Difference between revisions of "Beggin' Bacon"

Revision as of 17:33, 6 November 2012

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Night has overcome the city of Fluorgis within the World of Ruin. Skoll Ulfang has mostly been missing from the place lately - and has thus missed the fact that Sasseral is there, and some of the other important things that might actually have needed his attention while he was there. Imagine his surprise when, one late night, the werewolf arrived - tired and carrying an underslung duffelbag - and found himself discovering a puppy that led him to the garden... only to find more puppies.

"Why are there puppies..." Skoll whispers to himself, before kneeling down within the garden and putting the duffelbag down besides himself, which makes an obvious 'metalic' sound. Whatever was in there, it also seems heavy - judging by the sound of it landing on the floor. The youth soon is surrounded by the puppies, which start barking loudly and try to paw at his pockets. Always carrying bacon and whatever-not.

"Now now you guys, shhh." Skoll whispers, chuckling, smiling as one of the puppies jumps and manages to lick his face. He's quick to lightly press it down, ruffling its headfur before offering them all tiny pieces of dried bacon he breaks up from a small package he always carries with him.

Zia has posed:
While there are many who may see the danger that comes with nightfall - with the darkness looming so close to those who dwell within these worlds, there are others who take some comfort in it. Gargoyles have always been creatures of the night. For all that Zia might be a day-walker, by whatever strange magic she seems to have that keeps her from turning to stone, the night still means safety.

She hadn't gone directly to the Shard Seekers, even with the offer of shelter that the rat-like templar had offered. The familiar name of 'Reize' echoed in her ears, wondering just what the lost boy might have to do with such an organization. With her usual cautious nature, the gargress had watched and waited, observing the movements of people in and out of the building for a time, until someone familiar caught her eye.

From the shadows of a nearby rooftop, Zia watches as Skoll begins to interact with the little dogs, her eyes narrowing towards the bag that he sets down behind him. She had seen the wolf make an agreement to run some guns for a particularly shady character - one who was familiar enough, as she'd seen a man in the same sort of dress scoping out the movements of people in Manhattan. Just what the strange suit-wearing humans mean to do is unknown to her, but certainly it seems more than a little suspicious.

Still, she hasn't quite been able to figure out what to do about the werewolf, or what to think about him, either. So, from her vantage place, the girl takes a step out of the shadows. "So, who's the lucky lass?" She's obviously joking, but there seems to be real amusement in her voice as Zia hops down from the rooftop, landing neatly on the fence that separates the garden from the rest of the city around it.

"O'course, ye shouldnae be tryin te support yer family there wi' such shady business. It's nae a good idea." She folds her arms, standing at her full height, balancing perfectly on the narrow space. "Ah still dinnae know what te think about ye, Skoll Ulfang. Ye claim te be one thing, yet everythin ye do shows somethin else. It's worse than dealin with humans."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll's ears perk as he hears the sound behind him. He continues to feed the puppies, not feeling particularly threatened by the presence of 'another' around here, and continues to look 'ahead' from where he is. It's when the girl's voice breaks through and the girl hops down from the rooftops, that Skoll looks around. He recognized the girl's 'sound' and 'smell' - thanks to his senses being greater than a human's.

"You really surprise me sometimes. How do you come up with these things?" He asks. "They're just puppies." The man then slowly stands up and fully turns to face Zia. "Though I guess what I should be more surprised about, is you being here." He's not read that bulletin board on the girl's presence, but he clearly doesn't seem to mind either. His hands moves into his pockets, and the dogs are too busy eating to really care about not getting attention.

His golden eyes look the girl up and down for a moment, before shaking his head. "No family to support. I am just trying to get some money together for the Shard Seekers on short notice... it's difficult to do so sometimes." He remembers Zia being there when he'd spoken to Sammy. Had she heard the two of them talk? "It's going to a good cause... I think."

Zia has posed:
As she hops down from the fence, the arrival of yet another person seems to draw the attention of a few of the puppies, who break off from the pack to come investigate. The gargress doesn't quite respond as some might suspect, and instead crouches down, rufffling the ears of the nearest pup, crooning softly. "Ah know what they are. It's jus a joke, lad." She picks up the other pup, who licks at her chin, causing the girl to laugh softly. "Oh get off ye." She mutters playfully, then sets the pup back down.

"Ah suppose it may be surprisin, but ah'm still tryin te make heads or tails o this map tha the rat gave me." As she stands, the girl shifts her cloak slightly, revealing a rolled up scroll. "It's supposete have the route back te Manhattan, but ah dinnae understand the other worlds in between." She shrugs her shoulders, head tilting slightly to the side as she looks towards him.

"An ye think the best way o gettin money is te help people kill one another?" She asks with a skeptical expression, those blue eyes narrowing towards him. "An wha if it hadnae been a good cause. Ye didn't seem te really care much, Skoll Ulfang." She looks towards the building, through the lit windows, and then back at the werewolf. "These friends o yers, would they be okay with knowin that ye'r lookin te fund them with blood money?"

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll watches the pups run Zia's way, and smiles. No, she responds just as he expected. He knows - he knows that her fear is one of humans, not of other creatures. The werewolf seems pretty relaxed - so he probably was quite aware that it'd been a joke. There's even that little smirk of his that shows. His right hand remains at his waist even as he changes his balance a little while his left hand moves through his hair to straighten it a little... which does very little of course.

"Map?" The werewolf then asks, and moves closer to Zia to look at the map as it is revealed. "Don't tell me it's one of those drawn by the Shard Seekers? They tend to be... lacking." There's a reason Reize always gets lost... and gets others lost. And it's not just the fact that Reize is /really/ bad with directions.

The wolf then sighs and shakes his head. "They don't need to know." He comments, turning his head away. In truth, some actions are not through his own influence. When he'd been younger, he'd never done a thing like this. But ever since the darkness of the Gaudium Lords had been forced into him... He then moves a bit away from Zia, looking off into the distance for a moment - the night's sky.

"I... still haven't delivered them." He then whispers. This is true. "But..." A hand goes up to his head, a pain entering his mind. He grits his teeth a little. "I... care. It would still be okay... it's just... a delivery job." He sounds pained, like he doesn't believe it.

Zia has posed:
"M'clan usete have a gargoyle beast. So 'm used te havin a pup 'round." Zia muses as another of the puppies comes running her way, chasing at her tail as if it were something to hunt. "Havenae seen 'm fer years, though. He left with m' brother 'n aunt, and tha was when ah was still a hatchling." She crouches down, making a clicking sound that draws the puppy towards her, reaching out to scratch behind one of his ears.

Even as she's crouched down, the gargress unhooks the map, giving it a toss over towards the werewolf. "Wouldnae surprise me. Check it out, see if ye can figure if it's even worth me tryin te follow anymore." She's still paying more attention to the dogs than to the wolf, but her eyes flash back to that bag full of weapons. Then, by the time she finds him, he's looking off into the distant sky - with all it's missing stars.

"If tha's the way ye sleep at night, ah suppose tha's fine, but ah think it's pre'ty shady te make money off sellin weapons te the highest bidder." She stands up again, pulling her tail away from another pup who seems to be quite interested in it, but she seems more interested in the wolf. "Ah still cannae quite figure ye out, ye know that?" The gargoyle shakes her head, her uncertainty having grown to a boiling point.

