Altar of Twilight butter and biscuits for your meal

@Hydra - let me know if it needs forward/backdated

the scent of a pack was heavy on the wind. he knew better than to approach recklessly or without reason, and so steered himself to the nearest territory he could find that wasn't directly infringing on the claimed mountain.

it was here in the valley that he found himself cornered. a slate of grey captured his entire vision as his eyes darted side to side, his mind wondering if any cracks or crevices had yet to be explored. ever the adventurer, astaroth began his investigation of the towering wall as soon as the moon reached it's peak, his attention set to find any hidden gems the moonlight might yet reveal.

Hydra had been, again, investigating this place for signs of her enemies. None still. This was good, but the matriarch felt some frustration to know they had not yet been found. It also meant that they had not taken residence here within her Wilderness, at least the parts of it she had explored in the days that followed her sons attack. That provided the most relief. There would be time to recover from this, and time to become stronger too. 

The matriarch had been making her way down, utilizing snowmelt and old paths forged to make the going all the quicker. The Ostrega was given pause at the sight of another in the distance, and her sharp eyes set to find a burnished ruff. When no such thing was seen from this distance, Hydra shook out her furs and made to approach, self-assured stride carrying her forth toward him on an indirect path. The Ostrega did not desire to make him feel threatened, after all. She only wanted to know if this was the wolf Merrick so as to slay him. Parallel, and keeping a respectful distance, Hydra looked to him then and huffed out a whuff!

his gaze, though focused on the mountain before him, did not fail to notice the inky figure from the corner of his eye. a prickle along his spine left him alert, though he made no move to flee. instead he turned to catch her greeting, an easygoing swish of his tail being offered in return.

she was more handsome than she was pretty, her athletic build capturing his attention before anything else. cautiously he took a step forward, nose wiggling as he tried to pick out the scents woven in her fur. none were familiar, leaving him all the more curious as to who she was and where she'd come from.

He permitted her approach, and Hydra was bold enough to meet him without reservation once she saw no sign of the infamous ruff that she knew of. He was a male, and so could not be the shade, but it was his scent she sought to capture now to be certain he had no dealings with them. If the scent was heavy enough to imply the frequency of one anothers company was such that he ran with them, she would do what she must to dispatch him... but as her investigation went on (nose flaring and drinking in the details of his vagrant lifestyle) there was no evidence of such. 

So, her tail swayed in an easy and amicable display that all was well and there was no quarrel to be had. Hydra's gaze then shifted to where he had been looking, wondering what he had seen to hold his attention so before her own arrival.

he did not miss the scrutiny in her gaze and shifted uncomfortably as if to try and avoid the feeling of being under a microscope. upon apparently passing whatever test she had administered, astaroth let the tension in his muscles relax, inky ears swiveling forward as she looked to the moonlit slate of grey.

"pretty, don't you think?" he asked, curious if she found the sight to be as interesting as he. to be honest there wasn't much to it, but the way the moonlight reflected off the wall in waves left him entranced.

His inquiry caused her to look a little closer at what was around them. These days, it was too easy to get lost within her own mind. The web of anger she was ensnared in caused her to miss things that all others might see in the world and its splendor. Too entangled in her own task to rid herself of the enemy, Hydra found that in the meantime she had forgotten to appreciate what was around her. What was before her very eyes. 

It was hard not to justify it. The quiet moments spent here, or anywhere,  admiring little marvels were seconds her enemy could be striking down the innocent. So many did not know what could happen in the span of a single second. The other day she had been home, and though she could not know what it was exactly she had been doing, in the meantime her own child was being attacked. 

And so it felt like there was never enough time. 

Still. She was inexhaustible in her pursuit. And for a simple, quiet moment in time, Hydra was reminded to take a better look at things around her. Even in the quest to vanquish those that deserved whatever death came to them, there was still life to live. Sights such as these, simple though this was, was only a small sliver as to why it was worth fighting for. Her gaze traced the ridges and the curves of the stone, and fell to the floor; Astaroth, internally, described it aptly. It looked like the rolling ocean waters, suspended in time—utterly still, and silent. 

It is, she drawled, unable to disagree. She did not look to him again while her gaze drifted about. Nothing hiding in the shadows, nor pretty sights that she might miss on the face of this place they looked upon. An ear cupped toward him as she spoke, are you a wolf of the mountains? with a passive sort of interest. Hydra was determined to utilize her time in an efficient manner; she would live in the moment, enjoy it for what it was... but continue her search all the same. Who said that friends could not be made along the way?

he didn't mind the silence that drifted between them while she lost herself to her thoughts, for he was far too fascinated in the moonlit reflection to pay much attention to anything else. the sight brought about waves of nostalgia, as if he'd been here before or seen something similar during his childhood. however no matter how far he searched in the depths of mind, astaroth couldn't place where he'd seen such a view before.

her words pulled him from his trance just in time for him to catch her question. "i am, or i was" he answered with gentle nod of his head. the volcano he'd grown up on was no less of a mountain than the ones that stood before them now. "my homeland was atop a secluded mountain not terribly far from here", he revealed with a gesture of his muzzle southward.

Hydra's gaze followed his gesture, though there was nothing for them to land upon this distance that would reveal to her where it was he had once lived. She wondered what the nature of his dispersing was, but supposed that in some instances the past did not matter. Sometimes it was simply the natural course of things, and that was alright. 

What do you seek within these Wilds, then? she wondered, far more interested in what he pursued in his future. The stranger before her did not appear to be a weak wolf by any means, though maintained her interest for more than simply that. She was trying to live in this moment, and to not let it pass her by for nothing. Every moment had its purpose, and there was something to gain from every chance encounter. Things such as friendships, or pleasant memories... with all the bad she had endured, she would not mind while seeking the root cause of it embracing the good that could also come.

what did he seek? "i've heard rumors of a volcano within these wilds. i seek to find it, and to conquer it." and after that? he'd left his homeland in pursuit of his own happiness, his own freedom. what would become of him after he'd accomplished his dream? would he go back home? would he stay here? "what the future holds after i accomplish that is as much as mystery to you as it is to me", he let out with a thoughtful smile and upwards tip of his chin.

"and what about you? what do you seek?", he wonders aloud as he turns to face the ebony woman. he'd shared his goal with her so he thought it only fair he ask the same question in return, even if she chose not to answer on her end.

LorT I THOUGHT I HAD REPLIED TO U. PLS FORGIVE ME FOR THIS HEINOUS ERROR. maybe we can wrap this up and have a newer one where i doNT FAIL SOMEDAY

 

If you can conquer a volcano, she drawled, great things must await you in your future. Sooner or later, you will arrive to what I speak of, she imagined aloud. It was an ambitious thing to do as he did; she remembered the day she had seen smoke rise in the distance, when the Sleeping Dragon had awoken. At least that was what she had assumed had caused the great fires and smoke months ago. The matriarch was sure that this wolf before her knew of the dangers his road ahead held, and would not waste his time to have him hear what he surely had heard a dozen times before. 

As for what she sought? Peace, she admitted, her head looking to him, a world in which I need not fear for my children, and they not fear for theirs when the time comes for them. A lofty goal of her own, to be sure, but she would see it done. Hydra understood by now that for peace to come, first, there must be blood and chaos. There was no calm before this apocalyptic storm—not for her, anyway—only the storm; the quiet and the calm would come, but only after it all had come to an end. 

For her to know peace, she must know her enemies had found said end. A long journey. An arduous one. But she was a resilient, tenacious woman. Hydra would see to it. 

She looked beyond him, knowing she would not find that peace here; for by now, Hydra understood that same enemy was not here. I will leave you to your search, she hummed, I hope you find your volcano. And all the greatness that came after. With that, she turned on her heel to go, appreciative of their encounter if only because she remembered what it was, exactly, that she wanted. One ear backturned to listen for him should he say anything else, or seek to engage her further.