[Tallow]

"They say the sun and the moon are greater beings.

What else could they be? Is there anything else with that glow? With that distant power? What that power we've never known. Or why they do what they do day in and day out. Do they wish to help, or are they bound to their work? There's no way to ever know. But they say we should be thankful for their work, and I suppose I am.

But they say there are forces even greater than the sun and the moon. Forces that wish to extinguish there light and leave us in darkness. Why they hold such ill will is just as much a mystery. But even after all this time they haven't succeeded. But not without trying. They say it bites and tears at the moon, leaving it to bleed down on us."

"No! Will they be okay?!"

"Look up." Tallow smiled down at the pup, "Do they look okay to you?"

Both pups snapped their heads upwards that their guardian thought their little necks would snap. Little Sparrow, the bleeding heart, gave a sigh of relief.

"Yeah. They're okay."

"Is that a true story?" Sparrow's brother, Turrin, pressed.

"It could be." A gentle lie, "You'll just have to trust me. Just know that no matter what comes to harm them, no matter how much more powerful it is, they will always fight. They'll never give up their post. Now it's late, and you two should sleep."

******************************************************************************************************

That moment was a  lifetime ago, Sparrow had long rotted away leaving only bones and an emptiness in her heart. But the scene that played before her rushed it to the forefront of her mind. As if her words could shape the future, as if the fairy tales were true.

The moon bleed.

When the light dimmed Tallow suspected the clouds were rolling in and much to her dismay another snowstorm might follow. It was a good thing she chose this hours to hunt before the going became slow. Curiously she looked up and stopped in her tracks. The moon had been full when it rose, or so she thought. Grey eyes considered the sight. Surely she must have been mistaken. But she couldn't shake the unnerving feeling as she made her way back to her den, for all need for a midnight snack had fled and she craved home.

It wasn't until the tree root den was in sight that the landscape ran pink that she froze like the snow beneath her paws. Head snapped back up to the moon. Tallow paid little attention to her surroundings and how long she remained there. She was transfixed. Pink turned to red, and red it remained. This was beyond her animal brain, but far from a crisis of faith. Even under this spectral Tallow knew no greater force was out there. No greater force would allow Sparrow's light to dim as she did.

[Kazmiere]

It had been snowing so damned much lately, and Kaz was getting sick of it. His paws were constantly cold and wet, snow balling up on the fur of his underside frequently, making it uncomfortable to walk around or run while hunting.

Speaking of hunting – that was also sucking.

Apparently prey animals also liked to hide when blizzards were frequently ripping through the Fringe. Who woulda thunk that deer and the like weren’t a fan of the cold? Kaz was disappointed in their lack of vigour, mentally shaking his head in a ‘I expected better of you’ type of way, like a parent to their naughty child.

Of course, he was thinking such thoughts as he himself was hiding from the cold in a shallow den curled tightly into himself, resembling no more than a thick ball of fur. He was finally warming up, but he hadn’t eaten for a while and he knew he should head out to chance a hunt while the winds were still down, before the clouds rolled back in.

With a loud serious of grunts and sighs and moans, Kaz forced himself to his cold paws and out of his little den.

“Winter,” he scoffed. “What a rip.”

He wandered around for a while, eventually found a rabbit and caught it with ease – no fighting back this time, fucker – and decided to chow down right then and there. It didn’t take long, he was pretty hungry apparently. He could have gone for another, but found himself distracted by a form in the near distance.

Curiosity got the best of him and he decided to head on over to see who it was – heck, maybe it was someone he knew?

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure wasn’t moving at all. She was just staring… at the sky? Kaz looked up in the general direction of her focus, but saw nothing more than just a pinkish red sky.

O…kay…?

Soon he was a mere couple meters away and he stopped then, wondering if he was approaching some sort of psychopath or something. What a weirdo.

“Have you never noticed the sky before?” He asked in a tone that quickly expressed his tendencies to be a bit of an asshole. Feeling cheeky, he continued. (Better not be a psychopath.) “It’s pretty cool, y’know. Sometimes it pisses water on us, sometimes it’s blue, sometimes it’s gray, or even red like it is now. And apparently, in the winter, it does nothing but fucking SNOW on us for DAYS.” He grumbled, looking up at the sky then with a wicked scowl.

