Thunder Dome umbra

after ascertaining the location of elysium, a mountain-based pack hidden among the fall willows, stigmata turned west and ascended the cold, dormant slopes of thunder dome. there was enough moisture on the air to guarantee a wet and foggy night, so he elected not to climb much higher than the threadbare forest that ran like a loose belt around the mountain's waist, knowing that there would be even less shelter to find further up.

he almost wasn't tired - traveling in the late orange glow of sunset - and there was an energy behind his prowl that assured anyone looking for trouble would find it with him. but apart from this reactive mien hovering around him like a cloud of bees, there was a lonely edge to his gait that seemed to weigh down what buoyancy he might've had otherwise. the warwolf found no joy in bachelorhood, and had no reason to pretend he felt differently.

he paused at a quiet overhang, and looked out over raven's watch. he could remember the landmark distinctly, but not with any fondness. waterfalls were terrible to live near - especially for creatures as reliant on hearing as wolves were. for this same reason he would never understand seawolves, who chose to live their lives with ears drowned out by the relentlessly sloshing orchestra that was the ocean. he turned away from the perch, thoughts embroiled in a taciturn daydream as physically he took up a  voltaic air of silence.

austere beneath bitter-warm blades of blinding autumnlight, stigmata kept his head low, his eyes narrowed, and he pressed onward.

@Arturo

Ruenna picked her way down from Thunder Dome, paws magnetized to the familiar, well-beaten route despite the swiftly gathering darkness. Rue had traveled this way many times, and she could likely find her way home with her eyes closed at this point. Even so, her steps were calculated and deliberate. It was her opinion that early evening was the most treacherous time of day to traverse a mountainside. The dusky twilight drowned all shapes and colors, and the sunset cast long, deceiving shadows over even the most carefull footfalls. At least in the full darkness of night, one could not be misled by devious tricks of the light. 

Knowing better than to overly depend on her vision, Ruenna cast her other senses before her. She was surprised to catch wind of a long-ago acquaintance, one who had then self-identified as a southern packwolf. Perhaps he was a southerner no longer, Rue mused, noting that Stigmata's scent had changed somewhat since their last meeting. 

"Stigmata of Bearclaw Valley," Ruenna's voice reached out through the twilight, soft but not quite as tenative as the man might recall. She had not yet set eyes upon the the man's form, but she knew he lingered nearby. She allowed a note of amusement to slip into her voice as she spoke again. "How delightful that you have once again found your way up north, and to my stomping grounds."  Delightful might not have been quite the word to describe their last meeting, but Rue was of a more confident disposition now than the last time @Stigmata had made her acquaintance.

stigmata came to a stop, crown perking as he heard his name. with the wind out of his favor it was difficult for the wraith to determine by scent alone who or what was in his immediate vicinity, but in recalling the tender voice, paired with their relative proximity to the site of their introduction, he knew who had addressed him before spotting her. "lady ruenna, of blacktail deer plateau," the wolf purred, padding languidly around the boulder-face that separated them. 

he kept his distance; dull silver eyes gleaming in the purple twilight, as he observed the silhouette of a changed creature. where there had once been shyness and an inward set to her stance, there was now confidence, and a naturalness to her presence that would give any onlooker the impression that she belonged here. the new moons had done her well, and stigmata lifted his chin, slightly amused and almost proud to see her like this.

"i regret to inform you that bearclaw valley stands no longer," he said, without any particular sentiment. "i suppose that would make me stigmata of diaspora, instead," he added, meaning the faux title in a literal fashion, but finding that it had struck a chord with him; hitting his ears at a slant note that attracted him musically. as for him being this far north again? "i hope you mean that. because i intend to live here in your stomping grounds, as you would call them. i will make them my home, and perhaps a home for others loyal to me." he was unabashed with his goals, and didn't seem to have any doubts about its eventuality.

zoo, you saint ;-; thanks for rescuing this!

<3 I'm overjoyed to return the favor. I seem to recall that you and Stig saved me and Rue last time, so. xD

He remembered her, then. Rue oriented herself toward the sound the man's voice. Those lulling tones were just as distinctive of Stigmata as his scent, if not moreso. After all, the man's scent had changed noticably with the passing moons and his manner of speaking, it seemed, had not. 

