Keeping to the shadows was the norm for the dark-coated male. To some, time spent alone was time wasted or lost, but to Czern it was simply his usual peaceful existence. After Eclipse - or Aurum, as he'd heard it was to be renamed - had fallen the man had kept to himself. For a time he'd stayed by the side of the Abraxas woman he'd found, Nowa. Eventually though he found he felt no ties to Auster and desired to leave, so he made his way north to the continent he'd not yet gotten to properly explore.

During that lengthy journey north he had caught the scents of several packs, even had to skirt the border of one centrally located and seemingly newly established pack. It seemed like the wolves of Boreas were suddenly all looking to make new groups and homes for themselves. For anyone else that might have sent a tinge of longing through them, but for him? He didn't really need anyone or anything. He was content to remain alone, serve himself alone and enjoy solitude. Occasionally he might miss the resources one had access to in a pack, but the idea of a pack itself he couldn't find it in him to care for much. Maybe if he was in a pack he could have paint to refresh his that had long since rubbed off now that the berries he often used were out of season. Oh well. Maybe that was something else to let go of. After all, he'd abandoned the place and customs the paint had once been tied to.

It was late morning when he found himself arriving at the battlefield, the smell of it hitting him before he'd actually exited the stand of trees he'd been marching through and found the open, flat ground scarred with the torn up patches of dirt that said many fights had been had here, some fairly recently. Glancing over it with some interest, Czern wandered out across the open terrain before seating himself in the middle of it. He didn't care to call for anyone, as he was not looking for a fight or a home, though if one or the other came his way he was not opposed to seeing how things played out.

It had taken some time but finally Valkyrie had reached the battlefield. She'd heard rumors of a place in Boreas where anyone could go for a fight; where disputes and fates were settled with blood. Such a place appealed to her. From what she gathered it had a fearsome reputation and Valkyrie was counting on that to keep away the meek and do the most basic weeding out of prospective recruits for her.

Her gaze settled on a tall and imposing male. He sat alone in the middle of the battlefield and there was something about that choice that struck Valkyrie as both an invitation and a dare. How promising.

"Heil og sæl," she called as she approached perpendicular to his left side. Knowing it was unlikely that this male spoke her mother tongue, Valkyrie switched to English. "What are you looking for, stranger? A fight or...something more?"

Sitting with a rather indifferent expression on his face, Czern was admittedly just the littlest bit disappointed that this place that smelled like blood and battle had no one at all sparring today. While he wouldn't care one way or the other if he found himself fighting someone today, he did sort of enjoy the idea of watching someone else fight. You could always learn from observing others, with the added benefit of of feeling like he had company that he didn't need to speak with at length.

Good things never lasted though, and soon a young woman appeared across the flat, barren space and made her way to approach him with a greeting in a foreign tongue. The words sounded vaguely familiar, but it was not a language he spoke, so Czern was content to study the woman carefully in silence for another moment. Her appearance wasn't especially eye-catching, though her height could rival his. Expressions shifting slightly from total lack of interest to mild curiosity, the man canted his head and chuckled softly at her question.

"Who says that I am looking for anything at all? Can it not be that I'm content as I am?" he asked with a lifting of one brow. Maybe others came here with the intention of searching for things, but as far as he was concerned he was simply here by chance. "What are you looking for?" he'd challenge in a more thickly accented voice as his demeanor seemed to shift.

Still unsure what to make of the woman before him, he maintained eye contact with her, unwilling now that she'd approached to let her out of sight. Instinct said to watch her, just in case.

Valkyrie's eyes narrowed lightly. She was both amused and skeptical of his claim that he could simply be content. After a beat she too quirked a brow and then said, "Perhaps, but I think that's not the case. What content man seats himself in the middle of a battlefield?"

The male fixed her with a stare and instead of shying away from his gaze, Valkyrie accepted it. Her own gaze was open, unafraid and yes, curious. The male was tall and strong looking. Surely he was a fighter. Yes, if that was the case she could use a man like him.

Her tone frank, she said, "Strong and capable fighters to enlist. I seek to wage a campaign against the packs of Boreas, make a name for myself and those who join me, and honor those who came before me."

She seemed pretty sure that he was pulling her leg, which amused him to no end. Leaning back a little and looking comfortable as could be, he loosed another chuckle and shrugged one shoulder. "One who isn't particularly concerned about anyone who might happen to go by, I suppose." An uncharacteristically toothy smile make it's way onto his features. The girl was clearly younger than him, a yearling maybe, any yet she looked equally relaxed and sure of herself. Props to her. Not many that age looked so comfortable in their own skin.

