Bramblepoint Green-Cheese Moon

By nightfall he'd made his way beyond the lake and further north. Cutting his own path through the wilderness had proved to be difficult but rewarding so far, giving rise to the idea that he could survive here; he need not return to the guild immediately. Better to gather some stories, see to some exploits, for when he made his way again. 

The clear day had become a bright, cold, clear night; the moon was bright enough to shed light across his path, although the trees of the woodland kept much of it shrouded from him. Kapros didn't mind working in the dark. The cold was a bitch to deal with, but he had no reason to complain (and nobody to complain at) so he worked his way through the forest in silence.

There were many paths winding through this place, and many scents. It was a popular point of convection for the wolf community. A crossroads, he thought with a smirk, and it was easy to formulate a plan around that concept. If he lingered here within the shelter of this forest then Kapros could spy upon who came and went, perhaps find a mark — or charm his way to some fresh grub.

it was unclear how long qiao had been running, her wares clanking as they jangled against the thickened braid of vine which hung her throat like an unseemly torc. overhead a shadow darted, the silent flight of an owl as it raced beneath a cold autumn moon. 

her departures always coincided with mysterious deaths; by the time suspicious eyes turned her way, qiao’s hearth was cold and the first of her footprints long gone beneath a layer of crisp snow. 

she came to a crossroads, the scents here as thick as the corded vines which made her collar. wolven brethren used this highway often, as did lesser things. here qiao sat beneath the cold glint of the distant moon, her mouth moving in a silent spell as she searched for direction of the crossroad’s most recent traveler.

I dice rolled to determine if he'd notice Qiao immediately, and unfortunately he doesn't!

Before him — and above him — sprawled an elder tree. It towered with its crown of branches, nearly fifteen feet high. The shade was pleasant (if a touch too cold for his summer body) and stood as the center point of the crossroads.

He could go north along the clearest path, which would lead him to the open meadow; to the east was more forest but this would empty towards a valley bordered by mountains; to the west was another wall of more immediate cliffs, but it was a narrow route that smelled less like wolf and more like deer.

He did not have the capacity to take down a deer on his own, nor the inclination. Neither did he notice the presence of the other canine as they prowled beneath the tree, approaching while Kapros was distracted with his plotting.

Something did move in the underbrush, prompting Kapros to look sharply at the fern bed, and stride quick and cautious in pursuit. He thought he smelled a rat but after some observation, discovered that whatever he'd tracked had escaped.

He huffed in defeat around a frown.

ah, there came her answer of which direction to take - the semi-startled scuffle of an underling beneath the litter. qiao turned around the thick elder, surprised to see a wolf stooped in mid hunt.

qiao's nose twitched. the road was trying, but surely not so trying her nose suddenly stopped working. why hadn't she scented him earlier? and more importantly, was he alone?

this tall creature had yet to notice her. she could make her escape now and forget about him or the troubling misbehavior of her nose. then again, if she left him, who knew when she would find another soul on the roads...

making her mind, qiao shook her ruff gently and cleared her throat at the man's unruly pelted back.

Those big puke-green eyes shifted across the dirt for a beat or two before a huff came from behind him.
Kapros spun on his heel. His shoulders bunched and the fur there prickled; but he didn't attack or anything, seeing no need to waste his energy in that way.

What. He demanded as he stared down the stranger. He did not like to be followed, watched, scrutinized, or suveilled, all of which this person appeared to be doing.

right away, qiao thought she may have made a mistake. this man was bristling with cold energy, his eyes cutting to her form with haughtiness it seemed every man in the world could easily summon from some hidden reserve beyond female intuition. 

to placate him qiao took a step back. she offered a thin smile. who are we waiting for?

she seemed taken aback.

good; kapros liked to see her scurry back from him, although she did not leave. her question made him tsk as he turned back to the spot he had previously stared at.

It was supposed to be an easy meal, but with your yammering I bet you've scared it off. whatever it was; kapros hadn't gotten a good look. his furs smoothed as he high-stepped, carrying himself to a higher point.

you owe me one, lady. those buggy eyes looked her way again, squinting.

kapros turned his back to her.

how many spines had qiao struck from behind? she stilled that old, bloody impulse with a plain smile. "bah, you don't look like you would have caught it. it was a fox. scare it off with your big eyes, maybe." she shook out her pelt, dropping her head so the greenbrier rope slid from around her thin neck.

"afraid that fox wouldn't have suited you, anyway. stringy and tough, and full of foxglove." qiao shared a wide grin and a wink with her sullen company as she extracted from the peltskin a dried piece of fish. it looked as old as her, with foul dark wrinkles around its edges and a peculiar smell. "for your lost meal."

Yeah, on second thought, he wouldn't be touching that.

