Barrow Fields guzila

@Anti and anu headed north, encountering few souls along the way. some vagrants anu steered clear of, despite the customary kindness of his creed - he was on a pilgrimage, not a charity, and the less-than-hale wolves were often ignored.

they had learned a great deal about this northern country as they went. the waters, alluring and crystalline, were hostile and brackish - unfit to drink, and dangerous to swim in. there were fewer small game here, and the big game was mostly out of their league to fell.

in spite of that, anti saw they never went hungry. the pair had learned the water, as unkind as it was, was a trove of easily scarfed food; other than heavily-shelled bugs (or so they seemed, to a southerner like anu), which were to be avoided if one valued the well-being of their snout.

coming to a quaint area flat save for mounds of earth, anu paused and eyed them. in his land, these mounds were unheard of -- a sense o dread unease slipped through him as he looked for reasons why the ground would be disturbed thus.

any tags are for reference/info

He had made sure to inform @Strand of his brief departure from the island, how he would (hopefully) return with something useful. Rokig had trailed along the coast at first before he started to weave inland. There was nothing to be found in these wastelands and he worried that perhaps he would return empty handed, nothing to show for his brief adventure.

There was something on the horizon though. Thin and sharp angles. Alive.

A heavy whuff escaped him as he slowly moved towards them. Perhaps this trip would not be a complete waste like he had thought.

thank you for joining! gross PP of anti atm<3

anti had slipped past, no doubt to scout the area and make sure it was safe for them to pass. there was something eerie about the place, and anu had been prompted to describe the atmosphere, he would have said it reminded him of a crypt. how delighted he would have been, to be proven right.

as he sniffed one burrow mistrustfully, he heard another wolf approach. it lacked the serpentine cadence of anti, and anu abruptly lifted his head and focused his sights on the wolf. it was another northerner, of a grey-washed pelage fringed by rosy brown. apprising the stranger neutrally, anu stood erect and primly greeted: "gol dolmora." he knew the sharp-eared anti would know immediately there was someone nearby - perhaps the man was simply watching from a hidden location, preparing for the worst.

He halted once he was a respectful distance away. Close enough to not have to yell at each other but far enough to have more than enough personal space. Their words struck him as...odd. He was not even entirely sure how to repeat what they said if he wanted to ask about it.

I'm...sorry. I'm not sure I understood what you said. His brows furrowed and his words held a touch of embarrassment. It felt rude in a way to just waltz up (as he had been the one to initiate contact) and then have no clue what on earth they had just said. He decided there was really only one way to find out. Would you be willing to repeat it?

no wolf thus far had understood anu and anti's language; anu was not even sure why he tried -- old habit, he guessed. a part of it might be pride, too -- he was not like the others, and his language was one of many ways that boasted that.

the male before him seemed nonthreatening in demeanor, and like many other wolves, was visibly confused by anu's tongue. the southerner's posture remained unaffected by such a setback, and when he spoke again his accent was heavy. "gol dolmora. hell-oh." the words spoken in the common tongue were heavily enunciated, a frequent fault of those who were either new to the language and dreadfully inexperienced, or those who never bothered to master what they thought was a classless language.

Even if he knew there was no way for him to know the words gol dolmora, he felt embarrassed once the enunciated english came out. He felt as though it should have been obvious. Ah, hello. He half mumbled half grumbled. Rokig was not frustrated with the stranger, more so with himself.

I'm Rokig. He introduced with hopes that perhaps it would be a smoother ride from here on out. Part of him wanted to question the sharp-bodied strangers (who are you? where are you going? what are you doing?) but he bit his tongue for now.

anu would have welcomed further questions, though he may have lacked the vehicle in which to give appropriate answers. his common tongue was quite dusty, and he had a general disdain for it.

the male seemed to understand now, as evidenced by lift of confusion and the introduction of a name. rokig - it sounded guttural to anu, who was used to the graceful lilt of a more refined tongue. "anu." the southerner supplied, proud of his name and heritage. he glanced to the male tryingly, evidently grasping for words while still remaining quite prim in the process. "you.. a wolf of, mmm, pack?"

