Redtail Rise Isomer

@Teagan + others welcome!

Though the scent of char usually kept him at bay, Warbone's choice of claim made it necessary to explicitly know the immediate territories surrounding him. But this was a weak excuse at best. He lingered close tot he Grotto, consciously ignoring the reason why, and he hid his intentions beneath feigned diligence to his cause. This tremor he had would leave him after a time, but a vast yearning had been awakened in him— an appropriate desire to rise and fulfill the hungry throb of his heart— the desire to lead and protect and earn the respect of his wolves the natural way. He had not been born for it, but he would mold himself to the position.

Redtail Rise, burnt black and less lively than a desert, was coming to an end before him. He had carried himself all the way through it, and in the dim spring afternoon (rain looming, threatening to arrive in the next few hours) he could see the greener plains of Dawnlark ahead. Head level to his shoulders, the broad wolf padded on.

keeping things vague since this thread isn't concluded yet :)

After that strange encounter with the bluenosed wolf and the fiery chick, the coywolf abandoned his journey further eastwards, instead made to go northwest instead, deciding that the north suited him well enough with its pale white and blue glaciers and tragic beauty. Well, he was disappointed. Apparently, only a small part of the north was all pale and white blue, the rest was...pretty normal with its forests, green grass, mountains which could be short or tall and ugly as well as sprawling fields and rocky cliffs. 

Though, to be honest, Teagan really couldn't care less; what really was bothering him was not the lack of 'tragic beauty' in the environment, but the lack of interesting things in the area. There was practically nothing to keep him busy, no one to talk to and manipulate. Gods, sometimes he missed company, if only because then he would be able to charm them with his silvertongue. It was at that moment, when he was unusually lost in his thoughts, that a new sight caught his attention.

Burnt, blackened, uninhabited. Interesting.

With a whoop of joy, Teagan increased his pace till he was practically running towards the charred territory in front of him. Before he explore, however, the unfamiliar scent of a wolf greeted his nostrils. Pausing, the coywolf sniffed the air warily then shrugged and continued on, though with less excitement and more control. Normally, he would run and greet company, but after that encounter with the bluenose, he wasn't sure. Loners couldn't afford to get injuries. Not that he couldn't fight that wimpy asshole off, hell yeah he could, but he'll rather not take any chances, y'know.

A loner materialized at the edge of blackness. He was a brilliant color, all ginger and cream like a fox, with a tall, rawboned build and sharp, hybridized face. His scent identified the stranger as not belonging to any pack, and it was this fact that drew Warbone forward with intention in his heavy steps. The wolf licked his chops, approaching as casually as his virile body would allow, and the male interested in becoming alpha, conveyed a muted amiability as he came to stand just a few feet from the male, tail up and waving and nose extended, curious and expectant towards the company.

He asked to get to know him, with body language only. His words reserved for now.

It seemed that Teagan's natural charm was attracting a lot of wolves, especially unwanted ones. He sighed inaudibly, almost tiredly when the other wolf drew forward. Well, he can't be as bad as that blue nosed arse, can he?  The coywolf thought to himself as his black tipped ears twitched towards the heavy steps approaching and he turned on his heel, expression neutral except for the ever-present smile dancing vaguely on his lips. The wolf was large, heavyset and draped in a pelt of copper, black and gray. 

The male appeared innocuous, but Teagan remained carefully on guard, aware of how appearances could change in the matter of seconds. The coyote analysed the other wolf, taking mental notes of the other man in case this escalated in a fight. He might be a bit of a jokester, but let no one say that Teagan Wilde was a fool. "Buddy, if you wanna date me, you can date me," the hybrid said, tail wagging in greeting as well. With that, he nodded in case his message wasn't clear and his green eyes glittered expectantly, curiously.

A smile and a cautiously inviting stance gave Warbone the cue he needed to come even nearer to the foxish coywolf— his words further eliciting a low noise of approval and amusement from the unwieldy male; it sounded like he repeated the word "date" under his breath— and his copper tail swayed long and stiff like a bat as he found his nose hovering (with permission) around the stranger's ruff. When he was satisfied with the exploration, Warbone took a step back, and looked over the unkempt young adult at a closer angle now, allotting him the same freedom of exploring if he were so inclined. A lot of the others he had met did not often talk first, beckoning the physical before the verbal, but this was a canine different than them, and the Solothurn intuitively sought to implore the loner with talking.

