A vibrant glade of lush grasses and trees that bloom during all but the coldest of seasons. The sweet fragrance of spring flowers hangs in the air and delicate petals float on the wind and a gentle creek flows through the green meadow.
This time of the year, Blossom Bower's beauty was instead replaced with leafless trees, devoid of all but the most hardy of flowers, and dry grasses. A few animals still roamed the area, searching for the small scraps of edible foliage they could find. Solrentorro was cold, but more importantly, he was plain. No jewelry, no fine garments to accentuate his natural beauty. If he was to be a King again, he needed to look like one, which was why he was out here. Him, and his cactus cat companion Aguipua.
"They look a lot like the Sericovis from back home, but the texture of their fabric looks different," Aguipua observed. Ahead of them was a small herd of hooved creatures. They had short, broad snouts, and a soft, white fabric* that flowed in the wind. Just like the Sericovis back home, their eyes were horizontal, and they made the same bleats and baas that were familiar to Sol. The fabric didn't look like cotton, though, but it seemed soft and like a good material for his royal robe.
Sol, who has already been creeping up on the small herd, decided the bigger of the females would have to do. Even with Aguipua's piercing cactus spikes, he wasn't sure if this world's version of Sericovis had any secret defensive tactics, but he at least recognized the danger of ram horns when he saw them, “It's close enough,” he would say under his breath. Aguipua would nod, before moving to get into position.
And then, the hunt was on. Solrentorro charged after the ewe, and predictably they ran away from him. It did not, however, expect the little cat with thorns on its body to jump up right under it and grab its throat. Aguipua was not heavy or big enough to bring the creature down on his own, but his deadly hug on its neck combined with his jaws clenched on the ewe's throat slowed it down just enough for Solrentorro to catch up. The Dandylion leaps onto its back, trying to buckle it down under his weight, as he wrapped his paws around its body to keep it down, and waited for it to suffocate from Aguipua's hold.
It bleats in pain, its compansions running off in blind fear. It refuses to go down through, constantly trying to move and get them off, to run and join its herd. Through gritted teeth, Sol growls, “I just... need... your stupid fabric!”
As the days grew shorter and northern winds whipped sleet and snow across the mountainside, Ida had continued south. She had no concrete destination in mind, simply turning her back to the frigid winds and plodding forth until the solemn pines and stone faded to brown grassland and gnarled, naked oaks. The many strange creatures she'd initially encountered seemed to vanish with the oncoming snow, leaving her only company the snowflakes collecting on her elytra and the puffs of hot air escaping her jowls as she grumbled and bitched under her breath. It was better here at least than further north, where the only upsides she'd determined being the cooler air and plentiful quarries. She hated the trees and the altitude and the scent of other packs wafting past her nostrils, and with winter fully here, she didn't need to stay there to experience the cold weather.
With a huff, Ida stamped her heavy paws into the snow and trodded in a lopsided circle, flattening the slush into a proper divot for her to flop ungracefully into. She rested her chin on the cool earth beneath one of the many naked trees and split her jaws into a yawn, stretching her mandibles until they popped and released the tension building at her temples. It was only midday, but it was quiet, and the great dog was never one to pass the opportunity for a quick nap before the journey continued. Through half-lidded eyes she watched the afternoon sun glitter on the snow, the sky cloudless and blue and serene in the way only a still winter's day could be.
That was until something brayed in the distance, and suddenly the blanket of white was disturbed.
Ida's head lurched upwards off the snow, nostrils flaring and eyes snapping towards the new motion. She caught fluffy shapes cresting the hill, darting out behind the twisted trees and churning clouds of white beneath their hooves. Ida's own heart surprised her with the surge of longing which crashed against her at the sight, recognizing the creatures as sheep. Just like home.
Unlike the sheep however, their attackers were not familiar to her. They almost appeared to be cats, but much, much larger than any the dame had seen before. Likely not as tasty, either.
