The Tangle She will be mine

Gold eyes beneath a dark brow assessed the land. In front of him laid a bed of green grassland swaying gently in the breeze. Rocky cliffs were far in the distance, the ssmell of the sea hitting his senses, making Ruin scrunch his nose in disgust. Behind him was a tangle of trees, nothing he felt the need to go through. His homeland was nothing like this—only the strongest survived where he came from. Or, rather, only those HE deemed strong enough would survive. Those who lived here must be weak—both in mind and body. They must not know what hardship feels like, or the feeling of a gnawing so deep in the belly that you’re sure a rat somehow lived inside, trying to make its way out.

He scoffed angrily. The dark wolf could not fathom being here for longer than he needed to…he needs to find her. The one he was promised. She was here, he knew it. He had heard stories a lone she-wolf of her description, specifically eyes that held the world’s oceans, had been seen leaving Rhodesia in the direction of Teekon. He has been following sightings of her for a year. But, now he is in unfamiliar territory and has lost her. He was a patient male. He would continue to look for her, even if it meant forever. He would find her. She will be his.

But, for now, he decided he would make nice with the region’s packs. Maybe he will find her in one…or maybe they will divulge her location to him. This place may grow on him enough to permanently leave his pack in Rhodesia to his Second, Hannibal. He chuckled darkly to himself; the future really does hold many possibilities. 

@Val

winter was closing in, and val began to worry.

it was not unlike the children of the sea to wander — but now astera and sobeille had been missing almost two weeks, with temperatures fast receding.

he elected to do one more comb-over of the tangle. the going was rough, and on more than one occasion val was thwarted by a sequestrum of knotted thorns.

a scent prevailed, accompanied by the occasional tuft of dark fur on a bramble tooth. val began to follow it, wondering now if this stranger had seen either of sapphique’s wayward girls.

Birds flew above Ruin, squawking loudly, seeming to come from the tangled woods behind him. His large head turned slowly, uncaring if what caused the rats with wings to flee would cause him harm or not. He is usually without fear. His size and demeanor is a deterrent in and of itself in most cases. 

His nose worked through scents on the wind; birds, rodents, dirt, flowers, and something…masculine. Usually he would bristle at this—how dare a male try to sneak up on him? Keeping his ultimate plan at the forefront, he remained calm and unassuming; his body remained loose and welcoming. 

Time to shine.

eventually val found the man. for all his similarity to chacal, the hard bite of his eyes told otherwise.

val paused, assessing the stranger. he was not naturally possessive of dragoncrest's perimeters -- but as of late, his patience had thinned. he had two missing daughters to account for, and fear thorned its way into his heart.

hey. he waved his tail warily. have you seen two young girls? the wind between them carried ruin's scent enough val sensed nothing of miette or astera on his pelt, but one never knew...

Feigning submission, Ruin dipped his head low upon the stranger's emergence from the tree line. His ears, however, perked at the male's question. Missing girls, hmm? Could this be how I could gain this man's full trust? Help find the girls, continue playing nice in the off chance that I may find information on where I can locate what was promised to me? The dark male shook his head slowly, eyes never wavering from the other wolf's face.

"No, sir, I am merely new to the territory and have not seen a soul since arriving. May I assist your search? I have experience in tracking those that are lost." He shook himself, then. Hopefully that hid any outward signs of an inner cringe that resulted from how saccharine his voice sounded. Ruin will continue to do what he must to find his prize, even at the cost of his pride.

by all accounts, the stranger seemed friendly. val, who had very little reason not to believe in the best of every wolf, took it wholly at face value.

learning the wolf was new, val paused. the hard edge of his wariness was slowly fading. we're from sapphique -- he motioned to the cliffs behind them. two girls - one is white furred with indigo eyes, the other red with yellow eyes. my daughters. his throat constricted. astera may not be his biologically, but she was a daughter of sapphique. that made her his family, blood or not.

thank you. my name is val. what is yours?

The black wolf listened to the male list off the characteristics of those he's lost. "Sapphique? An unsual name. Is that your pack? And these girls, what happened--where were they last seen?" He was eager to ask more questions but decided to start slowly. Val, as he learned, would hopefully be useful to him. Remaining as unassuming as possible is the goal.

Soon, he will start to ask more questions pertaining his true intention. But, for now, he will find these girls.

"I am called Nuri. I come from far north. A very snowy place, nothing like it is here, though." At the last second, he decided giving a fake name would hide his identity should news of a new male in the area spread to wherever she may be.

there was no reason to distrust this stranger. val, who'd largely only ever had good encounters with his kind, put his full faith in nuri.

yes, sapphique. he'd never stopped to consider the name odd -- was it? they were last seen by the rendezvous. he couldn't believe his luck, finding a stranger so willing to help. if you find anything nuri, please howl -- day or night -- by those cliffs. he motioned to where sapphique's hulking shoulders rose from the flatlands below.

Feel free to archive after this! Last post from Ruin

Amber eyes widened ever so slightly at how easily the wolf before him trusted his words. The black wolf was used to at least some form of suspicion, this was new. And it threw him off.

He turned to look where Val had pointed out, memorizing the area in case he ever did see those girls. Not that he has any true intention of seeking them out. But, on his journey, maybe he would let the male know.

Maybe.

All he wanted to do was find her. This whole scheme of making nice just seems like on extra step that serves no real purpose. He can find her on his own. He did so many times back home.

He returned his attention to Val. “Alright, I will do so if I see them. I apologize for cutting this short but I must be on my way. Something has come up that I must attend to for the time being. But, rest assured, I will call should I find those you seek.” 

With that, he turned and ambled off back into the tangled woods, following the river south that cuts through the woods into more open spaces. Maybe he’ll find her there.