Rue regarded the man with quiet poise, unsurprised to hear that Stigmata no longer resideded in the south. The hallmarks of Stigmata's new scent were similar to her own, and those of the other wolves living in the area. He had been roosting in these parts for some time now... long enough to begin smelling like a native, at least. 

"A shame," she said simply, injecting a sympathetic inflection in her voice out of courtesy more than anything else. Her expression remained cool; she saw no reason to show more sorrow than Stigmata himself, who seemed quite unaffected by his loss. Bearclaw Valley had been only been name to her, and now it was nothing. 

So Stigmata's former packmates had dispersed after Bearclaw Valley's collapse. Rue nodded with understanding, expression darkening almost imperceptibly. This topic touched on one of her inner fears; truly, she was uncertain whether Blacktail Deer Plateau would last the winter if their miserable run of misfortune continued. It was a sobering reality; the prospect of introducing herself as "Ruenna of diaspora" was not particularly enticing to Rue (although her roleplayer is admittedly intrigued by the idea). 

Well then. Stigmata's speech had changed, it seemed. Gone were the word games, the indirect answers, and the hidden implications. Rue blinked in suprise, taken aback at how plainly Stimata declared his intentions. Rue digested this information for a moment and then spoke, voice placid. "Then I expect we are to see more of one another in the coming moons.. neighbor."    

Rue took in a long breath, regarding the man thoughtfully. "Loyal wolves can be so hard to come by," she remarked, voice offhand but eyes capturing the man's gaze pointedly. She let the comment hang, resisting the urge to clarify or expand upon it.

i didn't even think about that!! BUT... <3

to both ruenna's sympathetic acknowledgement of his plight and her noncommittal reception of his imperial intentions, stigmata inclined his head each time in a single polite bob of admission. he had spilled enough words over his past grievances to fill a novel, and he was tired of it; thankfully, his company was of the short-winded and contemplative sort. they didn't need to share many words to have an understanding.

"more or less," he returned with an airy breath; "as i intend to  range this entire region, i may be your most elusive neighbor to date." gone were his days of lingering in the troughs of valleys and hollows; he no longer wanted a single forest or peak to carve his name into. such things were always faded and lost over time, no matter how much time one spent trying to make the grooves irretrievably deep. his legacy would continue but there would be no single territory that would be able to claim itself as his crowning domain, because it would all be his domain.

except...

as observed by ruenna, his greatest issue to surmount would be finding bodies loyal to him, his cause; wolves that he could respect and trust as much as himself. stigmata looked amused by her claim, which was true, if he was willing to let it be - which he wasn't. "hm. i find loyal wolves to be quite common actually," the smokewraith remarked passively, eyeing the prim she-wolf in a manner that suggested she was such an example. "now, finding a loyal wolf whose loyalty does not already belong elsewhere, now that is the true challenge."

If the ambitious leader-to-be meant to make these mountains his home, Rue expected they would continue to run into one another... but Stigmata seemed to think otherwise. The woman's eyes lit in interest as her aquaintance disclosed his intentions to lead a nomadic lifestyle. Despite her effort to keep her features blank, her expression grew momentarily wistful. Her birthpack had lived such a life, following the herds from territory to territory and rarely staying put for more than a moon or so. Rue had grown accustomed to this way of life over the years, and she found her paws often itching for travel once she had settled into the far-more-stationary Blacktail Deer Plateau. If not for her frequent scouting ventures, cabin fever would have driven the the restless young lady quite mad.  

Recovering her impassive demeanor, Rue commented with shrug, "I've found that reticent neighbors are the most desirable." It stood to reason that a neighbor who was rarely seen was unlikely to make himself a bother. At least in Rue's experience, the peskiest neighbors were always those to which she felt quite overexposed. 

Stigmata disagreed with Rue's claim, and it was her turn to look amused. She thought it highly improbable that he was having any better luck recruiting than she, but she knew better than to argue and possibly reveal the tenuity of the Plateau's ranks. If Stigmata knew she was actively recruiting (and failing at this pursuit), he might infer that the Plateau was easy pickings for his new pack. 