Perhaps Ida should have stayed then and left the strange cats to their own devices, but her greedy eyes caught sight of their catch, and her interest was officially peaked. As much as she was glad to have left the pine forests, she couldn't deny she missed the easy quarries she could feed from along the mountain's base. Good stone was much harder to find here on flat land; perhaps some meat would soften the hunger's edge. She rose to her paws, not bothering to shake the snow from her pelt as she charged forwards through the snow. Adrenaline pulsed through her muscles as her lungs heaved against the cold air, sucking in the growing scent of fear and blood as she sprinted closer and closer to the scene. Around her, fleeing sheep brayed and parted at the sight, but Ida's focus was settled solely on the fat ewe the two cats were desperately wrestling against. It seemed they were trying to down it, and as the great dog rounded on the struggling trio, her jowls split into a blocky, sneering grin as the elytra on her backside raised.
"That th' best yuh got?"
If the cats couldn't do it overgrown as they were, she certainly could. She skidded to a halt and reared upwards, slamming her front half down into the snow and beating her wings as the snow around her sprayed. Her focus settled on the earth beneath the ewe as it struggled, gritting her rounded fangs until they creaked and the dirt beneath them rumbled with the overpowering drone of her wings.
--
DICE ROLL: Strength
Succeed: The earth beneath the ewe shakes and buckles, causing it to lose its balance and topple over for the kill.
Failure: The earth trembles but does not split, possibly unbalancing/distracting the three.
Character Diceroll 1: Success Diceroll must be above 500 to be successful.
0 was added for Strength.
535 was added for Level 4.
0 was added for A. No Enchantment.
8 was deducted for C. Vagrant Penalty.
Despite being a lion, his weight wasn't made up of compact muscle or dense bone, and so it wouldn't be as easy to take down the ewe compared to the lighter Sericovis, but they kept trying. That was, until Aguipua spotted the hulking mass of movement charging right towards them.
"Watch out!" he shouted, his hold up on the ewe ceasing just as the ground under it finally caused it to topple over, and the beast that approached them stopped its charge. Solrentorro, having headed the call, got off the ewe and turned his body to face the oncoming threat, but kept his jaws clenched on the mane of the creature.
Golden eyes narrowed and tail flicks with a spike of adrenaline, assessing for a moment if the creature was friend or foe. Aguipua had noticed with keen eyes how the ground under the ewe seemed to shake and vibrate, how the strange beast's concentration seemed focused on that area. Another user of magic? He thought Sol was the only one blessed with it. He should have known.
In any case, they seemed not to be in immediate danger, and Sol needed his assistance. With one eye still on the beast, he resumed his hold, the two cats suffocating their prey until it's demise.
The latex of the creatures here never seemed to stop amazing Sol. The bright crimson that stained his lips, the red that dotted the white and grey of its fabric. It was the most beautiful shade of red he'd ever seen...
“I can do much more than that,” he'd say to the strange beast, breaking out of his stupor. He'd lick his paw, using it to clean up his face as he faced them and sat down, “I am Solrentorro, King of the Sylvan Crown pride. Or I will be once again, when I find my way back to my home world,” as he spoke, Aguipua got to carefully separating the hide from the rest of the ewe's body, “You may address me as 'Your Highness' or 'King Sol'. And what might your name be?”
The ewe toppled, and with its panicked cries came the call of warning from the smaller cat as Ida hungrily watched. It can speak, she thought with a flash of surprise--meeting the fiery golden eyes of the larger cat which whipped to face her. Perhaps she'd gain something other than a stolen carcass for her intrusion; she'd never met cats with minds other than that of frightened prey. She ran her tongue across her jowls and matched the larger one's gaze, allowing her hold on the earth to peter and slow as he turned away to put a stop to the ewe's frantic struggles. Ida noted with interest how they slowly choked it, her own mandibles itching to dig their way into its throat and snap as her nostrils flared at the rich, hot scent of blood.
However, she made no move to approach; instead bushing her pelt and allowing the cold winter air to seep into her flesh as she panted from her wild sprint. The ewe's death at least offered the opportunity for her to catch her breath, elytra shifting and folding to sit snuggly against her backside again as she uncurled her blunt claws from the snow. Finally, as her heart slowed to its usual steady pound, the larger cat turned to face her again. In the heat of the hunt, Ida had assumed that strange green pelt of his had been short, dense fur; but looking at him closely now and watching how he wiped the gore from his muzzle, it seemed to almost be a glossy skin. Likewise with his tussled mane, instead of fur it resembled more of flower petals--like the little blooms that opened after spring rains.
