Morgul

Post-dated for January 21, 2021; East of Stone Mountain

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 As his feet grew tired and his mind foggy, the air seemed to begin to echo. His breath became smoky and droplets of chill rain clung stubbornly to his coat. Far had he come from the north, avoiding as many in his path as he could. These lands were new and could not be trusted. This afterlife could quickly become yet another death for him should he falter.
 The pads of his paws had grown raw with his passage over ice in the north and rocks in the south. On he had kept, seeking no more than somewhere warmer. Perhaps there he might find peace. Nothing yet had motivated him beyond the distant promise of sea spray and warning howling from seemingly every mountain he dared pass. Taikon found himself friendless, unknown, and unwanted in this place. There was little here for him.
 Chewing on the last of a small rabbit he had caught in the thicket, the prince of nothing lie within the valley between two great peaks. The weather seemed more sheltered here, but he kept wary, eyes flitting often to empty spaces through the trees.
 Dark had been his dreams. They were poisoned by faces of women he no longer knew. Blips would haunt him, waking him in the night, but he could never hold onto them for very long. Misery followed his footsteps even as Taikon rose again, moving forward with thin and almost frail motions, like a dead man walking. The brush of a cedar sprig on his weak coat and the feeling of sun on his chest should have brought life to him, but his gaze remained sodden and downward.

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She prowled through the under forests, hearing the sounds of the crisp birds through and the pattering of the rain. Masking the sound of the snow crunch, as all there was but a light downfall. A quiet huntress, through the woods as her jade eyes glanced between the trees, eyeing carefully to what could be seen. Each step was taking with a precision, for she knew the slightest sound would make anything flee ; and likewise the darkness her pelt held compared to the winter was a clear disadvantage as Desdemona stuck out like a sore thumb.

But she stalked on, carefully.. Before finding her prey, and a swift pounce! It was a short hunt, where her prowling and leaping was a successful capture, and the sparrow crunched beneath her paws. Though it seemed while wholly focused upon the small prey she caught, her nerves let another slip by with a presence.. And she moved from the bush she leapt out — assuming the other had already seen her from her small hunt. A chuff, of greeting.

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 The startled fear of a small bird was only audible for a moment before Taikon heard its sickening end. He stopped, shifting his focus to the sound, looking for a bobcat or fox given the silence in the hunter's step.
 Instead, a slender woman stood as the culprit. Tawny ears tilted forward as she chuffed. She had a grace about her that seemed almost other-worldly. The rich tones of her dark fur seemed brighter even than his white coat — it was clear she had been eating well. Licking his lips nervously, Taikon dipped his head in greeting. Pack wolves were not his forte, but his days had grown silent and ever lonely.
 “Your skill is impressive,” he admitted. “I didn't hear you at all.” This was not an easy feat for such a tall woman. Though the trees shifted and carried the extra shivering sounds of earlier drizzle, he was an alert and cautious wolf by nature. He offered her a calm smile, though any joy in it was flimsy.

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"Apologies, I did not mean to sneak up." Her paw shuffled the sparrow to show she meant to be hunting then to be stalking another wolf. A compliment was brushed off for in general the woman wasn't too knowledgeable to.. Accept such ways, and even with her packmates were a shrug off. Though it was not in ill-intention.

A jaded gaze upon him, "You do not seem like you are from around here," the guard noted. He was gold and white, a creamy residue with almost.. She couldn't put thought upon it correctly, but Desdemona thought he seemed 'pitiful' almost. An older man, far older then herself then most who took to the nameless mountain and wondered why, such a man would be wandering alone. He did not smell like a pack at all.

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 He couldn't help but be at least mildly distracted by her fine-featured, silken essence. The way she moved was expert and deadly, like a trained assassin who had never been taught to kill. It was rare that Taikon was distracted by a woman's beauty, but there she was, and there he was, to the point where he almost didn't here what she said.
 Taikon shook his head. He did not mind the intrusion or slight startle.
 “I'm not,” he admitted, nodding. The prince of nothing thought momentarily of telling of his theory, that he had died and been resumed in this new place. It sounded entirely insane in his head, so he didn't mention it. “I headed south from far up north,” he mentioned, finding this likely more relevant to her everyday happenings. “It's much warmer here,” he mentioned with a weird smile.
 “I'm Taikon. You're quiet, but a name would be better.” The joke landed flat.

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"How far is the north from here?" When she thought of the north, there was the cold tundras, and pines of the land. The winds that brought a endless winter-like, though all but an exaggeration for Desdemona has never visited to the true north. She wondered how close she was at some point though, remembering her birthplace was usually cold and covered in pines, and yet didn't convert like that of northerns. She grew in regular temperatures and seasons, eventually ending within Morningside..

