Thunder Dome well the raven is a wicked bird

parting company had always been easy for thorn; after a shared meal among @Tusk and @Quill the beast headed north, stalking the stiff mountain range that hugged the huge shoulders of the barrier mountains.

he had little interest in scaling the stony promontory, but knew the advantage a bird's eye view afforded. trailing an old deerpath, thorn soon found himself at the base of thunder dome's sleeping giant: his gaze wandered upwards, climbing along the shawl of clouds that sat at the volcano's apex. if anything lived in that electric forge, he didn't see much of it -- and the very coil of the sullen clouds seemed dangerous enough that thorn had no intention of cresting the volcano's peak.

since stigmata had persuaded him to depart noctisardor, the man had searched for a place to cache his carefully organized store of herbs, at least for now. in the shadow of the peak he found a pair of stones with a small hollow beneath, and there mahler put the pelt-wrapped bundle. with luck, snow would cover it, keeping the delicate leaves from chewing animals. and if not, the musiker had catalogued where to find the plants again.
it was a ragged trip downward, and he too glanced toward the roil of promised danger on the neighboring peak. there was nothing for a wolf so high up, mahler decided, and so swept his eyes across the surrounding area. they settled on the dark form of a stranger, and the gargoyle's head sank down between his shoulderblades. 
no need to defend what he had not claimed, but he would not back down. the presence of stigmata buoyed the man, and after a pause, mahler continued, pulling his gaze away and setting it to look for spoor.

the dark sky overhead encouraged the eyjolfur to move quickly, and boogey thorn did. he picked a path and stuck to it, following its tumbled egress up until it deposited him in the direct path of a grim-faced man. 

the brute’s posture shifted in surprise, calmed only by the lack of aggression lingering in the ashen male’s cheerless gaze. inquisitive, thorn advanced - his body neutral as he drew in the scent of plant and wilderness that clung to mahler’s pewter hide.

the other moved closer; mahler allowed the inspection of his scent, stiff-legged but affable in his own cool way. he too drank in the fragrances laced through the stranger's pelt. this was no loner; he traveled with at least one another, and therefore mahler did not see fit to recruit him for the world he and stigmata had envisioned.
nevertheless, it was neutral ground, and it would not benefit the shadow to make enemies. "you are not alone," he observed dryly, appreciating the hale look of the man.

thorn thought beneath the silvery ripple of mahler's fur that there was some other scent; yet as he breathed in, the evidence of it was wispy. he himself bore evidence of recent company, as mahler had dryly noticed. thorn wondered if to some wolves, the evidence of another wolf's presence was a deterrence. more wolves often meant more competition, and thorn was not a brute that walked into confrontation unless it was of his own joyous doing.

once both had completed their mutual assessment, thorn stepped back to give the pewter-flecked beast his space. he saw no point in lying, and so, answered truthfully. "aye, three of us, though we each travel our own path. and you?"

"one. that i know of," mahler added wryly. stigmata had gone off into the canyons and gullies to recruit; he would do the same, and reconvene with his kill-brother in time. for now, however, he appreciated the stranger's candor. "i am mahler," he murmured, more at ease with the other brute. they were evenly matched, he felt, even if the newcomer suddenly struck for him. but he did not think that would happen.
presently, he continued on, though the openness of his body indicated the other might join if he so chose.

the brute revealed he traveled with company, though thorn suspected that like himself, mahler's bonds remained their own independent chords. the beast nodded silently in approval, his gaze trailing the skyline in thought. mahler had moved off, his posture canted in a manner that suggested casual indifference to whether thorn trailed or departed.

he need not consider his options; wordlessly, the wraith stepped smoothly behind the charcoal-hued predator, his slinking gait communicating his willingness to follow alongside mahler -- for a time.

the man followed; mahler adjusted his stride to match that of the other, seeking the air and ground for preyscent. "have you traveled in these lands long?" he murmured after some time had passed, the lavender ice of his gaze glancing sideways to gather the answer of his companion. the other was a more affable sort, talkative where mahler was not; he supposed for the sake of their time together he could at very least attempt to be more forthcoming than he was usually.

the silvered ghost adjusted his stride, allowing thorn to walk abreast of him. he found the pace mahler dictated easy to match, allowing him to sniff and scent the pine-laden air at his leisure.

little evidence of prey abounded, but the oilspill predator kept attention. as they walked, the grizzled veteran besides him asked of thorn's history here, which earned a rounded shrug of the brute's large shoulders. "no." it seemed as if that was all the answer mahler would get, but then thorn spoke once more. "have you?"

perhaps the other now sought to match mahler's own monotone with his own; frustration brewed abruptly in the brute, but he kept it coiled, unwilling to give it voice. "some time, yes. traveling the ranges. i find it quite tedious to vander the same lands alvays." there, now — he had done his part and now hopefully some true conversation would come of it.

the eyjolfur missed the twinge of annoyance in his traveling companion, his gaze drawn to the snowpack below where a small herd of caribou traveled, their forms small and distant. the man's accent intrigued thorn, but he made no comment on it as they walked.

he could sense some semblance of expectancy, and after a while he spoke again. "you and i both. i am far from my birthplace. it sounds as if you are too. do you like these ranges better?"

a short nod. "ja," came mahler's bemused answer. "very far." how great the distance, he could not say, and there was little use speculating upon it. "i do. there is more promise here." he was settling into the other's disposition; glancing toward the caribou, he flicked a sideways glance at his companion. "my companion, stigmata, and i, ve seek to settle here vith likeminded individuals. those dedicated to the vild." 
maybe you are one such.

his gaze followed mahler's, studying the dark forms of caribou as they moved among sheets of snow. a silence filled the air between them as he considered the words of his temporary companion. he shifted, feeling the snow pack between his paws -- "dedicated to the wild." the brute parroted back mahler's words free of accent, but heavy with weight -- he liked the way that sounded, and after a moment's pause spoke again.

"i'm in."

fade here? <3

mahler looked at thorn, fully halting. the resolute nature of the other's expression left little doubt that the shadow meant what he had said, and so in due time the man who called stigmata brother gave a single nod. who was he to turn away a creature hale and willing to be devoted?
"then i shall take you to diaspora."

then i shall take you to diaspora.

thorn nodded, accepting the verdict. it was easy to pledge himself to so assured a companion -- and if the brute thought mahler the pinnacle of wolf-flesh, he would soon learn that stigmata too occupied whatever high tier of godliness that a wolf could obtain.

willing, and a little bit excited for what his future held, thorn followed in silence.