Starglow Basin the snake pit

for @Soto

castel wakes before the sun sits high in the sky, slipping away from leto’s den without a sound. the night gave him time to think, but the bitterness still lingers, coiled under his skin like a bruise that won’t fade. he hates that he had to submit, hates the memory of soto towering over him.

he takes a few moments to breathe in the warm air of the basin, letting it fill his lungs. better spirits, maybe, but not by much. he steels himself, sets his jaw, and begins his search. it doesn’t take long to pick up soto’s trail—he follows it.

when soto comes into view, castel pauses. he offers a curt dip of his head, barely. his voice is calm, a fraction more respectful than yesterday, but the edge in his tone hasn’t vanished.

soto. querías verme.

what is he to do?

osiel and saya gone. sangre still at large.

and now, rumblings deep underfoot he knows are great spirits moving.

castel comes to him as the sun brings its earnest head over the horizon; for a moment soto bathes in that golden pool of light, unspooling his hopes and his progress for another frustrating day stunted by the vagaries of living.

he draws his eye along castel's handsome face and sees what leto must enjoy in him. but he sees also something molten in that gaze. something willful and dangerous if pointed his way.

a simple question, then. ¿eres un buen explorador?

castel is silent under his poking, prodding gaze. though his own rise to meet soto's orange, leering stare and he huffs, shuffling upon paws. sí. is all he says.

as he moves, the morning light shifts, casting him in the rays of dawns verdant touch. his snout is slender, cloaked in shadows and he cannot help but quirk a smirk at the man.

perhaps soto is not so bad after all. perhaps he could get along with soto.

hm. perhaps.

his tail lowers amongst his hocks and he opens the jaws of a snake to speak again, pinning the serpent of verapaz with his flaxen tone. he explorado toda mi vida.

buen. he issues into the gilded air, while around them the swanlight of a fading dawn sends her last fireshow. copper alights the man's figure, pooling down to soft brass at castel's feet.

a shadow spreads its slender figure between them, the motion of castel's tail lowering to his hocks casts a shadow-show of black and obsidian on the red sand.

tal vez estés de humor para un desafío. soto's humorless eye glints. eseo saber de los movimientos de nuestro enemigo.

castel stands in the dying dawn’s light, copper glancing over the lines of his body. when soto speaks, he lifts his chin, a faint gleam in his amber eyes.

un desafío, eh? he cannot help but allow the wry smirk upon his handsome mug to grow in its width. a resurgence upon maw. si quieres información, la obtendré.

he shifts his stance, tail lowering, casting that long shadow on the red sand again. he allows his eyes to linger upon soto's scarred, brazen face; ignorant to the way the man glances upon him.

dime adónde debo ir… y lo haré.

he rolls shoulders, moving to begin a horizontal pace to the side of soto. eager to move. eager to leap into action. only one night he has laid upon the basin's lands, and he is itching to do something other than wallow.

another had once been this eager - his lion. and before that, the silver dove saya. his mouth floods with bitter tincture.

now verapaz is an empty cairnhouse, the stragglers staying while the ambitious fled.

juarez would tell him this is simply the syndicate's way. easy come, easy go.

al norte de nosotros se encuentra un valle. luneshale pass. ellos están directamente al este de él. he considers this errand and speaks once more. ten cuidado. vaya con dios.

entiendo. his voice is a sinister rasp. he shifts his weight upon twin paws, emerald eyes drifting across the empty spaces of verapaz. there’s a quiet bitterness in him too, seeing the hollow shell of a place full of possibility.

mouth curves into the faintest of smiles. there is a flicker of determination in his eyes. he can feel the old tension between them, an unspoken agreement to endure each other.

he dips his head in a curt nod, accepting soto’s parting words. vaya con dios, he echoes, turning away with swift strides.

he will waste no time.

exit castel!