[Iorek]

It's uphill for oddities
The stranger crusaders
Ain't ever wannabes
The weird and the novelties
Don't ever change
We wanted everything, wanted everything

---

      The beast roamed around in lands, searching for something to add to his collection of shiny objects. He was already well-adorned with jewelry himself, a dragon pendant on a thick cord hung from his neck, his mane was adorned with tarnished silver and gold trinkets, and a bracelet woven with red and pearl beads. A large -- for wolves and other similarly-sized creatures -- satchel clinked as he moved. A pair of birds with dark plumage flew ahead of him, a magpie and a raven. The birds saw something in the distance and immediately dived down to meet with the hybrid feline.

      Burnt! Burnt! The amethyst-eyed raven squawked as she landed on the chocolate and cream hybrid's shoulder.

      What do you mean? the brindled creature asked but the birds took off and he had no choice but to follow them and see what they meant.

      Iorek came across an abandoned village and the sight of the burned huts brought bile to his throat. Just the sign of humanity brought the memory of the caravan of wolves falling with human arrows in their sides and the archer of his village aiming in arrow at his face. He wanted to leave, he wanted to go before he smelled them or they came back.

      But the scarlet-eyed scavenger knew any humans were long gone since the village was burned to crisp. But that didn't mean there was nothing to scavenge from the burnt buildings and the ashes. Bones, metal, precious stones would fare better than there wooden and skin compatriots. And he could use more treasures.

      The crimson-eyed cat picked his way through the rubble, searching for anything that would catch his eye. Hermes perched on his back, keeping watch from the beast's shoulders while Brynn flew ahead.

---

OOC:
For Fox's Asharya! Please note that your character cannot understand Brynn's and by extension, Hermes's, speech unless your character can understand bird speech like Iorek (also description of the birds are in his profile). Note for Silver: Set before Iorek joins Gemini

[Asharya]

       For Asharya life seemed to have a funny way of happening all at once or barely at all. As she traveled from place to place, region to region some days ran together. Despite knowing that she had been perfectly lucid for the entirety of her travels so far it was getting harder and harder to recall the mundane details in between the more unusual occurrences. So it was, more or less, that she had come to the decision to sit at the edge of the man-place's burnt remains and glare at them.

       Her icy gaze bore into each splintered piece of wood and charred stone, knowing that if it appeared blurry to her in the far future she would be incredibly put out. In the lands her former family had most often roamed human settlements were few and far between. Roaming nomads were supposedly more common but even then she had only laid eyes on a few at a distance. This was new. Ever curious, her hungry mind drunk it in with something like unhealthy ferocity. It wasn't until the distant sound of cawing floated out over the rubble that her focus broke and her eyes lifted. The birds were quickly forgotten in favor of what seemed to be trailing them. Asha huffed out a sigh.

       This was not what she had signed on for today. She squinted at the large maned cat, quickly assessing him as best she could. Some sort of hybrid clearly, but still seemed like a coin toss whether or not he'd look at her and see a chew toy. Rule number one for traveling solo, as she had quickly learned, was to give anything a good bit bigger than you a wide berth. Too late for that. So she stayed still and watched for as long as she was able to get away with. There were a few half-cocked structures left standing between them, but as well as she might have blended in while the fire was still burning at the moment Asha felt like a bit of a sore eye, bold and exposed.

       So for a short while she just watched the big cat as he moved amongst the remains. He didn't seem to be tracking prey, but what did she know? Maybe it was an elaborate ploy to keep her guard down while he meandered in closer... Or, you know, he was just looking for something. Either way, she was in the midst of it now, so she might as well commit. After all, if he hadn't seen her already his birds seemed to be keeping a keen watch. It as only a matter of time. "Lost something, stranger?" For all of the bite she was so often fond of lacing her words with, right then she was shockingly polite. Little mysteries, right? The corner of her mouth hooked up in half a smile, although there was still a fair bit of distance between the cat and herself. She looked around them and barked out a dry laugh. "Er, my condolences if so." The sarcasm, however, seemed to be going no where.

       There was no denying that this cat had an odd look to him. Asha took note of his various adornments, namely the pendant hanging around his neck. She had from time to time in the past had creatures with paws more deft than her own weave feathers and trinkets into her own fur, but recently it reminded her a bit too much of home. Besides, it was a pale comparison to what this big male seemed to be going for anyways. The pack he carried was of particular note as well... A trader, perhaps? Well, that would be interesting at least, provided he didn't plan on adding her pelt to his selection of wares. You can never be too certain, she thought to herself alongside another low laugh, aware that she was being a little extreme but unable to deny the way her muscles continued to coil the closer the cat came.

OOC:
Thanks!~ Just curious, what season would it be for these guys right now?

Table by Silverfrost9

[Iorek]

In the garden of evil
I'm gonna be the greatest
In a golden cathedral
I'll be praying for the faithless
And if you lose, boo-hoo

---

      Iorek picked his way through the ruins, his eyes scanning for anything of value. He carefully moved piles of rubble in areas that had once been the interior of homes. He found little of interest, there were some stone pieces that looked to be part of something. They didn't interest him much but he did find some animal bones that bore cracks from the fire's intense heat. He placed them in his satchel and carried on.

      The scarlet-eyed scavenger was searching for metal. The resource was almost impossible to craft with paws and humans were capable of much using their hands and fire. They could also find gems and other precious stones which they could shape with their tools. Metal was shiny and the beast liked shiny objects which pulled him towards human settlements, though every bad memory he had screamed at him to leave.

