Keepsakes

Keepsakes
Date of Scene:	13 June 2013
Location:	Fluorgis - Watchtower
Synopsis:	Fate has a way of bringing people together when they need it most.
Cast of Characters:	Skoll Ulfang, Zia

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Zia has posed:
It's night in Fluorgis. With the current fervor going on around the Shard Seeker's and their miracle-blessed Templar, headquarters is probably not the nicest place to be just now. The usual smattering of fem-Skoll/Faruja fans have been replaced with religious fanatics who all but mob anyone who tries to leave by normal means. Luckily, there's a relatively unknown roof hatch. Hopefully things will calm down soon.

As strange as it might seem, Zia has been all but oblivious to it. She hadn't been there the night of the incident, and the following day's revelations are still unknown to her. Stone sleep is good for leaving a person out of the loop. Worst of all, when she awoke, it had become clear that something was missing. It took her a bit to figure it out, but an hour of turning the entire tower upside down has left her with no other choice but to admit it... she'd somehow lost the small jar that held her parents bones.

She could scower all of Fluorgis, but with an entire day having passed, the chances of finding them were slim. With her crystal broken, and the bone shards gone, there isn't much left of them in her world. So, she just buries her head in her father's robes and lets herself cry. For the crystal, for her parents, for her brother...

Elsewhere in the city, a certain wolf may just have a good reason for being out tonight. Yet, perhaps the strings of fate are being tugged by other unseen forces. Because not far from the Shard Seeker's HQ, right along the street where he's walking, the wolf's toe would nudge something. A little jar goes clinking a bit away from him, the chain that once connected it has broken, leaving it dangling off to the side. It might be easy to ignore at first, if he hadn't seen Zia fiddle with it more times than he can count. But what is it doing out here?

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
The werewolf always has a good reason to be out in the night. More importantly, he has a good reason not to be in the Shard Seekers HQ. He's more than glad that Zia has found a better place to stay than that place for right now - after all, by god... the fangirls and the crazy faithful are a bit too much for him to handle. He really wonders how his sister handles that - regarding the fact that she's dating the Burmecian and all that. Nope, he's just enjoying a good walk through Fluorgis, hands in his pockets, diving in and out of alleyways rather randomly. There's no heartless around to pick on though, no matter how many alleyways he finds. Such a shame.

He hasn't a clue the girl is missing her little trinket until indeed, he taps his toe against the little jar. "Hrrm?" There's that confused and curious sound of a wolf having found something... well... curious. He kneels down and picks the little thing up - seeing as it had a glint to it and made a strange noise that he wasn't entirely familiar with. That is until he places it in his hand, the silver necklace slack over his hand. "Poor chain." He mumbles at first, before realizing what it is holding.

He blinks, and quickly looks up and along the roofs. For a moment, he is worried that Zia might be hurt nearby! Or got kidnapped! OR WORSE! And as such, the werewolf jumps on the nearest building and looks around, before grabbing his Ma Belle and dialing her number - worried sick. The girl never goes anywhere without this thing.

Zia has posed:
A wolf's howl sounds from somewhere in the room, causing Zia to look up. Wiping her palms across her eyes, the gargoyle pushes herself up, pulling hair back from her face, and then squints in the darkness. A second howl follows, and the lights from her phone finally guide her enough so that she can scramble out of the bed, knock her leg against the end-table, and grab it before flopping down onto the floor to answer it.

"Skoll?" Sniffle. She doesn't sound quite herself, and the phone goes muffled a moment as she tucks it against her shoulder to wipe at her eyes again. "Wha is it?" It's not as if it's unusual for him to call, but usually he has a reason.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
What's with the sniffles? Did she really get kidnapped? Is she in some terrible danger!?

Now hold on there wolf-brain. Calm down. Ask first, assume stupid things later. "Hey, ehh- Zia, you aren't kidnapped - are you, my lady?" Ahh, courteous to the last drop. Or perhaps he's just being courteous because he's worried. He tends to be a bit silly now and again, sure, but he's still a noble wolf!

"Are you okay?" The wolf looks at the little thing he has in his hand, and starts to pace into the general direction of the tower while he is at it. If she's fine, and she's sad, it's his job as a gentleman werewolf to ease her pain.

Zia has posed:
At first, there's silence on the other end of the line, and then a sad sort of laugh. "Nae, silly wolf. Ah'm fine." She doesn't sound fine, and perhaps she realizes how silly it is to say something like that, because Zia sighs to herself. Her head leans back against the wall. In the dark of the room, lights flicker in from outside, but mostly it's all shadow.

