Black and grey rocks scattered the raised land beneath the ginger man's paws, the smell of sulfur hanging heavily in the air. This land was barren of any plant life at all, and any creatire would be a fool to make his home here. The birds did not sing in this place. The air was thick and made it difficult to breathe. He did not like it here, he decided. And the scars upon his pelt from days before were smarting in the extreme heat.
He would not be here too long, for his curiosity could only take him so far in a place so dry and undesirable. His golden eyes squinted against the onslaught of hot wind rising from the depths of the mountain. He sat near its rim, kicking a large charred stone into the hole before him and watching until it disappeared. Interesting.

Seems fast enough.

Wouldn't feel a thing.

Its so hot...we'd burn alive.

Like a crispy cooked bird against hard rocks!

Not fast enough.

A slight smile appeared on his lips, amused at his own thoughts. Not today. Not here. So the man rose to his paws and turned to return to the south where he belonged.

And no rivers and no lakes can put the fire out I'm gonna raise the stakes, I'm gonna smoke you out Raisa spotted the intruder against the stark black rocks. Her sight was her only defense in this land so choked with smog and poison. True, this was not exactly her land, but she called it hers, so what was the difference? She looked down to where her less than amused fox lay at her side. She smiled down at him and he looked immediately disturbed. "My lady?" he asked, disturbed. She stood quickly from her perch upon the boulder and shook out her fur. "Come along, Koros! The gods have granted us a play thing." She bounded away then, leaving the small silver fox to scramble after her. Raisa followed the lighter colored wolf, walking in his trail, relying on the fumes of the mountain and her dark to mask her presence. Koros, she hoped, would have the sense to stay behind her. She came to stand behind him, after some time, and watched him look into the flames. He kicked a stone, and Raisa wondered if perhaps he was thinking as she had, many times, in her darker hours. "I imagine your eyes would boil before you hit the surface," she said suddenly, wondering if she would startle him. "Your fur would singe away, you'd blister, all before death. Not what I would choose, I don't think." And boy, how she had thought about it. "Speech" Think "Koros"

Without a falter in his step, Fugue raised his golden eyes to the femme, the smile still printed crookedly on his features. She was oddly colored and carried herself with the stiff hautiness of one who thought very highly of herself. His mind flashed to the crumpled image of another oddly colored dame who used to carry herself the same way. He had broken her of that, he thought with pride.

Surely she wouldn't be much different?

Now now, we've had enough.

And she doesn't appear to be alone.

His orange shoulders shrugged off his thoughts as he closed the distance between them. "It seems you're right, princess. It would not be practical." He spoke to her as if they had known each other for years. It was an odd day for him. His urges had been sated days before, and now he felt the need only to relax his mind and body. Company was always a comfort, though.

Golden eyes peered lazily over the woman's shoulder to the silver fox approaching her rear. She seemed completely aware and unphased by the inferior canine's presense, so he didn't bother inform her. Instead, Fugue refocused his attention on her bi colored orbs and sat before her.

"What's your name, love? If I may ask?

Fox

The languid familiarity with which this wolf spoke made Raisa smile. She did not know his motive, or even his name, but she sensed a certain madness boiling beneath his lighter coat. Madness was something the darker fae could always relate too. Between that and his flattering pet names, well, Raisa felt right at home. He asked for her name, but she wasn't quite sure she was ready to give it. She let loose a feminine chuckle, and said, "Oh, I don't know handsome. Princess suits me just fine." She mused for a moment, thinking at all the various wolves she had met on this strange, deadly mountain. It seemed like the place to be. And yet this male seemed different than them all, if only that he seemed very much like herself. She didn't bother to introduce Koros, and knowing he was likely too scared to speak for himself, she waited to see what her new companion would make of him.




Raisa cast her gaze back down into the pit of boiling stone and metal. She wanted to see what would happen to a living thing forced too close to the liquid death. Her gaze flicked to the male, and back quickly. She was no murderer, she must remember that, even in the strange manic moods she sometimes fell into. It was not worth the years she would spend afterwards, wondering and questioning what might have been instead. She was too curious, spent too much time alone and in her head. To break herself from these dark thoughts she asked, "And what is it you're doing on my mountain?" She had been informed, of course, that this was until just recently a pack land. But seeing as those wolves were no longer there, she didn't see how it mattered. It was hers now because she said so. So there.

