stigmata fled from bearclaw valley in an attempt to quell his needling ambition. he had stolen deep into the wetlands before even remembering he had other needs of the bodily variety, and he stopped to refill his tank. on the hunter's front he was stricken unlucky -- giving himself five tries before he gave up pursuing a nocturnal meal. fortunately, he could afford to miss a meal or three before feeling any real pressure to perform. he drank from an ugly pond and turned to make his way back home.
it wouldn't be much longer before dawnlight curled around the horizon, so when he reemerged on the bare edge of otatso, he paused to admire the clear open sky and what was left to see of the constellations.
the land here was quite different to what she'd first gotten of teekon to say at the least. summer had made itself a lot more at home down here than in the land's most northern point and she'd quite frequently stop to irritably shake her paw as blades of grass tickled at its pads, likely an overreaction due the crabiness being tired inevtibly tended to bring on. a good way to describe her current surroundings would be 'pleasant', not quite holding the beauty to the trechourous north but holding a safe calmness to it that she appreciated after so much time travelling these new unfamiliar lands.
the night was aging quickly, the inky blackness starting to lighten to a dull navy- the twinkling stars overhead losing some of their intensity. she'd continue to move silently through the dewy grass, paws carrying her with a gentle grace that gave the pale fae an almost ghost-like appearance to anyone who may be watching. her ears were perked atop her head and alert for any signs of prey as although she wasn't necessarily hunting a meal wouldn't hurt. however the vegetation around her remained as silent and lifeless as ever and her nose would wrinkle slightly as the ground underpaw grew slightly wetter with a sponginess that didn't mean dew. she had been about to switch directions, having no interest in venturing into any sort of wetland when she froze- surprise gracing her features very briefly before it was pushed back down under features of cool indiffernce.
whatever way the brute had been standing the shadows had cloacked him in a way that had managed to perfectly hide him from her and it seemed the breeze hadn't been on her side either, carrying his scent away rather than towards her so she'd failed to notice him until now. she'd mentally curse at herself, annoyed that she'd failed to notice him and even further pissed that due to the general flatness of the land around her there was no way he hadn't seen her a bit ago. nevertheless her expression remained as flat as ever- dark eyes cold and empty as she'd step closer towards him, tail tip twitching as she'd come to a stop a few lengths before him. she'd turn her head slightly- taking in the open sky he must've been watching. a wry smile would tug at the corners of her mouth as she'd simply murmur "stargazing?" her tone, although soft, was completely unreadable as her dark hazel gaze fixed itself on him quite intensely. he smelt quite strongly of other wolves so she guessed he must be from a pack. interesting.
hope you didn't mind me throwing her at you!
always careful not to become too engrossed in the allure of starshine, he watched the progression of a wolf-like phantom from the corner of his militant eye. he watched her drift along on the dark horizon -- her lofty glide giving the small carnivore a lax and compelling presence. he found that his muzzle had fallen from its upward angle, watching her now with the same stringent attention he afforded all of his prey. as she continued on, without yet noticing him, he poured over what he could of her at that distance and revered her frigid air of maturity.
stigmata could almost see the ground freeze as she floated over it.
he had returned his nose to the sky before she finally noticed him. he had decided he couldn't waste his time -- couldn't continue to be distracted. but the unwilling bachelor in him rebelled, and when she came forward to address him, he didn't ignore or otherwise act hostilely towards her.
"while it lasts," he admitted freely, though none of his steely attention lingered on the sky now, as he zeroed in on the she-wolf in her closeness.
he found it unfortunate that she wasn't a yearling as her size had implied from afar; this made it harder for him to ignore her. the wolf tipped his head at her simply with a straightforward look:
so - what is it you want?
not at all, i was actually stalking tundy :3 (tagged player still welcome <3)
stigmata regarded his company with a heavy silence, peering unabashedly into her big, expressionless eyes as he attempted to discern whether or not she was worth corralling into his shadow. he remained quite still as she elaborated on her approach -- lonely, apparently -- but the dragoon reanimated at her query. he nodded slowly and sighed a deep-noted "yes," that seemed disappointed with the tame conversation he'd been presented with. clearly a wolf who didn't intend to say anything without reason, he offered her nothing but the bare minimum at first.
"is that really what you want to know?" he asked, silver eyes tracing the curve of her slight figure as she stretched before him. a stab of longing crippled his stoicism, evidenced only by a slight twitch of his jaws as he restrained a hyena's smile.
"you implied nothing, which is why i asked," the basilisk returned coolly, meeting her doll-eyed stare with unabashed forwardness. stigmata licked his chops, appearing thoughtful even as he wiped his mind clear of any interest in this she-wolf. her odd despondency and tendency to drift off into lalaland around strangers didn't bother him in the least - it was the lack of basic intelligence, and he had no time for it. "i simply assumed you had more to ask than a question you already knew the answer to..." he paused, and looked as if something had occurred to him in that moment, and then his glare hardened; "and if you did not know i was a pack wolf, then that means your nose is useless and therefore you." he spoke very casually, as pompous as his status as a pack wolf could afford him.
"begone," he ushered her then, with a clipped gesture of his muzzle in some indiscriminate direction. and it was the only time he would be nice about it.