There's Beauty In The Breakdown

The departure of the sun began to paint the sky in various pastels of pink, orange, and the purples that beckoned night to consume it all. She still felt within the role of a traveler, these new lands still strange to her. It was fortunate that Rafiel was familiar with them, or more familiar than she. That was a great comfort to say the least.

Curiosity had drawn her outward this evening as she excused herself to tend to her sore paw pads and bathe. She had seen streams woven together, intertwined in an intricate design as the Outlanders had passed through this way. Merrin wished to take to those waterways again, to admire the elaborate flow of the individual winding rivers as they moved through the Lowlands.

At the water's edge, she dipped her feet delicately, grimacing at the chill at first until it seeped in to soothe her paws. Her ears stood at attention and her gaze drew across the scene to both appreciate it and to inspect it for any danger before quickly entered the stream entirely. It was a short-lived bath, the frigid water coursing against her stealing her breath before she exited.

Merrin shook the droplets from her damp pelt and shivered lightly, starting to think the idea foolish as she sought the path to return back to Rafiel. She was going to be rather embarrassed to have to ask to settle herself so closely to him for the night, but it was surely the consequences of her actions. She sighed to herself, beginning to step away from the braid then paused mid-step feeling the intensity of eyes upon her. Merrin froze, turning her head slowly although she was afraid of what or who she would discover watching her from afar.

@Nyx

table by Yahtzee-Penguiduck [da], click for attributions

THREAD TITLE MUSE

i used to wake up with the moon

praying for the sun to die soon

With the setting of the sun, the day is coming to an end for most, but for Nyx, it has only just begun. She's come to grow quite fond of this part of the Lowlands, teeming with life with no shortage of wonderful views. It reminds her a little bit of the Arcadian vale that made up the southern part of her home territory, with its rivers and abundance and the sight of the mountains looming over the horizon. There were just more trees back home, many more trees.

Nonetheless, this area is just as lovely and offers the perfect spot to begin her evening with a quick wash, a drink, and a prayer. She'll sit and watch the sunset, contemplating the world around her and — oh, what's this?

Nyx arrives just in time to see another woman emerge from the stream, compelling her to stop in place, her eyes trained on the stranger, drinking up the sight of her. She admires the earthy tones which make up the woman's soaked pelt, how it clings to her figure, how she tosses about that luxurious mane as she shakes herself dry... Maiden's Braid is in no shortage of wonderful views indeed.

The sable woman appears to be getting ready to leave far too soon — driving Nyx to start moving closer — but stops herself mid-step. Slowly, she turns to look Nyx's way. Nyx pauses once again when she catches the woman's gaze, realizing now how she'd been staring. How embarrassing to be caught... with her ears partially drawn back, she is grateful for the dark fur concealing her shamed flush.

Seeing the apprehension in the woman's face, Nyx fears she's unnerved her and thinks she must seem like some sort of creep, watching her that way. She loathes the thought.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," she says, taking a couple steps closer. Platinum eyes momentarily avert towards the water, before looking back to her earthen counterpart. "I'm surprised to see someone going for a swim this time of year. You must be freezing."

Well, it wasn't all a lie — she wasn't expecting to find another wolf taking a full body soak in these frigid waters, but it wasn't her shock that had her staring.

@Merrin

i used to get caught in the clouds, with blood on my face, with the strangest smile

hoping for the wind to carry me away

She might've thought the figure a simple shadow had it not been for the glow of the moonlit mirrors that were her eyes followed by the sound of her voice as she approached from the gathering darkness of nightfall. Merrin instinctively took a couple of steps back to match the other woman's footfalls in her direction, though her words were of the slightest comfort to her.

She followed the female's silvered gaze warily until their eyes met again. Merrin offered the slightest shake of her head and finally found her tongue. "It's quite alright...I hadn't expected to meet anyone is all." She wouldn't admit that she had been frightened for she had a feeling her physical demeanor spoke for her.

A chuckle moved past her lips and she glanced over at the braided streams. "Ah...yes, I suppose I look rather silly don't I?" Merrin's eyes fell to her feet as she shuffled them bashfully, realizing she'd been caught in a moment that was not her brightest. "Travel makes the mind weary...though, I will tell you the water is most invigorating!" She made a jest and had to laugh at herself, otherwise the shame might cause her to waste away in front of this stranger.

