The Heartwood there was once a smile on this face

maybe a @Rosencrantz?

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.

He needed to go home, back to Rusalka, find @Erzulie being the only healer he knew of - the only individual he trusted in his state. Outside their borders were beyond cruel, from cannibals to hostile strangers, he hated them all. Even as he reached out for help from the familiar scents, the injured man was turned away, doomed to wander and hold the pain close to his face of all places. 

The burnt woods felt far more familar to him than they should. They shared that same pain, the one where only themselves had the power to heal their wounds and bloom once again - as should he himself in time. Though his eye cleared since his last meeting with wolves, the meeting that left a sour taste in his mouth, a bitter taste of hatred - the dark figured that lurked just around the corner rippled through him. Tearing his once placid face into a horrorshow of gore and waves of flesh as he warned the figure with growls and snarls. 

Defensive as ever, Rosencrantz was on high alert.

the wind was against him, and failed to warn him of the income beast. it was the growls that caught his attention, hackles raised and tail twitching with agitation as he turned to face the familiar, yet changed face he'd met not that long ago. "woah", he let out at the initial sight of the pale titan.

"and just when i thought you couldn't get any hotter" he let out, muscles still tense from the verbal warnings of the scarred man. he might have relaxed had the wound not set him on edge, which it did, terribly so.  

Not wanting to fight, he was hoping to scare away whoever it was that had crossed his path. At the sound of a voice, not bathed in hate or disgust, the one fully formed ear cupped in its direction. Relunctantly he himself relaxed, muscles still coiled but the lips he had left relaxed to cover the other half of his face. With a few blinks he was able to see clearer, the familiar face, they had met once before - rather pleasantly too if he might add. 

Do I? He felt more cold than hot if he was honest. Look hot I mean. He could use with some pleasantries right now and the brief moment of sarcasm and teasing he could mutter felt good. Still he had yet to look at himself in a reflection if he was to picture what he looked like now, was anything but attractive. He pictured something that would make children cry and babes scream. If he was concerned about having a family before, that dream seemed further out of his reach now more than ever.

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.

Should we close our previous thread???

 

Heh, liar. Even the ripped-up side had a slight twist upward as the macabre paladin grinned. Leaking out of the torn side was clear liquid, lightly stained pick from the still-fresh wounds. He had yet to master keeping that side dry just yet, something that might come in due time. 

A lady slayer if I ever saw one. The lightness of the conversation was breathtaking, after what felt like weeks - which was only maybe a day or so since the attack - of nothing but pain, rejection, and hostility, it was nice. Some time to breathe, to clear his head, to think.

With a sigh, even if the two had only met once, he didn't wish anything ill to happen to the few wolves he had kept in good contact with. There's a cannibal lurking in the wilds, he ate my face and ear. He began the bag news, waiting on a reaction or desire to hear more or less before continuing.

i can edit in an ending for it and then archive, unless you wanted to post once more?

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.

I dont think either of us were using it as a trade? you can edit your last post if you want to! I don't need to post in it again

I hope so. But he couldn't be certain. Everything was in such a blur. Blood and adrenalin clouded his eyes ever since then up until more recently. It was hard to pick out any details other than trying to escape with as much of himself as possible. But shit, he hoped he had left something on that man to remember him by. It's hard to remember details when not trying to linger long enough and lose more parts of myself. It went without saying really, but he rambled on anyway. Now that his vision and thoughts were clearer than they were before, he had much to say. 

Perhaps now traveling solo is a little more dangerous now, no? Thinking back to their previous conversation, he decided to round out that conversation a little and poke a little fun into it all. But maybe, now that they were aware, everyone he told, who knew, could prepare themselves should they ever encounter the sandy man with an appetite for wolf flesh.

edited and archived!

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.  

The man was obviously more comfortable on his own, though Rose felt the need to offer a friendly hand should he ever need it. I live on the plateau, not too far from here. Rusalka is the pack's name. If you ever need me, just call. He wouldn't try to talk the dark man into following him back to Rusalka, but the offer would be open regardless of how much time had elapsed. They all had to look out for one another. 

The man has sandy colors, a mixture of dark and light, with bright green eyes. Keep an eye out for a shady man like that. His description of the cannibal was clearer now than he had with the woman in black fresh from the attack. Now he was able to put it all into words instead of a riddle of sorts.

"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.

With a nod he let the topic drop. Not being the type to try and consistently coax people to follow and bring them home - he liked to offer an invitation and leave it at that. His invitation never expired after all, hell, even Tundra could still come to find him in Rusalka and the invite would still stand to this day.

I won't hunt him down. Only if he comes to me will I get my justice. Let him come to him, this time Rosencrantz would be prepared. With or without Rusalka as back up by his side. He knew more about this man now than he did then, the surprise of being hunted by a cannibal wouldn't surprise him again. Kill him if he tries to take a bite out of you. 

Vengeance wasn't something he sought enough to call dibs over the Sandman's life.

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.

Good. Should he have been called leveled headed, he would have scoffed. Haunted, plagued, angered - those rang true. Simply because there was a calm in this storm didn't mean there was one brewing just beneath his skin. With all his might he tried to keep a leveled facade, a calm demeanor as to not let these demons cloud his judgment. At least one more would be keeping an eye out for this beast and be aware that no mercy should be shown in the face of this monster.

That's right, neither of them introduced themselves. Something that seemed to happen quite often with the white leviathan - perhaps names were jut unimportant to him now as ever before. Rosencrantz, I will be sure to answer. He lived on the borders, after all, it wouldn't take him long to make his way over should he be summoned personally. And you? It was only polite to ask.

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.

Though Astaroth's eyes wandering to the wound caused discomfort, instinctively pulling his head to hide the oozing wounds, the paladin nodded as the charcoal man voiced his concerns. With a short one musical note chuckle at the joke offered, he began his journey back to Rusalka. Stay safe, Astaroth. And he meant it. 

Short tacked-on ending, but thank you for the thread again!! <3

<3

"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.