"Fer all ah can tell, ah should be avoidin ye. Ye run guns for dirty businessmen, ye owe yer allegiance te some unnamed dark lords, ye twitch a finger and Heartless turn the other way." She ticks them off on the three fingers of her hand, "Everythin ye do tells me that yer a bad sorta guy, who is nothin but trouble." Her expression is confused, though, tail tucking away from the puppy still trailing behind her. "But ye dinnae seem like a villian te me. So tell me how that works..."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Long time ago then." Skoll comments on the topic of the gargoyle beast. What follows is the throwing of the map, which he catches even though he's facing away from her; a testament to his hearing and reflexes. That, and it generally just makes him look cool. He opens it properly and looks upon it. He nods his head. "Yes, this map would not help you very much. If you want, I can help you find your way back to Manhattan. Tomorrow that is - I'm a bit tired right now."

The werewolf then finally turns to face the girl again, after moving closer to one of the raised little walls in the garden and leans a little against the thing. "If not me... another right?" Skoll asks her, as if he was trying to 'find' a reason to justify what he did. "So... maybe it's the right thing to do?" He tilts his head a little. "If the money at least goes to a good place." A somewhat warped way of looking at it perhaps.

He shakes his head a little then and looks the other way. "The Gaudium Lords." He says, "That's their name. I can twitch a finger at the heartless and turn them on their way, because darkness exists within me. As you can tell, it's a useful ability to have. With the heartless lies power - but also the power to stop them from harming the innocent." In that 'someone has to do it' kind of way. "Still... I am not a bad person." He pushes himself away from that wall again and starts to pace. He's getting bothered by Zia's words. Mostly because his own behavior confuses even Skoll sometimes. Things bordering on going against his mother's teachings.

They were without honor.

"The dark lords aren't bad... they saved my life. They help me seek revenge against the one who destroyed my world."

Zia has posed:
"A long time ago." Zia agrees with a nod of her head, watching the small dogs at play. The beasts who were so much part of her own culture were not so different from these, although they were part of the first race, long before humans had domesticated wolves into their common canines. "Ah miss them sometimes. The beasts are more rare even than m' kind, though we're nae dissimilar creatures." They might just serve to be the first of the gargates to fall extinct.

Still, for now, she tries not to dwell on those sort of thoughts. Instead, her tail twitches as she watches Skoll's movements - the way he doesn't seem quite comfortable in his own skin. "Ah suppose tha the help would be nice. Although ah'll be honest wi' ye, Ah'm more interested in seein what the rest o these worlds have te offer than just goin home te wait for darkness te come." She tugs her cloak around her shoulders, almost as if warding off the cold.

Her ears draw downward as she listens, taking her time to formulate the right things to say. "Do ye really believe that?" She asks, raising an eyebrow. "Wha if it werenae just running weapons te some faceless group. wha if it were a task te kill someone? Would tha be 'right' jus 'cause someone else would do it if ye didnae?" A small growl comes from the gargress, showing her own frustration with that sort of logic. "Maybe if enough people said no, then the bad things wouldnae happen. An' even if they do, ye know that yer nae the one who brought them te bear."

It isn't as if she can't understand some of what he might have gone through. In some ways, Valen had saved her life, but that did not mean that she followed him willingly. She had felt the twinges of anger and hatred within herself, the sort of things that could easily turn a person to darkness, and yet she'd preferred her solitude to seeking out retribution, no matter how just. "Is tha all tha matters, Skoll Ulfang? Revenge? Should ah go out an seek te kill any human that crosses m' path just because of a few who chose te wrong me? Ah dinnae trust them, but there is a point where ye need te let go of the hate, or it'll destroy ye."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll halts when Zia asks him if that is really what he believes. He thinks about it for a moment, or tries to, but ends up with one hand in his hair, pulling some of the gray away from his face, standing with his back bent back just slightly and his head aimed to the skies. He lets out a deep sigh. "I am not going to kill anyone I have no beef with." Skoll comments, "It would not be right if I did it." But to go that step further?

He sighs. "I know what you are saying. But... surely I wouldn't do these things without a good reason." Skoll mutters. His right eye twitches a little. There's a feeling welling up within him. A frustration. But when Zia returns to the topic of 'that man', the man grabs onto it. This was something he felt more sure about. Even though he'd never seen 'that man'. "It's a man who destroyed an entire planet - Zia. And he may do it again. I must stop /that man/." His eyes squint. He puts one hand against the wall of the garden and looks underneath it back to Zia - bent over somewhat.

"I must stop him. In honor of my people. My father - my mother... my sister..." The latter seems to be a more sensitive part of that statement. He looks away again. "I need power to do that." Power that the heartless might give him? He then suddenly 'punches' that same hand against the wall. He's frustrated - still trying to come up with a proper answer of the first question.

"I don't know what is right in the case of the weapon handling though..."

Zia has posed:
It's strange to see the wolf seemingly so frustrated, or torn, or whatever it is that seems to draw his eyes skyward towards those dwindling stars. Zia's head tilts ever so slightly, her long ears tipping backwards as she tries to make sense of just what it is that bothers him so much. Could it be that no one had ever asked him to explain himself before? But really, wouldn't he have thought about it?

The gargress steps a bit closer, being careful not to nudge any of the puppies in the process, but they seem more interested in playing amongst themselves. "An' jus who is it tha will tell ye if there is a good reason? Yer masters, or yerself?" She asks, folding her arms beneath her cloak. Like many touched by darkness, Zia had spent some time under the control of another, and that has left her sometimes doubting her own choices.

The sudden display of anger from him only draws those ears back further, sinking them to near obscurity in the mass of white hair that hangs over her shoulders. The gargress is quiet for a time, thinking of her own past - her own family and everything that she's lost. "There was a man back in Sco'land, a priest." She begins with her own voice gone soft in the still night. "He killed m' da. Ah dinnae know what he did te him, but he put m' father's wings up over his alter, to preach against the demons and monsters."

A shiver runs up her spine that has nothing to do with cold, and everything to do with anger and sadness. "Mum was ne'er the save after tha. Usually, our kind mates for life, an losing the other half o' yer soul does something te a person." She shakes her head, looking at his hand where it had struck the stone. "An when she died, an ah was alone, he managed to capture me, too. Those nights were the worst o' m' life."

She reaches a hand out, laying it over his where it still touches against the stone. "Fer years, ah wanted te get stronger. Strong enough te take revenge for m' da, my mum, every one of m' kind that he hurt. So it's nae as if I dinnae understand tha pain, Skoll Ulfang. But ah realized something..." Just as quickly as the gargress had reached out, she draws that taloned hand back again, stepping away. That same hand moves beneath her cloak to draw out one of two small amulets.

The first, he might catch a glimpse of glowing blue before it goes hidden again, but the second she holds out on her palm. Dangling from the bid of thread is a small glass bottle sealed with wax and held with a clasp. Within, two blackened bits of bone sit. "Nae matter what pain ah bring te tha man, it can ne'er bring either o' them back. An' worse than tha, it might make me inte more of a monster than tha man ever was, because ah'd lose what it was tha they taught me."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Me of 'course, but sometimes... surely there's a good reason even if I don't quite understand it myself." Skoll shakes his head. "What matters is... if it's honorable. I will not behave without honor." He continues to be bent over towards the wall in that moment, listening to the girl behind him. He can hear her movement even as she speaks. He can tell that she is reacting to something about him. His hearing isn't quite so fine-tuned he can hear her heartbeat. But he can tell that she... is worried?

