Lucifer' black pelt blended in easily with the shadows cast by the gnarled and twisted oak trees. His steps pounded rhythmically as he ran between the trees. The large timber wolf had been skirting around the Woods for quite a dew days now, and was restlessly roaming around with no real sense of purpose. His handsome yet fierce eyes held a wild glare to them as his massive head swung to and fro, staring fiercely into the shadows.
Slowing to a walk, Lucifer evened his breathing with a quick flare of his nostrils before halting completely. His legs were rather weary from the long run, so he decided to explore the clearing he had come across. Oak trees loomed on eaither side and canopied the clearing and cast long shadows over his figure. A few unusual boulders were scattered around. One was rather large and had a small opening. Lucifer twitched an ear and trotted over. Ears pricked for sounds of movement, both behind and in front, the male strained his eyes to stare into the gloomy cave. It was very small, but it would do. With a final glance behind him, Lucifer curled into a tight ball, his scenes still alert and wary though he was alone...
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There is a blooming disquiet to the savage as he moves; an intense loneliness that presents itself in the form of a heavy-footed trot. Begging for attention. The wolf appears to be hunting, though for what he searches none can be sure.
He does not move stealthily enough to imply that he is on quest for food. He does not move gently enough to imply that he scours for something dainty. It is impossible to tell by his loping gait and cavernous expression what it is he craves— but it isn't too long before his trajectory gives away his intent: the bow of a cave ahead, housing the recent scent of another wolf.
He paused several lengths away from the mouth of the broad den. He couldn't see anything at first, but his nose twitched and flexed, working through the things he needed to know about the canine that lie inside; like it's attachments, health, and gender.
Saying nothing at first, he waited for a moment to be noticed, but if his quarry should prove to be asleep or inattentive...
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Lucifer twitched an ear. Something had caught his attention, and the male paused for a moment to see who was picking their way through the forest. From what he could tell, it seemed to be a male wolf who was waiting. For what, he didn't know. Deciding to take this with a sensible head yet cold and somewhat mysterious manor, the male raised his head slowly.
Piercing black eyes met dark gold as Lucifer uncurled himself from his rested form. His obsidian gaze glittered with coolness, yet something ominous flickered in their depths. He slowly made his way toward the opposing male, his steps sure and steady. He seemed in great familiarness with the land, though he had never been here before now. A wry grimace appeared as he took in the wolf. The two shared a black pelt laced with scars that he didn't wish to explain, or even remember.
"Greetings, stranger." He spoke with a tone clipped with deep and obvious wariness along with a hint of almost forced politeness. His gaze narrowed instinctively and his tone lowered. What business could one have in these parts but that of trouble?" Though he may sound, well, rude, he was just speaking from experience at dealing with strangers. Too many had treated him with hostility for him not to do the same. Maybe he didn't want to be different, maybe he just wanted to be alone. No one would ever know, that's for sure. They probably wouldn't want to stick around long enough to be told.
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As he watches the shadows shift and stir, his eyes begin to adjust to the male's outline; a masculine black wolf, fur nearly as deep as the cave's black night itself. A smile, fearless and full of deceitful wile, pulls itself across his mouth. His lips peel back in a glorious show of overused teeth as he meets the dark gaze of his would-be quarry.
Trouble?
he repeated airily, his tone markedly more innocent than his predatory appearance would suggest. Still, he didn't seem alarmed by the accusation— it didn't seem to affect him at all— and he maintained a stance of neutral indifference, even as his counterpart seemed to stiffen in ready defensiveness. Does thou believe that all who comes along thy path bears ill to thy wellbeing?
His eloquence only half-remained, most of it having trickled away over the years he'd spent away from the place of his birth; and yet no breed of word would ever quite be able to distract one from the glaring evidence that Grievous was nothing if not dangerous.
I seek companionship, nothing more.
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Lucifer's jaw tightened. He did not exactly trust this newfound wolf; his smile to coy and his words to calm. As the male spoke, the black wolf's gaze narrowed slightly more and his hackles began to raise slightly.
"Of course no, for thee looks perfectly harmless by all means of measures." His words were spoken with a deep rumbling from within his massive chest and the words dripping with sarcasm. Then he gave an impatient short.
"I dinna mean ter give ye a false assumption, but, ter be true, why would one question if not from experience?"
When the opposing be wolf spoke of companionship, Lucifer's face pulled a quite convincing skeptical look. He himself had never cared to be in an alliance of any sort, but then again, he had never met a wolf who seemed prepared for anything and experienced everything.
"And why would thou seek companionship with thee?" His words held true curiosity. Why would the male want to ally himself with he? Normally, wolves would try to distance themselves from him, not seek companionship.
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The stranger's caustic attitude did little to deter the reaper's prevailing mood of prying indifference. It mattered little to him if his company was hostile or not, and he'd remain impassive as long as he was not physically threatened.
Thy experience to me sounds more like fear,
Grievous responded lazily, his lantern-eyes moving slowly to the left of the brute; as if there was something more interesting to be found there. I find no reason to carry such wariness myself. Greet a stranger as friend, thou shalt learn if they are foe. Greet a stranger as foe, they shalt always prove thee right...
His eyes return to the wolf, quietly searching for dark eyes lost in an even darker face, and when he found nothing but contempt there on the man's expression, Grievous thought to smile.
Why it is the plight of our species to ever hunt for the warm brace of company. And my personal tastes are not bound by gender or the... appearance of a threat, as thy will. Thou could hath been anyone and I would've approached all the same.
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Lucifer gave a roll of his luminous gaze. Why treat someone with such kindness if they were gonna hate on you anyway. And he wasn't afraid! How dare the stranger suggest that?! His pelt began to bristle along his spine as he wrinkled his muzzle in distain.
Lucifer snorted. Warm embrace?! He didn't give a damn for embraces...especially not warm ones. Nevertheless, the wolf gave a brusque nod. "Some seek companionship, but solitude seeks other wolves just as well." Anyway, were they just going to stand here gossiping like Pack wolves? Lucifer gave an impatient sigh. Why did he even begin to engage this man in conversation; to the partially moody male, it seemed like they were going in circles. After a moments hesitation, he tipped his head to the side, studying the lone wolf. "What is thou known by, stranger?"