Ganta was enjoying the temperature difference here in Auster compared to Boreas. How it was Summer here… Ganta smiled to himself, gaze flicking around at the cattails of the creek he’d found. Little did he know that the place was named for just that. Ganta found his own actions a bit on the lazy side here, a soft hum escaping him as he looked into the water. He had half a mind to fish… but the other part of him was feeling sluggish and lazy thanks to the warm sun. He let out a little huff of air, his gaze shifting skyward. There were birds chirping somewhere nearby… and the quacks of ducks too. This place was almost too peaceful, Ganta thought. He could certainly come to like it here. "Talk" "You" Think

Once, seemingly a lifetime ago, Enrico may have chosen to bring his lover to a place such as this. He might have relaxed here among the cattails, beside a quiet little creek in the shade of a sycamore. They might have laughed together, shared a meal, made love.


It made him sick to think of it.


But he’d been taking it upon himself to explore the continent he lived upon more. The realization that he’d been living on a subsistence level, no better than a rat hiding in the wreckage of human existence, had galvanized him into taking hold of his own life once more. He refused to continue to react, instead of act.


So he locked the memories and might-have-beens this place engendered deep inside him, and set off to hunt with a single-minded intensity. And when the duck he pounced on set up a hideous racket before he could snap its neck, he wouldn’t even allow himself the luxury of self-recrimination for betraying his position with the noise. If someone came to investigate and found him, well, he would deal with that. And if it were one of the remaining red brothers, well, he’d deal with that too. One way or another.


Duck dangling from his jaws, the gray-coated male wove through the sycamores, intent on finding someplace to tear into the bird in peace.


Alas, he was not, it seemed, destined to do so. He broke out of the trees onto the creek, only to see his path forward blocked by a much larger, unusual looking male. Enrico paused there with the duck still in his mouth, eyes fixed calculatingly on the stranger as he silently debated with himself the merits of continuing on or returning the way he went.

Woah… Ganta’s head perked up as he heard quite the racket, ears flicking back as he glanced around. Seems someone, or something, had gone after one of the ducks. Ahh well… so much for a peaceful rest. The man breathed in, gaze shifting around as he tried to settle himself back down. But his nerves would settle… something about the call of the duck had put him on edge. When he eventually laid eyes on the culprit behind the horrid sounds he breathed out slowly. Ganta was hardly looking for a fight, but the male who was passing by didn’t seem to be looking for trouble either. Heck, didn’t even look like he was too keen on stopping to talk either. Ganta dipped his head to the stranger, calling out to him. “I mean no harm if you don’t. Feel free to pass through if you’d like.” He didn’t own these lands after all. "Talk" "You" Think

It was as the other male turned to meet his gaze that Enrico better caught sight of him, and Enrico's eyebrows rose. He was certainly... an unusual-looking sight, and despite his wariness Enrico was intrigued. He had never seen another wolf with the strange long hair placed upon his head like a horse's forelock, and he'd seen very few with the sort of markings the male displayed either. In his days in the mafia Enrico would never have chosen to tap this male as a potential associate, simply because he was so... memorable. Perhaps some of his colleagues would appreciate the memorable nature of it, but Enrico had always preferred to gather those who were more unobtrusive and easy to blend into a crowd. Still, it was undeniably intriguing, and Enrico found himself taking cautious steps towards the larger male before setting down the duck that crowded his mouth.

"Mi scusi, apologies for interruption. I am called Mask. May I to be... asking of your name?"

Ahhh that was more like it. The male approached, and Ganta watched him with curious eyes. While Ganta never fancied himself much to look at, save for the fur on his head, it seemed he caught quite the attention with it. The words of the stranger seemed a bit broken, as was to be expected of a foreign creature. Ganta’s silvery-white orbs looked him over, shaking his head with a soft chuckle. “Mask… It’s a pleasure. You weren’t interrupting anything at all.” He continued to stay where he was, seeing no threat from the stranger and thus no need to show hostility. “Ganta. Ganta Hellstrom-Lore is my name.” …and it was certainly more of a mouthful than Mask. But Ganta wasn’t here to compare. “I was merely a bit startled by the call your quarry made. Seems that there is no reason to worry though; just another brute seeking to get a meal, eh?” His words were good natured and kind, his facial expressions betraying much of the same. He cocked his head to the side slightly though, continuing to regard Mask with a bit of interest. “You’re a foreigner, yes? Do you know your way around Boreas and Auster all that well yet?” "Talk" "You" Think