the water was cold when it hit his tongue, and colder when it slid down his throat. zharko might've choked on it if he was a weaker man, but he'd long since learned to adapt. new land, new flesh, nothing changed that. this part of the world was simply a little crueler, a little more grueling, it was not for weaker man.
and it would seem, this land did not cater to them so often as the boom of another echoed to his side. a language forgotten since he'd arrived bubbled to the surface in the face of its calling, in the face of a man just as strong as he. “choose vo. ei akat.” — choose not. both. he was great enough to be both. no good man, perhaps, but a man nonetheless. a strong man. a warrior man.
“yer, haj mahrazh?” — you, strong man? he practically bled strength, the aroma of a woman clinging to his pelt and yet, none accompanied him. the bite, a fresh wound, upon his shoulder drew zharko's attention second. someone had left him a gift. zharko was never one for the spitfires, he liked his docile—desperate and wanting. a fire that would bloom over time, one he could kindle and manipulate before anyone else.
it was good, then, that their taste differed. he did not wish to fight with a man of his own breed.
the staff team luvs u