Memories though, that should be buried with the rest. Some part of her she too, had lost her memories. And yet, the guardian remembers it all — even to the very inch of her death.

"I am Desdemona," the woman greeted, tipping her head lightly in a polite gesture.

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 Taikon described further, hoping to something of value to the woman. “It took many days to get here. These mountains are a formidable challenge and barrier for any traveler,” he said, gesturing from Stone Mountain to the end of them far beyond in the north. “I went around them, but the road was hard,” he told her, nodding deeply, for that was all he was willing to offer a stranger. It had in truth taken him almost half a moon to get here. The lands in the north were harsh and brutal and he was not build for them, despite his pelt colour.
 He focused instead on her, for she was far more interesting than his traversal of the northlands.
 “Desdemona”, he repeated, sampling each syllable and hoping to remember them for better fortune. He offered then a strange bow, tilting his front half quite low and deep, poising one front paw in a curtsey, bent, proper. When he rose, he continued as if the gesture had been normal.
 “What can you tell me of the packs nearby? I worry of retribution as a traveller. I'm not sure who I can trust.” He licked his lips.

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She nodded and took note. That still meant it was relatively near, as she remembered going north was not but a weeks trip, at most it would take a month or even a few — not that she had ever visited, but by mere word of mouth. Yet it seemed as they entered this realm and settled, they were far closer to the north then she has ever been before. A few days time, and yet challenges to take.. Perhaps it would do best to inform @Hydra of this on an off day, if she so decided to expand outwards of their claim.

Many come to Empyrean, and it doesn't seem they have truly scouted too far — all, generally come toward the pack that smelled heavily within the mountains. Large and strong that they were, but it never hurt to see what was beyond. Some part of her, though, would admit the curiosity of what true north looked like.. A tundra, of ice and cold. But as the man mentioned there was mountains as an obstacle, it brought an even more air of mystery, to what was being guarded against.

Her paw lifted and pointed to the forest of reds that was nearby, "There used to be a pack there, but it seems they have left some time ago." She didn't comment his strange bow, unsure what to make of it.. She felt it was best not to comment, and even then, she wasn't sure what to say about it besides a hesitated nod, as she spoke.

Continuing on, "Further south are more packs. Though they are vicious," remembering faintly of the Nightwalkers more.. Bloodthirsty traits, "to the northwest is a group of proud warriors, hailing to the mountains as well." The only ones she really knew of were Vanderfell, and Nightwalkers... The rest, was not mentioned in passing if they had come or not.

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 Desdemona had a way about her that caught him off guard. There was something strange and sultry in her gestures and the dark chocolate rhythms of her coat. It made him feel strangely uncomfortable, though he tried to surface only respect.
 Taikon listened carefully to her instruction. She showed him easily to where he should not go, but said nothing of where he might find refuge. He found this both strange, and yet expected. It spoke of someone who was focused on the bad, careful to search out the poison and never find the regular joys offered to those who looked. Taikon frowned.
 “Thank you,” he said sincerely, dipping his head. “But I'd also like to know the welcoming, if you've found any,” he winked at her, knowing that she probably wouldn't appreciate it the way that he had enjoyed giving it.

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She unknowingly, saw the worst in everything. Prepare for the worst before it would happen ; Desdemona always held suspicions as soon as someone shown to be anything distrustful. Yet that was rare moment, not too many wolves she met had been like that, or shown outright their bad tendencies. She supposed the only one that was remembered.. Was a boy, who by far, was two-faced, and trying to keep toes in both worlds for a reign he could not handle. But in this new land, there was no signs of him, and surely, she wouldn't see him again. 

"Up to the north mountains, there's a pack of strong warriors." But other packs, were unknown, "there are more I have been smelling, but I do not know who they are," she added. Their scents trailing through the outside within passing, and vaguely knew they existed by she hadn't come across them. They were farther then the grounds she was comfortable crossing, and only could hope, they were not on the bad side.

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 The chocolate woman was straight-laced and did not falter in her information. Taikon took it all in, hoping that it would be useful. In his mind, he was attempting to plot a vague course given the valley between the mountains. He wondered what was east, but Desdemona had not mentioned that direction. He wondered it if was more of the arctic wastelands he had come from. Watching her vaguely, Taikon gave a great sigh, looking out to the east, then the west. It seemed a minefield in her eyes.
 Taikon then made a choice. He lay down, keeping his feet under him, and then taking a chance by folding more toward his side. For what did it matter if it was vulnerable, and he had once died again? Did one die again? He knew he wouldn't find out. Not today.
 “Does it concern you? These others?” He asked. He waited for a moment, looking out to the unknown.
 “I'm not much a pack wolf. Poor track record on that front. But, I travel a lot. Perhaps there are scents you are curious about but can't venture to?”
 Of course, it was unlikely he would have offered such a service if she had not been beautiful.

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