[ AW ] By the Sea

Tiberius had been wandering for as long as he could remember. He did not think about the lives he had lost on most days, but for some reason, the smell of the sea made all the memories come flooding back to him. His eyes narrowed as he looked to the beckoning waves down below. They called to him, begged him to jump. But he would not. It was not his time. He had more things to steal, more wolves to overcome and more treasures to earn. Life was not easy and there was promise that it never would be again, but that was how he liked it. Tiberius closed his eyes for a moment. He took a deep breath and finally opened them. His heterochromatic eyes found the forms of rocks and boulders. An idea of interest popped into his mind. What kind of reaction would the sea have to an offering of stone and rock? It would be hard to tell until he tried it out.

Nudging the first with his nose, he pushed it off the edge. It seemed to fall for a very long while, longer than he had imagined. He wondered if he too would fall so slowly, or would it be more of a sudden drop? The sound of the first stone dropping and breaching the water's surface was not enjoyable. He needed more. Finding a larger rock was much more fun, and he hoped it would be louder. Again, the same results happened. Either the waves were too rough, or the stones were too small. Each time he tried, they were bigger and bigger than the previous attempts. But still it was not good enough. Tiberius found himself a boulder. It was large, slightly taller than him. Pushing against it one way, was not working. He pushed from another angle. Still it did not budge. It seemed that hours had passed and the boulder had only moved a mere inches from where it originally sat.

Grumbling to himself, he let out a yell and pushed with all his might. He was able to move it a whole inch, but he was growing tired. "Come on!" he shouted at the top of his lungs and he was able to move it two more inches. Slowly he would make his way to the edge, but he wondered how much more strength he had deep within himself.

"He speaks." | He thinks.
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table ; bunny

It was uncomfortable being home. Each familiar town and forest path revived old ghosts, causing them to haunt her. She could not enjoy even the sunshine without remembering how hot the sun had felt upon her fur when she had finally left home, abandoning her clan and family to the horrors of rebellion. While they could have come with her, they had bristled at the very thought. And, by having even suggested it, she had lost most all of their respect and understanding.

Now that she was home, she had yet to see them. No crow had been sent but surely word would trickle back to the highlands. Isolde, while too stubborn to seek them out on her own, worried endlessly over how they would react. As a result, she courted the Highlands. Never going too deep... but getting close enough that she could happen upon them.

But not here, not today in Aberdeen.

She closed her eyes and drank in the familiar scent of the sea. While her nerves were on edge, she did miss this. Cyrileth had been all black-sand beaches and volcanic ash. Gone was the stench of sulfur. Instead, she could smell the salt and the earth on the breeze. It drew her closer... close enough to see a familiar face of a different sort.

And he was... bargaining with a boulder?

Green eyes widened as she took him in. She would have walked away if not for his distinctive fur—and size. In truth, until she had represented him all those years ago, she hadn't seen a wolf of his stature before.

After a moment, she couldn't help but speak up. "Are you... trying to steal a rock?"

@Tiberius

He had taken a deep breath, trying to muster more strength from deep within. He was pushing and shoving with all of his might. Grunting out loud, and then he heard a voice. Somehow it was a voice he had heard before, but from the sound alone - he could not decipher who it was. Lifting up his head, he stopped pushing and just leaned against the boulder. He moved to peer over the top of it, looking to see what female had decided to ask him such a silly question. The large male's heterochromatic eyes fell upon the female. She was small in stature, her coat was very beautiful, but he noticed the bright green eyes that looked up at him. "No way..." he said with a soft chuckle. He ended up climbing over the boulder, now standing atop it to look down at her. Carefully, he brought himself down from it, his front paws hitting the ground and his rump slid down the rock to hit the floor. Not the most graceful he had ever been.