"Is there a reason you move without companions?"

Teagan smirked when he heard a noise of amusement escape the stranger; that, at least, told him that this man had some sort of a sense of humor, unlike several wolves that he'd met before and whom he would not name because of the goodness in his heart. Teag even thought that the broad stranger had repeated the word date under his breath and smiled. At least his defense mechanism wasn't looked down upon here, at least he wasn't being called a creep for his antics. Hmm, maybe this agouti wasn't so bad after all; he decided to stay and find out.

Teag came forward, sniffing at the other male briefly too before stepping back. The wolf asked a question and the hybrid cocked his head thoughtfully, green eyes twinkling. "Nah. Not unless you count being distrusted because you have coyote blood, hated because of my 'wrong' sense of humour and generally being regarded as a jerk in general. Other than that, nope." He smiled, then, and canted his head in a birdlike manner. "I'm actually a real sweetheart but shh, don't tell anyone, it'll ruin my bad boy image," he whispered to the stranger as if telling a secret.

Though Warbone was not typically a wolf to be found in an uplifted mood, his spirits were considerably higher in the company of this male, who seemed to be nothing but a male filled with a sharp humor and impish green eyes. He pressed his ears forward, hearing a story yet told in the stranger's quips about himself, and the wolf made his own conclusions of the thinly spun tale when it was finished. "Your secret is safe," he rumbled coolly. "Your blood and sultry humor are of no consequence to me." 

He wondered then, since there was no reason for him to be alone aside from the opinions of others, if he was looking to settle. Even if it was in a pack as fledgling as a recently hatched bird. "You actually seem quite charming. Are you sure you have not remained in a position of destitution for more selfish reasons?" That had been Warbone's life; he had found it easier not to care about anything if he just kept to himself and focused on filling his belly and moving forward. His heart had changed recently, but not without the unwitting coaxing of other wolves. This dashing creature was almost the opposite of Warbone in nearly ever aspect— so while his own reasons for solitude were easier to notice, he didn't see any reason for this wanderer to be alone when he had both an able body and a willing mouth. (Dirty wording is dirty.)

A look of genuine surprise flitted fleetingly over the coywolf's angular features at the agouti stranger's words, promising to keep his so called secret safe and that Teagan's blood or 'sultry humour' did not matter to the robust wolf. Though that expression disappeared moments later, to be replaced by one of his famous smirks once more. "Babe, you sure you don't wanna date me?" Teag joked, smirk growing wider as he chuckled softly. "Nah. I'm a crap boyfriend."

The guy seemed nice, despite his rather intimidating looks at first sight, not that it intimidated the hybrid, but in general, y'know, So when the man spoke again, the foxlike wolf's ears swivelled forward, listening calmly to his words. Teagan smirked when he was told he seemed charming. "Aw, buddy, you make me blush. You sure you don't want to date me?" He quipped once more, his defence mechanism turning on.

On a more serious note, however. "Well, I wouldn't say it was a position of destitution, more like, a long period of alone time, you know? And I mean, once upon a time, I was alone because well, I wanted escape from responsibility and caring but, those times are over. Now, I'm just wandering for the sake of it." He wondered why the stranger was asking him these questions, not that he minded, he enjoyed the guy's company, but still, he was curious to the man's motives. Everyone has a purpose, after all. Well, except himself.

Warbone was curious more than he was offput but the male's strange terms of endearment, and he couldn't help the tilt of his head that occurred when being called "babe". That was new. The fox-furred coywolf was proving interesting company; the wolf even felt mildly surprised at his lack of violent intention towards the male. He couldn't imagine that he would've had a conversation like this a year ago— or even six months prior. "Hm," he rumbled thoughtfully. "That is your third time saying that. Are you sure it is not you that wishes to date me?" The meaning behind the term "date" was not one that he explicitly knew, but Warbone was smart enough to guess at its implication. Youngsters, ugh.

