The night had passed unsuccessfully, and he gazed with a palpable amount of dissatisfaction towards the rising sun; as if it were the flaming ball of fire's fault that he'd only come across rotting carrion in the dark. But even if the corpse had not filled him in the slightest, Balthazar's grumbling belly had been slated for the moment.
He scaled the side of a mountain, as was his inherent skill to do so, and found a shady nook in which to rest beneath. The overhang kept the sun from his eyes, and the pale wolf lay the front half of his massive body in the available shade, while letting his rump roast in the sun which continued on higher as the hours passed. Balthazar snored, he was this at ease with himself.
flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed
you will revive your master
blood of the enemy, forcibly taken
[size=3]you will resurrect your foe[/size]
Ever diligent, the scarred woman patrolled the mountain the majority of the day and partly into the nights, resting mostly during the afternoons when it was getting too hot to do much of anything because she wanted to save her energy for evenings. Today was no different than any other day since they had arrived in these new lands. Aguta did go out of her way to try to mark various places around the mountain to tell outsiders that there were others here and most strangers were absolutely not welcome.
She was on her way to her favorite afternoon shade spot when she picked up the scent of a stranger there on the mountain. Icy eyes narrowed as she pushed forward, setting off into a brisk trot. It wasn’t long before she found where the scent was coming from. A warning growl ripped forth from her throat as she pulled herself up to her full height, lifting her tail partially over her back. She would not grace him with words, choosing to issue her warning growl only.
Slowly he roused, deliberately taking his time as the she-wolf went on with her warning. He pulled himself from beneath the overhang, revealing more than his exposed backside, and the cream wolf turned to face his accuser with sour eyes, unimpressed with her display.
She was certainly a sight however. Beautiful in her own right, with those charged blue eyes and a curiosity of scars littering her otherwise immaculately-shaped black form. She was large and fit, as he preferred his females, but clearly not in the mood to accept any of his wanton fancy. His tail moved slowly back and forth, like a pendulum counting the slow moments before a fight starts.
"What?" he deadpanned, sharp eyes on her with fearless impunity.
flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed
you will revive your master
blood of the enemy, forcibly taken
[size=3]you will resurrect your foe[/size]
Part of her would be flattered, though the other part of her would wonder if he, like other males, would find her to be invisible in the presence of her aunt or, in her case now, her cousin. Only one male, thus far, had shown interest in her, and that had been during a time that neither one of them had been fully in their right minds, but even then, the male had called her by another female’s name. That was neither here nor there, a thing of the past. Though having a friend with benefits wasn’t something she would turn down if the opportunity arose.
Icy glare followed his every move as he pulled himself out of where he’d been snoring away as if he owned the place. “You are trespassing,” she growled, pulling herself up a little taller, if that was even remotely possible. “You make it a habit of ignoring territory markings?” His eyes were stunning but she was forcing herself to remain focused on the fact that he did not belong here.
Still, the thick fur along his spine rippled, conscious of her rigid stance and warning her against physical reprimand. She would regret tangling with him one on one, evident in his dagger-like gaze, but his body was relatively lax compared to hers. He wasn't looking for trouble, contrary to his actions.
"No," the virile wolf deadpanned after a tense pause. "I was tired," he finished flatly, as if that explained everything. He tucked his chin slightly and pressed his round ears forward, anticipating a bad reaction to his minimalism; it happened more than he cared for. "I'll leave -- and I don't need an escort, blue eyes," he scoffed, picking his chin back up and turning his head and neck in preparation to leave.
He paused momentarily, gazing sidelong at the scarred wolf from the corner of one very green eye. He didn't trust her with his back turned, and he also didn't want her to make sure he left. So he half-waited to see if she'd do anything besides just stand there or go her own way -- which were the two options he'd have preferred her to do. He was a man of his word (not that anyone could tell or would immediately trust someone as unsettling as he), so he would indeed leave.
He refused to be treated like a mange-ridden dog, however.
flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed
you will revive your master
blood of the enemy, forcibly taken
[size=3]you will resurrect your foe[/size]
Icy glare remained fixed upon the male, watching any and all movements from him. She wasn’t about to look away, that’s for sure. Who knew if he would suddenly try to have a go at her or not. She was just that untrusting, and for good reason. Life had taught her to expect the unexpected and to trust very few. It was hard enough giving trust to those she respected the most because she had quickly learned that even they could screw up your entire life, or as much of it as one would allow.
While he anticipated a bad reaction from her, nothing came. She merely stood there, watching him with ears pushed forward, listening to his every word. She made no move as he spoke of leaving, though she gave a slight shake of her head. Giving a sweeping motion with her muzzle, she motioned to the mountain itself. “Tartok,” she said, returning her icy gaze to meet his of green.
After a moment, she lowered her tail, though not all the way down. Her muscles rippled beneath her dark fur as she shifted her stance. She was still poised and ready for anything, but she wasn’t as tense as she’d just been. “Aguta.”
She moved, which caused his gaze to snap back towards her, but it was only to lower her tail slightly and to consequentially lower the tenseness of the scene. Zar remained impassively placed, though a flare of irritation passed his expression when she said another word that couldn't have been anything but an introduction. "I didn't—" he started to snap, but he simply narrowed his eyes and refused to finish the sentence, realizing that he was being prematurely snide.
His features relaxed from its sudden harshness to something blank before he said "Balthazar," in that forcible way one did when they weren't exactly prepared (or wanted) to introduce themselves.
flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed
you will revive your master
blood of the enemy, forcibly taken
[size=3]you will resurrect your foe[/size]
She was curious as to the flash of irritation on his face when she introduced herself. It was almost as if he were put out by her having given her name, but why? A slight tilt of her head was given as she continued to just watch him as he started to snap a reply, seemingly thinking better of it and not finishing whatever it was he had been about to say. He was a curious one, that’s for sure. Strangely enough, it peeked her curiosity enough to leave her interested in him.
“Why mad?” she finally asked, tilting her head slightly the other direction. She would never be one to be overly friendly, never had been before and never would be now, but she was very curious as to why he seemed to be put out that she introduced herself. She didn’t ask her question in a condescending sort of way. Just curiosity. Icy gaze traveled over his form, returning to his face, mostly his eyes. They were fascinating, really. Stunning in color and, though he was wearing a blank expression, there just seemed to be an unexplainable fire to his gaze.