His little companion seemed just as odd; the two of them almost reminded the great dog of the moose she'd seen up north. Except instead of shifting between plant and meat, they were an eerie combination of the two. And they could speak.
Interest officially peaked in more than just a possible meal, Ida listened to the strange beast. He offered no thanks for her help in felling the catch, but spoke instead of kingdoms and prior worlds; the latter of which caused recognition to flash across her beady gaze. So Maureen and her weren't the only ones. She attempted to keep her body language guarded but neutral, though beneath her bushy pelt she instinctually tensed. What had caused him to slip here? She forced herself to not stare at the smaller cat as he worked to skin the ewe behind Solrentorro, mouth watering at the fresh scent of meat before the lion's next words caught her attention.
Without thinking, the massive dog threw her head back and laughed. When her guffaws finally petered, she regarded the strange beast with a challenging, sneering grin.
"Uh king with no kingdom ain't a king as much as ay am," she woofed, rolling her shoulders and standing to full height. Despite the dismissal of her words, a humored interest still glittered in her beady gaze as she matched the lion's stare. Without breaking it, she jerked her chin behind him towards the other cat. "Ah'm Ida, Sol. 'n who's th' other one?"
"Uh king with no kingdom ain't a king as much as ay am," a strange accent coated their words, but there was no mistaking what he interpreted as disrespect. As far as he was concerned, he is a King - why do the beasts of this land seem so keen on suggesting otherwise?
His feelings of indignation were written clear on his face, but as much as Sol wanted to force the respect out of them, he also acknowledged his position as not exactly boasting power. A King needed more than just a single entourage, and they seemed... Useful.
His facial expression eventually died away to something more neutral as he glanced at Aguipua to assess his progress, “Aguipua is my royal advisor and escort,” and then, though he hesitated to do so, he says to Aguipua, “When you're done separating the fabric from the body, please give our guest the rest of the meal.”
He'd turn back to the strange creature before him, rising from his seat to better assess them, and begin to slowly circle them out of clear interest. They were tall, muscular, with mandibles on their face that he wondered what power lay within them. Did the elytra house wings? He had missed them opening before. Could the creature fly?
“We don't need to eat. The sun is all the nutrients we need. And what are you, exactly? The scents here are so foreign I cannot tell your sex. I'd rely on one's voice to answer, but I'm aware not everyone's tone aligns with their gender.”
By then, Aguipua had finished separating the body from the rest, and laid it out fabric-down on the earth. The creature, now devoid of its fluffy exterior, was ripe for the taking. The cactus cat stepped away from it, giving their guest plenty of room to dig in.
For a moment, Ida anticipated her words would result in a scuffle between the two--cats were feisty little things after all--but to her surprise, Solrentorro's indignation faded rather quickly. She followed his gaze to the smaller cat and nodded gruffly, eyes trailing the dangerous looking spines which dotted his tough flesh with approval.
"Good 'tuh meet yuh," she rumbled, nodding to Aguipua. The two were a strange combination, but even stranger then came the lion's generous instruction to hand Ida the rest of their catch. She didn't even have to ask, had they only wanted the pelt? She had half the mind to lunge for it then and snap up as much meat as she could before the big cat changed his mind, but she remained rooted to the spot and quirked her brow with confused suspicion. Slowly he began to circle her, and it took a great deal of effort to keep her pelt from instinctually bristling as she followed his motion with her beady gaze.
"Yuh ain't wantin' th' rest uh it?" she asked, though certainly didn't refuse the offer. Her question was quickly answered, and visible surprise and intrigue crossed her expression at the confirmation that their plantlike attributes didn't stop at just appearances. "Interestin'," Ida muttered, looking from the delicate petals of Solren's mane down to the funny little dandelion puff which tipped his tail.
"Yuh ever try eatin' meat? It's fun. Good treat--most I eat'r rocks," she snapped her mandibles for emphasis and ground her jaws, showing off a mouthful of teeth which aside from her canines were blunted and flat. Motion caught her attention from the corner of her vision, and she turned away from Solren to watch as his smaller companion dragged the rest of the wool away from the ewe's corpse. The great dog swiped her tongue around her jowls and grinned, lumbering forwards and pressing her nose into the raw flesh to drink in its warm scent.