Shaking off any attempt or want to understand the up and coming, he listened instead as the garnet wolf began to explain his predicament, and he was surprised to find that even with a difference in lingo and attitude, his choice to be alone had been indeed been born of his own selfish desires for freedom— and Warbone related intently. "Your need for escape has changed, you say?" he sought to confirm. "The feeling is mutual," he further admitted; "I have recently myself decided to plant my roots in these Wilds. I feel ready to serve pack and earn myself the rank my name deserves."

The proud wolf breathed, lusterless olive eyes never leaving his companion. "Are you?"

Instead of answering Teagan's joking question on whether or not he wanted to date him, the bear-like wolf turned the coywolf's own question onto himself, asking the foxlike creature if he was sure, it wasn't Teagan himself who wanted to date him. At this, a look of surprise flitted over his green eyes, though vanishing quickly. He decided he quite liked this guy, not only did he seem to be a good warrior, but he knew the art of words too, well, sort of. "You caught me," Teag replied, a broad smirk on his angular, narrow features. "I'll love to date you, but I'm not sure you want to, hence all that awkward questioning earlier. But...now that you've caught me. Will you go on a date with me?" he said, smiling. This was definitely one interesting conversation, especially since he still did not know the guy's name.

"Yeah," Teagan confirmed, and tilted his head when his companion spoke of having similar feelings, but had recently decided to plant new roots in these wilds. At that, Wilde perked up, ears twitching, angling forwards to catch the wolf's words. "And if I am? What's that to you?" Teag asked, green eyes narrowing, lips curling upwards into a sly smirk. "And what, exactly, are you implying?" At this, the hybrid took a small step forward, canting his head curiously, a tentative smile touching his lips. He wondered what was going on in that skull of his; was his companion thinking what Teag was thinking?

As carefree and flippant as he might seem, Teagan wasn't exactly stupid. He knew there was a purpose with all that questioning; one wouldn't use this subject as small talk, especially not a wardog like this one.

Warbone blinked at the nameless male's blatant question, and the lift of his wolfish unibrow was a given. He was indifferent to most things but boldness excited him; riled his blood. This was a strange game to play, but the wolf was a covetous creature at heart and his title had not only been born of his physical prowess. The term War in itself is not a word attributed only to battles fought— it encompassed, too, the need for consul, negotiation, and talent in even the dirtiest minutiae of politics. And no matter what Warbone looked like, he was a tactician before anything.

He had a reason now to employ such a side of himself now, as he liked games— the verbal just as much as the physical— but simply hadn't the time for them as a starving lone wolf before. He was not a kind animal during winters, but it was spring now, and he did not hate the banter with this wolf or the idea of his continued company. Because even their seeming small talk was a means to an end, and it was a long time before the penny-furred wolf decided to do anything besides look at him keenly.

"You ask to date me, and you ask to know what I am implying, but do you know why you are asking these questions?"

His voice was a low croon, taunting and inviting— a burning waterfall of liquid gold. He took a step forward. "You feel it, do you not? That constricting within the hungry pit of your ivory chesst. You know very well what I am implying, lad. You know that I have hunted you. And that, now, as we speak.. I am courting you..." His voice hushed into oblivion, and he lifted his chin, a flicker of a smirk crowning his face like the shimmer of a holographic card. "Tell me your name," he hissed possessively. "I want to know you."

Teagan had been joking when he asked the man out on a date, after all, that was what he always did: cracking jokes, messing people's minds up, annoying them, making them squirm for his own selfish amusement. He wasn't lying when he said he was quite a bad boy; sure, he had his own moments where he was selflessly nice, but in the end, he would always be what he was made to be, a conniving, manipulative bastard. He'd definitely been playing around with the date thing.....or was he? He couldn't deny that the man had some sort of pull in him, that drew the normally immune coywolf towards him; he had the sort of charm that made even the worst somehow follow him; and a sort of ruggedness that spoke of the baddest of the bad boys. 

And it was that, that stopped the hybrid from cutting the conversation short like he'd normally would've done to wolves who were less....educated in the areas of banter and speech. He was wrong, of course, for it seemed that his companion was just as strong verbally as he was physically. The agouti could play word games as well, and this time, Teagan was scared that it would be him falling into the carefully spun web of words instead of being the one spinning the web. What scared him even more? The fact that he might enjoy falling for once.

