rain came in bursts, sprinkling down from the heavens for several long minutes before ceasing and sweeping across the skies to another venture. anti did not believe that the weather would halt their journey, and he did not think that it was so bad that they should break for the day. he had left anu for a short while so that he might search for natives. he could smell them on the winds that were carried over the plateau. from there, he could scent a couple of groups, but he did not know how close they were to his location.
the volgra’s limbs carried him swiftly, with purpose, though he knew that he had no real direction to guide his way. anti was aware that he was bound to anu and it was by anu’s journey and light that they ventured further. the guardian wondered where their destiny would lead them both and if that path was meant to last.
The rain was fickle, starting and stopping at the faintest of whims. Ganon bore it well, striding through the humid air as it further chilled the spring atmosphere.
He was at the coast. Vaati should be here, nearby. He hoped. Cassopeia's words were a menace to his psyche. Was his brother dead? If he was, could he find him? If he wasn't, was it possible that Vaati had left int he time it took him to get here? And it did take him a while. Something had been weighing him down. A lot of things really: regrets, fears, worries, apathy. He bore it as much as he could, but it felt liks a dark cloud, a fog, wrapped itself around his head, not dissappaiting even with the sun's rays.
The Plateau proved to be an interesting point in his travels on the Coast. It brought him up high, an isolated mountain on the coastal flatlands. He could look over the entire Coast, seeing it stretch to the northeast and to the southwest, beyond Teekon Wilds. He wondered who lived there.
As well as seeing he could smell. Hearing was hard to do with the constant crashing of the waves and the incessant crying of seabirds hovering overhead. He could smell wolves, loners and packs, along the coast. He could not pinpoint any of them, not from here, but he knew that they were there. And that was enough to start.
He was not alone on the Plateau, a fact that he only came aware of slowly. There was one scent closer than the rest, and it did not take long for him to see the wolf. He snorted to it, the strange, longlegged red being.
the snort turned his ear sideways so that it swiveled to catch the sound, wondering if there had been words attached to it. the slender length of his muzzle swung to meet the figure. the coloration was one that he found comforting, if only because it was familiar to him. it was the size and shape of the stranger that gave anti pause. his brow furrowed ever so softly, creasing just between his foggy gaze. the dark tip of his tail wavered hesitantly to this man – this brute – who had appeared from the rain and wore a cloak of fire on his back.
his spindly limbs were stiff, unmoving from where they had planted him in that moment. anti could not see a reason to move forward if he was uncertain of this man’s intentions. he did not know the wolves of that world. anti only knew those of his homeland, and it was in this moment that he missed them very much. the mute wagged his tail again in an attempt to show the fiery stranger that he was welcome to approach, if that was what he wished. anti would not flee from any form of adversity, even when presented with a mammoth with no clear intention.
In answer, all Ganon got was the wag of a tail. He returned it, though he was immediately concerned. Ah no,
He muttered, hearing no verbal reply. He began to approach the wolf slowly. You mute? Or just soft-spoken?
How was it that he was meeting multiples of these within a few weeks? Waas there some kind of epidemic? Was this a new trend that he was missing out on? Going the more feral route?
He snorted some rain out of his nostrils. He could see, as he grew closer to the wolf, that he outweighed him and outsized him. That was not uncommon — while he was not the monster that Vaati was (in more ways than this), he was nothing to sneeze at buildwise. But it was strange to see it so exaggerated by being in the presence of what he presumed to be an adult wolf. An adult male wolf at that.
the beast closed some of the distance between them, but still remained respectful in his placement. anti was studious, following the movements of the larger male with a sharp and calculating stare. his nimble features seemed to move ever so slightly to mirror the energy and posture of the behemoth. it was not enough to truly notice it, but he hoped to ease the fiery male’s uncertainty. he wanted the energy to be the same so that neither of them would suffer in their meeting. he was a warrior, but he was a noble man, and he would not fight unless it was absolutely needed. anti hoped that it would not arrive to that conclusion with this male. it would have been challenging for the volgra.
when the query fell about being a mute, anti was quick to bob his head forward. yes, was evident in the action, but he was not sure how this would change the dynamic of their meeting. some were not interested in him when they discovered that he did not speak – could not – and they moved on quickly. this suited anti well enough. he rather enjoyed listening for that short time before moving on.
Ganon snorted back, as if he was confirming the man's lack of vocal ability. He was mildly perturbed, if only for the slight annoyance of navigating a one-sided conversation. Well, not entirely one sided, but still kind of...