"Ah lost m'reliquary." Another sniffle follows, her tail curling up against her legs. "The wee jar wi' m'parents bones. Ah've looked everywhere 'n Ah cannae find it." Her voice catches then, and she curses under her breath. There's another shift of clothing as she wipes at her eyes, "Ah'm sorry. It's jus' everythin lately. The crystal, 'n ye nearly gettin killed, 'n now this." As strong as she can be at times, everyone has their limits.

"Ah'll be okay. Jus' ... gonna go look around the tower again. Maybe it got lost in tha foul chair in the livin room or somethin." She seems about to hang up.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll's ears fold down as the girl laughs. It kind of hurts - that laugh. Poor Zia. "You sure, you don't sound fine." Skoll answers her, pointing out the obvious before she explains the source of her downturn in emotions. Her reliquary? Reliquary... what's that? Skoll isn't /that/ on top of the whole dictionary thing sometimes. But he figures it must be thi thing he's holding right now. Ah, and she explains it. Good. Note to self, tiny jar with bones in it; a reliquary.

Skoll lets out a little sigh as she goes out. "Hey... things will be alright." He tells her, jumping onto a nearby roof and clambering around in order to get to the tower. She might notice the change in pace and the wind that passes by his phone. "Just stick around, okay? Things will be fine. I think I have something that'll cheer you up." Perhaps a werewolf like him should really be telling her exactly what he found, and not keep it a surprise. But he lets her hang up non-the-less.

It's not like he doesn't drop in mere moments later. Leave it to a werewolf to be able to climb the darned tower and get in through the window. Unless a certain heavily-armored sorcerer, he's actually athletic... and stuff.

Indeed, moments later, a leg is thrown over the edge of the window, and Skoll tumbles into Zia's pad. He's quick to correct his landing, like a cat pretending 'they meant to do that', and slowly wanders up to Zia - wherever she might be.

Zia has posed:
It's certainly a sign of the sort of upbringing that Zia has that she uses such old-fashioned words for things. Then again, it could also come from all the time she's spent studying things with magical natures. Though her tiny bottle of bones has no special powers, many such items were considered holy relics. It's the sort of thing Faruja and his people would go nuts over, perhaps more-so than magical healing chalices.

"Ah know..." She murmurs, pushing herself up and rubbing her knee. Stupid end-table. Sniffle. The prospect of a surprise doesn't really lift her spirits, though. So, she hangs up the phone and tucks it into one of her array of pouches, then heads for the stairs.

It's a lost cause to continue searching, but at least it gives her something to /do/. So, Zia scales the stairs up to the living room, which is decked out with a pair of computers, a sofa, and the infamous 'chair'. No one but Percival really sits on it, unless they want a lung full of dust. Still, she braves it, plucking up the cushion while holding her nose.

And that's where Skoll comes in.

"Hey there, wolf." She offers, with a sad sort of affection to her voice. She /is/ glad to see him, even if happy-go-lucky noblewolves don't exactly cure every ill. She doesn't even comment on his strange way of entering.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Hey Zia." Skoll pads his chest for a moment with his hands, to make sure there's no dust on it, and then suddenly kneels down before Zia and holds up the little vial - like he was proposing or something. Only, he's not. He's just trying to offer up the surprise. He does glance quickly towards the dusty chair, noticing how the chsion is missing now - and Zia is holding it.

"Just so you know, if you are going to hug me for his, drop the cushion first." He rather not get fleas. Or dusty. Or /worse/. Whatever worse is.

And then those big puppy eyes glance up at the gargess, waiting for her to accept his royal gift to the 'Princess' Zia. Who is not a princess. But it's funny to poke fun at that little fact now and again. It's more poking fun at Percival really, but in the good way.

Zia has posed:
There's a dramatic pause that comes the moment Skoll hits his knees in that gesture that, at least for humans, definitely has a certain meaning. The thing is, Zia is a gargoyle. This means that the kneeling doesn't automatically bring that thought to mind, but what he has in his hand definitely has her heart skipping a beat. The cushion is dropped with a little puff of dust, and she just stands there, awestruck.

"Where did ye... how did..." Stare. Zia just /stares/ at Skoll's hand, then at his face, and then back again. He's getting hugged. And no, not just the normal kind. The gargoyle flat out glomps the poor wolf right around the neck and likely topples him backwards onto the ground. And if that weren't enough...

Then she actually goes so far as to plant one, right on his lips. For a first kiss, it's at least a dramatic one, even if it doesn't have that sweet, sappy, romantic thing that most of them have. Nevertheless, it's warm, and full of a fierce sort of joy. Then again, like most first kisses, it also ends far too soon.

