Sheepeater Cliff i will storm the gods

the afternoon sun is warm upon his back, the breeze dancing across the jagged cliff face. ridgeback sticks to the bottom of the cliff, a glimpse at the steep rockface telling him that he would not be as half as nimble as the bighorn he watched climb it half an hour earlier. the terrain isn't exactly even; cracked boulders and littering of rocks of varying sizes and shapes give way to grass greening. they are in abundance here; the sheep ...though from what he can tell they wisely stick to the top of the cliff.

a noise pierces the air from the top of the cliff looming in mockery of him and instinctively, he gives pause. muscles tense and joints lock in preparation; dark red scruff bristling with uncertainty as he peers upwards. a golden eagle tussles with a bighorn, the commission of their battle carrying. from his poor watching position below, ridgeback only sees flashes; a wicked sharp curl of horn, flying feathers, the impressive spread of wings against the sun like a goddess rising her arms.

and then comes the conclusion: the bighorn is lifted off the cliff and dropped. it falls about ten feet right of ridgeback's current position and a predatory glimpse is given skyward as he rushes towards the sheep's corpse as the eagle dives. ridgeback's lips curl back from his teeth as he moves to stand over the kill, a stream of snarls rumble and erupt from his chest; teeth snapping at the bird as it tries to cow him.

it is mine...

and for whatever reason — ridgeback does not really care — the eagle rescinds and takes a sloppy flight back up to the cliff top where it disappears. ridgeback moves to examine the bighorn for a moment before he begins to dig into the fresh kill.

Her first thought was woah, this cliff is big. Her second was aw, poor sheep. It was lifted into the air by an eagle, which Lenny was not aware could get that big. Golden wings captured sunlight and swooped down like molten waterfalls, and the sheep was dropped down, down, down to the earth below. 

The Archer gave a sympathetic wince. Well, at least its death had probably not been too painful. A fall from that height was almost guaranteed to kill instantly. 

But thinking that was the end of the battle proved Lenny wrong, as moments later, as the eagle moved to swoop down, a large man burst out and lunged for the corpse, snarling and snapping at the bird who had made it. How rare it was to witness something so visceral - so ingrained in nature. It was fascinating to watch, and even though Lenny wasn't particularly hungry, the girl decided to trot over.

"You in the business of stealing meals?" she asked with a smile and an amiable wave of her tail. Len was pretty big for a girl, but she wasn't near the size of this man - hardened and muscular, like herself. A fighter, then, perhaps. It made sense, for how bravely he took on that eagle. "That was pretty impressive."

a tall woman, cloaked mostly in a velveteen ebony catches ridgeback's eye and though he does not lift his bloodied muzzle from his meal, his gaze watches her approach; shoulders shifting subtly into a posture that is both defensive and possessive. her question only tightens the taunt sinew beneath his steel blue-grey shoulders despite that her posture is amiable; friendly even. immediately at odds with how he wants to perceive her words. a chunk of meat is torn from his meal and chewed before it is swallowed and his salmon pink tongue draws across his jowls to collect bits of flesh and blood — though the action ends up smearing the latter.

when prey falls from the sky like a gift from the gods, how can i possibly refuse? he jests lightly with a twitch of his lips before he lowers his muzzle and roots about for a rib bone which he grasps betwixt his teeth. the sound of it cracking beneath the pressure he applies is muffled and when he withdraws his muzzle from the beasts' flank he worries the bone, suckling the morrow from within before he drops it at his paws.

that was pretty impressive.

a praise he does not feel he deserved when so very easily he could've been upon the receiving end of that knife sharp beak or dagger deadly talons. it was injured. he points out simply, before taking another chunk of meat from his quarry; the only reason, likely, he still has all of his face.

He was defensive of his meal, which was understandable. Lenny just gave a soft snort in response to the tension and shook her head. "Easy, big guy. I don't want your food," she assured, looking back up to the top of the cliff. Sure, they had cliffs around Torbine, but she'd never traversed one like that. It was enough to make your stomach turn all the way at the bottom of it. 

A gift from the gods? Her mind flashed back to the Gods of Old that her mother and father used to talk about. Something that Lenny had never believed in, but had always humored the idea of it regardless for her family's sake. "I guess so," she responded, a smile still on her muzzle. It was nice to think that there might be gods up there looking out for them.

