of the matter was that he just didn't want to. The Mountain of Dire looked nothing like home.

His bright, critical gaze roved over the Dire's craggy peaks and scaling slopes as a frown dawned on his features. He supposed to an outsider it might look sort of similar, but he knew better. The Selwyn mountains were... how to put it? They didn't just feel like towers of stone jutting out of the ground, there was a sense of glory, purpose. Askan had never believed in the old legends, but if there was such a thing as heaven then the mountains were the closest a mortal could ever get to it. Or so Askan thought, anyway.

This mountain though? He wasn't struck with a sense of wonder or amazement, for what it was worth he might as well have been looking at a rock on the ground. Boring and lifeless. He couldn't help but wonder if any packs had tried to tame the mountain, claimed it as their own. He couldn't see any signs of life from the foothills, but even his eyes weren't that good. Selwyn or not, he wasn't a damn eagle.

He continued on, striding over the rocks till he found one suitably flat enough to perch on. Then with a huff, he folded himself down into a laying position and folded his front paws. He had no intentions of scaling the mountain, of seeing what secrets laid hidden between it's peaks. His nostalgia could only push him so far.

(This post was last modified: Aug 19, 2018, 02:44 PM by Askan.)

Eight track playin' all your favorite sounds

She was lost. Totally, completely and utterly lost.

There was no even around to ask for directions. Skirting along the mountain's edge had to be the worst idea ever. Doubt consumed every inch of her mind. There was a forest to the east that she should have dived into. At least there would be plants for her to occupy her thoughts with. Maybe even a means for her to communicate with the ancestors.

So consumed by her anxious thoughts, she almost walked right over the dark male on the ground. Which would have been bad because he was the only thing between her and going right off the ledge. Awkwardly she took a few steps back to put space between them again, instantly crouching a bit lower as her tail nervously swished between her ankles. "I, uh, hi." The Macieo awkwardly choked out.

I don't care if heaven won't take me back

Askan didn't appreciate being stepped on. Sure, it was a near miss but that was more than enough to warrant a sharp glower in the strangers direction. He half expected the loner to be plodding around with her eyes closed, at least then she would have had an excuse. But nope, they were wide with alarm as if she hadn't even realised he was there. Had Askan been grey or tawny then maybe he would have cut her some slack, but he was brown damn it! He didn't blend into the rocks at all.

"Is that it?" He demanded, incredulous. " Hi? Who the hell raised you? Aren't you going to apologise?"

And people said Askan had no manners, sheesh.

The Selwyn exhaled sharply as he adjusted his posture, he pushed himself up onto his front paws as his flank remained firmly on the floor. He wasn't going to get up for her, but he wasn't going to leave himself vulnerable all laid out like that either. As always, Askan took in the sight of the stranger with a sharp, if not aloof stare. Aside from her browny eyes-such a rare colour these days, or so it seemed- there was very little about her that was of interest to the Edge Lord. She was young, careless and inexperienced and Askan had very little patience for youthish bullshit today. Not that he often did, but whatever. He was who he was.

(This post was last modified: Aug 19, 2018, 02:44 PM by Askan.)

Eight track playin' all your favorite sounds

Heck heck heck, Ancestors above.

She shrunk closer to the earth and russet furred ears pulled closer against her crown. "I'm sorry." She whispered softly, scuttling backwards away from the dark male with piercing eyes. It wasn't like he was charging at her or anything but he might as well have been. Awinita wasn't a very confrontational wolf and so his sharp words had cut like teeth.

There was absolutely no way out of this without looking ruder than she already (accidentally) did. "Sorry, sorry." She muttered as she scooted back just a tad bit more. The Macieo girl really wanted to make sure she was out of reach of his jaws in case her apologies were not enough to soothe the dark beast.

Oh no she's so sweet

I don't care if heaven won't take me back

Askan rolled his eyes. So she was one of those huh? So meek and mild that she was probably terrified of her own shadow. In part he was amused that he'd caused such a dramatic reaction, but on the other paw it was pretty annoying to watch her squeak and scoot down till she was as small as possible. Yes, he didn't like being nearly stepped on, but he wasn't going to eat her face for it.

"I heard you the first time." He stated, his ear flicking forward to signal that they worked just fine. "Don't you have somewhere better to be?" He asked, of course referring to the fact that they were more or less in the Lore's version of the sticks.

Mountains were dangerous at the best of times, but wandering around alone didn't seem like the best of ideas. Not to mention that the doe of a wolf would no doubt have a brain fart if she encountered something dangerous, like a mountain lion. Either she was lost, hadn't thought this through very much or was suicidal. Honestly, he didn't want to take a bet as all of the options seemed pretty likely at that point.

(This post was last modified: Aug 19, 2018, 02:44 PM by Askan.)

Eight track playin' all your favorite sounds

Her face grew warm at his words feeling only further embarrassed and guilty. Right. She had probably overdone it and now the apologies likely seemed less sincere. If that was the case though he didn't seem to make a comment about it. Which she was mildly grateful for.

"N-no. I'm new here." As if she hadn't made that obvious enough by her careless steps. "Where might be better?" The Macieo asked meekly. Perhaps he could give her some sense of direction as it was obvious she didn't have any at the moment. Her ears carefully - slowly - raised from her crown to catch his words a bit better.

Awinita was still nervous about stepping on toes - literally and figuratively - but perhaps things were still salvageable.

I don't care if heaven won't take me back

Askan took a moment to consider her question. It went without saying that she was new in these parts, but where would be best for such a mousy creature? With coyotes infesting his neck of the woods he wasn't about to recommend the east, he wasn't that cruel.

"Depends on what you're looking for. Obviously." He could send her off in all sorts of directions. He'd seen a fair amount of the Lore, so he figured he knew enough to answer her question. "Can't promise that there won't be coyotes or not though, I've got no clue whether they're endemic to this side of the mountain or what." He shrugged, at the very least she'd know about it, take them into consideration.

"Who're you anyway?" His nose wrinkled. Askan hated not knowing things, being left out of the loop.

(This post was last modified: Aug 19, 2018, 02:44 PM by Askan.)

Eight track playin' all your favorite sounds

She was a bit consumed by nerves at the mention of a coyote endemic. It was...alarming to say the least. She was not very big -- nor was she very strong -- and so a swarm of coyotes was the last thing she needed.

"I..I think I'd like a place where lots of things grow with a bit of silence. I like plants -- healing." She commented offhandedly in gentle tones, the faintest trace of a smile breaking her features before disappearing. A nice lush forest or meadow would perhaps be best for someone like her but...then again the whole coyote issue. She was sure they liked those places too.

"Awinita." The Macieo kept her introduction short and sweet so she didn't start stuttering or blabbering, making a bigger mess of her first impression.

I don't care if heaven won't take me back

Silence and plants. So she was one of those then, wasn't she? A hippy. To each their own, but in all honestly it seemed rather strange to the Selwyn. Plants were good for healing and getting rid of pain, but what else? Little did he know that some enjoyed ingesting them for other uses, spiritual nonsense that would've no doubt made him sneer. Askan was a cynic through and through.  

"Try the other side of the mountain. It's mostly forest this side, thick and deep. Easy to get lost." Not the sort of place he could imagine such a dainty woman calling her home. Then again, maybe she was into that? Who knew?

"Anwhoha?" He blinked as his ears swivelled forwards. Surely he'd misheard her, it wasn't his fault she was all quiet and demure. "What about your surname, surely you have one?" He was just being noisy now, because he could.

(This post was last modified: Sep 13, 2018, 07:44 PM by Askan.)