Stavanger Bay For fortune and fame you're secure of

since a couple were recently in the bay <3 he knows nothing aside from that someone(s) was there!

Dante growled lightly with concern as he stared down the coast, the scent of loners yet again peppering the beach.  He'd made a point to saunter down this patch of coast ever since Ragnar's daughter had, in his mind, threatened the security of their position.  This area seemed to get some traffic, and he worried further.  If these wolves were hers, and intended to return, he would need to greet them in a way that made clear they could not remain.

But perhaps they simply were vagrants passing through, close to home but not close enough to merit violence.  So long as they steered clear of the forests and didn't take to the surrounding beaches he had no beef with loners.  His ears twitched as he tuned into the sound of the waves, and some of his tension slipped away.  No use fretting over what he could not yet know.  Still.... Nose down, he followed the scent a ways.  It would not last far, but perhaps long enough to at least ensure him whoever was here was present no longer.

well hi there friend

since pledging her loyalty to the dubious scullion of the bay, erzsébet had patrolled what would be their borders, but not with the intention of aiding the captain. no, she culled shells from the cold sand, and gathered the best and most reflective into a shimmering heap, wherein she gazed upon her reflection. erzsébet was quite distraught over her appearance as of late -- though one who gazed upon her could see scarcely a hair misplaced -- for she had not had a draught of the immortalizing blood in some time. feragho must get this for her, or she would depart his shores.

such a odiferous and loud group he was gathering! erzsébet decided she wished to be shut of her captain and his crew, and so trotted away. before long, she spotted the greyscale visage of a stranger, and approached without fear of reprisal. he was a handsome sort, uncut from the sort of cloth comprising the rest of the captain's lot. "hello," the countess greeted in an affable set of tones, her heavy accent coloring her words rather than detracting from them.

It so happened that Charon himself was visiting the Bay's shores that day. Not because he had picked up a whiff of other wolves here — even though he still attached emotional value to the Bay, it wasn't like he could smell them from up at Moonspear — but because he just wanted to be at the oceanside again and go back to the shores. Just because he had a new home, it didn't mean that the one he had grown up in didn't forever hold a special place, and he felt somehow closer to the family that he had barely known when at the shores.

It irritated Charon to find Dante's scent so close. When passing by the Sentinels Charon had noticed that they had been claimed by Dante and his lot (though curiously his scent was not as present as some others were; Charon had haughtily hoped to himself that some of his suborinates had gotten smart and knocked him down a peg), so it shouldn't have surprised him to find Dante right next door to his pack, but somehow it still did. Charon observed Dante from the treeline with derisively narrowed eyes, while he muttered to himself, "Oh, hello, I am Dante, I'm the most fab wolf in the world, look at me, haha, I am so perfect. Oh, look, it's a lady I must woo and turn on her friends, because that is what I do." Charon glanced at Dante and the approaching white female, wondering what else would happen on his old turf. He secretly hoped that the girl would get wooed by Dante, so that he could tell Osprey all about it and she would go back to being his friend again.

i wasn't 100% sure if they are on the beach but i assumed they were. if i'm wrong, he is just.. somewhere about 50 yards away from them, not particularly hiding but neither approaching. :)

He had hoped to find the bay untouched but instead found another who crossed his path.  She was lovely to look at and civil in her greeting, but still Dante wasn't particularly elated by her presence.  "Hello," he returned, his voice clear and cordial.  

"There seem to be many crossing the shore these days," he said idly, though she would likely catch the somewhat measured look he leveled at her.  He was still, for the moment, oblivious to Charon's presence.  The coastal sounds drowned any of his mutterings before they could reach the greyscale Beta's hearing.

the man was quite pleasing, even to the eyes of one whose tastes ran feminine. he answered in a mannerly fashion, but erzsébet did not miss the vague pointing of his words. "yes," she murmured, turning to look over her shoulder as if she had not known of the rabble gathering on the beach until this moment. "i believe you are correct." 

to the man she gave a winning smile, for acting the pretty little fool was her forte. ferahgo would find no serpent in her, lest he try to use her for his own purposes. of course, erzsébet's loyalty was above all to herself, but she rather felt that was the creed of each wolf in the corsair's crew.

Charon remained along the treeline while the encounter between the two wolves continued. They seemed not to notice him, which wasn't very surprising; though he was not trying to hide, they would have to be looking directly at him to notice. Charon had no intentions to join an amicable conversation. Not unless he could think of a way to make Dante look like a dick in d front of the girl. Besides, if they did get mushy together, he had proof for Osprey that Dante was no good and that he was correct all along.

