"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
It’s a long walk to Loess from the fields and he thought about stopping halfway through, but Sylva didn’t appeal to him. He’d heard whispers of how Loess was for hire and he figured it would be worth his time to at least have a look around. The snow was up to his knees when he initially began this journey but it’s hardly more than a frost here at the base of the hills and mountains. He tries to recall whether or not he’s supposed to wait here at the border before proceeding. His gray-green eyes scan across the parts of the kingdom he can see, observing a wide array of greenery off in the distance. Vulgaris shrugs and moves forward to explore a little more.
The sun is almost directly overhead and so he casts a short shadow as he slinks along. All the gray and black scales across his body are glimmering like a dragon’s hoard in the winter light. He wonders if Rey is around here somewhere to give him a tour of her home but he supposes anyone would do. Vulgaris usually prefers a familiar face or acquaintance over a stranger, however slight the difference may be.
Every step is confident and calculated until he comes to one of the freshwater springs. He leans his face down to the water’s surface to observe his reflection, curious as to what he looks like these days. Vulgaris snorts lightly so his reflection blurs and ripples before him. In truth, he had hoped for something ugly and horrifying but instead, he found he wasn’t terrible to look at. In fact, he was rather handsome, with smooth angles to his face and sharp eyes that could cut right to the core of someone. What a disappointment. In his dreams, he’s always the big bad monster.
He lifts his head and shifts his weight a little as he brushes the worry from his head. There’s still a lifetime to earn some scars and get that rugged look so he needn’t worry.
07-17-2018, 08:31 AM (This post was last modified: 07-17-2018, 08:32 AM by Wolfbane.)
- Are you thinking of me when you love him? -
Unlike many of his predecessors, Wolfbane doesn’t feel the need to stress borders or boundaries or whatever form of invisible barriers Kingdoms gave themselves. In the past it might have been a necessity but these days, if you enter Loess, you do so at your own risk. Kaurma still lurked out there - a force not to be taken lightly - and wolves slept soundly at the door. Anyways he can visibly see the reflective glint of the mottled gray stallion from where he’s coasting above, coming in hot off the trail from Nerine.
If he wanted to stop him, he could.
Instead he just circles quietly into a drifting cloud to ponder over who or why the brute would come here for. Nine times out of ten, visitors came here for a reason (nix Breckin, the curious soul) and by the looks of the stranger’s casual nonchalance he doubts any ties to a diplomatic visit. So far it’s just the one stallion, too. No one following behind and no alerts from other corners of the hilly territory. Bane supposes he can also throw the idea of an ambush out the door; this one doesn’t look to be a god-mode sort of character.
A possible newcomer, then?
Tilting himself, the pegasus drake breaks free of his heavenly veil and plummets expertly to earth in search of the vagabond. At the edge of a freshwater pool he finds him, banking to a stop with gustfuls of flapping wings and alighting on the still-frozen ground some measure behind Vulgaris. “Hope you don’t mind me joining you,” Wolfbane says with a grin, devious and yet not aggressive, “it’s kind of my thing - meeting new horses in Loess.”
“Wolfbane.” He offers as a way of introduction, bobbing a multihued head before easing closer to his new comrade for a swig of the same water. “Looking for someone, maybe?” The fanged stallion asks after a long, heavy pull, his lips and chin still wet as he raises his gaze to peer up at the gray.
07-18-2018, 09:41 PM (This post was last modified: 07-18-2018, 09:42 PM by vulgaris.)
"love breaks my bones and i laugh."
He feels the gusts created by Wolfbane’s wings but he doesn’t turn to address him until he hears his voice. His gray-green eyes look over the stranger and notes how odd he looks with such bright blue markings. Still, he seems alright enough so Vulgaris offers a slight nod of his head before stepping aside to make room for him. The pegasus gives his name and it doesn’t register any sort of meaning to the serpent but he memorizes it none the less.
“Vulgaris,” he replies as he continues to watch the stranger carefully. For some reason, he’s always been wary of others who are so open to meeting others. His sisters were always so kind and quick to make friends with others while he and his father were far more reserved. He can only offer a shrug of his shoulders when Wolfbane issues a question and he looks back at the now rippling pool of water. The pool distorts each of their faces into something like a dream but he remains only minimally interested in the image.
“I received an invitation so I figured I should come to see what sort of place Loess is,” he explains casually before shifting his weight. He has only given a half-lie, a muddy sort of truth that could get his foot in the door at the very least. His tongue idly finds the point of one of his larger teeth as he lifts his gaze to the rest of Loess and its inhabitants. “Are you the heavy head that wears the crown, Wolfbane?”
Vulgaris looks at him curiously as he begins to note all the similarities and differences between them. Where Wolfbane is vibrant and colorful, he is dull and gray. The older male is a little taller and his chest is broader, but they are each fanged creatures. Does he hunt, then? The serpent has never met another with a taste for meat but it might make it easier for them to bond if they share such a quality. But now is not the time for such prying questions, so he saves it for a later date and focuses instead on the discussion surrounding Loess and its hierarchy.
There wasn’t much to be trusted of the new horse, then. “I command my mercenaries, patrol the borders and keep watch. If something went wrong around here, I’d be blamed I guess.” Bane replies without hesitation, as vague as his new comrade was comfortable being. The word king doesn’t suit this territory or its inhabitants; he’s one of them, they support him. In the colorful drake’s mind there’s no levels or heiercy to it - the majority could easily replace him tomorrow if they wished. “And you, like the others, won’t see much but a peaceful home.”
