and the gunslinger followed

Snowflakes spiraled from overhead, traveling down, and dappling the earth in a cold stiff blanket. The higher peaks of the mountain were already well-coated in several layers of snow, but as the stone cut downward to the base, it faded to show signs of spring. In the hollow there were only a few feet that had settled against the earth, holding a hushed claim on that territory.

The only sound of stirring arose from the trees where birds chirped softly before settling into their homes and seeking the warmth of their families. The hollow on the mountainside appeared calm, quiet, undisturbed by passersby.

A rumbling of thunder from the looming sea of grey clouds echoed through the jagged peaks. From the clouds, a streak of color appeared falling toward the earth. The limp body did not strike anything before it plummeted into the snowbank with a dull oof and the mountain hollow returned to silence.

the staff team luvs u

regardless of how her previous thread ends I know how Thalia is gonna be so just gonna keep Stjor's thread vague~

---

She left the North with a bruised ego. First the tiger, and then that guy. Was there no such thing as catching a break? She didn't let him see her lick her wounds, and so she traveled South for a day or so before tending to any broken skin or bruises and assessing her situation... thankfully nothing major other than her pride. She tiptoed past the realm where she last saw the tiger and moved on to investigate the mountains.

Stealing her attention away from the signs of spring which brought her no joy at the moment, a rumbling in the skies twisted her head to the heavens. Ears drawn forward and eyes wide in wonder at well - what the hell was that thing? Falling from the somber clouds was a brilliant object that collided with the ground not-too-far from where she was. She couldn't just not go and see what that was, now could she?

With a quick trot, she found the snowbank that the thing fell into. It wasn't hard to find, let's just say that. Approaching with a stretched-out neck, sniffing at what she thought looked like a wolf... “Hey!” Well, she wasn't very gentle going on about it. “Are you dead?”

the staff team luvs u

’Hey!’

Golden eyes shot wide; a gasp of air filled his lungs.

Levi felt snow around him and wondered how he had arrived near snowfall.

‘Are you dead?’

Who was this? The scout narrowed his brow swiftly and latched his eyes on the unfamiliar figure of the she-wolf who had approached him. She was fiery in her colors, dashed with crisp autumnal reds and warm gingers. Her eyes were a contrasting shade of blue, a look that reminded him distinctly of a chilly fall day. It did not matter how long he stared, the stern-faced hound was certain he had never crossed paths with her before. This begged the question; how did he get there?

“Not yet,” Levi answered gruffly, pushing himself so that he was no longer splayed in the mound of snow. The pale yellow of his eyes shifted to her face as his features settled into a comfortable frown and scowl.

the staff team luvs u

Of course he was dead. There was no way someone falling from the sky at that speed and make an impact with the ground the way this guy did would ever be able to survive. A part of her pondered the reality of the situation... if she was hungry enough to cannibalize him as a free meal instead of leaving it for someone else to enjoy... the answer was no, no she wasn't desperate enough, even just the knowledge she thought of that disgusted her.

Curiously though... he was not, and even voiced it himself. Perplexed, she remained standing... watching as he pushed himself up and Thalia only frowned when she was met with one herself. “Do you wanna be?” The bite of her words was meant as a threat, displeased with his immediate attitude. Who was he to fall from the actual skies and give her attitude right as she came to see what was up?! He was lucky she was not a scavenger already nibbling on his toes!!

She didn't even think that maybe his scowl was just built-in and not completely, personally, directed at her.

the staff team luvs u

‘Do you wanna be?’

Levi’s expression did not shift or move from her features, but he was rather surprised at how quickly she had opted to bite back. After all, it had not been he who had approached her while she slept and asked if she had died. The scout’s head throbbed, whittling his patience down to nothing more than a hairpin. He didn’t understand who this uncouth stranger even was, or how he had gotten to the snowy hollow of the mountain.

What was I doing… before this?

There had been a fight-

Levi furrowed his brow deeper and shook the snow from his stormy cloak with little regard for whether the flakes would land on her. He remembered so little, but he knew that he had been sent on a scouting expedition and had gotten caught up in a battle with the opposing side. Horror sank into his stomach as he realized that he might have been captured.

“Who the hell are you?” the scout inquired in a tone that hadn’t changed at all.

the staff team luvs u

As if the guy could come off even less pleasant than he already did, his scowl grew in intensity and it was almost hilarious if Thalia wasn't already all fired up and rearing to go. Perhaps she would have laughed and see just how far he could go with that expression of his. Instead, she cracked an awkward, furious smile. Toothy and sharp as she fought her own giggles from bubbling up and laughing at him. Thalia wasn't completely amused, after all, she wanted to be angry.

Snow did indeed hit her, and by their angles, how she faced him directly, there was no other place for the snow to hit other than her face. Maybe it was the air getting warmer in spring, or maybe it was just her inner fire and rising temper that had the lobs of snow nearly melt completely on contact as her flat expression wiped away all previous notions of amusement.

“Lissen buddy—” The spitfire approached further, closing the barrier of any personal boundaries they may have had, twisting her head so their muzzles wouldn't be in the way so she could stare at him right in the eye should he not move away - even then Thalia might just keep approaching. “You're the one who fell out of the fucking sky, I have questions too.” If she were physically capable, that cross-hair blood vessel would pop out of her forehead at this point. “For one, how the hell are you not dead? At that speed, you should have exploded on contact.”

