Wildhearted

Something shines like a beacon through Pandreo's tears. This...this wolf can understand him, and speak to him.

It's like the answer to a prayer he didn't realize he was reciting. His logical brain jumps through hoops to justify what he's hearing, but...no. It has to be some kind of miracle, some kind of sign.

He has always believed humans to be extensions of gods, and therefore, for gods to take on human forms and attributes. This explains every dragon he's ever met, and he thinks it might gesture toward the few beastkin he's met here, too. Not to jump to conclusions, especially at an emotional low point, but...

Perhaps this wolf is a god!

"What?” Volug rasped, cocking his head to the side inquisitively. He probably ought not let his exasperation fully show. Doing so might make his little joke a bit too transparent. Better to pretend he had genuine, innocent confusion. Act like this was nothing at all, like he listened to people all day long but didn’t expect them to respond back to him.

“I do not think you could bother me,” Volug stated, staring directly at the man. “I deal with people all day who do not stop to listen to me. Why would I be upset you did?”

“I had wanted to keep from killing them,” she admits, “but I see now with these numbers there’s little point to that. If they do not fall the knights will, and myself as well. Thank you for your aid, Volug, for the sake of Daein I cannot any more put myself in such danger.”

As if to prove her resolve Micaiah takes the moment Volug has given her, still standing near protectively, to cast Bolganone so that a wall of fire magic erupts between several knights and their attackers; satisfied, she nods when Volug tells her to follow.

Back behind defensive lines? It made sense for she had enough left in her for another few anima spells and if they could finally find a proper formation… “alright, thank you. But I still intend to fight! The Seiros knights have little-to-no organization this expedition and I can hardly leave them alone when they are our first line of defense.”

"{You waste your time,}" Volug scoffed, keeping his eyes forward instead of turning back to look at Micaiah as he spoke. Being this close to towering flames made his skin crawl. It was always an uneasy feeling, being around fire magic. Even if it wasn't directed his way, it was a discomfort he wouldn't get over quickly. The stench of smoke and of burning hair assaulted his nose. He would be happy to end this battle quickly.

"{Ruffians like this sort operate off of brutality,}" Volug pointed out. "{Trying to spare them would only result in being killed at this point. They'd gut you in front of the knights to make them afraid of what could happen to them. Numbers and intimidation are the only way they could hope to defeat a trained force like this. If you want to spare lives here, prove to them that it is a losing battle. They'll give up quickly if they think it won't go their way. And no, I'm not leaving. Not if you're insistent on being this reckless.}"

If it works, it works.

“ Your way of going through life is so enviable, ”  Pelleas sighs for it, speaking quietly as he continues to pet Volug.  “ You're absolutely right though about Sothe. Thinking through things like that so quickly and clearly, sorting through life on what's important and fitting in the ability to relax... As you can guess, I'm a bit of a nervous wreck myself most times...

"{I don't think you want to be me,}" Volug stated, allowing his tail to wag freely. To a casual observer, it wouldn't look all too different from someone just petting their dog casually. Perhaps another laguz would find this degrading, but Volug couldn't really bring himself to care. He wasn't being demeaned by the act, after all. He was just doing what was necessary to keep Pelleas calm and maintain his own cover, and that was all it was.

Volug didn't know the first thing about this man, but he had enough reason to suspect this person to be religious. He dressed the part, after all. Those robes weren't the attire of a typical mage, but rather those Volug associated more with healers and preachers-- religious folk. The unique combination of scents that had clung to the scarf and to its owner supported the notion as well. He smelled nice, that much was easy to say-- pleasing aromas like the flowers, fruits, and woods that beorc frequently made their perfumes were immediately identifiable. Laguz were less prone to using them because those scents were so overpowering to creatures with a more finely-tuned sense of smell. A pleasing aroma for a beorc was often powerful to a nearly painful degree for a laguz. Still, it could indicate a desire to present an appealing impression to other beorc, something that Volug would associate with the sort of individual who spent more time around others, whether due to a desire to socialize or as a consequence of their profession.

Notes of incense were detectable beneath the cloying, perfume-like scents as well, though. That was definitely more in line with the religious sort. The fact that the scent trail had crossed through the church supported this notion. The man's smell had been all over that place-- many people's were, but with the scarf held up to his nose, it had been easy to identify that the particular scent he was following was all over the place in the chapel. The owner of that scarf had been all over the place in Garreg Mach's church, day after day. That definitely indicated he was, at the very least, interested in religion.

If indeed this man were religious, then the song very well could be a prayer. If it were a prayer, then perhaps it gave an opening for Volug to toy with the man. He could pretend that whoever this priest was praying to had heard the song, and that their deity had responded in kind by opening communication between the two. It was a silly notion, but one that he could see a priest falling for easy.

