As he continued his bout of exploring with Maverick, he broke off for a bit as he ventured out on his own toward an open field on the other side of the old farm land they had stumbled upon. At least from a distance it didn't look like anything too spectacular so he didn't feel like he had to drag Maverick out of bed to go take a quick look. It was pretty early in the morning, but he hadn't really felt like sleeping in for once. It was one of the last days before they made it back to Ashen after their adventures and he was pretty eager to get back and tell Ike about all the stuff they had seen.

When he started to make his way across the plateau, he began to realize this place was a little more than originally met the eye. Something shining in the sun and poking out of the dirt caught his eye and he moved toward it—only to realize that more pieces of metal in various shapes were stuck in the ground and laying in clumps of grass all over the place. The more he looked the more he saw and he blinked with surprise as he took in the realization. Quickly he began to wonder where all of this came from or what any of it even was, but he wasn't sure he was awake enough just yet to really form any kind of real hypotheses over that very broad question.

"Remus Armada"

Short legs pull the donkey through the metal strewn field, Oscar’s board head turning every which way as he goes. The ass had needed to travel a little further south in an attempt to warm up. His herd mates might be built for the cold but this Irish donkey is not. His curly fuzzy pelt stands out in stark contrast against the landscape, a cream and caramel strip among the rusted metal and grass. Nugget sits on his rump, hanging onto the hair that runs along the donkey’s spine while the rooster keeps his head tucked underneath a wing.

The donkey is so enthralled with various shapes and sizes of the metals, that Oscar completely misses the presence of the huge wolf that explores nearby. Walking up to a rather large chunk of metal that is semi-buried, he picks up one of his small hooves and taps it against the derelict beast. It clangs loudly in the quiet area and he gawks at the massive thing while pondering what the hell this thing could be… all while blissfully unaware of the lurking wolf.


"Oscar Monaghan"

Remus was just beginning to dig out one of the pieces of metal that was half hidden underground when a loud clang startled him and made him jump. He hadn't realized anyone else was here, but when he spun around to see what had made the noise he spotted a donkey across the plateau with some kind of bird perched on its back. He blinked with surprise and watched the equine for a moment before he shrugged and continued on. He wasn't exactly a hunter anyway and he certainly wasn't going to try and carry a donkey all the way back to Ashen if he did bother to hunt it. It seemed awfully odd for a bird to just be hanging out with a donkey like that, but he was already standing in a field filled with odd metal objects so maybe today was just the day for weird things to happen.

He continued his wandering, eventually drawing closer to the donkey in question just by happenstance. The more interesting looking items seemed to be near where he was standing, but he didn't think anything of it. If anything he figured maybe the donkey would notice him and run off or something like that. He started pulling a flat, slightly curved disk of metal out of the dirt, brushing it off with his paw and revealing some carvings and etchings in the surface of it. They just seemed like oddly spaced and shaped markings to him with a star and a couple of stripes running across it between the other stuff. He had no idea what it had originally been intended for, but he thought maybe it could be repurposed to hold stuff or carry stuff once it was turned upside-down. It was like a shallow bowl once he had it turned over on the ground in front of him. Maybe it would be worth coming back out here with a cart or something and taking some of this back home.

"Remus Armada"

This metal land fully captures the ass’s attention and he does not notice the huge wolf that is also wandering nearby. Oscar should thank his lucky stars that the wolf isn’t hungry or he would be dead. Not that he knows how close to death he is since he is examining a huge, flat hallow piece of metal that is half buried in the earth. Nugget, who usually keeps watch over the easily distractible donkey, has checked out for the day and has he head firmly tucked underneath his wing. With no alert to the wolf’s presence, the ass continues on, moving on to another hunk of abandoned metal.

Why would someone leave this supply of strange metal out here to rust? It feels like a waste when these things could be repurposed for… things. Truthfully, Oscar doesn’t know what you would use it for but it still feels like a waste. A cylindrical piece pulls the donkey’s attention to it and he moves over to inspect it. A flicker of movement pulls his gaze up and he lets out an alarmed bray as he finds a tall wolf, really close to him. FUCK! Can’t wolves make some noise to alert him that they are near?

Flicking his ears and stomping his back hooves, he says, “Oi! You almost gave me a heart attack! Whatca doin’ here? Besides sneaking up on prey.” Head shakes in annoyance but, truthfully, Oscar is thankful that this wolf wasn’t stalking him. The fucking wolf is massive and, if he wanted a taste of a small ass, he would of surely been able to take it. Nugget remains the neutral party, refusing to untuck and help Oscar deal with the shit he found himself in.


"Oscar Monaghan"

The donkey that he had mostly been ignoring and assuming would run off at some point did finally notice his presence near by... only to scare the shit out of him when he started talking and calling him out for being so close. Remus jumped and stumbled back a couple of steps, his ruby and emerald eyes wide and blinking with surprise as he looked up at the disgruntled hoofed animal. Never in a million years would he have expected the donkey to know how to speak to him—or, well, he supposed to know his language at least. He assumed other animals knew how to speak to others of their own species, but a donkey talking to a wolf was one of the wildest things he'd ever experienced. "O-oh, I uh... Sorry, I wasn't trying to sneak up on you or anything, I just uh..." Well, now he didn't exactly want to admit that he thought the donkey would run away from him now did he? "I was looking at some of the stuff that was buried over here." At the very least that wasn't a lie!

He backed up a bit to give the donkey some more space. It made him wonder briefly how many other animals that he'd usually consider prey animals could talk... but quickly abandoned the idea before he started wandering down some kind of existential crisis. "There's some interesting stuff out here, huh?" he asked just to make a bit of conversation while he picked up a few odds and ends that he thought he might be able to carry back to Ashen without it being too much of a hassle. He was curious about the donkey and how he had learned to talk to wolves and a whole number of things, but he knew he better be getting back to Maverick and honestly he was feeling a bit awkward after getting called out the way he had. "I'm Remus by the way... Maybe I'll see you around again sometime." With that he hastily took his leave, already considering how he was going to tell Maverick about this one without sounding like a lunatic.

"Remus Armada"

As Oscar tells off the wolf for scaring him, he watches as it jumps and stumbles backward. Eyebrows furrow in confusion, wondering if this is some kind of trick to make him put down his guard so that the huge creature can eat him. Not for one minute does the ass believe the surprise that appears in the beast’s eyes. Scowling at the wolf, the donkey stomps his back hooves and flicks his ear in a show of agitation as the stranger begins to speak. Turning his head to give the predator a side eyed, untrusting look as he… moves away to give him more space?

Bewildered, the donkey watches the wolf move around the strange wreckage, picking up some strange metal shapes here and there. At his comment about interesting stuff, Oscar snorts and dips his head, nodding as he says, “Aye, ya can say that again.” ‘Not the least of which is you’. Oscar doesn’t voice the second sentence but his furrowed brows and searching look seem to speak volumes as to what he is thinking. As the wolf offers his name before moving to scoot away, the donkey calls out, “Name’s Oscar! Been a pleasure Remus.”

Another snort, this one to himself as the ass turns away from the retreating wolf to begin trotting through the dead metal beasts on his way back north. As he goes, Oscar mumbles to Nugget, “Why are all wolves so confused by a talking donkey?” As he ponders the meaning of his existence, Nugget keeps his head firmly tucked underneath his wing and ignores the world around him.


"Oscar Monaghan"