[ AW ] Good Tidings

A R Y T H M E T I K

The trip home didn’t last very long, all things considered. But this time, the Professor wasn’t rushing to the aid of the sick in Castle Stuart. (Although, if a new disease did crop up amongst the overpopulated tennemants, Arythmetik would treat them without delay.) No… This mission was a bit more misguided, however necessary. Waiting out the heatwave in the Arboretum was fine in theory, aside from the fact that all small game had abandoned the withering trees. Even the herds that occasionally roamed the rolling fields of Melrose migrated miles away. (Besides, Aryth wouldn’t have been much help to Grigori in a real hunt.) What the Professor lacked in strength and speed, he made up for in knowledge of the natural world.


And if there were going to be any easy pickings left in Rionnach, they were going to be trapped in the tidepools at Glass Beach.


Aryth’s tongue lolled as he padded across the pebble-strewn landscape now. The heatwaves weren’t as aggressive; sometimes, the heat even dissipated with a rare rainstorm. But what he battled against now was the humid aftermath and the late, autumn sun. Its afternoon light blazed against his russet coat, highlighting the earthen hues and bringing out every red speckle in his fur. He looked like the laziest comet in the universe, slinking across the beach in its fiery glory.


Finally, he found a tidepool with something inside. His dry mouth ached for a drink, but knew better than to lap the saltwater. Instead, he sat cautiously at the pool’s edge and peered into its crags and crevices. Tiny crabs peeked from holes in the rock, and a starfish or two clung to the bottom. He had to determine what was edible so he could bring something home. “Losh,” he murmured to himself softly. “No matter what tiny morsels I find here, I’ll likely be teased.”

code by claerie

@Muriel

muriel vos-salvatore

Muriel ran, her paws splashing through shallow waters, spraying her undersides with saltwater as she moved at a breakneck pace. She’d been running for a while now, and soon slowed to a stop, panting heavily. She turned her golden gaze behind her and saw nothing. She’d left the yelling behind, left the chase behind too, apparently. She grinned to herself, dropping her quarry. A bone, a simple, single fucking bone. But, it was hers now, and no one could take it from her. Still panting, she turned her gaze forward, looking around with curiosity. Another beach, she believed this one was monikered the Glass Beach if she remembered where she was correctly.

She moved forward a little, pebbles shifting under paw as she did. She moved, flopping down into one of the tide pools, submerging herself up to her shoulders in water. Still, she panted but felt reprieve from the heat that still persisted in the waters, despite the warmth that touched the surface of it. The underneath was cooler, at least cool enough to bring relief from the heat as she laid down for a moment, catching her breath.

Movement in the distance caught her attention, her gaze turning to rest upon a russet wolf – a flame in the late autumn sun as the sun slowly slid down in the sky. The night would be upon them in a few hours, and that would be the best time to cause mischief and mayhem as she so often did. What else was a pirate girl to do? She stood, stowing her bone away behind a rock before turning and trotting towards the figure in the distance, still dripping, sodden, and soaked by the time she reached them. They had seated themselves at the edge of a pool, gazing into it as if it were a scrying glass. Muriel grinned cheekily, as she said:

”I wouldn’t drink the saltwater – it makes a man crazy.” She knew that most everyone knew better than to attempt to drink the water of the beaches, and was merely – mostly – just teasing the man before her to get some kind of reaction from him.

@Arythmetik

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A R Y T H M E T I K

Between the searing sun, the crash of distant ocean waves, and the intensity with which he stared into the tidepool, Aryth barely noticed another wolf approach. A tiny alarm in the back of his mind told him he wasn’t alone anymore. Perhaps he’d heard the shifting of pebbles, or smelled the female’s briny coat. But he still yelped in shock when the voice next to him sounded off. The scholar’s fur stood on end and he leapt to his feet, subsequently laughing with relief and embarrassment alike as he met the other’s golden gaze. “Oh, my, I was…really focused, apparently.” If it were possible for a wolf to blush, Aryth’s entire face would have been red.


Now that his heart rate was slowing, the earthen male could actually drink in the sight of his new acquaintance. She looked…fierce in a way he couldn’t explain, despite the fact she was grinning. He noticed her soaking wet fur and blinked curiously. Maybe that was why she demonstrated an aura of sheer confidence: she looked like she was the ocean incarnate. “Er…sorry, about that. I wasn’t thinking of drinking the water, mind you. That would be an awful way to end one’s life.” Aryth tilted his head, definitely not picking up on the facetious nature of her comment. “But does it really make a wolf mad? I’ve never heard that.” After a pause, he added, “I’m Arythmetik, by the way.”

code by claerie

@Muriel

muriel vos-salvatore

Muriel watched the man for a moment as he stared into the tidepool, his focus fully on the clear, shallow waters of it, and the creature crawling within. As she spoke, he jumped giving a yelp that made her take a small step back in surprise. She hadn’t, admittedly, expected the man to yelp so loudly, the sound echoing off the rocks that jutted from the pebbly beach around them. She blinked, tilting her head almost comically to the side. Surely he’d noticed her before she’d spoken? A smirk touched her charcoal lips, a chuckle bubbling from them in the same fluid moment.