“Actually, I change my mind. The sky is kind of a dick, it's not cool.” He mused then. Maybe if his paws had just a bit more dexterity, he’d flip off the sky. But alas, his wolfhands were not quite that evolved.  

A E S T H E T I C

[Tallow]

To enraptured with the fable playing out in front of her Tallow was unaware that another had invited himself into her little patch of forest. She turned to face him, only half listening to his words. He didn't seem to understand.

"But it went dark, and the red is-"

No. It seemed she was the one who didn't understand. This little shit was mocking her. Wonder faded from her expression as it turned sharp as flint. Her body turned to face him head on. Tallow was not in the mood for a physical fight, despite they were both evenly sized and she was healthy for winter. Fighting was only for survival. While obnoxious, this wolf didn't challenge her physical well being.

"I don't need your smart mouth." she growled, suppressing a cough, "it's usually not that red, not without smoke."

She took the intruder in for a moment, the cold winter wind ruffling her coat. But she wouldn't relent to the wind or this stranger.

"What are you doing here anyway? You didn't smell someone lived here? Have you ever used your nose before?" She parroted his words back to him with a curl of her lip, "It's pretty cool, you know."

[Kazmiere]

Despite the fact that Kaz was feeling cheeky, he listened to the lady’s explanation of her sky-staring, ignoring the comment about his ‘smart mouth’. He shrugged his shoulders in response before saying, “ehh, yeah, I guess that’s fair.”  

He turned his eyes upward to the reddened sky, now curious as to why it was actually so red. He supposed maybe it was a little bit strange, he just never paid that close of attention to it before.

After a brief silence, the lady spoke again, accusing him of not using his nose – which was ‘pretty cool’. He noted the copy-cat use of his own words and glanced back at her, wrinkling his nose.

“Har, har. You’re a fuckin’ comedian.” Rolling his eyes a bit, he shifted in his stance. “I can walk wherever I want, thank ya very much.” He informed her, his tone very matter-of-fact. Free world, bitch!

Kaz glanced around them and noticed the den close by. “That must be your place then, yeah?” He asked, but it was more like he was telling her, or just straight up assuming. Which was pretty normal for him to do. He frequently did make an ass of himself. “What a charming little home.” A wide, cheesy smile spread across his maw as he ‘complimented’ her abode.

A E S T H E T I C

[Tallow]

Tallow regarded the unnecessary jester with a cold gaze. Her intent was not humor but to give this wolf a moment to hear exactly what he said, and just how stupid he sounded. Point missed. He was duller than she thought. A bit of patience might be in order here. She sighed, wearied as if bothered by a meddlesome pup.

"That's true enough." her tone gave away her mood, speaking slowly and clearly. Tallow's current brand of 'patience', "You have legs. You have a brain-presumably. There's no stopping where you go. But with that freedom comes responsibility. You never know who you're going to stumble upon if you wander aimlessly."  

The dire wasn't deluded. She had seen his type before, and while he did concede the reddened sky was an anomaly she was sure it would take more than a simple talking to to change his behavior. Seems Tallow couldn't find a decent wolf in these woods to talk and it was a pity. Her social skills were slipping.

He looked to her den when he spoke of it. This was the longest she had ever stayed in one place since her exile. The hollow under the tree roots was homey, warm on even the coldest nights. There was an aura of love that lingered there. But even then, a hole was a hole.

"You require more?" she couldn't hold back a cough before continuing, "It protects me from the elements and give me a base. Let me guess...your parents spoiled you. If your den wasn't perfect they'd dig at your whim. They'd let you get away with being rude. It explains a lot. I haven't noticed a pack scent around here, you must be on your own now. How are holding up? Must be hard."

[Kazmiere]

Unfazed by the girl’s light chastising, Kaz waved the words off with a paw, casting his nose upward. Such unimportant warnings - Kaz would never care who he stumbled upon. He’d probably get himself killed that way one day, but if that was the way he was supposed to go, then so be it. He’d accept death with open arms.

