「❂」Your eyes stare right through me

@Dirge or @Hydra ?

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The trail towards Judal's whereabouts still came up cold.

With his search for the young boy leading into more failures and his travel companion recently departing, it was back to square one to going about things on his own. Plan "A" was to continue this hopeless search, with nothing but the Tundrian's nose and feet to lead him across a land he knew nothing about. Plan "B" was something he'd been reluctant to even think about for some time due to the lack of trust he held for most locals here; and that was to put his search to a stop and seek the shelter of a pack.

Even if every muscle in his body made him disinclined to actually need the help of other wolves, he was far to dependent on decent hunting skills to afford pickiness. The general wouldn't survive long in these lands without assistance, as much as his pride said otherwise, so it seemed "Sucking it up and dealing with" would be the smarter choice for now.

But at least this way, Judal will have a safe place to settle once he was found...

The Phoenix howled against the mountainous range, standing behind richly scented borders as his forest fire gaze trailed beyond to seek any residence that might grant him an audience.

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He had been with Hydra in the lower reaches when the call arose and despite every inclination he knew she had to answer it, he had been the one to go forth towards the borders. Even though the evening was relatively young to him, a wide berth of Empyrean’s claim was already cloaked in shadow, and not even moonlight was there to aid him in the brief descent that came. Dirge knew the way more innately than he realized, the length of time they had already spent in establishing their home had given them the advantage that would only grow as they became more and more familiar with the mountain range beyond their territory.

When he first laid eyes on the stranger, he had hoped to see that he had already been approached. But this wasn’t the case much to his surprise, though it hardly meant anything—this was bound to happen from time to time, even with the guardians and other assorted watchful eyes they had amassed. First glance and impressions were oft key in meetings, though he did not know this particular loitering fellow. But he was notably large, both in muscle and height and general build, and thus Empyrean’s king watched him for several moments so that he might discern his intent.

It was inconclusive, but Dirge found impatience in waiting.

He was already there, so he may as well investigate on his own—there was no telling when someone else more curious and perhaps less cautious would come along, after all. So between trees and ferns and the various sedges he slipped in to find his place on the grand stage as it were, and his eyes did not leave the stranger once he had hit his mark.

“How curious it is to receive a visitor in the evening,” he said, almost thoughtfully. The wolf had two-toned eyes; it was here that he took note of the old scar, his gaze trailing it. A fighter then, he supposed. Made sense, given his appearance alone. It was exceptionally uncommon for wolves cut of that cloth to be anything but red in tooth and claw.

“What brings you to Empyrean’s borders?”
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<3

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The more he stood there, the longer it felt as if he was being watched somehow. It was an errie feeling to have, standing amongst ghostly heights and awaiting for whomever, whatever, might pop out -- it sent a cold chill down Ignis' spine. The Tundrian didn't know whether to feel relieved or more on guard when the faceless presence finally revealed themselves, but his attention was drawn away from the rocky heights, at least. "Evenin' sir." Āzon greeted, sniffing the air to take in some information before their initial approach -- a male, he realized, and one which saturated himself in the scents beyond this marked line -- a leader as well?

To the man's statement, a bashful grin painted his turned away maw. Yeah, walking up to bang on the doors of someone's house at 2 am probably wasn't the best of first impressions, was it? Then again, navigating the road without a GPS, let alone some steep mountains he already sucked at trailing through, was quite difficult to not do before the sun set under it's horizon. "Ah, sorry 'bout that. 'Fraid I haven't got much practice in th'mountians..." Ignis responded sheepishly before turning back towards the tawny augoti, though not enough to male direct eye contact with him -- lest he upset who he assumed to be a leader.

"Empyrean's borders"

Empyrean. So that's what this place was called, then -- soon to be where he would be at work if impressions went well -- and Āzon was determined to make this go well for him. Even if he was a being who could not control fate itself, the pale sire was too stubborn to back out now. He needed to survive, and needed a place where Judal can survive as well...

"I wish to work among yer ranks, sir. If you'll have room for me..." the Tundrian responded with a slight knit in his eyebrows. His voice coming off much softer, more desperate than intended -- perhaps with the hope that his brother would find his way back to him somehow...

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Much to his minute surprise, he hadn’t anticipated the traveler to bare an accent. Most of the wolves that fit his archetype spoke plainly and gruff, if they did at all beyond a few words. It was a nice change of pace, both in the sense that perhaps they would add to their ranks should things go well, and that it was the introduction of fresh blood.

“Well, I suppose that would depend on what you can do for us.”

