Sunbeam Lair Oh what a time this has been

For @Stigmata

It grew colder and colder and surprise, even colder. She could feel herself thinning down due to lack of prey which gave her more of a slim and feminine look instead of the curvacious temptress appearance that she highly preferred. Recently she had stuck around one spot, a small underground cavern that kept the wind and most of the snow out. It was warm and didn't smell too strongly of other wolves and so every night she slept inside of it.

That day she had gone out and stayed out to hunt all day finally managing to snag a thin rabbit that had just enough meat on it's bones to probably fill her belly. She had also located the borders of a pack though she didn't have a single clue who's it was, she wondered whether it may have been Cyclone's though she didn't smell or recognise the scent. She dismissed it and carried the rabbit back to the cavern and lay down, eating it. The crunching of bones and eating sounds were not particularly quiet but what did she care, she wasn't all about being ladylike anyway.

his work as a pack leader was unending, and for this reason alone he favored the task. that day his efforts turned towards recruiting, taking the mostly clear weather as a sign he could expend his energies outside of his pack, without any large concerns. he was confident that the wolves of diaspora were capable enough without him, for a time, if not forevermore, but he was eager to continue to prove his worth to them by providing as many able bodies as his searches could turn up.

a venture into the familiar lair depths - colder now, than he ever remembered before - brought him to a somewhat familiar scent. the foreigner, from the cliffs, if his recollection served. which it always did. though in the gloom, he could not spot her, so in an effort to uncover her whereabouts, the smoke-furred warden barked out into the lair: "i know that scent."

In the middle of her meal a voice called into the darkness of what she considered to be her den. A voice that she rememberd only because he had been interesting and he had called her not entirely a waste. She smirked and stood up slowly walking out, her orange eyes the first thing to catch the light which if she could see herself, she would think looked damn hot. "I know that voice" she said eyeing him almost warily, the survival instinct warning her that he may try to chase her from the steal of a den she had found for herself. Before she made any rash moves she sniffed at his scent, surprised to find that it wasn't only him she smelled. There were others on his fur, a pack of wolves. "You settled. I haven't found anywhere worth my time." she said trying to sound casual when truly she was interested to know what pack he had chosen to settle into. If it interested an intriguing man like him perhaps she would seek it out and try to join. After all, it was foolish to expect to survive such a cold winter alone.

"i never settle," stigmata corrected with gentle irrefutibility, watching as the flash-fires of her gaze became framed by a long, dark-furred body in the gloom. her figure had thinned somewhat, but there was nothing about her to indicate she wouldn't make a decent packmate. "you are in my mountains," he added casually. suggestively. stigmata had not settled for anywhere - it all belonged to him. "i think that is something worth your time."

Kazimir gave him a curious look, head tilting ever so slightly to the side as she wondered what he meant. Did he mean he hadn't found a pack or did he mean he hadn't settled like she refused to settle: for a place to live but had found a good place to live. Her inner questions went unanswered though he hinted at something that she began to piece together. If she had a brow it would have lifted but her interest was shown by the wicked gleam in her eyes. "Your mountains?" she asked though she sounded genuinely intrigued by this instead of dubious. "You are right. A pack with such a claim does interest me. I think you would also want to know that there is another pack nearby. I passed them on my travels into the mountains a while ago. They are more north" she was sure he had already found this but she decided to mention this anyway.

She licked the blood from her maw, firey gaze shifting over the area and landing on her den with a sort of sadness. She remained silent for a few moments as she thought over her options. It was cold, she didn't have a small group to huddle with or a known land to hunt. It was also coming to be breeding season, a time when such a lovely specimen as herself would smell delightful to any thirsting males around the area. She had only met this man once before and it had been an intriguing meeting. She sighed softly "That's a shame. I do like these mountains very much." she then turned her gaze to him, lips curving upward "Unless perhaps you are in need of more loyal members? I can fight and hunt as any wolf should, I know basic healing. I can learn more if that is something desired" she listed everything she currently had knowing it wasn't much at the moment.

it was her ego that lured her, and stigmata was always ready to pluck at those strings - ever the one eager to serve as maestro to an orchestra of competition. he listened to her raptly, careful to appear attentive, even though her information was likely quite useless to him. he knew of most, if not all, packs in these territories and the ones surroundings them. he had done the proper vetting, he had presumed, but there was always a chance he could have missed something. not likely, but he would press her for information later.

that being said, he may not need any pressing with this one, as she seemed bravely forthcoming and without any reservations to speak of besides an eye for the powerful. and she had not chosen wrong, when considering her life among the wolves this iron liege called his mates. "if you think you can be loyal, i would have you stay," he offered coolly; willing to be as straightforward as she was with him. skill set irrelevant. running with diaspora, she would learn a thing or two if she didn't know them already.

There was a cool silence in which Kazimir found herself wondering if she would be expelled from the mountains and made to roam in search of another home. This caused her heart to accelerate, a flicker of fear creeping into what would otherwise be a nuetral expression and ruining the facade of someone who didn't give a damn about the decision made here. When Stigmata finally responded to her, saying she would be allowed in if she were loyal she allowed a vulnerable sigh to escape her maw. "My loyalty is yours" she said firmly, no trace of playful humor or arrogance in her tone. She meant what she said and swearing loyalty wasn't a game to her. 

"I don't believe we exchanged names, did we? If so excuse my poor memory. I am Kazimir" now that she belonged somewhere and technically she was his to rule, she figured the stiffness and formality their interactions had held so far was not needed. Instead she introduced herself to him while making sure she remained respectful in her friendliness, a smile returning to her features along with the introduction.

fade here? you can post once more or just archive if you lke (:

talk was cheap to stigmata, but he was greedy enough to snatch every promised penny he could get, and he thought everyone deserved a chance to impress him at least once. that being said, he wasn't into recycling, and if she somehow proved disloyal in the future after giving her word, he wasn't likely to ever trust her again.

"we did not," he assured her, tail lashing in ambiguous approval as he appraised her - the russian virago, kazimir. "i am called stigmata," he told her simply, knowing that she would come to learn their ranks and titles with time; without him thrusting them upon her in the moment. with a deft motion he commanded her to join him and ascend from the lair into the jagged heights; winding them towards home.