At the mention of her den, the earthy-toned girl seemed to go off, harshly throwing accusations at the loner. Kaz simply listened, raising a brow as she continued on and on, pulling more theories out of her ass than he cared to count on his own paw. When she finished speaking, Kaz remained silent for a few beats, watching her as though waiting for her to say more. He was sure she had more wild theories to try out, and he really couldn’t wait to hear them.

A small smile spread across his face after a short time. ”Oh, are you done?” He asked, a look of surprise - albeit fake - on his face, as though shocked that she’d stopped speaking. ”That sounds like a really great life. You must be speaking from experience, I guess?” He chuckled lightly as he spoke.

Tilting his head to the side, he peered at her curiously. ”You sure have me figured out, lonely girl. Please tell me more about my life, I’m really interested to hear it in your words. It’s like someone wrote a story about me! And I’d be the main character, of course. Center of attention - my favorite, believe it or not!” Smile widening, he held a paw to his heart, as though touched by the gesture.

His smile faded then and he clicked his tongue, shaking his head lightly. ”Shame, though. You’ve actually got the story all wrong.” He shrugged his shoulders. ”I guess you’re better at using your nose than you are at reading people.” His lips pulled down into a sad frown, as though he felt bad for her.

”Anyway, no,” he began, ”I wouldn’t require more than a home like that. You sound like maybe you’re embarrassed or upset with your little den. If you’re not happy with it, I’d be happy to take it off your hands, since I’m actually used to sleeping on piles of leaves and twigs and haven’t had the pleasure of sleeping in a nice den in a few nights.”

Kaz pawed at the ground as he spoke, watching as he flicked snow about before him. Glancing up at her then, he smirked snidely as he said, ”I guess you’re pretty spoiled, hey?”

A E S T H E T I C

[Tallow]

"Missed the mark? Hm." Tallow looked unphased with a shrug, " Must just be the type that tries to get a rise out of others then."

This, she believed, was rather obvious. Looking into his bi colored eyes the theatrical sass was plain as day, er, night in this case. Speaking of such there was a shift in the shade around them. Tallow turned her attention away from her agitator back to the moon. It was healing, just as her story said it would. The wolf allowed a single moment of confusion to take over, looking critically at the fading red, but there were bigger fish to fry. Or wolves to shoo off.

"As I said, it's fine for me. You're the one who mocked it."  And with that the dire went to retire. She could position herself in her den well enough to keep an eye on the fable moon, but Tallow didn't get that far.

Now it couldn't be said she cared for this wolf, his first impression was less than impressive, but something caught her attention. Why would a seemingly healthy adult be living out in the ice on a pile of leaves? Perhaps the intruder was physically mature, but not so much in the mental department. It certainly made sense. Old protective instincts died hard, and while she was far from ushering him into her den for the night she did want to prod. She took a turn before her den and started marking some bushes. To ward off more interlopers? No, though that was the ruse. To buy time to get the rest of the story.

"Who stole your den?" Tallow didn't look at him while she attended to business, "Or whose den did you steal and got chased off from?"

[Kazmiere]

Kaz shook his head at the girl the way a disappointed father might to his child. “Full of assumptions. Were you never taught to assume?”

The girl turned her pale eyes up to the moon again, watching it curiously. Kaz wondered how someone could be so interested in a floating orb that came around every night. But her interest in the moon faded off as she spoke again to Kaz, claiming she enjoyed her little den. Then she walked over to it as though proving how fine she thought it was. But she stopped before climbing in.

Turning, she marked some bushes outside the den and then had more questions for Kaz, wondering about why he was lacking a den. Asking who stole it or chased him off. Pah!

Snorting lightly, Kaz cocked a brow. “You think someone could steal a den from me? Ha!” He puffed out his chest – strong. Look how strong he looked. Toughest guy in town. Fear him.

“I chose this rough and tumble lifestyle. Which is probably stupid, but whatever. I’m kind of a simple guy, if you can’t tell. I haven’t found my place in these forests yet, so I just wander and sleep wherever it is that I start to get tired. It’s been working out so far.” He shrugged his shoulders lazily. He had no direction, no motive, no goals. He was simply here existing.

