Altar of Fire I can offer you a black-lit paradise

Waves of tangible flames seemingly rolled as far as pale jade eyes could see while contrasting limbs sauntered their way through their wake with purpose, the singular detached antler of a recently deceased member of the cervidae family leaving an uprooted trail of soil behind every paw step forward. Her sights were set on a singular large stone nestled atop the largest knoll and it was there that she would dare take pause to enjoy a few blissful hours in the fading light of the day gnawing on her freshly acquired trinket. Trailing her brother had once again proved fruitless and the marbled woman grew exasperated by his antics. How many circles around this place was he going to make? How long would she continue to blindly follow those same circles?

The thought had a snort from flared nostrils rustling a clump of taller standing flowers, tossing the antler clenched between her jaws ahead with a flick of her head before her weight was unceremoniously tossed beside it with a thump. Dirt and flowers alike flung about in every which direction while she adjusted herself accordingly, draping a limb over her new trinket to secure it between outstretched limbs. Sunset to her back casting her marbled fur in an orange glow and not a single care in the world, tarnish teeth set to work gnawing on one of the many points.

Perhaps it was time for her fun to unfold.

Word Count: 240

Commision by Kumiho-kami

If Felyx didn't know any better, he'd think this place was on fire. He strolled easily through the weeds, touched red by the sunset. It made him blend quite well, he figured, his ginger fur soaking up the sun and reflecting it back just the same. The boy was following a peculiar scent - wolf mixed with deer, though perhaps not a fresh kill. Felyx wasn't above scavenging a little, should the opportunity arise. Perhaps the other wolf would be kind enough to share.

He didn't count on that, though. What he expected to happen, if anything, was to try and con them out of their food in one way or another.

The trail was exceptionally easy to follow, given the recently-toiled earth that the other wolf no doubt left behind. It led to a gigantic stone, flat-topped and imposing, holding the sun on top.

There lay the wolf he'd been seeking, quite striking with her unique fur pattern, and especially with the way it looked as though the sun rested atop her back. If Paeryl's god was real, would it look something like this, Felyx wondered? The whole scene felt particularly holy.

"Hello, there," he greeted with a wave of his tail, not approaching just yet. She had antlers she was chewing on - the source of the deer scent - and he didn't want to receive a snap in his face for his efforts.

(This post was last modified: Jun 27, 2024, 06:39 PM by Felyx.)

There was a certain advantage to having the large boulder positioned so behind her as the sun set lower and lower, casting the world in its illuminating flames while the shadow from the stone grew larger and larger until they consumed her in shadows. Antlers and all. My, it made it hard to enjoy her trinket with the lighting grew so dim. Thus a leap and a haul later, the marbled woman now found herself perched upon the flat top of the stone, prize once more secured between forelimbs as her marbled fur soaked up the last rays of warmth. Now, Sukea was no goddess, but she wouldn't be opposed to playing the part.

Crunched flowers beneath the paws of others steadily approaching caused dark tinged ears to flick back and forth at first, but lacked the needed energy to draw forth any further form of acknowledgement from the woman. Confident in herself and her abilities, there was no fear of robbery so tarnished teeth continued on with their gnawing until a spoken greeting broke the otherwise pleasant silence that invoked the fiery field.

Hello there.

Paused mid chew, pale jade flicked up and squinted against the light to seek out their maker finding a man that looked like walking fire himself manifested before her. Wise enough to stay far enough away, Sukea allowed a few moments of silence to linger between them before removing the gnawed piece of antler she had been working on from between her jaws in order to acknowledge his presence first off. Head held high in the pride she carried about herself, a single brow quirked in curiosity before leveling itself.

"Can I help you?"

A rhetorical question, she asked it anyways.

Word Count: 287

Commision by Kumiho-kami

(This post was last modified: Jun 27, 2024, 07:26 PM by Sukea.)

sorry - I thought she was already on the rock before! >w<

Fortunately for both of them, Felyx had lost interest in the antler the moment he spotted the wolf who possessed it. She was older, he realized - older than any of the wolves in their main group. But was that a bad thing? Someone her age, living on her own - she must be quite the survivor. Bells pinged in the back of Felyx's mind, immediately interested in whoever this wolf was.

