Honeyed Pasture we were like gods at the dawning of the world

@Maera ♥ to fit into axo's timeline this thread is tentatively backdated to before the undersea storm.

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Axolotl draws in a deep breath, sensitive to the ambrosial scent of the tall grasses, of the warm aroma of the herds that graze without fear upon the golden heather as it sways in the gentle breeze. The only tang of salt lingers upon his pelage and there is little the Atlanian can do to erase it. The mere idea gives him panic for he has already been parted from Atlan before and though the leviathan of the sea takes it on faith that They understand because he is not a beast born from Their waters but he has found his deity once more and he deigns to stay close. His ilk is well adept at surviving off of seafood he cannot deny himself the succulent taste of venison or other large ungulates. He stands alone as the only Atlanian in these Wilds, the lone Harbinger as Their mortal voice. Atlan was calm when he left Stavanger Bay in the search of ungulate. It does not take him long to cross paths with a herd’s scent — fresh. He follows it, lowering himself into the shelter of the tall, golden grasses sinking belly against the earth as he studies the small herd of four for any sign of young or weak.

One is young, he notes, but the adolescent doe and two adults — a buck and a doe — form a protective triangle upon the long legged babe making it hard for him to take it down without surmounting grievous injuries to his body. He is a Warrior Shaman and on his faith he does not fear death but he does not have to fear something to want to avoid it. He gives up, rising quietly and skirting around the small family to head towards the heart of the pasture wondering if luck has yet abandoned him.

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♥♥♥♥♥ - also to fit mae's timeline this is before she heads over to greatwater lake 

Maera had never been one to believe in luck.
But she did believe in magic - well sort of. 
As a child, she had been fascinated with the fairies that had filled the stories of her numerous babysitters. As a young adult, after running as a loner for months, she found herself surrounded by other type of mythical beings. During her time with the wolves of the Solstice, a pack of rouges that camped out near the shore, Maera had grown to love the ocean and the feeling of the sand between her toes.

Although she did not regret leaving the Solstice behind, she did from time to time miss the stories the eldest members of the group used to share when, under the moonlight, they gathered to settle for the night. Sirens and sea serpents were the protagonist of their tales, which unlike the fairytales she heard as a child , rarely ever had a happy ending. 
Which was made them in a way, more realistic if you asked Maera.  

Anyways.
Memories from those past times, which seemed sort of like times of a past life,  were perhaps the last thing on Maera's mind. She was hungry. After scouting the neighbouring areas of the forest she had been staying in, and crossing through the flower field where she had (so unfortunately!) crossed paths with one of the most pretentious males she had ever met, Maera decided to venture further.  

Soon, led also by her nose, she found herself heading towards the same four-member herd another had already set eyes on - and because of his solo condition had already given up on. Maera, like the man, eyed the creatures - also wishing that she wasn't so alone, or that the does weren't so well accompanied. 

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The sound of footfalls upon the earth, the rustle of golden grasses that does not come from the blissfully and ignorantly grazing herd draws forth the cup of ears atop Axolotl’s skull. Past the warm aroma of the ungulates, succulent and unfairly teasing but certainly not his only choice he flares black, leathery nostrils and drinks in the scents. Only stands out to him, new and nearby. It is enough to give pause to his steps, to cause his body to hesitate as he lifts his head and peers through the swaying grasses. There is a brief moment where he feels the impulse to simply keep going, to keep to his adapted plan: scope for a weaker, less protected ungulate further inland and return to the coast so he can once more bask in the glory of Atlan. His deity calls to him, beckons him like an insatiable lover. The scent is female and lone and he is reminded, very briefly of Kitsch though their scents are vastly different.

