Redsand Canyon master of illusion, architect of deceit

@Cynna, @Menthe, @Lithium (assuming she's followed after her thread with Cynna)

the air was bleak. 

was it the climb over the mountains? or maybe it was just his mood. he'd been sour as of late.

...up until now, that is.

before him, a great canyon. a dip in the earth, blanketed by sands red and coarse to the touch. a sight to be hold, and one to revere. 

he stops at the top, eyes downcast and alight with a newfound excitement. 

here. he announces to no one in particular, but any surrounding him that have chosen to follow. 

this canyon. it is home.

any who objected would feel the darkest depths of his wrath.

She saw the shift in him; it was subtle, but no less noticeable, as they crested the rocky ledge. It was the red and orange rocky valley she had seen that one morning on the Sunspire.

She cocked an ear to the traveling mountain, his words giving a tiny bit of insight to what this man had been trying to achieve since they met. A home—he was looking for a home.

“This place is beautiful, Ace. The canyon looks like it’s on fire.” And she was with the Lord of Hell—it all made sense. Here is where she will burn, her eyes alight with the same excitement that shone in the man’s eyes beside her.

he glanced down toward Cynna, then back to the canyon. 

he wasn't sure if he'd call it beautiful—but it was certainly perfect for what he'd been looking for. 

without a word to them, he descended, far too eager to see what would become his claim up close.

Truth be told, while the Gods' were very rarely wrong, Menthe could not help but help but feel that this was not right -- her being here, that is. Perhaps she has misinterpreted a sign, or perhaps this wasn't their doing after all. For as much as she had adored Cynna upon their first interaction, and envied the doting and overbearing partner she had secured, Ace was certainly... not warming up. Or maybe she hadn't given him good chance. She was still unsure how she managed to join along the group -- unsure even deeper why she hadn't just left. 

A few paces back, the river nymph was quiet as he announced that this canyon would become their home. The breeze that ruffled through the crevice picked up along her spine, ruffling her fur gently. Silence coated her being, the atmosphere most certainly thoughtful. She eyed Cynna curiously, hoping to make a little eye contact. If the fiery coyote looked her way, Menthe would offer her a smirk, and a soft, friendly quirk of her brow.

His silence was loud and his embarkment into the canyon without another glance in her direction annoyed the coyote even further. Now that he had found what he was searching for, it was like that was all that mattered. 
Though, she couldn’t quite blame the guy for it; a home, somewhere to call hers, was exciting. 

And, maybe, once the mountain man returned his attention to her, they could christen every crook and cranny of this canyon.

But, for now, she huffed her annoyance, catching Menthe’s eye to send her a highly exaggerated eye roll. She smirked in return, before she nodded in Ace’s direction, “Men.”

She saddled up a little closer to Menthe, a gentle brush of her shoulder to the female’s, and her eyes scanned the fiery world before them. She appreciated the woman’s presence, it was definitely a breath of fresh air compared to the presence of man, but how long would it last? Menthe’s lack of response to Ace’s declaration of home caused Cynna to feel a little curious.

“What do you think, Minty? Is this somewhere you would want to call home?” She winked at the silly play on words of the female’s name, liking that it also matched the woman’s eyes.

Men, she returned as the coyote slipped closer, watching as Ace dropped lower into the canyon. Menthe herself hovered in place after a few steps forward, pausing as the question fell from her tongue. Had the question been about anything else, she might have giggled at the nickname. She might've wondered if she knew her name truly meant mint. Home... repeated with a tang in her mouth, nose scrunching, I'm not so sure, Cyn. 

Not often an honest woman, in more ways than one, the truth felt sinister, dripping from her jowls. You've been quite the surprise, to be fair, but I didn't have it in my cards settling down just yet, she glanced down at her with almost an apologetic expression, I haven't tormented nearly half the men I meant to while I travelled. A playful wink teased the surface of the tension she'd built, hopefully not too unexpectedly.