[AW] áldott herceg;

[Eik]

There is something like hunger. Do you see it there, in the shadows? There, it shows itself in quick, almost imperceptible flashes as that word is said. Prince. Eik feels an intuitive sharpening in response, a sudden awakeness in his body. The wolf takes a step forward in him, the mind takes a step back.

(slowly now, don't get carried away. Don't let them see the fire in you)

Best be alert with this one. As with all other newcomers. No one in Solterra should become trusted as quickly as Eik had been.

"I'm simply - looking at what I'm working with, at what this land can offer to me."

Eik looks past the man, to the long shadows of the forest around them. This place is so different from harsh, bright, brutal Solterra. He sees an abundance of life, a hundred microcosms. The pattern of life seems so blatantly obvious here- birth, life, death, and from the death of one thing rises the life of another. Where ancient trees have fallen, saplings battle to fill its place. Some do so by growing upwards as quickly as possible, others unfurl great greedy leaves to catch the sun. He supposes that he and his hungry friend are like the brawling saplings- so why does he feel instead like he is floating down a river, careless of everything except what might lie around the bend?

(have you mixed your metaphors enough?)

"What do you see?" He asks, curious what the other man makes of the forest... You can tell a lot about a person by how they regard trees. And he'd much rather talk about anything other than himself... But inevitably talk swings back to him, and the other man's curiosity strikes the ever-humble Eik as amusing.

The tale is woven, brief and bare- the only way he knows how to tell it. He simply nods his head dismissively in response to the stranger's condolences- he is surprised, though, at the sympathy of the stranger. He had not expected this sincerity... and in fact, it is not particularly welcome. Eik has never wanted sympathy. It's actually one of the things he's run from most of his life. Perhaps it is pride, which he foolishly thinks he left behind years ago. More likely it is guilt- whatever he's been made to suffer, he feels responsible for it all. He is headstrong, and his ruin is his own-

This is what he tells himself.

He notices that the stranger does not give his name. Eik will have to settle for calling him prince of Miskolc, until a shorter calling reveals itself. When the conversation rolls on to the great Solterra, Eik takes his time to gather his words. "Solterra is...." how perilous it can be, to speak. To shape one's opinion on things they do not know. Eik takes speech very seriously, as most other things.

"Violent. Beautiful. The court itself lies where the sun rises. Follow the coast South you'll find the canyon lands; mazes and cathedrals of sandstone." He takes a breath. It is rare for so many words to leave him; each one is given away with consideration. "The coast in the other direction, towards where we stand, is the Mors desert. Miles and miles of sand, as far as the eye can see. It is the most dangerous place in Novus that I know of." He considers what else there is to tell. Of course his first reaction had been to describe the landscape, not the people. He realizes now that is probably not what the man was after.

"The people there play a dangerous game." He shakes his head uncomprehendingly. By some small miracle he has been able to stay out of the worst of the political games, even in his humble rise to Emissary. "It is a court known for its warriors, but honor..." He almost sneers. All the stupid, stupid pride, the bloodshed, the inequality, it is almost enough to make a man like him sick. "everyone seems to have a different idea of what that means."

The quiet thickens, until he breaks it once more- "Is there anything else you wish to know?"

-     -     -
There is no better way to know us
E I K
than as two wolves, come separately to a wood

@Káin no worries <3