Noctisardor Bypass ungnädig

some wild part of the man wished to simply walk up and demand noctisardor. it was a quick and foolish thought, for too impetuous for the man he had become. and so mahler stayed as he was, preparing to turn away from the land on his way toward the newer claim.
but at once he was not alone. the gargoyle watched silently as a large pale figure wended down from upper trails, her voice reaching out toward him. direct, wrapped in an obsidian cowl and armed with piercing eyes the color of the sky's edge.
she was alone, he confirmed with a taste of the air. closing the space between them but maintaining a safe distance, mahler held back his words for a quick appraisal of her thickbodied strength, this arbiter. it occurred to him that he could simply offer her the power of a male partner and therefore claim the land he wanted, but mahler was dissuaded from such contemplations by the distinct show of ambition in claiming her own territory.
he needed no more women with ambitions for clawing and for control. 
the reason he had come. the gargoyle looked beyond her inky shoulder toward the piece of earth he wished was in his possession. directness, then. "i vant this place. vhat vould you require to leave it?" a transaction, as it had been with the wounded man.