"Now what would a guy like me be doing trying to steal a rock? And a rather large rock at that?" He gave her a smirking smile, flashing his pearly whites. "Isolde right? I never forget face, especially not one as beautiful as yours.... and you also saved my ass a time or two from serving a sentence a guy like me really could not afford." He smiled to her and gently pushed himself off the rock. "I was conducting a science experiment, if you will. I wanted to know something, only these rocks and boulders could tell me." He moved towards the edge of the cliff and peered down to the ocean's ravenous waves. "Beautiful, right?" he asked as if he just assumed she would follow him. He turned to look in her direction. "So what brings you out here? Are you another interested in the means of science."

@Isolde
"He speaks." | He thinks.
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table ; bunny

Isolde sank her weight into one hip as she quirked a brow and looked up at him, green gaze almost playfully bored as she took him in. Upon the boulder, he looked imposing—like a demi-god that had been washed up from the sea. Had he grown even larger since she had last defended him in court? It had been some time. He'd been her first case and—she was pleased to remember—her first win. It felt like a good omen to find him here, although she knew the figure he cut was always more striking until he opened his mouth.

He leaped down gracefully and sidled forward with a smirk. She scoffed at his rhetorical question then stared up at him sardonically as he just so happened to "recall" her name. "I never forget face, especially not one as beautiful as yours," he mused and Isolde rolled her eyes despite the light smile on her lips. Was he a gentleman? No. Was he classy? Hardly. And, yes, at times his imprudent attitude had made her want to hit him with the judge's gavel in court.

But he was entertaining and, despite his many thefts, a good person. Or at least she preferred to believe that. Men that wasted so much effort pushing rocks could hardly be that nefarious.

"Yes, yes, it is I your legal saviour come to see you again. Shockingly outside of a courtroom." And, despite herself, a smile brightened her features.

He began weaving his story and Isolde listened, mostly interested, partially humoring him. "Oh yes, rocks do speak in tongues. So very hard to understand," she mused sarcastically as she inspected the boulder's size.

He moved to peer over the edge of the cliff but Isolde didn't join him. She'd always had a healthy fear of heights which kept her a safe distance from the edge. Nonetheless, she did agree with him. "Very," was her answer to his question about the sea and sky's beauty.

At his question, Isolde shrugged her shoulders. "While I know a very eccentric geologist that would love to join you, I am just... exploring. It's been a while since I've been home actually." Isolde did try to keep her distance from her clients, and she couldn't count Tib as a friend, but she did feel the urge to share a bit. "Has much happened?"


@Tiberius

"Please, you are making me blush.." he jested. He gave her a smile, a pesky little smirk. He had an air of confidence around him, and usually that was what got him into so much trouble. It wasn't that he necessary liked getting into trouble, it was that he knew that he could. Getting caught was not always a nice thing to experience, but many times in his life it had ended up in a chase. Which was all just a game to him. Do the crime, run the race, don't do the time. "Mi'lady, rocks... I don't know how to tell you this," he spoke in a tone that sounded like a doctor about to give bad news to their patient. "Rocks cant talk. Have you hit that pretty little head of yours?" He gave a soft chuckle to let her know he was joking. Most of his life was a joke, never really taking anything serious, except for the few times the heists he had performed ended in swimming in treasure. Those times were few and far between, but he loved it all the same.

When he had moved towards the edge, she did not. "Ah miss lawyer debonair is either afraid of the sea, afraid of me, or afraid of heights?" He moved back towards her, his eyes looking over the rock to see if there were another angle he could try, or maybe it had a weak point... His attention was pulled back to her when she mentioned she had been away. "Ahhh, got tired of helping the same bad guys, wanted to find new faces to represent?" But the fact that she had come home and stumbled upon him first... well, that was quite interesting. Maybe she really did miss him? A wider smile grew on his features, but he would keep that little tid bit to himself... for now...

