The pale stillness of the shrine was disturbed by the darkness gliding through it. Skeptical green eyes study the circled stones with their carved runes, curious yes but holding no reverence for the supposed magic this spring possessed. Loki moved closer to peer into the glowing water. Something seemed to swirl in the depths, drawing him even closer until his nose nearly touched the water itself as he studied it. His dismissive snort sent a flurry of ripples over the glimmering liquid, and Loki pulled away to sprawl by the side of the spring. Simply the superstitious nonsense of small minds, but he did have to admit that the shrine's hallowed interior was blissfully silent. Not a bad place at all if someone found themselves tired of the more populous areas in the land, as he did now. Loki yawned. He could almost take a nap here - the glow from the pool was soothing rather than glaring like the spring noontide sun outside. He was just considering it when the faint sound of a paw against stone, drawing his attention. Well well, it seemed he wasn't alone after all. "Speech"

This was a temple of death. Ravage could feel it in her bones, almost smell it. The bleach white vines and trees in and around the temple were dry and cold to the touch. The dappled shadows on the walls took the shape of demons and stalkers. It was an eerie place, to be certain. Ravage had taken to calling the shrine home, returning here to rest and store whatever kills she managed to make. It suited her tastes and became her palace and her throne. So she was quite displeased to find some strange male trespassing in her holy sanctuary. Her long silvery claws clicked against the cool stone beneath as she approached the heathen. Blackened ears lowered toward her skull while her tail was raised high above her flanks. "And who are you?" She called out to the intruder, her tail lashing in impatience.

Loki rolled his head to stare in the direction of an obviously unhappy dark colored female and yawned, teeth glinting whitely against his dark face. "Loki," he informed her lazily when he'd finished, as though that were all she needed to know about him. Dismissing her, he turned his green gaze back so he was once more blinking into the glowing spring. A mere moment later and he'd reconsidered. Why turn up an opportunity to amuse himself? He had no notion of this female and what entertainment she could provide, of one form or another. He turned completely to face her, crossing one dark forepaw over the other in a deliberate relaxed pose. "And do you have a name?" "Speech"

Ravage growled and the sound reverberated off the stone walls. Her jaws parted as she licked her lips. The black male ahead of her clearly lacked manners, but Ravage resolved that it didn't really matter. She hadn't formally claimed this place, after all. Still slightly irritated, the smokey coated female stalked closer to the stranger until she stood beside him. Her snout was pointed toward the glowing pool, but her eyes never left Loki. "Ravage." She answered him, her ear twitching in his direction. The demoness took in a whiff of Loki's scent and was satisfied that he was a loner like herself. The last thing Ravage wanted right now was to be claimed into a pack like a prisoner. "What do you see in the water?" Ravage whispered, moving her mouth beside Loki's ear. She had heard the rumors about the pool but had so far deemed them nothing more than myth.

The female seemed irritated by his indolence, a fact that caused Loki to smirk in satisfaction. It was nearly always a given that a show of blatant disrespect would draw a reaction. He watched through slitted eyes as she stalked closer. Would she attack him, then? Try to drive him off her perceived territory? Or perhaps simply give him the rough side of her tongue. No, to Loki's vague disappointment, the female seemed to be holding herself back. Not that she wasn't going to be interesting anyway. When she whispered in his ear, asking him what he saw in the water, Loki nearly told her simply "My reflection" but in his mercurially whimsical way he changed it at the last minute. He moved his gaze from her to peer deeply into the water and whisper in return to her, "I see my fate." The beginnings of the greatest cheesy pickup line ever, or a mockery of those who believed in fate, either way it brought a sly glint to his eyes. "Speech"

The charcoal beauty stared intently back at Loki with a face of stone. She glanced toward the pool, saw nothing but rippling reflections, and then returned her stoic gaze to the black male in front of her. Seeing one's fate was not the power the pool was rumored to have, no it was something about communicating with the dead or other such nonsense. Ravage could sense the disingenuous nature of his words, but deigned to play along just in case this joke came with a punch line. "Tell me more..." Her words were whispered in a feather-light voice. Eyes of liquid venom judged and dissected while giving no emotion back. The woman would choose her reactions carefully until she better understood this dark stranger.

A faint smile played around his dark muzzle. "I'm so glad you asked," he murmured. "See there?" He gestured with his head toward the pool, where their reflections wavered in the glowing water. "Look closely," he whispered, then reached a paw out to dab at the water. Ripples spread out from the point of contact, ever-widening concentric circles that reached the edge and bounced off, returning to churn the water in minute waves. Their reflections blurred, partly merging as the ripples smudged them. "See? You and I, together. Destiny." Green eyes half-closed to hide his amusement, Loki studied the dark female to see how she would react to his (admittedly cheesy) words. "Speech"

The wolf's gaunt body was stiff with mistrust. Perhaps the ebony male intended to drown her if she let her guard down, but that was likely a projection of her own deranged mentality. Still, her claws tightly gripped the stone floor as she followed Loki's instruction. She lowered her head to watch the incandescent waters merge their shadowy forms into a singular being. The two dark wolves blended seamlessly inside the pool, and Ravage had to admit they made a fine looking pair. Ravage held back the initial reflex to laugh at his pathetically fanciful words and instead remained impassive. Who in the hell was this man? Some sort of don juan who sought to sweet talk every female he encountered? Or was he just playing with her as she had done to so many others? "Why should I embrace this destiny?" The demoness asked, deigning to mirror his amused expression. "I've heard destiny is a fickle bitch." Ravage did not believe in fate, in her eyes the only certainties in life were death and chaos. She sat down beside the water, seemingly still staring into its depths.