And maybe that didn’t need to be said, but it gave him the opportunity to better assess the fellow in front of him. He continued: “We always have a place for hunters, scouts, and defenders—of which you seem to be the latter if I do say so myself—but tell me about yourself, and perhaps a name as well. Tell me, what sets you apart from those already among us?”
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"Oh, right."

Yeah, you're supposed to introduce yourself before telling someone you wanna live with em', dumbass. Āzon had been so focused on assessing how well this would go and what to make of the male in front of him that he'd nearly forgot. Matter'a fact, Ignis didn't even know his name either -- so It was probably best to...y'know..."M'names Āzon...Āzoniol Ignis...." Get that done.

"I'm a warrior, sir--" he begun "I guard, defend, and protect the claim. With my life if necessary." It's what he'd been wired to do from a young age -- the only thing he's been doing his whole life, really. Built on the philosophy that his life was worth nothing unless there was something he was willing to risking it for, he was nothing less of a sword and shield to anyone he'd pledge his loyalty to.

Ignis only hoped that Empyrean was a place that was worth that risk.

"--but I can also scout when necessary. I'm used to mapping out different territories and keeping tabs on different packs." As he did when him and others scouted out other territories to help his father and the rest of their forces ambush other packs, though that was not a story for now.

Nor was it something he was particularilly proud of doing, either...

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Her presence on the mountain was a quiet one, dedicated to the protection of its inhabitants and the welfare of her family. Even if there was no blood bond, Keres still felt such ties with them all. More than anything, there was a pull to her brother and his mate, who she felt was just as much a sister to her as Nyx was.

It was Dirge she approached now, oceanic eyes trained on him and the pale figure standing before him. Ghostly silent, the warrior strode forward, teeth preening the fur of his haunch before setting her gaze to the male of white. Brow furrowed slightly as something tickled the back of her mind upon meeting his mismatched eyes, something she could not quite place a paw on.

Still, she stood silent, watching and listening.
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As Āzon spoke, Dirge heard the approach of another from his side and found Keres drawing near. Her presence was a welcome one, as he had not seen much of her in recent days—he had been too busy tangled up with Hydra and their assorted affairs. But like Nyx, he knew that she was every bit of a constant, a fixed point that was one of many that served to keep their homeland safe and put together.

Bumping his snout against her shoulder as she came to stand beside him, he returned the whole of his focus to Āzon, once more regarding him as his own words came to their end. So he may not have been a hunter, though Dirge expected that, but everything else he had to say seemed to fit the bill decently enough. He looked the part of warrior just as he said, seemed travel-worn enough to be a scout, at least he was completely bedraggled like someone close to being on their last legs and desperate for any resource or cause they could pledge themselves to until something better came along.

“And all of this I’m presuming you learned by trade in your life before here,” he surmised, “that is provided you aren’t a native to this place. So far all I’ve encountered are not.” And if this one wasn’t either, then they were par for course in the grand game of life. If there were any creatures native to this place at all, he would have been surprised.

There was, of course, the matter of introductions from his side as well still on the table—he withheld intentionally, curious instead to see what else he could pluck from Āzon before reaching that point to share. He pressed on: “How long have you traveled these lands, Āzon?”
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The brute's odd eyes followed the path of a moonsilver-kissed woman approaching, someone he assumed to be the man's lover based on their brief interaction -- staring at him with a gaze which danced in seaglass rivers. Ignis, for whatever reason, felt perturbed by her presence and he didn't know why -- was he creeped out by their staring, made shy by an additional audience, or did he just find her pretty? Whatever the reason was, It felt as if something was clawing at the forecorners of casted memories...

And the only thing to come up,
 
'Ķəřë§'

was distortion.

"That......" but slowly, he would succeed in shaking his head to peel his lingering gaze away from the valkyrie and back towards his inquirer. It would've been rude to eye someone else in the middle of conversation, anyway. As much as that muffled part of his memory wished to seek her features again. "--that's correct, sir. My trade began in my homelands and has been my choice of skillsets ever since..."

It was after the aged sire had asked him how long he's been traveling that the interaction felt a bit one sided, as if Āzon was giving information he was not receiving back. He personally disliked inquiry about himself from others, ecspecially anyone from outside of the Imperium by instinct instilled in him -- but it was obvious that this inquiry was necessary in order to gain the man's trust in the first place. A man he might be working under from now on, if this initiation went smoothly....

" 'been travelin' fer months now, away from my original home. There was someone traveling with me too, a relative --" Judal "--but we lost touch. It's a search that's gone on for a while now, but I figured it would've been better to find a place to call home rather than to continue on my lonesome..."

It would've been better to tell him the full truth - of sleeping in the confounds of his home one minute only to wake up in a desert the next. That both his brother and the Imperium dissappeared into thin air without warning, and he'd been traveling this weird land for months trying to find some kid. Only problem with that was that Ignis didn't want to sound like a fucking psychopath on first impressions, so he chose to withhold and stay silent about the richer details....

