Orpheus padded slowly down through the brush his paw steps deadly quiet until he could see a break in the trees. Weird. The high god was trampling the grass now, bushes swaying and whipping past him as his tongue lolled out of his mouth. Gods, if anyone saw him he would be absolutely humiliated. His tongue went back into his mouth. Breathing heavily, Orpheus skids to a stop at the edge of a rocky cliff that looked out at an island of human ruins, excitement running through the gods veins and pumping him full of childish ecstasy. His ears laid back, paws leading him down the side of the cliff and starting to cross the water with fumbling paws. He'd learned to swim from his crazy ass mother, who cannibalized the pack he and his side of the family had stayed with. They'd massacred dozens of packs, and eaten a lot of the stillborn pups. Ew. It disgusted him to even think of such things, therefore he quit thinking of them, instead focusing on getting to the other shore. The run down ruins left from the humans was cracked and run through with vines and plants. He could see an opening into the bunker, through a window of some kind of hard, see through substance. He'd not a clue what it was called, nor did he give a flying fuck. The god slunk through the window. His large, heavy frame thumped and thunked around the darkened enclosed space even though it was no where near dusk. Such a weird place to spend the night, although he'd explored naught, he felt a chill run through his spine. The god stepped in something slimy, but didn't take the time to look at it and decided to continue onward after wiping the gunk from his hardened paw pads. Orpheus let his nose guide the way, coming up on a rabbit and scaring the shit out of both of them before he reached a sort of... what had the stories said about such rooms? Oh, yeah, 'control' or something. He didn't actually know, but that's what he decided to call it.

He Prowls || "He Sows" || He Growls

Tracking down the elk that had dared hurt her adopted son had brought her further south than she thought it would.  She had even crossed over to an island, and her leg throbbed painfully, but it was getting better. At least the wound on it had closed, now a gruesome scab joined the crude stitches that she had sewn into her flesh. It was the only time she had been thankful for the strange things left behind by a long-forgotten species. Ilyn was with her as an added precaution that Alastor demanded if she went out on her own. Today she was thankful for the miniature polar bear's presence, his steadfast nature always kept her head on straight. She was just about ready to turn around and head home when a scent caught her nose. A wolf was close by, and Lurid was always curious to meet those who inhabited Boreas. Always eager to learn, she changed her direction and followed the scent, keeping a holographic lavender-white eye out for any hint of trouble. Moving when her injury was newer had been difficult, but now it seemed easier, her gait was almost normal speed - even though she only used three of her legs. Her broken leg was held aloft in a crude sling, to keep her from using the limb. When the scent led to another strange metal thing, Lurid stopped a few yards away. "Hello? Anyone home?" Duo-toned vocals rang out as she heard the softest shuffle of paws from within, praying they wouldn't be hostile enough to pick a fight.

Orpheus wasn't aware that a pale pursuer had fallen in step behind him but once he had fallen to the ground in a heap of exhaustion a dual-toned voice rang through his den for the night. "The fuck?" His thoughts were soaring, and for once he was worried as to what lay on the other side of the see through substance. It seemed that he was the only one that could see the other, but he definitely was not going to admit that. His gaze roamed over the woman, eyes fixated on her eyes as they had traveled towards the hole in the wall. Weird. Since when did strangers follow strange scents?! His thinking needed to stop, otherwise his insecurities would... nope not thinking about that bullshit. Not the time, nor the place for such things as self pity. Orpheus growled a low growl but threw a greeting at the crippled wolf with an obvious disadvantage if her were to fight for... something... definitely not maim that would be just cruel, but y'know, anything could happen no matter what time of day or night it was.