It was injured - that made more sense. After all, it had just fought that bighorn sheep. "You probably could've taken it anyway," she offered with a smirk, settling down into a sitting position several meters away from the man. Moonstone eyes studied him, tail sweeping the ground, eager to make a new friend. "What's your name, Mister Eagle Man?" the girl inquired, tilting her head to the side.

she assures him that she doesn't want his meal; which is good because he wasn't overly inclined to share despite how ridiculous the notion was. it wasn't like he was going to eat the whole thing by himself and he had no where to take it. it was best left for who ever came upon it after him; be it wolf or raven. as for her nonchalant response to his jest about the gods; ridgeback lets out a small, low snort around his meal as he rips free another chunk, chews, swallows.

he doesn't believe in divine beings; not when the world was drawn with so many filigrees of grey.

her words of confidence in his ability to take it — no doubt based upon initial observance — draws forth another bloodstained smirk. he appreciates it but is careful not to let the words of a stranger inflate his ego. ridgeback, he states and then after another bite inquires, and yours?

He didn't seem too interested in sharing with her, which was almost funny, because the sheep was far too big for one single wolf to eat on their own. Still, Lenny was amused, settling into a laying position and cutting her gaze over to the cliffside. The idea of a bird so big made her uncomfortable, if she was being honest.

Ridgeback, he said his name was. 

"Your name is waaaay cooler than mine," she told him with a smirk, tail thumping on the ground. "I'm Lenny. It's nice to meet you." A pause, before she spoke again. "What're you doing out here all on your own?"

ridgeback takes another bite — surely as inconsiderate as the previous bites have been — watching as she situates herself into a laying position he assumes is more comfortable. a laugh rumbles in his chest as she states that his name is 'way cooler' than her's. he almost quips that he didn't choose it ...but that wasn't true. he had chosen 'ridgeback' in a sense. thanks, he accepts with a bloodied grin and roll of his shoulder before he returns to his meal. lenny, he repeats with a small nod of his approval. it was easy to remember and he appreciates that, truth be told. his siblings all had ostentatious names that oft took after roman and greek gods or goddesses. eating, he cracks with a mischievous grin. exploring. he answers seriously.

Eating and exploring. The eating part had been obvious, but the exploring part not so much. Lenny wasn't much of an adventurer herself - sure, she was when Kyr was around, but it was her sister who was more into that type of thing. It was what had brought them both out here this far, and Lenny couldn't say that she regretted it.

"How's that goin' for ya?" she asked, silvery eyes tracking the male. His coloring was interesting, with those grays and reds. So unlike her own India ink black pelt. "There's a whole lot to explore out here."

so far, so good, ridgeback replies with a roll of his broad shoulders; another bite taken from his meal. despite himself, he begins to feel full and chews his last bite with a slowness that oft accompanies such a feeling. i look forward to exploring it all. or all that he could, at any rate. you an explorer? he asks before his salmon pink tongue draws across his jowls in an attempt to clean it and he takes a deciding step back from the stolen meal. he studies her for a moment before gesturing towards the big horn corpse with his muzzle. help yourself if you want some. ridgeback can't say when his mind changed ...maybe because she was pleasant conversation, or perhaps because the primal instincts were charmed and calmed with a fully belly. regardless, he wouldn't stop her if she wanted to eat.

Was she an explorer? Well, she'd come all the way out here on her own, and now she couldn't keep her paws still, so Lenny figured that she probably was. "I guess you could say that. Came out all this way for my sister, but I'm beginning to like not being stuck in one place, too." She smiled, watching him take his last bite of the sheep.

It was surprising when he stepped back to let her eat, but she wasn't going to complain. Not when she hadn't yet eaten today. "Thanks," she told the man, stepping up to walk over and settling on the ground across from him. The sheep had cooled off a bit, but it wasn't yet stiff. The girl dipped her head and took a bite, chewing and swallowing before licking her lips. "I take it you're not from a pack aroung here, then?"

i see, ridgeback says, though it is, largely, a lie. though he would, paws down, consider his littermate his favorite sibling he also wouldn't move heaven nor hell ( nor himself ) to trail after her as she pirouetted her way through life like a deadly ballerina. he especially wouldn't budge a toe for any of his older, holier-than-thou, heirs-maximus siblings. some siblings, though, clearly have a much closer bond than he and his siblings. he watches idly as she takes a bit of the big horn before he diverts his eyes, gaze methodically roaming the landscape 'round them to ensure they didn't attract any unwanted attention. no. truthfully? he's glad for it.