Chaos had been having a rough time of it, these past few seasons. His and Valkyrie's children were all but grown - though frankly they'd been more Valkyrie's kids than his from the start. He hadn't realized when he had agreed so wholeheartedly with Tyrian's arranged marriage between them just how hard it would be to watch his children raised in a culture he was an outsider in, a culture he didn't understand. While it added to Valk's own allure, watching his blood grow up so... alien to him, so unSaxe, it was like his pups had died still in the nest and been replaced. He loved them, loved Valk, but he could not relate to them when they did their Finnvi thing, and that made him feel locked out.


It didn't help that he was feeling his age more and more these days while Valkyrie was still young and healthy. Hell, it seemed sometimes that he was the only one of his family that was feeling his age. He was fairly certain his father was going to outlive him, even.


Overall it was a lot for him to deal with these days, which was why he was slouched in the shade of a tree getting quietly drunk. It seemed like a good idea at the time. He'd even traded a perfectly good pair of bracers for the foul tasting moonshine, but it wasn't like he was going to be good in a fight for much longer anyway so might as well get whatever poor pitiful use he could get out of them before he was too old and useless to even be worth his name.

Moodily he used one paw to swirl the liquid in the bowl before sticking his muzzle in to lap at it again despite the way it made his eyes water from the taste.

Her life had been rather dreary for some time now. Exploring the lands both new and old got stale at some point, and she wasn't quite feeling the wanderlust like she used to. She supposed it had a lot to do with her getting older. She wanted to settle down in a pack...or with a partner...but the latter seemed to always be just out of reach for her. Her children were grown and had gone their own way. Or at least, one of her sons and her daughter had. She couldn't say for sure what had happened to her blind child...though she hoped he was alive and well, wherever he was. She headed South, dainty paws carrying her through the fjord, her steps careful so that she wouldn't go slipping into the water nor tripping over any rocks that lay in her way. She felt more miserable then she should've felt, but again, she simply chalked it up to her age at this point. She didn't like the fact that she was getting older...and she was sure the inevitable would come sooner rather than later. And all before I even accomplished anything worthwhile in my life... Bitter thoughts for a bittering woman. At least she still had her looks though. Her fiery toned pelt would never fade on her, not if she could help it, anyway. Ears perked when she heard the familiar sound of someone taking a drink, molten gaze rising from the ground to see a dark-furred figure leaning against a tree with his muzzle in a bowl. Wouldn't it have been easier to just drink water? Or maybe he just liked being fancy and preferred to drink out of a bowl instead. Figuring she was in no rush to get anywhere, she boldly stepped up towards him until she was a mere few feet away. The strong stench of alcohol lingering in the air now that she was close. "Nothing better to do these days?" She said with a tinge of humor. She couldn't quite see his face with it shoved in the bowl, but if she were to guess, he was feeling as shitty as her if he was drinking out here alone. "Talk" "You" Think

While Chaos wasn't sloppy drunk yet, he was drunk enough to not be aware of the approaching paws until the stranger spoke up - at least, that was what he insisted to himself. It wasn't that he was old enough that his hearing was starting to go or anything. Just the drink. He lifted his muzzle from the bowl, chasing one last drop of the almost-blueish liquid from his lips with the tip of his tongue. His gaze rested appreciatively on a fiery colored woman, like a brilliant orange sunset fading into darkest night. He grinned sardonically at her. "What else am I going to do? I'm retired." It was clear that the sharp, caustic tone was directed at himself rather than the stranger. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time, to turn the pack over to Tyrian and retire to enjoy life, but rather than enjoying life he'd felt like it had let him age far too fast. "Kids are all grown and gone now. I'm not needed for anything else. How about you, Fireball? Got anywhere to be or would you keep an old man company?"

"What else am I going to do? I'm retired." Her brow quirked up as he said that, and when he continued and ended what he said in a question to her, she couldn't help the wry grin. Yeah, she felt that. "Nowhere to be at the moment, no. So I guess we can keep each other company." She stated before walking towards him and taking a seat at his side. He was a stranger, yes. But she was no stranger to men nor did she care to be cautious. Caution, after all, was ill-fitting to her personality. She was bold and adaptable, easily going for what she wanted and today, she supposed it would be someone to brood with. "I know how you feel. I suppose you could say I'm in the same boat. My kids are grown and out in the world, and I left my old pack once I realized there was nothing there for me, though I recently came upon another that seems better suited." She glanced at him, noting his longer canines and the vibrant bi-colored gaze he had. His markings were also different, his pelt quite the contrast to her own. He was handsome, she had to admit. "Paradise. And you, big guy? It's a shame to be drinking out here alone, but luckily for you, I happened to be in the area. What do you say? Drinks on you, dinner on me?" "Talk" "You" Think

She seemed to be in much of the same predicament as he, which was nice because he had been feeling an awful lot like he was the broken one, and it was good to know that he wasn't so alone after all. He did grin at her over his bowl. "Chaos. I admit you may regret that offer after you actually taste this stuff." Still, he slid the bowl over to her to drink. She had some catching up to do if they were going to do a proper grouchfest. "I am lucky, you know, to find some a beautiful woman willing to keep me company." The fact that he was about to make some very poor life choices was very much in his mind, though between the alcohol and the melancholy it seemed more like some damn fine choices. Neither one of them were looking for love - just mutual validation, and they could find that sharing moonshine and sneaking kisses - and more - as long as they didn't think too heavy on the consequences.

-lazy fade to black?-

She chuckled, "I have handled way worse, I'm sure." She teased. There was nothing worse than the feeling of loneliness she had felt for so long now, but perhaps that would change. He slid the bowl over to her and she glanced at it in interest before dipping her muzzle in to drink. She almost choked at the strong taste and smell, but she wanted to prove she wasn't the wimpy type and saw the challenge through. Her throat burned and her eyes watered, but after a few good gulps, she raised her head and licked her muzzle. "Not the tastiest, but I have a feeling it'll do the trick." She exclaimed with a hiccup. Oops. Almost immediately she started to feel the familiar warmth that she had been getting used to these days, "I am lucky, you know, to find some a beautiful woman willing to keep me company." She looked up at him, the alcohol working its magic, though even without it, she still found him handsome. "And I'm lucky to have found Mr. Tall, dark, and handsome," She whispered back as she leaned into him, her muzzle leaning in close to his. Maybe it was just the moonshine, or maybe she felt exactly the same as him, but whatever the case, she knew she was lonely and she wasn't about to pass up the opportunity to feel close to someone, even if they were a stranger for the night... There were both old anyway, the chances of anything more than pleasure coming out of this was definitely not on her mind. -also lazy fade to black- "Talk" "You" Think