What had started out as a simple plant hunt had quickly turned into a mad dash for shelter as a massive storm rolled in. Malleus had seen the clouds coming, watched the lightning flash in the distance, but he'd stuck to the plan and continued to gather ginger plants long after all the other animals had fled the area. It was amazing, really, how quiet the territory had gotten once all the birds left and the small critters had taken cover. He'd been so content to continue his work that he hadn't noticed any of that...until a ferocious boom of lightning had rattled his teeth. By then it was too late. Now the titan sat wet and grumpy beneath the great body of a felled tree. The massive oak, a casualty of the stormy season's earlier gales, lay on its side with its massive root ball jutting towards the heavens. It was there between the exposed roots and the tree's lowest branch that Malleus was huddled. Another flash of lightning caused him to cringe in anticipation of the coming thunder. He wasn't disappointed. Not two seconds later a teeth rattling crackle split the air and out of instinct Malleus ducked. After a moment he straightened and glared out into the rain. This was not how he wanted to spend his day. If not for the lightning, he'd carry on, but with the sky flashing every few seconds he was sure he'd get popped if he set so much as a toe outside his shelter.

Saffron had been enjoying an easy meal - a plump beaver that'd been so fixated on the tree it was gnawing that it hadn't had time to react by the time the she-wolf pounced - when heavy droplets of rain began their cascade from the heavens. Her brows pulled together in irritation, the weather inconveniencing her plans to laze around with a full belly until she was ready to go seeking herbs. Now she'd have to seek shelter, instead of doing what she'd planned.
She hated being at the whim of natural events, but she supposed she'd have no choice. An irritable hiss drew her attention to her companion, the snake curling up against her as the rain pattered against his green scales. "Perhaps I should make you a coat," she jested, tail thumping against the ground, "Beaver skin perhaps?" She had to admit, it wasn't a bad idea. Her friend hated the rain, and the beaver's coat was excellent for repelling water. Yet, the snake merely grumbled and burrowed slightly underneath her. Saffron shrugged, readying herself to stand.

"Well, you can't stay there, we've got to get out of the rain soon anyways," she chided the snake light-heartedly as she rose to her paws. Just then, a blinding flash of light crossed the sky, and moments later, a monstrous roar of thunder. And like a flash of lightning, her friend made a mad,
slithering dash away. Saffron's eyes flew wide open as she watched the snake take off, surprised by his response. Was it the rain? The thunder? Hadn't he come from a place where storms were frequent? She didn't have time to mull over it as his red tail disappeared amongst the undergrowth,
and it didn't appear that he was slowing down at all. "Vyper!" she called out, her voice shrill with startle - the snake was her only friend, and she didn't want to lose the visually impaired reptile, "Where are you going?" Without another moment of hesitation, Saffron bent down to grab her prey, and took off in the direction she'd seen Vyper slither away.

With the heavy rain falling, it was hard to keep track of the snake's already faint scent, but luckily the undergrowth was weighed down by the wetness and she could see a thin, winding trail left behind by her companion. She moved as quickly as she could, worried that the nearly blind snake would run into trouble on his own. Not only that, but he wasn't built for this kind of weather - he was susceptible to the cold without her body heat to keep him warm.

Vyper suddenly found himself out of the rain, and he paused in his swift movements to enjoy the feeling of the water running off his scales, while no further raindrops replaced it. He coiled up his body as he lifted his head to gaze around - not that he could see much, but it was obvious to him that there was something overhead blocking out light, and the rain. His forked tongue came forth,
flickering to draw in scents, and that was when it became apparent to him that there was another creature here. Similar in scent to his canine companion. Another wolf. Curious. He wouldn't strike,
for he knew the risks of coming close to a large predator especially with his lack of vision, but he would be ready to defend himself if the wolf posed a threat. "Vyper!" the snake retracted his head, flattening himself against the ground as he heard the faint, distant call of his wolf friend.
It was only moments before he felt the distinct vibration of her pawfalls heading toward him, and he slithered in her direction until he felt her nose against the top of his head, her scent catching on his flickering tongue.

"Why did you go off so fast?" Saffron questioned the snake after dropping her partially eaten prey, a somewhat scolding note heard in her voice. As she glanced around, she was glad to see that at least the snake had found shelter. As she scanned the great fallen tree, it didn't take long for her green-flecked, silver eyes to land upon the unmistakable form of another wolf. And he was quite a beast, too. "Well, hello," she greeted the brute, her eyes straying over him a little longer than might be comfortable for most, "I didn't expect to see anyone here. Mind if we crash your lonely little rendezvous?" The she-wolf stepped inside the shelter of the oak, shaking out her drenched coat. She promptly seated herself, allowing the snake to curl up amongst her legs, clearly not prepared to take "no" for an answer.