It was a simple name to remember, elegant in a way too. Anu. He committed it to memory for now. If it would not be helpful in the long future, it would at least be helpful for this interaction.

The question warranted a soft hum from him. A group. Not yet a pack. We're on an island just off the coast. He did not mind informing the stranger of where they were. It was not the easiest place to get to and there were undoubtedly a few defensive faces on the island, ready to guard their stake. What of you? He raised a brow softly. The man did not smell of just himself and the land but he was not bathed in scents of so many. Perhaps their situations were similar.

anu's long ears strained to listen, and it took him some time to piece together rokig's response. rokig's voice was perfectly understandable, but anu was poorly acquainted with the language, and repeated and reassembled the sentence over in his head until it made sense.

ah, they occupied an island off the coast. not yet a pack, apparently - anu wished to know the reasoning for this; could they be converted, would this fellow be of any use to him? how very much a hawk anu was, using rokig as a chesspiece rather than regarding him as an individual. "not a pack?" he repeated, confused - if they were not a pack, what were they?

His head shook softly. A small group. He was not exactly sure how to better explain it. Perhaps they were not a pack because of numbers or because there was no united name. No real ranking amongst them — except for Strand who claimed to own the island. The more he thought about it the less he wished to elaborate on it. It sounded chaotic. A pack soon enough. He merely hummed in response.

What brings you here? He questioned with hopes that it would move away from his current living situation. Although he supposed he should have been thankful he was forced to dwell on it. Perhaps he would need to discuss a thing or two with those on the Isle when he returned.

a small pack, the man elaborates. anu felt his gaze flicker to where he imagined anti might be. they had not come across a small pack, but if it was off the coast, they may have missed it. a small pack would not do; anu wished for many supplicants, not one or two. he did not respond; not because the information was useless, but because words were a struggle for the hawk.

rokig's inquiry elicited a change in the man. like a beggar asking for alms, anu described the universal gesture for holy man in his movements -- he rocked back to a sitting position and clasped his front paws together in a palm-like prayer. "fate," anu detailed, pausing for a moment as he grasped for the words in rokig's tongue. "do know any, like me?" he pantomimed with a paw his keen face, wondering if any of his kind lived in the area.

real brief bad language but nothing wild.

Fate.

He held back his bitterness. Fate was a bitch, that much he knew. Despite his feelings he held his tongue on the matter. This man had done nothing wrong and did not deserve a seasoning of Rokig's negativity. Truthfully, he had though he had moved on and healed from his former feelings but it seemed some just chose to hide away. So he shoved them back down to hide some more.

I can't say I do. He responded easily as he watched with silver eyes. It was an odd display he had been presented with all of a sudden. Part of him had to wonder what he was about to get into.

anu noticed a change after the word fate; it was subtle, but the hawk was used to studying the faces of his people; people which, were not always open books and often were stern-faced and stoic like him. he blinked, adjusting to this change with an unbothered air.

it was disappointing none of his kind had made it here. perhaps he was a pioneer, a blazi -- he and anti might be on the cusp of founding a new dynasty. anu breathed out his disappointment, wanting to dig more into whatever it was he had glimpsed in the man. "not a friend, of fate?"

If he had been human, he would have been rubbing his temple or perhaps pinching the bridge of his nose. The question only strengthened the bitterness that was held within him. He wanted to just return back to the island to stew in his feelings for the evening but leaving now would not be the nicest move. Not to say he was known for his niceties.

Fate and I are not on talking terms. He finally grumbled with a soft shrug of his shoulders. But you...you believe in it? Follow it? There was no sharpness or accusation in his questions. He was genuinely curious and part of him wanted to know why someone would go somewhere or do something solely based on fate.