Quietly he digested her explanation for why she was here. It sounded interesting. For a bit he was torn trying to decide if the though that her apparently bold and direct demeanor would help or hurt her in her efforts. "Sounds like quite the undertaking." There was no hint as to whether or not he was considering her words much.

Valkyrie shrugged. She couldn't say she knew the male's mind better than he did, although no matter how nonchalant his words were or how devil-may-care he boasted to be, this was still a very peculiar place to be. From what she gathered this wasn't a place where one simply happened to stumble.

She grinned, then teased dryly, "You say that as though the two are mutually exclusive." You could be carefree and looking for a purpose - or attention - at the same time.

"Perhaps," she hedged gravely, "But it is our way and we go to it with gladness." Valkyrie's gaze drifted away briefly. She studied their surroundings and noted more than one skeleton among the grasses. In passing she wondered what they had died for and if any now had songs to commemorate them. Of course, she thought wryly, anyone worth a song was worth a burial.

Valkyrie's gaze returned to Czernobog. She studied him for a beat and then a slow smile began to tug up the corners of her mouth. "Don't suppose you've seen any capable fighters around here, have you? With a side of loyalty and perhaps a touch of a sense of humor if it's not too much to ask for?"

It was difficult to decide if he found her amusing or more of an irritant. "Persistent, aren't you?" he commented, the uncertainty he felt coming through in his thickly accented voice. Normally others got bored with his standoffish attitude by now and he was free to go on about his business. Such a change of pace was a little jarring at first but he'd recover quickly enough.

A soft huff that sent vapor clouding up from his muzzle and drifting through the cold air was his sole response to her next response. Truthfully he was distracted by trying to decide where he thought her accent was from. It might be cheating but the thickness of her fur had him figuring she was from the north, but, it didn't matter much in the end.

Bog lifted a brow at the question she posed, pretending to consider it even though he was really just trying to deny that he'd ended up erring on the side of liking this girl's spunk and ambition. Glancing around the empty battlefield for effect, he looked at her quite seriously and shook his head, "Nope, seems you might be outta luck. Looks like if you're that bent on recruiting I'm your only option. Pity, I'm sure there's someone younger and stronger out there though if you know where to look. Or maybe at least someone who's a little more fun." He tried to maintain some of that carefully crafted air of disinterest in what she was up to, but his resolve was beginning to waver just a bit.

"I'm not that easily won over though, the last wolves I followed all went on to disappoint me in one way or another. One of them met his end by my fangs," he continued casually as could be. "So you see, I like to be a little more choosy these days with who I give my allegiance to. Wouldn't want to be disappointed again." If she listened carefully perhaps she'd even hear that slight trepidatious waver that entered his voice for a moment.

In response to his comment about her being out of luck Valkyrie scowled in mock disappointment. She then made a show of eying him up and down. During this she said nothing. Let him guess. And if his interest was growing, let him sweat. She needed him to prove his worth as much as she needed to prove hers to him.

After hearing what he'd been through Valkyrie frowned. This time the expression was genuine. She understood why he had his reservations; anyone would in his place. Seriously, she said, "Life is full of disappointments. If you're lucky, mixed in between them will be success."

Her tone wry, she went on to say, "I like a challenge, but if you are afraid of further disappointment perhaps you should swear off following others entirely." It was her turn to lift a brow at him. "How else can you be certain you'll never be disappointed again?"

Her words rang true, but he wasn't looking for a lesson on positive thinking so they mostly went unheard. He hadn't been looking for another chance. Then again, maybe it would turn out to be foolish to pass this one up. His feelings remained mixed as he offered little in response to the first statement.

"Perhaps I already did," he said, though his tone said he hadn't, or at least that his mind was not impossible to change. "But no. Fear does not know my name. What is yours though? I'd hate to have to come up with a nickname for you should your band rise and I for some reason showed up," it was already clear he was considering it, if begrudgingly.

A ghost of a smile graced Valkyrie's lips at Czernobog's surly words. His mouth said one thing, but his demeanor said another. Whether he liked it or not he knew he was being reeled in. While she didn't think she had him hook, line and sinker, he was definitely nibbling on the bait. "Valkyrie, herra. Valkyrie Finnvi."

 

She quirked a brow at him and then said smoothly, "And what about you? Should you show up what might I call you, or would you rather I come up with a nickname?"

The male was large and imposing with unusual markings and a snappy demeanor. Valkyrie was certain she could come up with something good if he refused to give her his name.

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