Malleus accepted that he was gonna be miserably wet for awhile. That was alright; he'd certainly dealt with worse. It was hard not to let the cold water running down his back foul his mood, though. Somewhere out there in that mess was a pile of ginger plants. Undoubtedly their thin leaves were taking a beating and their roots were being washed of the dirt he'd so carefully left around them. Assuming of course they were even where he'd left them. The water was rising fast in some places; it wouldn't surprise him if those plants were long gone. That thought further soured his mood. Quite quickly those sour thoughts were chased away by alarm as a snake of all things slithered into his shelter. Malleus startled and leaned away out of instinct, but remained firmly planted where he was. It was too far away to strike but if it came any closer he'd do his best to kill it. He hated snakes. Watching one slither across the ground was enough to give him goosebumps. However, he wasn't about to abandon his shelter because of some creepy serpent. No, he'd kill it before trekking into the storm. His lips curled and his eyes narrowed in distrust as he eyed the snake. He hated everything about it. From its beady eyes to its legless belly. He wasn't sure if it was venomous or not and he didn't care. If not for the rain he'd have lit out across the plain and left the snake in all its icky glory behind to do whatever it was snakes did when he wasn't around to hate them. Malleus was thinking about using a stick to toss the snake out into the rain when a voice sounded from somewhere in the downpour. The snake slithered after the voice and in moments the nasty little serpent was accompanied by a wolf. "Mind if we crash your lonely little rendezvous?" Before he could answer her question the female and the snake (ick!) were both under the log. To add insult to injury the mortal shook out her coat and showered him with droplets of rainwater. "Oh no, by all means, make yourself at home," he said flatly as he brushed his right foreleg against the right side of his face to wipe off the water she'd flung on him.

"Oh no, by all means, make yourself at home." The tone that painted the lyrics that spilled from his jaws made her smile. The petite woman tilted her head as she looked up at the great brute. "You could really hurt someone's feelings with that tone," she quipped, blinking her glimmering silver eyes. Her smile grew incrementally when she saw him lift a foreleg to wipe the side of his face where water from her drenched coat had reached him. "Oh! I'm sorry, did I get you wet?" she asked with feigned concern etching her vocals. As her eyes wandered over his dark, handsome mask, watching for his expression so that her smile might grow a little more, she suddenly remembered the prey she'd left in the rain. She turned without a word and dashed back out into the hazy rainfall, grabbing the beaver's heavy, soaked carcass and dragging it under cover.

She settled herself on the ground, then, while Vyper slithered over to her, crawling over her body and twining his long body with her fur. It was wet, but her body heat radiated outward and it was enough to keep him cozy. Saffron bit several chunks from the beaver and laid it aside for Vyper as she normally did. The snake found the meat with little difficulty and began to devour it, slowly eating it whole as snakes would do. He preferred to eat small animals whole, but he wasn't going to refuse the easy meals that Saffron offered him. The she-wolf looked up at the massive male again. She wondered how long he'd tolerate her nonsense; she supposed she shouldn't push his buttons too much. After all, not everyone had endless amounts of patience, and it would only take for him to grab her by the scruff and give her a firm shake to put an end to her banter.

"So, you belong to a pack nearby?" she asked, having noticed some detail about his scent now that she'd been her a few moments, "What brought you out here?" She hadn't ventured too far into Auster, but she had of course come across some pack scents. They were hard to miss, bordering the edge of the continent. Her questions to him were merely of curiosity, something to fill the silence until the rain died down. Currently, it didn't look like that was going to happen any time soon. Much as she enjoyed her time spent alone with Vyper, she didn't want to sit here in silence and try to pretend like there wasn't anyone else present. She figured she might as well try to figure out if there was anything interesting about the male, besides how interesting he was to look at.

