He's the executioner and she's the queen

@Laurent

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She had come back north after all. Past the mountains and toward something a little more familiar to her. Though she had liked to put the snowy north behind her and move on with her own fucking life, Thalia was drawn to its silence and alabaster blanket still to this day. Maybe it was because this is where she had awoken. Maybe because this is all she knew... and she hated it.

Hated how she couldn't shake it off and continue to wander the rest of the lands this stupid new world had to offer. Back onto the smooth frozen lake, she'd look out onto the mountain she had once trampled for a while - wondering what @Valmúa was up to and if any of them were worth her time and effort in greeting... perhaps not - she'd yawn and give a long stretch to. 

Feeling the crackling in the joints she stretched in the moment, arching her back and shaking it off - she was off once more. Trotting at a quick pace for something to eat after such a long journey back to the cold north.

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Laurent had not gone too close to them. He remained within the Tundra at a distance, still cautious and curious of his own kind. Stjor had beckoned the man to their ranks and unable to turn down the opportunity to learn more of the wolves, Laurent had not been able to say no. He would not draw too near to any of them if they were bunched up in a group, choosing to stay at the edges of their numbers for his own sanity as he stepped into uncharted territory. Never had he ever been a pack wolf, destined to be a loner when he had been born of a no good mother and an absent father, his own siblings all but blurry colours to him. Laurent had been on his own for as far back as his memories may take him though even those were few -- being alone more often than not would do that to you, he supposed.

The man wouldn't question his lack of memories, for if he could not remember then what importance did they have to him? Little. It had been himself for the majority of his life and truthfully, he had been all he had ever needed. He survived, he adapted, he overcame. Law did little living, going from scrap to scrap to land to land, ensuring he was fed enough to remain alive as he fought against nature. Here... it was no different. If not for his curiosity of Pack life and the cream-coated man Stjornauti, then perhaps he would have moved on. Yet... the feral man was unable to, curious enough to stay but not curious enough to throw himself in the deep end.

No, he was happy to remain on the sidelines for the moment, as he watched and he learned. No one had come to him to seek him out so he had not yet been forced to make a decision on taking a leap or remaining where he was. Today, as he had his nose in the snow, that was going to change. Laurent remained as rough looking as ever, fur messy and curled at the edges, still holding onto dirt and dried blood -- puffy in all the wrong places as his body worked to stave against the cold. He smacked his lips together as he drew his head from the snow, his masked features caked with clumped together bits of powder but it was not for nothing that he paused in his trail of the little rabbit. He had seen movement, a body of fire. 

A wolf, that much was easy to tell given how badly she stuck out against her landscape. It was true that he didn't blend in with the Tundra in any sort of way but Laurent thought that he had a better chance at blending in than she did and given by her lonesome scent, she hadn't any Pack to help her survive. Perhaps she was like him, a lone wolf -- though he supposed that currently... he was not a lone wolf by title. In heart and life he always had been but currently... the man held the title of Pack wolf. Not that he knew really what that meant.

Laurent blinked as he watched her, she moved quickly through the snow as if she had somewhere to be. What was he, side from frozen lakes and mountains? Laurent did not approach nor call to her, his brows creasing as he opted to see if he could observe her before she vanished, his lithe legs carrying him at a slow trail behind her. ^^

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She could smell something on the wind... a rabbit. Well, it was some kind of food she guessed but something bigger would be nicer. Once upon a time she had found a sea creature beached and ripe for the picking, something like that would be nice again. Huge, delicious and fatty while not needing much work from her to get her fill other than chasing away anyone else brought by its stench. Her mouth watered at the thought of the blubber again... perhaps she would go wander the beaches again and see if she could get lucky there once more.

As she turned to change course toward the sea, toward where the frozen lands met the ocean's salty breath and the call of seabirds would fill the air - something moving behind her caught her eye. A dark shape trailing her path not too far... not too close either and she squinted at the sight. Tail flicking with annoyance at the sight. 

Her features dropped into a scowl as she stared daggers at him from the distance between them. Opting to not close the distance between them, nor would she dare to cower and flee from him either. Instead, hackles rose in a prideful, fiery display. Tail curling arrogantly over her hips as she lifted her head to stare at him haughtily. “The fuck do you want?!” She barked out at him, not shying away at all at catching anyone's attention nearby. Tail lashing from its position. “Creep!” Thalia barked once more into the wind.

