The bees buzzed in multitude, and what with the warm, sodden heat, Archaic could not help but feel a tad sleepy. This contrasted quite drastically with his surroundings, but he could not be stirred to care. The skies were unleashing hellfire and torrents above him, forcing him to shelter beneath the feeble protection of a young tree recently snapped in half. He smirked up at the clouds, blinking and shaking his head whenever a drop would fall too close to his eyes. Wonder who pissed the gods off today, he mused to himself. With a sigh he rolled over onto his side. For all that the rain was ice cold, the ground still held a certain warmth, and he tried to imagine it seeping into him as he let his eyes close. The thunder was oppressively loud, yet somehow comforting. It was blunt and straightforward, and as far as Archaic was concerned, quite trustworthy. If you weren't already fried by lighting, what did you have to worry about anyways? No, the thunder had never spooked him. He cracked an eye, wary, and scanned the branches around him for arachnids. Spiders, on the other hand... He sat up once more and shook himself, trying to rid his body from the terrible feeling of bugs crawling about under his fur. He grumbled, his smirk becoming a sulking pout. So, perhaps he was not as comfortable as he thought... The man sighed and snarled up at the sky. And who gave you the authority to ruin my day, you poxy piece of shit? Perhaps he could make better choices than to curse at the gods, but he was already in the middle of a monsoon. If they meant for him to die, now would be the time regardless of his behavior. I can talk!

Sass and vinegar? Kaliska did not care at all for the turn in the weather lately. She slipped from under one tree to another seeking a suitable shelter as the rain beat down and the thunder roared. The sleek, little femme growled in discontent as her ears flattened to the side of her head. Another flash of lighting lit up the sky and she turned her face skyward. "YEA! You think this is a storm? I've seem more moisture drip off a blade of grass! Go ahead throw it at me you?." Her voice trailed off. Kaliska didn't really believe in gods or spirits and so she wasn't sure exactly who she was yelling at. Fate, perhaps? Sighing she did her best to shake the excess water from her fur and continued on her way until she noticed another wolf. So she wasn't the only one to get caught out in this storm. His shelter didn't look to secure though and so she would have to continue on. "Come on, there's got to be something better to shelter under than that."

Arc watched the small female approach through the downpour. Where at first she was little more than an indistinct shadow, she soon took form. He rolled his eyes as she cursed the weather, as if he had not done the same mere moments earlier. She seemed such a tiny thing; a fact worsened by her sodden fur. It clung to her in strange way, and Archaic could not decide if she was attractive despite this or not. He wondered if it even mattered. This was not the weather for love making, and he really wasn't in the mood anyways, not to mention- e cut his rambling thoughts off. Why was he even considering it? He chuckled at his own neuroses. At the tail end of his laughter, he caught the fae's snide remark about his shelter and it nearly evoked a glare from him. Instead he barked out a quick laugh and slithered out from under the paltry branches. Perhaps this day had promise after all. "Hmm," he said, casting a mocking glance upwards as he loped after her. "You know, I agree. Your shelter is much better." He wondered vaguely if his sarcasm would offend the woman, as it would surely sap at his enjoyment. With his usual lack of social tact, he fell into step beside the fae, eyes bright yet sharp, tail lifted up as if he was having the finest day of his life. "Lovely weather, eh? And what brings you to this neck of the woods?" There was a fine line between interest and passing the time, he supposed, and if one could distinguish it now he would have been glad for it. I can talk!

Sass and vinegar? Kaliska let out a laugh at his comment. Well, at least he had a sense of humor, and was fairly cute to boot. He'd look much better dried out. If it it would every stop raining! Liska turned her head to the sky and frowned trying to gage if the rain would let up soon or not but it certainly was showing no signs of stopping, or even slowing down. She looked at the brute, smiled then trotted right toward's him intent on moving into his shelter. She wasn't big on personal space being raised in a pack that practically lived on top of one another. "Point taken, now scooch over! Don't leave a lady standing in the rain. Oh, and I'm Kaliska Kaltharsis by the way, lone traveller, just passing through. And you?"