Maybe it had been a fox and he'd missed the piss-smell of it, or maybe she was saying whatever came to mind, luring him away from an easy meal. The offering of dry fish made him go wide-eyed a second or two but he wasn't going to accept any gifts from strangers.

He knew better.

I'm supposed to trust that's edible? What about the foxglove, or whatever. He didn't know many herbs, only the ones that could really debilitate a mark; so he was especially wary of the food, even as his belly rumbled.

He sniffed at the surface of it, and cringed.

"the fox? he will die, but in death will be quite useful." qiao responded matter of fact, stowing away the refused fishmeat. a shame, she thought, that this male was so suspicious.

that suspicion served him well, for he would find no pleasant meal in his future from anything served by qiao. unlike the fox -- whom qiao would likely find in the morning curled around its stomach with the last of its life foaming through its mouth.

she looped the peltskin back on its greenbrier handle, and slipped her thin neck through its cords. "are you a local?"

She was swift to recant the offer.

In that moment Kapros was tempted to snake forth and take a piece just to spite her, or maybe to show off how quick he could really be; too late, the food was stashed away again.

Not even a little bit. He answered, licking his dry lips.

You look more at-home here than anyone I've seen so far. Probably been collecting her poisons a while, he thought and squinted again, looking down his beaky face at her satchel.

Know anything about the people in this area? I'm hopin' they're dumber than a pile of rocks. Would make for some easy pickings.

qiao had hoped to learn from kapros the very question he’d asked: where were people uncomplicated, and the going easy? her brow raised in slight amusement. she’d pegged him wrong. 

nay, my home is the road. qiao was an itinerant: from the lean edges of her companion, she suspected he too knew life on the fringes. when you find these dumb people, what shall you do?

A smirk curled his lips.

Take what I can, give nothin' back. Life motto. One he'd picked up in his youth which, at the time, sounded like a call to arms. Mischief glinted in the yellow of his iris.

Its the only way to live, really. I could share some of my spoils if the trade is worth it for me, too. He wondered what she'd make of this proposal. Bit of a long con. Somethin' that'd only work with patience and the right information.

The fox was forgotten for now.

take what you can, give nothing back. the mantra of many men who died by teeth far more wicked than theirs. qiao assessed this creature anew: what wickedness and cruelty had he brought to the world?

and moreover, what kindness?

she inspected his offer with a slow blink, overturning it in her minds eye with thought-heavy, gnarled hands.

"who?" qiao finally answered, for she did very little without great deliberation first. and more importantly: "and if you get caught?"

You can call me Autolycus. He wasn't sure if she wanted his name or what, with that question, and opted for his most-used moniker. Maybe she'd heard of him — more likely not, which was even better.

If I get caught then I deserve whatever comes for me, but there was a confidence in his tone, the slight lift of his chin, which made him look simultaneously self-assured (like a rooster about to crow) and somehow malnourished (those big stupid eyes, yikes).

But I won't get caught. Haven't yet. 


Well, except for one time but that had led him to the guild.

qiao had misunderstood. she recalibrated the conversation, thinking back. she had thought he meant a long con mark -- and when he supplied a name, her brow visibly furrowed.

she imagined if autolycus got caught, he would get far more than he thought he deserved. wolves were unkind, doubly so to those who had wronged them. she imagined she'd come across him with his throat cut one day. "tch, well. i'll tell you one thing." qiao leveled him with a knowing stare: "the fang that gets us is never the one we're looking for."

she hunched down upon the ground and began to murmur something into the earth. when she rose, her expression seemed blank. "i must continue east. one thing, before i go. you ever find interesting objects, or hear of things of great worth, you find me and i will reward you well.

go to any birch sapling with the heart of a partridge, and repeat 'green ark' to it three times. i will come."

His ears fanned forward to listen, wondering what else she had to say. Curious too, if his name meant anything to her. It evidently did not — which was fine, but a little bit disheartening. One day his name would be whispered in the shadows and he would be a legend, or so he hoped.

Her advice was more... A spell. A soothsayer, this one? The corner of his lip quirked with a tiny smirk, but he nodded. Kapros thought himself wise enough to see through the gimmick of superstition but he also saw the value of faith; juxtaposed in his mind, he could respect some aspects of both.

I will invoke this if I find anything of note. You can appraise it! Ah, I have need of such a person also. Very good - very good! His tail waved, perhaps the first sign of proper happiness within Kapros in some time.

The fox did not matter now, he had found himself a fence to sort his loot!

a change overcame the solemn-eyed male -- who now seemed positively aflame with excitement. someday, his name might mean something to the world -- and perhaps, qiao would have her hand in it.

"excellent. i will see you again, i am sure of it." she began to collect her things, her long muzzle turning towards the lone road to the east.