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He had been noticed. His dark ears cuffed forward as she woke like a bear, her appearance seemingly flustered with something akin to fury and Laurent blinked at her in observation. Nothing about this wolf was quiet, unlike the last he had encountered within the Tundra. His brows furrowed as he watched her, she seemed more badger than wolf with the aggression that ran taut through her. Yet she appeared closer in colouration to those cunning foxes he had found a time or two, but she certainly smelt wolf. Perhaps there was more to his kind than those of similar nature, Laurent thought as she barked out an insult that skimmed over his head.

Law didn't know what a creep was. "Wolf," Laurent rasped, attempting to make his voice louder to carry but he so rarely used it that it scratched harshly at his throat. Laurent tilted his head to her, untouched by her fury and her attitude as he stood in the snow, "wolf," he reiterated, wondering if some of his kind were just... slow, and she needed help to understand that she was looking at someone of the same species as her. He assumed the fiery creature was a wolf, though but perhaps she was a big fox. No, he thought with a wrinkled nose, she smelt wolf.

"You wolf," the beast stated lowly, his tongue sweeping across his lips as he shifted in the snow, "I'm wolf." It was with a thought that he wondered if she might be a fox and wolf hybrid -- could they even successfully produce offspring, he wondered? "Not creep," his throat hurt with the use of his vocals, the most he had spoken since his encounter with Stjor but Laurent supposed that he needed to take this step. No matter how much he didn't like nor was accustomed to social interactions, he knew that if he wanted to learn, he needed to do. Laurent couldn't help but wonder if like Stjor, she had a bird that was not food. Nothing seemed to fly above her or around her, not circling his own head. No bird for her, he thought, but would go on to ask, "you eat bird? not companion."

Was she another companion having wolf that made no sense to Laurent, though he couldn't help but acknowledge the advantages of having eyes in the sky, or was she... just wolf? ^^

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The way he quickly spoke up, well... "up" in a way considering how rough his voice sounded, and tried to correct her accusation from creep to "wolf" meant nothing to her at first. “Funny, I see a creep.” She'd repeat back before he himself reiterated as well, insisting that he was a wolf and nothing else.

"You wolf, I am wolf" he would say as well to which this time she'd talk back a little louder. “I get it I get it!” She didn't quite understand what was going on here, but it made her furious. Like she was talking to some child who was just starting to grasp the common tongue and certain that they could communicate on an adult level. “If you're not a creep then what do you want?” With a click of her teeth her maw shut abruptly, annoyed with this interaction already.

Shocker really. What interaction didn't annoy the little dragon woman to the core immediately after anyone even looked her way let alone talk about anything. She was always a flamethrower with a hair-trigger and an itchy finger. At least this guy wasn't too bad looking, it made it easier to just linger and see what the hell he wanted - eye candy was always a good thing when first impressions mattered.

“The hell are you talking about? Of course, I eat birds. No I don't have a companion.” Turning her head to the side to watch this guy with a cautious side-eye, the fiery tail of hers lashing behind her with impatience boiling in her blood.

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Funny, she said. What was funny? His brows furrowed at the usage of creep again and he wondered if she really knew the language she was speaking. He barely knew it himself, he supposed, with how little he spoke it but surely she could understand him telling her he was a wolf. Not whatever a creep was. The fire touched wolf seemed to blurt out with feverence that she got it and Laurent gave a sharp nod, thankful that she finally understood that he was a wolf, just like her. Still, he found himself curious of what a creep was for her to mistake him for one -- did these creeps look the same as wolves, then?

Laurent was blind to her fury as he blinked, what did he want? "Nothing," the beast replied, tilting his head to her in a manner that spoke, 'what made you think I wanted anything?' He didn't want anything, not really, other than his survival. He had, once, thought about what life could be like if he wanted more than to just survive but that had gone quickly, leaving with Amelia and the Circle. "Firewolf wants?" Law asked curiously, voice raspy as he watched her. Did she want in the way he had heard wolves did? She was alone, if her scent was to tell him the truth and never had his nose lied to him before, so did she want what their kind thirsted for or did this firewolf have her own wants? Did he care? Not particularly, but he was curious enough to go through the pain it caused him to talk.