Flushing, Zia seems to realize a split second too late what she'd just done, and draws her head back, ears tucking. "Ye silly, wonderful wolf." Tucking her head, brushing back a strand of hair shyly, and then reaches to grab the trinket from his hand. She might roll off him and pretend this didn't happen if he lets her.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Okay, he'd seen a hug coming. But not a full-blown 'throw yourself at a man' glomp! The wolf's eyes go wide and his ears go half-back just before the girl connects and topples him to the ground. He ends up half seated, half lying-down. And then suddenly, there's two succulent lips touching his. The wolf's cheeks flush, his tail goes a-waggin', and his ears perk all the way up.

Pop to Chibi-Skoll-Vision, heart literally beating out of his chest, followed by him pounding the ground and letting out a loud howl. Awhoooooo! End cartoon-o-vision.

There he is, laying down, half surprised, and stunned at the kiss. And before he even has a chance to properly repay this little gift, it ends. He keeps on blushing like a fool and glances aside for a moment, simply not sure what to do with himself. During the fall, he moved his hands to her waist, and that's where they've remained. As those ears of hers go down, so do his, and he gleefully watches that adorable moment where she brushes that strand of hair out of her face.

So, Skoll does what he does best. He reaches a hand towards her face and flops the strand of hair over her ear, right back into her face. "Hey, where are you going, I was enjoying that." He teases her, smiling like a complete idiot. He's pretty sure she just stole his first true kiss. But with his head being a tad foggy now, he can't really say for sure. "Told you I had a surprise that would cheer you up." He reaches that hand he used to move her hair, to the little trinket. "I could make a better chain for that if you want. One that won't break mid-flight." Which is what he presumes happened.

Oh, and yes, he's still blushing mad and looking like a lovestruck puppy.

Zia has posed:
Sometimes, the unexpected can be a very good thing. It's that little nudge that can sometimes bridge the gap between friendship and something more. Though Zia had certainly agreed to his courtship, it had felt strange for a while, like they were both trying to figure out how to make that leap. Closing her hand around the reliquary, the gargoyle shifts as if she's going to move, but then gets stopped by his hand flicking her hair back in front of her ear.

Head tilting, Zia looks at him for a moment, flushed and puzzled. Then, she just catches her lip with one tooth, her expression somewhere between shy and downright cute. She doesn't draw back completely, but certainly leans back a little so that she's resting less of her weight on him. "Aye. Ye did, 'n it worked. Ye have m'gratitude, noble wolf." With the chain still in her hand, she uses the base of her palm to wipe at her eyes.

"Ah dinnae know wha Ah would have done if Ah'd lost it." Relief is a sweet thing, but so is the warmth of his fingers over hers. The girl's blue eyes look down, letting him touch the trinket as she nods. "Ah'd appreciate it. One less thing Ah'd have te worry aboot."

There's a hesitation - just a moment where she thinks better about it, but then Zia leans down and brushes her cheek against his. It's far more of a wolfish gesture, and perhaps she knows that, or perhaps it is something natural among her own kind, as well. "Thank ye..."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Indeed, this does move the little budding bond between these two in the right direction. It certainly helps to have a rather gorgeous white gargoyle sitting on him.

Skoll's life is weird.

But in the cool way.

"You're welcome, my lady Zia." Skoll actually moves a hand to his chest, and inclines his head a little. He even closes his eyes. Well, one anyhow. With the other, he peeks up at her, catching that expression of hers. His heart goes rikke-tik-tik. For a moment there, all thoughts of that whole Golden Wolf thing, pew, right out of mind. Nice wind breezes through the open window and catches her hair, and Skoll is seeing sparkles. Or maybe that's just him having hit his head on the floor when Zia glomped him.

"I would have searched the ends of the earth for you - to cheer you up." Skoll promises her. "Just like I tried to seek a solution to your crystal problem." Which reminds him, how's the search for adventurers coming along? He should look into that. The wolf moves the trinket a little, and then lays it back into her hand. "I have some things at the Shard Seekers HQ I'd need to repair it. By the way - I wouldn't go there right now. Faruja got himself famous apparently. So... more fangirls." And religious fangirls are the /worst kind/.

Then Zia comes closer. Is she going to kiss again? Skoll puckers his lips for a moment, and ends up looking silly as the girl brushes her cheek against him. Okay, so he ends up kissing the corner of her ear. That's cute too. The wolf leans in naturally and closes his eyes, rubbing his cheek back against hers. The wolf even leans in against her neck for a moment. He's not going to ask her to move off of him, he's enjoying this a bit too much.

/Dogs/

Zia has posed:
While he might be struggling with a run-away brain, Zia is more tentitive. Everything is careful, second guessing, uncertain, but at least it /seems/ to be going okay. For someone who had never really opened up to many people, letting herself dare to wager this much of herself is a frightening thought. She's left quite oblivious to the sight that she might be with the wind blowing and the dim lantern light illuminating the room.

