Smells Like...

Smells Like...
Date of Scene:	25 January 2013
Location:	Fluorgis - Shard Seekers HQ
Synopsis:	Skoll drops by the Shard Seekers HQ real quick, while wounded, to pick up some stuff. He ends up stumbling into Faruja's dorm-section.
Cast of Characters:	Faruja Senra, Skoll Ulfang

---

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Shard Seekers HQ. It's been noted that Skoll has returned, and has been resting at the Valkyri HQ. Of course, that didn't stop Reize from not noticing and still being out there looking for him. It's not like anyone is particularly in a rush to tell him either. Let him look, who knows, maybe he'll come back with some nice trinkets or something.

Thing is, Skoll is still quite hurt. But there's some stuff he needed to get here. And being who he is, he isn't going to let the others take that long journey to Fluorgis in order to get there and pick him up some fresh clothing. And being as wounded as he is, he's decided to do something he's never done before. On the risk of being found out, the werewolf opens a dark portal straight into the Shard Seekers' Boy's Dorm...

Right where Faruja might be found right now. He comes out in bandages and looking like a mess. Scratches and bleeds.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Nom. Nom nom. Ugggh. Sip. Faruja is sitting in his own quarters, chewing slowly on breakfast; eggs, pancakes, and...BACON. Nom. He looks rather out of sorts, no doubt due to a bit of over indulging. He'll blame Maira's party for that. How'd he get here so quick? It pays to know time mages.

Portal! Faruja very nearly knocks over his plate of food as a Dark Portal opens, the rat well knowing Darkness when he smells it. Yanking his spear from it's place leaning against a bedstand, he reflexively seeks to detain the intruder! Two spearpoints held to the neck threateningly, legs poised to thrust at a moment's notice.

Pause. The spear clatters to the ground as recognition dawns. "Lord in heaven, Ser Ulfang! I thought you were...how did...nevermind, irrelevant! You! On the bed! NOW! Shirt OFF!" Point! Point! Already his hands glow white and green, preparing to Cure the heck out of the beaten wolfy.

"Oh, Faram help me, you have reopend your wounds..." Grr. The rat's a little irritated thanks to sudden intrusions and hangovers.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
The werewolf reacts naturally to the fact that a spear comes his way. It's a rapid movement, showing just how inate of a warrior Skoll is. One hand goes up to grab the tip of the spear, and a second quickly moves out towards Faruja in preperation to defend himself. The moment that spear clatters to the ground though, Skoll leans over just slightly and lets out a long breath. "And here my sister figured you for the first to try and kill her." He mutters, realizing that Faruja had halted his assault even though having seen the dark portal behind him.

The werewolf's eyes then open wide when Faruja suddenly tells him to go onto the bed and take his shirt off. There's a blush that appears on his cheeks, and he looks away slightly. "Ah... Faruja. I... I don't think I like you that way..." He whispers, his ears hanging half-way and his tail swishing close to his legs. He even raises a hand to cover his mouth.

Sparkle sparkle sparkle.

And then Faruja finally comments about the wounds. "I'll be fine." He lets out a tired and pained sigh of air, and then tries to move a little past Faruja in order to steal his bacon.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Just like his sister, the wolf's skills seem to be impressive. The rat smirks a touch. Truly, a good addition to Reize's motley little crew. "I...am slowly realizing that indeed...not all that is dark may be inherantly evil." A small chuckle, and he shakes his head. "Though please, if you desire to teleport, /do/ try to warn someone over the phone, hmm?"

Pause. Faruja just stares at the blushing, flustered wolf. Eye narrow. His tail lashes, first slow, then increasingly faster. His own blush spreads, the rat turning away! "N...not like that! I merely wish to see your wounds! Not that you are not a handsome gentleman, however...oh, nevermind!" Huff!

"I shall be the judge of that! Down, boy!" Yes, he went there. Point! The rat reaches over, grabbing the plate. Keep away time!

"If you allow me to tend to your wounds, not only may you have the rest, but I shall cook you more. Agreed?"

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll comes out of his moment of confusion into pain once more, as Faruja begins to stumble over his words. Of course, the comment about Skoll being a handsome gentleman just makes the wolf grin a little, blushing more. The werewolf then slowly nods his head. "I understand now." He lowers his hand and then still backs away from Faruja a little. "I'm alright... really..." Still, he's not feeling quite a hundred percent. Normally, he'd be far more strongly objecting to the healing...

But there's something about the moment that disarms him. Something else. The werewolf does however bark and growl at Faruja when he says 'down boy!'. Skoll raises a finger and points it close to Faruja's muzzle. "I am not some measily dog, mouse!" The growl continues as he leans in closer. His ears however perk up at the promise of bacon. His eyes widen a little and he ends up sitting down on Faruja's bed...