He Prowls || "He Sows" || He Growls

In any other situation, Lurid probably would have been bolder, but she was still healing. The deep tones of a growl that responded in greeting had a smirk tugging ever so slightly at the saccharine corners of her porcelain mouth in clear sign that the stranger wasn't dealing with just a run of the mill wolf. Holographic white-lavender scanned the dark inside of the odd metal place, but she couldn't see much from where she stood. "Forgive my intrusion, but...I have found myself a bit lost." That wasn't entirely true, she knew where home was, she didn't know where here was though. It was a way into possible conversation, it wasn't often that she got to be free and have conversations with new faces. The demented queen was hopeful that whatever beast lay inside felt even a little helpful, if not then she would tread carefully if there was any hope of talking.

Orpheus wasn't buying this innocent act the woman was attempting to play him with. Who the fuck, in their right mind, would follow a strange fucking scent to an abandoned structure that smells faintly of wolves besides himself?! No one, that's who! His mind raced and jumped and twirled trying to figure out her motives- and came right back to where he started; Curiosity. He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, or possibly a reaction to a woman's scent after so long of being around men and/or women he was related to... but he was oddly attracted to her. Huh. Orpheus stopped the thoughts immediately, heart icing over and pulling his god complex back out for the talking part of their long overdue interaction. "How can a pretty little darling like you be lost in a place like this, hmm?" His flirting most likely wouldn't take him anywhere but he'd rather not fight right now. Emerging from the whole in the one way see through substance, tail down and ears pricked in a sign of dominance; regardless of how she reacted to this movement.

He Prowls || "He Sows" || He Growls

You should see me in a crown;
Watch me make 'em bow, one by one!

The goddess wasn't quite sure what she had expected to come from within the building, struck first by the fiery gaze of the man, and noting his height. His demeanor was one of lazy dominance, something Lurid was quite accustomed to dealing with. Her smirk grew as he called her out, entertained and almost relieved he seemed to see through her act. It was a rare being indeed who would see through her careful constructs. "I am not sure you understood my meaning of lost. What is this place?" Her question was simple, but she suspected he may not know much about it. When he fully emerged from the hole in the wall, Lurid had been admiring herself in the reflective surface. 'I guess that's why Alastor tolerates me.' Smiling and rolling her head toward the male, the small display of dominance in his ear pricking was ignored. "Is this your residence? It's absolutely stunning." A joke, to break the ice so to speak. Males and their posturing never really worked on Lurid, she was a show don't tell type of woman. Her money was always carried in her mouth, even with one leg literally tied.

Word count: 196 words.
"Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

Note: Ack! Crap post, so sorry <3

ART

Orpheus would nod towards the entrance. "I don’t know what’s it called, admittedly, but I’m denning here for the night. It’s kind of dusty but you get used to it... I’ll be heading up north soon, though, probably tomorrow morning if I get up early enough." his words were clipped now, formal and compulsively calm and collected. Why had he reverted to his formal speech patterns? Ugh, so weird. "I’d be welcome to denning here for the night with you since you’re injured, and I doubt you’ll find another place this shielded from the cold on this island. Now, what do ya say sweet thing? Care to step inside?" his voice was cut off when he stepped inside of the one way glass, peering through the unknown substance to look back at the woman’s expression. If she didn’t know he could see her then she wouldn’t hide her true nature upon her face... and that could be beneficial for him if she did indeed decide to spend the night with the brute. Poking his nose back out of the hole, he made an embarrassed noise in the back of his throat. "My bad, forgot that you don’t even know my name nor do I know yours. The names Orpheus, or Orph for short if you want. Just... don’t call me Orphie okay?"

He Prowls || "He Sows" || He Growls

You should see me in a crown;
Watch me make 'em bow, one by one!

