It had been a long time since Pyralis had gone on a decent and proper swim. When she saw the island in the distance, shrouded in mist, it had beckoned her. That was a place just begging to be explored. She worked the water expertly. Her breathing and movements timed and synced and in what seemed like no time at all she landed upon the shores of the island. Shaking out her coat she trotted inland, full of excitement which quickly turned to dread at the site of what could only be human dwellings. Humans, with their strange rituals and perversion. She'd heard stories enough from the various loners she'd run into and she had no desire to tangle with such creatures though it was well known they were extinct. Either way, their works stood like hollowed out monuments to the desires that ultimately destroyed them. Cautiously she started to move through the abandoned city, her body on high alert and tense, waiting for the ghosts of whatever died here to come out and greet her. "Talk" "You" Think

Ashmedai had seen the island and immediately dove into the water without a thought of the dangers lurking in the water or how far the swim might actually be. He was about halfway when he realized that his big, heavy coat probably wasn't the greatest for swimming. Oh well, too far now. He pushed on until he eventually reached the shore. Ashmedai collapsed for a while just panting in the sand. Wow, that was a terrible decision. As soon as he regained his breath, he moved into the brush. There was a lot of exploring to do, but his legs were pretty much numb. After a while, he moved towards the city. Well wasn't this something? In the distance, Ash saw a familiar figure. Wasn't that Pyralis? Ashmedai didn't hesitate to trot up to her, careful not to be too sneaky or loud. "Pyralis? Came to play in the strange, not-woods?"   "Speech"

Pyralis continued to move cautiously, pausing here and there to take in the odd scents. Nature was doing her best to reclaim the island but it was clearly slow going. As she pawed at the base of one particularly odd structure that was half in the sea and half out she caught an all-to-familiar scent and grinned. She turned to see the man trot up to. "Well, well, if it isn't Ashmedai. How have you been?" She shrugged lightly. "I don't know if I'd say play but I'm definitely here to explore. I'm not overly fond of the remnants of human works though. Down right unnatural. What brings you here?" "Talk" "You" Think

Pyralis didn't seem upset by Ashmedai's approach. That was a good sign! She said she wasn't here to play and Ashmedai shot her an overly dramatic eye roll. "All explore and no play doesn't make the bored go away." Ashmedai gave a lopsided smile. She said the place felt unnatural, and asked what brought Ashmedai there. Jumping onto a smooth stone surface- one that was more than likely a broken pillar of some sort- the tall brute shook out his coat. "Why, just that exact thing, dear Pyralis!" he called in a terrible mock accent. He leaned down off the ledge of his pedestal to look at her in the face, "The unnatural excites me! I love it!" He jumped off the stone platform and looked back at the woman, "Maybe that's why I'm so fond of you," he said, tossing her a wink. "Speech"

Pyralis gazed out across the horizon as she searched for a building she wanted to explore in. She didn't have any particular plans but it would be nice to go exploring with someone. She grinned slyly at Ash and chuckled. "Well, I'm glad the unnatural excites you because I'm going in that weird looking cave right there! That big one! And I'd like you to come along." It had odd steps leading up to it, almost perfectly straight apart from a few areas with chunks missing out of them. Strange shards of what looked like frozen water littered the area. "Sometimes you can find strange and useful things left here by humans but I can't make any promises. There could be monsters to. Some wolves say that there are some humans that survived the Great Disaster only they were mutilated and changed into dark and disturbed spirits." "Talk" "You" Think

Ashmedai chuckled as Pyralis joked to him, saying she was glad he liked the unnatural because they were going into the big strange looking cave and all. That suited him just fine. His tail wagged softly behind him and a smile showed off the tips of his canines, "Aww, I'm flattered that you'd want me to go."

Pyralis and Ashmedai paused at the sharp, perfectly carved steps. Ashmedai felt the edge of one with his paw before scaling them. Pyralis said there might be treasures, or monsters. Ashmedai scoffed, "I think if any humans or other monsters found us they'd be the ones in trouble, not us."

Ashmedai paused at the entrance, tail wagging softly, "Best loot wins?"

Pyralis stuck her head inside the unusual cave, taking in the ruined junk that lay strewn across the floor and the strange, angular walls. She took a few steps forward, carefully stepping around the glass. She'd encountered this strange material before and had been badly cut when she'd tried to pick it up. It had been reflecting the sky and for a moment she'd thought a piece of the sky had fallen only for her paw to be sliced open. She didn't want to repeat that mistake. Pyralis let out a hearty laugh as Ash stated that the humans were the ones who should be afraid. "Well said! We're descended from gods, what have we to fear from a few unruly spirits?" She grinned as laid down a challenge. Wolf with the best loot would win. "Deal! Meet back at the entrance in an hour with your findings." "Talk" "You" Think

Pyralis agreed that since they descended from the gods (something Ash was still coming to terms with but mostly accepted), they had nothing to fear. She set the time with one hour and Ashmedai was about to run off when he paused, "Wait. Pyralis? How will we know when it's been an hour? Especially... in there."

Ashmedai looked inside. It was... kind of dark. Eventually Ashmedai shrugged and looked back to the woman, "Well, I guess whenever one of us finds the best treasure, we can always howl, then meet to compare. When one of us howls, that means we have to meet at the front in, like, five minutes or something... just, I dunno, don't take too long after the first howl I guess?"

