With evening upon them, Paarthurnax roused from her afternoon nap and unfurled herself from Shadow's embrace. She briefly nuzzled his ashen forehead with a whisper of farewell before tip-toeing carefully from him, not wishing to wake him. Looking momentarily over a slim shoulder, the russet wolfess smiled softly before quickening her pace, content to leave her beau to slumber while she sneaked off to hunt him down a snack for when she returned to him.
The remainder of Summer's fireflies seemed to dance through the air as they mingled among the reeds at the creek's edge, and she glanced toward the tiny glowbugs as she passed by. A light spatter of rain dappled her silken coat as she slipped from between foliage and into the clearing, the setting sun at her back. Paar lowered her pretty crown to sniff the earth for any sign of prey that may have been in the area, but found nothing fresh. Huffing softly, the two-toned Frostfur pressed onward, her bright eyes alert and scanning the meadow before her for any sign of movement.
( Im sorry I took so long, I didnt have my phone all weekend. Dx)
Not realizing that he had literally fallen where he was beneath the spruce, Adair had awoken from the same nightmare that haunted him since the day Katiah died. Over and over again, the crimson flashed before his lids, everytime he blinked. Every single time..but he moved on. He had. Always.
He rose, only to his haunches, scanning the entire plane before him, with a somber hazelized amber gaze, gathering his memories, until he realized : Memories may only be cherished if they were for the benifit. There was no benefit to remembering what got him in the meadow. Only that it was sooon to be Shadow's.
Thinking of the younger wolf made Adair smile. So much, had he reminded Adair of the pups he had helped raise in The Forsaken pack. He shook his head, dispelling the thought of his birth pack. They were so far away, it would take months just to reach them, even with his sprint length.
The 4 year old wood cloaked brute made his way to his fours, and released a sincere yawn. He shook his silk pelt, the light as air way every single hair placed itself back into a perfect pattern of warm and solid hues of dark brown, and an light hazel undertone, giving him his natural camouflage to woods.
He raised his orbs to the scenery before him, and just before he looked away to study something that had dared to move by his left pad, he saw a faint and seemingly glowing outline in the farthest of distances..his eyes barely made it out.
Was that another wolf who had desired to be recruited for the soon to be made pack?
Adair knew nothing of it. So with curiosity being his excuse again, he took the time to trot over to the shape, not taking care to be noisy or anything, but making only a bit, so to inform the other of his arrival.
Comming closer, he saw the dainty and fit for of the soon to be Alphess. Paarthurnax. He had yet to have a one on one conversation with her. This could be a perfect time for such a treat.
Adair uttered a low bark, and when he stood before the spice coated hellion, he dipped his head and lowered his tail a bit as a sign of greeting and respect.
"Hello, I am Adair. I do not believe I formally introduced myself. Forgive me, please.", murmured Adair in his usual calm voice.
From the corner of an eye, Paarthurnax spotted a dark figure some distance away. She paused in her tracks to observe as the unknown wolf approached, and she narrowed her gaze to scrutinize him, uncertain. At once her hackles bristled; Noctisardor was no longer uninhabited territory, and soon they would lay official claim to the land. The borders were not marked as strongly as she'd have liked, but it was the duty of the pack to pick off any stragglers who mistook the faintly-marked borders as an abandoned territory.
The crimson beauty arched her tail proudly as she strut forward toward the dark-furred wolf, only to recognize him as a male she'd encountered when she happened across the weird saluting "knight". She relaxed at once, her hardened copper eyes softening as she looked upon the gentle face of her tawny pack-mate. What did he say his name was? Paar wondered, only for him to offer his calling by his own accord. She smiled inwardly, ducking her muzzle politely. "I believe you did on our last encounter," the bi-coloured Frostfur said gently, "so there is nothing to forgive."
"I believe you did on our last encounter,so there is nothing to forgive."
said the humble female before him.
He wondered when he did an introduction, and then his mind reverted back to the time of meeting the knight, who almost mistakened the soon to be Alphess, for his maiden. Adair shook his head, grinning at the past event. Whoever would have thought to have met a knight in these wilds?
He tilted his head, studying her figure, intruiged by the rarity of her coat. Such was that her pelt reminded him of the sand, it brought to mind a question: where had she come from?
In the same calm and proclaimed soothing voice he was born with, Adair asked
" May i ask, what were your birth lands, miss Paarthurnax?"
Instead of replying verbally, the dark-furred male set about ogling her with what she assumed to be curiosity. He studied her form with warm amber eyes, and his lack of words made her instantly fell rather uncomfortable. Paarthurnax turned her face away briefly, immediately jumping to the conclusion that maybe Adair was going to spring the "you're so pretty" comment on her like so many other males often did. She swallowed, mentally trying to prepare a rejection that would not hurt his feelings.