"Thanks," she rumbled. Though her mouth watered, she made no move yet to bite into the fresh meat, instead turning back towards the lion to answer his further questions. "Can't tell ah'm uh dame?" she asked, a playful offense held in her tone but no real indignation. She'd assumed the two were male judging by voice and the title of King, but she supposed it probably wouldn't hurt to ask them either. "N' y'all?"
Solrentorro took his seat once more, continuing to clean his face and paws. "Yuh ever try eatin' meat? It's fun." Meat. So that's what it's called.“No, I haven't. But this crimson liquid..” he said, referring to the blood that was now almost gone from his jaws, “It is sweet,” on the subject of rocks, he'd say with curiosity, “Rocks! How fascinating. Do they sustain your body the way meat does? Do you have a favorite taste, or do all rocks stay the same?” Aguipua began to carry the fabric over to Solrentorro. It was without words that Sol knew the cactus cat intended to take the pelt to the nearest source of water for cleaning, but wished not to leave his King alone with a stranger. Aguipua did not expect Sol to wipe his paw on the blood-stained fabric and begin to lick it off like it was candy, but he remained silent nonetheless.
The dandylion would shake his head at the dame question, disliking his lack of knowledge on the scents in this world. He could figure out the scents of all the plants here no problem - they might smell a bit different in this plane of existence, but he grew up around these scents, and most of it came to him instinctively. When his question was given back to him, Solrentorro simply said, “Male,” but if she looked, or happen to peek it in her view, she'd notice the lack of any sexual organs on Solrentorro's body. He turned to look to Aguipua, allowing him the chance to speak and answer the question,
"Oh. You can refer to me as whatever you'd like. I can pollinate and bear fruit." A spiky paw would rise up to touch the pink flower atop his head. Its petals were hard and a bit shriveled from the cold, but otherwise still kicking. Aguipua looked clearly concerned.
With Sol's paw momentarily somewhat clean and his maw free to speak again, he'd say, “The fabric from this creature will be a major accessory for my royal robe,” he'd coo, a large smile appearing on his face, “A King cannot be without his divine accessories, and whatever magic brought me here neglected to bring my belongings with. That includes all of my clothes and jewelry I had on me. You cannot imagine how hard it's been for me to be scrounging away by my lonesome, back at the bottom of the barrel. And the weather here, oh,” he'd shiver, shaking his nonexistent pelt out, “It's terrible! It's much warmer in the nice jungles and rainforests at home. Plenty of life. It's very much dead here,” he'd look around, at all the trees without their leaves, without their flowers, at all the grey twigs on the ground, the pale, thin grasses and dry bark. Awful.
And finally, looking back to her, “But you, you seem... fine. Just fine. I think you could be better, though. I see the way you look at that creature's body. I know you're just surviving, but why not thrive? I could help you with that. Me, and Aguipua,” at that, a chunk of the earth would rise into a sphere between the both of them. If she had specified her favorite meal before, he would turn it into that, the hunk of sediment falling slowly before her paws, “I can do much more than that,” he'd say once more, eyes never leaving the dame.
However, if her favorite type was never specified, the ground would not rise at all, but instead the trees around them would shake and groan, a selective earthquake impacting the area around them instead of the ground they rested on. Every tree around would seem under his effect, shaking with such force they'd almost fall over... but the earthquake would fade just as well as it had appeared, and Sol would be left unflinching, a smug look on his face.
“You and I, I think we have much in common,” came the final words, regardless of which action was taken.
Ida watched the strange lion as he lapped the blood from his muzzle, her own mouth still salivating at the rich, sweet scent wafting from their kill. He doesn't know what blood is, the great dog thought to herself, another flicker of surprise crossing her dark expression. She wondered then, what ran through his own veins if not blood? Would he gush if she struck him?Or would he crumple and fold like the countless blooms she'd crushed beneath her careless paws? The thought was morbid, but it intrigued her.