He's aware, distantly, that a priest might normally denounce gods that aren't his own. The monastery's priests would certainly frown upon Pandreo's own faith. But for Pandreo, other gods only spark curiosity. He wants his heart to be big enough for all of them, for any who might hear him. He's on his way out of the cathedral, the near-constant buzzing of hymns slowly growing faint. He doesn't think he looks mopey, but perhaps he does. There's not even a destination in mind; the grounds are big enough that he can just walk straight for a while. His vision grows distant, thoughts consumed. 

And then…there's a faint panting and scampering, like a…dog? There are stray dogs all over the monastery, but this one is huge, like the wolves from Solm. He notices the familiar shape of his own scarf in the creature's jaws; its eyes are expectant.

"Aww." Pandreo softens, reaching out cautiously to scritch the back of the wolf's neck. "I didn't even notice this was gone. You're a very good boy for bringing it back." He gently pulls the scarf from its mouth - it's a bit…wet…but that'll teach him to pay more attention to his surroundings.

And he lingers in the moment, running his fingers through the wolf's fur. He thinks about how simple it might be to be a wolf - especially one tamed by the monastery, finding lost items and getting pets. Sounds wonderful right about now.

As the priest's fingers dug into the fur on the back of Volug's neck, the mighty beast leaned into his touch, grimacing slightly. It was a contented look; that spot was one that was hard for him to reach, and one that grew itchy quite easily with the cloth collar he wore. Having a beorc's nimble digits to assuage the sensation was a boon Volug was more than happy to take advantage of. Pandreo would even be treated to the sound of a soft, pleased grumble from the wolf as he reached a particularly itchy spot.

The wellspring hardly matters - only the end result.

"If the people of hatari recognize my name, it is brought to them on stories. To them, i may as well be twelve feet tall or have as many eyes. Likewise, any story you feed them will suffice in terms of convincing. To that end, the body you present them with doesn't matter. Go ahead and use my name when you present them miss ena, it matters not to me."

Volug stood, pacing over to Soren, claws quietly tapping against the floor with each step he took. They had already begun to grow long in his time here. They were not being whittled down as quickly as they ordinarily would when he had the time to run freely across great distances. It was a frustrating matter, one he had difficulties resolving on his own; he lacked the necessary dexterity in this form. Unlike in Hatari, nobody here would be willing to help him with the matter, either.

And there it was.

Abandoning their home in search of a new one, finding the age old wounds in the land that he had torn have scabbed over, ugly and rough. Not to mention the new tears, delicate, held together with young leaders and a tentative peace. It is no surprise that they may choose to leave.

But it was a naive hope to think that Tellius was the worst among them. …Though that was a lesson the wolf laguz must learn on their own.

“You’ve come to the wrong place, then.” Sephiran smiles, slowly placing away his wares. “If you are not able to find your footing in Tellius given its new leadership, then I doubt you will find one here.”

He pauses, considering whether it would be worthwhile to elaborate. In the end, however, many things are better learned from the mouths of those more trusted, so he ends the thought there. “But if you are searching for information, it may be worthwhile to check the monastery rather than on this town.”

"Mmh," Volug rumbled, chin placed upon his paws as he gave himself a moment to select his words. As nice as it would be to speak freely with Sephiran, Volug wasn't foolish enough to be fully forthcoming to someone who had long since proven themself untrustworthy. Sephiran likely didn't have the power to act on any information Volug revealed to him at the moment. He was no senator here, after all, just a humble apothecary. Still, best not to reveal too much if he could avoid it. If nothing else, Nailah would be more than happy to admonish Volug for discussing these matters too liberally.

"{You misunderstand,}" Volug explained. "{It is not a matter of whether or not Hatari would be accepted into Tellius. Skrimir and Caineghis both were quite generous in their offers. It is a matter of populations. Gallia has too many people already living in it. Unoccupied areas are too dense with forest to make a proper home for us all, especially with needs as varied as the many types of people within Hatari possess. A homogeneous nation of only beast laguz needs only cater to the living requirements of beast laguz. That is a luxury we are not afforded.}"

Besides, people generally weren't all too happy about groups of foreigners encroaching suddenly on their homes, refugees or otherwise. Just because their king was willing to offer Hatari a home didn't mean the rest of the Gallians would immediately follow suit. They had been given many long years to breed distrust of those beyond their borders, and ample motivation for it as well. It would be hard for a mixed nation, especially one with such a high population of Branded, to find a home in Tellius.

Nature Edition You decide who is muse A and who is muse B. In case of Multimuse, don't forget to specify which one/s! Reblog, do not repost or add.