They engaged in conversation, and it was obvious that they were fancying each other. "Oh, hello, mysterious stranger. Why yes, I would like that! I was feeling kind of horny myself, anyway." Charon used a high pitched voice to mimic the girl when she spoke. He looked back at Dante to see how he would respond, while he started to think of how the thrilling story would continue.

His vague prying recieved only a vague acknowledgement, but he continued to watch her carefully.  He had no reason to believe she knew what was going on, but wasn't entirely at ease with her either.

"And what is your reason for doing so?"  He asked.  He was not territorial over the bay lest it be claimed, but he liked to know the motives of travelers.  She was beautiful and affluent - certainly she was not an affirmed loner.

"not my reasons, dear cully," erzsébet rejoined, trying a thread of the slang used upon the strand, and deciding she did not at all like it. "we travel by the captain's whims," she revealed, circling the greyscale man once before coming to rest before him. "what is your interest?" 

her eyes shown with her own intrigue; had their name already come to be known in the ears of the surrounding packs? how lucky indeed; erzsébet loved aplomb.

feel free to skip me so long as Charon doesn't show up & they don't see him. he may not pop out at all, haha.

Charon remained in his place on the frays of the forest, watching the pair of them with mild interest. His interest was beginning to subside what with nothing happening, but he continued his little game of adding subtitles to spice up their conversation, whatever it was about.

"Nah, I'm actually a gentleman. I would never do such a thing." And with the high-pitched girly voice: "Oooh Mister Dante, you are such a hero." He wasn't sure why even in his pretend-subtitles Dante was turning out to be a hero, too. Even in his imagination Dante was a dick.

We travel by the captain's whims.  Instantly Dante was made aware of two facts - one, this woman was a part of the group.  And two, they were organized.  This meant the likelyhood that they were seeking to found at least a semi-permanant home skyrocketed, and he grew all the more defensively curious.  Where did they plan to settle?  Surely not here.

"I am a part of a pack that claims the neighboring wood.  So I like to keep an eye on those who pass through."  In other words, this was a little close for comfort, and his pack would not take kindly to an extended stay.  "This captain, and their whims... do they remain here a while?"  He felt his fur rise a bit, but his voice remained slightly cool.  He would not get into a scrap if it was not necessary.

erzsébet settled herself before the man, arranging her plume across her small forepaws as she noted the raise of his hackles. "what a logical beast you are!" she teased softly. "we do intend to stay, you see. he calls us his 'crew.' bonechewers. i myself do not chew bones," erzsébet joked, though she knew it was lost on the man. "you need have no fear of us. we do not move inland," she murmured, though she did not know it to be true. he smelled of a forest, and she used this information to form her responses.

There was a change in Dante's demeanour after the female had spoken next, which left subtitling Charon at a loss for words. His imagination never lacking however, he soon came up with something, if not only to prove (to himself?) that he wasn't really at a loss for words. "I am no such thing, lady, so stop calling me a hero or I'll chew your face off." And with girl-voice with an edge of teasing to it, "Hero. Hero. Hero hero hero." Because it did not go lost on Charon that the girl settled down when Dante was actually being angry at her, clearly. Charon wondered what'd happen next. He knew Dante could be a violent beast. But if something did happen, should he help? Intervene? He didn't even really know what was happening, and though he felt defensive himself of Stavanger Bay still, he did not know which of these two might be the bigger threat to its safety.

Her reply did not make much sense to him, though it did cause him to back down on the threatening a bit.  Back to neutral gear.  Bonechewers.  It was an interesting name for what was likely an interesting group.  He hoped they settled far.

"So long as you steer clear our part of the coast, I'm sure neither of us will have need to worry." He responded, still slightly puzzled.  He had no knowledge of any islands so no idea what 'not moving inland' was supposed to mean.  Were they to grow fins and take to the waves?

last for me! :D

erzsébet grinned darkly. "of course." there was not else to say, and so at length the countess gathered herself gracefully to her paws. "i bid you farewell. if you come to call upon our shore, say my name," she murmured, her voice lowering several octaves as her eyes met directly with his own. "erzsébet."

with that she turned and sauntered down the sands, hips gently swaying with the deliberate seduction of her gait.

He'd had enough of watching them, since nothing good was happening and it looked like they were exchanging departures now. Charon made a "Yeuch" sound and turned away from the scene then, as he watched them depart after batting eyebrows at one another one last time. He went in deeper inland, going towards Shield Maiden's Falls to snort up some more nostalgia before heading home once more.

last for me too (;

He committed her name to memory and nodded, departing as well.  He would return and think on this new development, reporting the activity to the other leaders as warning.  Hopefully it would not come to trouble but it was worth keeping an eye on.

As he went, he never noticed Charon, not even once glancing the direction the younger wolf had taken.