second times the charm?

Paws were growing tired from travels, and still, she had yet to find any solace. All she knew was gone, buried beneath whatever reality she faced now and forced to create something new. She did her best not to allow herself to linger in that sadness, because she didn't want to know what happened to those she once knew. There were many 'what-ifs' that she allowed to plague her mind, and snuffing them out proved difficult. The only time her mind was numb, was when she slept.

Cozied up in the confinements of a small den, Onyxia rested, and it wasn't long before she was in a deep slumber. 

The difference between reality and her dreams were heavily misconstrued, especially due to how she ended up in these lands in the first place. A single audit flicked, her paws feeling light against the earth beneath them. In the distance, a waterfall poured into a steamy lake, the night sky littered with stars. If one looked close enough, they could see the constellations. Her orange gaze became lost in the night sky, tracing each star into the bigger picture of their meaning. A soft smile crept on her lips while she admired the beauty.

Something, or someone rather, in the distance would cause her gaze to stray. Who she saw near the lake caught her off guard. She squinted, her paws bringing her closer until she was fully able to make out who it was. Those mismatched eyes, and that dumb face. “Luca?” What was he doing here? And what a coincidence. While she wanted to feel annoyed, it was subdued, maybe Onyxia was more lax than she wanted to give herself credit for.

@Luca
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Did anyone ever just sleep in this world? Luca wasn't convinced it was even possible. It seemed that every time he dared to try, he was swept away and deposited in this strange, passive place. That intrusive floral smell enveloping him was the first indication that he was, once again, in idyllic hell. The unnatural harmony put him on edge when he supposed it should have the opposite effect. 

Sleeplessly, he followed where the land curved until he reached the water's edge, settling on its bank and watching how the ripples approached the shore. Nothing other than the water moved. Fish get'ter sleep, he thought ruefully. Fish get sleep an Lobo get nada but mala onda (bad vibes).

The crease rumbling his white forehead blaze when he glanced in answer to the unexpected summons was abominably serious, rather unlike the debonair pirate. For that split second, his features lacked their humor and warmth. Then, like sunbeams evaporating the mist, he grinned his devilish grin. "Well hola, bella dama." His voice rich with an infusion of mirth and welcome, Luca patted his multicolored tail invitingly on the ground beside him.

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At first she thought she might have just conjured him up in her mind. The reasoning for that, however, would prove unknown to her. After she left him, which she knew was the right thing to do, she never gave their meeting a second thought—until now. As he began speaking with his accented words, she was reminded of exactly why she had left him deserted in the first place. Her brows knit together, her orange gaze lingered over to his tail that beat happily behind him. “How are you always so,” she thought about her next choice of words, “cheerful?” There had to be something wrong with him.

She took another look at the waterfall, and then back to the skies before she met his gaze once again. It was all really breathtaking, and she'd never seen anything like it before, but that also raised the question. “Do you know where we are?” This place had many areas she'd yet to explore, and while she knew that Luca was probably also unfamiliar, she figured she would give it a shot.

Onyxia took a moment to appreciate the beauty as it lasted, so much so she desired to stay if she could. She began to check for small dens, or any area that she would be able to rest considering the night was still young. Oddly, being here made her feel light not only in body, but spirit as well.
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"Funny ask, bella." For what reason should he not be? Good company always raised his spirits high like his ship's sails had once bannered in the wonderful wind. Around others his troubles could be forgotten, discarded, washed down by companionable ambrosia—the friend drink. He lifted a paw as though to clink a glass to her in toast then completed the action by tossing the invisible liquid into his mouth and throwing his head back. 

Turning back towards her, Luca watched the wonder and curiosity wrest for dominion on her face. A pretty face, especially when antagonism wasn't its primary occupant. "You have the odd worries," he thought to inform her then, flicking his ears. "You ask 'Lobo, how are you happy? Lobo, where do we be?' Always with the where and the why and the how, bella. This-" he gestured broadly to the lake, the falls, the prismatic sky, and beyond it all, "-is la tierra de los sueños. Land of dreams." Last time she'd asked him, he hadn't given her a direct answer because he didn't know nor wanted to contemplate it. This time, though he did, an undercurrent of disdain traveled beneath his merry philosophies.