Not an intentionally romantic moment. Not at all. Hush.

And then he has to go and be all noble and nightly again, causing Zia to shake her head. "Och lad, ye know ye dinnae need te do tha. But Ah certainly do appreciate it none the less." She nudges his cheek with her nose, and then lays a kiss upon his nose before sitting back, finally allowing a hint of space between them. She laughs softly, settling to sit next to him on the floor, toying with the chain of her pendant. "Nae everything tha's broken can be fixed, nor everything lost be found." She states softly, but her smile lingers none the less.

It does get followed up by a puzzled look, though. "The dear mouse is gettin 'imself inte trouble again, Ah assume? Pssh... Ah think Ah'd rather stay up here in m'tower then have te face the hordes." Of course, she'd have to look into what's going on, but usually Zia stayed well clear of religious affairs after the mess she got herself into in the desert.

"So..." With him still laying back, Zia reaches over and clicks the wolf on his shoulder with a talon. "Stayin for a while, or did ye jus' show up te give me this back?"

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll shows a little sly toothy smile as Zia shakes her head and ends up kissing his nose. He wiggles his nose and then blows up at his own hair, trying to get some of the massive FLOOF away from his forehead. "No, I know that." He whispers back to her, sitting up as she finally comes to sit besides him, and lays a little sideway for an easier view. "But that doesn't mean I shouldn't try. Besides..." He points at his nose. "I have a nose for these kind of things." That he does...

That he does...

The wolf just shakes his head as she speaks of the mouse. "I think..." But she continues to speak, so he lets her. When she then ticks her talon on his shoulder, he blushes again and tilts his head a bit. "I... think I should stay." He reaches a hand to her cheek. "Gotta make sure you aren't still sad. I promised to cheer you up, and that's what I'll do!"

Zia has posed:
"Aye. Ah'm beginnin te see tha." The gargoyle's laugh is refreshing these days. Between Skoll's problems with the Gaudium Lords, the Crystal breaking, and the other stresses of the world, it's been a while since she could just laugh easily. "Now if only ye didnnae have an equal nose for trouble."

There is a softness in the girl's eyes as he touches her cheek, "Ah'd like tha."

The scene cuts to about an hour later. Skoll and Zia are sitting on the floor in front of an old, salvaged television set, playing some sort of fighting game on a console that looks as if it's held together by duct tape. One of the two fighters goes down, a huge 'GAME OVER' flashing on the screen. "Now, dinnae give me the excuse tha it's the controller. We switched four times now." Zia chuckles, her face lit by the TV-set.

Come on, you can't expect these two to jump strait into the super mushy stuff right away. But Zia does nudge his shoulder, a smile on her lips. Clearly, video games work for the whole cheering up thing. At least, until she spots the clock on the television. Ugh. Dawn is approaching faster than she'd like, but at least it's still a while off.

"Ye think ye could do me a favor 'n eat the sun like yer supposed to in legends? Might save me havin te turn te stone." She lets out a breath, blowing some white hair out of her eyes. "Ah'd rather spend time wi' you then sleep." Setting down the controller, she leans her head to his shoulder.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"I'm a two-in-one package deal, I am afraid." Skoll points out, grinning his silly wolven grin. "Detective nose and trouble-seeker. Nobody's perfect. But at least I'll keep your life interesting." He puts his thumb to his chest as he says this latter part, widening that grin. His expression then softens up again.

One our later.

"Oh come on, I am pressing the right buttons!" Skoll flails his arms up and makes a little grunt. He's not really upset with losing. Clearly, Zia has far more experience than him. That, or he just really sucks at fighting games. He puts the controller down when the Gargoyle nudges his shoulder though. Skoll is sitting slightly in front of Zia - having been leaning forwards to see the screen better; as if that might somehow help with his predicament.

The wolf looks over and tilts his head a little, ears half-up on one side, and down on the other. He looks a bit silly like that. "The sun?" He asks, and then glances towards the window, and then back to Zia. His both ears fold down, his tail halting its wag. "I'm afraid I have yet to capture the sun." He answers her. "But I'm quite enjoying myself. As much as you are /kicking my ass/. It's sorcery, I tell you." He wags a finger at her. "I'm onto you, witchy gargoyle lady." Fingerwangle fingerwaggle.

He puts an arm around her waist when she leans her head in on his shoulders, slumping one side of his body a bit so she has a more comfortable place to rest her head.

Zia has posed:
Well, she'd just have to deal with the two-for-one deal that is Skoll Ulfang. At the very least, he's got the cute-wolf factor to make up for any trouble he causes. Besides, between the two of them, it's sometimes hard to determine which of them is the worst trouble magnet.