@Nyx

table by Yahtzee-Penguiduck [da], click for attributions

i used to wake up with the moon

praying for the sun to die soon

Head level with her body, Nyx maintains a relaxed posture and expression. With her shadowy visage and imposing height, it is difficult for someone like her to appear docile but she tries anyway to soften her edges, having caught the woman's leery gaze and how she reflexively stepped back at Nyx's approach. She had expected to be alone tonight.

"Neither was I, but the nights are best shared with good company, are they not?" Nyx follows the woman's gaze towards the winding creeks — her eyes are quite pretty, she notices. What a unique lavender hue, only once had Nyx seen anything even similar.

"Ah...yes, I suppose I look rather silly don't I?" says the woman with a bashful chuckle and fidgeting paws. "Travel makes the mind weary...though, I will tell you the water is most invigorating!" She laughs. Nyx meets her with a smile and a tilt of the head.

"Silly? I thought you looked lovely. It's a good thing, to be carefree and to enjoy things as simple as feeling the water against your fur," she says. Silver eyes are drawn to the nearest stream and her legs begin carrying her closer to the bank. She takes a paw and splashes at the water's surface, the chill biting her pads and making her recoil. But the woman is right; the water is indeed refreshing.

Perhaps it is foolish of her, but she steps into the frigid water, a shock to her senses that makes her breath hitch and fur ruffle on contact, but she wades a little further, not immersing herself any deeper than up to her elbows. The water flowing around her is bitter cold but she tries not to let it show through the crooked smirk she throws from over her shoulder. "If you're a fool, then so am I."

@Merrin

i used to get caught in the clouds, with blood on my face, with the strangest smile

hoping for the wind to carry me away

Merrin felt her cheeks flush at the compliment and she averted her gaze momentarily before they were drawn back to stranger's lithe form as she moved towards the water. Her eyebrows rose, her lips parting as she thought to explain that her jest was not merely a jest. The water truly was absolutely frigid! It seemed she was too late however, as the woman had begun to submerse herself in the icy stream.

She took a few steps now closer to where the stranger had entered the water, though she still kept her distance. Lavender orbs observed with concern as the water fitted to her curves just at her elbows, honing in on the female's reaction to its temperature. Merrin tilted her head, curious as to why she might subject herself to the same chill as she had, when she glanced over her shoulder and their eyes met once more.

Merrin blinked, a single brow arching at the statement before she called out to her. "Alright, well, if you're a fool any longer you might lose a few toes to frostbite, Miss!" She warned, trying to beckon the shadowed fae back out of the glacial current and onto land again.

@Nyx

table by Yahtzee-Penguiduck [da], click for attributions

i used to wake up with the moon

praying for the sun to die soon

The water chills her down to her bones. Staying totally still, it's almost tolerable but the moment Nyx starts turning around she can feel the gelid current surging past her limbs, sapping away body heat. With a strained smile, she watches the pretty stranger for her reaction — she appears more shocked than anything else and after a moment of bemusement is telling Nyx to get out of the water lest she lose a few toes to frostbite.

Well, she can't argue with that. Nyx is hasty to spring forth from the brook, water splashing up on take-off. She lands gracefully on her paws upon the bank, her legs and the fur at the very bottom of her chest dripping wet. With fluffed up fur, the midnight wolf cannot suppress a shiver as the brisk winter air bites at her soaked extremities.

"You weren't lying; the water is certainly invigorating. Before, I could have gone for a nap but now I've never felt more awake," says Nyx before she brings a front paw up to her mouth and begins licking it dry. After a few licks, she gives her paw a brisk shake before lowering it back down and meeting the stranger with a small smile. "Luckily, I know some ways to get warm."

@Merrin

i used to get caught in the clouds, with blood on my face, with the strangest smile

hoping for the wind to carry me away

The graceful movement of the shadowed woman caused her to stare a lot longer than she’d meant to, but she continued to watch curiously as she shook the water from her pelt. Merrin let out a breath of a laugh, shaking her head. “Of course, I wasn’t lying. Do you always dive right into situations to determine the truth of it?” Lavender eyes followed every movement of her tongue that rasped out to dry her front paw and when it was placed back down she lifted her gaze to meet the other’s.