As are their appearances, the leviathan notes as his glacial gaze looks upon what he can see of her: which is that her pelage is made of scarlets set aflame, creams that remind him of the color of dry sand, smoldering ash and velveteen slate. He has never seen some so fire-kissed before and her is allured by the brilliance of her pelage and the leviathan turns away for a moment but pauses after a single step forth. The curse of having a temperament like the Sea’s leaves him with inability to ignore his impulses and it is a tug, an impulse that causes him to turn in her direction and let out a low chuff of greeting, careful not to startle the herd he has given up on but which she stares at intently.

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Whether it was sheer luck or magic, one of her wishes came true.
With her eyes still glued to the unsuspecting forms of the deer, Maera did not notice she wasn't alone anymore. Like the innocent creatures she was spying on, she too was being watched. Inmidiately, she turned her head and to peer over her shoulder at the oncoming man. Her hazel eyes fell upon his form, he was a well built male of earthen tones, and even though he seemed friendly in his approach Maera did not let her guard, nor her tail down.

She returned the man's chuff with a purr-like hum of her own before breaking the silence with a murmur that hoped not to drive the still unsuspecting creatures away. "hey, you" After her distasteful meet and greet with the other male at the flower fields Maera had to think twice before starting a conversation with this stranger.
Maybe this time she'd be luckier.

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A muscle beneath the Leviathan’s ticked cheek jumps as he watches her attention rise from the herd to him though he does not speak initially. It occurs to him that perhaps he should apologize for staring but on the topic of admiring her beauty, on her ash and fire forged pelage a brilliance of colors unlike any he can recall seeing in his life of browns, creams and inks Axolotl is unabashedly unapologetic. He has heard from the older males of Meares Island that women are like the Sea. The leviathan finds himself — as peculiar as the time is for such things — wondering if there is truth to those words. She certainly looks like she could be like his untamable deity: strong, fierce, harsh if given the opportunity to be so. Her guard remains up, he notes, as is the rise of her tail. The Atlanian acquiesces, relaxing his shoulders to show that he means no challenge of her. The Coast is his domain, where he feels the most powerful fueled by the command of Atlan and the authority being Their warrior shaman bestows upon him.

She returns his chuff with a hum that banks on the edge of being a purr and the leviathan’s ears cup forth, alert and rapt to her as he lingers upon the sound. It strikes the leviathan as unusual but undeniably pleasing all the same. She breaks the silence further than he and offers him words, a verbal greeting to accompany her soft humming purr. “Hey,” The leviathan replies his glacial gaze moving from her to the small herd for a moment before it goes back to her. It is not hard to put two and two together and after a moment he speaks, “I was going to head further inland to see if there was a hunting opportunity where the odds are more in favor,” Even for two of them he thinks it is too risky, as well protected as the long legged fawn is. “You’re welcome to join me.” He extends the invitation.

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Again, the man showed he posed no threat but again, Maera was hesitant to let herself relax fully. He smells slightly of the sea and in a second of reminiscence she was brought back to the Solstice. The pack that had anchored her for a few months before (a little fear) and the wanderlust that always flooded her father's veins acted up again. 

He mimics her greeting which makes the tip of her tail twitch in delight. It was nice that unlike the other male she met not to far away from where they stood, this man wasn't a pest. Au contraire. As Maera simply and silently blinked he made an invitation she just couldn't refuse. Before she could an answer into words her stomach gave a low growl that said it all.

"gladly" she barked finally as she stepped forth, her head then turning to look over her shoulder to make sure he came along.

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Axolotl waits in the moments between his invitation and her response uncertain. Not of his invitation but on whether or not she’ll accept. They are strangers, after all. There is, understandably, a level of caution to be held between them though he feels no weariness in her presence. Perhaps it is because he is Atlan’s warrior shaman and his social obligations are as great as his duties to the deity. Even On Meares Island he performed these obligations: blessings and rituals some of which involved strangers. Newcomers to the pack and escorted visitors alike and wee newborn babes that were wondrous strangers to the Island as a whole but he was the most raptorial of his fellow Atlanians, as if Atlan’s unpredictable nature siphoned from the sea to him. He is shaman but he is also warrior and his prowess and aggression in battle has always proceeded him. Now, in these foreign lands not so much.