”Oh, my, I was… really focused apparently.” He said, composing himself slowly.

”It would seem, yes,” Muriel mused, still smirking unabashedly as she watched him. In the tiny hairs of her ears, she could sense his heart rate pounding above the gentle hiss of the encroaching waves behind them.

”Er… sorry, about that. I wasn’t thinking of drinking the water, mind you. That would be an awful way to end one’s life. But it does it really make a wolf mad? I’ve never heard that… I’m Arythmetik, by the way.” He said, offering up his name. Muriel laughed quietly, tossing her gaze towards the ocean for a moment.

”Aye, it makes a man go mad – I’ve seen it a time or two before. Someone gets desperate, drinks the water… it does something to them, and maddens them in a way I’ve never seen before. And it just makes them thirstier, making them drink more of it. Making them madder and madder.” She said, golden gaze sliding back to the earthen-hued man.

”Muriel Vos, pleasure to meet you Arythmetik. How about I just call you Arthy?” She asked, moving closer to take a seat close to where he had once sat. ”So say, Arthy, what’re you doing watching the tidepool so closely? Looking to eat something within it?” Nothing that crawled in the pool looked particularly appetizing, but Muriel had certainly eaten them all before – the ocean does provide for her children, after all.

@Arythmetik

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A R Y T H M E T I K

Aryth’s eyes widened slowly. The emerald hue reflected glints of sunlight and the shimmering pools around them, coloring his visage in a teal tint. “Well that sounds…dreadful.” Where has she been that she’s seen such things happen!? The scholar in him was fascinated, but his tame nature shied away from grotesque stories. Suddenly, her golden eyes slid back to his gaze, pinning him as a hawk does its prey. She introduced herself as Muriel Vos, and for the briefest moment, the scholar smiled—relieved and excited to make a friendly new acquaintance.


Then she called him ‘Arthy.’


“Oh, erm—” the scholar stammered. He wanted to explain that most people called him ‘Aryth’ (and ‘Arthy’ made him seem even nerdier, if that was even possible). But before the professor could correct Muriel, she rolled right onward and asked him about his activities. “I, er, was hoping I could catch a couple crabs or something.” (Damn it, now he’d answered to ‘Arthy’ and there was no turning back.) “But I’m not the keenest hunter, to be honest. The forests are just bare because of the heatwave.” Arythmetik’s ears flattened against his skull as he chuckled sheepishly. “Do you…have any recommendations, Muriel?”

code by claerie

@Muriel

muriel vos-salvatore

While she had indeed seen someone go mad before from drinking seawater, Muriel may have embossed just how many times she’d actually seen it happen. Even from a young age, her mother had told her to never drink seawater, no matter how thirsty she got. All pirates and seafarers knew it to be true. It was the inlanders that often did not know the warnings, that did not know the dangers. At first, their thirst might be quenched, but the more of the salty water they drank, eventually the thirstier they would get, and soon… the madder they would get, until they were simply laying limp on the ground, foaming at the mouth.

”Well that sounds.. dreadful.” The man before her said. Muriel grinned, almost giggling.

”Aye,” she said. ”It’s a strange thing, indeed. Inlanders don’t get th’ same warnin’s about the water as we seafarers do, I guess.” And it was true – she’d met many a inlanders who knew nothing of the ocean’s dangers… or it’s rewards and pleasures.

”Oh, erm --…” The man started. Muriel grinned a wolfish, toothy grin. She’d struck something there. She pouted her lip out slightly as if feigning some kind of shame.

”I do apologize, yer full name is a little hard for my commoner tongue t’ form,” she said. In truth, she could say his name just fine, but she was one that oft gave nicknames, even more so when she thought they bothered someone. That was simply just how Muriel was – it was an antagonistic nature that she was raised with, something that was commonplace amongst the pirates of the kingdom.

”I, er, was hoping I could catch a couple of crabs or something. But I’m not the keenest hunter, to be honest. The forests are just bare because of the heatwave.” Arhty said. Muriel’s tail waves slightly in the wind, her head tilting slightly to the side. The man chuckled, in a meek sort of way. What good was he if he couldn’t hunt? What did he do, and how did he survive? Muriel wasn’t quite aware of how the college worked, or even aware of the man’s position within it. But he assumed that he might be part of it – he had that ‘scholarly’ vibe to him, that was easy enough to pick up on.

”Do you… have any recommendations, Muriel?” He asked. For a moment, the pirate was quiet.

”Well, I ‘an help ye,” she said. ”Fer a price.” Ever the opportunist. And there wasn’t a promise that she wouldn’t rob him blind when it was all said and done.

