Silvertip Mountain pine and lavender

the narrow mountains that enclosed the glacier like teeth fed a funnel of melting snow down into the icefang expanse.
this was where merrick led the @Taggerung, and when both were standing on the crackling field of soft blue-white counted as part of silvertip's territory, he laughed.
it was a cluny's chuckle.
"this, and all the rest of the mountain, belongs to ursus."

Snow faded to mountainous terrain and the Taggerung continued to walk alongside the one-eyed Scourge. He did not have to feign interest. The territory alone was something to marvel at.

When given the name of the devil’s claim, Tagg could not help but to smile knowingly at the moniker.

I see what you’ve done there. A fitting name.

It was, for the wolf who carried the spirit of the bear.

merrick let out his voice, breathless, enthusiastic. "our name is well-known from where we traveled," he spoke lightly. "i lead here with my eldest son and until recently, my mate."
what would the taggerung make of that?
merrick led them toward bleakweald, and the eldritch, empty tree that stood alone amid the greying glade at its center.

Until recently?

What did that mean?

The Taggerung did not know if he had simply misunderstood. It sounded as though Cluny had ventured from another location with one of his children and a wolf he had made his mate, but they no longer were. Curiouser and curiouser, the bard found this man.

How many children have you given the world, Cluny?

"she stepped down after the birth of our second snakelings."
he did not mention the fever which plagued the blackbird. 
"we have given four. or perhaps they were given to us."
a shrewd lilt of the blazing eye. "are you only a man of stories? or does the taggerung also have lusts?"

The Taggerung could not help but to snicker at the spawn of Cluny being called snakelings. There were many beasts in this man, it seemed. A bear, a snake, perhaps even a wolf.

Oh, I’ve lusted for a good flank of deer. A few bold ladies, as well. Even the stoic knights who fight with duty in their hearts.

The Taggerung thought this a curious inquiry from the otherwise sinister devil. When the bard looked at the other man, it was with an air of thoughtful mischief.

What good is a storyteller who has never known lust? I am only a man, after all.

deer. ladies. knights. the taggerung painted a rosy picture of such malicious desires. "no one is only a man. we are also the spirit within ourselves."
they had come to the deadened tree. around it spread bleakweald, encircling the dead thing. its bark was rife with fungus and cracked from long years, and spiders climbed beneath and around the cracking of its branches.
"our lusts set us apart from becoming something like this."

Ah, very good.

The Taggerung was not certain what sort of spirit existed within himself. It was certainly nothing like that of a bear, or even that of a snake. He rather enjoyed the idea of a nice otter or mink spirit dwelling beneath his flesh.

At the mention of the fungi on the tree, the bard hummed softly and extended his head to sniff at it. There was a certain interest about him, no matter how detached he had seemed.

I should like to be like this, at least in one of my lives, the Taggerung remarked decidedly.

"oh?" merrick's cunning cyclops'-stare fixed itself to the very essence of the taggerung's face, as if he could force something beyond the amiable demeanour. in every creature there was a heartstring to be tripped. merrick need only find this in his companion and pluck it 
out
"you said you would stay for a while to hear my stories." merrick turned his gaze away. "does this mean you will leave in the spring when i have become too distracted to tell them for a while?" warm, conversational, suggestive, interested: the bearwitch enjoyed his discourses, and sought once more to gently pry the corners of the taggerung up for investigation.

The question felt like a trap, or a trick of sorts. Cluny was absolutely testing the Taggerung, of that the bard was certain. The devilish Scourge had a keen mind about him, no matter how ruthless he may have been. If the bard could not keep himself interesting, the devil would grow bored.

Oh, Cluny, my good man. You needn’t fill me with words, the Taggerung assured his one-eyed companion with a hearty chuckle. I will take any that you offer, but I am quite capable of crafting stories from what I see.

The Taggerung eyed the cyclops with an interested glint to his gaze.

I only expect I’ll leave if there is nothing left to tell. Nothing left to fill my mind and weave my tales. The remark was made intentionally vague.

merrick grinned. so it seemed they had an accord. stories for loyalty, amusements for remaining.
it was a bargain he could more than humour.
"once upon a time," he started up, glittering with amusement. "i met a girl in the mountains. were it not for her i would have died. do you know where she has now gone?"