He hummed in thought as she answered, snappy and irritated but again he found himself brushing over it -- not understanding her anger and not wanting to address it. "White wolf," he replied, "has bird." His brow furrowed once more, his masked, messy features confused. "Does not eat bird," he clarified, "bird watches." He paused in his words, giving his throat a moment to relax as he swallowed, trying to make it less dry and less painful to utter, "for whitewolf." It was still strange to him, he thought, and judging by the Firewolfs reaction perhaps it was not normal for wolves to have birds.

Laurent had always wanted to eat them, not befriend them. Still, he could see their uses being eyes in the sky. ^^

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The things he spoke of she had an inkling of what the man was talking about... somewhat. That and the scent he carried onto his pelt, she could put two and two together. White wolf with a bird, and the scent of that mountain pack as well. She figured it was the pack with the impossible name to pronounce as well as their pale-coated man who "lead" the group.

“No, you can have at it.” She sneered. Birds were tough prey unless one managed to sneak up on them, even then their claws and beaks were a hell of a way to lose an eye or two. She would much rather take the risk against a fatty goat than a lean bird that was more feathers than meat and simply not worth the time or energy to hunt them.

Well, not unless they were caught off guard and became an easy meal, which was pretty rare.

“Yeah well I don't have a bird. So if you want this one, go for it.” Her tail flickered behind with a simple motion. Wondering if that was enough for the guy to just wander away and leave her be so he could either go eat the flying rat or try and befriend it. She couldn't really tell what this guy wanted to do with the avian flying above but it was none of her business.

It also didn't help that he smelled like them. It was enough to bristle her coat in annoyance. Fucking pack wolves, especially that one, thinking they were better than she is. Valmúa's last words to her still stoaked that fire in her belly too.

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He could... understand somewhat the desire for a bird, their eyes useful for a sky vantage point yet Laurent wouldn't pretend to see more use of them elsewhere. Such as in his belly or their feathers warming a sleeping space. They weren't prime prey, though, given their wings. Laurent thought it was just best to force them off of a kill every so often and cut the interaction there. Law watched her and moments later, he nodded in approval. "Good," he rumbled throatily, voice scratchy as he was unabashed in his glance of approval washing over her. "Bird too much," she didn't seem keen on them either, inviting... (was that the word?) to the birds instead. Laurent's nose wrinkled as he eyed her, "Laurent," Law started, changing topic entirely.

Never once did his mismatched gaze leave her. "Wolf, Laurent," he clarified once more, ensuring she understood past him not being a creep, that he was Laurent and wolf. "Fire-wolf, name?" Someone with more understanding might have seen her warning signs that the dull scent on his coat, carried from his meet with the bird-wolf might have annoyed her yet Laurent was unaware. He knew little to see signs of aggression and instead remained unaffected, uncaring and more interested in other things. He wondered if she were hot to the touch like an actual fire but perhaps she would burn less.

Somehow, Law thought that maybe not. He took an experimental step closer with an inclined head, masked nose twitching as he sniffed. Uncertain as he was of his own kind, this one intrigued him and caused him to play with fire. ^^

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He was a simple man. And she wasn't certain yet what that meant.

Was he simple-minded like some kind of plankton, or was he simple in the needs of life? Simple enough to not let the annoying things like Thalia bother him when push came to shove. Was he plankton or a duck with water rolling off its back? Icy eyes narrowed for a moment while she pondered this as the strange man continued to state dryly about the bird only to snap back at the topic and him in general when the subject changed to introductions.

Even if they had a language barrier like the Hfra-fuckers did, at least he already seemed to try harder to communicate with her than they did. Laurent, he said, then followed through to ask for hers. “Thalia.” She'd say cooly, only to curl her lip as he tentatively tested the waters between them.

The woman in red was always about warning signs, or at least she liked to think so. She gave ample warnings to those who strode too close and today was no different. Ears splayed to the side while a low guttural growl rumbled from within her chest. She would not back away at his approach but challenge his balls for approaching before being invited to. A snap of her teeth would be the final warning if he didn't back down.

Even Thalia didn't know what she wanted in moments like these. For them to test her and continue their approach, or listen to her warnings and back off... it was a complicated dance with the wild fire that was Thalia, that was the little dragon of the North—but she wasn't about to change any time soon to accommodate.