"Do ya ever sit back and just enjoy your life?" He was observing her again, with those eyes like ocean depths and daytime shadows, interchangeably dark and light, and trailing her areal inspection. "They can be so short, over like... ehm, like water. Broken by breeze or big fall. I lived in danger, always, all the time. So close to death, you feel like living. Now, I do not choose where the world drops me. I just try to be easy and ride the tide. It is not always easy." It felt good to share this with someone else. Luca thought that he would wake up and his soul would be lighter, less encumbered by bereavement, now that he's opened himself to expressing what has already been lost.

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Onyxia found that when he spoke, she really had to listen. Her brows knit together when he said it was a funny ask, unsure of what he meant by that. She thought it to be a genuine question, but nonetheless, she didn't comment back on it. He then went on to make some kind of gesture with his paw, tipping it back toward his muzzle which only confused her further. She remembered that he made a comment about humans, or something of that nature, and while she didn't know what it was to be one, she heard of them before. Her gaze narrowed at him, silence filling the space that occupied the air before his voice broke the silence once more. “Odd worries? ” Her head tilted back a bit, how—? He continued to explain, though she tried her best to hide the smirk that tugged against her lips as he referred to himself in conversation. 

When he did finally answer her question, he referred to this place as the land of dreams. “Oh,” she was glad, at least, that he knew that much. 

Do ya ever sit back and just enjoy your life? His question caught her off guard, her gaze settling into his mismatched stare. She listened to him, carefully, as he began to explain though it took her some deciphering. “I haven't really thought of life that way,” she admitted, her ears lay flat against her head as she broke her attention away from him and towards the ground. “Are you calling me uptight? ” Her voice was soft as her eyes lingered back to his features, where she would have given him attitude any other time her demeanor seemed more relaxed. What was this place?

“I don't like the unknown,” she explained simply, “and I don't like being two steps behind.” Onyxia couldn't imagine a life where she didn't feel the need to look over her shoulder.
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Pleased to have such a captive audience, Luca grinned. He did enjoy hearing himself talk; everything sounded so profound to his ears when embraced by his velvet accent. He presumed that the not-so-rabids bella did not feel so differently, after all she hadn't interrupted him or protested his explanations. "Have you come here before?" The dream-place seemed intent to imprison him again and again. Was everyone so unlucky or was this to be his curse?

He laughed when she asked if he thought her uptight. "You eres curiosa. Curious." It was clear that she had some difficulty understanding when he spoke too fast or deviated too much from the common tongue. Some words, they did not translate so good. He could speak well enough, he supposed, but he did try to make his words more agreeable to her ears. A peace-making attempt. "Is not it all not known? Do you not have four feet? Why not take four steps, if you want to be ahead? Maybe you are slow." His smile grew devious, taunting her. "Lobo is good swimmer. Not so good when running, but I bet faster than you?"

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Onyxia looked at him long, and hard, when he asked if she had been here before. “Luca...” her voice was stern and for a second, just a second, she thought he may be fucking with her. When his lips didn't part again to correct himself, however, she knew he was being very serious. And he had the nerve to ask if she had a bird in her brain. “Luca, I wouldn't have asked you if you knew where we were...if I knew where we were?” She blinked at him, the confusion, and slight worry for his well being, was written clearly on her face.

She listened to him again, attempting to grasp the words as they came out of his mouth. Though she was able to make sense of it, kind of, she ultimately knew what he was getting at. “You're being too literal,” she huffed with defeat. Thankfully, in his lightheartedness, he turned the tide of conversation, while again, referring to himself in conversation. “Can we work on that?” Her eyes narrowed at him, “you talk funny,” she added, though there was a ghost of a smile on her lips.

