[arion]

It’s quiet in the early morning. The sun is just beginning to rise, creeping oranges and pinks across the sky. The chill permeates the air, frost kissing the petals along the ground, introducing them to the winds of winter. It’s silent - and Saboro claws kiss Inarian soil once again. He had well and truly lost them, he knows. Saboro is long behind them. Whatever trackers might have pursued him had long lost the trail. Perhaps when he went over the mountains, or across the desolace. Through the ocean, around miles of forest. Perhaps no one had pursued him at all. Arion wasn't worth anything - a wayward harpy, a once-slave finally free from those who had took him as a child. He had long been forgotten by the world, and to be forgotten by those who had plucked him up from the earth would not be a stretch, or a bad thing. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t going to risk it. And he knew that they would never be here. Wadjet was a guiding compass, his true north, and he took her words to heart in the unexplored terrain. There were many things he did not know about the outside world, but the black mamba guided him effortlessly, and as the winds got colder it was with a new sense of fondness that he curled around her in the dark, his thick fur warming her cold blood. He will not leave her behind. She is his one luxury, and as Arion passes beneath purple tree’s he’d thought he’d never see again, she is snug about his neck, head perched atop his own, almost invisible in the black of his fur. Blue eyes of shifting shades flicker side to side, ears alert, waiting to be noticed. It wouldn’t be long. From what he remembered of the war, they had been quite quick with their defense. But he was not here to fight. He was here for sanctuary. [ooc:10/10 ready for some fun with this. recognize him or not, up to you guys! i would like for him to actually be accepted tho so we could plot something later too, i’m down for anything. also, wadjet is horsefeathers character, I don't know if they've been transferred over yet but she's here and hanging out.]

[Khotto]

His eyes opened to darkness. He was cozy, nestled warmly in the soft bedding of his den. But with a lazy yawn, he stretched outward, warm paws out on cold earth, and then he was up. He slipped into the pre-morning air with his eyes still bleary with sleep, gave his pelt a wakeful shake, and listened. The birds were already up. They murmured softly in the trees, chattering towards the horizon line where already the sky had brightened. Pink blossomed behind the trees from where he sat, complimenting their violet hues, and he smiled. This place had an old magic in it, and it was still alive even after all these years.

He caught something for himself on the way: a vole that didn't quite sense him coming as it sampled a morning drink from a stream. He gave it a swift death and swallowed it down to break his fast, and resumed his brisk trot. Because that was his routine-- roll out of bed, grab a bite to eat, then patrol till noon. The borders were saturated with the deer trails of him and his fellow sentries, and today he would lay down one more tracing of those routes.

Because this last war may have passed, but there was a reason Inaria was still standing.

The sun peaked out through the trees, finally poking above the horizon. He smiled at its dappled patterns on the grass as he went along. The way the light moved, it was almost as though.... Khotto slowed, squinting. No, that was definitely a wolf lurking in the underbrush. Not a trick of the light, after all. He closed the rest of the distance between him and the stranger, noting how they appeared to be waiting. And...was that a snake? "You've reached Inaria's border, stranger. What can I do for you?"

Wait. Those tattoos...he hadn't noticed them at first, blending in with the red fur. But they looked Saboran. He sniffed the air, looking for any sign this wolf wasn't alone. He was mere tail-lengths away now, close enough. He stopped, head cocked, ears alert. "I'm Khotto," he introduced, because there was no reason to forget his manners, potential Saboran or not. Snake or not, as well? He gave the snake another look. It looked...alive? Were they friends? How did he befriend a snake? What kind of snake charmer was this? Was it venomous? Maybe he should back away a little bit, give them some space. No, he had already come this close, that would be weird. This whole snake situation was weird.

He straightened, holding himself a little higher and trying not to look as perplexed as he felt. "And you are...?"

[Wadjet]

The explosion of the volcano was a god send, obviously her fellow gods felt that the time for their departure from the dangerous lands of Saboro was at hand, and so they took it. Never looking back in their flight, the farther they got away the better. It was with divine providence that they had no pursuers. Arion had won his freedom twice over, and she would continue to ensure that his freedom remained.