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Fugue found himself raising an amused brow at her antics, finding it difficult to feign disinterest for the female. He knew he had smelled no scent markings on the territory, none that were recent and definitely none that were hers. She was not a pack wolf and yet she carried herself with an air of importance that told him she was not an ordinary rogue.

Perhaps she is the leader of a nomad pack. Perhaps a mother?

She carries no scent of family and does not appear to have ever carried pups.

Maybe the fox is her slave, or servant of sorts. Maybe there are others like it.

Perhaps she is as mad as you are!

Auburn auds swiveled in the direction of the steaming crater, his attention on both the femme and the mountain that could be the demise of the land. His nerves were calm, but his mind raged on through possibilities, images, and likely scenarios. He had to keep his wits about him. Yet the woman claimed to live on such dangerous terra. She had to be mad.

"It is not often one finds a wolf living on volcanic grounds, though I can see how you must love the view and the space it offers. I can't imagine any predators would dare venture close to its mouth." She was rather intelligent in that respect. The fox truly must have had a good reason for following her around, not only for the threat of the mountain but for the threat of the wolf herself. Fugue absentmindedly flicked a small pebble in the lady's direction, recalling the view from the crater rim.

"Your mountain seemed to call me on this day, Princess. May have been a mistake in the wind, or maybe it was fate. Didn't seem like much of a fault in meeting you here, though." His eyes twinkled at that, and he rose to his feet and brushed softly past her, his curiosoty getting the better of him as his eyes met those of the male fox once more. He took a step towards the canine and stopped.

"Who is your...friend?"

And no rivers and no lakes can put the fire out I'm gonna raise the stakes, I'm gonna smoke you out Fugue's compliments on her choice of roost brought a sly smirk to the fae's lips. It was not so much for protection purposes, but instead the fae was testing the world, to see if it had any other horrible surprises in store. Whether this was something consciously realized by the girl or an idea floating in the dark spaces of her mind... well. "It is all of that and more," she said. "I gives me what I need, even if food is often hard to come by." The male began to speak of fate, and Raisa would not be able to hold in a smile. The fae wasn't sure she believed in fate, or even in the gods, after all that had happened. If there was some sort of divine will floating about in the world, she had decided long ago that she wanted nothing to do with, based on the fact that so much in her life had gone wrong. So she shrugged, and bobbed her head from side to side to show her indifference. When his attention turned to Koros, however, Raisa could not help her spine from stiffening. Her hackles stayed flat, but her eyes sharpened with a new intensity. She casually brought a limb forward, placing it between her steward and the stranger, using it as an excuse to sidle up closer to him. "If you must know," she said, her voice cold, though her actions meant to distract his attention. "Koros is my steward. He travels with me and handles my affairs when I cannot. He is quite valuable to me." He was the only remnant of her tattered past, and the only creature she could occasionally call friend. She would not stand for Fugue to harm or mock the creature, and foresaw this meeting turning south if that should arise, and turning quickly. "Talk" Think "Listen"

Narrowed golden orbs evaluated the small canine who was staying so quiet behind his master. Fugue was about to make another step towards the strange creature just when a feminine paw stepped in his way. He felt the warmth of her soft pelt against his shoulder, her breath close enough to his facento give him the sweet sensation of her presense.

His mind begin to swim, and it took every bit of his self control not to bury his face in her neck. She obviously had no idea what he was capable of, or she would not be presenting herself to him in this way. Like waving a mouse in front of a cat, she was a tempting peice of prey that he knew he would have to resist. Fugue stiffened then and closed his jaw to keep from salivating.

Auburn paws stepped backwards confidently, leaving plenty of time to drink in the woman's scent before turning back towards the mountain. "Its so sweet of you to care for the man. Koros, pleasure to be of your acquaintance. I will say it is a relief to know that this princess isn't out here on her own. Not to say that she needs protecting, but a companion is always a welcome comfort."

He was definitely distracted, and he felt that he needed something to help get his mind straight before he soured their already intensifying meeting. He stook his nose to the ground in drank in the scent, satisfied that the heavy smell of aulfur did not disguise the fresh scent of mountain rabbit. He raised his head and smiled.