She'd seen unfortunate goats with clumsy footing wind up a pile of mush after slipping at a height a fraction of what this guy fell. None of it made any sense. She wasn't about to be barked at by this guy too. Honestly.

the staff team luvs u

While the scout’s expression did not shift much from the dismal scowl that comfortably existed there, the she-wolf seemed to shift between several stages of… something. Truth be told, Levi wasn’t quite certain he was safe near her as her lips pulled back to reveal a row of snaggled ivory fangs, displayed in a grin that was far from pleasant to the eye. The longer he remained speaking with the fiery stranger, the more he fell into the pit of thought that he had been taken captive by the attackers on the hillside.

But where was the sea?

The woman continued on, prattling about how he had fallen from the sky and she was just as curious as he was. Levi regarded her with a glint in his pale-yellow stare. She must have been a loon, surely. If he had plummeted from the heavens, he would have hit the earth and his life would have been ripped from his body. She seemed intent on this idea.

The scout’s lips peeled back, revealing a glint of his fangs.

“Back up,” Levi snarled swiftly, moving to guard himself from her. “What the hell are you saying? You’re mad.”

the staff team luvs u

Her grimace took on a new threat of its own as the shine of his own fangs caught her eye. A low warning growl rumbling in her chest reassuring the guy that she would most definitely roll with the punches if he chose to make this a physical fight. Shit, it wouldn't be the first one she had gotten into since getting here. Was this what her days would come down to?

“Nuh huh, I don't think so, you're not gonna spin this crazy shit on me.” She sneered. “You literally just came to life from that snow there, you're really not gonna believe me? Your only witness?!” Expression falling flat, she really was an emotional rollercoaster these days, having zero time to breathe and figure out her own situation it was just one thing after another here.

“I should have just eaten you before you came to.” Curling her lips lightly in contempt, Thalia lifted her snout ever so slightly so that she could look at him down the barrel of her snout. There wasn't that much of a height difference for her to look down on him so she did what she could to make it work.

Tossing her head back dramatically, the autumn woman made a wide circle around where the man stood to walk past him. This time she didn't bother shooting another glance his way, as if it was all beneath her. “I hope you have a concussion.” She snorts.

the staff team luvs u

“Why would I believe the crazed ramblings of a complete stranger? A barking mad one at that…”

His voice was lackluster and void of emotion, but it held a gruff edge to it. She made her case in saying that she was the only witness to his waking, but Levi didn’t want anything to do with her in the state she was in. She’d come up to him in the snow and inserted herself into his business with no mind of her own to realize how intrusive and foolish that might have been. Was that really what the world had come to? Idiots running around seeking attention from others?

The fiery woman drew her muzzle upward so that she could look down at him. Levi sneered devilishly, unafraid of her in any height she tried to impose upon him. He had seen the worst cruelty of the world, had witnessed the savagery of his fellow beast. They were all devils in their own way – she was no different from the rest, save for a lack of common sense.

“Perhaps next time you won’t sleep on your opportunity then,” Levi returned to her, unshaken at the idea that she had contemplated devouring him. The woman made a wide birth around him and moved to leave. He had no intention of stopping her, but he did feel a sour churning in his stomach at the idea that she would leave that scene entirely feeling as though she had made all the right choices.

the staff team luvs u

“Ha! I'm the mad one Starlord says.” She scoffs, genuine, giddy even with a lilt in her tone while walking off with a slight sway in her hips just to add to the absolute absurdity of all this. Her chosen words basically indicating she may as well be talking to herself despite how she spoke loud enough for him to hear easily. “He doesn't wanna talk about his trip, he doesn't wanna talk about his trip, who am I to argue with a literal spaceman.” Her tone just soaked, dripping in sarcasm.



At his last comment, she shot a half-lidded glance over her shoulder. “Know what? I will, I bet you're tastier than you look.” With a shrug she kept walking. No longer giving this guy the ability to just rub her the wrong way.

Not today Satan.

the staff team luvs u

‘Starlord…’

He hated that already, demonstrating so with a cold grimace that forced his dark lips into a frown. The yearling had never belonged to the heavens, but to the chill of the earth. The trip she referenced was just as foreign to Levi as it was to her, and nearly just as infuriating for the stormbound scout. The pale honey color of his eyes followed her without hesitancy, making sure that she would not make a fool of him by circling around to his rear in hopes of attacking where he wouldn’t see.

The way she laughed it off left him feeling rather empty, unsure of what could have possibly triggered this strange introduction. Even if it had been on normal terms, Levi was fairly confident that he would not have enjoyed the personality of the fiery stranger. She swept through like flames, demolishing things without care or regard for them – and Levi was of the earth.

When she had vanished from his line of sight, the scout looked to his surroundings and frowned. He knew nothing about where he was, only that the flame-touched wolf had believed he’d fallen from the sky. Wouldn’t that have been an amazing sight, Erwin?

Trekking away from the meeting spot, Levi sought to familiarize himself with the terrain.

the staff team luvs u