Stretching between two bodies of water, a swamp and bog made of twisting waterways and trees. Groves of large water cypress and mangrove grow up from the water. Fish, sharks, and alligators lurk in the green waters.
The night was quiet with a chill in the air. Winter was settling across the lands. The swamp was no exception, though it was not subject to such extremes as the northern territories were. Though there was no snow that floated through the air, many were choosing to remain inside their dens, burrows, or nests. The breeze brought with it a bitter sting when it touched exposed skin like eyes, ears, and nose. Even the moon herself seemed to shy away at the cold, for she hid and snuggled within the clouds that hung low overhead. The swamp was dark, very dark, as the cypress trees and mangrove roots sheltered those beneath from the frigid winds that blew overhead. Even with the efforts of the great immobile sentinels of the swamp, wind still worked its way through the trunks and branches.
On the wind rode things most were unable to see. As a gust raced through the branches, splitting and rejoining together to continue the dash, a figure followed behind it. The figure was hard to see, flickering in and out of visibility as it too flowed with the wind's current. If one looked close enough, they might think they saw a serpent rushing through the swamp. After all, a long reptilian tail flowed behind it as it flickered in and out of existence. If one looked closer, however, they would also see four limbs, fur, and wolf face leading the charge ahead of the reptilian tail. A gleeful snarl was stretch long across its face, impossibly long, stretching where a wolf's lips could not reach, back towards his ears. Two lights glowed where a wolf might have eyes, flickering in and out of existence less than the rest of the creature. When the shape on the wind ahead broke and rejoined, so did the figure behind it as it tore in two, split the branch, and rejoined to full figure once more.
"She waits for no one" the figure emitted on the wind as the presence flickered faster. Then, with a lunge, the canid quickly dashed forward. A loud audible snap echoed through the cold, empty air. Gulp the sound came, the unmistakable swallowing sound of a creature enjoying a delicious meal. The figure ceased flashing and appeared full in existence. The dark thick fur on the wolf swayed in the breeze, his reptilian tail twitching with excitement behind him. "Now, who's next?"
The hot humidity of Summer had already faded way, leaving the cool briskness of Fall. The air smelled fresh and clean, a smell that the night always seemed to bring. The ground was cool and held a distinct dampness that came with the evening dew setting. But Caedwyn's thick fur protected him from the chill of the evening as he moved through the swamp. He moved with an easy lope, though not too quickly. His movements were purposeful, though not overburdened with precision. As he walked, every now and then he would pause and sniff the ground, poking his head under low growing shrubs and branches. "Hmm..." he grumbled softly, thoughtfully, before letting out a little annoyed sigh. Lifting his head again, he trotted away several paces before dipping down once more and inspecting the ground again. Another huff of displeasure and he set off again. This time moving a little more quickly as he travelled.
It was then that a voice met his ears. His footsteps froze as his ears flicked forward with interest. But he heard nothing. Had he heard a voice? or was it simply the wind twisting between the swamp branches? or maybe a frog croaking lowly somewhere off in the boggy waters? Caedwyn didn't want to announce his presence, in case it was an enemy... but Caedwyn was simply to curious to pass up an opportunity to find a stranger. He crouched and began to walk forward through the trees toward the sound. A movement caught his eyes just ahead. A wolf-like creature, though it wasn't one Caedwyn recognized. He tilted his nose to the air, remaining crouched, and took in the scent. He didn't smell Verdantis. Pausing a moment, he decided to test his luck.
He un-crouched and straightened his legs approaching slowly but this time purposely brushing against some leaves and twigs as he neared, allowing his presence to be detected. When he emerged from the brush, he stopped a few paces away from the stranger, giving a small nod of acknowledgement. "Ah, I thought I heard something out here,", Caedwyn said. "Seems I found who it was. Nice evening." He hadn't thought this through too much. How was he supposed to start a conversation? "Uh, out for an evening stroll too, I guess?"
