Asvardr

The midday sun was lost behind a thick veil of silver-laced mist — a mist that seemed to spill over from the mouth of Jakten's veil. The world around Calyx seemed to breathe, sentient and gripping and coiling. It should have felt dangerous, but Calyx moved with naught but a smile on his lips ... lost in the clouds, dancing in a daydream. The only things he took care to notice were that:

1. The air tasted sulfuric, and
2. The daytime could become so dark when it was in a foul mood!

The teen kept walking, searching for everything and nothing. His steps were light, bouncing against the spongy earth. From somewhere in the distance, the light of an otherworldly fire glowed ... green and toxic as it mingled with the monochrome mist.

But Calyx did not notice that, not yet. He instead had become focused on the low-hanging branch of a nearby tree. The branch grew low and long, and Calyx decided that it was the perfect spot for a little rest. How could one pass up on such a wonderfully positioned bench?

A small laugh, playful and chiming, escaped his lips as he sauntered toward the tree. And with a single wiggle of his rump and a lash of his tail, he would leap. Thankfully, he was tall enough, and the branch was low enough that he was able to stick his landing, claws scraping lightly against the thick trunk. Golden eyes would flicker, smile widening on twitching lips as he admired the world from just a little bit of a different perspective.

---

the scene he finds in the days following envy's disappearance is chaotic, an amalgam of blood and strewn fur. he picks out his master's scent easily among the fray, reads her story— finds her overwhelmed and outmatched. hawthornn is sent fleeing— and envy leaves unwillingly with a group who stink of blood gore and sex.

days later, asvardr follows the trail still, a moth to a flickering flame. parts his jaws like a snake, inhaling. one ragged ear twitches, and he straightens with a soft chuff. the man— no, the boy who stands before him smells of them. not of his master, but of the men and women who stole her away. excitement gnaws like a starving animal at his ribcage.

he grunts, drops a ragged tuft of silver fur from between his jaws. it stinks of envy, even after so long away from her— sweet mayflower and carrion and, distantly, him.

he grunts again, kicks at the tangled object with his foot and gives the stranger a firm look. go. lead me to her. he will go willingly as a prize if he must, a prisoner of war, if only to find his way back to her.

The haze persisted, and Calyx allowed his mind to wobble. Pupils would dilate, his vision dancing in circles as the lazy, eternal smile still lazily spread across his dark lips. It was only the sudden motion of another being that drew him from his trance. It was a man, he thought, one much larger than he — much more Cedar-sized.

Those eyes, the color of blood, drew Calyx's gaze toward him — a moth to a flame. And Calyx would stare, burning in the depths of crimson intensity for a few moments before he realized that this ... man ... was trying to communicate with him.

And yet he uttered not a word, instead releasing a series of grunts before tossing a soggy piece of fur on the ground.

Oh, a pile of goo! The boy would rise, claws digging into the branch of the tree as his voice slithered from between grinning teeth. With a slender, slow-moving stretch, he would leap to the ground, paws landing on the earth with a dulled huff as curiosity drove his nose toward the clump of fur and saliva.

Goo.
Wolf goo.

With a hum, he faintly recognized the distant scent of Envy, but he did not know her by name ... only as Sauron's toy. But Calyx was not aware that Envy was currently being held captive in Jakten by one of Nyra's children.

Oh, I see, (did he?) he'd start again, voice airy and eyes wide from the effects of his medicine. The smile did not waver. Everyone's always losing something. Most often their minds, I've found. The red gaze of the other burned deeply into Calyx with an unyielding sense of power — and danger. Calyx would paw gently at the fur pile, pushing it back toward it's owner.

I wonder, oh I wonder, which way did they wander? His voice would lilt, monotone and yet holding the quality of a strange song. And he would blink, the edges of his lips still curled upward into an eerie grin.

Perhaps the stranger knew! Oh, then he and Calyx could go on a lovely adventure together!