She'd been about to make her way in when Ash asked how they'd know when an hour had passed. She stared at him quizzically for a moment. "These places are all full of holes, you'll be able to see daylight though in several spots you can check out…. I suppose the fog will make it more difficult than normal, though." She'd been wandering for so long and was well versed in telling the passage of time by various celestial bodies. She had to be. Their father was bent on conquest and timely operations. Error was disasterous. "Ok, lets just look through and when we think we have found the best thing we'll call out. Ready… set… go!" Pyralis bolted into the eerie realm of the human dwelling, her claws clicking on the strange surface and echoing in the fog-laden juxtapositions of shadow and light. "Talk" "You" Think

As Pyralis explained that you could see the sun from inside, Ashmedai chuckled sheepishly, "Oh... I guess you're right."

As she called out, both wolves dove into the building, nails clicking against the oddly smooth surface. It was dark with the fog, but it wasn't unbearable. There were sharp corners and bends that reminded Ash of the barn back in Imperium. There were a vast assortment of things in some places, and wide, empty spaces in other areas.

Ashmedai couldn't find what he wanted. Some things were elegant and other things were bold and bright. Ash couldn't fathom what they'd be used for.

How much time had passed? Ashmedai started to frantically dig through a pile of things, "Pyra?" Ash called. "How's it going there?"

He was a little nervous. He HAD to find something great.

Pyralis scrambled through the ruins but all she seemed to be finding was trash. There wasn't much of interest to the woman. There were torn up… leaves or something of strange color stitched together. There were other odds and ends, strange wonders but nothing that quite took her breath away… until she saw them… gleaming white like frozen ghosts in the hazy sunlight. Frozen. Human. Spirits. Pyralis approached cautiously at first but when it was clear there was no life left in them she snatched a mannequin by the arm and pulled it down to the ground where it landed with a resounding thump. Sniffing at it she grinned uneasily. She'd heard of beasts that could freeze the spirit and make it as stone but this was the first time she'd seen such a thing. In answer to Ash's question Pyralis let out a cackle before seizing the mannequin in her mouth and dragging the helpless object, a woman waving her hand while wearing the remnants of what may have once been a bathing suit, back to their meeting spot. She let out a triumphant howl, eager to show Ash the frozen spirit. "Talk" "You" Think

Ashmedai knew he had to look fast. He was running out of time. No good, no good! Pyralis cackled in response to him. Shit.

Ash flipped open some... something. Inside there were several soft things. One was bright orange with... leaves? Fake leaves and flowers? It was so bright it was almost painful to look at. Ashmedai dragged it out to find it had several large holes in it, but otherwise was unworn. Wait... were those holes... meant to be there? What was this thing?

Ashmedai thought he could loop it around his neck so he slid his head through the largest hole and out the middle other hole. It was pretty baggy, and the other holes hung over his shoulders- wait. Were these... leg holes? Sure enough, after some struggling, Ash fit his legs in the other two holes. Wow this was... obnoxious. Ash loved it!

Just then, Pyralis howled. Oh yeah! The competition. She would totally love this thing. Ashmedai tried to sneak back to the meeting spot waiting till the last minute to burst out in full speed, "TA-DA!"

Proof of purchase
How ash prolly looks

Pyralis sauntered into the meeting place with the mannequin hanging from her mouth, tail waving like a flag.  She was sure that she had won until Ash bounded in with the most ridiculous.... well she didn't even know what to call it.  Hanging from his body was the strangest pelt she'd ever seen.  Pyralis barked out laugh letting the mannequin fall from her jaws.  She trotted over to him, reaching out to sniff at the strange leaves or skin or she really had no idea what was covering his body.  "Well, I think you won.  What the heck is this thing?"

speech

Please note that Pyralis is a ghost. It is up to you to decide what level your chars can see/hear her. She was killed by having her throat ripped apart. At times the wound may be visible and be actively bleeding.

Hear ye!  Hear ye! Beware her Ladyship, her Excellence (etc. ad infinitum), Captain Pyralis Abraxas.  Thread with at yer own risk!  This cutthroat savage stands accused though not convicted of heinous crimes including murder, maiming, brawling, cursing, kidnapping and an unspeakable event involving a newt, two coyotes and a distressed potoo.  Ye've been warned!

As Ashmedai made his entrance, Pyralis was surprised- probably really impressed too. Whatever she had gathered was dropped and forgotten as Ash strutted around in his new coat. Pyralis asked what it was. Ashmedai didn't know to be honest. He should give it a name.

"It's an overcoat," he stated simply, "It's to make your regular coat more flashy. To attract mates or something I bet. Like birds or bugs or whatever." Ash didn't know much about fashion, but he was pretty sure this was the epitome of it.

Ashmedai did a little twirl, icy eyes locking with Pyralis, "So? Whaddya think? Am I attractive now?"

Pyralis nodded lightly at Ash's words, not quite taking them in but it did make sense she supposed. An over coat. A coat over your coat. She snickered, it was such a strange idea but she knew of birds that would try to freshen up their plumage. "Birds and bugs maybe, I don't know about wolves. Give us a twirl!" She stepped back to admire his handy work. "Oh, I wish my brother Amon was here, he'd get a kick out of this." Ok, so he probably wouldn't. He'd probably try to drag Pyr off for a 'little talk' and she had a feeling he probably wouldn't appreciate her hanging around a mortal with a few screws loose but she was still fairly certain he was a descendent from one of the lesser gods so that had to count for something right?

He asked if he was attractive now and she let out a laugh before grinning wryly at him. "Oh, Ash, you're always attractive. Come on, lets go see if we can find someone to show!"

-exit-

ooc: if you want to start another thread to carry this on we can or we can just say they went and serenaded a herd of unamused bison.