Abby rest upon the wreckage of a tank, the rusty hide of the metal beast rough against her own skin. She found herself lingering on the strange scarred land, the mystery of the landscape whispering to a sort of pup-like curiousity she tended to neglect. She wasn't in any hurry, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad to investigate the plateau more. Still, she wouldn't stay long, as she worried if she lingered any longer she might catch an illness. This much rust in one place couldn't be healthy.

She had found the most stable looking metal corpse to perch upon to rest her aching paws. Better to see trouble approaching than to be caught unawares she resolved, though the groaning of the structure beneath her didn't inspire confidence.

Fitz had come to accept the odd shapes as some form of rock, more solid and oddly formed but what else could it be? He needed to find more wolves to share the truth of Nytalen. As he brought more to believe in the deity then the more power Nytalen was sure to give him. Being without a pack was certainly a different lifestyle but considering the disgust he had for those in his prior pack it wasn’t all together a bad thing. He still liked the idea of followers that would choose to stay with him and help share the truth.

The sun had risen about halfway so as to cast shadows through the land of scrap metal as he came in sight of where Abby was resting. His eyes lifted to spot the interesting markings on the new wolf’s coat. Perfect! Another wolf he could share the truth with and hope she became a true follower of Nytalen. Sharing the truth would be much easier after he hand even a pawfull of others working with him.

“Hello,” offered cordially as Fitz called out to her.

The late morning sun warmed the surrounding habitat, as the metal absorbed the sun's rays and reflected the warmth in what felt like twice the power. Maybe this spot wasn't the greatest.

Abby's ears swiveled as she heard the noise of lone pawsteps, and she readied herself for a swift retreat in case one was necessary. She didn't rise completely, but she adjusted her posture so that she could see the stranger from her perch. She peered from the ancient monolith, curious but cautious. She hadn't been expecting company.

"Hello." She called back, simply but without hostility. She wasn't great at starting conversation, so she'd let the other wolf take initiative if he wished.

Fitz considered the motley colored wolf for noticing how she prepared herself in case she needed to act.  Was she the sort to fight or run if a threat loomed before her?  Fitz didn't see himself as a threatning figure, at least not when he had no desire to be so.  As long as she did not disrespect him or his deity then she should be fine.

"I wasn't expecting to find another wolf out here." Polite words with an easy smile. It was hard to get people to join your faith by starting off on bad terms.  When he became strong that would change, but he had already learned that he was not strong enough to use that as a first resort. "My name is Fitz, I'm a lone traveler."

He hadn't approached any further.  Fitz was waiting to see if she was going to stay ready to act or decide it was safe.  "Are you part of a pack or alone as well?"

She allowed herself to relax a touch. She wasn't in danger, not yet. She still had the high ground, and as long as she didn't forgo her advantage she would be relatively safe, save from the heat rising from the metal around her.
"Me neither." She replied, maybe a little awkwardly. Communication was never her strong suit.

The stranger claimed to be a fellow nomad. How many packless wolves were there? The lack of large social groups was unnerving, were the inhabitants that untrustworthy of eachother?

She paused at the question. She worried harm could come to her if she responded with the honest truth, that she was alone. Then again, she was the one sitting on the tank, not him. "It's just me at the moment." She responded.

She would answer questions directed at her but wasn’t giving him much more than that.

Fitz made his way closer, pausing once he was sitting at the base of the tank. He had offered her his name, but she had not given him one in return. Was it that she intentionally avoiding giving her name or she simply hadn’t thought to tell him. “I arrived on this land only recently from another plot of land across the large waters. My lord sent me here on a grand quest in his name.”

Fitz sat there, watching the other wolf, “What about you? Why are you out here all alone? And what can I call you?” It would be a lot easier to know how to influence her, to bring her into seeing the truth of his diety if he could only get her to open up some more. Fitz was full of grandiose ideas and plans but had no true experience.

.

She tensed slightly as he came closer, reflex more than anything. "A lord?" She queried. Quite a title, she thought, the weight of which piqued her curiousity.

"I'm Abby." She said simply, a blunt avoidance of the other question. It wasn't that she didn't want to divulge too much information (though that was certainly part of it), she just didn't know the answer. Maybe she enjoyed the isolation, the lack of noise? But still, she felt familiar sadness tug at her chest from being away from the familiar.

She stood to her feet, the tank groaning in complain at the shifting of weight. She jumped down so that she perched on top of the track of the tank, of which was rusted stiff. She wanted to be able to converse without yelling, but didn't want to let go of her height advantage too much.

“Well, Abby,” Fitz ignored her not answering his one question, “My lord is a deity well known of from the island I lived on prior.  There are two main deities that one could worship, Dayfeng and Nytalen.” He graciously allowed the weaker one to be mentioned.  “A large number of wolves follow Dayfeng, she’s assumed to be more peaceful and loving.  Though its all a bunch of lies so that the ignorant look to her.”