"Blood," she answered for him, "it's in all of us here."
Slowly, she stepped around the two cats, putting the ewe's carcass between the three and keeping her gaze firmly affixed to the lion as she pressed her nose against its cooling flesh. She breathed deeply, savoring its scent before she pulled her head back again and licked the blood from her whiskers. Her favorite taste of stone came to her then, and her chuckle rumbled deep and low within her barrel chest.
"Stone keeps me uhlive, yeah. 'favorite though is iron," her paw came to rest lightly on the ewe's skinned side, and she pressed her claws just hard enough for fresh blood to ooze from the exposed meat. "It's in all of us, in our blood n' our meat. Makes us taste just like it." Again, Ida wondered what ran through the veins of the two strange felines before her, if they even had veins at all. Instead of asking, she braced her paw against the ewe and dove to sink in her blunted fangs, ripping her jaws side to side and gnashing her teeth to rend its meat into messy, uneven chunks which she swallowed whole. She was meant to crush, and its bones splintered easily within her jaws with a wet, satisfying crunch as she dug deep into its ribs. She listened as she feasted, flicking her torn ears in acknowledgement but offering no verbal response to the answers both cats gave her.
On the mention of a robe, Ida swallowed her mouthful and let out a rumbling chuff of laughter. Solrentorro looked strange enough as it was, she could only imagine the lion clad in jewelry and robes. She herself had never been one to accessorize, but resisted the urge to mock him for his laments on his current indecency. It was the least she could do, considering the feast laid before her now.
"Yuh came 'ere in winter," she gruffly explained, wondering if that too was missing from their previous world. "Gunna be like this fer uh few full moons; it'll get warmer after that. Plants'll all grow back. They look dead, but they ain't," her beady gaze then turned back to Aguipua. "It'll be wet n' shitty now 'till spring. Snow n' rain n' yadda yadda--tannin's gunna be uh bitch now right now."
Ida didn't know much on the subject, but she recalled the many packs she'd bounced between on her adventures back home. She'd met a few other wolves who dabbled in preserving pelts and waxed poetic on the artform, but nearly all of those times she'd spent focused on anything but their lectures. She wracked her brain for the distant memories before jerking her head behind her, not yet bothering to clean the gore from her pelt as she continued. "Probably uh better chance if yuh head south. Drier n' warmer further y'go."
With that, she pulled away from the ewe and wiped her bloody paw haphazardly across the snow. She looked back towards Solren, eyes narrowing as he spoke again. His tone had changed--eager now, and smooth like a salesman. The earth groaned between them and split, soil spilling upwards and coiling around itself into an orb before it tightened, hardening into a familiar reddish hue before dropping into the snow. Ida recognized the iron by sight alone, and its taste rung fresh across her tongue as she swiped the blood from her jowls. She almost wanted to be offended at his assumption that she could be better, but resigned herself to blowing a hot puff of air from her nostrils as she furrowed her brow and met the male's challenging stare. It was impressive, yes, how the earth bent to his will in a similar way to her own, but she could read the undercurrent to his words.
Despite her boorishness, Ida was not a dull creature.
"Now, Solrentorro," she rumbled, fresh interest glittering in her dark gaze. She stepped easily over the ewe and curled her claws into the snow, staring down suspiciously at the fallen king as she slowly tilted her head. "What'r you wantin' from me?"
Each word that came from her maw was something new to be learned. Blood was in every creature here, and iron apparently flowed through their bodies as well. He had half a mind to lick the sphere he'd created for her right then and there, but held back on both suspicion and dignity. Winter he knew, at least. Not every place in his homeworld was much affected by it, and he avoided those places when he could, “South,” he said more to himself, eyes idling watching as his guest ripped and tore easily away at the harvest.
After his little display, her suspicious look and question made it clear she knew his intentions. It didn't matter; he only smiled, friendly and deviant at the same time as he made his intentions clear, “You travel with me and Aguipua as a bodyguard. Protect us from harm and teach us how this world works. In return, Aguipua will help you on hunts and tend your wounds, and you'll want for nothing: I can produce all the ore you need, put a roof over your head, and provide you a warm space to sleep at night. No more dens dug out in the dirt.”