"Oh gods yes, what hasn't happened?" He thought about telling her all the truth, or maybe she was asking about him specifically? He was not too sure. Giving a distinct nod of his head, he pondered on the state of things. "I found some cool new trinkets, traversed a few 'off limits' areas.. I had a fight with a fox over the concept of kings and queens. He actually had the gall to think it was the way things should be... Can you believe it?" He looked to her with an irritated expression, from having to even think of the fox's reactions and arguments again. "Sorry... got a little carried away there..." He put his paw to his chin, "well a ton of wolves were in the streets, protesting something - not sure what exactly. Could have been some actually sided with the fox!" Now he was pondering within his mind, trying to find if he even knew a right answer in this. "Some got arrested, rumor is some died or something like that. I stayed far from the craziness, that is for sure."

@Isolde
"He speaks." | He thinks.
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table ; bunny

As he playfully gave his oh-so-serious doctor's diagnosis, Isolde's brow quirked again. "I seem to remember you saying you wanted them to tell you something," was her cheeky reply. By now, her tail-tip had started to thump on the ground and she was struggling to keep a smile from her face. In truth, Tib had always been one of her favorites. His confidence was an infectious thing that seemed to draw you into a universe in which he was the very center.

Their conversation wandered into how he had spent his time in Rionnach and Isolde couldn't help but feel mildly amused and unsurprised. Tiberius was indeed the type to pick up a few trinkets and break into private areas. Seemingly without detection judging by his four paws being planted on soil instead of a jail floor. Then he mentioned the fox's argument and Isolde shrugged her shoulders. "I've always preferred the more clear cut laws rather than systems that let wolves live above them. But I'm not much of a revolutionary." She was far too attached to order for that. As a result, she had abstained from joining Voice's cause. Even the constant mention of her made Isolde shiver with discomfort. Violence was afoot.

He mentioned the protest then and she nodded soberly. Violence had, in fact, already happened.

"It's hard to know how to change a country. You hurt someone no matter what you do." At that, her expression darkened.

Then, after a breath, she shook her head. "I didn't take you for one interested in politics," she mused.


@Tiberius

He gave a soft shake of his head and a smile along with it. "No miss Isolde, it is merely that by doing this experiment, I can tell if the heavier the rock, the louder the crash - or is the ocean far too strong to let either be present? Sometimes I wonder if my other path would have been to become a scientist..." Pointedly, he placed a ponder some paw upon his chin, as though he was in deep thought. It lasted only a minute and as his paw lowered, a smile was in its place. Shaking his head, he drew closer to her. "Grey morally is the best way to go. Black and white is so.... boring." It was true to him, as true as the color of his coat. Going by the rules, following laws - it was all so lame. "Living by the laws set before one does not allow for true freedom. Can you honestly tell me that you feel free? You can step out of your lawyer box for a moment and answer this. I won't hold it against you. Surely there is more than the eye to you. I know it.."

Pursuing others to live on the edge was a favored past time of his. If he could change the mind of only a few, to see things his way, he was satisfied - even if it was for a fleeting moment in time. With the topic of hurting others, he gave a nod of his head. "Isn't that what the crown specializes in? Why does a 'peaceful presence' require an army or a draft to support said army? Seems rather odd if you ask me..." With her final words he almost felt like gasping. He was not vapid, but politics were usually not something he did enjoy speaking about. But it was all over the lands. "You would be correct, but it is important to be in the know... ya know?" Placing a paw on his chest, he puffed it out, and spoke with conviction. "I stand with the commonwealth, as that is where I lie. I do not follow this crown or that crown, but for the good of the people."

@Isolde
"He speaks." | He thinks.
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table ; bunny

Isolde's teasing expression softened as he explained himself more fully. The thread of cause and effect that he sought was fair enough—and it was a question she had never considered. That didn't make it useless, however. Her shoulders lifted in a shrug and her gaze warmed as a light smile curved on her lips. "It's never too late to change paths." After all, why else would she continue to defend wolves that were on the wrong side of the law? Not so that they could re-offend but so that they could rejoin a society that may have inadvertently forgotten them. It was her personal belief that no wolf truly wished to engage in crime. They were just... hurt. "I think you could make a wonderful scientist." And she meant it.

