Following his meeting with the strange creature who called himself a god, Iskandar had taken several days to recuperate from the wounds he had sustained prior to his arrival on the Broken Coast. The multiple lacerations and bone-deep bruises littered all over his body had stopped bleeding and began to clot within the first day, and by the second moonrise many of them had knitted themselves cursorily closed. It was sunhigh on the third day now and, miraculously, his body felt almost good as new. But instead of feeling relieved and grateful, a sense of dread hung over Iskandar as he tried not to think about just how quickly his body had pulled itself back from the brink of death. Or had the strangeness of this realm been the reason he had not immediately died of a horrible infection, but instead recovered from his life-threatening wounds as if they had been nothing more than a collection of tussling grazes? Had the touch of the God's tongue been enough to spur his body into overdrive, repairing itself faster on its own than it had ever recovered under the care of a knowledgeable healer?

There was a feeling of disquiet within him, an unshakeable chill of sorts that had settled in his bones, nestled itself into the depths of his chest. His body felt healthy, strong even, but there was an alarming sickly sweet smell or taste that lingered at the back of his throat. Yet when he sucked in a deep breath with the intention of placing the origin of that perturbing scent, the only odors he could distinguish were the warm, peaty smell of undergrowth and the faint yet familiar aroma of the briny sea, crashing itself into a froth on the distant shore. Looking at the fresh pink scars that littered his handsome coat, Iskandar had a sinking feeling that even those would fade within a short period of time - too little time, he griped, uncomfortable just from allowing the thought to cross his mind. It was as if this strange, foreign land was impatient to wipe all evidence of his past from his body, render him a blank slate with which it could do as it pleased.

Regardless, there was something more pressing for him to deal with for the moment. The eccentric yet benevolent god who had received him on the shore that fateful night had bestowed upon him a quest of sorts, and Iskandar intended to carry it out - if only because there was really nothing else for him to do in this land. He had lived for so long with a purpose that the wolf knew not how to be without one. So he'd set out from the shore that morning, headed inland to find another of the god's... charges, he had said. Because there were others here like him. Iskandar had been mulling the idea over during his recovery period and decided that he approved of the notion. They would be no replacement of his pack (and still, three days after, sorrow panged desperately in his chest) but pack or not, Iskandar was decidedly not a loner.

He had entered a new territory at an elevation much higher up where sparsely-laden fields stretched far and wide, speckled with tiny yet hardy mountain flowers and rocks of countless shapes and sizes. The sky above was a clear blue, strewn with thin clouds, edged by a range of majestic mountains that reached up reverantly toward the sun. Though the air was brisk, Iskandar noted that the fields were beautiful, in a rugged sort of way. He rather liked it. Perhaps this would be a good place to stick around for a while. It was hardly defensible and had nowhere to take cover save for behind or below some of the biggest boulders, but the high visibility meant there would be no sneaking up on him, either.

But he had also noticed the trails of two others, their scents much more... natural than the pale god's had been. They smelled less like a rainstorm and more like... a wolf, Iskandar thought wryly, picking up the pace as he headed toward where their paths seemed to converge.

As he approached the loud sound of a raised voice met his ears, and he spied up ahead a lanky wolf laid out on a large flat rock, kicking his paws in the air in a fervor. At the base of aforementioned rock stood a tiny figure, and Iskandar had to blink a few times before conceding to himself that yes, that was a pup. How cruel was this realm that it would snatch whelps from their mothers, without even allowing them to cross the threshold of adulthood?

The pup's small voice rang out like the bright song of a bird, concern evident in her tone. "Are you alright?" she directed at the other male, and Iskandar couldn't help but concur. "Seconding her question," he remarked drily, drawing up behind her little form and looking over her shoulder at the mottled wolf, who was either in a state of rapture or seizure. Or rapturous seizure. "Do you need a healer or something?"

NOTES ; i agree, poor vidar

Pepper was soon joined in her confrontation with this stranger cast into turmoil. A sculpted statue of a brute not much different from her own coat arrived on the scene with a sauntered gait. If she were indeed as young in mind as she was in body, then the fragile being would of wondered if they shared blood, but such was impossible. The second male was too chiseled, too filled-out, to be one of her kin. Looking at the two of them together their differences couldn't be more obvious - a mouse standing beside a lion. Yet, despite the harshness that carried over with the steps of this hunter, he seemed to be as concerned about the suffering wolf as she was. Odd, but one couldn't be judged by their looks alone. After all, the scrawnier male that she first pictured as docile seemed absolutely livid.

His heart was pouring out onto the ground and stone. Puppy-blue eyes watched as his body rolled over until his paws connected to the ground; then he spoke. Words that were twisted to be much more complex than needed spilled into the air each burden. They spoke of heartache and whined toward a past that was out of reach. Perhaps others might find the babble needlessly annoying, but Pepper was far too empathetic for such dismissive emotions. Her senses could taste what bitter fear he felt whilst her very blood pumped along to its tragic tune. She couldn't begin to imagine what all the male had been through, but she would try her best to help.

Always to help.

For no one deserved to be wrapped up with these venomous thorns for eternity. No matter what his history or misdeeds, Pepper vowed to to do whatever she could. Such sympathy showed in the sad frown that aged the pup's youthful face. The delicate voice brought forth quivered with both typical anxiety and overwhelming emotion, "I've been here a long time, but there is no divinity of love that I've ever seen." Taking a small pace forward, the same tones continued, "But please, it'll be alright. I... we're here to help."

Hopefully the other didn't mind her including him on the offer. Why else would he come over if not to provide aid?

tags: Vidar Iskandar Ravi
words: 377
notes: ---