She coiled closer, tighter, in an effort to keep warm, the chill in the morning air seeping to her bones. Signs all around spoke of the coming winter, and if not for her trusty little heater, the goddess had no doubt that she would have gone somewhere to hibernate. Arion, as much as she loved him, didn’t know much about the world outside of the land of Saboro. With the wisdom that only she could provide, Wadjet taught him all that she knew.

When the neared the borders of Inaria she settled her head on top of his and waited. Of course there was no telling that anyone would even show up at all, but she would do everything in her power to make sure this meeting didn’t turn sour. Arion had been through enough pain for this life and the next, he had no need of more.

The serpent remained silent, and when another wolf happened to appear she watched him. The creatures’ posture did not speak of ill intent, nor did they seem overly confident, rather he looked perplexed, and perhaps a smidgeon of fear but that was to be expected when someone stood before her. She took that as a good sign. Wadjet would let Arion respond, naturally it was the duty of the devout to speak of their gods to those less aware of their existence, let the mortals talk amongst themselves.

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(a tad bit rusty, but super excited for this <3 )

[arion]

Their arrival was swiftly noted, and Arion watched silently as the grey hued scout approached. He felt Wadjet curl tighter about his neck, her long length draped over him like fine jewelry. The thought brought a twitch to his lips - she would have found the thought funny. "You've reached Inaria's border, stranger. What can I do for you?" Arion watched his eyes as they traveled across his face, pausing a moment on those markings beneath his eyes. Yes, he had wondered if he would get any attention with them - so red. So Saboran. Perhaps he truly had been meant to wind up in that hell hole with a face like his. But Arion hadn’t had to kill for his ‘tattoos’. He’d had them since birth. What did that say about all the others? He didn't ponder the thought for very long. The Scout didn’t comment, and Arion didn’t bother acknowledging it. "I'm Khotto. And you are...?” The Scout was looking at Wadjet now, who didn’t say a word, content to remain coiled up in the warmth of his fur. She always like to be introduced, and the wolf had no problem indulging her this one thing. “This is Wadjet,” he didn’t gesture at her, considering Khotto’s eyes had barely left the mamba. “I am Arion. We come seeking sanctuary.” Plain and simple, straight to the point.

[Khotto]

“This is Wadjet, I am Arion. We come seeking sanctuary.”

He looked from the snake to the wolf and back, and back again, trying to decide whom to fix his eyes on. So, they were friends? Did the snake speak wolf? Was there a snake language they spoke instead? Or did the snake not speak at all and the wolf was just keeping it as a pet? How intelligent were snakes, exactly? He'd never spoken to one himself. He took another moment to be hung up on this conundrum before nodding in what he hoped was a solemn and thoughtful way. "Inaria is a sanctuary to many. What are you seeking sanctuary from, if I may ask? We can provide protection, but we like to be informed of who our residents' enemies are."

Are you Saboran? he wanted to ask. But what Saboran hellbent on treachery would answer truthfully? What Inaria was, what he knew in his heart to be right, was the promise of peace to all those who offered peace in return. He could not in good conscience turn away a stranger on suspicion alone. Though he knew some might. But even if Arion and his friend were Saboran, who's to say they hadn't escaped and put that place of violence firmly into their past? He studied the red markings on Arion's face. There was a lot to fear, he knew. But he didn't want to make decisions based on fear. He wanted to make them based on hope, instead.

"And...where do you come from, exactly?"

ooc: sorry for taking so long with this!!!!!

[Wadjet]

As amusing as it was to watch Khotto’s response to her presence, the young goddess did have to watch over Arion’s wellbeing, she could play around later. Slowly the small head rose, inclining just slightly to acknowledge the question of their origin. Oh wasn’t that a spectacular story on its own? Full of mystery, drama, and an exploding hunk of rock.