A peal of thunder shook the earth under his paws, briefly making his ears flick back in alarm. As a pup he'd been led to believe that there was a whole 'nother world on top of the clouds. Rain was always either a gift or a sadness; the birth of a new being or the death of one. A rainbow meant that something from the sky world was coming down for a visit and if you could just get to the spot where it touched down, you got something for your efforts. Thunder was perhaps his favorite; the product of a thousand giant beasts stampeding across the sky. Sucre could remember laying with his head sticking out of the den, staring up at the sky and imagining what the beasts looked like. He remembered not being afraid by each guttural sound, but awed by them.

This awe and the general pleasantness he associated with storms put the brute in a ridiculously good mood. He hummed to himself, moving his head with the force of the music whenever he hit a particularly splendid note in his mind. Sucre's eyes would squint with the effort, the voice in his head reaching impressive heights, and then he would relax into softer, more common tones, all the while humming away, pleased with the performance that graced his imagined ears.

The brute trotted on, impervious to the pessimism that came down with the rain to infect the nearby wolves. His coat was soaked; every last hair on his body firmly stuck to his frame except for a patch between his shoulders and a patch between his ears, both of which stood in spikes. Plastered to his belly was a wide variety of foliage; each twig, seed and leaf betraying the places he'd been. There was mud between his toes and splattered upon his legs. None of this damped his mood, for Sucre was firmly set on being happy.

What's this? Sucre stopped and stood still for a moment, his paws sinking into the mud with a soft squelching sound. Before him, not too terribly far way, was a pair of wolves and not knowing a stranger, the brute made up his mind to befriend them. It'd been some time since his last encounter with wolfkind and he was eager to hold a conversation again.

Onward he marched, tail held loosely behind him a relaxed greeting. He came upon them panting, dripping and grinning from ear to ear. "Beautiful day, isn't it!" It was less of a question and more of a statement, for who would disagree with him on the sheer beauty of the storm? Behind him, a bolt of lightning lit up the sky, blasting the air with thunder so loud it rattled his insides. Yes, this is a fantastic day!

That the fae approached him so readily was surprising, but Arc was not exactly miffed. Confused would have been a better word, and his eyebrows drew together as she wormed her way into his tangle of branches. He turned, standing now outside of his previous shelter, flummoxed as to what had just happened. "My name is Archaic..?" His confusion leaked through, and his statement came out more like a question. Thunder and lightning roared around them, and he resisted the urge to flinch in front of this Kaliska creature. As if his day was not peculiar enough, another voice entered the air behind him, sounding positively chipper. He resisted the urge to groan, a sense of premonition falling over the brute. You've got to be kidding me... "Beautiful day," he claimed, and Arc considered that he might push the male into the mud and see how he liked it then. A glance back towards the tree where the tan woman now lay filled him with dread. "There's no way we'll all fit..." "Talk" "You" Think

ooc: so SORRY FOR THE WAIT

Kaliska's small frame slinked into the shelter, her body pushed against his until she got herself comfortable and out of the rain. There. It wasn't so bad being a gentleman, now was it? The brute, who introduced himself as Archaic was now more out of his shelter than in and Kaliska smiled sweetly at him. It was then that another brute approached a large, dark-coated male that seemed quite cheerful. "Hahahaha?." she said sarcastically. "Beautiful as a water buffalo's backside." Turning to Archaic she nodded before turning back to the stranger. "He's right you know but since the day is soooo lovely to you I'm sure you won't mind standing there in the rain. Maybe you'll even be a gentleman and get me something to eat." She winked playfully at the male. "Speech"

"Beautiful as a water buffalo's backside," the fae quipped, making Su's mouth fall open in feinted shock. "Madame," he gasped, "I can't begin to imagine the kind of backside you've seen."

Her next sarcastic comment was parried with pretended ignorance. "Of course not! It's grand out here and I'd never dream of encroaching on your little dry haven." That should put the other male at ease. Really, he was already soaked and muddy. At this point seeking any form of shelter was futile.