@Arythmetik

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A R Y T H M E T I K

The devil lived in the details of Muriel’s yellow eyes and smoky cheeks. Aryth was intelligent enough to know he was being teased, but indeed gentle enough not to do anything about it. Instead, he simply nodded and offered the woman a polite smile. Her weathered “apology” was hard to dispute without being offensive. And gods forbid the scholar did anything offensive or uncouth. Not that he believed in gods or anything supernatural—just in being kind to everyone. However, the male was preoccupied with that thought that the she-wolf seemed somehow…childlike. Maybe it was her feigned innocence, or the fox-like gleam in her grin. Maybe it was the energy thrumming from every swarthy movement. Aryth had no intention of underestimating Muriel, but he suddenly felt so old. The sun baking on their backs didn’t help.


So when Muriel said she’d help for a price, Arythmetik almost lost his temper. Almost. The scholar’s brow lowered, his mouth forming a straight line as he stared wryly at his counterpart. “What could a poor teacher like me offer a cunning fisherwoman like you?” The question was mostly sincere, although the faintest hint of sarcasm lingered in the undertone. His heat and hunger were eating away at him. Even so, there was no one with them on the Glass Beach. Silence seemed to stretch for miles. There was just him…and Muriel’s giant, devious smile.

code by claerie

LOL @Muriel

muriel vos-salvatore

The lowering of the man’s brow, the flattening of his mouth into a line… Muriel almost giggled at his expression, the clear-cut pushing at his temper that she managed to have so easily. A cheeky grin played upon her lips, kissed upon them like a lover’s gentle touch. It was a game to her, truly, something that she took great joy in. It was impossible not to, and more so, with a price offered, what else could Muriel want? She got to tease and poke and prod, as well as possibly get something out of the interaction. Her stomach growled slightly, and she knew then what she would ask for. Her ears angled themselves forward, straining against their natural constraints.

”What could a poor teacher like me offer a cunning fisherwoman like you?” The man asked a hint of sarcasm to his words. Muriel chuckled softly, that grin turning from cheeky to a pure shit-eating one.

”Well,” the pirate started. ”I think half of whatever you catch would suffice. I don’t see you having anything else worth my time.” She said, her head canting slightly to the side. And that was true enough as she eyed him. She could easily get anything else out of him that she wanted, perhaps some information. He seemed an intelligent man, surely he had some knowledge worthwhile to offer in the interaction.

”Unless ye ‘ave a better idea?” She asked, a brow quirking slightly in curiosity. ”Open to suggestions, if ye have them.” Her tail swayed slowly at her backside, a calculating type of movement, rather than one of friendliness.

@Arythmetik

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Faerie Ring

A soft glow seems to emanate from the left, and should it be inspected, you see what appears to be a faerie ring. Small, pearlescent stones form a tight circle and from within grows moss and red-capped mushrooms.


To interact with the faerie ring, please post in #updates

A R Y T H M E T I K

HALF!?


Arythmetik’s ears flattened against his russet skull. In the glaring sunlight, his fur flickered like fire, with speckles of red, brown and tan flecked throughout the creamy edges and underside of his coat. In this moment, his eyes were similarly aflame. He was already here to “hunt” for two wolves—if the pirate took half his catch, he’d barely bring anything home. All he wanted was some simple advice. Truthfully, Muriel’s request wasn’t outlandish. She could have easily bullied him away from the tidepools altogether and taken all the snacks for herself. But the ordeal rubbed the poor professor the wrong way because of her conniving grin. “You’re right, I don’t have anything valuable, aside from my own knowledge,” he murmured in a deflated tone.


Suddenly, something in the sand a few yards away caught his attention. It was as if they’d popped up from nowhere, their pearly glow familiar and ominous. Aryth’s emerald gaze glimmered in surprise as it shifted from Muriel’s taunting face…to the faerie ring. Slowly, his ears perked forward as he side-eyed the mushrooms. He knew they were not native to the beach. By all accounts, it should have been impossible for them to exist here. Oh, but he’d encountered these particular mushrooms before. It was a lovely date, a perfect date, with Grigori months ago. And Aryth knew exactly what those mushrooms could do to a curious wolf.


Part of him was disturbed by their mere presence. (Were these mushrooms stalking him somehow?) But in the moment, he realized they could be a blessing. Aryth swallowed heavily. It wasn’t like him to pull pranks. It wasn’t like him to be dishonest. He was a poet, a man of honor, a scholar, a mentor… But as the lean male looked back to the towering, shadowy grin of the pirate, he knew his own intelligence was all he had to protect himself. He struggled to fight off a sneaky grin, then cleared his throat. “And I know something quite intriguing about that mushroom ring over there.” Completely straight-faced, Aryth nodded to bring the faerie ring to Muriel’s awareness. “If you sniff them, they can enhance your senses.” Not entirely a lie. “Try it, you’ll see I’m right. In exchange, you can help me afterward.”

code by claerie

@Muriel
So IC, Aryth knows what the Faerie Ring does because he's interacted with this event in a previous thread! But Muriel does NOT by any means have to interact with them LOL. Totally up to you <3 If you want her to, you can post in #updates after your next post >:3 loool