Merrin blinked and looked away sheepishly again when she eluded to methods she knew to get warm again. “Well…are you going to share your suggestions?” She cleared her throat and asked, after a pause. She was sure the enchantress was going to offer up the solutions regardless, she just couldn’t take the anticipation of it. The mere idea of increasing her body temperature reminded her that she too was still trembling at the touch of the slightest breeze that pulled at her damp coat.

@Nyx

table by Yahtzee-Penguiduck [da], click for attributions

i used to wake up with the moon

praying for the sun to die soon

The fallen prince can feel the stare lingering on her but thinks little of it. The sable woman breathes out a laugh and asks if Nyx is always one to dive in head-first. Those eyes are still on her as she dries her paw and she then begins to wonder. Her paw remains slightly damp but her tongue has done all it can.

"If I feel like it," is Nyx's answer. Not always, but the whim strikes her often. Silver hues set on her earthen counterpart, clearly a much more cautious sort than herself. "Taking chances and seeing things for yourself is how you experience life to its fullest, is it not?"

Speaking of taking chances, Nyx did not think about the double entendre until a few words into her next suggestion, but she went for it anyway and let the other woman interpret the words how she will. Appearing mildly flustered, she prompts Nyx to share those ways to warm up. First shaking out a back foot, the midnight wolf begins to walk away from the water.

"Help find some rocks and sticks and I will make fire," she says as she starts her search for a nice site to build a fire pit.

@Merrin

i used to get caught in the clouds, with blood on my face, with the strangest smile

hoping for the wind to carry me away

”If I feel like it.”

At this response, Merrin attempted not to smile though the corner of her mouth twitched upward slightly. As the other explained herself further, recognition passed across her face and she nodded at the sentiment, now looking thoughtful. “I suppose you are right…I personally find it difficult to go jumping into the unknown…you seem very brave.” She met silvered eyes, wondering if the female had always ben so daring or had it come to her over time. Merrin only aspired to find such courage.

She shuffled on her paws nervously, seeking to move aside if she blocked the path the larger figure chose. Merrin studied her closely, her attention utterly captured by the lady of the night. Her mouth fell open as she mentioned creating a fire and she blinked in surprise. “Make a fire?” The astonished woman repeated in awe. “You can do that then?”

It took her a heartbeat to realize her help was asked for and when it registered she quickly moved into the undergrowth to round up the sticks and rocks as requested, carrying them to wherever she was directed. Dropping some of the last gatherings she glanced between the bounty and the firebringer. “My name is Merrin by the way. What do they call you?”

@Nyx

table by Yahtzee-Penguiduck [da], click for attributions

"I

simply have nothing to fear," replies Nyx. For the other woman, surely such a thing is unimaginable — to fear nothing, not even death — but the fallen prince trusts in the Gods and the Fates and is ready to accept whatever may be. "If I'm meant to die, nothing I do or don't do will change this. Not even the Gods can prevent Fates' will."

The wolf of night strides forward as she directs her new acquaintance to assist her in finding materials. A pointed ear twitches as the woman expresses her astonishment while Nyx picks a spot far enough from the water and any nearby trees. A dark paw scrapes at the snow beneath her. "Where I'm from, we would harness the energy of fire for many of our rituals," she explains before shoveling into the powder and clearing it away until the soft earth underneath is exposed.

By the time the pit has been dug out, the brunette has gathered up the necessaries for starting a fire. That should be enough, Nyx thinks, grey eyes trained on the pile. She takes a couple stones and lines the bottom of the pit with them, creating a bed for the fire.

“My name is Merrin by the way. What do they call you?”

"Nyx," the dark woman offers in return before grabbing some tinder and setting it over the rocks, enough to sustain a fire but still reserving some to toss in as needed. She saved a sharper stone to strike against the stony bed she'd set. Three strikes and she had a spark. Another three and she had the humble beginnings of a fire. The embers burned the kindling, weakly for now but should begin to thrive soon.

@Merrin

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck