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[Wilde]

It was the clicking of claws on stone that woke Rianali from her light nap. Stretching slightly, leaving her eyes closed, the young woman yawned.

"Did you close the door, Mistra?" she asked, her eyes still closed.

She had left the door ajar when she came in because she was expecting company shortly. Said company had been trained to close the door when she came in. A cold nose thrust gently into her arm and a flash of amused reassurance on the edges of her mind answered her question.

"That's a good lass," Ria said with a smile, twisting herself up onto one elbow so that she could scratch her Dire's ears with the other hand, loving the feel of her wiry fur.

The great silvery wolf obligingly laid down on the floor next to her rider's bed so that the woman could reach her ears more easily, eyes closed complacently, enjoying the tactile contact. After a moment, Ria slid herself off the bed and settled against Mistra's side, feeling the thump of her heart and the fwoosh of her breathing.

"It's nice to be home for a bit, isn't it?" the woman asked, letting out a calm breath.

She loved being on a run, but it was nice being here, among her few knickknacks and the musky smell of her companion that remained on the bed linens in the room even after being away for a week or more.

Mistra answered her with a gentle lick to her face, and a wash of calm acceptance tinged with hunger. That made Ria laugh and sit up.

"You haven't eaten since we got back, have you?" The hunger returned, and Ria pulled herself to her feet. "Alright. Come on. Food and a bath. For both of us, I think. You first, though."

Mistra got willingly to her feet again and trotted after her rider, pleased to have someone that looked after her so well. The silver streaks in her fur gleamed in the lights that they passed, and blazed brightly against the darker grey as they moved into the bright autumn sunlight.

Ria walked with a hand on the canid's shoulder, a customary means of keeping contact when she wasn't riding the tall, muscled creature. Her fur was wiry, but soft to the touch, thicker than most Moonrunner hides, but not nearly so thick as a Sundasher's.

When they got to where they were going, Ria clambered up the fence to sit on the top as Mistra paused a few feet back, ran and vaulted over it, landing elegantly on the other side.

"It looks like there's some prey for you on the other side," Ria told her, settling in to wait on the edge of the fields.

A scathing emotion was the reply, and Ria laughed as the Moonrunner loped off at half speed toward the other side of the Dire hunting fields. It was rather the feeling she thought her father would have had if she had told him how to care for his Duskstrider when she was young.

"Good hunting!" She called after Mistra, who flicked her long, sturdy tail in an acknowledgement.

[Zinc]

How many places and how many hallways had he wound through? Forge glanced about the one he was currently in. It wasn't lined with carpets or furniture like some of the other places had been. The cool tile that carried the echoing sound of his boots was a light shade of creme and reflected the lights from the high windows. Forge brought a hand up to his hair and ran it through the messy half-curls. It was starting to get long again, he noted with faint disdain. He'd have to take some shears to it soon and get it cut. He glanced up at the windows that led to outside. Or maybe he'd just let it grow out for the winter...

He shook his head at the thought. No, he'd cut it before the Hatching. He would still be working with the forges of the Academy, regardless of whether or not he bonded when the dragons spilled out onto the sands. That would be a momentous event...He thought with a tip of his head. He'd never seen a dragon hatching before. His mother said she'd attended one as a spectator with her own mother, who had been bonded to a Dire Wolf instead of one of the pristine beasts that were being born.

Forge had never met his grandmother or her bonded. She'd died in a battle a year before his mother had married his father. He looked up as a new scent reached his nose when he turned down a hallway. Musky. Deep, like an animal. He turned his head, every now and then he heard a low bark. Ahead was a large doorway with more reflective windows that let in light from the outside. Where was he now? He strolled towards the door, figuring it wouldn't hurt too much to keep exploring the vastness of this place. Putting a well muscled shoulder into the door and shoving it open, he found the well oiled hinges of the massive panel of wood swung with great ease. He also noted that there were claw marks scoring the wood, as well as down near the corner what looked like where something had been chewing on it.

He raised a brow before looking at the fields beyond. "Well, well." he said, raising his brows in surprise. Great Dire Wolves and their handlers were out in the fields beyond. What appeared to be half-tamed rams and big-horn sheep of the mountains roamed through the fields in flocks that warily eyed them all. Fodder and prey. He noted watching one silver streaked wolf leg her way towards the herd. He paced out into the field with easy strides, his eyes focused on the she-wolf and watching her movements. She was quite graceful, and it made him wish he'd known his grandmother's Dire all the more.

He leaned against the fence that hedged the field and smiled as he watched her and the rest of the packs roam about. Quite the interesting beasts. He'd seen plenty of dragons, but it seemed the Dires liked to keep to themselves.

[Wilde]

Mistra watched a small herd of sheep in a corner, away from the other Dires that were about. One small ram limped behind the others, and the great wolf gave a pointed grin. Leaping after them, she set them to flight, running from her sleek silver form. The small ram she had her eyes on stumbled as it started away.

She set upon him, catching his back leg above the hoof and downing him as his kin fled. Pleased with herself, she lit into her meal with gusto. The thick wool was no problem for her, as she ripped through the less-guarded stomach for the soft warm flesh and blood there.

Ria watched her the entire time. The woman loved her bond's efficient hunting, though she knew Mistra prefered hunting in the open terrain of the forest. They would have to go on a hunting trip in the forests around the city in a few days. Mistra would like that. Assuming, of course, that they didn't get sent out on assignment again.

Mistra, her muzzle and paws wet with blood, trotted toward a corner of the fenced field that held a deep pool. She neatly washed herself off in the water there even though Ria had promised her a bath (dried blood was very very to get out of her wirey fur, she remembered dimly), then started back toward her rider.

With her keen eyes, she noted the muscular, dark featured man that leaned on the fence near Ria. The woman had obviously not noticed her company, Mistra noted. Ria was too busy watching Mistra herself to notice much else. To remedy this fact (and because she liked to meet new people), Mistra altered her course so that she ended up in front of him instead and sat cheerfully down on the ground a couple of feet on the inside of the fence, tail thumping as her tongue lolled in a wolfish smile.

Ria, noting this mildly odd behavior, turned to watch her dearest friend's new course, and then saw the man. She judged him older than herself, but not much. Muscular and handsome, he seemed to be watching her Dire, which wasn't terribly unusual when one of the large creatures approached someone. Smiling slightly and shaking her head a bit, she pulled herself up onto her feet atop the fence, and strode quickly along the top until she was a few feet from where the man was leaning against another section of it.

"Hello," she called to him cheerfully, sitting back down as Mistra yipped happily at her. "How are you? That silly pup there is Mistra, and I'm Ria. It's a pleasure to meet you."

[Zinc]

There was something deep and primal about watching a wolf take down her kill. Even from where he stood in the cool day, he could see how she moved and how she ran. Every movement had a purpose, every motion, every flick of the ear and glance of the eyes was searching for the smallest of details he couldn't discern from where he stood. The herd watched her warily and ran in fear as she struck forwards. He lifted his hand to shield the sun from his eyes as he watched Mistra surge forwards after her quarry. She moved smoothly. Fluidly. She reminded him of the water that slid over steel when he quenched a blade, though she lacked the ruthless shine of blue steel. There was more life to her.

She had her fill of the ram she had brought down, a male with a limp in his limb, and a snowball's chance in hell of living through the encounter with the Dire wolf. A few long spans of minutes later, the Dire had lifted her head, the silver tainted by a bright flair of scarlet that dripped from her long fur as she stepped away from the kill, leaving it for a lazier Dire who would have preferred scavenging to hunting. She trotted away lazily, her stomach bulging with her new meal, and towards a far corner of the field. Tipping his head to watch her as she went, Forge saw her submerge herself into a deep pond he hadn't noticed before. She rose from the water, and shook out in the typical canine fashion before trotting off again through the tall grass.

Suddenly the wolf turned her course, her head rising as it looked to him and her paws carried him her way. Her long legged strides brought her to him in no time, and he watched, falling still as she sat before him, her mouth pulled in a wolfish grin. He tipped his head at her, his own lips forming into a smile at the thumping tail of the wolf. He held his hand out for her to sniff at, knowing that not all wolves were friendly, despite appearances. When she seemed to have accepted his scent, he raised a hand to rub the Dire's ears affectionately, her fur still damp beneath his touch.

"Hello, proud huntress." he greeted, his soft smile turning into a vague grin. "You were quite impressive earlier I must say." He commented, rescinding his hands as he heard a call from nearby. A woman was waving to him and heading their way, quite intriguingly atop the fence boards. No doubt the Dire's own handler. "Hello." he replied with a nod and another smile. "Nice to meet you both. I'm Forge." he introduced himself with an inclination of his head. "Mistra hn, that's a pretty name for a lovely girl." He smiled at Mistra.

[Wilde]

He was polite, this one. Mistra noted his scent as he presented his hand to her, sharp with the bite of forged metal and sweet with sweat and a complete lack of fear. Pleased with that, she moved into his arms' reach. She could only be more pleased as he reached up to gently rub her ears. The great wolf's eyes closed, allowing her to enjoy the feeling to the fullest, without the distraction of vision.

"You've done it now," Ria told him with a grin. "That's her favorite spot. She'll love you forever."

Unless I tell her not too... she thought, suppressing a shudder at the memory that came with the completion of that thought: Or you attack me.

She and Mistra were not warriors, though they were capable of fighting, as almost all Dire riders were. Mostly they took down game, either for their own food or to help feed villages or homes they had come across on their runs. But once, when they had been posted in the south for a time, they had made friends with a young man that had turned out to have quite a temper. Much larger than Ria, he had gotten the advantage of her, pinned her arms and trapped her legs before she could get at him. Mistra, feeling the fear and anger in their bond, had come running. The man, of course, had not stood a chance even against the then-younger Dire.

Ria still had nightmares about the way his blood had spurted onto her face and chest as Mistra viciously ripped his throat away.

Mistra's eyes snapped open and she turned to her rider, rising and rearing to put her paws on the woman's leg against the fence, yipping softly. This dwelling on negative things simply would not do.

Returning to the present and her worried wolf and the sun on her face, Ria smiled down at her. She scratched Mistra's chest firmly.

"I'm fine, girl," Ria reassured her before turning back to their company. "She is beautiful, isn't she?"

Mistra, calmed by her reaction, sat on the ground again, though her tail did not beat the ground quite as heavily as it had before. Her ears flicked between her rider and the stranger, wondering where things would go now. Sometimes Ria got reclusive when that memory caught up with her, sometimes not.

[Zinc]

The Dire moved forth, that was a good sign. She approached him with what appeared to be no malice in her stance. Her hackles were flat, her ears were up and alert. All the better, she leaned into his touch with what could only be undeniable happiness when he rubbed her ears. He let himself give a rough chuckle at her sudden change in demeanor from joyful to sheer ecstasy at the scratching. He kept one hand rubbing at one of her ears, the other fell down to his side and he cast a half smile at Ria. "Is that so?" he asked glancing back at Mistra.

"Well..." he said, still smiling. "I think I can deal with affection from your lady Mistra. So long as she doesn't chew boots or....arms...." he added, "as a sign of her love." He let his arm drop, thinking he would let Mistra cope for a few tail thumping moments without his attentions. He hooked his arms on the tall fence behind him, and looked over at Ria, about to say something, but she suddenly looked...uncomfortable. Whatever it was, her Dire sensed it too, and stepped forth to place her paws on her thighs, letting out a high whine.

For a moment, he was tempted to ask, but he knew better than to pry. A man, or a woman's mind, in this case, was one of the only true fortresses that a person had. Sometimes they weren't meant to be permeated either, even by hapless questions. He leaned his head back on his neck, letting the sun shine down on his face and dark hair, but his eyes slanted sideways to watch Ria as Mistra pulled her from the confines of whatever dark thought had caught her. His mouth quirked downwards ever so slightly, but his worry may not have been warranted. Perhaps this was a common occurrence?

Mistra certainly seemed to snap her out of whatever it was quickly, the yipping whine being more than enough to draw Ria's attention from the ten-thousand mile away feature they'd been focusing on prior. A quick scratch of the chest and the typical 'I'm fine.' and she was looking back at him smiling as she had been when they'd met just a few moments before.

'You don't need to ask.' he reminded himself and cast a ghost of a smile at Mistra as she settled back down on the grass. "That she is. I've seen a few of them here abouts...But..." he paused and considered Mistra for a moment. "She reminds me of a fine blade." He tipped his head, scratching briefly at the stubble on his chin. "Bright, striking in the light. Gilded at the edges, and fantastic when handled correctly." He glanced at Ria and offered a smile. "You seem to have done the latter well." He offered the compliment. "Here when she walked up I was afraid she'd growl and give chasing me a go."

[Wilde]

"Indeed she does not chew arms or boots as signs of affection," Ria assured him with a smile as a faint wave of amused annoyance reached her.

Mistra looked from her rider, still atop the fence, the wind tossing the ends of her long, dark brown hair, to the stranger who smelled like hot metal. Ria plainly got the 'Does he really think that of me?' from her features, and wondered if their new acquaintence would, too.

The wolf's ears flicked back slightly as she looked at him, and she voiced a low whine. She stretched her neck toward him, looking absolutely pitiable. She watched his dark eyes with her own, hoping he would think better of her, and quickly.

"Aw, now look, you've upset her." Ria grinned at him to show that she didn't really mean it. Another ear scratch would put the silly creature right. "She'll mope for days."

His description of her beloved companion struck a chord in her, and left a pleased, bemused smile on her face. She had never seen it in that particular light before, but it seemed...right, somehow.

"That's...beautiful," she told him, her voice low. Ria always loved it when others could see the beauty in the great wolves that she could. "And thank you."

She nodded her head to accept his compliment, then laughed as Mistra voiced another small whine at his last comment.

"Mistra only chases prey or dangers," the rider told him. "You aren't fast enough to give her a good chase, quite apart from the fact that she just ate, and you offered no evidence of violence on your approach. Though, to tell you the truth, I know Dires that would chase you as soon as look at you. Some of the Sundashers, particularly, tend toward that vein."