Then he realizes, it, and squints his eyes... before standing up again and looming over Faruja. He leans in. He sniffs him, he sniffs /intimately/ close to him. His neck, his chest, something... something...

Then a growl. "What have you been doing with /MY SISTER/..." Squint. Ouch. Wince. Squiiiint.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Peer! Faruja doesn't believe that for a second, wolf! Besides, the rat tends to get a little overzealous when it comes to healing comrades. He knows a little too well what it's like to get pummeled to an inch of your life!

Smile. The rat doesn't back down in the face of barking and growls. "No. You are a fellow Shard Seeker, and from what I have seen, a good, honorable person. Forgive me if I desire to see you whole and not in pain. These...'Gaudium Lords' were they? Seem to have not been kind. Thank the Lord for Lady Avira. Worried me." Grin! The rat knows the way to a wolf's heart. Through meat!

Cure! Cura! Pause. Examine. Esuna!

Looom! Sniff. Faruja leans back, by now looking vaguely creeped out. "...Ser Ulfang?"

Growl. Frack. The rat lets out a breath. It could be worse. That blush on him finally settles. "Quick on the uptake, I see. Calm yourself, Ser Ulfang. You will only worsen your wounds. /Again/." He'll get a light shove back on the bed if he doesn't move.

"You have my word that I have no intention of harming your sister, Ser Ulfang. She is the sibling of a friend. She...seems to have a certain amount of feelings for me. Not love, I do not think, but..." The rat rubs his missing eye, shaking his head. Females.

"Confidence between gentlemen, hmm? Mayhap I should not say, however, as her brother you deserve it. Not one word." Peer! It's the rat turn to squint.

"She desires that I assist in teaching her the things she seems to have forgotten; trust, friendship, love...I...do not know if I can offer all of that. My heart is...hmph. You know." Conflicting feelings assault him. The young Burmecian is torn, between the gargess he loves, and a feeling for a certain wolfess that he can't even describe.

The rat stretches. "Besides. You likely smell her due to the massage she was kind enough to give me." The rat motions to a desc, empty save for a devotional shrine and a potion. Inside is a yellow liquid. Massage oil!

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Unlike the mouse however, this werewolf has been through a lot worse. Had Faruja seen him that moment, in which he'd been freed - he'd understand. He'd understand that a normal person would never have lived through what Skoll had. He didn't get pummeled to an inch of his life. It was... different. Such sayings didn't even work with him. A troublesome thing really.

"Gaudium Lords." Skoll ends up saying, as he gets pushed back, while healingspells roll over his body and cover some of his wounds in their healing light. "They'll be back for me." He then adds. "This isn't the end of it. I am worried about staying in one place. If I do... they'll come after you all." The werewolf's ears fold down.

The werewolf closes his eyes, and listens to Faruja talk about his sister. "Feelings?" He whispers, letting out a sigh. It's Faruja's religious nature that Skoll is very worried about. "She wants you to teach all of those?" He knows that Faruja can ahve those. Trust, no greater trust than his faith. Friendship... he's with the Shard Seekers. Love...

Love...

That word.

Zia. He opens his eyes. "You don't know wether to split your heart or not?" He asks. "I know how you look and think of Zia." He whispers. "I've heard you speak of her. But can you think like that of my sister? I... don't want you to lead her on, Faruja." He gives the mouse a curious look. "And... /massages/."

Faruja Senra has posed:
Faruja breaks out the bandages. He has a healthy supply, having to change his own often, and starts to re-do the ones on the wolf with an expert's touch. Helpfully, that plate of bacon is set before the wolf. The normally tidy rat doesn't even complain about eating in his bed!

"Mmm. They are a threat, certainly, then. We would defend you, Skoll. You know that. But the risks...I could not fault your staying. Nor your leaving. What I will say is this: a Shard Seeker is a friend. We do not abandon friends." Pause. Smile.

"Which one was that? Number...thirty seven?" The rat sounds briefly amused.

His tone grows serious once more. "Tell me what you know of them. I do not take kindly to those whom kidnap friends in the middle of the night, nor turn blades upon them."

Turning about, Faruja closes his eye. Breathing quietly as he listens to the male wolf's whispers, he shakes his head. A hand goes to his own heart.

"/That/, Ser Ulfang, is the heart of the matter. I feel...something...for your sister. 'Tis beyond words. 'Tis not like Zia, but...she is important to me. There is a good woman beneath all of that anger and hatred. I wish to see her know the simple Faram-given gifts of life that were stolen from her."

A frown. "All I may do, Ser Ulfang, is to be honest with my words and feelings while I untangle this mess that is my heart."

Armfold. "I shall have you know, Ser Ulfang, that I have been under quite a lot of stress as of late. Massages are quite relaxing, you should try one. When you are healed." Pause. His tail sways a bit at a happy memory.