But her words don't help with his anger. Before him, he imagines exactly what the girl is describing. He'd met 'people like that'. People who caused such extreme acts of violence and torture. "That's not right." He hisses, "He killed your dad... and went that far? Just to..." His hand against the wall moves, and drags down a little - creating a nasty scratch-mark in the wall. "I can tell why you hate humans." The yellow-eyed werewolf quickly glances back at her just as her hand comes to lay over his. His expression is a bit surprised.

He lets her speak. It's a gentleman's way. But when she comments on what she realized, he shakes his head. "Sometimes, one needs that strength. Sometimes... maybe it's okay for us to be monsters. Even if it makes me a monster, if I destroy that man - I will save further worlds. Further people. If you'd killed that priest, you might save other Gargoyles in the future of a similar fate - Zia!"

Skoll turns about, coming to lean back against the wall, his hands flat against it near his hips. He looks at the glass bottle with bone in it. From the story she's told him, he presumes it to contain bits of her father's wings - or at least what had remained of it. "It is dishonorable to kill the innocent. But those who are not innocent... sometimes they must be fought to protect those who cannot fend for themselves."

Zia has posed:
"After everything I've seen, I don't trust much other than my own heart to make my decisions for me. Humans aren't the only creatures who lie." Zia does not know these 'Lords' of his, or even what sort of things would drive him to do the things he does. It's a hard thing to even imagine, especially for someone who has been a recluse for quite a long time.

"Ah dinnae hate humans, ah distrust them. Humans fear the things they dinnae understand, and creatuers like me... we're nae normal te them. We look like beasts, monsters, creatures that'll make off wit their children an' haunt their nightmares." She gives a little show of fangs, wiggling her claws in a show that makes her look hardly ferocious. Then again, Skoll had seen this girl fight - the way that her eyes would light red, and the way she moved like a beast. It isn't hard to imagine where people might get that idea from.

"It isnae normal among m' kind for a hatchling te know their parents. They're usually raised by the whole clan." She sighs to herself, those blue eyes watching him cautiously. "Te know tha they were blood, made me love them more, ah think. But it hurt more, too." She holds the little bottle with the bones in it, then tucks them away again beneath her cloak. "Ah wante kill him wi' every ounce of m'being, Skoll Ulfang, te make him suffer like ah did, like m' da did. But it doesnae help. He fell with the others when the Heartless came, an ah will nae prove tha beast of a man right by becoming a monster like him."

Her ears tuck back again, watching the play of his expression as he turns. "Ah am no innocent, Skoll Ulfang. There is blood on m' hands, an there isnae anything tha can change that, nae matter how deserving it was." She looks down at her own talons, "Gargoyles protect... it's our nature. Te go against that means losin m'self. Ah dinnae have anything else left te protect but their memory, so tha has te be enough."

She sighs, walking over to the edge of a bit of stone and settling herself on it, looking as if all of this has weighed heavily on her for quite a long time. "But tha..." She motions at the bag of weapons. "Tha is sellin blood fer money, Skoll Ulfang. It's honor if ye fight fer something ye believe in, but it is nae honor te bring more death te a fight ye have nothin te do with just te line yer pockets." She growls to herself softly, then leans forward, propping herself up with her hands.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"I'm... I'm sure the Lords would not lie to me." There's this momentary flash. This flash of 'red' in his eyes. A reaction Zia might very well recognize. Something one would expect from a strong spell. A reaction. Something that subdues. The pained look of Skoll's suggests this is a feasible assumption, if she dared make it. The werewolf looks away from her in that moment. "Hate - distrust - there's such a shallow line between the two. At least here the humans are used to beasts, monsters, and creatures. At least here, they know to look and ask before they do." He is refering to this place. Fluorgis.

He moves away from the wall, pacing around Zia this time, and comes to halt in front of the bag he'd brought here. "My people were similar. You weren't just raised by your parents, but also your pride. But... sounds like it's still different. Parents still knew their children and vice-versa. And you still spent most of your time with your folks'."

It's when Zia says that she is no innocent that Skoll looks at her... surprised. His wolven-ears perked up, and then one falling a little to the side. Confused? Or more like it doesn't /quite/ fit the image he'd formed of her. A white Gargoyle with hair as pure as snow - a man like him would never expect her to truly have blood on her hands. "And what if he comes back? What if he..." He shakes his head. "No, nevermind." He can see where the girl is coming from. But the darkness within - it's stronger than hers. He would not mind being a monster, if it means saving so many more lives. To remove another monster from the world. At least he'd be a monster with honor!

The werewolf then looks down, a the girl points at the bag. "Hrrm? No, it's not the weapons." Skoll comments. "Those were in crates. This..." He leans down, getting on his haunches, and zips it open. Within is a sturdy and long looking... chain? "Working on making a new Hookshot for Reize. As for the money - it's not for me. It's not to line my pockets. It's to get these guys... closer to their dreams. Their dreams seem... better than mine."

Zia has posed:
Unfortunately, Zia's eyes are set elsewhere at the time when Skoll has that flash of the spell that keeps him so tethered to his 'Lords', but she can't help but lift her head afterwards, strands of white hair framing her features, "The only one who can tell ye if yer doin the right thing is ye, Skoll Ulfang. It's a decision ye have te make fer yerself." The corner of one lip curves up in a small smirk, "Ah'm nae angel, m'self, so far be it fer me te give advice, it's jus... ah dinnae know if ah can trust ye or not, because ah can never figure out what it is ye mean te do."

The girl looks out at the buildings around them - at the city. It is so different from Manhattan, and yet also so different from the place she grew up in. There were still some parts of Scotland where you could forget that you exist in modern times, and pretend that it was another - simplier - age. "It dosnae matter where ah am, having so many humans around always makes me... nervous." Zia rubs at one arm, over the black bandages that cover her forearms. They are a strange fashion statement, if that's what they are meant to be.

"If he comes back, then ah'll do what needs te be done." She states with a flat voice, without any of the rage in it that one might suspect. "But wi' all tha's been happenin, ah find it hard te hold on to anger at one man." She raises those blue eyes to look at him, ears drawn back in that somber sort of way. "Fer all ah know, the Heartless will drag Manhattan inte the nothingness, an ah'll be dragged right along with it. Ah'm afraid. Ah dun wante die, ye know? Or te become one of those Heartless things, wi'out any sense of m'self."

When he walks over towards the bag and explains that they are not the weapons as she had assumed, her ears lift a little, looking at the chain he lifts from it. "What are yer dreams then, just te destroy? Would it nae be better te have some other dream, even if it seems out o' reach?"

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Not sure what to tell you there, Zia." Skoll says, "You are not my Lords' enemy. You can trust me. I wouldn't do a thing to harm you. You're an innocent." He looks up at her from his crouched position for a moment, before tilting his head a little and glancing down at the puppies which come to check out what is in the bag. He moves his hands around the strong metal and brings a bit of the chain out for the pups to sniff.