It seemed that his response was a pleasing one to Cluny. The Taggerung returned his smile with a swift spread of his lips and a flash of shimmering white teeth.

Then, Cluny began to tell a story for himself. A tale of a woman who had saved his life within the mountains. The bard listened intently, the smile still playing along his features effortlessly. The telling was short, and the golden bard was invited in effortlessly.

Ah, women can be such fleeting things. They travel with the wind, whichever way they will it to blow.

The Taggerung chuckled earnestly.

Perhaps she has flown away upon it.

merrick grinned.
"she is your queen."
not a warning, per se; he knew the taggerung would understand and see the lines of who merrick had showed himself to be. 
"for anyone else you would be correct. she brought me out of bondage. we built our web around others and made a lair."
his blackfeather. his wolf spider.

Oh, a queen can still be a fleeting thing. A force, surely, but capable of flitting away just as easily.

The Taggerung had initially wished to tell Cluny that he had no queen. There were no royals that he served. Their agreement had been relatively simple. The bard would remain in Ursus for as long as he could obtain stories, tales to tell, and then he would leave.

It was safe to say that this woman was important to the Ursus leader.

You are a man of many beasts. A wolf, a bear, a spider. Taggerung grinned at the cyclops, spirited by the devil’s words, bewitched by them and their prospects.

the taggerung denied him.
merrick hid the slow burn of wrath that began to seethe inside. "she knows the bear gives her his power."
his blackbird had been recently from her post. she need only set the balefire jeweling of her eyes upon any creature, and they would see what it was merrick had always known.
"i am a man of many desires. many faces." the bearwitch licked his torn lips. "we serve the shadows here, and the things that have lived in the shadows long before us."

The Taggerung remained pleasant as he listened to Cluny speak on the bear spirit as well as the queen of Ursus. It was in that moment that the bard felt he may have made a dreadful mistake in following the one-eyed devil back to his home.

Shadows and spirits were frightening things when treated with reverence. Tagg could not fathom the idea that there would be other wolves who believed the very same things that Cluny did. He wished he could meet them all and disappear into the night, never to be tracked or seen again.

You’ll need to be patient with me, Cluny. I’ve no real experience in spirits, shadows, or rulers.

merrick grinned. 
"patience is a virtue, and i am fresh out of those."
a switch of his tail. "i will not tame anyone to ursus, save our captive. your choice is your own. to serve the spirits. to serve me. my only true anger is betrayal."
"once there was a great woman of white. she came with a striped man. they spoke of alliance. of peace. she returned alone. my son was not yet a year, and stood against her. she struck him down."
"he suffered. i burned. i am no good or whole beast, o taggerung. but i know the importance of allegiance, once it is pledged. be it through word or blood."
he was still. "promise me nothing you do not intend in your heart. that is your first lesson."

The smile flickered for only a moment before the bard chuckled.

Then I will promise you nothing.

A single waver of his tail and a slight bow of his snout was all that was offered. The Taggerung was no fool. He would not sell himself to Cluny the Scourge for anything less than a trove of tales.

Not yet, anyway.

merrick grinned.
"shall i leave you to explore your new world, or should i give you a grand tour?"
either way would be well for the bearwitch, though he would leave the taggerung's company for that of his queen at once, if given the opportunity.
"cluny the scourge." he smirked again at the sound.

Many thoughts buzzed about in the bard’s mind. When Cluny offered the freedom to explore the mountain or to be given a tour, the Taggerung could not help but to blink thoughtfully before shaking his head.

My good man, I’ve taken more than enough of your time. Please, do enjoy yourself. When I see you again, I shall bring you a gift for your generosity and we will share stories.

The easy nature of his smile was enough to make that a promise. Tagg had no intention of leaving the trove he had discovered. Cluny might have frightened him, but he was still a curious wolf.

With a small bow of his head, the Taggerung turned and departed from the Scourge. A chilling brush of air reminded him that the summer months were ending. It would not take long before the mountain would be capped in snow.