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Āzon.

The name fell into a pensieve of thoughts, memories twisted and addled, riddled with pain and blood. It rippled across the surface, drawing forward flashes of… something.

Her eyes remained on him, brow furrowing as she tried to place it all, seeking the spot where this piece of the jigsaw fit.

For a moment, Keres let her eyes flicker to her brother’s, a silent askance of permission before she spoke. “Empyrean is not open to those simply passing through. We do not seek those that will abandon their family in favor of whatever catches their fancy.”
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In a way, Dirge could empathize with him.

It was a very unfortunate thing, to lose track of one’s relatives. Be it sibling, parent, or child, it was not an easily tended wound to go without them. He knew it in many forms even if those wounds had healed, and even when some of them were still very fresh. He did not know what had become of all his children and as that wound had slowly mended itself, he could not help but pick at it like a scab that would not relent in itching.

Feeling Keres’ eyes upon him, he caught her gaze and knew that she had her bit to say. He did not stop her and knew the point that she raised was a good one—even she was not immune or had not been kept from the fact that they had once had their own who had turned tail at the slightest bit of trouble. Those who had absconded in the night taking their words and talents rather than seek approval for the reprisal of their former life.

“Though nor would we keep them from seeking their own, either,” he added on as her words ended. “What we ask for is honesty and respect. Keep that in mind and adhere to it, show and prove your worth and perhaps there is a place here for you—though I doubt I need to explain that or what becomes of those who do not… but alas it has unfortunately been a thing necessary to be said.”

He rolled through the dialogue as though it almost bored him and truthfully, it did. Āzon didn’t seem like the sort who couldn’t two and two together and Dirge imagined that he knew what would happen if he couldn’t keep his word. Winter would come and even in the earliest of its bite, the lonesome road could be far more dangerous than any teeth-baring pack.

“In short, you help us and we can help you. Sound fair?”
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The valkyrie's words stabbed something they shouldn't have like blades against skin.

It wasn't the possibility that his attempt to join might've gone south, nor was it the idea that his explanation might've left its audience unimpressed. No -- It was the idea that he'd been accused of abandoning the only person he saw as family in order to seek a home out for himself, and that couldn't be farther from the truth. His search for Judal would never be done no matter where he decided to lay his claim, so how dare they question the lengths Ignis would go to in order to seek the presence of his baby brother again?

Though it was only an assumption -- a assessment of one that did not know the other well enough to fully trust yet. Āzon was nothing but a loner on the borders of a pack she might've considered her family, so no matter how much it stung, he could not fault the valkyrie for her thoughts in this situation -- it was a test of his worth. His jaw tightened a bit as he swallowed what had felt like impulsive fighting words, until the tawny augoti male added onto the silver warrior's message.

"No of course, I understand..." He responded calmly with a slow nod towards the two leaders -- with the level of understanding you'd expect from a pack's basic functioning. Āzon would work to earn his keep as anyone else would, and keep his mind busy fulfilling his duties so his body did not forget the pain of toil -- its what kept him going like an engine in its vehicle.

"And I'd be more than happy t'do my part in this, too. It's more than fair, more than'a guy like me can ask for." and Ignis meant it with his soul. He couldn't survive out there alone, no matter how many layers of armor made up his whole -- so any help that could've been offered wouldn't be taken for granted.

Lastly, his gaze trailed back up towards the pair that stood before him. Awaited any other inquiries that might've been sent his way, or if the choice to turn him away or not had been decided...

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Āzon was an agreeable sort, though truth be told it hadn’t been often that Dirge encountered someone at their doorstep who wasn’t. Especially if they wanted something. Whether it was a warm meal, a home, or some combination or mix thereof, it was an unspoken sort of law among them all that things were tit for tat. Most earned their keep—to a fault.

“Good,” he said, satisfied. “So long as you earn your place here and know we don’t take kindly to deserters or freeloaders, you can stay. We’re not strangers to trying to seek out our family, and Empyrean largely consists of that. This,” he gestured to his side, “is Keres, my sister. My name is Dirge and my wife Hydra and I lay claim to this mountain.”

At that point, he turned his gaze to his sister.

“Would you mind showing him around? I’ll let Hydra know of him.”
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Whatever offense he took from her statement, Keres did not know, nor would she have given it much mind even if she had known. He could be in his feelings about what she had said as much as he wanted. At the end of the day, if it kept their pack strong and taken care of, that was all that mattered. Still, Keres did not miss the brief flash of fire in his mismatched eyes, a calm and unfettered blink her only outward response.