"That isn't a thing that will change." He moves a hand to one of the puppies' noses, letting them sniff him, before he gently rubs along its ears. "Neither am I known to lie. If you ask me a question, I will answer within my ability to answer." Still, there's a momentary smile that shows when she comments that she would certainly do 'what needs to be done' if that man were to come back. "Sure you'd not rather I do it for you? So you can keep your hands clean? So you can keep your heart... free from being filled with as much darkness?"

What kind of offer is that? What kind of person would offer such a thing?

"But as for Manhattan... even if it fell to darkness. It can be saved." He nudges the pup away and stands up again. "And if it falls, and you are here, you are safe." He pauses for a moment, and then goes further to offer something else strange; "If it fell, and you were still there... I'd take you out of there." He paces away in that moment, grabbing the bag and lifting it off of the ground. He must be confused. He normally never offers things like that. Normally, he's too much of a lone wolf to go offering things like that!

It must be because it's the honorable thing to do.

"As for my dreams. My dreams are stupid... revenge on 'that man'... and something else." He looks up at the sky again. "She is not mine to chase." He points at the moon. "But the otherone. I dream of the chase of the other one."

Zia has posed:
"Ah'm hardly an innocent, Skoll Ulfang. Ah've told ye that." The gargress gives a low sound in her chest, her own blue eyes distant. "An' wha happens if yer 'Lords' decide tha I am a threat? Or Reize Seatlan, or any o' the others? Does yer loyalty sway wi' wha they choose, regardless of what ye feel fer yerself?" Zia is a person who has lived for such a long time on her own, that the idea of owing such a great debt to anyone seems like a strange, foreign concept. She's one of those who follows their own heart, as fickle a thing as it might be.

When he offers her that question about about keeping her hands clean, the gargress' eyes snap towards him, ears tucked back. It's an expression that is hard to read, full of mixed emotions. "Ah bury m' own, with these hands and nae others." Her hand shifts beneath her cloak, likely to touch that small bottle with the two bits of bone once more. "Fer now, it isnae somethin te fret over. He fell inte darkness, and may darkness keep 'im." In some ways, she had already embraced that bit of darkness in her own heart which had driven her to kill Valen, as much as she might fight against it. Unlike many who face great trials, Zia had somehow managed to come out with only a few scars on her heart, even if she carries far deeper ones elsewhere.

Those blue eyes follow him even as he paces, her head tilted ever so slightly. Even now, it's hard to read the wolf-man, "Ah dinnae know if ah'm safe anywhere. Ah cannae claim te know what the intentions o' the Heartless are, naer the paths of their masters, but it seems te me tha we need te cling to whae'er light there is still left in this world." This time, she draws out the blue crystal from beneath her cloak, which glows softly against her palm. Normally, Zia keeps this amulet hidden at all times, so perhaps it is some show of trust that Skoll can catch a glimpse of it. "Ah havete figure out wha it is ah'm goin te do. It isnae in the nature of m' kind to sit idly by."

As strange as his offer might be, it does draw a ghost of a smile from the gargress, "T'is a kind enough offer, but..." She'd been about to say, 'without my world, what do I have left?' but then she thinks about the fact that Skoll has no world, no home to go back to. Her mind seems to switch trains of thought mid-sentence, "Is there nae way te save yer own world?" While he starts to speak of dreams, Zia gets to her feet again, the cloak flowing out behind her as she looks towards the moon, following the line of his hand. "At least ye have dreams, nae matter what sort they might be." While it goes unspoken, it's clear from her words that she has no such dreams, which might be sad in it's own right. "Though ah cannae claim te understand what ye mean about chasin the sun. Is tha some sorta wolf-thing?"

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Surely, they would never." Skoll answers Zia, seemingly surprised she'd even bring this up. But he knows where she is coming from, he knows what she is telling him. But for some reason, it's just not 'grabbing on'. His mind isn't retaining this. The dark curse of Orcha's mindcontrol sinks deep into this creature's psyche. If he were anything less than what he is, he might even have sunken entirely into darkness. "Still... I won't do something beyond my code of honor. I would not harm you. Not even then." He dares say this, because he's never been put into that situation.

Skoll then continues to nod his head. "As long as the Heartless are around, I guess one is never safe - not even someone like me, who can move the lesser ones to my will. But they don't dare come to places like my masters' palace." In a ways, it means he can sleep at night without problems. Safe. Amidst people of true 'power'. "If you stay here though, here in Fluorgis... in this place. You'd be safe. Heartless don't usually enter houses. And there's strong people here who can keep you safe." He pauses. "Some of them aren't even exactly human." Like himself.

His golden-like eyes find the little crystal as it gets drawn out, and he notes the fact that it glows. A crystal? It doesn't 'seem' to be one of the crystals from this world. "Heartless wish to swallow up the World Hearts. Being beings of darkness, my lords suggest they wish to absorb all the light in the universe." The werewolf lets out a sigh, and shakes his head for a moment, before he lifts the bag back up over his shoulder and moves over to Zia - closer.

"My world wasn't taken by the heartless. I wish I was that lucky. My world was destroyed. Truly, and utterly, destroyed." He explains. "As for the dream about the sun..." He glances up at the moon, and shakes his head. "It's a childish dream. Don't mind me."

Zia has posed:
While Skoll might believe in his 'Masters' wholeheartedly, or at least by whatever control they have over his mind, Zia trusts far more rarely, and these faceless beings are hardly the sort she is going to ever place her faith in. "Ah dinnae know yer 'Lords', Skoll Ulfang, but ah dinnae trust anyone who rules from high places. Jus 'cause they saved yer life, disnae mean tha they own yer mind, or yer heart." How many years had it taken her to come to that same conclusion? How long had she let Valen use her as a puppet for his own purposes? And yet, she has no real idea the hold that these 'Lords' have over Skoll.

"Ah'm nae delicate flower in needa protectin. Duntye be worryin yer fuzzy head over tha." The gargress manages to laugh this time, bemused at the idea of her somehow hiding behind the likes of Reize. As powerful as the boy is, she couldn't really justify hiding while he and his friends do the fighting. "Ye've seen m' strength. Ye know ah'm nae the type te hide when there's a fight te be had. It's in m' nature. Gargoyles protect, even when there isnae anythin tha' we call our own." Sure, she had a few scrouged things hidden away in an abandoned building in lower Manhattan, but it isn't as if she has a clan, or a family.

"Well, ah wish them luck in tryin te wink out this light." She taps her own chest with a clawed digit, ears lifting a little. "Still, it's a bit o a silly thing. So many people still fightin their own wars, when there's so much darker ill afoot. 'Course, the minute all this is over, they'll go right back te killin each other. Human nature, ah suppose." She tucks herself back into her cloak, as if warding off a chill that isn't present in the night air.

"Ah suppose we're alike in tha way. Fer all m' kind mighta been the first race, it doesnae mean that we're long fer this world or any other. Fer a long time, ah thought tha ah was the last, at least until ah came te Manhatttan." She looks over towards him, following his gaze as he finds the moon again. "Ah'm sure ye'll find others. If ye survived, then there will be others. Maybe ye can start a whole new life somewhere out there." She lets out a breath, sighing softly, "Dinnae go worryin yerself. It may nae be much, but it's somethin te hold on te, no matter how silly it may be."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll shrugs his shoulders. "They've done me no wrong so far. But you are right... they..." He looks pained for a moment. "Don't own my mind or heart." Why was that so difficult to say, as if it was somehow wrong. But he knows, deep inside, that he is speaking the truth. They do not have control over his heart and mind. Right? Such a thing would be dishonorable!