Ridley's threat sent the remaining ghosts fleeing off into the shadows. He though to give chase to them, to swallow them just as he did the other. He thought to, but he did not. With the harvest moon's light came Ridley's busy season. The realms between the living and dead were thinnest during this time and it was often that spirits found ways to slip through when they shouldn't. He took great pride and joy in returning them to their sender, but with a busy season came a full gut. If he overfed, he'd fall deep into slumber, deeper than any sort of mortal rest. She would be quite displeased with him.
He decided to let the spirits go to spread their mischief. After all, wasn't that all part of Her teachings? They had earned their night of trickery by outrunning him and out witting him. They had numbers on their side. It was inevitable that some would get away. "Remember, the shadows are watching" he said with a grin. They might be able to escape him today, but he would return them to the proper realm.
Twigs snapped and leaves rustled as someone gave him the courtesy of marking their approach. The winds that glided through the underbrush brought with it a strong odor - a pack wolf. Who or what he didn't know. What he did know was that loners didn't make a habit of socializing with others so often that they carried other's scents with them. The stranger appeared neutral as he approached. Interesting
Ridley's head tilted as the other wolf made an attempt at conversation with him. Unlike most males, this one didn't make an immediate attempt to pressure him into submission by ruffling his fur, barring his teeth, and yelling about who he was and why Ridley should know or care. A sense of relief came to him at this realization. Relief, until he realized that the wolf wanted the interaction to last longer than the necessary amount of time. He was a lingerer. "No, I'm not going for an evening stroll." his tone was not unkind, but it was not welcoming either. "Do you seek out everything that makes noise around you?"
Well, the response from the other male was less than ideal - although not unreasonable. Caedwyn barely held his expression in check at the words. He'd gone out of his way to not sneak up and surprise the other wolf into hostility, only for the male to imply Caedwyn was incompetent at being quiet. He took a little breath, and choked down the urge to sass-mouth back before putting on a little smile and replying. "Not at all," he said in an overtly friendly tone. "Just out doing some harvesting. Though, I suppose given the hour it must have been a little loud... I didn't disturb you, did I?" It was a little nauseating being this friendly. Not that Caedwyn was unfriendly but anyone in their right mind wouldn't just walk up to a complete stranger in the middle of the night and force into a conversation with them. He must have looked like a madman just appearing out of the trees like that. "It didn't look like you were sleeping," he added, his tone slowly fading from that chipper 'friendly' voice back to a normal tone. "So, perhaps there was something else that keeps you up ... other than my noise." His eyes pinned on the male observantly.
Harvesting? Was this wolf one who dabbled in herbs or medicines? Suddenly this wolf was becoming more and more interesting to Ridley as he heard the other bring up a point about being loud and disturbing him. He was confused. Had he given him the indication that he had been disturbed? He hadn't startled or jumped at the other's presence. He had, after all, be courteous in his approach as he had observed before. Ridley hadn't growled or bristled his fur, either. Those were standard signs of alert or alarm, were they not? He had done just the same as the other wolf, spoken with an even tone and even posture, though admittedly Ridley's wasn't quite as friendly as the other's was.
Maybe he should smile?
"No" he responded as he made a bad attempt at faking a smile. He gave his tail a wag for good measure. Gods he hated these sort of interactions. "I don't need to sleep." he explained as the other pointed out that he'd come across him while he was awake. "Nothing keeps me up. You, though, are entertainment. What are you harvesting?" His silver gaze looked over the stranger, lingered on the various scars across him, and returned to his golden gaze. His forked tongue flicked absently from between his jaws as he waited for the other's response.
Caedwyn watched as an awkward smile came to the strangers maw. Was he hiding something or simply uncomfortable? Caedwyn for certain felt a little unsure, himself. Perhaps he was overthinking things and he listened while the gray male mentioned not needing sleep. It was odd, though Caedwyn knew there were all sorts of beings in their world. Perhaps this one had an affliction (or maybe blessing?) of not needing sleep. He supposed it could be fortunate. It would allow for more time doing useful things, travelling, or tracking prey.