As he asked her about whether she felt free, Isolde pursed her lips. Her lashes cast long shadows of her cheeks as her gaze dropped to the ground in thought. A moment later, she looked back up at him. "I don't feel truly free, but I don't think I need that." Because, in the end, what was true freedom? The ability to murder? to ignore others? To forgo all pleasantries? "We give up some freedoms so that we can live together. I don't think true freedom lends well to a collective happiness. Just a selfish happiness for the lucky few with enough strength or power to win." And she didn't want to live in such a gamefied society. "So I think I will stay in my lawyer box."

But if he disagreed, it would add more clarity as to why he seemed so committed to living above the law.

Clearly he had strong political convictions though. Isolde quirked a brow as she looked up at him. "You stand with the people that... you've stolen from? Every action has a consequence, Tiberius, you've made mistakes—as has every soldier in this country. You may be making some black and white judgments in this moment."

Although, on one hand, at least he was taking a stand. Her commitment to neutrality, to that gray morality, led her to do very little.


@Tiberius

"Unfortunately, in all of your wisdom of the laws and so forth, you are very wrong in that regard. It is too late for me. I am too akin to my own ways, breaking them would be nearly impossible." He shrugged his shoulders as this was not something he really wanted to change. He enjoyed committing crimes and getting away with them. He was never going to admit it aloud, but he knew it in his heart of hearts. Tiberius watched the lawyer, looking over her form as he hoped she would be able to take a moment in his paw steps and realize that life was more than just laws and rules. But she would refrain from that. It seems this lovely little lawyer would need more time with the male, to truly understand that life had so much more to offer than what her own eyes were shielding from her. "True freedom is attainable. It is not such a farfetched ideal." He gave her a smirk. He could never have been a scientist. Nobody would take him seriously. They might think he was working an angle to find a way to steal something.

When she asked about his stance with the people, he gave a laugh. "Ma'am, I hate to inform you, but I steal from all. An equal opportunity thief, if you will. Yes, I steal from them, but I also give too.... sometimes..." He shook his head. "Lately, I haven't been stealing, just living. Running from the law. Could you imagine me as a soldier? Yes ma'am, yes sir. No ma'am, no sir." He stiffened himself up, acting as though he was a grade above everyone else. He even stuck up his nose, and strutted around a little. Soon after, he shook the stance and resumed his usual one. He moved closer to Isolde, his eyes locking onto hers. Ina very soft and sweet voice, he spoke to her. "You know... If you ever wanted to really help some others who have made mistakes like me, we could wander the realm together, helping those in need. Just you and I against the world."

@Isolde
"He speaks." | He thinks.
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table ; bunny

Isolde puffed her cheeks out as she sighed, adopting a disapproving stare that Tiberius had no doubt seen before. Whether it was in the courtroom or outside of it, he never failed to dance along the edge of a proper, fulfilling life. He had the intelligence for it and the curiosity too. But, somewhere deep down inside, he seemed to think it was better to steal. It gave him this true freedom that he seemed so satisfied with yet she couldn't understand. What was so great about being afraid all of the time? Or plotting against others? Isolde would never understand—and that was part of the reason why she had chosen to pursue law. She didn't need to know how to creatively wield her power, strength, or skill against others. So long as she stuck to the letter of the law, she was fine—she was good enough.

And it let her try to inspire some sense of community-mindedness in her clients. That said, it took root better in some compared to others.

Casting Tiberius a sidelong glance, Isolde shook her head and laughed at his impression of a soldier. It brightened her mood, lifting her spirits after having endured a long day at work. When at last he finished, he came closer, his expression more soft and genuine than she'd seen in some time.

"You know... If you ever wanted to really help some others who have made mistakes like me, we could wander the realm together, helping those in need. Just you and I against the world."

"Aww, that's sweet," Isolde answered, lifting a paw to pat his head as she might a little brother's. "I like to think that I am really helping right now. You even said yourself: you're just living, not stealing at the moment. That's progress!" Her smile was warm as her tail thumped against the ground. "I do like to hear that you really want to help others too. It makes what I do worth it."


@Tiberius