"As for being a delicate flower - I know you are not that. But that doesn't mean you should sleep in a place while worrying about the creatures that might be out to eat you during the night. It's good to know you are safe sometimes." He tells her, smiling. He does truly mean well. A hand then moves to his chest. "And your nature, it is similar to mine. I may not be born to protect due to my race. But a strong... pack-mentallity is still to be had." It's why he wants to keep the Shard Seekers safe? They weren't exactly 'pack members though'.

His gaze then travels back to that chest of hers. Not the crystal - but her chest. Her heart thus? "You are right though. There's many people still fighting their own wars. And plenty who use the heartless without knowing the damage they do. It's not just humans. I think it's a kind of natural rule that... well... some people just don't like eachother. Or are simply dishonorable and jealous of what others have. Greedy - if you may."

He then shakes his head. "I doubt I will find others. From what I understand, you had to travel in your own world to find others of your kind. I don't have such hopes. But... that's okay. I've settled my mind on there being no others besides myself. I'll just live life normally, and see what happens." He shrugs a little. "A life I already live at least. Plenty of interesting people I come across as well. Like you."

Zia has posed:
The gargress nods her head, confirming his statement, regardless of how unsure he might sound about it. In truth, she isn't entirely sure that these 'Lords' don't own some part of his mind or heart, but she's yet to see them force their hand, so that's something she'll wait and be watchful for.

Yet, it is his comment about being afraid of someone eating her when she sleeps that draws another of those laughs from the gargress. "Nae, it isnae fear of being eaten that bothers me when ah sleep, but something far more frightening. Imagine goin te sleep, but ne'er knowin if yer goin te wake up. If some human will find ye in yer sleep an kill ye, an there's nothin ye can do about it." The thought draws a shiver from her, and brings those ears back into her white hair again. "It's part o why ah dinnae sleep around others. It's a risk ah cannae take."

She hasn't actually revealed just what it is that makes her so vulnerable when she sleeps, but even the most keen-eyed and suspicious of people still tend to be more exposed to danger when they sleep. She shifts her cloak again, covering the crystal and her chest in the process, "It isnae the way of m' people. Do ye know we usedte protect the humans, until they turned on us. We've been hunted for generations. Te the point where we're almost more myth than reality, like the Loch-ness monster, or bigfoot. Though ah'm startin te believe in bigfoot. Saw this great furry beast fightin a Heartles the other day."

In some ways, it's hard to hear him already speaking like he's give up of finding others of his own kind, and the gargress just shakes her head. "Hope is a good thing te have sometimes, ye know? But ah suppose ye can do with whatever gets ye by." She looks back towards the headquarters of the Shard Seekers, then at the wolf. "Ah would think yer the more interestin type, though. Dark and mysterious, an dangerous." She waggles her taloned fingers.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
The wolfish and punkish young man nods his head in agreement, thinking he understands the fear of going to sleep. The fear that someone might stalk to your bed and take your life while one is the least defended. Such a vulnerable time. He takes one last glance at that crystal before it is tucked away, and the werewolf takes a single step closer to her, so he might loom over her a little. Or really... just tower above her while looking a bit more relaxed and leaning back.

"It must have been terrible... to have your backs turned to you by those you are meant to protect." Skoll comments, not knowing just how far into history this goes. But with Zia's suggestion taht they're more myth than reality now, suggests this was a long time ago. Before the time of Zia. "Still - no clue what you mean wiht Loch-Ness or Bigfoot." He pauses though, when the girl recalls a great furry beast fighting a heartless. Was she refering to himself? Of course, she wouldn't know.

"A bigfoot is a great furry beast? And here I was imagining a giant animated foot." He jokes, smiling, showing a toothy grin.

The youth then nods his head. "Hope is good. I guess it wouldn't be bad to hope for more survivors. But... hope also hurts." He then moves a hand out towards her hair, and picks up a single lock of her hair towards him, letting it slip through his fingers. He grins at her while doing this. "But... that aside. I can do the Dark and Mysterious and Dangerous just fine. But there's less mystery, if you keep asking questions." He tilts his head down a little further so he can properly look into her eyes.

"Would you not agree, Zia?"

Zia has posed:
For the most part, Zia doesn't seem too bothered by his looming presence. Her own race varies quite a bit when it comes to size, although the gargoyle isn't a particularly dominating presence. Then again, it takes a lot more than height alone to intimidate her, and the gargress' tail sways slightly, glancing up towards him through the fringe of hair that covers her forehead.

"Ah wouldnae know. M'clan ne'er did serve the humans. We left long before tha. Any time one of our kin left te see the rest o' the world, or join one o the other clans, they ne'er returned. We were the last. Ah dinnae even know what happenedte m'aunt and brother." She admits with a somber tone, but it is an expression that doesn't linger.

Instead, she finds a smirk coming to her lips. "Och, lad. Nessie is a great bloody sea-beastie that lives in the deepest part o' this lake in m' homeland. Like somethin out of another age." She laughs to herself, ears lifting as she recounts such silly stories, "An' Bigfoot is this massive hairy beast that runs around in the forests. They think it's some sor'a great primative human, but the one ah saw looked more like wha ah would expect a real werewolf te look like. All fur an' muzzle an' claws. O'course, ye wouldn't know anythin bout a great bloody wolf runnin 'bout, would ye?"

Oh, you can bet the gargress is giving him a knowing sort of look, lifting one eyebrow as she reaches one clawed digit to flick at his ear. It's a playful sort of motion, one that only lasts for a moment when his own hand comes towards her. There is that subtle tilt of her ears, and the nervous look in those blue eyes as he toys with that strand of her white hair. "An now yer jus tryinte make me nervous." She murmurs, looking away with a hint of shiness. "Ah jus dun wan te end up stabbed in the back by some wayward wolf. Be'ta te know ye and trust ye then always be watchin ye te turn tail."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll had always been one of the biggest of the pride, short of maybe his father. He is used to towering above people. Still, as a human, he's not unusually tall. Just regular ol' tall. "Probably for the last then. A shame you don't know what happened to your family though." but as her expression doesn't linger, neither does his desire to continue that line of talk. Instead, a smirk forms right along with hers even as that white strand falters from his fingers.

"A great bloody wolf you say." That smirk is all-telling, she can probably see that he knows. "I guess I've mirror-gazed a lil' while back." He replies, not desiring to just come out and say that it was him. After all, where's the fun in that. The knowing look - that playfulness that she shows him, it amuses Skoll. She'd not really seen her expression like that. He'd sometimes wondered if such an expression was able to be given by a girl who seemed to live the life she lives.

That nervous look is what he was hoping for though. "Nervous?" Skoll muses, tilting his head the other way and moving a finger down along to one of her arms and tracing his finger down until he'd touch the base of her wrists, and then draws the hand back along her talon's inner side before he pockets both his hands. "I would not dream of it, M'lady Zia."

The wolf follows her motions as she shifts away all shy-like. It's kind of adorable - he considers. "My tail won't be turning." He wags the big gray mass of fur for a moment to draw attention to it.