Stigmata added his final clarifying statement, and Rue's dubious expression morphed to one of profound understanding. That was the true challenge, wasn't it? Any wolf who yearned for packlife was already joined up by this time of year. And even if recruits were to be found, wolves who pledged their undying loyalty at the start of winter had the most uncanny way of disappearing once spring rolled around. 

"You might try keeping an eye on some of the smaller packs in the area.." Rue suggested, "..in case seasonal conditions force a disbandment." Disoriented wolves from newly-disbanded packs would be sitting ducks for an opportunistic would-be leader, and it stood to reason that those who stuck it out with their pack until the very end were the loyal sort. 

Rue gave the advice hoping that it might encourage Stigmata to move along, away from the territories inhabited by Blacktail Deer Plateau. However, the moment the words fell from her lips, it dawned upon Rue that perhaps Stigmata was already quite aware of this strategy. Perhaps this was indeed why he lingered near the fading Blacktail Deer Plateau border. Uncertainly flashed across Ruenna's face, and her eyes met Stigmata's monochrome gaze with uneasy comprehension.

um, i'm not sure how or why this got so long *pouts*

it was hard to miss her interest in the life he prescribed to live, and even easier for stigmata to imagine that the smokewisp ruenna was a scout by trade. this was twice now he had caught her outside the realm of her own territory, and if her packscent hadn't remained relatively the same since their first encounter, he might have thought her as packless as himself. at the very least, he could presume that she was dissatisfied in some way; serving a stagnant pack as he had, was his best guess, but because he was aware of having frightened off the she-wolf before, he remained wary of trying to lure her further. 

the ironwraith watched her stifle his allure right before his very eyes, and he looked on bemusedly as she returned her countenance to placid indifference. she would not let whim or fancy distract her, and stigmata admired her deeply, lamenting (not for the first time) at how he might have liked to collect the fleet adventurer before her loyalties had been decided. his tail swished idly, and his eyes flashed towards her comment, electing not to respond aloud. he would have preferred no neighbors at all, but stigmata was opportunistic more than anything, so he could see benefits as well as detriments to having other packs nearby.

ruenna's suggestion made him perk up slightly. elysium came to his thoughts then, but he wasn't sure yet what to make of their generosities or if he wanted anything to do with that at all. they were so lax he thought it might be advantageous to align himself with their kind, but he couldn't help but feel as if he'd rather have more guarded allies. allies who thought more like himself, even if that meant fiercer competition. he suddenly thought of his company's pack, and slyly his eyes swiveled to meet hers.

it was mistake she looked back, because her expression gave away far more than she had intended, when facing the tactician, trained to notice vulnerabilities. she had noticed her blunder too, and stigmata found himself standing at a fork in the road. he had the chance to let it pass him, and walk a path of willful ignorance, but the warhound was insidiously loathe to let an opportunity to target weakness pass him by. he could ignore them as well as he could ignore the scent of fresh blood, and while possible, it simply was not likely. but stigmata would not be himself if he was not provocative.

he decided to fuck with her in a roundabout fashion, though his gaze was nothing but direct. "funny thing," he drawled, as patient in his speech as he was with his plans. "giving advice," he clarified, as his tail began to switch back and forth; expression shrewd and eyes filled with such an unfathomable liquid that even a fortuneteller could not read them. "sometimes it can be used against you." then he snorted lightly, expelling an amused breath. "so then i must ask: what would make you share such... insightful information, ruenna?" she was smarter than a simple mistake - something a blind wolf could see - so he had to wonder if it was something else.

"to what do i owe this confidence?" he asked with genuine inflection, canting his muzzle and surreptitiously scanning her face for any tells in her outward expression.

Stigmata was going to milk her misstep for all it was worth, of course. From what she imagined she knew about the man, she would have been surprised (and a little disappointed in him, even?) if he hadn't noticed and captialized upon the blunder. He spoke of using her advice against her, and the girl's tail switched back and forth in irritation-- a habit unbeknownst to the owner of the tail. Despite whatever emotion her tail was betraying, Rue was keeping her expression carefully composed... as if she was wholly unconcerned by the idea of Stigmata meddling with her pack. As if Blacktail Deer Plateau could endure whatever the world might choose to hurl. 