"Her fingers /are/ quite talented upon one's back." He mumbles to himself.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"It's not just the Shard Seekers. It's also people like Avira." He whispers. "Though, in a ways, how well do you even know me. The Shard Seekers that is. I mean... I don't really know that much about all of you. Can I really call myself a friend, if there's so little I know about the lot of you?" He asks Faruja, looking at him. The werewolf sits still, letting Faruja re-tie his bandages. He might note just how much his wounds have healed. And in places where there were cottons with much red on them, there is not even a bit of scar tissue.

Skoll decides to shut up and start eating some of the bacon. But even that doesn't bring back the light that normally is within his eyes. That light of joy and inquisiveness that he normally has in those eyes is just... so dull.

"I'm sorry you've been so stressed lately." He doesn't even comment on Hati's fingers. Instead, he's actually thinking of Zia. And speaking of honesty - he speaks up finally.

"I think... maybe I've become to like Zia a bit more than a friend myself..."

Faruja Senra has posed:
A shake of the head, and the rat finishes tying up a bandage. He sits beside his fellow Shard Seeker. "Mayhap you are correct. The boy may be rubbing off on me. If I am being presumptuous, then I deeply apologize. However, I would very much to learn of you, and be worthy of your respect and friendship if that is the case. Admittedly, I have been told much of you from the muzzle of another. Your past, at any rate. Hati told me of your father. And the wolf you chase."

"Do not shut yourself away, hmm? That you desire to protect those you care for is admirable. However, so too must you remember that your friends have strength of their own. To know when to protect, and when to stand beside your allies is a difficult matter, but one you and I both must know intimately. My blade, Ser Ulfang, is yours against these people whom would harm you. And no doubt they would have information of use to the Lady Inquisitor." Comes the rat's admission and offer. Ever a Templar, this one.

The rat's eye narrows slightly, upon a further examination. How strange. "...Curious." A touch of suspicion colors it, just as any other time he finds something out of the ordinary. He doesn't elaborate further.

That lack of light in the man's eye strikes the rat. If a bit scarce, the wolf has always been so curious. It's saddening. Faruja stands, reaching into his desk. A pair of glasses, and a bottle. If they're going to be this honest, may as well blame the drink. One is quickly offered to Skoll.

"Drink. You need it." From healer to bartender.

"At least I am in relatively one piece. No matter what you choose to do, I have confidence that you shall weather this storm, of conflict, siblings, and hearts. Have faith, if not in the Almighty, then in yourself and those you hold dear." He's just full of encouragements today.

Pause. Blink. Faruja stares at Skoll for a long moment. His glass is promptly drained in one gulp. Flop. The Burmecian chuckles. It's frustrated, tired, and darkly amused.

"My, my, my. Look at the pair of us! Grown males, as confused and ignorant of ourselves as kits!"

Sigh. "To love someone is to care for them. The difference between love and lust is that one cares more for the object of thy affections than thy own heart. Your sister...gave me the courage I lacked, Skoll. While Zia was 'sleeping', I laid a letter at her feet. And a gift. An old burmecian courting ritual, one writes an anonymous letter and leaves a gift. The tail-ribbon as well. It...hah, painfully obvious. Whom else writes so here? No doubt she /knows/."

Turning his head to regard Skoll, he nods. "To be frank, what we feel does not matter. It is /her/ heart that matters. Should she find love, contentment, joy in your arms Skoll Ulfang...fine. Some say love is a war. They are fools. I shan't see Zia's heart split in twain if I can avoid it."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll is no stranger to booze. In fact, Faruja may have heard the tale of Skoll introducing Reize to beer one of the first days he'd met him - before the Shard Seekers were even formed. A drunken Reize and Skoll had enjoyed themselves a merry time then. But wine isn't something he's used to. Not much.

"I don't know, Faruja. It'd be so much easier. It'd protect those dear to me." He explains, while taking the glass, and stares at it, before looking to the bottle. He'd rather just drink from the bottle, but he shrugs and swigs the wine down in one go, as one would some grog.

The werewolf then lets out a sound, feeling some heat gathering in his tummy, while staring out forwards, which ends up just being Faruja's general direction. His chest to be exact, in this case. Just kind of... listlessly staring. "Heh... kits... cubs... pups." He mutters. "I am a stranger to all of that. I've been chasing the Golden Wolf all my life, and now I'm too afraid to stop looking. I'm afraid that if someone else stood in my way, I might harm them. If it was my Golden Wolf that is." A few flecks of darkness rise from his body and then disappear into nothingness again.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Ahh, Faruja remembers the tale! It's part of the reason he loves the Shard Seekers; they're never short on shenanigans.

"In the short term, certainly. However, this would leave them as targets still. Were you to simply hide, 'twould be a prime way to draw you out, would it not? I am afraid that no matter what you do, 'tis likely that few of any of us, Shard Seekers or Valkyri, or mayhap even your sister shall be safe."