A throaty sound, humorous and rolling as thunder, breaks free in the form of laugh. Loess herself wasn’t the one signing up for odd-end jobs, only the five chosen were. Lepis his Cleric, Dayé his Ranger, and Arthas his Champion. Two spots yet to be filled and for all he knew, he could be looking directly at his fourth chosen. “It’s what I’m offering that interests people, not the safety of a territory.” Wolfbane explains, settling comfortably while the pale wings atop his back shuffled into place. “In exchange for a payment, kingdoms will have the chance to hire myself and my mercenaries out for whatever jobs they’d like. We’re an expendable armed forces, more or less.” He explains.
Thus far it’d worked. Not one spot in his ranks was going to waste and those who would rather keep to the shadows or their own designs could, without pressure to serve a land for nothing but a title. “Loess is just our home base. A neutral territory for those less inclined towards glory or magic wielding.” The pegasus stallion shrugs himself, cutting directly to the heart of the matter.
Vulgaris does not mean to seem untrustworthy, truly, but he keeps his secrets close to his chest and he shares only what is required of him. Wolfbane seems a little too keen for him to be too open with him and the serpent worries he may figure out what makes him tick if he isn’t careful. Still, he listens as the other speaks and skirts around the subject of titles. The denial of a crown intrigues him and he tilts his head slightly while he contemplates such a complicated creature. Mercenaries with a peaceful home? A smile curls across his lips but it lacks anything malignant to it. On the contrary, he seems pleased with what he hears so far.
“What an interesting set up you have going here,” he mutters idly at the idea of being paid to get his hands dirty when before he’d simply done it for free. “What sort of payments have you received in the past, then?” His magpie eyes are glimmering now as he focuses his attention solely on the pegasus and his words. Vulgaris has never had interest in attaining any sort of titles himself, though others in his family had risen through ranks so easily before him. Magic, on the other hand, was a mystery to him. He had only ever known power from his own body and lacked any interest in the trickery of magicians and shifters.
“If I were to express a desire to join, what would you require of me, Wolfbane?” The smile remains cemented to his expression, teeth glimmering while the slit pupils of his eyes continue their unflinching stare. While he may be rather cold and calculating in his actions, Vulgaris knows that he is only as good as his word. Larva had taught him that from a young age until the concept rooted itself into who he was today. He supposes pledging himself to Loess and its leader is but a small price to pay for something to busy himself for quite some time.
Vulgaris.
@[Wolfbane] vul is such a jerk but he honestly likes wolfbane lmao. i'm sorry he's so rude!
Interesting is good enough for Wolfbane. In the short term it means he’s caught the wayward stallion’s attention, something that doesn’t go unnoticed in the rare gleam of those slit-pupiled eyes. “Payments of good health for my ranks, given magically. Payments in the form of new powers, which most Kingdoms will turn a frown at. Big items, small items … I’m open to suggestions.” The striped drake smiles, casually. A slick pop of his tail against hard-muscled ribs follows in the silence afterwards, before Vulgaris breaks open the real question.
With the subtle twist of his chin and a slight raise to his brow, the Loessian ruler says nothing at all but inhales instead, looking out and away from the viperous male in stoic contemplation. “Activity, preferably.” He starts, expelling a light sigh, “Some common sense would be appreciated; think you can handle it?” The pegasus questions.
A mute laughter reaches his olive-colored eyes, raising Bane’s cheeks slightly but otherwise leaving his masked face untouched. These pockets of hills and streams were nothing without purpose, and this bloke suits the Pirate Lord’s needs perfectly. “If so, you’d become Paladin.” Wolfbane finishes, finally turning his humor and attention back towards the scaled horse.
08-06-2018, 08:40 PM (This post was last modified: 08-06-2018, 08:41 PM by vulgaris.)
Vulgaris
" when she's coming for my heart it feels like armageddon. "
He eyes Wolfbane when he lists off possible payments for their services and he finds himself uninterested in gifts of power. The prospect of health, however, intrigues him. Snapping his teeth and showing his might with the promise of being healed after he’s earned his share? Not spending days nursing wounds like a sick child? A smile creeps across his face but he offers only a nod in response to the ruler’s words. But, of course, there are conditions to being a member of their society, so he continues to listen oh so patiently.
Vulgaris notes the subtle sigh as the king asks for nothing more than sense and a little activity. Was this a struggle for the pegasus to command from his people, he wonders silently? There is a slight tilt of his gray head as he considers the question but he supposes he shouldn’t read too much into the conversation. But then he’s offering up a title, something maybe coveted by others for the snake to call his own. Paladin. His eyes remain focused, unblinking, on the other as he makes his final offer.
“I’ll be your paladin, and in exchange, I’ll do whatever you request of me,” he says as his eyes roam over the rest of Loess again. He’s never sworn fealty to anyone before but he supposes it’s good to get out of his comfort zone every once in a while. “Is there anything that needs to be done now or would you like to wait before you issue any orders for me?”
He gives Wolfbane only a brief glance now. Whether he can rest for the time being or if he’s already being sent somewhere on a mission makes no difference to him, really.
![[Image: Wolfbane2.png]](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/601918740845559818/696502662816071770/Wolfbane2.png)
![[Image: 3bCHvj.png]](https://img.nickpic.host/3bCHvj.png)