Zia has posed:
For now, the topic of her family is left to fall quiet. Even if she wanted to find them, chances were good that her aunt and brother were killed, or dragged into the darkness along with the rest of her world. For all that Skoll might find some solace in being the last of his kind, Zia finds no peace in the knowledge that her family is likely gone. For now, she clings to the hope of seeing them again, if only so that she doesn't have to set more ashes to the winds.

"Aye, a great wolf with feathers, summonin huge snakes outta the air." The gargress folds her arms over her chest at first, seeming unswayed by his attempts to shift her attention away from him. "Wha in the hell does mirror-gazin have anythin te do with it? Next ye'll be tellin me tha ye looked inte a crystal ball an' it told ye tha those suit-wearin men are a-okay fellas." She's probably talking about Sammy, but it seems likely that she's met another Turk somewhere along the line as well.

But then, the werewolf has her right where he wants - off guard. The trail of his touch is enough to have her give another little shiver, drawing her hand back with a defensive look, tucking her cloak around herself. "Well, be ye careful nae te take too many liberties. Nae every girl in the world is so tolerant o' wanderin fingers, so yer best te keep them te yerself." Oh, she's not really offended, the set of her ears in that shy fashion shows that clearly enough, but she's certainly not used to such things.

"Anyways." There is a small glance towards his tail, and a roll of those blue eyes. "Do ye really think it's safe te rest here? Ah've been hold up in the city these last few days. Could certainly use a washin an' some food. It's a fair bit harder te find places te steal leftovers from 'round here compared to Manhattan. Not so much waste." She glances towards the door he'd come out of. She had an invitation from Faruja, but she had only met the ratling once, and he seemed to worship some strange god. "Ah havenae been sleeping much either. Cannae find anywhere tha feels safe enough to roost for the night."

It's a strange word, 'roost', like a bird finding some place to nestle in. Perhaps more strange is the fact that the girl doesn't look tired - or at least she shows none of the usual signs. There's no dark circles under her eyes, nor the yawning or dazed look that can come with someone sleep deprived. She seems... awake and alart, for all her excuses.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll draws his hand back, and looks down at his hand for a moment. "My appologies, lady Zia. I don't actually normally do this. I hope I didn't misinterpret the earlier look." He tells her, and realizes that she - even now - doesn't seem offended. As defensive as that glance she throws him might have been. "As for what it means to mirror-gaze... it's a story you might know. You spoke of myth and werewolves before. How they might transform as there is a full moon?" The tone he uses implies he read a book on this - rather than that she said this directly. Skoll doesn't sit still. "The moon doesn't work. It's not reflective enough." He explains then. "Although if it shone within a lake... maybe that might."

He waves a hand about, trying to discard the topic. "Anyways." He repeats after her, and chuckles at the little eye-roll. He's just being friendly by this point - the tailwag is merely something to 'amuse'. "This place is safe. You can stay within, or on the roof. I'm going to be around for a little while longer, so if you trust me, you can assume yourself to be safe."

Pause.

"Roost though?" He tilts his head a little, looking her over, but then shrugs.

"Come on, we have some water stored in the lobby, and I think Ivo may have left behind some proper meat I might prepare for you."

Zia has posed:
When his hand draws back again, the gargress pauses to give him a long look, then shakes her head. "Ah suppose ah started it by tuggin yer ear, so it's no great bother." While she still seems to have that unsure expression, her ears lift a little bit, trying to show a bit of a smile. "Ah'm nae used te that sort o' thing. S'been years." With a laugh, she uses one hand to tuck the same few strands of hair back behind her ear. "Dinnae give me any mind, it's a silly lass who doesnae know whate do when a lad shows her attention."

It's better to leave it at that, though, so Zia pulls at her cloak, tugging it free from a puppy who has decided that it makes for a good tug-toy. "Oh get off ye wee one. Ah'll find ye somethin else te chew on tha isnae part of me." By the time she looks back at Skoll, the werewolf is already talking about the moon and lakes and it all doesn't make a lot of sense to her. "So ye turn inte a wolf if ye see a reflection o' the moon?" She cocks her head with confusion, "Do ah need te worry tha' yer gointe wolf out an decide gargoyle is on the menu?"

She's already taking the first steps towards the headquarters when he asks her about 'roosting', which probably shows that she isn't entirely serious about him making her into garogoyle tartar. "Well, m'kind do have wings ye know. It isnae such a strange term te use when speakin o' creatures who can fly." She notes, but then lags back a step, letting him lead the way.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Don't mind a foolish lad either - who doesn't know how to treat a lady proper in a situation like this." Skoll answers her, picking up on the gargess' manerisms and sayings. The werewolf leads the way out of the garden and into the lobby, moving past the boys dormarea. "One sec." He calls back, and heads out to find his bed, so he can dump the bag of chains onto it. A little later, he comes right on back.

"Any reflection really." Skoll then answers. After all, she asked a straight question - so why not answer fairly? "But no, no need to worry. I am still fully in control of my own behavior when I transform. I just become... far more powerful."

He soon finds one of the gigantic canisters of water out, and fills a glass with some water, and offers it to her. Not long there-after, he's preparing some simple food. Some kind of red meat from the looks of it. While frying the thing he comments; "And I guess not. The Gria use the same term, now that I think about it."

Zia has posed:
As she follows Skoll into the Shard Seeker's Headquarters, there is a part of her that just can't quite shake the strange feeling of dred that always comes from stepping into a human place. Indoors like this, there is no room for her to spread her wings, and no way to make an escape if they do decide to turn on her. At first, the gargress lingers near the doorway, waiting for the wolf to drop off his things before following him further into the building.

"Ah'm hardly a lady, so ye dinnae need to fuss yerself 'boot it." This is a place of many people, and even iwth the halls empty, she can't help but feel a little out of place here. Once, her kind might have lived in huge clans, where every member was called 'friend', but she grew up in another time - when her people were all but extinct. "M'da usedte pretend sometimes tha he was an ol'fashioned gentlemenly sort. It'would make m' mum smile, an then she'd drag him off for a snog somewhere. Real ladylike." The last bit is said with a bit of a laugh, rolling her blue eyes. Still, at least she had good memories of home and family.

As he begins to fetch food and drink, Zia lingers in the doorway, leaning slightly on the frame. "So... any time ye look at a reflection in a mirror ye turn into a big hairy beast like the one ah saw the other day?" She asks, still seeming a little puzzled by the prospect. "Yer not weakte silver bullets, are ye?" The gargress had known a few of the more silly werewolf myths, "In the movies, the wolves are neigh invulnerable, except if they get shot or stabbed wi' silver."

She shrugs once, the sight of food causing her stomach to rumble audibly. Since coming through from New York, she hadn't eaten as well as before. It's harder to scrounge for food in a city that you don't know. "Ye think nae one will be upset 'boot me havin somethin te eat?" She asks, ears tucking a little as she looks over her shoulder, half expecting someone to come in wielding a pitchfork. "Ah dinnae wante impose. If yer needin te do shady business already, ah'm sure ye don't need me skivin off of wha little ye have."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"No, I am pretty sure you are a lady. So I'll fuss." Skoll answers while preparing food for the female gargess. He follows this up by a short chuckle in regards to Zia's note on her father's behavior - and his mother's... ladylikeness. "Real lady-like." He muses right after her. One must not mistake this man for being like Reize. He's not clueless in the world of adults. And he figures he knows what a snog is (... he figures wrong).

