Mount Everfall we have a city to burn

for @Poltergeist; sorry this took me a while to get up!

while the stench of urine claims the territory directly to the east of silver creek, the territory directly to the west is blissfully clear of piss markings staking claim and thus it is the towering, narrowing mount jutting up from the earth like a nature-made needle. a dizzying glimpse towards it's peak as to of which's true glory is hidden by thick, grey clouds forces tvarog's claws to sink into the soil; frozen and unyielding when compared to the supple earth of the creek's woodlands. he is tempted to turn 'round and return to the little niche of paradise — in all fairness, anything was better than the grit and parch of the sandy dunes and redrock of the badlands' claim, his usedtobe home — but something keeps him exploring.

he does not stray too far from the line between silver creek and mount everfall, tapering ever closer to the triangular meeting between the creek, mount and basin. drawn to the freshwater source of pencil-thin waterfalls that fall from high up from the mount down to the earth, flowing over its bed of slate grey rocks. the scent of mountain goat is strong and though his mouth waters for the prospect of something more sustaining than rabbit or other assortment of small woodland critter he doesn't bother tracking them.

instead, he lingers here in the grassy knolls of no-man's-land; content to explore for a few hours' time before eventually, returning to the relative seclusion of the creek, though for how long that'll last is anyone's guess.

She lurks, roaming through the location like a pale abyss. Sunken eyes focus on the man going about his own business - if she had a finger, it would curl under her own chin, pondering. Yellow sockets bulge and consider pestering him. Eventually she gives in, approaching the raggedy man.

But, ah, just as she approaches she turns swiftly. Elegantly. She leans away from him, keen on seeing his actions before committing to her own. Teasing him a bit. Her tail flickers idly behind as the woman side-steps, approaching the border of the creek and this location. The spook is careful - though she lacks caution.

"Cher" she breathes, glancing over her shoulder at him "I have not seen your like before" the woman coos "how shameful. Where have you been hiding?"

tvarog continues on in his leisurely exploration; slowly beginning to realize that he's being shadowed by the tell-tale footfalls, far too heavy to belong to any prey critter. the voice that drifts, heavily accented with an elegance that fails his own, usually expletive words, connects the gnawing suspicion to reality and he turns to face her: an lithesome phantom, glancing over her shoulder like a starlet of olde. a soft snort leaves tvarog at her commentary that she hasn't seen 'his like' before. a compliment? or the fact that he was new to this region? well, he drawls. there's no one quite like me, darlin'.

the slavic shadow grins, jack'o'lantern gaze admiring her.

do i look like the type to fuckin' hide? the swear words are used favorably as 'sentence enhancers'; but his words were true enough. he was brazen and 'in your face' by nature. i'm new to these lands. evidenced enough by the lack of any scents upon his pelage besides his own, the scents of his family long since faded.

Hide or not, it didn't matter. Eventually she would have found him. "That remains to be seen" she comments idly on his ego. He remarks at last he's new here. "ahh... That makes two of us" she turns her gaze to him once more, a manic delight entering her eyes "and here I thought you could show me around."

Alas. Her eyes darken before looking away. Tell me why I should care she thinks, now that the game is reaching its apex point. Be he a fool or clever, she awaits his reply now. Her eyes linger elsewhere, as if searching for a wolf who could actually escort her. A pity, this. She is always seeking someone of a position of power. It always fails. It disappoints.

tvarog presents her with a simple question, in which the slavicshadow is left with a cryptic response that lingers in the air betwixt them. a soft snort leaves him; perhaps it was too much to expect his first impression to be enough to tell her that he would rather be seen than a creature of stealth. a rough rumble that is half bark and half a laugh. and even if i wasn’t new to these wilds …why would i do that? nothing in life came free. the ex-lead scout was good at finding his way, of making mental maps. he could navigate by the stars and land just the same; a particular talent passed from his grandfather before the old man croaked.

what would i stand to get out of it? of course, this was all hypothetical, wasn’t it? he was going to ultimately pick a direction and tread down it. what he found was anyone’s guess …and she could travel with him if she wanted or she could continue trying to find her own way. escort services don’t come for free, y’know.