Social obligations aside Axolotl does not have as much practice with non-obligated conversation as he might have liked; and in the ways of women is further ignorant. Being an Atlanian has always been the most important thing in his life and the deity demands much attention and devotion. Being severed from his duties (however temporary) — with no pack to offer them to — Axolotl is found with time to think about those things. The beautiful woman accepts his invitation — to the leviathan’s surprise that he attempts to mask — and stares after her as she takes charge. He hesitates for a moment, trying to process and hide his admiration as she pauses to glimpse back at him over a svelte shoulder. In a few strides he is caught up with her and keeps pace with her easily as they continue on his original path inland, deigning not to follow her but walk beside her as equals. “I am Axolotl. Axolotl Corten.” He introduces himself to her though she has not asked for it. He does not ask for her name in return allowing her the choice of whether she bestows it upon him or not.

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Quickly enough, the man caught up to her, matching her pace and walking beside her. Maera liked that he didn't try to take back the lead, and instead seemed content being alongside her. Then, he decided to stop being a stranger. His name was unlike any she'd ever heard and for a brief moment she wanted to ask him to pronounce it again just so she could hear it once more. 
"Axolotl" she ventured to say, whilst shooting him a sideway glance, hoping she had gotten it right. 

She then let silence crawl back for a little while, and gave her tail a gentle wag. Then, just like him, she shared her name without being asked - not necesessarily because he has offered his or to be simply polite but because it is now her turn to match him and put herself in equal conditions. 
To stop being a stranger. 

"I'm Maera Sveijarn" she woofed, her head turning again for her eyes to meet his. Then after encountering them briefly she turns back, her head now lowering as she begins to sniff at the ground for any signs of something edible. As nice as this conversation was getting Maera still needed to eat. 

The flame-kissed stranger does not appear to mind that he walks alongside her and thus he keeps his pace true, not deigning to adjust it. In this moment, they are equals. It is the one true novelty that he relishes about neutral territories: it matters not the wolves that linger in them. One could be a king, one a believed god, one a lowly omega but on neutral ground they are all equals: king, god, and pauper. The leviathan offers her a sage nod of approval when she repeats his name back to him, as if she is testing it out. He rather likes how it sounds as it spills from betwixt her lips. She offers her own in return, and he tucks it away as if for safe keeping. “Maera,” Axolotl repeats. It is not a particularly hard name to say for it flows smoothly off his tongue without effort, the ‘r’ rolling only slightly as he breathes her name out. “It is a beautiful name.” He compliments as she turns her attention to the ground after breaking their brief eye contact. Fitting, he thinks. A creature so lovely should have a name that befits her. Any question he might have considered asking her is chased from his mind when he catches the scent of an elderly ungulate. “To the south east,” Axolotl breaches the silence that has fallen between them and gestures with his muzzle. “It is likely it has ventured off from the herd to die.” As animals were wont to do. It was expected of the elders of Nootka Sound: their final rite: the journey to the island just off the coast where Atlan would greet them as they die within the depths of the geode cove, believed to be sacrosanct ground. In this regard, Axolotl has come to expect this instinct to die alone of all creatures and considers — if he is correct, that is — their good fortune to stumble across it’s path still relatively fresh. He only hopes that when they reach the elder deer it has not been claimed by other predators.

The man nods as she says his name and Maera, taking this seal of approval as a small victory, lets het smile widen and her tail wag with more liberty. Then, as if they had been taking turns, he repeats her name back to her, to which Maera also responds with an approving almost purr-like chuff. Then he adds a compliment that brings the flame's tail to a sudden stop that is soon replaced with more energetic wags. 

"Thank you" she barked after a heartbeat.
For some reason the skittish Sveijarn still ignored, his comment was enough to make her feel as if she, but more specifically her cheeks, were on fire. The same fire that seemed to cover her whole body. Of course she had recieved compliments before, she was well aware of her beauty (or some extent of it) but never had she felt her face burn.
Not this way.

 Then, as quick as it came, the flush of warmth that had wrapped itself around her left. It was the scent of an animal, the same that had caught Axolotl's attention that made Maera, who also had her nose hovering the ground that made whatever was going through her mind to be put on hold.
To be continued.

He speaks and again Maera just listens.
Although she is a decent hunter, and with practice could hone her skills, Maera has never been interested on dedicating her life to gamekeeping - she dreams of being a naturalist and a warrior. She dreams of not dying alone, as Axolotl suggest their future lunch is planning to.  

"I'm ready for whatever, whenever you are" she barked, seeking his eyes to show him she was up for the challenge, and that she had his back - which also meant she silently assumed he would have hers. 

It was almost incredible to behold, the unspoken agreement the pair make with one another as their eyes meet: a mute promise that they will, despite that they are more or less strangers (thought not quite so for they know one another’s names, at the least) they will aid the other in taking down the dying ungulate that awaits them at the end of their path. It serves to be extremely beneficial to the both of them so, perhaps, Axolotl considers it is not so extraordinary. He pauses as the dying buck’s antlers come into view over the tall emerald grasses around them. For a moment, the leviathan admires it. Even on the cusp of death it is a magnificent beast and it further his admiration for Atlan and all of Their creations. Just as it is easy for him to admire Maera, easy to believe that she has truly risen from the froth and foam of the Sea like Aphrodite herself, or if one wishes to get so technical, Atlan as They take the form of a woman. Axolotl himself has never “seen” his deity in a singular form beyond the sea; but he feels Them. Even now he feels Atlan in the thrum of blood as it sings through his veins, at close proximity to such beauty and for the thrill of the hunt. Two separate cacoëthes both as primal and base as the other intertwining within him.

Glacial gaze turns from the beast of their soon to be hunt to fall upon his lovely companion. “Beasts with nothing to lose are often the most dangerous,” Not all embrace death willingly, nor gracefully. There is a chance the beast will not put a fight but there is an equal chance that it will fight with everything it has left within it. It could be an easy kill or not easy at all. “How do we attack it? One acts as distraction while the other attacks? Flank it, try to keep it off guard and both attack?” It may not be able to outrun them but it’s antlers and hooves will still prove deadly if they are clipped or otherwise impaled by either. The leviathan proposes the possibilities he is able to come up with to her, allowing her to choose which she prefers or suggest a different route all together.

Ignorant to the man's faith, Maera ascribed their unspoken complicity to something less holy, but that she still doesn't find words for.
A click. 
That's the best she can come up with, or that had managed to come up with before Axolotl's pause caused her to stop walking and stop thinking as well. Following his gaze, she too observes the old animal, and as he begins to lay out several game plans, Maera hummed in thought, her eyes never leaving the creature until Axolotl's voice became silence. 

Slowly, the fiery female turned back to her companion, her eyes stopping briefly at the specks that marked his cheeks before locking into his own eyes. "I think we'll have a better chance together" she barked. Then she fell silent and awaited for him to give the green light. They'd need all their strenght, in case, as he said, the beast decided to put on a real fight. 

"I'll go for the neck" she then announced.
Not looking for his approval or to plan out who does what, it was maybe another unspoken exchange to make sure he would be there to aid her. 

i rolled a dice to determine whether it fights back or not. evens = too tired to put up much of a fight vs. odds = puts up a fight. 2. looks like they have an easy lunch. ^-^ There is a teeny, tiny bit of pp — let me know if you'd like me to change it and I gladly will! <3