"Ye'll get the hang of it." Zia reassures him as the game dumps back to the main screen, displaying some corny anime-ish introduction to the fighter. With her controller, the gargoyle exits the game and goes back to the main menu of her console, which has been heavily modified from the original. Strange, how you might expect her to be the sort to spend most of her time with old spellbooks, but she's actually fairly modern compared to most of her kind.

"Ah dinnae need sorcery te beat ye at a video game. Ah dun imagine tha the Guadium Lords exactly had a place fer ye all te sit 'n play games wi' one another." Actually, in her mind, they probably have one of those big boards of the world with the pieces representing all the key players, and pretend to move them around like one giant game of Risk. Of course, in her mind, they're also all shadowy figures, since she's never met anything but their minions.

"Ye havenae heard anything from them, have ye?" Maybe she's just a little worried that they might try to track him down and reclaim him. Afterall, she's seen what sort of power he posesses as an unlimited, and it's no surprise that forces of darkness might want to use him as a tool. With her head against his shoulder, the gargoyle sets down her controller at last, glancing up at him with those blue eyes, lit slightly by the screen's glow. "This is 'boot the only collar Ah'd wante see ye wear anytime soon." Her taloned fingers jingle the little metal bit that comes off of his leather collar.

"It suits ye be'ter."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
Skoll just sticks his tongue out at her and gives her a look as if he doesn't really believe her on the whole not needing sorcery to beat him thing. Obviously, sticking his tongue out also dispels any thought that he might be serious about that look. As for the Gaudium Lords, he's pretty sure that the evil emperoror of doom that runs the joint plays with action figures. Because they're a little kid... on a throne... with some /serious/ temper issues.

"I haven't." Skoll admits. "They're quiet right now. Which can be good - or can be bad. We'll see." He's always on the lookout, always wary. It's unlikely for them to be able to trap him without a well thought out plan. And knowing the Gaudium Lords, it's unlikely they'll manage such a plan. Although his ability to escape is severely hampered by the while 'no dark portal' thing.

Skoll leans in when the girl moves her finger towards his collar, and swallows loudly as she touches the metal ring. You'd expect something to hang off of it, but right now, it is empty. "I believe so too." He admits, and idly glances at Zia's slender white neck. She can probably tell what he's thinking.

Zia has posed:
The thing is, Zia is still oblivious to the fact that his freedom came at the cost of being able to use some aspects of that dark magic. She has no idea that it has taken away his ability to use the portals. "Well, ye are a hard wolf te track down. So Ah'd imagine wi' out the collar, tha they'd have some trouble findin ye. Of course, they know about yer friends now, too." That is probably the most dangerous thing. When you have friends, they can be used against you.

She doesn't say it outloud, but it's a fair guess that their quiet is a bad thing. Maybe news of his loss hasn't gotten back to the upper ranks yet. The Gaia sisters were dead, so who knows how long it would be until someone discovered their prey is free. Still, when it does come to light, it's bound to piss off someone. "They may have saved yer life, 'n Ah'll admit te bein greatful for tha, but Ah'll ne'er forgive them for wha they did te ye." She'd seen him driven to the edge of death twice now, and it had scared her deeper than she'd like to admit.

It's this thought going through her mind as she toys with the ring on his collar. She doesn't even seem to realize that something /should/ go there, and instead she just looks surprised when he glances at her. "Wha are ye lookin' at me like tha for?" She asks, a small smirk playing on her lips. Shyly, she tucks some hair back again behind her ear, the same gesture she tends to use whenever she's a bit nervous.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"My friends are strong." Skoll answers Zia. "And I am indeed hard to track down - though no longer quite as hard to track down as before." He doesn't explain that part though. Leave it to the wolf to (foolishly) keep some things a mystery. "And I trust in my friends' strength." He puts an arm on Zia's opposite shoulder. "But I admit, I am grateful they saved my life. But I think, after the way they treated me, I've repayed my debt a few times over." He'd probably gotten a better deal with Hades than that.

He glances away from her neck finaly. "Nothing. I was just wondering... if something should go around that neck of yours. But... you're like a bird. You are supposed to be free. To lay a collar to your neck... I don't think that's the right thing for you." He reaches behind himself and grabs something from a nearby chair, and draws her necklace around her neck. "This belongs with you. Family." He declares. "I will reinforce this chain tomorrow and make sure it'll never leave that pretty neck of yours again."

Zia has posed:
The white gargoyle tilts her head ever so slightly, but figuring he doesn't offer an explination, she doesn't ask. After spending enough time around this wolf, she's accepted that sometimes he prefers his mystery, and she doesn't stick her nose into it unless she feels that it particularly matters. then again, sometimes even when she did try to ferret out information, he could be elusive. Hrm.

She shifts one wing, laying the digits of the 'hand' that graces the joint over the fingers on her shoulder, offering a smile. "Well, ye know Ah'd go te the ends of the earths for ye. It's... wha people do when they care aboot someone." Both of them had gone into the underworld to help Avira, although it might have meant something quite different to the wolf at the time. Still, it's also an admission of some feelings there, and the pale girl does offer him a smile.

"But let's nae try te repeat the nearly dying again anytime soon, alright? Ah know ye may be damn near invulnerable, but it scares the daylights outta me." Her tail curls close along his side, twitching against the fur of his own tail.

And then he has to go and say something strange. Zia looks puzzled for a moment, touching her throat. "Well, Ah've usually got m'crystal 'n the reliquary, 'n tha's probably enough." She looks at him then, offering an almost sly look, "B'sides, it'd take more than tha te collar me, wolf. Ye think yer up to the challenge?"

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Well, do be careful. I heard that the end of the world doesn't have airconditioning." Skoll teases Zia, using his own brand of 'humor' to attack the comment a little. He knows Zia and his friends care about him, and it sometimes scares him a little, just how important he is to them. He smiles right on back, most sweetly in fact, to let her know: he appreciates those words. More than she might ever know.

"Promise. No near dying in the near future." Skoll then adds; "I rather not scare the daylight out of you. Otherwise, I have a second sun to go and chase. And I'm doing well enough just chasing this one." He touches her shoulder cutely, and lays his head against hers. His own tail goes a-wagging.

He glances sideways, down at her. "I think I could take you." He adds, grinning. "In a fist fight. I don't know if I could stand up to that magic of yours. But I rather leave you a free gargoyle. No collar for you. Perhaps instead..." He reaches back for his tail, and then suddenly winces. "Y-ouch... tssk... okay, that hurt more than I thought it was going to." Still, he offers her a little tuft of gray and black. "Some hair to put into a little bottle? Ehhhmm... reliquary?"

Zia has posed:
"Truely?" Zia asks, looking at him with mock surprise in her eyes. "Well, maybe Ah'll have te take back tha offer. How could anyone live wi'out air conditioning?" As silly as it sounds, she's managed to rig together a way of making air-conditioning work in the tower. There's window units here and there, and it does manage to keep things at a reasonable level, even in the desert heat. Just don't ask about how the power source works, sometimes, it's best not to know.

Then, the girl just shakes her head, "Yer a strange one, sir wolf. Ah think tha's why Ah'm fond of ye." It is confusing enough for her to think about his strange destiny to chase the sun, but for now, she's just going to enjoy the moment. Her nose nuzzles his chin softly, a gentle sign of affection.

And then he has to give her that look. "Pssh." She lets out a breath, "Ah've seen ye fight, Skoll. Ah'm nae about te go tryin te challenge yer strength. Then again, Ah'm sure my dear mouse instructor would tell me tha it would be good practice." With a roll of her eyes, Zia seems to dismiss the thought. Faruja was a good teacher, but she had a sneaking suspicion that starting a relationship off with one-on-one combat might work for some, but it really isn't her idea of a date.

Her eyes watch as he shifts his tail, then blinks when he winces. "Wha in the world are ye..." She asks, and then a little tuft of hair gets held out to her. Staring, Zia takes it, looking at him quizzically. There's a worried sort of look there. "Ye know, Ah'd rather have the real thing than a token of it..." The thought that this might be the last thing she has of him someday, is more frightening than she'd like to admit. "But... Ah think Ah've got a be'ter idea."

Leaving him a kiss to the cheek, she walks over towards her computer desk, tugging out a box of various scavenged parts. She pulls out a sealed bag with a bunch of tiny capsules, probably the sort that people filled their own medications with, and opens it, grabbing one and stuffing the bits of fur into it. It almost seems like this is one of her odder moments, until she also pulls out a little block of modeling clay and sits back down. "Ye know, Ah'm gointe have te make ye a token of me, now too." She starts to mush the clay in her hands.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
For the amount of times Skoll gets that 'quizzical' look from Zia, you'd think he got a little thrill out of doing it. The two share a chuckle and a laughter in regards to the end of the world, ending in yet another smirk of his. "Yeah, well, at least I amuse you with my own brand of humor." Skoll answers her, and nuzzles his nose down to find hers. A gentle sign of affection to his own people. And for once, something that wouldn't be misinterpretted by human standards - lest he lower his lips towards hers of course.

