WHAT ELSE MATTERS? Aros stood on the edge of one of the most foreboding landscapes he had ever seen. Cold, dense fog rolled around his paws and blocked out the sky around him. Scraggly pines and ceders were little more than vague shadows, hardly distinguishable from the slate background. The sun was moments from setting, but Aros had no mind to leave just yet. As long as he didn't venture into the gaping wetland at his paws, he was sure he would be able to follow his trail back from whence he came. He wanted to stay a bit longer, linger at the edge of the unknown, let the scent of it fill his lungs for a while longer. The western sky glowed a dull red, and from farther in the marsh a bird screeched out a foreign call into the shadows. I wonder what secrets this wetland holds... he wondered. Is there a pack within? A fight to be had? Granted, from the look of things it would likely be a fight to simply stay alive. He had walked the border for a time earlier in the day, and had seen several sets of prints heading in, but not a one heading out. If he ventured inside would he too become lost? He barked out a simple chuckle. But you're lost already, aren't you?" "Speech," Thoughts,

Azalea had entered the fog. It was her first time but as a wolf with a good sense of direction, she was hardly intimidated by it. The soggy grass squished under paw and sent her slipping and sliding now and then. Her usually white bodice and limbs were stained with flecks of mud where she had slipping into shallow pools. Now and then she would redirect herself, digging further and further into the maze, when she saw the movement of gators. Never before had she come face to face with an alligator but she was told they were fearsome beasts and she thought better than to look for trouble here. She paused with a sigh, looking around with a sinking feeling in her stomach. The red headed lass was reluctant to believe it, but she was beginning to think that she was lost. There would be a growl of frustration as she doubled back, treading back from where she had come, trying to remember all the different turns she had taken. Either way, if she kept going long enough, this foggy wet mess would end.

Between the damp ground and dense fog, Aros had come to believe that sound was quite muffled here. Every sound that reached his ears seemed a tad distorted, missing the subtle undertones that made them whole. It was beginning to get a bit disorienting, and was putting the stocky male on edge. So it was that when a growl pierced the night, clearer and closer than any he had heard thus far, his heart began to race. Aros whipped around, inadvertently losing his footing and slipping elbow-deep into a pool of icy water. He yelped in alarm and back-peddled, still trying to find the source of intrusion through the fog. "Who goes?" he called out, deep voice anxious for confrontation, for ambush. "Show yourself, coward!" Aros had, of course, spent the better part of his day thinking on the dangers and mysteries of the the marsh. That whatever lurked in the fog might be anything other than deadly, ill-gotten, or rabid seemed as likely as the sun rising in the west. Aros dug his claws into the sodden soil, bracing himself for whatever was to come. "Speech," Thoughts,

Azalea's annoyed tones would be greeted with a far too near splashing and a yelp. Her paws stopped moving, head jerking up and zipped about as she tried to determine where the sound had originated. "WHO GOES?" The call was loud, broken by the many particles of water in the air. Her head would tip at the those words, realizing that who spoke was wolf. Alligator had been her first fear, her eyes staying near the ground. Now she knew better her fur rose on her shoulders, gaze lifting to look ahead of her in the fog. "SHOW YOURSELF, COWARD!" Now she growled again, head going level with her spine as she stalked forward. In the poor visibility it didn't take much for her to end up damn near on top of the other wolf. The handful of feet between was hardly enough to warrant comfort from Azalea. "You call me a coward and yet you are the one yelping like a lost pup." The girl was prideful as ever, staring down the male with fiery amber eyes and hackles raised. He was only slightly taller than she was and appeared to be relatively the same age. Azalea allowed herself to ease up, straightening her posture and lifting her head once more. "Who are you and which way did you come from?" Honestly right now his name was the last thing that mattered her. She would be much happier to be out of this place.