"But still, for me there is no pretending. It's how I was raised by me mum. Be a gentleman, and act with honor. Always honor - without honor, one can't call themselves a proper gentleman. And a man who is no gentleman, is no gentlefriend of mine."

He soon brings the fryingpan off of the makeshift stove and drops the meat on a plate and shrugs his shoulders as he does this. "Yep. I look into a reflection, I turn into a big hairy beast like you saw the other day." He answers. "As for silver bullets. I don't actually know. Nobody has ever really bothered to find silver, just in order to shoot me. I generally don't do much that deserves shooting."

The werewolf walks on over and places the plate before Zia. "And quick'cha worrying. Just eat and drink will 'ya?" He grabs the chair on the opposite end of the table, turns it around, and sits down on it with his legs spread and his chest leaning against what should be the 'back' of the chair. He even leans it forwards onto the two 'hind' legs.

"Just eat. Guys here love'ta share."

Zia has posed:
"Pssh." Zia replies with a shake of her head, seeming more amused than anything else. While it's hard for her to be 'at ease' here, inside a human residence, she can at least try to relax a little and find some humor in the situation. "If ye insist, but if ye try te get me inte a dress or somethin, ah'll show ye how lady-like this gargress can be." She waggles a taloned finger at him, but there's a playful quality to it, rather than a threat.

Steping forward, her toes click against the floor as she walks over to take one of the seats, tucking her tail around. "Sounds like yer mum was a smart lady, although ye can't always be a gentleman te everyone. Ah mean, imagine tha duck tha was swingin the magic around. Ye cannae exactly go bein all polite te her if she decides ye need te be turned inte a toad or somesuch." Zia squints at him, then shakes her head as if she'd made a decision, "Ye wouldnae look very nice as a toad."

Her blue eyes follow the meat to the plate, even as he is talking about reflections and bullets. "Ah dinnae know, we seem te get inte all sorts o' trouble. Ah cannae imagine that it's jus me tha's causin all tha." She takes the glass of water and drains it all in just a few swollows, clearly parched, even if she'd been tyring to hide it. "Ah least ye get stronger due te ye race. Mine, nae so much. Usually wha comes with m'kind is more trouble tha' it's worth." She's not being exactly clear about things, but it's hard to trust someone enough to give away such a vital weakness.

The minute that the meal is put in front of her, though, all self-control goes out the window. For all that Skoll might be used to seeing someone eat wolfishly, Zia clearly has gone a few years without having to really bother with table manners. The gargress digs in, taking too big bites, and eating far, far too fast. "Ah'll pay em back." She mutters, mouth full.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"In a dress?" Skoll muses. "How would you fit the wings? But surely, you could still look all lady-like in one." He continues to rock his chair forwards as he playfully muses right along, grinning a toothy grin as he looks at that talon being waggled at him. "Careful, don't wag that too much in my direction, or I'll reconsider my 'strictly no gargoyles' diet." Again, clearly a joke on his part - something easily read from both tone, and that sly look in his eyes.

"As for lady-ducks throwing magic around and turning me into toads. Well, first of all, any lady who attacks me out of the blue, is clearly no lady. I am not above engaging someone who clearly needs to get beat up - 's long as they can put up a fight. But more importantly... I don't think anyone would look very nice as a toad." Yes, that was apparently the more important thing.

Skoll ends up raising his brow at what Zia continues to say, but in wanting to show her he can be trusted, he doesn't ask about the 'trouble' she gains for being part of her race. "At least ye get'ta fly." He then adds, "Must be cool, to just be able to lift off on your magical winds and ascend to the skies." Although his own methods of travel is also quite stylish... and quick. But it comes with a dark... dark price.

A smile comes to his face again when she digs in though. And he clearly doesn't seem to mind her unlady-like mannerisms when it comes to this. Why would he? He can after all, very well understand her position.

Zia has posed:
"Wi' some creativity, lad." Zia replies with a laugh, a small smile showing on those pale lips. "Ah manage well enough te cover the essentials while leavin room fer m' wings as it is." Of course, it leaves many to wonder just how the whole loin-cloth thing works when it comes to gargoyles who have the 'flying-squirrel' type of wings. That's a kind of creativity she's glad not to have to resort to.

She looks over at him, sticking her tongue out playfully. "Ah wouldnae be very tasty. M'kindre all gamey an' musley 'n the like. Besides, we got light bones, too, so they wouldnae be very good te chew on. Get all stuck in yer teeth." She points her talon at one fang, then mimes having to pick something out from between them, her tail twitching slightly with her own amusement at the idea. Seriously, her kind had been killed for a great many things over the years, but she's never heard of 'because they're tasty' as one of those reasons.

As suspicious as she sometimes might be regarding the wolf and his motives, he is the one person she's acctually opened up to, at least a little. It means she does tend to be more herself, rather than the ever-on-guard gargress who keeps her distance from people. "Ah dinnae know, it might be an improvement for the likes o' the Seeq. Remember tha big one that tried te harass ye? Ah think he'd make a quite nice toad. Probably the kind tha make ye hallucinate if ye lick em."

Once the initial hunger is staved off, the girl slows down a bit, "Best be watchin yerself, lad, yer gointe start talkin like me." She nudges a fork in his direction, smirking slightly. Among the many worlds, she isn't the only one with a Scotish accent, but it still isn't exactly common. She tilts her head, chewing thoughtfully. "Well, yer a wee bit heavier than tha Elf lass, so ah dun think ah'd be able te carry ye, but... ah think there might be a spell in one o' Valen's old books. Somethin 'boot an eagle feather and chantin some words a few times. Nae the sort o magic tha I regularly practice but... should work."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Bandages certainly is creativity when it comes to that." Skoll admits, not realizing that those bandages may be something other than a fashion statement. That, or he's touching on the subject with great care, trying not to sound stupid while he's at it. Still, she wears more than just that. The strange modified cloth that covers her chest and the loincloth that indeed covers the rest of the essentials.

He doesn't stare, but she gets a quick glance-over, as she mentioned her state of clothing, before he makes a little 'face' at her for sticking her tongue out. "We wolves know how to make the most of a piece of /lean meat/, trust me." He sticks his tongue out this time, before he leans a bit more forwards. "But yeah, I remember that big lump of fat. I guess he'd look better as a toad. Although if you ask me, it's not a big improvement whichever-which way. But... hallucinations from licking toads?" He gives her a strange look. "I've never had the urge to lick a toad." Must think she has.

"But nah, I've always had a tendency to speak... I d'no... differently from others. Same 's you. I guess I might pick up some words and mannerisms, but most of my sayin's come from the place I got this shirt from." He pauses. "I came there for the noodles, and all I got was this stupid shirt." Another pause. "Nah, just kiddin'. I love this shirt - great band I listened to back then. But that was a while ago."

"As for flyin'. Wolves don't belong in the air - we would have had wings if we did! Can jump though! So... y'know, I guess that might count." He doesn't sound like he's saying 'no' though.

Zia has posed:
Sometimes, it's all too easy to see the slight shift in this girl's emotion just by the set of her ears. For all her joking, they dip just a little when he mentions the wrappings she wears over some parts of her body. "It's nae a fashion statement." She sets down her fork, using one taloned hand to catch the edge of the bands covering the opposite wrist, unwinding them away from her palm. It doesn't take long for faint lines to be visible against her skin - strange looking scars that seem to have no real pattern or meaning.