"Pride," she replied simply, after quickly wracking her brain for a suitable answer. "Pride and vanity." Her tail lashed once more. Anyone who knew anything at all about Rue would know that she was just about the furthest thing from proud or vain, but she was backpedaling hard here and needed to provide some sort of answer that would satisfy Stigmata's curiosity. She imagined that these were vices to which the man had fallen prey once or twice before, so perhaps he would accept this explanation without question. "My alphas heard advice from their beta once or twice, and clearly I have let it go to my head. Foolish, I know." As self-deprecating as the words might be, they gave away neither Rue's authentic fears and desires nor the true shortcomings of Blacktail Deer Plateau and Rue herself.

despite the prim, self-assured way in which she stood, the tactician's eye could not miss the betrayal of nerves that caused her tailtip to anxiously dance. his gaze shifted back to look at her face, and he felt a hot flush of amusement touch the corners of his mouth as she blamed her momentary lapse of judgement on pride, of all things. she knew him well enough to know that the topic of sin would intrigue him, but on the same paw, stigmata was also quite aware of how much the topic didn't seem to fit his present company.

despite noticing this, however, stigmata chose to accept her deflection as it was intended; so he only mustered a cool, slow, yet plainly unconvinced: "i see," before moving on to a subject that had caught his attention second-most to her lie. "you are the beta of your pack, then?" he noted with genuine curiosity. "you were but a greenhorn when we first met, ruenna. i am impressed. your advise must be incomparable."

Rue confirmed her position as beta with a nod. Stigmata went on to note the change that had taken place within Rue. It was a change that was quite obvious to any who had known Rue previously, although her own metamorphosis went unrecognized by Rue herself.

Rue knew that her counsel was often wise, but she would never agree to the notion that it was incomparable... "...As is your flattery, Stigmata," Rue returned with a shake of her head to dismiss the praise. It was incomparable flattery, indeed, and why did the would-be leader offer it? Was he hoping to extract more information somehow-- to perhaps prey further upon her entirely-fabricated sense of pride?

"flattery," the austere wolf scoffed, giving a dismissive jerk of his muzzle. "i am no flatterer, my lady. if you find yourself flattered by the things i say, then that is on you." he frowned, perhaps only to maintain a thin air of his typically gruff indifference, before turning from her slightly. he was a busy wolf, eager to be on his way, and he was sure this wouldn't be the last time he ran into ruenna redfern, of blacktail deer plateau - especially assuming they would be neighbors now. "i cannot stay to chat idly," he said with the breath of an unconscious sigh.

he was inwardly disappointed to depart from her a second time without the victory of having claimed her. but if proving his diligence to takiyok served as any indication for what patience could reward him with, then he was willing to run into this little grey adventuress for as many times as it took her to trust him. still, he couldn't leave without teasing her; or hovering over the buttons he knew not to press. "you are not mine yet, ruenna, but i feel our paths converging," he mused cryptically. "you will come to claim me one day, when you are ready - and then i will have you, along with your incomparable advice."

the would-be king smirked, taking up a quick westward trot to abandon her, much as she had done to him after their first encounter.

thank you for the thread, as usual <3

Stigmata denied engaging in any flattery, but Rue was incapable of seeing his words as anything but empty, meaningless praise, delivered in hopes of gaining something in return. She rarely, if ever, provided any service or advice truly deserving of commendation. In truth she was often uncomfortable simply being in the position of beta, knowing there were others in the Plateau more worthy of the respect and responsibility attached to the title. 

Rue dipped her muzzle in acceptance as Stigmata made to depart. He could not help but toss a parting quip at her, slipping in an obvious reference to the remark that had so unsettled her the first time they met. Rue was hardly surprised. She sensed a challenge buried somewhere in his musing words, and her expression set resolutely. Stigmata made his exit long before Rue would have been able to construct a worthy retort, and truly... she wasn't sure she even had one. 

'Till we meet again. ;)