🌸 Muse A gets seated next to Muse B at a mutual friend's party.

🌹 Muse A sneaks out onto the porch to away from people at a house party - only to find Muse B already there, having done the same thing.

🏵 Both Muse A and Muse B reach to grab last package of their favorite snack off a high shelf at the same time.

🌻 Muse A is used to run their missions alone. This time, they got paired up with rookie, Muse B.

🌴 Muse A needs to deliver something to Muse B's neighbor, but they are not home and not answering their phone. They knock on Muse B's door.

☘ Muse A rushes to their office, carrying a large pile of papers, and accidentally bumps into Muse B.

🌲 Muse A received important intel that their target is supposed to be here tonight. Muse B shows up, having received the exact same intel from the exact same source.

🌷 Muse A and Muse B got set up on a blind date by a mutual friend.

🌱 Muse A found an item Muse B lost and has been searching for.

🍂 Muse A and Muse B are in a rush, but there is only one taxi left. They share the ride.

🌺 Muse A and Muse B meet at a concert, wearing the same band T-shirt from the last show of the same band.

🌵 It's a costume party! Muse A and Muse B show up in the same costume.

🌾 Muse A have been making Muse B's coffee for a while now at the local coffee shop. Muse A musters enough courage to tell Muse B their name.

🥀 It's raining, and Muse A forgot their umbrella at home. Muse B offers to share theirs.

To his credit, it isn’t the laguz that would keep him away. soren can appreciate that queen nailah’s respect is hard-earned and not easily kept, and he can feel that sliver of pride threatening to puff up his chest and go to his head if he focuses too much on that.

Aside from his reasons for coming to garreg mach in the first place, though, he has one important one to turn volug’s offer down.

“Ike is the only employer i’m interested in working for,” he says, omitting both that Ike ‘was’ and to call him only as ‘employer’ feels like a disservice to his memory. “If the queen is so desperate for advisors, i can recommend lady ena in the golden deer house. i’ve no interest in working for her, though i appreciate her thinking so highly of me.”

he pauses briefly. he works here, now, but the work is fundamentally different. he hardly considers it work, after everything he’d accomplished under Ike’s command. he hardly considers it work, considering the boon of the libraries he receives in return. It’s an exchange, yes, but soren the professor is hardly worth the same as soren the strategist.

What was the best path to achieve that, though? Perhaps it would be massaging his ego-- but did Soren even have one of those? Volug hadn't spoken to him enough to get a feel for whether that was the case or not. He was certainly renowned among those he had worked with, and Volug had the feeling Soren was well aware of that. After all, it wasn't just anyone who had the ability to get Skrimir of all people to actually listen to reason... or to strategy. Maybe just leveling with him would be the way to go. Soren wasn't one to mince words when he didn't have to. Directly explaining the circumstances would probably be more effective than flattery. Besides, he might just see straight through the latter anyway.

Ah, how convenient it was to be mistaken for a common hound. With the oversized wolves from Elyos running around, it was all too easy for Volug to get away with his stray dog routine. He could push the limits much further than he would be comfortable doing back home and still leave people none the wiser. It was just too easy, really. Sure, he was a little stockier than the lithe beasts Elyosians rode (and his fur was considerably less plush), but nobody seemed to think twice about that. To them, dogs were dogs were dogs, and there was nothing more to it.

If he was going to exploit this for his own gain, then who was going to call him out on it? All the people who knew better would likely keep their mouths shut, especially if they saw what was going on at present. Most of them would be happy to help him maintain his cover, and the ones that weren't... well, he could negotiate with them as needed. So if Volug decided to plop himself down in someone's lap for attention, who was going to stop him? Nobody.

He'd picked a perfect target, it seemed. The man's calloused hands knew exactly how to work their magic. Those nimble fingers worked their way into his fur, scratching at all of the spots Volug's less dexterous digits struggled to reach. It was perfect, really. He could let this charade go on quite a bit longer and be satisfied... but maybe he could have some fun with it, too.

It wasn't Fogado's fault he had become Volug's target. It was just bad luck on his part. He was the first person Volug had seen as he neared the little event. He'd been waiting, lurking in the shadows until he found someone just far out enough on the fringes that Volug could reveal himself without drawing too much attention. Fogado's only crime was trying to steal a moment for himself.

Volug had been planning this out for nearly an hour now, actually. He'd taken plenty of time to think of exactly what to say. Common tongue was difficult for him, but if he didn't convey this message perfectly, it might betray that things weren't as they seemed-- or rather, not quite what Volug intended to claim them to be. He couldn't hold back excitement at the thought of this silly little plan, but the wagging tail only made him look less threatening anyway. It helped, probably.

