(tag Nyx)

Kass was very much a homebody these days, not inclined to wandering so much. Not like he'd thought he'd be as a pup - he'd thought he'd run away from home and travel the lands and learn to be a healer all by himself. He didn't want that anymore. He was comfortable in Ebony. The only time he'd left since returning from Olympus was to gather herbs he couldn't find elsewhere. Today he hadn't really left to gather herbs - here weren't many herbs growing these days, but juniper and wintergreen still clung to life in the layer of snow that covered them so he was gathering them since he was out anyway - and his reasoning for leaving pack lands today was much more selfish. He'd been on the verge of a panic attack again; his pack was quiet, uncaring, and he was constantly terrified it was either because of the start of a plague or because he was simply a terrible leader. So he'd fled the pack lands temporarily to escape the increasing fear. Coming up the mountainside the auburn boy flopped down on a stone, warmed from beneath by the activity of the volcano, and buried his face in his paws. Oh why had Val trusted him with the pack? Sure he wanted to lead the pack but at the same time he clearly wasn't a good leader. He needed to become better; could he become better? "Talk" "You" Think

 

Mount Volkan wasn't somewhere that Epiphron Adravendi usually found herself. The land was slightly treachorous, the danger only accentuated by the snow-covered landscape. Winter had truly made its presence known and their was no denying the unshakable cold that seemed to seep into her very bones. A sigh would escape her lips as her paws carried her frame over the rocky terrain, the breath emitting in the form of a puff of white air. Though the temperature had dropped drastically, the volcano provided a kind of dull warmth that was certainly welcome to the woman, though the nostalgia that flooded her being was more unpleasant than anything else. Tortuga had ruled these lands once. Alacritia seemed a different place now, young wolves claiming lands that had once been free, oblivious to the kingdoms that had once ruled these lands. Though she had once not been a fan of politics, it struck her as strange that many of the names once known throughout the lands now felt more like mere stories rather than actual history. So many familiar faces had disappeared here, replaced by new families and new packs in turn. Admittedly, Tortuga was one particular pack that she was glad no longer ruled; this place still gave her a foul taste on her tongue. Another sigh would escape her throat as she continued upward, perching precariously on each ledge of terrain before pushing herself further up the incline. Falling here would mean grave danger -- even death, given how icy the land tended to get during the winter. Her nose would twitch as she moved, realizing suddenly that there was another wolf nearby. Not too close, but close enough to cause a bit of curiosity to well up inside of her. Sapphire gaze would dance around her as the woman's head dipped to the ground, tasting the scent carefully. It was unfamiliar to her, but she had never shied away from things she did not know. Lips would purse as she made her way closer to the scent, trekking carefully over unstable terrain before she found him -- a male with quite curious markings, his face buried beneath his paws as though in defeat. "Why so blue?" she would inquire gently, though kept a good distance away from the stranger. It wasn't the most normal of places to be found, especially in such a strange position; she found a gentle laugh escaping her throat. "If you're trying to hide, you're not doing a terribly good job... "

Kass was lost in his own misery and panic, and being something more of a pack-bound wolf than a wanderer it didn't even occur to him how very dangerous that could be outside of pack borders. It occurred to him very quickly when a stray pawstep sent a tiny rain of pebbles down the mountain very near to him, and he jerked up his white-masked face to stare at the intruder. Time slowed. Kassander's eyes widened, taking in the form approaching him. The gleaming purity of the ivory coat, the auburn lightly touching one paw and her ear, the shimmering clarity of her sapphire eyes, the way she moved... Kassander's chest squeezed, and for a moment everything was dazzlingly blurred, only the approaching woman appearing clearly in his vision. She spoke, and her voice was the bells of angels tolling through the cold air on a puff of mist. Kass didn't even know what she'd said, so wrapped in shock was he. All he could manage, staring wide eyed and intoxicated, was "Wow.... h-hi." "Talk" "You" Think

 

A long moment of silence took hold as the stranger took in her presence, jerking his head up to stare at her. His youthfulness was invigorating to the woman and she studied him for a long moment, curiosity evident in her sapphire gaze. There was something familiar about him, though she was certain that she had never met him before; nose would twitch, taking in his scent and tasting it for a long moment. The male seemed momentarily stunned, and she wondered if he recognized her somehow, though that slight feeling of recognition faded as he began to speak. Perhaps he was simply stunned at being caught here with his guard down, but he seemed a bit taken aback as he stuttered out a simple greeting. "Hi," she replied, a hint of playfulness audible in her steady tones. The slight stutter held an air of nervousness that she could not ignore. Perhaps it was not just her sudden arrival that had startled him so? Head would tilt slightly to the left as she eyed him, daring to bring herself a few steps closer, her posture always careful and slightly guarded. Being alone for so long had taught her a thing or two, and she was unwilling to let her guard down, even while speaking to a slightly awkward younger male. Epiphron's ears would flick attentively, gaze locking with his own wide stare. "You must not be from these parts?" she would ask conversationally. While a pack had ruled here once, it seemed a stupid place to live with ones family; far too dangerous to consider a permanent home. "What is your name?" Her tone was merely inquisitive, no pressure for him to give her his name unless he wanted to know who she was, and yet her posture held an air of flirtatiousness that was unmistakable as her tail flicked gently behind her.