It wasn't until Dirge asked her to show him around that the grey female let herself soften at all, looking to her brother with a small smile. “Sure. Tell her she missed our last lunch date.” She hadn't; Hydra was perfectly punctual, but it was a soft and gentle jest that would let the Alpha female know that Keres was thinking of her and that she wanted to spend time together soon.

With Dirge peeling off on his own, Keres turned bright eyes to the male before her, posture much more relaxed as she stepped forward to lay a friendly nip upon his shoulder, an action that sent a peculiar tingle down her spine, feeling as though she'd done that very thing before. Frowning, Keres stepped back to eye Āzon for a moment, head tilting the slightest bit.

“Have we met before?”
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Words were returned after a short while and a place for him amongst their mountains was confirmed -- a sudden surge of unwarrented conflict creeping along his spine. Other than his home, the Phoenix had not perched himself on another claim before in his entire tri-seasons of living -- this...all of this, would take some time getting used to. Nevertheless, Āzon had never felt more at peace despite being so lost for the past several months. The roof he had been born under aged too horribly for it to be missed -- and with Judal still wandering somewhere out there -- he was certain of it -- Ignis hoped this would be the start of the end. The fire that would melt the anchored chain Zephyr had around both their beings.

The augotied man would finally introduce himself as Dirge, who ruled along the strangley similar sounding body that was Hydra -- and the valkyrie besides him; Keres -- his sister, not mate. Oops.

The small chuckle which wished to escape the deep baritones of his chest for making such a mistake was suppressed and pushed aside for now -- wouldn't want that to come off the wrong way, would we?

Dirge would move away to tend to other things then, small pleasantries being exchanged with his sister before he left, and now the attention had been turned back to him. The way of wolves had proven strange at times, even though Āzon identified as a lupine himself -- one moment he was looked upon with wariness, and the next he was being approached warmly like one of their own. She slunk forward to touch him, an action Ignis would thus allow with a lazy tail wave in introducing themselves to each other -- which was quick to backfire as soon as the nip was felt against skin. He froze.

and would jump away from the gentle carress of teeth with wide-eyed surprise towards the silver framed Valkyrie. Small jolts of electricity from where that contact was made caused the muscle in his shoulder to spaz faintly -- why...did it feel like he was reliving a different moment in time all of a sudden.

"Im.....'Fraid I can't recall seein' you b'fore ma'am....sorry..." he responded almost immediately,  straightening himself and licking his jowls as if nothing happened. Ignis did not even want to think about what that just now since it was proof he was going batshit insane, and instead chose to change the subject. "Yer Keres, yeah? It's nice t'meet you," the Tundrian said with a sheepish smile, walking some distance ahead and stopping to look again. Āzon was not daft enough to dismiss the strange aura he had whenever they so much as looked at each other and his instinct told him to be cautious. To keep a safe distance.

He was fearful of something and was unaware of what. For now, however,

"Hope we get better acquainted someday, then..."

Āzon only wished to focus on this tour.

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His sudden recoil drew a similar reaction from the silvered valkyrie, feeling like all her fur was suddenly standing on end as she bore teeth at the abrupt movement, jaws clicking shut on empty air as a warning. Was he turning on her? Attacking her? Neither, it seemed, evergreen eyes staring at him from across the distance he'd created. Still, she did not comment as he forged onward, acting as if he had not jumped away from her as a cat might a cucumber, thought she did eye him suspiciously.

Had he been anyone else, the Ostrega might have corrected his use of ma'am, but now...

“Keres, yes. This way.” An ear flickered at his voiced hope, snorting softly, and maybe a touch derisively. “Sure,” She fired back, smirking as she eased into a light trot. “Hit me up when you don't jump clear out of your skin when someone so much as breathes in your direction.” Keres couldn't have explained why she made a playful jab at him; it wasn't everyone that she spoke like that with. Certainly not Hydra or Dirge, but there was something... something distant, something familiar about it, about the banter and about him, even if she couldn't place why.
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Āzon was thankful the situation moved onto how he wanted it to advance, and happily shifted his body readily to follow Keres. But of course he couldn't go anywhere without the mention of that little heart attack he had, and blood was quick to rush towards his pale cheeks as he turned his gaze away. "I'll make sure t'keep that in mind fer next time then," he paused "Keres,"

And the feeling struck again.

He did not like whatever it was and wasn't planning on trying to find out either in the near future -- and avoiding his troubles probably wasn't the best route to go right now, but it was probably best if he tried not to cross paths with the woman for a while. Was that the right move? Who knew.

Right now, his only objective was to follow her lead as she introduced him to the place he'd be calling home soon...

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