He was upon Fogado in an instant. A quick bound forward was all it took to reach the stray noble, though Volug didn't do anything more than draw near. Instead, he sat down once he got close, gazing upwards with pleading lavender eyes. He needed to look as cute and as sympathetic as possible for this to work.

"Please," Volug growled out in his deep, raspy voice, "I need your help. I've been turned into a beast by a curse. Only a kiss can turn me back."

Though he dashed in front of her to stop her, he backs off just as quickly. Yunaka stares, watching silently as he paces and chases after words he can't quite seem to place in order. She'd almost feel sorry for him, if the words he ends up saying weren't so wild.

"Wh-" Okay. Okay. Clearly there's something going on here she doesn't know about and you know what! She's okay with that! She's a bit tired of knowing what's going on in the shadows, if she's perfectly honest. "Okay. Laguz. Beorc. Got it!"

She has no idea what those words mean but clearly they're important. She'll ask someone later. Someone who isn't making every trained instinct in her scream on edge.

"No," Volug stated simply. "I tire."

And that was that. The wolf trotted away to go take his nap, content that he had instilled Yunaka with a proper understanding of what he was. She was less likely to yap about his presence if he made it clear it wasn't unusual, after all. Even if she did, if she spread the rumor of laguz being presence, it would likely end up a bit misconstrued-- he wasn't hiding, he was explaining exactly what he was to her. It would keep his identity safe, he was fairly certain. He would be mistaken for just another laguz, and the fact that he was pretending to be a dog in the town would probably go overlooked.

Oh, he'll never sleep again. He'll close his eyes and feel the hound's weight shifting in his lap, watch the body coalesce like smoke into new shapes, leaving just the sweet, beseeching beguiling eyes.

And the beast-man won't relent, even as Shinon props his body in the corner like a warped old board, even as his chest heaves with receding panic. Even as every eye in the room flickers mirthfully toward him--even then, the siren offers up a kiss.

The worst part is that Shinon thinks about it. He's been so thoroughly jarred from his pride, he thinks yeah, gimme a consolation prize for that. His eyes flutter. His heart mutinies.

But Shinon doesn't take consolation prizes. Not unless they're whiskey, and certainly not from--

Not from this guy. Fuck, it isn't enough for him that he's humiliated Shinon, set him yelping like a kicked pup in a room full of people who are s'posed to respect him--he's gotta make it complete.

Shinon scrubs the dumbstruck expression off his face. Shoves the beast-man aside, bursts from the corner like a shot. Keeps going in a dire straight line, out onto the nearest gaudy balcony.

Back into lupine form he went, making himself cozy near the corner Shinon had just fled. He had a hunch the archer wouldn't return, but just on the off chance he did, Volug would be there, waiting. Shinon couldn't stay out on the balcony all night, but it wasn't like he was going to come back to Volug of his own volition. Not after what had just happened. Not until he had time to recover.

Somehow, he manages to prevent the storm in his heart from affecting his expression. he focuses on volug instead. His is a dull curiosity, containing some assumption that soren can sense no ire from. Rather, is there a small feeling of companionship? From the beast? It's almost laughable, but it helps. soren won't let him see how much he hurts.

"Yes," he agrees. his voice is still very dry, but it's level, untouched by the emotions threatening to burst from within him. "That is correct. i did not have a choice in it."

he raises his gaze from his book to offer volug a meaningful look. he won't say his secrets out loud - maybe once he would, but this monastery is far too populated for him to trust that it would stay between only the two of them for long. Besides, he knows that volug likely already knows. Laguz had always seemed to be able to tell.

"Time changes most things," he says vaguely, "and, regrettably, leaves others untouched."

Then again, Volug couldn't imagine Ike being at the center of the issue. It didn't quite track for Ike to drive anyone away willingly, not unless they had done something particularly heinous. If Soren fell into that category, then surely Volug would have heard of it by now. Perhaps Soren had become unable to bear other members of the mercenary group. Perhaps Ike had been the only one trying to keep him in the little entourage.

Whatever had come between them, it made little difference. Soren was here now, and Volug had an invitation he ought extend in light of that. He didn't really need to pry into what had caused Soren's departure. He needed only accept that Soren had indeed departed and act accordingly.

"{Why not come to Hatari, then?}" Volug offered. He knew there was an issue to dance around here, one Soren would be uncomfortable discussing despite them both being aware of it. There was no hiding the prickling sensation along his spine he felt in Soren's presence. There was no hiding the scent that surrounded the mage. Other laguz may be slower to recognize it, but Volug knew it well, given the mixed society from which he hailed. Offering a place in Hatari based on heritage alone, though, would likely only drive Soren away. Volug had more convincing avenues to pursue.