"Fancy a meal princess?"

Raisa felt the change in the air, as the male's demeanor took a turn. She pulled back slowly, and eyed him casually. Ah. And therein lay a factor of his madness. She felt the danger there, but it was a dull threat, one that only needed to be managed, instead of feared. She had met his kind before: the insatiable, self-entitled, sort. She resisted the urge to chuckle. He seemed to struggle for a moment, but finally introduced himself to Koros with impeccable manners. Raisa smiled at him as he rose, deciding to respond, keeping up this farce of a pleasant outing. This chance encounter was not so harmless as it appeared, or so it would seem. Both wolves were ticking time bombs after all. "Koros has been very good to me over the years, and yes, it is quite nice to have a companion I can rely upon. They're hard to come by." The wind changed quite suddenly, bringing a gust of fresh scent in place of sulfer. Without the malodorous scent, she could detect a rabbit near by, and it would appear that Fugue had as well. He offerred to catch her a meal, or so it seemed, and she felt more than willing to accept. She was not prideful to the point of passing up a good bit of meat, especially in so sparse a landscape. "That would be kind of you, handsome. Thank you." She settled in to wait, seeing if he would expect her company.

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He was already on the scent of the fast prey, following its fresh trail through the undergrowth untilhe came upon a hole. It was the only creature in the hole, by the scent of it. And his careful steps had insured that it had not detected him. His eyes twinkled and he glanced up at the lady to assure that she was watching him.
Fugue took a couple of steps to the left of the hole and positioned himself with his front two paws together. Then, with a great heave, lifted his front paws in the air and sent tthem crashing to the ground, sending dirt flying and collapsing the hole. As was expected, the creature that had previously inhabited the hole bolted from the wreckage. Fugue took this as his signal to spring from his spot and onto the hind paws of his prey, one carefully aimed blow of his jaws to the rabbits spine. Once the prey was caught, Fugue skid to a stop and lifted his head with the rabbit hanging from his jaws. He returned to the waiting woman and dropped the meal at her feet.
"Your lunch, princess. Perhaps we can get to know eachother a bit? How did you manage to come to this land?"
He settled himself into a sitting position right next to her and looked at her curiously, his mind running in circles. Maybe if he got to know her well enough, the urge to mount her would ebb away. Controlling himself was becoming more and more difficult.

And no rivers and no lakes can put the fire out I'm gonna raise the stakes, I'm gonna smoke you out Raisa watched the male hunt with mild amusement. She caught his glances backwards, making sure she watched his every move. She knew his sort. Back home, the moon she came to her fertility, every male within the kingdom had come to court, clamoring for her attention. It was almost worth a chuckle, but she was terribly hungry, and didn't at all want to thwart the man. So she watched his careful steps, the way his ears flicked as he calculated, and when he made his final bound. She eyes glinted as the meat dashed from safety and into his waiting jaws. She smiled, amused by his little show. At his return, she graced him with a reserved smile. "Well caught," she said. "Would that we had wolves like you back where I came from. My kingdom was wanting for good hunters." It was not a lie, and it brought bittersweet memories upon her. their numbers had grown so large, too large for prosperity, and when the attack had come, they were all so weak... She blinked, bringing herself back to reality. Koros, who sat beside her still, seemed surprised that she spoke of it, but she brushed him with her tail to keep him from voicing this. She did not mind so much the questions this man might ask, after spending some time with him. He did not feel like such a stranger now. She settled in, giving the rabbit a sniff. "I actually came to this land after my Kingdom fell, I've been wandering near a year now. What about you? Is this your native land?" Raisa was mostly being polite, but she supposed there was a shred of curiosity behind her words. "Speech" Think "Koros"

Golden orbs followed the actions of the fae before him with a calmness that he had not known since before his encounter with the alabaster dame from up north. It had felt good to hunt for someone else and even better to sit down and converse while said meal was being devoured. So she was from a broken home just like himself...he wasn't surprised. There was something in the way she carried herself that told him that she was fighting for more than just her own pride.
It was a real shame that she hadn't been in contact with many great hunters, for he could really teach her a bit of proper mountain training. And with this thought, came the answer to her next question, one which he believed she deserved an honest answer, unlike the lies he had told every other dame.
"I am not a native to Alacritis, but I am a native to these mountains. My home was found just east of this range in a pack called Nadasta. Just shortly after I was born, before I was even a season old, my father allowed the pack to fall into the paws of a pack of nomads, and so I found my own way. Been roaming for almost three years and found my new home in the swamp." His face was an emotionless slate, not allowing his features to show even a hint of the hurt and shame that the downfall of Nadasta had caused him in the past years.
She would not know of the toll the ordeal had on his mind or what he had done since then that made him sleepless at nights. She would know only that it had happened.
"I'm sure you can imagine that I understand your plight, Princess."