A shadow appeared beyond him, dark and ambiguous, but rapidly lightening. In no time at all it became a wolf, and a shewolf at that. Aros took a deep breath and sighed, as the likelyhood of an attack decreased dramatically. Just a wench, he thought with a sigh. He rolled his eyes, that he had been so alarmed. Perhaps if it had been a male he would be concerned. Still though, she was a fine specemine to lay his eyes on. He eyed her hips, and her worth to him, in one quick gaze. All things considered, she was not the worse fae he had seen in this miserable land. Her coloring was a bit odd of course, but Aros supposed that distintive was well enough. "My name is no concern of yours just yet, I'm more interested in yours." His questions, as he saw them, were much more important than hers, just as her answers could wait until he had a few of his own. "Speech," Thoughts,

The wolf ahead of her would sigh and his eyes would roll, relaxing quite a bit considering a stranger stood before him. The jerk had the nerve to ignore her rage entirely, looking her over like a piece of meat. It was certainly not the way one sized up an opponent and for that she felt more than a little violated. He made it abundantly clear that he didn't intend to give up his name to her, at least not quite yet. Azalea snorted, rolling her own eyes this time. "In which case we'll just call you Asshole... okay, Asshole?" She shook her head and an exasperated sigh. Her body would lean to one side and then the other, looking around the male and then evaluating the pools of water on either side. She growled a bit. "You know, lets just pretend we never met. I'm not accepting friends right now anyway. Sorry, Asshole." She spoke to him like he was a child, incapable of understanding what she was actually saying. With those parting words, Azalea would jump to the right, into the foot deep water, attempting to splash him with her over indulgent jump. "You can stand there all day for all that I care. I'm getting the hell out of here and going home." She had to get home. The pups needed her. ooc: its an attempt to leave but I don't really intend for her to go. so he can definitely stop her =)

WHAT ELSE MATTERS? The fae snorted, clearly less than pleased with his demeanor. But what did that matter to him? Clearly she held nothing for him, and was not worth his time. He could tell this fae was brimming with arrogance and foolish pride. He saw no scars, her eyes still shone with life; what could possibly give her cause to think so highly of herself? He scoffed. Aros could not help his eyes narrowing, anger flickering onto his face as she addressed him. "Okay, asshole?" Her tone was cloying, and infuriating. Aros took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. She was not worth his time, this haughty, ill-bred mongrel. She lept past him, landing with a splash in the puddle he had fallen in, forcing water up and onto his coat. For all that Aros tried to dodge, it was futile. He sputtered, spitting the filthy water back onto the moss and muck underfoot. He clenched his teeth around a growl, trying to maintain some sort of composure. For all that the femme seemed well-built, that fact that she had clearly come from poor blood had never seemed more apparent. "Back alley trollop," he grumbled under his breath. He turned to watch her wander back into the murk. Aros chuckled, smiling at the fact that she had given him a trump card. "You'll never get out if you go that way," he said. He had walked the borders of this marsh all day and at the moment, if his memory served, this fiery fae was walking parallel to it. He put a pleasant smile on his face, waiting for her to turn back around and come crawling back. "Speech," Thoughts,

The male was slipping, his smooth face twitched and twisting, turning into something more and more unpleasant. It was when she splashed him that he really started pitching a fit. Azalea just chuckled quietly, high stepping through the murky water. She could hear him murmur something but it seemed the Asshole didn't know how to speak up. As she drug herself out of the water on the other side of the rather rude male Azalea's ears pinned to hear him laughing. "You'll never get out if you go that way," This caused her to turn, pivoting to face him with a rather unhappy look on her face. "Oh? And I suppose you know exactly how to get out of here?" Yeah. Right. With an annoyed huff she would glance around, a spike of nerves tainting her fiery gaze. She turned back to him with with a frown, sighing heavily and slowly to calm herself. "Okay, listen... whoever you are, I came here looking to do some light fishing but clearly that isn't happening and all this damn fog is making it awfully hard to see. As far as I am concerned your full of shit to say you know the way out. I think you're just as lost as I am. It may be all fun and games to you, but I have two pups waiting on my return. You see, some of us actually have to take care of others. So please, by all means, go on your own way. OR maybe we could help each other out here and then we will never have to see each other again." Which sounded mighty alright to her. Speech,

Aros listened the the femme's rant with a bland sort of distaste. She was not grovelling. Why wouldn't she grovel? That would have made him much happier. Instead he sighed and gazed into the fog, trying to make the vague swirls into shapes, so that he might more effectively drown out her droning. Despite his best efforts, he did occasionally hear a snippet or two. It would be discourteous of him to not help the fae, even if she hardly deserved it after her snarky actions. He had been raised better then this! And whether it was a ploy on his emotions or not, she said she had pups to take care of. Aros sighed once again. He looked her over, rolling his words about in his mouth before he said them, looking for something with sting. "Yes, perhaps I'm lying, you really can't know, can you? It's not as if you've earned my good will. For all you know I'm as lost as your are. Or perhaps not." He traced the route backwards in his mind, smiling, knowing. "I think I need a good reason to help you out, seeing as until now you've been very rude to me." Aros held in a chuckle. He wondered how mad he could possibly make this fae. Perhaps he should make a game out of it. "Speech," Thoughts,