When his companion speaks that she believes they have a better chance together he offers her a sage nod of agreement. The fact that the ungulate lay dying is an advantage but it could also prove to be a horrid disadvantage as well. It’s breathing is labored though it rests among the tall emerald grasses and Axolotl breaks his gaze from the dying buck to Maera as she announces that she will go for it’s neck, which leads to the inevitability that the kill will be hers to make and belong to her. He does not mind her seizing the honor of it. “I will take it’s back legs so that it cannot run.” Though as labored as it’s breathing is the leviathan is not sure that it will do a whole lot anyway and even if it did manage it, the beast would not make it very far. Still, it is ingrained in him: take out even a single leg and you’ve made yourself an advantage you did not have before. “Be mindful of it’s antlers.” Axolotl does not speak to be condescending; rather his words are born out of a concern that he does not have words for. He only knows he feels it and thinks that it is borne because he does not wish to see her impaled — which is true enough.

His muscles tense and he lunges forth the same time as she does, his jaws agape as he goes for the closest back leg, teeth sinking into tender flesh that gives away easily beneath his sharp teeth.

yay easy meal lol
I (and mae) AM IN LOVE WITH YOUR AVVIE OMFG...<3

Everything was set, even the sun was beginning to sink behind the mountains.
Maera listened to his final comments, and shot a small smirk as he gave her a last minute precaution. "i won't die on you, don't worry" she half whispers as the edges of her lips continue to curve upwards. There was something inside the flame that made it impossible for her not to crack a joke - specially when it wasn't time for one. She of course, wasn't aware of this last detail so with the same smile beaming on her face she turned and they maexolotl began their approach.

Then as a synchronized act, she jumped and met her mark as he too gets ahold of the beast. The animal let out a loud bellow that could perhaps be the last one, and Maera in between growls of pure fury, and her tongue already tasting the animal's blood, tried to stop the sound by tightening her grip around the beast's throat. 

Slowly, the now fallen animal, grows more still, and within minutes the rise and fall of its ribcage comes to a decisive stop. Maera, still hovering over its blood soaked neck lets her tongue hang loosely as she regains something the deer will never; her breath. 

i am too, tbh. the lovely kj made it for me~! :D *gives the maexolotl ship name a stamp of approval* ;-)

Maera assures him that she will not die on him and for a moment the leviathan worries she may think that he thinks she is incapable — where does this sudden anxiety that he has offended come from, he wonders? — but a quick glimpse in her direction assuages all of his worries for there is a small smile curling the edges of her lips. The pair, with their roles sorted out and their task presented before them move in a strange and yet natural unison. He cripples the beasts’ left hind leg while Maera claims it’s life. An eerie and familiar stillness befalls the magnificent ungulate and Axolotl’s assault ceases. Typically, a buck this size takes a whole pack to take it down but they were extremely fortunate. It is too much meat even for the two of them taking what they wish from it but what becomes it after he sates his hunger is of no concern to him. Axolotl has no pack to take it to and aside from his share of the meat he has no desire to claim it. After a few moments the leviathan glimpses up as his flame kissed companion. “Ladies first.” He invites in a rare bought of chivalry and a sweeping gesture of his muzzle over towards the corpse. Besides, the kill is hers so it is only fair that she get first pick of the spoils of their (but mostly her) victory.

maexolotl ♥

Finally, Maera's panting stopped, and she pulls her tongue back into her mouth as she then raises her head to look over to Axolotl. She finds him looking at her. She holds his gaze until he prompts her to eat. Oh right. The flame's hunger that had mysteriously been replaced for some other kind of stomach grumbling made a strong come back that earned an uncontrollable urge to lick her own lips. 

"join me" she barked as her muzzle was already lowering to rip a chunk of the animal's flesh. She appreciated his chivarly, specially since judging from the other males she had encountered it seemed to be almost extinct around these lands, but in her eyes the kill wasn't hers, it was theirs. Unable to resist, she bit into their meal and after chewing and swallowing, she looked back up at the man. She batted her eyelashes and after a short lived silence, flashed a smile - a belated expression of her gratitude for the gesture. Then, with her tongue swiping over her nose once more she added, "please" her voice reflecting the sweetness of her honeyed hazel eyes.