Suddenly an intense itch lit up his side and the brute flopped down in the mud to combat it with a hind foot. Lordy! It was like a hill of fire ants had been dropped on him! He chased the itch all around his side for a full minute before it subsided and after Sucre was rid of it, he jumped to his paws once more. Mud now coated his right hip and tail, connecting the mud on his leg with the mud on his belly.

Ah, ahem. Now, where was he? Oh, yes. Sparring. There was no way he was going to get roped into hunting for someone else. A gentleman he was not. Dead serious, he countered,"I would, I would! But alas, I'm afraid I can't with it raining and all. Major safety issue. I could slip in the mud and break my face."

The male's sarcasm brought a bark of laughter up and out of Archaic's lungs. It was refreshing to know that he had in fact been joking, and the wit only piled on after that. It was with great relief that the man said he had no intentions of encroaching on their already crowded abode. He cast a dry glance over his shoulder at the woman now nestled in his personal space. Archaic opened his mouth to thank the man, but cut off in surprise as the man doubled over in a sort of itching fit. Arc's brows raised and stayed just so until he was recovered. "Well, uh, now that that's out of the way..." He said, amused sarcasm dripping from his maw. Another chuckle was brought forth as he witnessed the stranger deftly avoid the woman's request for a meal. Archaic's toothy grin broadcast his approval, and he turned to the fae. "Some men just have no manners, am I right? He does have such a unique face though, it wouldn't be right to ask him to risk it." Archaic chuckled again and returned to the dark brute. "What's your name, Sassmonger?" "Talk" "You" Think

ooc: sorry for wait and shortness ><

Kaliska winked at the red-eyed male. "Oh trust me, you can't. But I can imagine some backsides I'd like to see." She giggled mischeviously. The words had just slipped out of her mouth and the truth was Kaliska really didn't have much of a filter when it came to her words. She watched amused as he scratched at himself, content to rest in her shelter. He spoke of the safety of his health but she just smiled as she gazed up at him. Turning to the blue-eyed wolf with a grin. "Oh of course? and we wouldn't want him breaking his lovely face now would we? It would be a true tragedy for all of Alacritis." Her voice dripped with playful sarcasm. These two males were proving to be more fun than pretty much the whole of Alacritis. The rain was starting to let up at least now and rays of sunlight were slowly piercing their way through the clouds. "Speech"

Ate the bread that once was stone Fell from a cliff, never broke a bone The fae's response caused his brain to freeze momentarily and when he recovered, Sucre silently gave her a point for causing his misfire. Well then, if she was gonna go there... "Funny, I was thinking the same thing." "Well, uh, now that that's out of the way..." Just alluding to the The Itch made his skin prickle. He would, however, resist the urge to scratch it again now that the other male had drawn attention to it. Mock serious, like he'd taken one for the team, he replied, "It had to be done, stranger." The brute's hide twitched, his whole left side jumping spastically. Sucre resisted. His itchy skin wouldn't become the center of their conversation if he could help it. The other brute commented on his manners and Su was quick to point out his own lack of courtesy. "I don't see you jumping up for the lady either." Really, chivalry was dead so she should get her own food, but that was beside the point and he'd have thought about that mental statement further had they pair not started to comment on his dashing good looks. Whoa, whoa, whoa! The sarcasm wasn't necessary and they were needlessly, irreversibly wounding him, and the brute took on an air of hurt pride in response. It was all for show though; his words betrayed how false the gesture was. "A tragedy indeed! Can you imagine Alacritis without this enchanting face? You've done the land a great disservice just by asking me to risk it." Alright, alright, Su voted they turn their attention on the other male now. It was his turn to come under fire and take a few hits. "So, what's holding you back?" Sassmonger. He liked it. Maybe he'd start introducing himself that way. Mr. Sassmonger? Mr. President, the Divine and Wonderful Lord Sassmonger. Yeah, had a nice ring to it. Sucre dipped his head, gracing them with a sarcastic bow. "Name's Sucre. What's yours, grumpy gills?" Bowed down to get the kings overthrownSucre