      So far, the brindled beast saw nothing of real value to him amongst the huts. He learned that it was best to search villages that had been effectively abandoned, especially because of disaster. The residents would be gone and they would often leave in a hurry. That meant leaving many of their belongings behind and at the mercy of scavengers. The hybrid didn't see anything that would point to other scavengers having already stripped this place dry but he had no real idea how long ago the village had been left to ruins.

      Wolf! Herme's sudden squawk brought him back. The oversized hybrid wasn't alarmed since it was a wolf, not a dog, not a harbinger of a human. He turned, scanning the area until he caught sight of what looked like a fire-marked wolf. He heard her voice call out to him and he moved until he was of reasonable distance, close enough to talk without shouting but not too close as to leave himself vulnerable.

      Brynn returned when she heard the ruckus. Alone, she stated.

      I think your condolences should go to them, he pointed his tail towards the burnt houses, meaning the humans in a deadpan tone. I'm looking for what they lost. The crimson-eyed cat's voice changed as he continued to speak, not its usual close-but-not monotone but instead something more smooth-sounding with a hint of honey. Perhaps she knew something, she seemed like she would with the adornments she had. He could afford to be nicer if it meant getting something in return.

      Are you of these lands?

---

OOC:
Personally, I believe sometime in the early spring

[Asharya]

       The cat perked at the sound of her voice. She envied his feline grace, and wondered if her life might have been any easier if she had been born into the body of a cat. It certainly would have helped her to throw her weight around... Although she doubted she would have spent overmuch time with wolves. Perhaps it was a useless train of thought. Asha became more and more certain of its futility as the large male came closer and closer, until it eventually fizzled out entirely.

       Luckily for her peace of mind he held a respectable distance. While loath to let her posture relax entirely, Asharya was more than happy to roll her shoulders and release at least a bit of the tension. At last he spoke, and when he did the words surprised her. "I think your condolences should go to them," the cat droned in something like a monotone. Without much say so on her part her body let loose a startled guffaw, and she spoke before thinking. "To the humans? I don't think so. I doubt they mourn over abandoned wolf dens, unless the men here are unlike those I've known before."

       While Asha had never found herself on the wrong end of their arrows and spears, it was not unheard of. Humans were in low number where she hailed from and for them meat was acquired when it was needed, from any source available. The thought made her stomach churn. Gaios had been careful where he led them, scouts ever watchful of any enemy, regardless of the number of legs they walked on. To Asha humans were at best competition for resources, and at worse a very real potential enemy. Sure, she had heard stories of those who lived alongside wolves, but she had heard stories of dragons too. As a young pup she had learned to only believe a thing once she had seen it. 

       "I walked for moons to get here, so far that I'm not sure I could find my way back even if I wanted to. I'm not even sure what name it goes by in these parts, now that I think about it." She pursed her lips and pondered, then disregarded the tidbit as nonessential. Asha shook her head and refocused. "Anyways, I was just poking around before passing through. This is the biggest manplace I've ever come across, ruins or otherwise." She shrugged, as if brushing the matter aside. She did still wonder what happened, but she wasn't sure she wanted to keep wiggling that particular thorn. Luckily, now that he was up close, she found herself suitably distracted by all the baubles he'd adorned himself with.

       Asharya squinted again and let her eyes quickly roam over his figure now that she had a better view. The bag he wore had captured her attention, and the small, meddlesome voice in her mind momentarily groused at the fact that he was far too large to rough up and force a little looksee inside. She supposed manners might have to make due instead. The big cat seemed like he was trying his best to be polite, anyhow. Or at least it seemed so as far as she could decipher the mannerisms of a cat. "If you don't mind my saying, seems like you might be poking around with a purpose. Are you a trader?" She nodded at the satchel and waited, effecting a curious and (she hoped) unassuming expression. Asha cursed her own curiosity, but hopefully once this itch was scratched she could go on about her day. Suffice to say, she didn't think she would be forgetting this encounter any time soon.

OOC:
Sorry for the slowness!

Table by Silverfrost9

[Iorek]

I don't trust anything
Or anyone, below the Sun
And I don't feel anything at all
I'm King of the clouds, of the clouds

---

      Iorek couldn't agree more with the female's response to his comment. Humans shed no tears for the "animals" they killed so why should they mourn the loss of their homes? They were a scourge upon the land in his eyes. They took from the land, pillaged and plundered until there was nothing more to take. They slaughtered anything they viewed as a threat and disrupted the natural order of things. He had seen up close and personal what man was capable of.

      But they were useful to some degree with the things they could make with the knowledge and the dexterity they possessed. Metal was not found easily and the brindled beast knew humans crafted metal from earth and fire. He knew a bit about the forge from the boy who took an apprenticeship from the blacksmith. The boy brought his pet with him sometimes and the feline listened to the lessons and watched. For such a despicable species, they do make beautiful things. But leave blood and death in their wake.

      The wolf's circumstances wasn't much different that the scarlet-eyed scavenger's. He had been traveling for a long time and he knew not of the name of these knew lands. He had seen grander villages, the village he was raised in being one of them. The structures were of wood and very little stone, unlike the grander buildings in the village.

      Then the woman asked a question and the red-eyed feline responded smoothly. He noticed her eyes darting towards his satchel and the adornments on his body. He didn't feel very threatened seeing as her head barely reached the middle of his chest. "I can be a trader but I more of consider myself a scavenger," the beast's tone was even as he spoke. "Is there something you are looking for?" He didn't know if she had anything to offer him but he asked anyways.

---

OOC:
Terribly sorry for the wait!

Lion Image from Pixabay | Texture by SisstreDaethe@DA | Table by Silverfrost