Ravensblood Forest all i need to know is where to start

@Rosencrantz

he had followed the river south through a stretch of trees, their white bark seeping tears of crimson in the glow of moonlight. the very sight of the odd phenomenon had him momentarily pause his mindless journey, his attention now set on the scarlet beads of sap that bled from the aspens.

a surge of curiosity had him lean in close, nose wiggling at the sweet aroma that escaped from the pale timber. and then, without any warning to his intentions, the sable ghoul let his tongue slip between leathery lips to taste the sanguine tears for himself.

There was no reason for him to be wandering away from Rusalka's borders other than to take a short rest from guarding it and stretch his legs before he went mad. The forest of bleeding trees was an odd choice, he was already aware of how much he hated these woods and yet more than once he found himself giving this place one more chance to do more than annoy him by sticking to his fur and being a pain in the ass to clean. 

But something else caught his attention in these woods. A dark, lanky, inky blot was within his vecinity. A stark constrast to the alabaster knight who stalked the same woods and kept his own golden hue on the younger male with whom he faced off with. A strange decision was made by the dark one to try and lick the sap of the bleeding trees and Rosencrantz stood to watch him silently, observing and studying what his reaction may be after tasting the odd liquid.

had he been more educated on nature in general, astaroth might have been a bit more reluctant to go around licking the sap off trees. with that being said, he was not familiar with the dangers of tasting foreign substances and therefore didn't give a second thought about the possible consequences that awaited him.

fortunately for him, the sap itself was not all the dangerous. it was more acidic than it was sweet, and was bitter enough to cause his lips to pucker in response to tasting it. curiously enough he thought about trying it again but chose not to instead, deciding it was far more pleasing to look at than to consume.

and so with his interest fading and little left keeping him still, the inky ghoul shot his gaze elsewhere, only to discover a single golden eye staring back at him.

The smokey man turned and Rosencrantz found himself staring at the beast eye to eyes. He did not move, react, to express, he simply stood still and continued to observe the man. No foaming at the lips, and thus far there was no aggression - You're lucky the sap didn't turn out to be toxic. Is all he managed to spit out. Should it have been, the darker male would have been, and without a better way to put it, fucked. Rosencrantz was no healer and they were far enough from Rusalka for him to be a deadman walking. 

Even if it was safe to eat, there was no desire for Rose to shove his tongue onto that either unless it held some kind of health benefit. Going around licking trees, well, that didn't suit him very well he thought to himself.

ever have that one friend who tasted something awful and then preceded to shove it in your face to get you to try it too? yeah? well astaroth was that friend.

'it's good" he teased, tongue smacking against inky lips as if to give backbone to his obvious lie. "you should try it too" he encouraged, though could already guess the reaction he was sure to receive. either way, whether the scarred stranger tried the sap or not, astaroth himself certainly had no intention of tasting the foul fluid again and promptly pulled himself away from the tree he had licked just a minute ago.

Pass. Unfortunately for that friend who likes to offer shit he just shoved into his mouth for giggles, Rosencrantz was a bit of a buzz kill and flatly declined the 'kind' offer. All yours. A single eye flickered to the other neighbouring tress that were also bleeding sap. If the guy truly liked the stuff, then he had plenty to devour all day long. With a quirk of his brow, that single honey hue moving between the charcoal man and the trees, it was like a silent challenge being uttered by Rose to go ahead and lick some more. Just waiting on the stranger to admit what he had done was stupid.

But even Rosencrantz would admit that boredom does strange things to anyone. Judging by the smell coming off of this one, he was a loner. Maybe he was just trying to fill his time with any kind of small thrill that came his way. Is it common for you to eat strange things?

"afraid i'm stuffed" he let out with a nasty glare to the bleeding tree, not bothering to hide his obvious disgust. he hoped with the season's change that the sap might somehow grow sweeter and act as a bait of sorts. if it could lure prey to the forest, then it might be worth paying a visit to every now and then when he was in the area.

"i eat whatever i can" he replied with a shrug, his attention shifting to the obvious scar that rest upon the man's face. "can't be picky when you're on your own." if it was edible he'd try to eat it and if it wasn't...he'd still try to eat it.  

A couple of notes slipped past the ivory man, at first they were nothing but a couple of nose huffs, soft chortles - but the more he thought into the man's response and bullheaded approach, Rosencrantz actually... well, he laughed. Lasting only a moment, but it was there, vocalized and true. Clever, he thought to himself. Not clever enough to hide the fact that the man was lying, but he was quick witted and unmoving since the beginning. 

Instinctively he shifted his perspective to move his scarred face away from the prying eyes. He could feel it, it gained some kind of attention and though he couldn't completely hide it, it helped to try and take attention away from it. I suppose with the famine we had, I have no argument against it.

he cracked a smile at the man's short-lived laughter, his tail giving an amused flick as he leaned back to rest on smoky haunches. the scarred stranger didn't look the type to laugh all that often, no offense, which made astaroth all the more pleased with himself that he had managed to tackle such a feat.  

"so the famine struck here too, huh?" he'd been on his own when the disaster stuck, leaving him thin and half starved to death. he'd been one of the more fortunate souls to make it out alive on his own, which has left him more confident yet grounded in his ability to survive without the aid of others.

His darker companion felt comfortable enough to ease himself into a sit - Rosencrantz however, remained standing. Continuing their contrast further with his actions unknowingly. Yes. The famine that had stolen his musculature and threatened to take more lives than it had - he had only recently gained back the weight he had lost during the tragic event. First the earthquakes had taken the first wave of lives, then, the famine took the rest. 

Poetically enough, with all the lives that were lost during the tragedies, it all happened and ended before breeding season. The end of many lives would make way for many more in its wake. It was a miracle to think that any loners had survived it all alone. Joining a pack to make survival easier didn't strike your fancy? He was curious enough to answer.

A wolf's survival instict would have surely told them to join a pack, in numbers, they were always safer.

the earthquakes had not been terrible where he'd been at the time, instead it was the avalanches that had done most of the damage to his temporary home. whatever prey had not suffocated in the mountains of snow had fled miles away.

"it is was far easier to feed myself than try and feed a dozen strangers i barely knew." he'd barely kept himself fed, he couldn't imagine what trying to feed an entire pack might have been like. especially groups that had young, elderly, or injured individuals that couldn't provide for themselves.

Easier to protect and claim food in numbers. He said in retort to the dark one's claim. Though they were both not wrong, Rosencrantz was more busy feeding trying to keep everyone fed and his own energy up durig the famine - but would it be easier if he was on his own instead of in the pack? To fend off hungry cannibals who resorted to the sin of eating a brother's flesh in order to survive? 

Well... He didn't want to think of it too much. They both had survived in their own methods, and he supposed it was all that mattered. We all survive in our own ways. He said finally with a soft sigh in his tone. Wanting nothing more than to evade a discussion that would only turn to be more annoying than pleasant as it was now. Just two strangers talking. 

It was rare for him. It often turned into a struggle in one way or another.

"you have a point" he answered with a shrug, attention focused on one of the bleeding trees just beyond  the pale stranger. astaroth had weighed his options and lived with his choices, no use in mulling over them now.

"got to wonder where the prey went when they all disappeared" he mused aloud, face twisting into curiosity and wonder. he was positive somewhere out there others had been gorging on their misfortune. the prey had to go somewhere, and he liked to imagine it was someone else's belly.

eventually, after a few more minutes of friendly conversation, clouds of grey and gloom set overhead, threatening to pour buckets atop the pair of them. and so, feeling as if this were a signal that their conversation had come to an end, astaroth bid the nameless wraith goodbye and set off for cover.