"Yes, perhaps I'm lying, you really can't know, can you? It's not as if you've earned my good will. For all you know I'm as lost as your are. Or perhaps not." Lost or not Azalea gave no fucks. She could find her way on her own or they could combine their strengths and work it out together, or he could simply lead her out. There was only one answer, she would get out. Still, she hoped she might spy a pool big enough to contain a sizable fish or two. The different taste would be refreshing, stomach turning at even the thought of another damn rabbit. She was happy the pack planned to move soon, then she would get to eat new and different things. Hell, maybe the island wouldn't have any rabbits at all. By the time he spoke again it was too late to push her buttons, Azalea's fit passing just as swiftly as it had come. Coping with the woman was like riding a roller coaster with nothing to hold you in your seat. "I think I need a good reason to help you out, seeing as until now you've been very rude to me." He seemed thoughtful in his words so Azalea decided to play his games. With a coy smile Azalea would step toward him, amber eyes flicking over his form. "I have more to offer than a sharp tongue and pretty face.", She licked her lips and she stepped back, tail half raised, giving the faintest of waves. Speech,

Aros leveled the fae with a bemused look. Her change of demenor was a credit both to her skill at acting and her desperation. Perhaps the wench does have pups at home, he mused. Either way, it suited him ill to sit in a damp swamp after the sun set. The chill was growing as rapidly as the darkness, and it would no do to have damp fur. Her offer, of course, was quite tempting. Even if he wasn't... entirely sure what she meant. It had been a while since he had come across a fae quite so forward and well, odd. Normally those as headstrong as she would attack first and question later. Aros cast a quick glance to the sky. Not much time to waste. Turning back to his companion, he quipped, "Whatever you could possibly offer me, I'm sure it would be of little interest. Still, I will sleep better for having helped a desperate femme in need." He wondered if it would grind upon her, insinuating that she was anything less than perfectly self-sufficient. "From the goodness of my heart," he mocked, "I would be more than happy to lead you out. Follow me." Aros turned with a flick of his tail, casting his nose against the wind. He kept his senses alight for signs of the giant lizards, or quicksand. Beyond the avoidance of danger, it took most of his tracking abiltiy just to find the path he had taken in. His scent was faint among the water and damp, and his trail hard to discern visibly through the fog, but they were much closer to dry land than the fae likely assumed. In fact, it was hardly two hundred lengths before Aros broke through a line of dense scrub. The fog remained, but before him stretched a dry scrub land. He smiled and called back over his shoulder, "And what does she who doubts think of me now? As irritating as you first assumed?" In part, he hoped her answer would be yes, having enjoyed their encounter quite a bit. "Speech," Thoughts,

As the nameless male cast his eyes upward, Azalea too took a moment to glance away. She looked around, head turning to the left and then the right. Dark was coming quick. "Whatever you could possibly offer me, I'm sure it would be of little interest. Still, I will sleep better for having helped a desperate femme in need." Azalea sniffed at his first words but was just plain offended to be called desperate. She was NOT desperate. Azalea was a talented hunter, navigator, and fighter. And she knew enough of healing to close a wound and save herself from bleeding out. In all ways she was superior to this dumb male. Steaming, Azalea held her tongue. "From the goodness of my heart," He began and Azalea's eyes shot to him with a look to kill, "I would be more than happy to lead you out. Follow me." His deceptive tone was enough to make her want to turn around and walk away but he was offering her the chance to get out without hours of searching. The she-wolf gave chase, following his slow procession through the fog. For a while she wondered if he was lying but then he seemed to recognize something and stepped up the pace though just as cautiously. Aza had let her guard down by now, following him with her eyes locked on the back of his ears. When dry, solid land formulated from the haze, the male seemed triumphant. "And what does she who doubts think of me now? As irritating as you first assumed?" Azalea cocked her head to the left and smiled, though her smile was softer now and not as harsh. "She still finds you quite irritating." She straightened up, her face gaining a dignified look, "But... I will say you're... scrappy." He had somehow pulled it off, getting them out quickly. If not for his help she knew for a fact that she would still be searching. "What can I do to repay you? Perhaps I could tempt you with a good meal and place to stay the night?" Valhalla. While Azalea held no rank anymore, she still held sway with her aunt and could get his short visit okayed.