Caedwyn let a little smirk come to his maw in return at the comment of being entertaining. The male reminded Caedwyn a bit of himself. He often found interacting with others amusing. Whether that interaction was good or bad didn't matter too much in the end. It was the amusement of pushing their buttons and watching them squirm, or manipulating them to his means. That was what Caedwyn enjoyed. But he hadn't gotten enough information from the stranger yet to even attempt such a thing with him yet. For now he could only think things over. But he had little time to ponder it in depth when the other asked what he was harvesting.
"Oh," he said a little sheepishly. He had already forgotten he'd mentioned that he was harvesting. He'd meant it only as a conversation starter, though it wasn't untrue. He had been harvesting. Well attempting to do so anyway. "Well, actually I haven't had much luck yet, to be honest. Caedwyn took a step back before lowering his hindquarters into a more relaxed sitting position. He wanted to seem open and welcoming, but he wasn't going to sit down with a stranger so close.
"I was looking for a particular plant that I'd heard grows here this time of year, but I seem to be having a difficult time locating it. I was told it only blooms at night." Caedwyn wasn't too knowledgeable about plants, but an herbalist in the Kingdom had given him some information about it casually in conversation once, nothing too serious. Caedwyn found the whole thing quite interesting and had set off to find this mysterious plant.
The other sat down. Ridley echoed his movement, taking a step back and settling on his own hind quarters. His long thick tail curled around him loosely, a habit to keep it from being stepped on or grabbed easily. His silver eyes shined in the shadows of the night, catching the faintest rays of moonlight and glowing with them. Eyes that reflected light and shined just like his mothers.
When the other wolf mentioned that the plant bloomed only at night, Ridley's mind immediately started processing the various sorts of plants that could be his target. "It could be the Ipomoea alba, or perhaps the cestrum nocturnum. That might grow in these parts. It could also be the epiphyllum oxpetalum. Might get pricked with that one when harvesting." Ridley, suddenly, realized that he had been talking out loud to himself as he pondered the plants that the other might be searching for. He froze momentarily, his glassed-over gaze as his mind worked refocusing once more.
"What does it look like?" That would certainly help him narrow down the dozens of possibilities. "Properties? Scent? Leaf shape? Petal shape?" Just as Ridley was ready to potentially offer his help, a spirit he'd been chasing earlier swooped down, circled him in a dust of smoke, and took off into the sky. Ridley's body jerked in the direction of the spirit as his eyes locked onto it and watched it float away. His own form flickered for a moment, ready to pursue, but then he remembered that he wasn't alone. His gaze shifted back to the other as Ridley was now standing once more. The flickering form of him ceased. Was the other capable of even seeing the spirit? It was possible, since the barrier between the realms was so thin on this night.
"It could be the Ipomoea alba, or perhaps the cestrum nocturnum." As the other started to talk, Caedwyn felt like he was listening to a foreign language. He sat still, an awkward silence coming over him. Did he tell the stranger that he had no idea what he was saying? "Uh..." he he let an unsure word slip out before the other male thankfully started to talk normally again to ask what the plant looked like. Thank goodness."Oh well you see — " he started, a little bashful tone in his voice.
But just as he was about to explain, his eyes caught something moving through the air. It's form wasn't clear or distinct. It appeared almost like a shimmer that distorted the space around it. It felt like looking through thick glass or how clear moving water distorted the rocks at the bottom of a creek. But the movement caught his gaze and just as his attention moved to it, the stranger jumped to his feet. Caedwyn in turn jumped up - unsure of what was about to happen. The strangers form then began to flicker in an odd way. Was Caedwyn imagining things? Hallucinating? Or had he simply been out too late? Or maybe, some sort of magic?
Just as quickly, the other male stopped and the fickering ceased and he seemed to be looking at Caedwyn.
Caedwyn waited a moment, looking around - thought the shimmering had disappeared - then staring back directly at the other male. "So ...""You saw that too or ... ???" What the fuck had just happened. No, he definitely wasn't imagining things. Why would have the other male jumped up suddenly if it was nothing. "It must be too dark. I didn't quite see what it was." His eyes glanced up into the trees above them again as though searching for signs of anything that might jump out at them again.