As she cleared her throat she pushed the smile off her face, her ears hung on her head as she shook it at him. “Absolutley not,” she corrected him, “ I was born in a pack that lived on sand. I ran fast on it. You don't stand a chance.” Onyxia's eyes flashed with challenge, “those two legged beast were shit at walking, nevermind running.” She stated matter-of-fact.
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"Ahh..." At once Luca knew this to be true. He chuckled sheepishly. "Quick mind, yes. I give you more credit now. It is not too bad to be quick mind and slow feet." That was also true, and true again in reverse. Sometimes, his mind did not work so quickly, often sluggish after nights spent indulging, and he'd been grateful for his ability to make swift escapes. "Anyway, bella, I have come here once already. The place, both times the same, but different company. Good company so far," and he paired that sentiment with an earnest grin and tapped her shoulder. 

Indeed, she was much better company asleep than when they were awake. She hadn't bitten him even once, for which Luca was grateful. "Maybe not good," he added after she called him literal then proceeded to insult him, but there was still warmth in his voice as his dual-toned eyes narrowed and he replied impishly, "Maybe quickness was one-time thing, yes? Too mind-slow to keep up with difference."

He was delighted to hear that she was born on the sand, perhaps the ocean too, but it did perplex him that she referred to humans as 'two-legged beasts.' "I could be both. Human and wolf. I just had to think it and I could change. Was it not like this for you?"

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The push and pull between them continued. He complimented her for being witty, she could not say the same for him, but she remained silent on the matter. “Oh,” she commented back when he told her he'd been here before, though with someone else, at least he had a better idea of the lands than she did. Perhaps she did too little adventuring, and more searching. What were the odds that she ran into him twice. His paw tapped her shoulder gently, but it seemed her calling him literal was not something he agreed with. “No, I'm pretty sure it's you who has birds in their brain.” She would remind him of the initial time they met. 

I could be both. Human and wolf. I just had to think it and I could change. Was it not like this for you? Her eyes narrowed at him, the slow shake of her head would be her silent answer. So he was a....werewolf? “I heard stories about those, when I was a kid, they were extinct though by the time I was born.” What a weird, weird place this was and apparently even more weird knowing that his kind were not just a fairytale. “I was born a wolf, raised on sand with the love for the ocean. We knew of humans, we've seen them before, mostly when they would gather up stuff and make houses in the forest. At night they had fires and talked really loud.” Her shoulders shrugged at him, “but we were told to stay away. They were known to hunt us,” her eyes narrowed at him. “Did you hunt your own kind?” He was right, she was curious.
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I'm pretty sure it's you who has birds in their brain. Luca's lips pursed, considering this, then he shrugged. "Hm. Well, at least I am not rabids."

He was hopeful that she might be a kindred spirit, a shifter like he himself had once been, but those hopes died faster than a rabbit with its throat torn out. At least there was the sea and the sand to connect them. "We are not so different, sea?" He interjected softly as she spoke of her birthplace and chuckled lightly at his own wordplay, wondering if she might catch the subtle, missable change. Her description of the humans of her time did sound similar to those he knew and had terrorized in the darkest nights and even, sometimes, very bright days. Though he shook his head if she asked if he'd hunted those like him, or those like her, and explained, "I was not animal hunter. I am super bien cap'n Lobo, pirate extraordinario. If I eat wolf meat, I did not know or care; is all only food. We wanted treasure mostly. Money was most important currency and most power in the whole world."

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Hm. Well, at least I am not rabid.
 
Her jaw parted slightly, lips forming a small o at his comment. “Sheesh, tell me how you really feel,” she snorted, though a faint smirk ghosted across her lips. His pun drew her gaze to his, her brows lowering while her ears perked forward atop her crown. The lack of amusement in her expression was evident.

“You’re not funny,” she stated coolly. And even though—technically—he was (kind of), Onyxia would rather die than admit it. His explanation didn’t fall on deaf ears, but she found it odd that he consumed wolf meat so indifferently. That, and the talk of whatever money was, made her head hurt. It was clear they both lived completely different lives prior to this, though they could relate better given their current circumstances. “Remind me not to sleep anywhere near you. Wouldn't want to wake up to you munchin' on my leg or somethin, CC.” And if he needed clarification, “Cap'n Cannibal.” She mused.
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