”Ssaboro.” Wadjet answered plainly. No beating around the proverbial bush, honesty held the key to their acceptance. ”They won’t miss uss.” Another truth. She would be surprised if they had even noticed their absence, there was only so much to pay attention to when the ground shakes and ash falls from the darkened sky. It was also possible that they thought Arion had died from all of the chaos, and frankly that outcome was even better.

Yet should anyone from that place ever come to search out her precious Believer, she would no sooner bite them and be done with it. The purple snake would watch in pleasure as the pursuer died from her venom. Her innate speed held the key, and all it would take to render them dead was a couple drops of the vile neurotoxin. They wouldn’t die right away, sure, but they could contemplate their pathetic life as it drained away from them.

They would not go back.

[arion]

"Inaria is a sanctuary to many. What are you seeking sanctuary from, if I may ask? We can provide protection, but we like to be informed of who our residents' enemies are." Arion blinked slowly, unimpressed with the pleasantries. He had never been one for them and he waited patiently for the Inarian to get to the point. "And...where do you come from, exactly?" "Ssaboro." There it is. Wadjet rose above his head, her voice sending minute tremors through her scales into his fur as she continued to speak. Arion said nothing to the contrary, content to calmly watch whatever expressions might cross Khotto’s face. Perhaps in this instance a bit of tact was in order, but neither Arion or Wadjet had any real skill for it, regardless of how the serpent might argue otherwise. He suddenly thought back to so many years ago, a black hellion with ice blue eyes, and a conversation spinning in circles. No, Arion had never been very good at conversation. Freedom hadn’t changed that. [ooc: i’m really rusty sorry but wanted to keep this going?? if thats cool??]

[Khotto]

“Ssaboro. They won’t miss uss.”

The snake spoke, and his ears pricked up in surprise, both at the simplicity of the answer and the speaker. In the back of his mind he attempted to unravel the loaded question of 'Do all snakes speak, or just this one?' but as he studied Wadjet and Arion and everything in between, he felt the depth of all that he did not know and quietly put the internal examination down. This snake spoke, and was person enough to have been considered Saboran. That was enough, for him at least. He could leave the rest at the monarchs' feet.

He attempted to take his surprise stoically, but it was more than likely that his face betrayed him. Saborans on the border! Or, ex-Saborans, or so they claimed. But he tired of paranoia and suspicion. He took a breath and calmed his features from alarm to a look of quiet interest. "Why's that?" Hadn't he just decided not to make decisions based on fear? It was believable that a wolf (and their snake friend?) would want to leave Saboro and take refuge in Inaria. Of course there was a risk, but letting anyone in was a risk. He'd finish asking his questions, and then...

"Why won't they miss you, I mean?"

Another sentinel might do this differently. Make different decisions. But another sentinel wasn't here.

ooc: i liiiiiiiive

[Wadjet]

”Why’s that? Why won’t they miss you, I mean?”

Oh, how to speak of the ways of the volcanos destruction? The light show was rather exciting, if just a bit overdone. The reasons that they were not going to return to that place, Wadjet thought, would be obvious. The plumes of smoke that rocketed into the sky should have signaled to other packs that something was amiss, then again aside from the direction it came from there was no real way of knowing that it was strictly from Saboro.

”It blew up.” Wadjet replied. There was no great loss sustained to either the venomous snake or Arion, while she did not understand to the exact degree Arion felt about it, Wadjet cared very little for that patch of ground. Actually, she felt very little for any patch of ground she has ever been on, and the only thing worth notice was the soft warmth of the fur she currently found herself coiled around.

Arion, the poor dear, was still silent beneath her. It was apparent that he had no intentions of speaking, at least not yet. She would not force him to either, as some strange part of her relished when he spoke only to her. While she acknowledged his need to speak to others as well, she would cherish the times when they spoke alone.

“We ssearch for a place to seek sssolace.” She spoke after a moment. Her unblinking eyes staring intently at the grey wolf, while her coils tightened every so slightly. Everything was leading up to this moment, so it was important that she not hesitate. ”Would we be able to find that here?”

(kinda short, but I am backk~)