"My company."

She replies easily enough, laugh-giggling as was her way. She is either amused or just crazed by the questions. What did he get out of it? Not much if he didn't play his cards right. "Or if that is too vain an answer for you, cher" the woman glances back at him "you can get a variety of things."

But what type of man was he, except an egomaniac? "Are you superstitious? Do you require the gods' faith?" Poltergeist mused, slipping around him now in a half circle. "do you need a charm for good luck? Or just a hunting partner?" she pauses, laughing "someone to bicker with or warm your bed?" Even if just for a night.

"You'll have to be specific. I cannot read minds."

the first thing she offers is her company and while tvarog cannot deny that he enjoys company, particularly that of the fairer sex, he cannot say that they know each other anywhere well near enough for that to be appealing in and of itself. despite sharing a name with a god, tvarog wasn’t one to believe in higher beings. if it brought comfort to some then they should do them but for him? his path, fortunes and misfortunes were his own. his own to accomplish and his own to overcome. no. he quips, enjoying this game aside.

it’s a shame, that, tvarog remarks; a small smirk tugging at the edges of his lips as she mentions that she cannot read minds. i reckon it’d be quite a useful ability in the world. a flick of his tail is given. i haven’t worked out the details just yet, he admits with a sigh like a drag on a cigarette. i gotta get to know you better before i request payment of any kind. but ultimately, though, he would request payment of some kind.

"Ahh" she breathes "a logical man." she stops circling him, regarding the man. It was almost boring. She liked the men who knew what they wanted, especially out of her. But the spook did not do it out of misplaced ego regarding her own self worth. She did it to strike bargains and get things in return.

She knew this is how the world works. Nothing is free. Everything, even small things, are worth something. "So you mean to escort me around" Or did he not want to do anything until he figured her out more? "and figure out what you want at the end?" If he did not wish for a fortune or charm, she could offer little more than her body.

"Or shall we play Twenty Questions to relieve some of this tension?"

maybe, tvarog drawls on a breath and a small grin. or maybe i just have to make sure the payment reflects the services. his escort services didn't come cheap, either. well, that's up to you. tvarog replies smoothly. you can walk away now and go about your merry way, if you'd rather. either way, the duskrunner wasn't liable to be disappointed. he was fairly content of finding his way on his own, as it were; but he wouldn't turn her away if she was serious about a temporary companionship so long as he got fair payment out of it.

we could, he murmurs to her suggestion of twenty questions. it's up to you. on all things, he was true to character, noncommittal.

Hm, he was losing her interest quickly. Most men knew what they wanted. Most women too, let us not forget the fairer sex. Poltergeist was a creature of fleeting curiosity and giving - if the other was at a standstill, refusing to give details, she could do only so much.

True, he was a handsome man where she could see. He had muscle and strength to back up his words and actions, yet he gave her nothing. She had offered her services in any way he desired, and was subtly rejected on the basis he wanted to get the most out of it.

"I shall be on my merry way, then" she breezes by this slight irritation. But whether the spook was actually annoyed was not known. She kept her pleasant, albeit creepy, grin. "I cannot do all the work" it was boring "if you are unwilling to strike a bargain upfront." 

How would she even know he'd do his part when the time came when he was this indecisive? Without another word, she turns and makes off. Pretty man aside, Poltergeist required more.

exit

her decision to depart does not draw any sort of protest from tvarog; the only indication shown that he heard her, that he was even paying attention to her was a slight roll of shoulders that could've been easily portrayed as a simple stretch. in truth, he'd much travel alone anyway; saved from having to escort a stranger in stranger lands was a weight of responsibility off his back he hadn't wanted in the first place.

he regards her briefly as she brushes past him and keeps going on his own way, taking a 'y' at between the territories and melding back into the welcoming shadows of the creek's forest where he will linger for a few days yet before moving on.