The words rumbled from the wolf's throat, spoken lowly and it caused a shiver to run down the coywolf's spine, though his countenance remained resolutely impassive, save for a vague smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Obviously," Teagan replied, opting for the sarcastic, 'i'm taking everything at face value' approach. "To know the answers to the questions I asked. Why else?" He refused to be intimidated, he refused to be afraid; it was unbecoming of him.

The stranger's next words, however, along with the step forward, cause yet another tremble to run down his spine and he felt his rib cage seemingly constricting around his heart, squeezing it, choking him. Still, the hybrid refused to let it faze him, the subtle smile still playing at his lips. 'You know that I have hunted you....I am courting you...." He saw the shadow of a smirk flicker across the dark man's face and he heard the possessiveness in his crooning voice, and he knew, at that moment, that he should run. Turn and run as fast as he could in the opposite direction and forget this ever happened, not out of fear, but because of something else. But his paws seemed to be glued to the ground, so instead he met the agouti's eyes confidently, brazenly, his own glittering like green hellfire.

"I know a bad boy when I see one," Teagan spoke at last, his voice lowered and unknowingly husky. "The name's Wilde. Teagan Wilde and I am definitely available."

"Wilde," he breathes, his tone covetous and his tail lashing in the predatory manner of a panther. His teeth gleam— a wicked smile— and Warbone clings hungrily to the word available. "Serve me then," he said, chest vibrating in a vainglorious growl. "Date me," he corrects, gaze lighting with a dangerous mirth; "become mine and bow only to me. Respect me, deeply, as I command you, but only for as long as I deserve it. Do you understand? For if your spirit should find me unworthy, then I duly expect you to tell me with your teeth. I can ask no more of you. Plant your roots with mine and let us entwine and grow."

He would defend his stead with iron tooth and onyx claw, as he expected his followers to. but if he could not be obeyed then he could not lead, and no matter how instantly he had become fond of Teagan, he would not accept a wolf that was not subservient to him. Though that was not to say that they couldn't be friends otherwise.

His companion breathed out his name and for some reason, Teagan found it incredibly sexy and smirked, a crooked smile that spread across the length of his countenance. He was about to say something when the agouti spoke, growling lowly. He spoke of servitude, then changed tactics, speaking of 'dating' instead, mirth evident in cool olive eyes. Breathless, Teagan's black tipped ears twitched as he listened, green eyes narrowed and burning intensely as he took in the wardog's intentions. When the man was done speaking, the air turned silent, the coywolf, miraculously, thinking before acting for once. He understood what the agouti wanted from him, but he was afraid to give it. Wandering gave him freedom, freed him from needing to commit. Now this wolf was asking him to commit once more, and if Teag was honest with himself, he wasn't sure he was ready yet.

Then the hybrid made a decision and his ears fell gently back against his cranium as he closed the remaining distance between them, sinking down slightly as he bowed, running his tongue across the warrior's chin submissively, if he allowed it. "I will be serve. I will be yours, for as long as you deserve me," he whispered then, into his companion's ear, if he did not push Teagan away. "But I have two questions," here, a his eyes glinted with mischievous light. "Firstly, will you still date me, show the world that I am yours? And secondly, buddy, you can't expect me to follow you without know your name."

A smile, slow and proud, drew itself across his muzzle— black lips spreading like an oil spill— as the carmine wolf submitted. Pleasure seeped into Warbone's very bones, and he inclined his head so that he might give an appreciative nibble to the back of a light-dahlia ear. When Teagan rose once more, it was to sate his own curiosity. The flirting was not yet done, so while he might have liked to continue the enigmatic illusion he head tenuously over the male's head, it was impractical at this moment. And he felt to be in a giving mood, having just received a generous gift himself: the pledge of this wolf's life, if only for a time.

"Hm, there is that word again..." he mused, lingering near him, his muzzle hovering beside his neck but refusing to touch or properly answer his first question. "My name is Warbone in company. But you may call me Arkham in private," he hissed, passing his tongue over the line of Teagan's jaw, before turning swiftly to lead him to the confines of Hushed Willows. "Come to my Keep, mister Wilde. Let me show you to your new home."