He tilts his head. "However, hidden within trial and misfortune there is opportunity, as my superior likes to say. Strike. Strike them where and when they least expect it, after you have a thorough understanding of your opponents strengths and weaknesses." A shrug.

"'Tis what I would do, at any rate."

Pour. Faruja's sure to be generous to the wolf with drink, tail gripping the bottle easily. The staring is a touch odd, but he ignores it.

The dark flecks are more important. His own light bleeds from his eye and his claws for a moment. They too extinguish, Light and Dark calling and feeding one another, as ever.

"Mayhap Zis is your wolf, then? While your desire is certainly understandable, to have sought something like that for so long...I fear that such a thing would only drive the very object of your desire away. 'Twould be a tragedy. Give of your heart, Ser Ulfang. Master it. Be /worthy/ of your golden wolf. You are no weakling. And should your strength begin to fail, fall into the arms of those around you. No single person can hold a world upon their back."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"You're right." Skoll admits to Faruja, clearly not having thought this out very well. "And neither does it befit a Noble and Honorable wolf to flee a battle. To abandon his friends... I've just... traveled alone for so long. Always looking, never finding." He admits. "Hati would be safe though. She can take care of herself. She's... she's with..." No, he doesnt' know if Faruja knows, so he just remains quiet on that subject. "She'd be safe."

"But I don't think I can strike at them, Faruja. They're more powerful than you can imagine." He explains. "I could infiltrate them... but what if things go wrong." He whispers, before turning his gaze to his right eye - the bandaged off one. "It could go 'very' wrong." He explains, before going on to say;

"I don't know if she is my wolf. I don't know if Avira is my wolf either. I don't know. I don't know what I am looking for. Should there be a /spark/?" He asks Faruja, as if he would somehow know. Of course, when Faruja explains that fighting hard over a girl like that might chase her away... it seems to irritate him. "Surely my /destined/ Golden Wolf would accept my fierce protection of having her as my own..." Again, flecks of darkness.

Faruja Senra has posed:
Faruja listens to the matter without comment, letting the wolf finish. It puts a scowl to his muzzle, and a decidedly unfriendly flick to his tail. "No. Going to them would be as suicide. Knowingly or not, it seems your enemies have painted you...and us...into a neat little corner as the saying goes." Frustration rears its head, and the rat breathes deeply. Another swallow of drink helps.

"Hardly am I a great strategist, I much prefer the ground level, not these battles within shadows. Evil things lurk within them. No matter how powerful an opponent, a remedy may be found for them. If you desire, I shall attempt to have one of the Church's learned scholars of such things speak with you." The rat's certainly willing to call upon what resources he has for the wolf. Even if they don't know it, they're a Church asset in the making.

"Just, whatever you do, do not rush blindly to your death. And let us know. Discretely, of course. 'Twould be a shame if you end up like me, hmm?" The Templar noticed the glance, smiling lightly.

So many questions, and such defiance.

"That is for you to discover, Ser Ulfang. Matters of the heart are as foreign to me as they are to you, it seems. I suppose it would entirely depend on the nature of your Golden Wolf, would it not? For now, we blindly grope in the darkness of conjecture. Should that time come...should it be for the best that you and I face one another for her hand, then so be it. You would fight honorably, and 'tis all that I could ask. Lord grant the better victory. I...merely hope it would not come to that. Much blood rests on my claws, though I would shed it all again if it came to it. To add yours to it is not my desire."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"I guess so." Skoll whispers direly, taking more of the filled drinking-glass and pouringing it down his gullet with little special to it. A light tinge of red starts to show on his cheeks that doesn't come from embarassment. "I'll have to see what I do. I don't think they know what happened yet. I don't even know of the Lords know what she did. Maybe if it was just her... maybe it wasn't their fault." Skoll mutters, looking away, before standing up carefully.

He places the glass on Faruja's little desk and moves towards his own side of the dorms, trying to get to his room. "I am here for my proper clothing." He mutters, halting at the edge of Faruja's little 'area', and looking back. "It'll depend... indeed." He whispers. "I just hope I choose right. And indeed, that such a thing will not come of our... collective interest in Zia."

Faruja Senra has posed:
"Go on, go on, do not let my tongue stall you. Keep us informed, and be /careful/ damn you. I only have so many bandages and ethers. Let us keep our eyes and ears open, let our enemies tip their hand."

The rat's a bit flushed himself. Chuckling quietly, he whispers back. "I shall pray that you do. Bridges, and crossing when we come to it." A bow, then a salute to a fellow knight. The rat turns.

"I shall be in the gardens if you need anything else. A few potions and other remedies in my closet. Take them if need be." With that, he heads off away from Skoll, already praying for the man.