Somehow, this place was even more unsetting in the snow.

It disturbed him, how little life was here. And the way the smell of smoke clung in the air long after the fires that created this place had died off. It was as if the air itself wanted to relight the flames.

He wasn't sure what had led his paws here today, except for perhaps a desire to know his surrounding territories as well as possible. He was as well get some exercise too, while he's here. So he picked up a jog and wove through the tall, ashen trees. They felt threatening somehow, or like a warning. Hopefully, it was all in his head.

He noticed with some interest the way his paw prints turned black between the snow and the ash. So he made sure to weave back over his tracks to make them more difficult to follow, just in case.

+10 Practice Speed (1/2)
+10 Leave a trail of confusing tracks (1/2)

CODE BY LARS & ART BY MOG

we slipped into midnight
like the death of the sun

The trees are ruined pikes, gnarled, charred limbs. Snow and ash mix, falling white and grey from the bleak sky. They settle along her spine, lying wet and cold against the groove of her back.

This place looks as the inside of her feels, barren, wasted, ashen. To the eyes she is the purest thing here, porcelain delicate and gilded bright. But her teal eyes are the ashen hue of the black and white mix footprints she steps over.

Her stomach twists a warning: be careful. The desecrated woods are wicked, sharp and ominous. The frigid wind whispers warnings against the gold shell of her ears. She spots him, jogging through the twisted boughs a shadow first and then caught by the light. Her paws crush the stems of charred flowers as she moves to step into his path, studying the man from beneath her ash-dusted lashes.

“”Where are you going?” It is a question of the lonely. She betrays herself, but holds @Gawain in her teal gaze all the same. As if proud, as if whole and not broken into a thousand shards.

His jog was cut short effortlessly by the lioness who stepped into his path. He slowed, then stopped altogether, and studied her for a moment. Living with medics had taught him to appraise everyone he came across, in case they needed help.

Where are you going?

Her question, too, surprised him enough that he had to make sure he didn't somehow know her. But no, he would recognize her if that were the case.

"Nowhere in particular," he replied with a smile, meeting her gaze easily. He sat in the ashen snow, curling his long tail around his paws. She didn't seem intimidated by him in the least, but he still wanted to ensure that he didn't appear threatening. "Just getting a jog in. What about you?"

@Eve

CODE BY LARS & ART BY MOG

we slipped into midnight
like the death of the sun

Ash and snow swirls at their feet, stirred up by the ambling breeze. The ground it cold upon her pads, it sinks deep, reaching for nerves to numb and irritate. Ash and snow cling to her lashes, turning them to acid against her skin. She breathes a sigh which rises like smoke between her teeth.

“Brave to exercise in a place like this.” The girl whispers and stirs the settled snow and ask at her feet. She looks around drinking in the desecration of fire and the white-wash of snow. It is desolation and peace lying uneasily together, tangled, botched. Something within her aches at the sight. Maybe she should fear a lone lion when they are each so far from others. But despite her starlight skin, she is as course as sand within.

“What happened here - do you know?” She asks the man, as she still looks at the ruined trees, gnarled and jagged at once. “I am sorry to have ruined your run.” She catches herself, rushing the apology out, a slow smile warming the corners of her ivory lips. “Have you run far?”

In response to her comment about bravery, he simply shrugged. It was a desolate place, sure, but not a particularly dangerous one. The danger was long gone, especially in the winter.

Something about the lioness gave him pause- perhaps the manner in which she spoke, or the way she carried herself. She reminded him of someone, but he couldn't quite place who.

"You haven't ruined anything," he replied easily, a quick shake of his head added for emphasis. It was just a jog, there had been no urgency behind it. "A fire, perhaps many fires. Maybe started by lighting." It seemed the simplest explanation of how a place like this could come to exist. "I live in the jungle, so it's a fair distance. Probably time for a break anyways."

@Eve

CODE BY LARS & ART BY MOG

we slipped into midnight
like the death of the sun

You haven’t ruined anything. He says lightly, his head shaking. Snow and ash stir with the gesture but she has begun to look past them. Even when they lie wet upon her cheek and lashes. Ash trails grey down her cheeks, appearing as tears of steel until she wipes them away.

It is hard to not feel the weight of ruination here. Where the land is so silent, so devoid of life and colour and noise. The wind blows too freely, only the skeletons of trees are left to break its run. It howls as it swirls and dances in wicked flurries. Eve shivers a sigh.

“Are you sure?” She asks @Gawain, though she feels the warmth of his honesty and welcome. It is like a campfire against looming night. He speaks of the fires and oh, her imagination is too terribly vivid. The world around them burns and all is turning to ash and dust. The girl takes a rugged breath and looks to where he stands, a great figure carved out of the desecrated woodland.

“The jungle is far from here.” Eve nods, “I came by there myself. It is warmer than here.” Her lips tip into a grin. “Would you like me to run some ways with you? I am Eve by the way.”

"I am sure," he affirmed with a strong nod. She hadn't ruined anything. He had stopped to speak to her of his own accord, she had not forced his paw. She had stepped in his way, but he had rerouted for less. And besides, no run could last forever.

"It is, both warmer and far," he agreed with a smile. Correct on both accounts. "It is nice to meet you, @Eve. I am Gawain. And if you'd like to run with me, you are more than welcome to do so." He'd never turn down a running partner, after all.

CODE BY LARS & ART BY MOG

we slipped into midnight
like the death of the sun

“Gawain.” She says his name, testing the feel of it between her teeth and tongue. She smiles, warmly, even as the frost begins to creep in the chilling air.Still the snowflakes swirl lazily and ash drifts along the ground, disturbed by paw and by wind.

“Thank you.” Eve murmurs, soft against the angular backdrop of the barren woods. “I find when I have been stood for too long, that the child begins to set in. Shall we go?” With a smile she steps forward, back upon the path he seemed to be following. “Were you headed this way?” Her chin tips toward the path, where darkness licks upon the edges of the rough-trodden track.

He offered her a soft smile. "Indulge the child, dear. It is a kindness to yourself, both past and future." Knowledge hard won, from forcing away those childish concerns for far too long. The inner child was there to protect you, even if it sometimes judged situations to be a much higher risk than they truly were.

She pointed out a direction and he nodded. "Indeed. That's the way home." Back to the warmth and thick cover of the jungle. He offered her a smile, then picked up a jog. From there, he'd allow her to set the pace. After all, he didn't want to pressure her into funding harder or faster than she was comfortable.

@Eve

CODE BY LARS & ART BY MOG

we slipped into midnight
like the death of the sun

She smiles when he tells her to indulge the child within herself. Her laughter is low, soft, light as petals upon the breeze. As she watches him with her teal gaze, she recognises the space from which he speaks, not that she has any experience of it, but it brings a nod of understanding to the lioness.

They move through the trees together, a plume of ash-dust rising in their wake. The snow lands upon her body thick and white. It is not long before it melts as her skin grows warmer with effort. She is lean, she is fit from her travels, but this is new land and the ground is uneven. After some time she reaches a crossing she recognises. It is here she passed a while before meeting @Gawain. Eve slows, her breaths rising as smoke into the air. She looks back to Gawain and smiles, “I recognise this place, I came through here. I may peel off here. I have a makeshift den some distance that way.” Her chin bobs in that direction.

OOC: I hope you don't mind if i start wrapping up here? <3