Dead Empress Backwater drunken lullabies

for @Achille, maybe? o3o staying vague on what all he's been up to, jic.

Eros arrived after night had settled, his activity always strongest then. When he reached home he howled, letting @Viorel and the others know that he was available to them once more. Rather than promptly seek out the den and anyone's company in particular, however, he'd visited the nearest cache and then begun his rounds, starting with border patrol.

He still wasn't feeling himself. Typically energized by social gatherings, he knew that he currently only had the emotional bandwidth for a one-on-one interaction, if that. There was still lots to think of, and dwell on, turning over repeatedly with himself because he still lacked a companion with whom he could completely talk his troubles out with. What was so wrong with him, that it had ended up this way? Maybe family really did come and go, maybe bestfriends didn't always have the energy for you, but... well...

All the love stories in his life had started young. His parents, his sibling's, his elders' tales. Why hadn't it happened for him, too? Did men just... not get to fall in love together like that? Was there just no one out there for him, had fate already decided all he'd ever have was his work?

Eros hadn't realized it, but his strides had come to a stop. He stood deep in thought, peach eyes unfocused as they hovered on snowy ground.

(This post was last modified: Mar 06, 2024, 01:53 AM by Eros.)

Achille had found a quick grove in the Backwater.

He had met their up and coming huntress, had attended a hunt with her. He had done his duty in being strong along the borders to shield the season's women inside. He had not admitted how grateful he was to put some space between himself and them. Less concerned about petite Pascals and more worried about someone wishing to sink teeth into him.

Flairs of hormones could seemingly bring out the worst in some.

It was why he slipped away for some of the cold night's air.

What he had not expected to see was Eros, seemingly stuck in time in this moment. Stood still. Eyes on the ground.

Achille did not hide the soft smile that curled his features. Voice low in a husky whisper.

"Are you hunting something beneath the snow?"

" a-sheel pas-kal "
achille's name is the french pronunciation and the faintest accent tinges the edges of his words

Eros had gotten so lost in himself, he didn't know the other was there until it would've been too late, should Achille have been a threat. His Archer gaze snapped onto those olive eyes, and in that moment something deep in his chest whispered, 'use him.' He looked away, woken by the intrusion of such an ugly id.

"Just thinking."

His voice was a touch flatter than usual, lacking the drive to put on a show. Ash didn't know him that well anyway, hopefully he wouldn't even realize that Eros wasn't much himself these days. He turned back to him.

"Did I miss anything exciting?"

even when the cold comes crashing through

I'm putting all my bets on you

There was a part of him that wanted to worm in, to burrow into that mind and make himself at home. Was it selfishness? Wanting to be closer to be seen as such a good addition to this place? Useful to the leader? Achille thinned his lips for a moment before it was quickly replaced by a warm smile. Wider this time.

No, He exhaled as if it was the greatest thing he had ever said. But this time of year, that is exactly the news I wish to tell my leader.

He hesitated for a moment before he allowed himself this sliver of something selfish.

If you are not headed to sleep, I would like to invite you along with me.

" a-sheel pas-kal "
achille's name is the french pronunciation and the faintest accent tinges the edges of his words

Ash's reaction got a smile from Eros, though it was halved and crooked, a wry kind of amusement. He heartily agreed, even wishing for it outside of the spring as well. He'd rather routine than more loss. Fun could still be had in the in-betweens, after all, without risking life or standing.

There was an immaterial remark on the tip of his tongue when Achille spoke again, causing Eros' features to shift into mild curiosity. He hadn't thought himself in the mood for prolonged companionship, but found himself intrigued. Maybe it was the newcomer's distance from all that his heart was in knots over that so significantly eased the pressure he might have otherwise felt from one of his other packmates.

"I never sleep a night away," he answered, smile returning around the words as his tail gave a few low, welcoming wags. A bit straighter, more earnest.

"What'd'ya have in mind?"

(This post was last modified: Mar 09, 2024, 03:51 AM by Eros.)

even when the cold comes crashing through

I'm putting all my bets on you

You might think it a flight of fancy, His olive eyes gleamed with something warm and unspoken. I wish to see how the Backwater looks in the moonlight. I have not seen it in such a way yet. Although that is also the reason why I think I should have company. He had found himself too exhausted to appreciate his new scenary in the setting of moonlight. Not to mention he still did not know the land well enough. One misstep might send him through ice or a tired predator might launch an attack. These were things he had no want to gamble on. Nor did he wish to resign himself to his usual early slumber to rise before dawn.

Tonight would be different.

Do you have a place to recommend?

" a-sheel pas-kal "
achille's name is the french pronunciation and the faintest accent tinges the edges of his words

He sure did know how to pick his words. Eros' gaze drifted in thought, a vision of moonlight his guiding focus. In all honesty, there were a lot of places in the Backwater that he considered to be beautiful at night. There was one spot in particular that stuck out in his mind, however. Warm sights snapped back unto Achille, and he smiled and tipped his head to motion onward. Tawny paws set into motion, leading north to a place in their forests where the ground grew notably rocky.

Stones and boulders both peaked up from out of the earth first here and there before increasing into a littering. The snow softened the terrain for their paws considerably, but could not hide the larger formations. One stood out amongst the rest at a considerably height, providing a vantage point over a part of the wide swath of water that gave their pack part of its moniker. Eros scaled it with all the nimbleness familiarity provided.

From up here, the moonlight could be seen scattered all across the ice, glittering and glinting just as boldly as the clear, starry sky above.

He was not sure what he had expected, but it had not been this.

Silently he had followed after his leader, mindful of each step he took. It seemed easier to traverse the Backwater when he had the pawprints of Eros to step after. That was until they reached the climbing stage. Achille was no stranger to such things, but he had not the familiarity nor learned nimbleness of the Valle.

He had to be a bit slower, more cautious of where he placed his broad paws. He was a moment or two behind by the time Eros had reached the top.

Yet he felt that a struggle a thousand times harder would have been worth the view. The moonlight fractured and danced across the ice. As if someone had thrown the stars down across the ground and still some twinkled high up above them.

"Eros," He huffed out in a icy-smoked exhale.

" a-sheel pas-kal "
achille's name is the french pronunciation and the faintest accent tinges the edges of his words

Eros was still taking it in himself, a fond sigh pushing out from his jaws as he regarded his home. The sound of his name brought his attention back onto his fellow onlooker, head and ears turning along with this gaze. Achille's muted colors glowed too, but the Valle was meant to be polite company here. He gave a cheery smile, tail wagging.

"Did I hit the mark?"

There was something dazzling around in the other's eyes, and so he felt pretty confident that he had. There was a lot of charm to his home, plenty more for Achille to see and adore as time went on. If he stayed to.

"You undersell when you ask like that,"

He might have sounded more humored if he had not still carried such awe. Perhaps it was not so much the moonlight and the ice, but the newness of this place. The dazzling newness of this company. He could not deny that any new experience seemed to put a shine onto anything.

"I should not be surprised that a leader knows the best spots of his lands, but perhaps I am surprised that he shares them with me."

Achille. Still fresh blood to the Backwater. Perhaps he showed potential but he was surely not trusted yet, was he? Maybe he was a selfish creature to think he personally would not have showed a newcomer such beauty.

" a-sheel pas-kal "
achille's name is the french pronunciation and the faintest accent tinges the edges of his words