A dense forest of towering conifers where the wind whispers through the needles, creating an eerie yet enchanting symphony that echoes through the woods.
"Oh Roxanneee, I have a surprise for youuu," Matthias was absolutely giddy with excitement, and he couldn't wait to share what he'd learned, even if it was just to his own daughter. The sky was cloudless on this cool, sunny day, and he waited patiently just outside their den where she should be.
The recent change in den location meant that there was much land to explore, and Roxanne was certainly not one to wait around in the den all day. The growing leopard child was gaining more confidence, more energy (if that were possible), and more skill in both surviving on her own and with her fluctuating magic.
It would come as no surprise, then, that she wasn't home when her father's summons were made. Bounding with excitement, Roxanne would try to conjure up illusionary images of multicolored butterflies emerging to swirl around the lion. She'd know if it worked, because she'd see his head move around to watch them. Then, moments later, she'd jump out from behind the trees and, sharing his excitement, ask "Yeah? What is it?"
Character Diceroll 1: Success Diceroll must be above 500 to be successful.
0 was added for Deception.
569 was added for Level 4.
0 was added for A. No Enchantment.
3 was deducted for C. Vagrant Penalty.
The first thing he saw was not the brightly colored rosettes of his leopard child, but a bunch of butterflies. They all came from one direction, and in unison began to make circles around him. His gaze followed them, though he knew they weren't real. With his help, they had been able to discover that her magic lay in creating illusions, illusions which she used now.
He turned around suddenly, expecting her to have tried a sneak attack, but it only ended up making her arrival happen behind him instead of in front of him, the exact thing he wanted to avoid. She didn't jump out at him, though. Instead, she asked excitedly what the surprise. Turning back around, Matthias wasted no time in opening up his satchel, "Today, I present to you... The first of many... The beginning of splendor... The answer to all our problems!" and then, finally, he'd whip out a shiny, pure ingot of iron. It reflected the sunlight off its smooth surface. He looked about as excitable as ever, all wide eyes and big smiling, awaiting her reaction of wonder.
Before and while he was hyping it up, Roxanne ran through her mind a list of everything it could possibly be. Was it a real sword? An awesome toy? A rare, delicious meal? Feet were tip-tapping the ground, pretty much vibrating in her stance, wondering what amazing things could have him so excited.
And then, the mystery was revealed, and it was... "Iron?" She couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice and in her face. She really thought it would be something cool. "What are we going to do with iron?"
The absolute shock on his face when he saw the dismay in her face. With clear, yet humorous disappointment, he says simply, "You know what, I'm not going to even bother trying to explain," walking away from the den, he keeps his snout up in a posh way, as if he can't bring himself to be around such a ruffian. The ingot goes back into the pouch as he continues walking off, "I guess you'll just have to wait and find out."
Her father begin to turn away in disappointment, and she chuckled at the reaction. He should've known she wasn't interested in metals and rocks and stuff. I mean, crystals are pretty nice. What she really cared about was -- "Oh! I have something to show you. Race you to the river!" at that, she whisks by the winged lion, intentionally bumping her shoulder against his leg as she runs by. Without even waiting for his confirmation, the girl runs for a take-off, feathery wings flapping and momentum carrying her faster than just running.
Larkspur ducked their head, lapping at the gently flowing river water at their paws. There was a nice buzzing sensation running through their paws and legs as they took in a deep breath, lifting her head to release a pleased puff of air from their nose. It was nice to once again be on the move, traveling as a lone-wolf as they mapped out the world. Yes they had Folke now, wrapped lightly around her neck looking around curiously, but it wasn’t another chatterbox of an individual. It was also pleasant to be back in a forest - heavily wooded areas had been the primary locations they'd chosen to rest in during their travels, sheltering them from the sky and creating decent places to rest when they really couldn't afford to be on the ground.
They dropped down, stretching out their forelegs in front of them and spreading their wings in preparation for taking off again. This had only been one brief pit stop in their curious travels northward.
The cracking and crunching of the sticks and twigs caught their ear, making the chocolate furred wolf tilt their head. There had been no obvious scent-markers in the area from what they could smell, but they could have easily bypassed them by flying. Well, given how close the paws sounded it was probably better to stay put than give the appearance of being a potential maliciously aligned trespasser or thief.
"Wha-" he didn't even have much time to react. Roxanne bumps against him, their stark height differences meaning she more just bumped his arm than anything, and takes off. Despite it just being a friendly nudge, he felt the force behind it. Looking at the young leopard, Matthias seems to realize for the first time how much she's grown since they've been transported here. But also, how much she's yet to fill in to her body - will she be just as skinny as her mother was, or was he doing something wrong? Was she eating enough?
Focus. With a shake of his head, Matthias puts those thoughts on the back burner and uses his hooves to boost his initial acceleration, wings unfolding to provide greater momentum and speed. This isn't even a fair race! Me, against a child! I almost pity--"Woah!" suddenly, a chocolate -hued wolf comes into view, right in his flight path, and he has to swerve suddenly to avoid them. Matthias would try to land safely a few yards away, paws scoring marks on the ground to stop his pace. With eyes darting back to Roxanne's disappearing form, he admits begrudgingly that it's more important to see who's so close to their den than to win this race.
Shaking out any debris from his mohawk and fur, Matthias approaches the wolf, grey nose taking in their scent and noticing, thankfully, that they bore no trace of a group. That, or they were in one he couldn't recognize. All he could smell were the larkspurs growing on their body, and the reptilian odor of the snake that rested itself so comfortably around their neck.
"Who are you?" he asked, half curious, half wary. It was likely they didn't know Matthias. Even if they had heard of his services, they wouldn't know where his den was, so the chances of it being a potential customer were slim.
code by naboo, with alterations.
(Forgot to roll)
Dexterity Roll:To see if he can gracefully dodge Larkspur or not
Success: He swerves and lands on all four feet
Fail: He swerves and accidentally plummets into some bushes before landing.
Larkspur paused for a moment, blinking passively as the other figure went soaring above her head as he skidded across the ground. They tilted their head, taking in the bright, sky blue color of the cat before them paired with the long, sharp-tipped horns (or antlers? they weren't sure) protruding from his head - truthfully, their first thought was 'wow, that color would be hard to hunt with' though this was followed by the realization that the cat's backlegs seemed horse-like in appearance. Their eyes were then next drawn to the feathered form of their wings and the memory of a conversation had with another winged wolf not long after arriving into this world returned.
A winged cat with horse hooves, huh? I suppose Malachi was right.
What a world of magnificent wonders.
"I am Larkspur," they said went prompted, ear twitching lightly at the further sound of giggling. They think they caught of a flash of pink but they weren't entirely sure either. They shook some mud free from their left paw, offering a light nod as the reticulated python around her neck flicked his tongue curiously. "And this is Folke. Sorry if I'm intruding, I'm just passing through."