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His mismatched gaze was on her, narrowed as he watched unrelenting. She was... strange. So unlike the wolves he had met so far and the beast could not help but be intrigued. Thalia. He thought it fit but he cared little for names, really, they were just a thing. Had he cared enough about the label, he would have changed his and stripped himself of the last thing he had left of the woman who had birthed him. Housed him until she spat him out and abandoned him, but what did he care? It was a name, so little in the grand scheme of things and really, someone could call him what they wanted. It rolled off his back no matter.

"Firewolf," he rasped, "different wolf." Law watched her body with a glint in his eyes, nothing sordid but interested as he watched the language. She was certainly different to most, was it... discomfort she felt? Laurent couldn't decipher and shrugged, dropping his rump to the snow as he drew his tongue along his blackened lips as he tilted his head. "Wolves different... to Firewolf," his throat thrummed with pain, so unused and gritty against his flesh but he was curious, so he spoke, broken and slow but still, he spoke. Was she something different or was she like him, unlike their kind in every way that could possibly count?

His nose twitched as he watched, dark ears perked with patience. He was no more eager to be near her as she him, finding discomfort in close quarters with others though thankful was he that she was a one and not a Pack. He would have turned tail and left; distaste for groups strong in his veins. ^^

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He chose to sit instead of backing off or testing her further. Though her scowl stayed her growl faded into the nothingness that it was before. An interesting move.

“Thalia—” She would do as he did and reiterate her name to him to use. Normally names wouldn't bother her but he was insistent before, and so will she. “Has also been called lítill dreki.” Something that sounded weird on her uncultured tongue. “Wolves don't seem capable of handling me either.” She stated more than anything. An observation over the past year of interactions.

Maybe she was far too different for them to appreciate the fire she emitted. Burned far too bright for their simple, supple flesh to handle. “Are you one of them?” She challenged him again, this time testing him by straightening up her posture with a tail rigid enough to get her message across.

Only @Valmúa really seemed to handle her well enough, but even then they had butted heads a couple of times... but it didn't seem like an impossible task either to get close to the firebreathing wolf.

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Something akin to a smile ghosted along his feral, unkempt features before it slipped away as quick as it came. He wasn't particularly eager to escape Thalia's company but he was certainly perturbed by it. So strange was she, not following what little knowledge he had gathered of their kind and throwing him off his learning curve. A different tongue fell from her lips and he looked a little ruffled, brows pulling together as he tried to understand but really, he barely understood his own tongue. He had no hopes of pulling a translation out of thin air. "What is?" He grunted, willing to learn.

He found himself not surprised that wolves could not handle her. She was fire incarnate though he supposed it was easy enough. Distance was key, the feral beast knew, so why couldn't others? "Own fault," Law rasped, "wolf is wolf. Not thing to handle." They were predators, weren't they? What were they meant to do, mask themselves and fit into... something that they were not? He couldn't understand and partly, he didn't want to. Wolves so far had been little to really be fussed by.

Her change in posture went over his head with no meaning, only noting her tail with a slight movement of his gaze before it slid back to her face. His features crinkled as a lack of understanding coursed through him, "only me." Laurent rasped, brows pulled together. By them she could not mean wolves for she was one too, her desire for answers falling short as she gave an open question. All he was... was him. He was not of anything else, he had only ever been Laurent. Alone, quiet and in the background.

He knew nothing else. ^^

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Still he spoke in short phrases. Never getting riled up by her pokes and prods to get a rise out of him but instead remaining steady and level-headed. Maybe she didn't try hard enough. Maybe h truly was completely unbothered unless she would go on the offensive and flat out forced him to react. But then, where would the fun in that be? There was always some joy in seeing them lose their patience over her, losing their "cool" and eventually just either snapping or giving up completely.

“He said it meant 'little dragon'.” A title she was clearly a little proud of lately. Maybe the Nord was right. Not only could she not be tamed but she could not be wrangled either by any current leader she encountered. Perhaps her breath burned too hot.

Laurent continued. "Not thing to handle" and her stance grew proud. “Damn right.” She was not a 'thing' to own, a thing to covet and cherish like some treasure whos only use was to bow to a man and offer children. No. Not even without a pack to bow to her word like most respected females, Thalia was just that. A singular force who made them bow if so challenged. “” She started.

“I like you.” The words slipped from her lips with ease regardless with the rarety of which it came. “I don't say that to just about anyone either. How about you stick with me?”

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