Horizon Ridge lost house

The man was spit out of the hinterlands cleanly, his trail leaving behind the frozen muck of the swamps in favor of glittering swaths of sand and piles of errant snow, pulsing towards the water's edge with every laborious sweep of the tide. It was a shock to see so much ice across the ocean surface.

More curious to him was the sight of thick-bodied, branchless trees. They were topped with snow but the frozen fronds looked to be weeping, curled in to themselves by the weight of it, with some ice collecting at the points. As he neared the underside of this little grove, the man reached up to observe the tooth-like hanging ice, and one touch of his nose was enough to dislodge a few of them.

They hit the sand below with swift penetration, while the smaller icicles shattered immediately. The sound was unlike anything he had heard before. The strange trees aside, it was a quaint space that he could use for his next camp.

Again his song bellowed from him, letting the resident female population know precisely where he was, and what he sought. Oh, if only his father could see him now — the antithesis of piety.

A man’s voice filled the air, stealing away from the noises of the sea and the gulls.

Tenebris frowned at the display, so open in seeking what all men desired. The season would be upon them soon enough. Women would be warm with their heat, ready to be made into mothers. The thought of pups left him with remorse, though he did not allow himself to linger on it for long. The bare woodland and ridge would not be the place to find women.

The knight prowled quietly until he had found the figure who had called.

There was a healthy look to him, like the king of Raven Hill. His features were curious, unique, though Tenebris did not find him handsome. The wanderer could not help but wonder why he sought company in such a dreary place.

You will not find what you are seeking here, stag. It is a bleak place.

The wolf’s voice was gruff. The gold of his eyes lingered on the stranger’s face for a moment longer.

Someone did appear after the call. It was a strapping young man, tall and sleek, and everything that Perry was not.

Where the man from Talonfjord was thick and soft, this other wolf was dense with muscle and little else. His coat was arguably similar in composition to the blonde man's, except for an obvious saddle, and a darkness to the face.

There was no reason to dislike the man at first glance, yet that was the feeling that Experience ah - experienced - unfortunately.

He scoffed in the man's general direction. Well off with you then! You cannot expect a fine woman to appear with an attitude like that.

What did this one know of things? He looked like a man hardened by the road rather than the love of a woman. If this place was bleak it was the stranger's doing; exuding some foul air within the vicinity of the casanova, spoiling everything.

The portly man scoffed, dismissing Tenebris with a few unflattering words. He suggested that it was a problem of attitude that prevented the women from flouncing through the lands. The knight could not help himself. He gazed at the stranger, flabbergasted and insulted. Swelling inside of him was a wave of regret – he should not have approached the individual, at all.

Hmph, the man grunted with a dismissive turn of his head.

I’m not looking for women. This was true. Though the season for mates was upon them, Tenebris had no desire to call into the void, seeking to find someone who might bless him with her touch.

I do not believe fine women would find themselves tempted by your voice, bleating into the skies like a goat in heat. At least, no woman with a sound mind. What had the portly stranger imagined? Would they race from the trees with their skirts blowing in the wind, ready to offer themselves to him?

How unfair! Here was Perry doing his best to appeal to the masses (the masses being the invisible women lurking around him), and this spoil-sport just had to come and ruin the mood! And he wasn't even doing it for any particular reason! Awful, just awful.

Are you sure you are not projecting? I see no women chasing you either, good sir. His tone was a bit more playful than intended. Experience did not want to cause so much upset with this stranger that they might brawl over a simple misunderstanding, but neither was he going to back down or stop.

I must let them know that I am here, and that I am available and of sound mind myself. How else do you expect a man to meet someone in this dreary place? Really, sir, you have no concept of the world!

And with that he began to trot away, all puffed up like a rooster ready to crow - and he tipped his head back to do just that, howling his message to the heavens.

Tenebris had already turned to start his departure.

As the pompous fellow called out, speaking of his ‘sound mind,’ the wayfarer scoffed and sneered. Who of sound mind would wander the wilds howling to the wind? It was best that he did not engage with the strange individual. Let him seek disappointment in all the ways that he wished. It would not matter the song or the tone in which he sang it, the only fair women who would call him would likely lure him to his death.

Tenebris turned and left the man to seek whatever seaside wench would have him. He would pity any children born of such a fool.