Lets make a trade
Intellect Seasonal Solo
03-05-2021, 12:30 AM
He kept waiting for a spring that seemed to never come. The cold, wintery weather just continued to worsen and worsen instead of the other way around. Usually this far south on the continent would get a light layer of snow on and off though out the season, but this year had been the exact opposite. The more the snow and ice continued to pile up around Boreas the deeper his worry became for Void. His only hope was that the male was in Auster as he had intended to be for their search. As Plague had seen in their trip to Auster for the raid on The Hallow's land, the continued icy weather had even stretched down to the southern continent, but not quite as harshly as it had claimed the lands further north. It was difficult keeping himself from going on a search for Void or even just going up to Abaven to see if he had returned home in the mean time, but with Venom expecting, Toxicity's young children to worry about, the rest of the pack to look after... how could he tear himself away for even just a few days? He moved a bit further north from Ashen's lands toward the Rio Grande and frowned as he approached the mostly frozen, slushy shore of the river. There was a thick fur draped over his shoulders and back, tucked into the neck of his leather armor to keep it from falling off as he walked. He hadn't been sure how long he was going to be out and with how much the temperatures had plummeted he didn't want to risk being out after dark without something to give him a bit of extra warmth. His main goal was to scout out some kind of food - whether he hunted himself today or if he returned later with a hunting party. He had come to the river hoping that perhaps fish might be a viable option, but with the surface of the already dangerous water in this state he didn't think that even attempting it would be a good idea. An idea popped into his mind and he reached back under his fur, pulling his flail free of the loop of leather he had attached to carry the weapon against his side. He got a good grip on the handle of the weapon before approaching the frozen shore, his emerald gaze searching for a good spot to attempt this. He found a spot where the ice didn't encroach onto the land too much and planted his feet there so he wouldn't accidentally go tumbling into the freezing water. Tossing his head to one side to get a good momentum going, he brought the weapon down hard onto the surface of the ice. It immediately cracked as the tusk of the boar skull hit against it, shifting the sheet of ice away from the shore a bit. Given a bit of hope by the success of his first swing, he continued until he had cleared out a section of the ice and had revealed the water underneath. He stepped back a bit to admire his handy work and was already trying to think of more effecient ways to do this in the coming days. His flail did the job, but not without a good bit of effort. He wasn't sure if they'd ever clear enough of the ice to safely fish - at least not on the river - but it was still a good thing to have in the back of his mind to make sure they had access to water through this harsh season. "Excuse me." A voice from behind him caught him off guard, making him turn quickly to face the stranger, immediately on the defensive just in case. His gaze landed on a trio of wolves that were significantly taller than any wolf he had ever come across. They seemed to be female, all of them white as snow with thick, heavy coats that were clearly made for this kind of weather. He was able to pick out a few distinguishing features the more he studied them - each had a different color of eyes, one had charcoal socks on her back legs, another had a patch of gray fur that snaked its way up from her shoulder to her jaw. They each had bags draped across their backs and furs wrapped around him in a similar fashion to what he had done. He glanced between them for a moment, trying to assess if they were friend or foe, before finally deciding that none of them seemed to look aggressive in any way. He slowly sat the flail down on the ground in front of him, giving them a curious, but suspicious look. "Yes?" "That thing you have there... Did you make it?" Even more puzzled than before, he gave the flail a glance before looking up at the woman again. "My weapon? Yes, I crafted it." "A weapon?" the woman that seemed to be the leader of their group questioned, looking at the leather wrapped boar skull again. "Yes... See, like this." He picked it up by the handle again and gave it a test swing, pretending that he was aiming for an opponent in front of him. He dropped it back to the ground after his demonstration, the weighted skull sinking into the snow under it a bit. A realization was clear on the stranger's face and she hummed thoughtfully with a slight tilt to her head. I see... I thought perhaps you had made it solely for cracking ice, but I suppose not." Plague shook his head, replying, "No, this amount of ice and snow is very unusual for this area. I've never needed a tool for such a thing before now so I was making due with what I had." "Clever," she responded simply with a smirk. The leader of the band glanced between the two women that stood on either side of her, seeming to silently agree on something among themselves before looking back at him again. "I'd like to purchase it from you." His expression must have showed his shock and disbelief at the proposition because the nomadic wolf chuckled and added, "We had to leave our home land in a hurry and left many of our tools behind. This isn't exactly like the tools we typically use, but I'm impressed with how you used it. I don't have the usual materials here to make something of my own, so if you'll allow it I'd like to trade you for it." He looked down at the weapon and thought about how much work he had put into the project, but he also considered how little help it had actually been in his last few fights and wondered if it wouldn't be worth at least hearing what she had in mind for a trade. "What would you give me for it?" The woman reached back into the bags she had at her side, pulling out a couple glittering trinkets and laying them out in front of her. It seemed to be a necklace of some sort with a thick chain and a sparkling gem on the end alongside a circlet that was studded with purple and white gems. He studied the items for a moment, stepping a bit closer in order to get a closer look. "They are quite stunning, but I'm afraid I would prefer something a little more practical in nature." The only use he could see for the jewelry was perhaps as gifts to his sisters, but if there was anything else she might have to offer then he'd be more interested in such an item. "Do you have anything else?" The solid white woman hummed thoughtfully, her amber eyes seeming to size him up for a moment. She glanced toward the blue eyed woman to her left and gave her a nod. The woman lifted her head and let out a soft howl. A few moments later a trio of spotted felines approached them from the trees. The three snow leopards mimicked the wolves they seemed to answer to in the way that they were all similar, yet different. The lead woman looked down at the leopard that came obediently to her side. "Glacies, go collect Viridis." The feline nodded before slipping away silently, disappearing the way it came. Turning her attention back to him, she asked, "What is your name?" "Plague," he replied, despite his confusion at the whole affair. She smiled softly with a small nod. "My sisters and I raise these leopards. It's a cooperative relationship we have with them. They help us on our hunts and in our fights, we give them shelter and protect them from larger predators. Glacies serves me personally and was pregnant before we left our home land and gave birth here. We would not usually give our leopard cubs to a stranger, but it is impossible to care for them all while we are traveling like this. If you'd like, I'll trade you this cub for your weapon." As she said this, the snow leopard reappeared at the mysterious woman's side, carrying a cub by its scruff. It was still very young, but seemed to be old enough to be on its own for short periods and was ready to be weaned off of its mother's milk. The gray-hued cub looked toward him and revealed wide, green eyes that were only slightly more muted and gray toned than his own. "We've named this one Viridis, in honor of his eyes." She looked to him expectantly and waited for his answer. Plague felt as if this was some sort of crazy, improbable dream, but he also didn't feel like he could turn down such an offer. It wasn't like he couldn't recreate this weapon with enough time and effort if he ended up really missing it. He nodded after a moment and replied, "If you're sure, I'd be happy to trade this weapon for Viridis." Clearly pleased, the nomad nodded to the cub's mother and she walked forward, depositing the cub at his feet. She gave the young feline a lick across it's forehead before picking up the flail that Plague had left on the ground, carrying it back to where the towering woman was standing. "It's a deal then. Care for Viridis well and he will never fail you." He looked down at the cub that was now sitting in front of his paws, their green gazes meeting again. "I will. Thank you." WC: 1767 |
