he'd wouldn't know fire if it was right in front of him, let alone the destruction it could cause. even as he walked through the ashes of a forest, astaroth was oblivious as to the source of such damage. his mind thought that maybe the quakes had somehow caused this, or perhaps one of the many gods he'd been taught of had punished those who once lived here.

his curiosity to say the least, was insatiable. the earth was slowly but surely restoring what had been broken, and his interest in how life budded up from death kept him rooted in place. a flower, or at least what he imagined would be flower, caught his attention from the corner of his eye. carefully, he wove his way to the blossom and pressed his nose against the stem, curious to see if it would provide a scent.

unsettled, yet not outwardly appearing so, astaroth tilted his head upwards ever so slightly in order to inspect the wound further. he imagined who or what had done this must have been either seriously pissed off, or clinically insane.

"the hottest" he teased with a wink, though could imagine the pale man to have been quite the attractive specimen when you know, half his face wasn't missing. "what about me?" he asked with a twirl, "am i hot?". assuming he could even see him well enough to answer, astaroth hoped the answer was yes, if only to keep the mood lighthearted.

he let out a snort at the sarcastic compliment, face twisting into something akin to discomfort when it was revealed just how the pale beast had earned his latest injury. "gnarly" he let out initially, nose scrunching with disgust at imagining someone tear off half of his face and eat it.

"you take a chunk out of them too?" he wondered, choosing to believe that the man had dished out as much as he received just without the whole, you know, cannibalism part. for a moment he thought back to his last conversation with ying, wondering if this cannibal had been the source of the attacks she had warned him of.

he'd hope there'd be some physical indication to warn him if he ever came across the same psycho as the unfortunate soul across from him. right now, all he had to go off of was that the assailant was male. he would have asked for a description, but given his choice of words, astaroth doubted the pale wraith could provide a detailed enough appearance to be of any use.

"i suppose it is" came his answer, though in truth he wasn't all that worried. he was usually a pretty good judge of character, or so he liked to believe, and didn't plan to linger too long in one place. should he ever come face to face with the icky cannibal, he'd run, preferably before he had his face eaten.  

"rusalka" he repeated back, though continued to practice the syllables in his head until the name was committed to memory. "i'll keep it in mind" he let out with a nod, deciding then and there he'd go to visit this plateau sometime during the duration of his travels. even if it was for no other reason than to simply meet the locals, astaroth saw the benefit of getting in good with the neighborhood packs.

"sandy, green eyes, likes to bite", he checked off the list one by one and made a mental note to be wary around strangers fitting the cannibal's description. "if i see him, want me to give you a holla so you can payback what's deserved?" he asked, curious if the pale titan was interested in seeking revenge.

despite his savage appearance, astaroth thought the pale titan rather levelheaded for someone having just had their face ripped off. he was certain he would not be so calm as the rusalkan if he had been under the same circumstances. "i will certainly try", came the easy response to the bloodied beast's command to kill the wolf-eater.

the task of killing another was a heavy burden, and he would not be so eager to bring about the end for even a monstrous cannibal. however with that said, he most definitely would not stand by while a savage terrorized others, especially not with the season bringing about the arrival of young children.

"who should i call for if i decide to pay you a visit?" he asks then, just now realizing the two of them had yet to exchange names.

rosencrantz. he gave a nod at the wraith's introduction, inky ears twitching in the slight breeze when asked the same of him. "astaroth", he introduces officially with a toothy smile a few quick sways of his tail. he'd make time to go see visit the older male once a few moons had passed, for he was already eager to see what other nasty gashes the scar collector would gain between now and then.

"i shouldn't keep you much longer" he lets out after a moment, eyes falling to the still leaking wound. "i wouldn't want that wound to get infected and make you even more attractive than what you already are" he joked with a wink. but no seriously, he'd rather not have to drag the man's corpse back to his pack due to some infection that had suddenly taken hold of his injury while they stood here and talked.

"you too", he let out in return, feeling as though the pale titan needed those words more than he did. and with that he was off again, his attention briefly keeping to the burnt forest before it was pulled elsewhere. he'd likely spend a few hours wandering around before setting off to find a place with decent shrubbery to tuck himself away for a quick nap. and when he woke, off to more exploring.