Redsand Canyon become one with the redsands

in his days searching the canyon, nothing came to light that would turn him away. 

this was it. the place he and his brothers searched for.

now if only they would return to him.

intent on making this place his, he was careful to mark every inch that he could reach. none would cross these boundaries without first learning that he commanded all within, whether they willed it or not.

Sunfire. It had led her to the mountains, the desert now at her back.

A legend as old as the black sands themselves spoke of a wolf that swallowed the sun and brought night upon the Earth. Faruzan wasn't quite sure if she believed it was a wolf, but perhaps there was some truth in the way the cliffs cast shadows upon the canyon. One could easily mistake a rock for a wolf, she supposed.

Hold on a minute, that wasn't a rock! She spotted a tiny figure on the redsand below. Even from her perch she could tell it was bigger than a coyote, not to mention its scent. Her nose wrinkled; was this a wolf? 

Quiet as can be, she slunk lower for a better view.

within the canyon, few caves sat hidden from view. he'd seen them, but not fully searched. he would need to soon, for these would make up the dens they slept in. one would first be chosen for his little minx. well, for him too. there was no chance he was letting his pet sleep without him.

a small scuff in the distance distracted his thoughts then.

cynna, perhaps? no... he didn't recognize the scent.

a low rumble echoed in his chest.

someone was in his territory.

head snapping up, he snarled aloud. who the fuck is that? who's there?

The trails were hard to find and even harder to traverse and soon she found herself abandoning them in favour of forging her own way down the cliffside. A rookie error, for no sooner had her paws left the firmness of sandstone did pebbles shift beneath her weight and almost send her plummeting below.

Her scrabble to safety was met with a furious roar. It was a shame, she would have liked to observe for longer but it seemed time was up. Smoothing her proverbial petticoat, Faruzan left the shadows behind and stepped into the sun.

"Mithra," the name of the Mother slipped easily from her lips and she poised to gage his reaction. If he knew of the black sands or if he did not, the sunchaser perched cat-like above the wolf, feeling no fear but the ache of curiosity to have intruded upon such a creature's domain.

they scuffled their way down the steep, nearly tumbling. he bit back a scoff at this.

well, mithra..., he ground out, teeth bared. you're trespassing. or can't you smell?

maybe his markings were new, but they were strong. 

now what do you want?

When no ounce of recognition came, her face contorted into a disapproving grin. These mountain people were non-believers, followers of false gods if they even followed gods at all.

"There is nothing to smell up here," she remarked in jest, though it held a condescending undertone as she remained just out of reach of the beasts toothy jaws. "Therefore, I believe these cliffs are fair game, unless you are nimble enough to reach them." With such a large and cumbersome body as his, she could not help but laugh.

His question was met with a swish of her fireplumed tail. "I wish only to talk. You claim this as your domain - surely it is too hot here, too dry - or do you follow the sun as I, mountain wolf?" 

fair game?

to hell with that.

well, they're not, he snorts, nostrils flaring.

i claim this canyon as my own. trespassers are not welcome.

follow the sun? what crazy talk was this wolf spewing?

i follow no one. but for those that choose to remain, they follow me.

Not just a non-believer, but an ignorant one at that. 

What a shame such a pretty place was sullied by those unworthy. If he wished to lay claim here, then so be it. Faruzan would not overstay her welcome though she did not intend to leave just yet, her attention snared by what he shared.

"You have made yourself a god among your people," she tutted. He was no dawnsinger; he lived not for the Mother but for himself. What selfish creatures wolves were.

a god? he snorted, lip twitching in feigned amusement.

i don't want to be any god. a pack will soon form here, and i intend to lead it.

alongside his brothers. whenever they got their tails out of their asses and finally found him.

He wanted to be neither a god nor follow the ways of a dawnsinger? The thought confused her; as far as she was aware, nothing existed beyond the reach of the Mother. Everything sun-touched was hers, and everything dark-touched was not. At least, that was what she had been raised to believe.

The more she dwelled on it, the more curious she became. Who were these mountain people besides blasphemous?

"Where I come from, it is not like this. Tell me of your pack," she encouraged, "and why your people follow you."

where from she came? he did not care. only that she left his land. and soon.

i don't care where you come from, nor do i care to share anything of my pack for there was nothing to tell. it was nothing but a few simple bodies, as of yet.

Perturbed and disappointed with his answer, she could sense his patience wearing thin. There was little point speaking more with someone who did not wish to be spoken with.

"Are you mountain folk always this rude?" She could not understand his secrecy, unless, of course, he sought to hide something from her. Chaos reigned here, she decided. Here where the rocks swallowed the sun.

"You who follow darkness will never be worthy of the red sand." And with that, she began to disappear up the rim of the canyon the way she came.