Can I help you?

"Maybe," he responded thoughtfully, settling himself at the base of the rock. He had to tip his head back to look up at her, but he didn't mind. She really was pretty in an objective sense - even Felyx, who was not attracted to women, could admit to that. He didn't think he'd ever seen a wolf who looked like her before. "But I wouldn't ask for something and offer nothing in return."

It was part of his game - a give and take. Some sort of equal trade. He knew he wanted something from this woman, but he wasn't sure exactly what it was just yet. Of course, not knowing wasn't a problem. Felyx was sure he'd figure it out eventually.

Smiling, he countered cryptically, "Can I help you?"

Everyone wanted something, after all. Didn't they?

(This post was last modified: Jun 27, 2024, 08:50 PM by Felyx.)

A dark outlined ear gave a mildly interested flick in response to the half answered response the man offered at first, almost opting to ignore the poor fellow entirely and resume her gnawing until his particular use of words that followed managed to pique her interest. Such causing a small glint in those pale jade eyes of hers. The saying usually went that with age came wisdom, but for someone younger than herself this peculiar man seemed to have found himself a decent supply of it. At least through words from the judgement of a book cover's sake.

"Depends."

Her voice easily manifested in a mock weary tone as if she couldn't be arsed to expend too much more energy, attention shifting back to the trinket nestled between her paws for just a few moments before those same jade eyes adopted a more siren-likened shape in the way she lowered her lids to better study her newfound source of company. The move could come off flirtatious depending on how one took it as her head lowered and the tri color swirl of her tail gave a flick behind her.

"What do you have to offer?"

Cryptic for cryptic.

There were indeed things in this world that Sukea craved. Power. Destruction. What did she want specifically? This stranger would need to work a little harder to pry such locked away desires from a woman such as herself. Besides. This game was just starting to get a little interesting.

There was a glint in her eyes - like @Apolline, like @Dacian, like @Thoval, - that Felyx caught onto and found himself drawn in by. He wanted her - wanted her in their little loop, wanted her for the promise of whatever that light in her eyes meant. There was no doubt in his mind she would make things more interesting, and really that was all Felyx wanted. Entertainment and fun and games. A life that wasn't boring.

He was putting the pieces together. Roping them in and making the connections he wanted. Things would take time, but Felyx could be patient. Could wait until the life he desired was manifested into reality.

She played along with his game. He wasn't sure of the rules just yet - if there were any - but he liked where this was going. Stormy eyes were locked onto her, reading her body language and expression and tone. This one was certainly interesting - if he didn't know any better, he'd have thought she was flirting with him.

But that was just part of the game they were playing, wasn't it? It wasn't genuine flirtation, from him or from her. He was being toyed with in the same way a cat would toss around the half-dead mouse it had caught, unsure if it was going to eat the poor creature or leave it to rot.

"Depends," he echoed coyly, licking his lips. "I could offer you my name, or a meal, or protection. A place to stay." He leaned forward a little, his own eyes alight and focused. "But I doubt any of that's of interest to you."

A wolf her age, on her own, healthy-looking and strong? Strong enough to drag a set of antlers up that big stone, at any rate. She didn't need protection, of that he was sure. It was warm and pleasant out, so he doubted she was starving to death - a place to stay and food would be a better selling point in the winter. She didn't even seem like she needed companionship, content on her own.

"Would you like to play a game with me?" Felyx asked then, as though they weren't already playing one. But this would be a game with a goal in mind - voiced aloud. "I'll try to guess something about you, and you try to guess something about me." If she wanted consequences for the loser, she could have them. He was waiting for her to ask.

A game of perception and deduction. Trying to figure her out.

(This post was last modified: Jun 29, 2024, 06:06 PM by Felyx.)