"Faruja has some strange ideas about what is good practice. But admittedly, a spar now and again isn't a bad idea." He doubts it is a good idea to start a relationship off with - nor is it the kind of thing to wind a date around. Now a HUNT! That's good dating material.

"Oh I know. But sometimes, the real deal is out there being a hunter, or wandering. So I figured you'd like at least some part of me hangin' with you." The youth chuckles, clearly not thinking even for one moment that this would /ever/ be the last she'd have of him. In his mind, as sad as it is, he'd likely outlive her. It's not like any Unlimited are around to tell him wether or not 'longetivty' is a thing or not. But his people certainly seemed to think so.

Her cheek-kiss has the wolf blushing, followed by him following her movement - tilting his head over a little in curiousity. "A better idea?" He asks, patiently watching her take out those little casules and then drawing out the modeling clay. "It's alright. Getting a token of you is easy. I just wait for the morning to come, and steal some rock. No need to mar that gorgeous body of yours."

Zia has posed:
"Aye. Well, Ah know tha Ah need the practice. Ah'm nae a fighter like ye, or the young squire, or the dear mouse. Ah still need te know how te protect m'self, though." More often than not, strange situations come up, and she might not always be able to depend on her magic, or her wings ability to get her out of trouble. "Maybe after this trip te the ruins, ye can give me a lesson?" She offers, tilting her head towards him. She'd recruited Percival to the same task, and having multiple teachers might help matters, especially when each one is busy a lot with their own adventures.

In her hands, the clay comes together into a rough shape. It isn't the artistry of a craftsman with years of training, but it is pretty cute. Sitting like a tiny token on her palm is the shape of a wolf, howling. It even has little paws and a tail. Of course, it's all a single color just now, and it probably needs to be painted, but she sticks a small clip into it, and then dangles it next to one ear, next to the silver hoop hanging there. "Wha do ye think?" She asks, letting him get a look before setting it down carefully onto a bit of metal she'd brought over. It would have to bake later.

When it's finished, she seems to consider something for a moment, "Ah think Ah can spare a few loose hairs, dear wolf." She reaches up, running her fingers through her hair briefly. Like with most people, after brushing, there are a few hairs leftover between her fingers. She takes these and does the same as she had with his, tucking them into a capsule before starting to play with the clay some more. He did need something to go on that collar, so she might as well be the first to add something there.

"Let's see... wha would be good..." She ponders to herself.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"I think I could teach you some basic techniques about balance and the like." Skoll answers her. "Maybe even teach you how to draw some of that magic out into objects - or your fists." That's the way Skoll fights after all. "Just don't ask me to swing around a sword or staff - never was too good at that stuff. How did my dad say it again? Oh yes... I suck at seeing anything as an extension of myself." The werewolf shrugs a little. "Aside from chains, that is. Don't know why, but for me... chains have always just... been a good focus. Still. It's a promise. After the trip to the ruins, I'll teach you some basics."

The werewolf then brings his hands to the air and stretches, yawning a bit wolf-like yawn. He continues to follow what she is doing, until finally there's that little clay wolf. "Oh, hey, that's adorable. That me?" He asks, tilting his head a little as she dangles the thing next to one ear. "Hrrm..." He nods his head. "Looks good. It's always nice to have a wolf at your side."

Skoll gets up from where he is seated, and moves to stand at Zia's side, and observes her placing some of her hairs into that capsule - and continues to look at her playing with the clay. "I'm afraid aesthetics outside of standard jewelry isn't my thing - I can only judge completed objects."

Zia has posed:
"Ah've got pre'ty good balance. Ye have te in order te fly 'n land like we do." A small fan of her wings brushes the leathery appendages against the ground before they settle again on her shoulders. "But Ah dinnae know much about the woods, or anythin other than cities. Maybe ye could teach me a bit aboot tha?" Though her family had once lived in whatever cliffs or ruins they could find, she never had much experience with wilder "Though maybe learnin te channel magic in others ways would help, too."

There's so many different ways that she's seen people use magic. Some used it through weapons, others through incantations, others through natural elementalism. Of course, not all of these are skills that a single person can adopt. Finding what works for her is the hardest part. In this world, you can't always just stand in the back of the party and hope for the heroes to protect you. She wants to be able to fight /with/ them.

The gargoyle chuckles to herself at his huge yawn, unable to keep herself from smiling somewhat in his company. "Aye. See, yer quite cute. Even when yer a great ferocious beast." Her nose twitches at him impishly, and soon enough she's smooshing together a second token, "Well, Ah'm nae exactly a master craftsman at this." Still, her fingers are careful, and their sharp points mean she doesn't need to use some tools like humans might.