"Ye remember the man tha ah said killed m' Da?" She looks from the marks visible on that small section of her forearm, then glances over at Skoll. "He knew enough 'boot m' kind te know we can heal from some pre'ty bad injuries. So when he captured me as a child, he decided te see just how well it worked." It's a fair guess, even without seeing the rest of her, that perhaps the other places she keeps covered might also have a similar array of scars from past injuries. For all it might be miraculous, gargoyle healing isn't perfect.

She re-wraps the bit of cloth over her hand, although some of her good humor has left with it. Zia does manage a small smirk at the comment about toads, though. "Valen usedte make this potion out o' toad secreations. Tha's the only reason ah even know 'boot it. Ah havenae run around lickin toads m'self." She explains. Had she ever really told him about Valen? Well, perhaps not to any great extent, not as much as she has said in this short conversation.

"Ye can speak any way ye like. This is jus' the way people talk where ah come from, an apparently in some places ducks come from, too. Tha surprised me." Of course, when he starts talking about how wolves aren't meant to fly, the gargress gives him a wry sort of look, "Oh come on now. All yer bravery and strength and ye dinnae wante try it? The great Skoll Ulfang tuckin his tail?" She's teasing, clearly - the sort of thing meant to replace any trepidation with pride. "Or is it tha magic? Ah willnae turn ye inte a toad, ah promise."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll's expression dulls when the girl points out that it is not a fashion statement. That's not really a 'good thing to hear' at this point. He watches her set down her fork, and stops leaning forward in order to how that he isn't joking around about this. As the bandages come off, that expression only grows more dire. "I'm sorry... I didn't know." He comments, noticing the scars and glancing away. The explaination that follows actually has him growling a little - his mind being imaginitive enough that he can form a clear picture of just what must have happened.

The werewolf continues to look a little uncomfortable until she bandages herself up again, and he catches the name Valen. Right now, he doens't feel like it is his place to ask about that person -- perhaps that was for another time. "Ducks huh?" He sways the topic away from her predicament, and goes right along with her. "Who would have thought. But then, I guess there's multiple accents that kind of just appear everywhere."

The chair moves to lean forwards again, as the wolf notices that he is being challenged. Proud enough to fall right into her trap, Skoll bares his 'fangs' for a moment. "I am not tucking my tail! You tell me the time and the place, and I'll be there." He even goes so far as to tap his finger to the table.

Zia has posed:
The gargress raises one shoulder in a small half-shrug, looking at him with her ears tipped back a little. "There isnae anythin te be sorry 'boot." Still, perhaps some of this explains just how a girl like this could find herself hating someone enough to wish them dead. "Ah warned ye tha ah dinnae trust humans. There's good reasons why ah believe tha te be true." She looks towards him, ears twitching at the sound of his growl. "They're easily swayed by power, an hatred. Makes em' vulnerable te the darkness more-so tha the rest o' us." Of course, there is also a certain keychain-wearing werewolf that this could apply to, as well.

Still, Zia doesn't seem to be thinking down that line, and the gargress is quick to go back to finishing up her meal. It isn't often that she gets to eat something like this, and she's not about to let it go to waste. "It's a strange thing, but ah've seen far stranger things in m'lifetime. Even before all this world-nonsense. There's all sortsa oddities in the world if ye keep yer eyes open enough to see 'em."

As her little ploy at attacking his pride works, the gargress looks up, a small smile playing on her lips. She's not really intimidated by his show of 'fangs', and she responds by simply popping a bit of meat into her mouth, chewing and looking at him with interest. "Nae tonight. Ah could use the rest, te be honest. Since leavin Manhattan, ah've been kind o' runnin on empty. 'Sides, ah'd needte find a way back te my world te pick up the spellbook. An' ah needte figure out where ah'm goin te be able to find an eagle feather on short notice."

The wheels are already turning in her head, putting pieces together, but mostly she's just enjoying playing out this game. "Jus make sure tha ye eat lightly first. It takes a bit o' gettin usedte, an the las thing ye wante do is go hurlin yer haggis over some unsuspectin passerby."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll ends up resting one of his arms onto the table, leaning slightly to the side as he continues to look at her - following her words. "You'd be surprised. Some of the humans here are quite amazing. But then, I guess there's always special people amongst every race." Fruit Village is filled with cowards, and one brave villager - for instance. The werewolf then leans right on back, and gets off of his chair. He caught that little smile of hers...

"Well, glad you are used to the oddities then. Seems some others are not quite." He pauses for a moment, glancing her way before he grabs her glass and goes to fill it back up with some more water. "Take your time to grab your spellbook - and if you need some help to find an eagle's feather - I'll help." He does in the meantime, wonder what haggis is. "But don't you worry about my diet. I've never spilled my food - and certainly not planning on starting now."

The glass comes to rest on the table - filled with water now - and the werewolf moves to lean against the kitchen counter. "You should probably sleep soon though. Probably should sleep in the girls' dorms."

Zia has posed:
"Ah wouldnae know. Maybe they'll prove ye right, or maybe ah'll just see the usual human nonsense ah see everywhere else." Zia replies, shrugging her shoulders. "Ah look forward te bein surprised." She's old enough to have seen the cruelty of human beings, but still young enough to have hope that they'll change. It's a delicate balance, though. The sort of thing where one hovers on the knife-edge of letting real darkness into their heart. It is not so far a leap to go from being wary, to drawing in outright hate.

"Ah'm sure ah can figure it out. There's a zoo in central park, figure ah could just snatch a feather from one of the exhibits. Just so long as it isnae from the peacocks or somesuch. Might give ye a feathered arse insteada givin ye wings." She takes the glass of water, with her plate now empty, draining it almost as fast as the first. Gargoyles do have an extraordinarily high metabolism, which is probably why this girl spends so much of her time scrounging for food.

With her meal finished, the gargoyle shifts, pushing herself up from the table. She glances across towards Skoll, head tilted. "We'll see how ye handle yerself when it comes te it. Ah'll take yer word fer now, though." She glances towards the dormitories, then back at the werewolf. "Well, ah wasnae plannin on campin in the boy's dorms jus to see if anyone notices." A small smirk plays on her lips as the gargress shakes her head, taking a few steps in the direction of the dorms.

Then, she hesitates, looking back. "Ah'm still nae sure what te make of ye, Skoll Ulfang, but ye have my thanks for the food. Goodnight te ye." Then, that being said, the gargress steps through into the dormitories to find a bunk to claim for herself. It might not be home, but it'll do as well as anyplace else for one night.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Don't we all?" Skoll comments in regards to looking forward to being pleasantly surprised. There's things he feels less than positive about, but he's not going to name them in this moment. Instead, he just makes for taking the dishes from the table and moves to the kitchen counter in order to start washing them. He may be a werewolf, but he's still not going to lick then clean.

He glances back and nods his head. "I don't think a feathered 'arse' would look good on me." Although the imagery makes him grin like an idiot for a moment. With the full rows of teeth and everything. 'course, they're just human teeth, with slightly elongated fangs. "And I'm sure you weren't. I just don't want you to think you need to sleep on a couch somewhere."

The werewolf finish cleaning the dishes not too long after, and has his ears perk just before the girl disappears. He grins back dangerously, "Well, I /am/ Dark and Mysterious after all."