A Pleasure to Meet You

Recluse's rose-tinted eyes lit up with recognition when he mentioned the name of his pack as she recalled having met with its previous alpha. Artorias briefly wondered which one it was she had met, but when the ethereal woman mentioned forgetting "her" name, he had his answer. The dark-furred male tipped his head in a subtle nod. "That would have been Resin, our founder, and my mother," he clarified for her, elucidating some of the mystery. He did not mention how Resin had long since passed; there was no need to venture down that road just yet. Better to keep things lighthearted in their first engagement. A lopsided smile touched the man's lips while Recluse casually explained away her predilection for the evening hours. "As good a reason as any. I tend to find the nights more peaceful anyway. More intimate." Although Artorias did not know of Recluse's condition, it wasn't difficult to take one look at the alphess and realize the she-wolf was an albino, her ghostly-white fur, rosy eyes, and pink nose giving away all the hallmarks of the congenital affliction. He thought briefly of Alastor, the Elysian alpha he'd met who had the opposite condition, his melanism rendering him almost entirely black from pupils to dark gray skin.

The Habari alpha spoke in alluring, almost melodic lyrics as she talked of her and her pack, offering to sate his curiosity about them to a certain degree. That skewed smile on his lips grew into a grin, his gaze never leaving his fellow alpha’s while his brain tried to sort out the intentions behind her words. Artorias wasn’t exactly used to wolves flirting with him, though he was not a new player to the game of intimacy, the Seraphim’s suggestive undertones catching the Aegis off guard. "Well, I am curious about you and your pack. I’d be keen to know more about the both of you. I promise I’ll even behave and not pry into any of those secrets too much," he replied, his husky voice returning some of the subtle flirtatiousness back to Recluse. This dance between them was not something Artorias was very experienced with, but it wasn’t foreign to him either. He’d done the same when Manea had come to his borders some seasons ago, though he’d been much younger and greener then.

The genuine surprise that flitted across Recluse’s seraphic features told Artorias that he had done well in choosing his offering to the pallid alphess. She accepted the bottle of vintage wine with grace, then playfully lamenting how he had her at a disadvantage. The dire man chuckled in his low baritone vocals, a modest grin turning up a corner of his lips. "Please, Lady Recluse, you can call me Artorias. I’m not that old yet. Consider it a bribe to encourage closer dealings between us in the near future." Another chuckle as he added, "You’ll just have to be sure to take the advantage over me next time we meet." Artorias was enjoying the playful banter between himself and the Klein queen; it had been some time since he’d gotten to do it. Recluse kept him on his toes, the svelte woman playing this game of thrones as if she were made for it.

Separating his fiery eyes from her for but a moment to look around the blossoming cherry blossoms around them and the smoldering volcano nearby, the Aegis said, "You’ve chosen beautiful lands to make your home. If you’d permit, I would very much like to see more of them as you ‘sate my curiosity’. Unless those are some of those personal secrets you mentioned, in which case I am prepared to beg and barter with more wine." Another crooked smile, looking to Recluse with a curious tilt to his head to see if she would grant him permission to enter her domain or if he would need to return with more bottles to gain his admittance.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Eira" | "Argent"