The man was not stupid. He knew that. Yes and no questions were the easiest way to go. There was only so much that (he thought) a body could convey to more complex questions. Are you from around here?
Ganon cocked his head and looked the smaller man over. I haven't seen a wolf like you before.
The man was entirely foreign, which was an attractant in his own right. Not a coywolf — though the man's build was very similar to one. Something else that Ganon had never encountered. That was not saying much, given the man's age, but still.
so, the other man had picked up rather swiftly on the concept of using only yes or no questions. anti would not have demanded it; he knew only that it was the most logical way to communicate back and forth with one who was capable of using their tongue for more than just to clean their jowls. the volgra squinted up at the beast who stood over him. the stranger had more than just height against the thin frame of the jullundhar-native. ganon was much wider than anti was; he packed a good deal of muscle beneath his massive frame. still, the wiry creature of the sand did not shy away from this kind of companionship. he was not fearful of anything larger than he; he was a volgra, and it was his duty to face all adversity with a confident gleam in his foggy gaze.
’are you from around here?’ the question fell from the other’s lips. anti shook his head to answer, ’no.’ then, he turned his tapered muzzle toward the distant sun. out there – that was where he was from. the land of vast desert and scorching sands. all of what he had found in the teekon wilds was foreign to him. though he missed the dry heat and blistering summer days, he could not find an immediate fault in the chillier setting. so long as anu was there, anti would be too.
Fish out of water, huh?
Ganon said as the foreign male nodded in response. Why are you here then? Ganon initially wanted to ask, but realized that that wasn't in line with their unspoken conversation rules. Gods this was difficult. He was patient with it, but there was a reason that he was apprehensive at the fact that this male was mute.
But, he was curious as to why such a foreign wolf had come to their neck of the world. It didn't help that Ganon thought the male was cute, a sensation that had often come about when he was younger, but now was rare as he isolated himself in his adulthood. He hemmed and hawed for a second, trying to phrase this correctly. Are you wandering?
he asked first. Are you here to stay?
the comment about anti having been a fish out of water brought a smile to his slender muzzle, crinkling it beneath his eyes. the statement was truer than that sun-cloaked male could ever understand. the volgra had never imagined himself to have found such a vastly different place from his birth. the idea that there existed a group of individuals who sought only to wander was baffling to the desert wolf. he could never understand why it was needed when there was so much to witness in just the stretch of a few miles. these were all questions he could not ask – questions that remained locked within his mind and only bothered him on rare occasions. it might have been best that others were left as mysteries to anti. he preferred the company of others more and more the less that he knew of their personal matters.
the large brute proceeded to ask further questions of anti, about his intentions to remain or to move through those lands. the first question that was asked – are you wandering? – received an immediate nod before the second question could follow. the second was more difficult for him to process and respond to. anti furrowed his brow so that it knit above his eyes. he frowned thoughtfully, bobbing his head from left to right in a slow motion that was intended to show how he wasn’t sure. then, the lean wolf shrugged his shoulders. all of that was up to anu. it was not for anti to decide how long they would remain there.
pointing his muzzle at the other man, anti tilted his head to the side curiously, as though he were returning the inquiries back to the towering brute.
He was indeed a wanderer, though whether or not the foreigner was to stay seemed out of his control? Or perhaps in his plans for the future? He was uncertain, but again there was only so much that could be expressed without words. Ganon nodded in understanding.
It was strange, realizing the conversation had just been flipped back onto him without any words. He realized it slowly, his mouth opening into an understanding 'o' once he got the gist of the foreigner's expression. I was born here,
He said. Reluctance began to drift into his voice. I've just recently come back.
That statement, the fact that he had come back after more than a year, still clenched his chest. The corners of his mouth shot up into a bashful smile, but it quickly fell away.
it took a moment before the other man caught on, but anti was a patient fellow who understood that he was blessed to have found someone who would stand and talk with him when he could not share any words himself. the guardian knew that there would be plenty who would not find his silence to be endearing, and that was fine. the mute did not expect all other creatures to tolerate him the same way that anu did. he was fortunate to have found such kindness in the few strangers who had crossed his path there. the world around him might have changed drastically, but anti was not fearful. life was always changing, and he had found his path to follow without much tribulation. what more could the volgra have asked for?
the other man stated that he had been born there but had only just returned. anti found this to be an interesting thing. his eyes widened some and he nodded his head encouragingly. it was not as though he could share anything that was told to him by this man. the man of the sun could listen, but could never know what it was to spill another’s secrets. everything that was given to him could never be released again. the guardian still liked to listen. he nodded his head toward ganondorf and smiled ever so softly to the larger male.