She had opened pandora’s box with the simple questioning of ‘lord’.  “Now, Nytalen isn’t a softy.  He demands wolves to be strong, gives us challenges such as the larger predators on the land.  He helps make us strong enough to be worthy of the title wolves.  Of all animals we are the ones he prefers and keeps an eye on.”  It was more than a history lesson, it was like a boy speaking of how great his dad was. Naiche shifted his weight as he tried to get comfortable on the odd smooth rock.

“There are many stories I could share of Nytalen, or the wicked lies of Dayfeng.” When he mentioned Dayfent it was more as if spitting the word out of his mouth.. “Do you have any belief?” He could have said ‘false belief’, but this would do for now.  He needed to find a student to teach, did he have a chance with her?

In her youth, Abby had encountered religious types before, the kind that went den to den preaching of a power above do the displeasure to parent's and children alike. As the traveler spoke of two gods with great passion, he reminded her of the strange yet irritating folk.
He was maybe less irritating however, as at least she hadn't heard of beliefs like his before and was quite eager to learn. His apparent hatred for the deitess Dayfeng was a bit startling, and she felt if dared to even speak of her in a positive light she'd feel teeth wrap around her throat.

She listened to his praise of Nytalen in an attempt to stave of her suicidal curiosity of Dayfeng. "He sounds... Hard to impress." She offered truthfully.

Unable to ignore the urge any longer, she decided to act. "What lies does Dayfeng tell?" She asked, before adding "If you don't mind me asking." She hoped that query was neutral enough to avoid a confrontation.

Fitz nodded gravely, “he has high expectations,” it was good for one to acknowledge this. “However it offers more chance for a wolf to shine if its not a thing easily accomplished.  What’s the point in serving one who approves of everyone?  You will never shine.” Since Fitz had grown up wanting to earn Nytalen’s approval it was only natural he would see that as important.  He seemed content with her again, that foolish attempt to act compelled graciously forgotten.

His ears flattened as she asked about Dayfeng though it wasn’t her that irked him, more just thinking on that diety. “It is said she is against hate and requires forgiveness for all but the most detestable of crimes.  She offers to help protect her children and give peace of spirit.” The words were all but spit out of his mouth.  

A moment of silence before continuing, “It’s a little fairy tail for the naïve.  She’s a deceitful liar that breeds vipers.  Her kind learns well from her.  They speak of her values while quietly ignoring everything they preach.  She approves of this.  She won’t add thorns to the soil, or angry bears to attack you to help you grow strong.  She will let you stay safe and when you are soft you will die by poison from one of our kind that she sends.” The passion and hate in his voice assured it was more than some memorized tail.  Fitz belief was complete, blind, or real it was solid to him.

Fitz watched the woman, curious if she would understand how filthy the false diety was.  Well, admittedly her status was true, but her kindness was completely fake.

Fitz's words echoed a surprisingly similar sentiment to Abby's view of the world, an idea of balance. Challenge, in all it's forms was inevitable and necessary. But she still saw difference in his first statement. "You assume everyone shines the same way." She observed, quietly but gently challenging the view. Of all the things that could've occured as she sat on the metal corpse with the sun at her back, a discussion of values and belief was not one of them.

Nytalen's faith seemed refreshing. Too many had claimed of a great plan by a completely benevolent god in the past, and admittance of the difficult truth was few and far between. If this god was truly benevolent, why would children be born to weak to survive? To her, acceptance the fact that the world isn't fair rather than ignore the fact. It made her shudder to think this all happened for a reason.

Yet the traveler's hate for Dayfeng was isolating, and she recognised her own soul in the description of her followers. Weak. Soft. Spoilt.
She knew the latter wasn't quite true, she had the scars to prove it.  

She didn't exactly believe in gods themselves, but she did recognise the world views as both common and valid regardless of where they came from. "And you assume the forgiving don't suffer." She felt safer now, as she saw this as a friendly debate rather than a man trying to sell her on his faith.

Fitz only knew of if Nytalen from what his mom had told him and what he believed the diety had shown of himself.  It was hard to have all the answers, and how to express them was a thing he was still having to grow used to.  However, the grey wolf was confident that whatever he needed to know would be made clear to him.  “There are many ways to serve him or to shine through his teachings.  All of Nytalen’s followers know of course how to hunt and fight, but some are sure to be better at that than others.  Perhaps those who are not as elite at fighting are better off sharing his word, perhaps they are smarter.  As wolves, we were born to work together so we all have a variety of talents.  The key factor is being sure to thank Nytalen for what he gives us.  To not curse the predators who stalk you but be grateful for what they teach.  To not feel thwarted if you fail but to see what you were being taught so you get stronger.  Most importantly to never grow soft.”

There was passion in Fitz’s words, that complete belief blind as it was shown through him, “As wolves, we are meant to look after those in our packs, and making sure all of those you care for realize the way to true strength is through Nytalen.  It is as surely a role just as important as teaching a pup to hunt.  That is something all followers need to learn.  It is always easier to get one to understand if they are taught it while young.”  Fitz looked up as he imagined the world as he imagined it should be when all served his deity.  