♥!

Whether it was at his invitation or not Maera does not waste time setting upon the corpse to take from it what she will though before she tears into it’s flesh she incites for him to join her. She gives a bat of her lashes and flashes him a smile that causes the leviathan’s throat to constrict for a moment before he gives her a sage nod that expresses he will even before she adds the ‘please’. He looks down to the leg he has mauled, and tears a chunk from the corpse, savoring the succulent taste as it lingers upon his tongue and the tenderness of the elderly ungulate’s flesh. It is, admittedly, the best thing that Axolotl has eaten in quite some time. He is accustomed to a (mostly) seafood diet but to taste meat absent of the salt of the Sea is sometimes the most pleasing thing. On his journey to the coast he has survived on small prey, once in a great while stumbling across an abandoned elk, bear or deer corpse that has enough meat to satisfy him though those are rarities in and of themselves. Without the strength of a pack he is limited in food resources.

The leviathan eats until he is full and his stomach is well satisfied and he takes a few steps back from the corpse, salmon pink tongue drawing across his jowls to clean them of the blood he assumes that stains his muzzle (and likely teeth). “We work well together.” Axolotl compliments gesturing to the corpse. They had it relatively easy but still he thinks it is rare, nevertheless. He almost cringes at himself because as his role of Atlanian is very specific it does not leave for much downtime — at least in Nootka Sound when he trained as an apprentice it didn’t — and his small talk skills are not as eloquent as he perhaps would have liked them to be. Still, he is not sure how to hold a conversation with another that does not involve his faith or his deity.

mae's post #222 is for youuuuu - you can fade in the next post if you want, i think mae (as me) is bad at goodbyes so i left it vague

also couldn't resist the mention of her puppy silly butt

 
Without stopping, Maera notes he joins the feast, and with a happy yip she gives him a sort of bon apetit. She continued to tear and chew on the animal's flesh, her cheeks stained with the dark maroon of blood. Table manners were something Maera lacked, but didn't miss. Her parents, had had more important things to worry for (aka her btother's kidnapping) than a detailed course of proper ettiquete for the Sveijarn siblings.

Besides, Maera had always been the type of gal that did not mind getting dirty (like when she used to make cakes out of mud), or getting her fur ruffled up.  Finally, and  a few chews after her companion, Maera too stepped back and allowed her bum to fall to the ground as she took a seat. Full and content were probably the best two words to describe Maera right now.

Until again, with mere words, she made the flame melt a little on the inside. Still without her being able to understand why entirely, and half blaming the sudden warmth in her belly on her fast eating she searched refuge in his eyes.

"we really do" she agreed , a mischiveous smile forming on her face as she felt, somewhere inside her a brick fall and a wall weaken. She would stay for a little longer she decided, to digest the meal (and strange feelings) for a bit. Maybe if he wasn't in a hurry a small after lunch conversation would serve as dessert for them both.
Until it was time to part, each to their own worlds - their own strange world but not to being strangers again.

His name just wasn't one that is easy to forget. 

They both ate until they were satisfied and though it seems a bit of a waste to simply let the corpse there Axolotl knows that once the part from it the corpse will attract other predators to it. Currently, their presence acts a deterrent for scavengers. The leviathan revels in her company while she is gracious enough to continue gracing him with it and knows that their parting in inevitable. For once, he is saddened by the knowledge that their paths would diverge despite that he knows it is the nature of things. He can only hope that good fortune sees that their paths cross again in the future but he knows that such things are uncertain. There is little guaranteed in this life other than death: a truth that all Atlanians (most of which meet death earlier than the average wolf) have come to accept. “Goodbye Maera.” The leviathan murmurs to her back as he watches her go a separate way. When she has vanished from sight he turns and heads opposite called back to the shore where Atlan awaits him.