"You could really hurt someone's feelings with that tone," she shot back. Baffled by her brazen lip, Malleus simply eyed her in response. He wasn't used to being spoken to by mortals that way. In most of his interactions with them he demanded respect, but this woman had jumped into the encounter as bald-faced and fearless as if she were dealing with a peer, leaving him little time to make his superiority known. But, and this was what forced him into silence, she wasn't being aggressive or overtly disrespectful. Without real provocation he wasn't sure how to proceed. His eyes narrowed in response to her faux concern. Finally he decided on a course of action and he shook his head slowly and tsked disapprovingly at her. He'd have parted with a dry, equally disapproving retort but before he could form the first word she dashed out into the rain. He assumed she was gone, which was for the better, he decided. Now all he had to do was get rid of the snake... Damn. It wasn't meant to be. Just as quickly as she'd disappeared, the woman was back. This time, thankfully for her, she didn't shake her coat out. She had with her a beaver; the sight of which caused the titan's mouth to water. He'd been too busy with the plants as of late to bother with eating. While busy he just didn't seem to notice his hunger, but now, with the beaver so close, Malleus was aware of just how much time had passed since his last meal. His appetite was abated somewhat by the feeding of the snake. The way its mouth seemed to pop open and stretch thoroughly weirded him out. Once a hunk of meat was swallowed its progress could be tracked down to the snake's middle. Disgusting. It was like a green and beady-eyed intestine. "Yes," he answered her question proudly. "The Risen Empire, to the west of here." She kept looking at him and he noticed. While the motivation behind the looks was something he could only guess at, Malleus was reminded of the Abraxas' future and the duty to contribute to it that continued to weigh upon him. It was his turn to look at her. She was spirited and sure of herself; both of which were desirable qualities although he wasn't quite sure how he felt about her mouthiness. Still, he knew he shouldn't write her off immediately because of it. "I moonlight as a healer and this place has some plants whose medicinal properties I want to study." With no small amount of aggravation he glanced out into the rain. "Studying that may have to wait as I do believe what I dug up has been washed away." Dryly he queried, "And what brings you to these delightful parts?"

Saffron had fallen silent as she allowed the other wolf his time to speak. She nibbled away at her prey, not missing the way he had eyed her food. Though it didn't show on her face, she was somewhat amused by the proud tone with which the male spoke. She was glad to see the change in his demeanor, considering his earlier annoyance and clear disapproval of her actions upon arriving at his shelter. When he mentioned the Risen Empire, it spurred her curiosity. The name had a powerful ring to it, and she liked the sound of it. "Perhaps I should visit one day," she mused, her white-tipped tail swishing over the damp ground. She wondered what he would think of her considering seeking out the home he was so proud of. For her, it had been a long, long time since she'd spent any time with others of her own species - she'd grown used to the solitary lifestyle, but the thought of getting around other wolves appealed to her quite strongly.

Her silver eyes caught the male's gaze roving over her form, just as she had done to him, and a small smile pulled at her lips as she looked away and out into the rain. She felt a thrill at the thought of him examining her a little more closely, not minding at all. Saffron could only hope that he liked what he saw. Her ears flicked and head turned back to face him when he spoke again. She sat up, fascinated as he mentioned he was here to study the local plant life for their medicinal properties.
He didn't strike her as the type - he looked more like an imposing warrior. But, she should have known better than to judge by looks. Interested by the discovery that this brute also had brains,
Saffron listened more intently, then grinned as he asked her what brought her here.

"Well, I've come for similar reasons," she stated, glancing to the snake for a brief moment before her silver, green-specked eyes met back with the brute's cerulean gaze, "I'm a self-taught healer, with much left to learn. But I'm much more interested in poisons." Her grin grew just a little; she'd never shared her interests with anyone else before, and she wondered what his reaction would be. "Once I find the plants, I'll need to find some poor fool to test them on," her tone was unapologetic - being solitary for so long had left her rather lacking in conscience, "Do you have any special interests, yourself?" Her query was left open-ended, as the woman was more than willing to hear what the brute had to say.

His interest in her grew as soon as she mentioned that she too was a healer. The mention of poisons, however, had him baffled momentarily. He could appropriate their use in theory, but being a man raised in a combat-centered culture he found the use of poisons in practice a little distasteful. He was used to the idea of sinking his teeth into an enemy; of killing with some manner of physical touch. The idea of there being some amount of separation between his victim and himself seemed a little cowardly. Perhaps it was a fighter's pride that made him feel that way. "Once I find the plants, I'll need to find some poor fool to test them on." At first he thought she was joking and so he smiled, but after a moment it occurred to him that her tone wasn't exactly jesting. She was serious. "Hm," he rumbled as his smile faded a bit to reflect his surprised. This woman was something else, that was for sure. Perhaps the Empire would have some use for a woman such as herself? He wasn't keen on poisoning an enemy instead of fighting him, but perhaps the use of poisons could be used more broadly. A strategic sickening of a larger force could be useful. "Well," he offered, "The world is full of fools so I doubt it will take you long to find a worthy test subject." "Do you have any special interests, yourself?" Certainly none that were comparable to poisons. "Not in healing, I'm afraid." He added quickly, "Or poisoning for that matter. I'm a healer out of necessity, really. Quite often there are more wounds that need tending among my comrades than there are healers who can handle them in a timely manner." Such was the fate of a god-chosen people in a land of unbelievers. "If you mean more broadly than healing, then I suppose battle strategy counts as a special interest. The complexity appeals to me; the careful placement of heavy and light fighters; the diplomacy necessary in peace times and standoffs." He shrugged. "It's a game you win first in pieces, and then all at once."