Kass drank in the angelic voice as she spoke to him. Consciously he was oblivious to the nuances of her movements, oblivious to the flirtation, but subconscious cues made his heart skip a beat and his breath catch as she did. Oh the ivory perfection of her pelt seemed to contain an inner glow, riveting his attention to the goddess. His tail wagged behind him as he peered up at her with shy hesitation. "No," he confirmed in a voice soft and stuttery with awe, "I'm from Ebony. I- my name's Kassander." It didn't even occur to him to brag about being King, though he desperately wanted to impress her. He wondered if he dared ask her name, wanting so much to know but certain he was too common to be bequeathed with it. "Wh-what is..." he managed before his voice trailed off in embarrassment and his gaze dropped to his paws. "Talk" "You" Think

 

She had always thought herself to be exceedingly beautiful, but her heart had been taken for so long that she had almost forgotten just what power a woman could have over a man -- or in this case, a boy. He seemed enraptured by her easy confidence and svelte voice and she found another smirk pulling at her lips, wildly entertained by his obvious nervousness. Her own tail would sway as it curled above her back, yet again taking a few slow steps closer before she came to settle nearby him. He was from Ebony. Had he been there when she'd briefly joined? If so, he'd likely only been a child. She studied him for a moment, considering. "Is Raisa still the Queen?" She'd probe gently, head tilting to the side as she awaited his answer, having been given no sign at all that the ruler was in fact him. "My name is Epiphron Adravendi, by the way. I spent a few weeks in Ebony some time ago." It hadn't been a bad pack at all; simply not somewhere she had wanted to stay for long at the time.

She seemed genuinely interested in what he was saying... or rather stuttering. He cursed the shyness that tangled his tongue even as he hung on her every syllable. She gave her name, and he mouthed it silently, liking the way it felt. It was a beautiful name for an unimaginably beautiful woman. Her mention of Raisa's ruling Ebony, of her having once been a member, brought a faint spark of recognition and he blinked. This angel had been disguised among the wolves of Ebony, yet how had he missed her? Oh yes... his heart plummeted. She'd been there with her husband. The angel, already on a pedestal, soared hopelessly out of his reach, and he could have cried in that moment. "Raisa... my mother, she... she passed the pack on some time ago." Regret seeped into his tone, his youthful heart crushed to pieces as he pictured her curled around... the man whose name completely escaped Kass. "I... I rule Ebony now." He was nearly doleful as he spoke the words that he'd thought earlier might have impressed her, and he hesitated before continuing with infinite sadness, "How is your... family?" "Talk" "You" Think

Despite his youthfulness, she knew she had already charmed him; and while she would never dream of doing anything with a yearling, he was attractive boy and she had no doubts that he would easily find himself a woman when he came of age. The playful smile still played at her lips as she gazed at him, as though searching for something she might recognize in the young man. Though little more than a stranger to her, he struck her as familiar; perhaps he was somehow related to someone in Ebony that she had met before? It was then that he admitted Raisa was his mother. She'd passed on the pack to... him. He seemed far too nervous and timid to be a leader, but she knew that leadership was not a quality one was necessarily born with. Perhaps he would grow to be a leader far stronger than she ever could be; only time would tell. "Interesting.." she would muse, that playful smile returning, her eyes sparkling -- Ebony as a pack had always appealed to her, though it hadn't been somewhere she'd been able to call home during such a tumultuous part of her life. "How are you finding leadership?" she would venture to ask, suddenly inquisitive. Perhaps she could aid him in some way, though she didn't know if he needed advice at all. She, too, had been thrust into a position of power without much preparation, though she had been ruling over strangers. "My family?" What did Kassander know of her? Did he know of Valhalla? Of Syrinx? She didn't know to what extent the Xanilovs were involved in the affairs of the Adravendi family, if at all. Perhaps he simply meant her ex-husband -- and she figured this was the case, given the sudden rise of strangeness to his tones. "I am on my own now," she would offer him a bit warily. It had been difficult enough to admit it to herself that Maverick was gone, that the union that had once bound them had been dissolved by his disappearance, but it was another thing entirely to announce it to the world. "Though if you mean my children, they are faring well." Her 'family' had shrunk significantly, and the blood ties that bound the Adravendis together were stronger than ever now. Beyond her sister, and beyond her children, there were few that she cared about now.