When she's done, it looks like a bunch of feathers bound together with a few beads. It's clearly fashioned after some of the adornments he wears when in his summoner form. Like with the wolf, it's all one tone, meaning that paints will probably help the pale color of the clay. "How's this?" She asks curiously.

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"Well, I didn't mean your balance." Skoll points out. "Your abilities with wind work well for up-ending people. So I wanted to teach you how to make use of an opponent's balance - or lack there-of - against them. You know how I tend to 'sweep' with my chains, right?" She's seen him up-end Large Bodies with those things before. He makes a little handmotion to dismiss the thought though. "Channeling magic indeed might be more your thing though."

The youth then ends up leaning against the table she's standing in front of, and glances in that canine 'sideways' manner as she continues to play with things. "Ferocious yet cute beast? Hey~! I am a noble werewolf. It's not my job to be /cute/. It's my job to... you know..." He waggles his head a little, trying to get her to say the right words. Which will probably just be another joke, but that's alright.

When she's done, Skoll reaches out to touch against the feathers. "Reminds me of my big werewolf form. I've seen the feathers in the lake before. I don't know why they're there... they just... appear."

Zia has posed:
"Oh." Realization dawns on her features as the white gargoyle comes to understand just the sort of lesson he might have in mind. "Ah tried te sweep the dear Templar the last time Ah had a chance te get some trainin. It didnae work out quite as well as Ah would have hoped. Ah'm learnin tha his kind are pre'ty nimble on their feet." The ways that some of the fighters she knew were able to move is just amazing. Their ability to use all sorts of techniques on creatures many times their size never failed to impress.

"Te strike fear inte the hearts of yer enemies?" Zia smirks, giving him a similar sideways glance as she finishes up the little feather ornament. "Well, sorry te tell ye, ye've failed miserably te scare me off." She sets the trinket down onto the metal plate along with the little wolf. "So ye'll just have to deal with yer fate 'n accept tha yer a big, fluffy, adorable ball of fur 'n fangs." Okay, maybe he /is/ a bit scarey, but by now, Zia is quite used to his wolf form and his human one.

With her two tokens finished, the gargoyle takes the little tray and glances at the stairs. "These'll need te bake for a bit, then Ah'll paint them up tomorrow. It'll give ye time to go wander off 'n hunt somethin in the mean time." She glances out the window, eyeing sky. It's starting to lighten a bit, but she has time to at least finish these before stone sleep wisks her away. Though it looks like she has every intention of heading down to the kitchen, Zia hesitates, then looks back towards him.

"Skoll..." You can almost feel the shift in the air. She puts the tray back down and walks right up to him, looking up at the taller wolf. "Thank ye again, for findin the necklace. 'N... for everythin else." Words are troublesome, and she fumbles with them, biting at her lower lip once before she just decides to go for it. Her hands slip around his neck, pulling her up on tip-toes so she press her lips in against his. It's a longer one this time, drawn out of deeper emotions than just the sudden joy from before.

When it's finished, her nose lightly nuzzles against his, and Zia leans herself back down, offering a hesitant smile. "Just... dinnae forget tha no ma'ter where ye go, there's people who care aboot ye." She's not quite at the point of saying those three words just yet, but clearly, it's getting close. Then, she reaches for his hand, "Come on, help me finish gettin these done b'fore tha cursed sun of yours steals me away."

Skoll Ulfang has posed:
"That they are." Skoll agrees. "I've only seen the Burmecians a rare few times, but they seem to be about as quick on their feet as Viera are. It's quite impressive. You'll have a hard time sweeping anyone who likes to jump around - unlike most humans. You're better off aiming directly below their waist with a lot of force in that case." The wolf makes a little waggle of his hand, before crossing his arms. "And I will have you know, I haven't tried to scare you off."

His head is tilted up and he gives a momentary indignant look. "I will have you know, I can be a really scary big fluffy adorable ball of fur and fangs." Is he pouting? Yes, yes he is, but he's not really being very serious about that whole pouting thing. But then, how often is Skoll really that serious? Especially today.

He glances out at the window when she looks that way, and then looks on back towards her. "I can watch the oven." He tells her. "Just in case." He then lays a hand at the back - just above her waist. Her hands naturally follow around his neck. This time he seems ready and closes his eyes. Kissing is still not that natural of a thing for the wolf, but he makes the best out of what he's got. He certainly shows his ability to show 'warmth' in that kiss.

When they finish, Skoll nuzzles past her cheek and then smiles similarly at her, blushing like an idiot again. "I know." Skoll answers her. "And the same goes to you, missy." He pokes her chest. "Soon, we'll get that crystal of yours fixed, and then the sun can't steal you away anymore. Okay?"

And then, he finally gives her that hand she seeks.