Raisa nodded slowly, taking in the man's story with an impassive face, but an open mind. It seemed to her, and her suspicion in this was growing stronger with every other she met, that this land was a beacon for those who have lost hope, or faith, or need to start a new. They all had some mission, some sort of drive that had brought them all together. To hear of a story like hers... Well, after meeting the Queen Aurora, she did not feel reason to doubt him. Raisa's eyes fell, half-lidded, and she sighed. "It is sad indeed, that all which is strong, may one day fall. It is hard to accept even now, when I have seen it for myself." Her bi-colored eyes met the man's golden ones, and searched for some shadow of the horror she felt in her dreams, the sadness she lived with every day. He masked it well, but she knew. Raisa smiled at him, a bittersweet smirk full of loathing and sorrow. "For all that we once walked in the footsteps of Kings and Gods, we certainly have fallen low." Whether it pertained to the man, she wasn't sure. But perhaps they had more in common than she knew. She did not feel a need to pry, or seek more than he as willing to give.

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The footsteps of kings and gods. Ha. Funny she should say that, he had nearly forgotten that he had once been a prince himself. Yes, his father had once been king of Nadasta, making Fugue the heir to the Nadastian throne. Before it had been torn right from under his nose. Fancy him being as he was, king over any number of people. The thought in itself made him chuckle. But she did not need to know the details of his past. He did not wish to bore his new conversational companion.
Instead he rested his golden gaze on the ladys bi-colored optics and sighed. "As low as it may seem we have fallen, we have been given this chance to redeem ourselves as something far greater; something beyond the legacy that has been set before us." He meant every word that he said. He felt that he could easily outlive the legend of Flamesong Ethereo. He was nothing but a coward and a prude.
"We can not let it crush us. We are stronger, better than that. We can rise above all of those who have doubted us, rise above those who have taken everything us and threatened to opress our livelihood, we will be the best of them."
His golden eyes burned with a vengeful fire, the voices in his mind surprisingly silent for the time being. The scenery around him had become a blur as images of his struggles flashed back into his mind. He saw himself killing his first wolf, the blood dripping from his jowls as he feasted on its flesh. Fugue was passionate about very few things, but vengeance was one of them.

And no rivers and no lakes can put the fire out I'm gonna raise the stakes, I'm gonna smoke you out The man's words filled Raisa with a cold fire. It filled her veins slowly, and wormed into her mind, attempting to occupy the space there. His anger bled into her, but Raisa took a deep breath, and sighed. He was right in some things, but she wondered if the spawn of their anger came from a different source. Raisa hated the bandits that had taken her kingdom, but she felt no need to enact her revenge upon them. They had broken her, her family, and had done it in the worst way possible. But what option was left to her? "Oh i have certainly surpassed my sire and dam in all that does not matter. I am more cunning than he, more lovely than she, more vindictive than both. But none of this can win be back my lands. I must start from scratch, if the gods do not grant my wish and kill me first." He words were hard and cold, but rang as true as anything she had ever said. Koros shuffled beside her, uneasy. He did not like her talk of death, for while she could be kinder to him, he loved the dark wolf dearly. Raisa ignored him. "I could hardly come into this land a stranger and make it my own. I would never be able to amass an army and return. There is nothing here for me, and nothing there, and nothing anywhere." Her voice was strangely calm, as still as a pool of water, her eyes as hard as ice. "Talk" Think "Listen"

The topic was obviously a sensitive one for the girl, just as it was for himself. He could not call himself great but he knew he was better than the shoes that his father had left to fill. Nothing would atop him from being exactly who he wanted to be, short of death and he feared it not.
"You might as well throw all caution to the wind and take that leap of faith. If the land wants to mold you, then mold it instead to your liking. Make it your own! Take those who rest below you and show them the glory of being ruled by a true queen."
He truly believed that she could easily make a name f or herself. She could be so much more than the eccentric wolf from the volcano. She could be a name worth trembling over.