“I’ll turn that question around on you. Why choose to settle down in one place?” A-ha, he’s so quirky and quick. Though he was curious about the mindset of loner wolves who linger in one given location. He’d been wandering for a long time, and it would take a lot to get him to plant himself down like she seemed to have.

A E S T H E T I C

[Tallow]

Tallow let the assumption comment slide. Her life had thus far taught her that things could usually be taken at face value and it was still in question whether this rude boy was telling the truth. What would his motivation be to lie to a stranger? Who knows, what was his motivation to waltz over and start being an ass in her neck of the woods?

"Perhaps," She answered his second question before finishing her marking. As she spoke of his "rough and tumble" lifestyle she sat in front of the den, listening curiously. Much like Kaz couldn't understand how she remained sedentary Tallow had never understood the life of a loner. Her months alone had left her as hollow as the den and cold as the winter wind. Not that the dire couldn't understand why the stranger would have a hard time finding packs to take him in.

"It's only temporary," Tallow growled, not from aggression but vocal strain, "I stopped here for the season, it has plenty of prey and the snow hasn't been too awful. When things warm up I'll keep looking for..." She couldn't contain a cough, "for a pack."

The dire took a deep breath, not that clearing her lungs would help.

"You've always been alone then?" She inquired, "No want to join a pack?"

[Kazmiere]

The female seemed to be unbothered by his probing, if not a little irritated. But she hadn’t wished him away yet, and so he stayed. But at the mention of wanting to find a pack, her voice faltered – whether because of emotion or because of actual physical strain on her lungs, he couldn’t exactly tell. Regardless, he cocked a brow.

She asked him then if he wanted to join a pack, and Kaz gave the girl a toothy grin. “Wow you’re inviting me to find a pack with you? Jeez, I thought you hated me.” He knew exactly what she actually meant, but the idiot just couldn’t help himself, you know?

His grin slowly faded as Tallow probably glowered at him in response, and he shook his head lightly. “But uh, nah. Not really. Packs don’t interest me much. I can hunt on my own, find my own place to sleep, decide when and if I want to socialize with people. I don’t need to feel in debt to others, it’s not my style.” It was an honest answer, if not slightly narcissistic.

Sighing slightly, he pondered. “Maybe one day when I’m too crippled or old to do things on myself, then I’ll seek the protection of a pack.” That sounded pretty good. Find someone else to take care of him when he’s old and weak. “If I even make it to ‘old’, that is.” A laugh, probably too loud, erupted from his maw.

He calmed himself and looked into the girl’s pale eyes then, suddenly interested in her beliefs and what she considered a good pack. “What kind of pack are you looking for? Or are you seeking one out in specific?” Simply curious. One day it will kill him.

A E S T H E T I C

[Tallow]

"Not quite."

He had gotten the glower he anticipated but perhaps not to the degree. This fellow had far from won her over with his...unique brand of charm, but Tallow was starting to pick up that his intent wasn't exactly malicious. He was an asshole, yes, but she wondered if he was just having fun. It was hard to blame him if he had lived outside of a pack structure. Hard to know the rules of the game when you've never played. And when he continued to speak it was clear not only the rules, but the game itself wasn't clear to him.

"A pack isn't about debt. It's about bonds." Tallow was sure he wouldn't care, "Though that might not be your style either." More presumptions. The dire's ears couldn't help but swivel forward at the too-loud laugh. Was that a cover?, "There' no guarantees for any of us, but you've made it this far. You must be doing something right." A ghost of a smile escaped, "Or you're damn lucky. Maybe lucky enough to find a pack to carry you in your old age."

Tallow returned his gaze. His curiosity must be catching for now she wondered why he was so inquisitive. She couldn't help but feel he must be lonely, a feeling she mirrored. If only she didn't run into such a twit.

"Nosy, aren't you?" More of an observation than an unkind statement, "I need a pack that put family first but...wouldn't mind an outsider like me. One that keeps to their own business, I'm not looking to join a conquest."