Someone New

All he could do in response to her words was grin. She was smooth. So smooth he feared his inexperience was going to be his downfall in this encounter. He felt a bit like he was treading water; his head just above the waves. And yet, somehow, he didn't feel like he was drowning. No, the opposite. This was exciting. The threat of getting smacked down; outclassed and sent to the murky depths was exhilarating because while yes, that was a possibility, the reward was potentially just as great. If he could hold his own there was a chance he could walk away a schooled and more practiced man. In truth he wasn't thinking beyond that - which spoke volumes about his naivety.

When she introduced herself Tyrian made a point to look impressed. As though being introduced to royalty, he too bowed although not quite as deeply as she had. "No, my lady, the pleasure is all mine." It was all a bit ridiculous but he loved it. One of the things he feared most about being an alpha was life becoming too serious. Yes, he wanted to be taken seriously sometimes. Who didn't? What he feared was being taken serious always. He couldn't imagine a more boring fate. Feigning seriousness, he said, "It's good for me, you know. Peasants. Keeps me humble or something."

When she asked about Fireside Tyrian saw an opportunity to get closer to Elise. How could he resist? He turned to face the packlands as she was which brought him, quite casually, to her side with only inches between them. "Well," he said as he bent his head to hers and murmured, "See the top of that wooden structure there?" With a paw he pointed to the roof of the barn that was just barely visible through the trees. "It is full of..." he paused for effect and then whispered, "Sheep." Tyrian then leaned away as though expecting her to be impressed. In truth he wasn't. What was so impressive about sheep? Nothing. They were sheep.

After a beat wherein he hoped she was struggling to think of something nice to say, he chuckled and gave up the pretense of seriousness. "Alright, yes, the barn is full of sheep. Sometimes. Probably not today if we're being honest. And yes, they are part of what makes Fireside special. Instead of hunting occasionally to feed the pack, we control and care for herds of prey animals so that we never go hungry. Eventually I'd like to sell the things we make from them, but we aren't quite able to do that on a large scale yet. Soon, though. And now after saying all of that I realize that is a very serious answer and at odds with the tone we established before, but in my defense you did ask and alpha-mode for me just kind of," he made a helpless gesture before finishing wryly. "Kicks in." His tone self deprecating, he added, "Be careful what you ask or you might get me waxing poetic about barn raising or...oh, I don't know, the breeding practices of sheep."