And no rivers and no lakes can put the fire out I'm gonna raise the stakes, I'm gonna smoke you out Raisa gave in. His words were soothing and invigorating at once. They painted pictures of a past she scarcely remembered, and a future so bright it could not help but shine a golden light on the present. She smiled, cold and savage. It had a certain appeal to it all, she could grant him that much. "To be ruled by a true Queen," she murmured, her voice scare more than a whisper. "Pretty words, handsome." Pretty, and true. The Ebony line had ruled for more generations than anyone could count. Long enough that the lore did not speak of a time they did not oversee the land. They had been strong and proud and noble, just and fair and savage enough than none dared cross them until they were overtaken by famine. Oh yes, Raisa knew how to rule. She even knew how to rule well. All she needed was the right opportunity. "Perhaps," she said slowly. "I could engage your interest in such a plot..." "Talk" Think "Listen"

Fugue continued staring at the dame, his golden orbs filled with something that he wasn't entirely sure how to explain. To be a part of a pack...it was something that had crossed his mind more than once since his entrance into Alacritis.
He had chosen not to join a pack because he had realized that with his unpredictable behaviors came the inability to mold well with the authority of another. He also realized that he didn't want to be a part of something so weak to be torn apart in an instant like his firat pack had been. But this dame....she could be great. She could be a strong and fierce leader worth fighting beside.
"Your plot....to rule? And what part may I have in this plot princess?" He was curious what she may have in mind for him, for he knew exactly where he would have liked to be in such a situation.

And no rivers and no lakes can put the fire out I'm gonna raise the stakes, I'm gonna smoke you out Raisa laughed at the absurdity of it all. Her, to rule? It had been her destiny since her birth, and she had fought it with her every waking breath. She had been born for it, molded for it, and it had been her prison. But was this the same? Surely ruling a world you fashioned for yourself was quite different. To start a new kingdom, to build it better, rule it better than her mother had ever been capable of... It was intensely appealing. She smiled and chuckled at the man's questions. "Just so. All change begins with a plot." Both good, and bad... "As for you specifically, well, who could know? I don't even know your name," she said with a chuckle. "You can hunt, and you seem fairly cunning. My choice of companion, whatever your other... tendencies may be." She gave the man a wry smile, in the hopes that he would realize she was hardly a pretty face and an empty skull. Oh, the things she had to offer... "Talk" Think "Listen"

The auburn man smiled at the woman, for she had evaluated him so quickly. Yes, she was pleasing to the eye and drove his desires insane, but she also had a brain. This brain could either be his call to glory or his downfall. He had never intended on being a loner forever, but the thought of a pack still bothered him.
Perhaps this would be the change that he needed to right himself once more. To put a mute on the voices that were becoming ever so pressing to his actions would be a blessing.
His golden eyes met her bicolored orbs with pleasure.
"Well dear, you never asked my name, did you? Its Fugue Flamesong. And shall I continue to call you Princess or will I be blessed with the pleasure of hearing your name?"

And no rivers and no lakes can put the fire out I'm gonna raise the stakes, I'm gonna smoke you out Raisa could not help but laugh at the man's response. He had a point, she had not asked, but it was no truly the place of a queen to do so, was it? She took in his name with a scrutinizing mind. Fugure Flamesong? It had a certain elegance, but she smirked; It was hardly that of ancient royalty, like hers. Raisa raised her brows, and turned to Koros, for her introduction. The small fox smiled and swelled with pride, honored as all his ancestors had been to serve the Ebony line. "You stand in the presence of Queen Raisa Xanilov, heir and Queen to the Ebony Throne, Nightmistress of the Xanilov Clan, and foremost daughter of Ailwyn of noble house Kaisin, first and last of her line." Raisa dropped into a slow, mocking bow. When she rose, she bore a sour, cynical grin on her face. "Isn't it impressive, all these pretty words? They do so much for me, you see, and I cherish them deeply." Sarcasm, cold and hard, dripped from her lips. "Talk" Think "Listen"