“The forgiving due of course suffer.  Nytalen put dangers through all the world and even the unbelievers will suffer.  However, they might work harder to avoid the dangers, to let others protect them or run from what they see.  They might curse out the diety or look to false ones to save them.  Part of it is just about knowing who truly has our best interests in mind.  Nytalen does not care for us serving or praising any other ‘power.’  It’s an insult to him.  Just as any who curse him should be punished however, he understands that those who are ignorant are not guilty of things they did not know.”  Fitz was glad to see the answers were there when asked, that he didn't stumble as he spoke.  For so long he had to keep silent of his true beliefs in the pack of deceivers and enemies of his deity so now the grey wolf was learning of what skills he truly had.

Abby interacted with these ideas as more of an observer rather than a participant. Faith was something she didn't understand, a distant idea that she could not grasp. It felt awfully like putting your eggs all in one basket, and she'd tried that before.

Now that she found that she (probably) wasn't in immediate danger, she prodded further. "Is it Dayfeng you hate, or is it Dayfeng's followers?" After all, the religious make the religion. Maybe this Fitz fellow simply didn't enjoy the company of his rival religion, and that's where his passionate responses rose from.

It occurred to her, though much too late, that she was the one asking all the questions. She would invite him to ask about her, but she didn't really want to draw too much attention to herself. She settled with being less intrusive herself.

Fitz’s ears flattened at the deity’s name and as he spoke of her, “Both.  Her followers are worse than she is, but she allows it and weakens us all in her pursuit of virtues.  She speaks of love and honesty and kindness…”

Fitz shook his head, “So our lead alpha that speaks so benevolently made sure my father died so that my mother lost her mate.  So that she could become his.  That is what her faithful followers do.  They lie, they deceive, and their version of love apparently comes from lower regions instead of any actual care for the other.”  Ok so maybe it was a bit against the followers.

“She lets them do it.  The pack grows well, nothing stops it.  All because she protects them for now.”  His ears relaxed a bit even as that passion changed to a gleeful sort, “But once Nytalen has a better follower count, once all here know of him then a few who are most trusted can go back with me.  Nytalen will have that pack exterminated.  Dayfeng’s minions will see what it is to only follow her peaceful teachings instead of looking to face the challenges Nytalen puts out there.  Nytalen will make sure we are stronger for our return.”  He was a young wolf, his problems seemed to encompass the greater whole as he saw it and so things were simply black and white.

To Abby, there didn't seem to be much difference in virtues between deities, save for one being described as a bit more benevolent. She didn't really hold any bias toward either. It's hard to hold any anger to something you don't believe exists. People however, were a different story.

She almost gasped when he shared his reasoning. "Oh my god. That's awful." No wonder Fitz held them all in such contempt. They were murderers.

She pondered opening up a bit more. Maybe they could have a little heart to heart? If he was so open to talk about his issues, maybe they could treat it as a free therapy session. An opportunity to feel a bit better about the past. But the optimistic idea dissipated quickly when he spoke again.

He spoke of genocide with a smile on his face. Maybe those fuckers deserved it, but the fact that he was eager to commit atrocity in pursuit of vengeance made stomach sink low. Of course she ended up talking to maniac. And know, she had to find a way to leave it. Without dying.
"All of them? how?" She asked quietly, the sudden fear audible in her voice. If she could get him to rant again, maybe she could leave without him noticing.

She understood now, understood how horrible Dayfeng and her followers were? Horrible lying deceitful followers proved the truth of the diety considering she was the one who taught them and still let them exist despite their darkness.

It seemed she might had been gaining more interest in conversing and yet suddenly pulling back in some fashion. “How? I will create an army. Once there are enough warriors that are fully loyal to Nytalen we will return in numbers. It will be a slaughter. Nytalen will make sure the night is a deep black then, and the other pack will not wait until the first one of their numbers die and its scream alerts them.” It appeared Fitz had put plenty of thought into it. “Nytalen showed me this, in a vision at night.”

“I can teach you more of his ways. The ranks are wide open right now. Do not fear, with me you would grow strong and the numbers would make sure we won.” Yup, he was fully caught up in his imaginings of power and she was now a part of what he imagined. His eyes seemed to be looking up at the sky and right past her. It would be wonderful!

No matter how much passion and fury Fitz poured into his religious rant, Abby felt strongly compelled to do only one thing: Leave. She didn't pay much attention to what he was actually saying at this point, she dismissed it as the same violent and disturbing religious gobbledegook as before. Right now she was focused on the a good time to run for it. She was in the middle of standing up when he adressed her, but he started looking past her. This was her chance. "Okverycoolgoodbye." She muttered in a rush, leaping from her perch and if uninterrupted, galloping away.

-(attempted?) exit-

Fitz scowled as she made it clear she intended to leave.  “I’m offering to allow you to be one of the first to join.  Nytalen would surely show extra favor to you for doing so.”  How could someone not want such an honor?

She had at least seemed to realize how horrible Dayfeng was, and her horrific minions.  He was watching her with clear agitation, “You should take me up on my offer now.  If you leave the chance to gain such a prestige position will be gone for good.” Clearly she was being foolish, and Fitz felt his muscles tensing in frustration at her actions.

Naiche turned his body, not moving to follow but just to keep a frontal gaze on her.  Focused gaze looking quite unhappy at her.  However, he would allow her to leave.