---

irritation swims in his gut, calcifying the longer the fool boy chooses to ramble. of all the half-witted, empty-headed lunatics to run into— he just had to find the one with no information to offer.

even still, he remains stone-faced. after a moment he grunts again, gesturing with his head for the boy to move along. if he cannot say just where envy is, then asvardr will travel to the heart— to the encampment where the blood-drinkers make their home. and he will go as a pet, if he must— though he now doubts this one has half the mind to demand such a thing.

a blank, drug-induced stare meets him next, and asvardr exhales sharply through his nose. he gives the boy a nudge with his muzzle and chuffs, frustration evident in the ridge of dark fur along his spine.

but how to make him see?

persistence will have to do. he bumps the boy's flank and grunts, tossing his head.

move. move and i will follow.

Calyx would continue to smile, blinking half-expectantly as he intently studied the red-eyed male. The intensity of the other's gaze was immeasurable, sending scorching shivers down Calyx's spine. There was a danger there that was undeniable, and yet Calyx felt himself perpetually drawn to it.

There was a puzzle to be solved here, he was sure of it.

And Calyx loved puzzles.

But it would seem the unnamed, silent male did not want puzzles ... nor did he want games. He wanted answers. Answers Calyx definitely, maybe, probably(?) had. That silver muzzle delivered a nudge, quickly followed by a forceful shove against Calyx's side. A shiver went up his spine, a spark of fear mixing with the excitement at the proposition of danger as he took a hopping sidestep away from his 'assailant'. ¡Oye! Tranquilo (Hey! Easy), he would hum through smiling lips, his tail rattling with adrenaline.

For one with no voice, he certainly held such force!

What a curious new friend!

Calyx would roll his shoulders, keeping his eyes (and smile) on the annoyed stranger as he took a few dancing steps in a new direction. This stranger wanted to go somewhere, yes? And it was up to Calyx to discern the puzzle. So ... somewhere they would go!

Calux would tilt his head, a coy smile spiraling up his lips. Well, any road will take us where we need to go if we don't know exactly where we're going, hm? And then he would leap forward, waving his tail like a flag to follow through the haze as he coaxed Asvardr very accidentally toward the green flame. Calyx was certain he'd left a little goody bag in this direction ... yes! Perhaps that would help them find what they were looking for!

They simply needed a little bit of help being lucid, certainly.

---

---

a shorty but a goody...

ah. persistence is nothing in the face of unbridled stupidity, it seems. but this is perhaps his only chance at finding her, and he will not let it slip away from him— not even if he has to tolerate this fucker's incessant babbling for a week.

oh, lord, he hopes it doesn't take a week.

the boy dances jubilantly away from him, and the hound is unfortunately inclined to follow. he lopes after with his head low, single eye shining. at the very least, calyx has at long last chosen a direction in which to wander.

and off the two of them wander— perhaps toward doom.

The large man followed. Oh, he followed!

A shiver would tingle up and down Calyx's spine, the darkness of a slender smile extending up his lips as he moved the pair through the forest. Calyx, of course, the ever-generous, would eventually lead the pair to their destination. But that did not mean, of course, that there may not be any ... pit stops.

The heat of the green flame grew ever higher, and Calyx's golden eyes would become distracted,
if only for a moment.

You know, the teen would start, not looking up but instead digging through the foliage at his paws. I didn't intend to help today. His voice was soft, laced with the innocence of youth as those thoughtful golden eyes turned back toward the giant who followed.

But.
The word, a single word.

And from the earth, Calyx would dig up a satchel, drenched in the green light of the eternal flame that encompassed them. With a sweep of his paw, he would reveal what lay beneath, a slew of medicinal herbs. Medicine. Yes ... yes ... his medicine.

And he would imbibe.

And ... he would smile.
And ... it was innocent — but it was wicked.

But curiosity always wins. Those golden eyes would lift, protected behind a careful smile as Calyx would look toward the silent, one-eyed man. Don't you think? Without dramatics, Calyx would toss the satchel toward the other in offering, lifting but one brow.

His smile persisted.

---

impulse has never guided him. he is a beast of habit, of routine— so perhaps it is corruption which guides his heart to obey. he pins the satchel with one paw, curiously spilling its contents out and onto the earth.

a bittersweet scent emanates from it, one that makes his mouth water. oh, he has always been a man of many vices. what's one more? he takes a stem into his mouth and chews thoughtfully, wincing at the taste.

a brusque shove with his paw and the bundle goes hurtling back toward calyx, sans one stem.