Listening to the formal speech patterns of the male, Lurid smiled as he invited her to stay the night with him. Now really, what would he expect from her if she did? No, Alastor would not approve of his empress playing sleep-over with a man she just met, or at all for that matter. She had a family to think of, and many things to do before she could rest. He moved inside before she could answer, but Lurid remained steadfast in her initial reaction of mild shock and twisted humor. He would be headed up north, where she had taken up a residence. She could have every opportunity to seek him out when she returned there. "I have a home up north I should be getting back to, I actually prefer traveling at night. The cold has never bothered me, so if you wish to, you can find me in the red forest up there." A smile spread more across her maw as he popped his head back out to look at her. "It is an absolute pleasure to meet you, Orpheus. I am Lurid Amarix, Night Mother - empress - of Mirovis, and on my life I would never call anyone 'Orphie.'" Holographic white-lavender seemed to sparkle in the dim light, meeting the brilliant garnet of his own eyes. "Perhaps, you could help me get home...If you aren't afraid of the darkness, that is..." Her tone implied she was only teasing, she could see the beast in his eyes.

Word count: 249 words.
"Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

Note: ---

ART

"Yeah, sure why not. Doubt you could overpower me with that thing." His confidence was back on full blast now. A smirk crossed his face as he sauntered back outside of the human contraption, flicking his ears back up to show he wasn't scared of her. His tail stayed at a downward point, between the tell tail sign of a challenge and one of cowardice. Orpheus was very aware of every movement the woman made, seeing as he couldn't trust her just yet. When she introduced herself, he felt a twinge of remembrance. His gods forsaken mother had been called an empress, deciding to take over the pack instead of lurk in the shadows like himself. His sister, Lilybet had also chosen the route of empress and had definitely... gone out of her way to let Orpheus know this. When her mentions of the name Orphie, he relaxed a little. At least she wasn't going to tease him like his siblings had. "Why the fuck would anyone be afraid of the dark? What you gotta be scared of is what lurks in that shit, and that ain't somethin' I fuck with." He was terrified of the dark, but he wouldn't let a woman like this know such things about himself. Plus, she would probably make fun of him... and he knew he would destroy her if she did so, and he wasn't about to attack a... Night Mother, she'd said? Yeah, that's about right. No matter how stupid powerful he may be he wasn't about to attack someone who obviously had a fuck ton of allies- least, that's what he thought. "Yeah I'll run with you. Wanna catch something before we leave, or just go for it?"

He Prowls || "He Sows" || He Growls

You should see me in a crown;
Watch me make 'em bow, one by one!

His response to her teasing was more than she had expected, maybe a laugh or a returned quip. His profanity and vehement denial of being afraid of the dark made her think that he was perhaps one of the many who had problems with the night and all of its terrors. Maybe it was only that she was one of the many terrible things that hid in the shadows, or perhaps that night time had always been beneficial to her, but Lurid had never developed nyctophobia. She made a mental note of his response but did not react much more than raising her brows as if to question what could be in the dark.

Orpheus accepted her invitation, bringing a brilliant smile to the devil-queen's face, waving her tail behind her to express her happiness with his response. "I am sure the opportunity will come up on the way, plenty of prey between here and the redwoods of the north." Her grin stayed on her face, and she nodded her head as if to say 'let's go.' The earthen shaded man was still a wild card as far as she was concerned, but she could handle herself. His true test would be meeting Alastor and seeing what he thought of the male. With her invitation accepted, Lurid turned to leave and set off for home. She had a lot to do still, but she was gaining confidence by the hour. Her empire would raise, Mirovis would stand again, and she would bring fear to the coldest hearts in all of Boreas.

Word count: 261 words.
"Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

Note: -exit Lu to next thread-

ART

"Well of course there'll be food elsewhere I'm just fuckin' starvin'." His quip wasn't fast enough though, and he watched as the bigger woman plodded off into the undergrowth. God damn he was going to have to swim all the way back over there wasn't he? Yes, indeed he was. Other than the fact his stomach was suddenly rumbling like a mother fucker, his head was dipping to follow her, a little dejectedly almost as she was asking him to follow her into the unknown wasn't she? Yeah, she was... oh fuck he was going to die wasn't he? Nah, no couldn't be. Besides the fact his nerves were getting the better of him, he didn't wait around. He followed her into the foliage and they continued their journey. /exit Orph

He Prowls || "He Sows" || He Growls