But what he said surprised her. Instead he questioned the lands of her birth, and Paar's vivid copper eyes found those of her new pack-mate once more. It seemed her fine, delicate appearance and hot red shades made others wonder where she'd come from, and although she was still wary of sharing her heritage, she found that she was glad to discuss this rather than muster a way to turn the brute's attraction from her, as she initially expected the conversion to sway.
"From the far South," the two-toned beauty said, "A place of desert sands, much sun and little rain"
Adair watched as she looked away, as bashful as he had observed her to be, previously. Humble and diligence composed the femmora before him. Such a thought that brought another memory to his mind of Varia, a runt pup he had helped along to adulthood, who didnt know what sort of beauty she held on her insides, rather than her outside, which once held a golden composed pelt.
What she had missed was what Adair slowly taught her, that loving someone for who they were, rather than by looks, alone.
From the far south, a place of desert sands, much sun, and little rain.", elaborated the dual colored hellion.
Adair noted that, confirming his suspicions. Paarthurnax was a desert wolf. Her coat and figure had revealed that.
"Ah, I see. It shows. You also seem to be one of a kind, here. I do hope you take pride in your unique lifestyle. Its often many dont use their heritage to their advantage. Roses have thorns, not just perfume."
The four year old turned from the femalia, to gaze around at their surroundings, only to return his orbs back to her own.
"I am of spuce wooden lands, hence the color of my own hide. And my birth pack were...lumber lovers. It seems everything they did involved wood, somehow."
Adair grinned a bit at the nostalgia.
"When I came of age, I was a caretaker for the pack. I didnt hunt much. I stayed behind, and all an elderly gave me a recipe for cached meats..drowning it in berries. Aye, its a good thing, it is."
Adair looked towards the northwest, the light breeze ruffling his silked mane.
"But that was my life. A caretaker, a naturalist, and a gamekeeper. I also did a bit of counseling. Maybe because it takes a bit more than most wolves to get to my tipping point."
He again, turned back to the soon to be Alphess, and her radiant copper eyes.
"What is it that you did in your own homelands, friend?"
So far, Adair seemed a curious and pleasant creature. His interest in her unusual background and her family was surprising to her considering they'd never really spoke at length to one another, and he was still very much a stranger; her past had been a complicated one that she wasn't prepared to share quite yet. Paar was willing to tell some sections and leave out the bitterness that spoiled her final weeks in Samarkand, and so she smiled warmly toward her pack-mate.
"I was the clever, gentle one of my parents' children," she said with a light shrug, "my father encouraged me to follow the teachings of our elder medic. When she retired, I replaced her; I fully intend to act as a medic for Noctisardor, too." Paarthurnax eyed the older wolf curiously, briefly meeting his amber gaze.
The brute smiled warmly at Paar.
"You seem quite gentle. Your temperment is quite peaceful. I do believe that is a gift most are not blessed with. Yet, I was not blessed with this personality. I had to work for such a change. And it seems beneficial that I did, or I might not be alive, speaking to you."
Adair chuckled at the light mention of his near death situations.
"I am glad you have found happiness in your trade.. it is most essential to have such. This may be a pack, where a healer is most appreciated, for much bloodshed may blanket the future of Noctisardor." Adair prophesied.
Sending her a lighter hazel gaze, Adair attempted to lighten the somber mood.
"I remain pleased for you, lass. Not many are as special. Everyone has their gifts, and you hold your own. Quite well, indeed. Continue your trek to honor your birth pack, along with your own name, and you may be a wolf many will look to as a guide to life, itself."
The hessian turned to face the sun, that slowly began to sink to the tops of the trees, darkening the lands, ever so slightly.
Fading this.
His words intrigued her, but Paarthurnax did not pry. Instead she remained solid in her place, listening intently with her over-sized Arabic ears pressed forward atop her lovely crown, interest glimmering n her lovely irises. When he moved on to then speak of her happiness she smiled warmly in response, though it was short-lived and concern soon swept across her features.
"Bloodshed?" Paar questioned, uncertainty in her tone.
"Why would you think that?"
She was not sure how much Adair knew of where she and Shadow had come from, or the circumstances surrounding their departure. Paarthurnax felt increasingly uneasy as she considered the possibility that Noctisardor may be at odds with Swiftcurrent Creek, assuming this was what her dark-furred companion hinted at. A concerned frown tugged at her mouth and she waited rather impatiently for his retort. When it came much like his previous responses, in some form of mysterious riddle, she felt confused and uncertain. Giving up, she bid her pack-mate a prompt farewell and made off to be alone with her thoughts.
◆That's perfectly fine. Gotta figure out what to do with him, anyways. Good thread.◆
The soft hearted man watched the bell speak, but he only answered in the same words as before.
He rather not show the feelings he had furled within him, fro they could twist him into an unrecognizable beast.
Sometimes silence was the best answer.
Standing, he gave a light tip of his own craninium, the thick locks of hazel and spruce mane dancing with the polite gesture.
And as the queen walked away,
he turned his gaze back to the fading sun, wondering if secrecy was a life he was entombed to,
for life.