Though things were strange, a tide seemed to be turning. Shifting. All the strange things brought about by the red sky and the shaking... it's the end of days, and Björn is drawing power from it. All of the strange electricity, all the energy, it's going straight to his head. Everything going on, and still, the rot prince can't beat the heat. Summer is a dastardly time, after all.

So he takes to the underground. Winding through the Deluge, carefully using the most secure of the roots as a ladder to step his way down. Björn is careful, the predatory grace that lives in his bones taking over. Climbing is no great feat for him, after all. He was raised to it.

At the bottom of the Deluge, the steep sides cast enough shade to keep Björn comfortable. The humidity is thick, but he'd trade that for the oppressive heat topside any day. Stopping at the first clear pool, he rests for a moment. Lowering his head to take a drink, Björn begins to hatch his plan for the day's exploration.

"Björn"

Hag had been simply wandering since she'd decided she didn't feel like returning to Insomnia so frequently. The first issue she'd found was finding places to rest during the day that was out of the sun. Even if the sun was now giving off a red light, it was still too bright for her poor eyes, and too warm for her pale flesh. There were a few scabs still clinging to her back from the sunburn blisters. They were the ones in places she couldn't reach, the rest hadn't survived long.

Anything underground had proven a boon for her, and she'd taken to exploring the various tunnels she'd found. They reminded her a bit of Insomnia, though at the same time she didn't know these caves, so they didn't remind her too much. That was just how her mind worked, she'd see something she recognized from the underground parts of the pack and then she'd something that was unfamiliar and she'd decide that meant they weren't similar at all.

The one thing they all had in common though was offering a great place to curl up and sleep the day away before she could get up for the night. Which was what she was doing, wedged into a tangle of roots and a cleft in the rock near where the cave had opened up to the surface. Hag wasn't exactly a deep sleeper and when an unfamiliar but lupine scent and the sound of paws reached her Hag's eyes opened. She watched his descent, watched him lean down to drink, watched for a bit afterwards. Barely blinking, saying nothing the entire time.

What time was it? Hag craned her neck slightly, and then retreated when she saw the red light flooding in. And then a question hit her, and she did what she usually did when that happened: "Does the sun also hurt you?" It came out of nowhere and from a small wolf tucked into the shadows, staring wide-eyed. If he hadn't realized she was there, he knew now! She tilted her head slight to the side, where it might have looked inquisitive on another wolf, Hag hadn't ever really seemed innocent, what with her too wide eyes and tendency to not blink often.

"Speech"

Art by Sin

It's mostly quiet down here, save for the steady running of water. Everything was muffled, the rest of the world insulated and tucked away. Björn finds it peaceful, in its own right. He'd never been one for peace, but at least it's helpful while he's trying to think. Taking in the scent of wet earth, the herbs, the damp.... it's not the worst. Yeah, a fine place to rest while he waited for the heat of the daytime to dissipate. This place didn't seem as impacted as the other underground hideaways, or at least, the ones Björn had investigated.

The voice, that's enough to make that antlered head snap up. Immediately to attention, gaze sweeping up the stony walls. Curiosity, more than anything else, draws Björn to take a step forward. Focusing on the source of the sound, a small girl curled up within a narrow opening. Not the voice of a child, though Björn was certain he'd seen pups far larger.

Ah, but she'd asked him a question. "Fucken hate the heat, is all." His tone is easy, less on edge than typical, these days. "How do you mean, it hurts you?" Curiosity without malice, the rot prince is... interested. Carefully studying the pale girl where she rests on her perch, studying the way the rocks come together to form a reasonably comfortable spot. For a boy raised to the mountains, the ravine strikes him as the same, but different.

"Björn"

Unfortunately for Hag she had very little self-preservation instinct to speak of. She didn't trust others per se, she simply lacked the normal fear responses that often led others to be more cautious around both others and things in general, so though the other wolf's tone wasn't threatening it would have hardly mattered if it was, she'd have reacted the same either way. Which was to humm quietly to herself, taking his answer and filing it away. His follow up question made her tilt her head again and she slithered free of her little nook, she moved lightly, hardly making so much as a noise as she dropped back down to the ground.

Hag approached the other wolf, watching him silently the whole time, though as she drew closer the light grew brighter and she frowned, blinking, her eyes weren't quite burning but it was rather a sort of tingling sensation. But he wasn't in the direct light so once she grew accustomed she kept moving towards him. The little wolf got closer than was probably considered polite before she stopped, personal space wasn't really something she had much concept of, and also she needed to be close enough for him to see. "My skin burns easily." She said it very matter-of-factly, it was after all a simple fact. "So I try to stay out of the sun, it hurts me." She gestured slightly behind herself, towards the space between her shoulder blades where she hadn't quite been able to reach the scabs so they remained, slowly healing. "I don't know many wolves who are like me, and because I stay out of the sun I was curious if this new red one was more painful." Was that a little disappointment? Hag didn't wish bad things on anyone in particular and certainly not this stranger but she'd have been fascinated to find out something about the colour had changed things. She'd already started thinking about what experiments she could have tried. Oh well.

"Speech"

Art by Sin

There were far more clefts in the walls than Björn had initially counted on. They made for good hiding places, tidy hidey holes, and interesting resting places... he could see them now. Outlining them with his stormy gaze, and taking them in for future reference. It's a fascinating place, washed out by whatever flowing water had been in the area, over time. Though many of the spots were only large enough for wolves the size of the one before him, some were far larger. Maybe he'd have to return at some point, when he had more numbers by his side.

As she slips free of her spot, Björn marvels at just how diminutive the girl is. He comes from strong northern stock, but the quiet way she moves is... quite interesting. Ah. As she comes closer she doesn't... doesn't stop coming, does she? Björn's scowl is trademark, though he doesn't take a step back, either. The starkness of the height difference is certainly something.

At the mention of the red sun, he considers preaching on the coming end... but thinks better of it, for the moment. Everyone was sick of hearing about Ragnarök by now, they knew. They knew it was the end times, or they were too dense to recognize the signs. He lets sleeping dogs lie for now. "I stay out of it in the summers, the red sun is still hot." Carefully gazing down at the girl, assessing her openly. Still retaining his predatory edge, Björn can't help himself. Though the scabbing was a bit much, she could probably be pretty, in the right light. Or, well, out of the wrong light. "I'm Björn Trygg, who are you?" Bold, curious. He'd let the curiosity stand.

"Björn"