Or you know, Rokig, maybe that was the point of fate.

it was easier for anu to listen than to talk; his long ears swept forward in anticipation, flicking only once as rokig spoke. the male seemed stressed, that much was evident. for a moment the hawk wondered if he had not used the right word, but his doubt was fleeting. besides being enormously assured of himself, anu's first word in the commoner's tongue had been fate.. he was unlikely to forget it.

rokig detailed they were not on talking terms; it was a colloquialism he was not used to hearing, and the idea of talking to fate sounded bizarre but very pleasing to anu. he allowed a slight smile to appear. "aie," he exclaimed quietly, shaking his head at the male's lack of understanding of fate. "fate.. talk to you, even if you are not friend of it."

he nodded once, the gesture stern, as rokig asked if he followed it. it was a simple answer when it deserved a much more complex explanation, but anu did not have the energy to delve into why - not when his conversational skills in the common tongue were so rusty. "i.. find it."

He had not intended for it to happen but a soft chuckle escaped him as he shook his head softly. That it does. Can't ignore it forever. Although he sure as hell was trying to ignore it whenever some kind of whimsical fate urge seemed to rise up. So far he had succeeded. It didn't mean he was safe forever but well...that bridge could be crossed when they got to it.

How do you find it? He questioned with a raised brow as he slowly reclined. With his rear settled on the earth, it was obvious he was ready to hear whatever Anu was willing to share.

i hope this "Story mode" is okay - i figured it would be easier to read than anu just... launching into a speech that would be phonetically confusing since he knows very little english! <3

the northerner issued a chuckle, admitting fate could not be outrun forever. anu would agree; fate was not something anything could outmaneuver, be it with wings or legs. fate came to all, whether they were running or not.

naturally, rokig wished to know how one found fate. anu's race was not a secretive coven -- he would oblige any question asked, and if he had the knowledge to answer, would do so.

anu started into an explanation, his words stilted and halting. occasionally he would grasp helplessly for a word, turning to rokig for assistance -- and then he would continue onwards, nodding yes if the word was correct, or shaking his head dismally if the word was not. he told rokig of his people, of the red sands in which he had been born: he told rokig of birth signs and the importance of them to his people, of caste systems, and finally, of his kurra, or rather, his pilgrimage to this new world in which in fates' eyes, was the only way to become worthy. finishing at length and finding himself quite tired of grappling for words he could barely remember, and often times being frustrated by his lack of eloquence, anu fell silent. his gaze remained on his companion expectantly, should rokig press forth any further questions.

i loved it <3

He listened intently to the male's story. He was glad he had settled in as they covered all sorts of topics. Perhaps the story should have emboldened him, made him feel as though fate wasn't awful or renewed a sense of liveliness in him. Instead he found himself feeling...hollow. Selfishly hollow. He felt as though he had accomplished nothing and that he was withering away while others set out for great things. Pilgrimages and birth signs haunted his mind now.

What was he doing here? What was he doing with his life?

Thank you. He softly mumbled finally after he simmered in the post-story silence. It had been kind of the male to share so much with him despite their rocky language barrier. It had moved something in the former seawolf deeply but he could not bring himself to discuss it or find words for it. If one looked closely though, they might notice the way a certain mulling look settled over his face. I want to return your kindness. Let me catch you a meal? Head motioned towards the coast where perhaps he could continue to dust off his fishing skills.

Maybe if he didn't discuss things further, he wouldn't feel so bad.

provoked into silence, anu studied the rising of the sea. the two men fell into the weighty silence that so often followed vigorous and deep discussion, both ruminating over their far off thoughts. 

he did not move until rokig spoke again, calling the knowledge he had shared willingly befit of a favor. anu remained impassive but inwardly, was tickled that such free exchange of knowledge was believed to be a debt repaid. in his sphere of the world, men spoke often and freely of strange topics; the pursuit of knowledge was a right as basic as breathing itself. 

anu could not turn down a meal, but neither was he a beggar. rising to his limbs he nodded, but made motion to follow — to offer aid, should rokig need it.

accidentally let this sit for way too long! :") kinda tiny post but thinking we can just fade out here? and maybe they can meet again in the future

He would not ask the man for further help. Nor did he wish to have them both drenched in the cool waters for a simple meal. He simply wanted to return kindness to the man (Anu had nurtured his mind, he wished to nurture the man's body) and be back on his way to the Island.

There was far too much for his brain to process and consider after all that Anu had shared. He knew it would be best for him to dwell on things once he was alone again though. No use making a confused fool of himself out here.