[AW] For Whom He is Pledged

[Erum]

Deer pawed away remnants of the passing of winter; searching for the timid seedlings birthed by the fresh coming season. Erum shrugged off the drowsiness that lounged across his shoulders like an indolent house cat. The stallion paused to run benevolent eye over the foraging deer. Some would calve soon. He did not remember the last time that he had slept well; to do so he would have to go back to a place only within reach through the passage of memory, to friends only to be found in the fog of fond remembrance. Only a weary doe lifted eye at the stallion's lingering presence. Quietly Erum trod on. The forest would recognize his footstep long before the sound of his voice. He mulled over his position. A warrior of Denocte. His was a life supposedly pledged to those he neither knew nor trusted; to those that knew not of him. From deeper in the wood, a bird called to the rest of their flock with song. Erum listened as the others responded in chorus. Traveling such a distance from his native land had weakened his magic. It was reduced to a faint throb. Diminished to a yearning that set root in his breast, and unfurled throughout his entire being. He was caught in-between; no longer able to join the beasts and unsure of how to return to living alongside those of his own kind. Solitude wore upon him. It affected Erum in a gradual manner; in such subtle way as to leave him unsure of why it was that he stayed in Denocte. Leaving the cover of the forest Erum made way to the lake. Many times had others traveled through this land. Erum had been shadow to the passerby that caught his interest. He had followed them. He watched the kinship that they shared with one another. Where their shoulders brushed against the warmth of another his brushed against the familiarity of nature; against the steady stance of the trees. Erum waded into the cleansing water. Dirt was lifted from his body by the soft current. I still protect. He was a warrior for Denocte. A kingdom is more than its people. It was the delicate saplings that pushed through the firm ground. The cascading song of the birds. It was the deer and the young that they would birth. It was the mountains that cradled the valleys and the rivers that cleansed. Erum was guardian to Denocte's wildlife. It was to the land that he had pledged himself.

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[Renwick]

WOLF CHILD, ROSE HAIRED The lake was always a solid bet, when one wanted to get away from something or someone. In fact, Denocte offered it's citizens just about every liberty to slip into the shadows and simply be. Though that isn't why Renwick picked his way down to the large mirror like lake, that day. The wolf is running because he can, because there are no chains on his feet and he can feel the sun on his back without a cause nor a care. His hooves are the thunder often heard over head, in the eye of the storm as the lightning howled and the thunder roared. They struck the ground, over and over in a war beat as he went. The wind pulled at his hair, pulled and pulled until they threatened to unseat the flowers who clung desperately to those messy ombre strands of his. These spring days are the best, where the world is once more coming alive and the birds sing overhead. Here he can wrap himself up in the freedom and reverie that he knew and loved, the Wolf Knight, rose haired and wild. Denocte had it's own share of problems, they knocked at the door, louder and louder each time. There was no ignoring them, not forever, like you might ignore an innkeeper who rattled on the room door after a particular hard night. No amount of gold coins poured into empty pouches could stave those kind of visitors. Renwick hoped, at the very least, if they had to take up the mantle once more — that they would at least hold a festival. War was a bitter and painful thing, low morale made for poor warriors and a discontent nation. It'd be so long since he'd ran at another, eyes wide and nostrils flared, the grin on his face filled with the exhilaration. Such was his speed, that he nearly missed the figure in the spring grass, who walked considerably slower than Renwick's racing heart. It's not so easy to slow down, but he managed, haunches tucked as he slid and pranced the last couple of steps into a walk, before he pirouetted to face the smaller Stallion. His barrel heaved and his nostrils vibrated with each lungful of air he sucked in. His hair, which had flown like banners in the wind had messily flopped back around his neck in chaotic waves, messy, lazy and tangled around themselves as they hung down to his knees — desperate to try and make themselves presentable in the next breath of wind. "Hello friend," He greeted warmly enough, moonstone eyes bright even in the spring sun. "I've not seen you around these parts before, what brings you to the lake?" Renwick prided himself on at least knowing the majority of the Night Court, at least it's prominent members. This slender and slight fellow had not been at the meeting held by Reichenbach as far as he could remember, and he didn't smell of foreign lands. Not the sandy perfume of Solterra, or the sweet notes of Terrastella, where their healers smelled of herbs, or the earthy smell of Delumine with those scholars and their books.   THERE'S TWO SIDES TO EVERY STORY BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW THIS ONE ENDS YOU WANT FIRE AND YOU WANT GLORY BUT THERE'S A STRUGGLE THAT LIES WITHIN TAG: @Erum NOTES: hopefully you don't mind me tossing Ren at you! <3

[Erum]

Erum's expression was still soft as he watched the bobbing flight pattern of a startled pair of wren. It was not until he turned to the other man that his posture and eye became guarded. "You scared them." Erum looked in the direction that he had came from; to where the deer had been, and wondered if they had been scared by Renwick too? The words carried vague disapproval-- more so a statement made by someone who needed to gather their thoughts, rather than an accusation. "It is a--" Erum cleared his throat. His voice was husky and it wavered from a lack of use, "It is a brave assumption to so readily dub a stranger as friend." Once more his lips went still. It was a truth that Erum knew all too well. "Been around." Erum gave his answers at his own pace and rhythm. He shrugged his shoulders, "I came to clean myself." Droplets still fell from his thick mane to be embraced by the thirsty grass at his hooves. @Renwick I am sorry for being so gosh darn late! Replies will be fast now.

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