[Zinc]

Forge put a hand to his chest, giving a mock sigh of relief. "Oh, well that's good then. But regardless," he glanced at Mistra and his mouth quirked back into an easy smile. "I shan't be leaving any boots around where she can find them. I hear it doesn't take much for a canine, Dire or pup alike, to develop a taste for leather. Even if some rather dirty feet have decided to find themselves in the boot prior." But regardless, he was glad to know that Mistra seemed to be rather easy going, and wouldn't be offering a quick nip any time soon, friendly or otherwise. Even if she meant no harm, her rather sizable jowls were enough to make anyone wary, especially when they saw the fangs in her happily lolling mouth.

Power. That's what the wolf emanated. A quite power that flowed and moved easy. His vague smiled widened at the wolf's whine at his words. Apparently she was quite a bit smarter than he gave her credit for. Showed what he knew about the Dires and the Dragons of the Academy. He knew that they could speak, and he knew that they could think, but he wasn't quite sure what the extent of that range was, having never really sat down to a conversation with one before. "Mope for days you say?" He said, pushing off the fence. "Oh dear, I suppose I should fix this then." He reached out a hand to rub at the side of Mistra's face and up to her ears. "My dear Mistra, I should hope you accept my apologies." He inclined his head ever so briefly in another sign of his atonement.

He glanced at Ria from his attentions he was giving to Mistra. He gave a wry smile and a vague rumble of a laugh. He supposed it could have been taken as beautiful. To him, it sounded rather corny. Then again, he was used to talking about things in a smithy's terms. "Ah, just something that jumped out on it's own. Silly old blacksmith like me can't help but compare things to blades. I suppose this was one of the times that the comparison worked." He gave a half shrug of his shoulders.

"Oh that's good then." He said. "I don't think I'm either of those things. At least I hope not to be prey to something as intimidating as a Dire Wolf. I don't suppose that would be a good way to go." He gave a thoughtful frown. At the very least, he figured he probably wasn't supposed to be out here in the fields without a Dire of his own. So he wouldn't have blamed a Dire if it did decide it was a good idea to chase him. The more he thought about it, the more foolish he felt for walking out here without something that would have defended him from several hundred pounds of playful or angry Dire wolf.

[Wilde]

"That I can understand," Ria's eyes smiled at his dramatizing. "Even well trained creatures can fall into bad habits at times. And leather is an excellent material for chewing. Or so I've been told."

Mistra slid into her expression of easy pleasure at his attentions again, and she licked his cheek, moving slowly so as to not startle or scare him. Ria had taught her long ago that some people were afraid of her kind, and that she should be careful and slow around those who weren't Direbound. This boy didn't have the smell of her kind anywhere on him. And well humans should be scared of Dires! They were poor prey, couldn't run and their bones had no chance against a wolf's jaws, much less all the soft fleshy bits. She had known Dires that would attack those unbound as soon as look at them, though she was hardly one. As long as people liked her and Ria, and Ria liked them, then Mistra was fine with them. Especially when they scratched her ears like this one did.

"Oh, she definitely likes you," Ria told him, laughing as her easy-to-please companion lavished in this fellow's attentions with no reservations. "But then, she likes everyone. Not like some Dires."

Silly old blacksmith? He certainly looked like a smith, with the musculature she could see on him. And she understood what he meant. She thought of many things in terms of how they related to Dires and her work with Mistra. Still, Ria liked the comparison between her friend and a sword, though it was not entirely accurate. Mistra could and often did weild herself, either in sync with her rider, or against her will.

"Trust me, she very much agrees," Ria assured him, though she jerked her head toward a few Dires in another section of the fields. "Though not all Dires do."

Noting his frown, she her thoughts followed his, wondering whether he thought perhaps he was in danger.

"Don't worry about them, though. Most of the riders of more...volitile Dires keep them away from anywhere unbonded humans come anywhere near. Most Dires won't mess with other Direriders or dragon-bonded humans. And most Dires listen to their riders in such matters, even if they have the inclination to chase humans for one reason or another."

[Zinc]

Forge gave Ria a half smile, and glanced back at Mistra. "I'm glad you understand that. My dad had a pup, nothing like your fine lady here, back when I was no more than a pup myself. He left holes in all of the aprons my father used for work." he shook his head. "We had to learn to put them out of reach. But he eventually grew out of it. At least we thought as much, though from time to time we'd find teeth marks in boots, not that he was ever around when we discovered them. He was smart enough to know to slip away when he did something he knew he'd get into trouble for." he shook his head. He'd been a smart dog. Perhaps a bit too crafty.

His smile grew into a grin again when he saw how suddenly at ease Mistra became when he gave her a bit of attention. She really did like it when she was given affections, or at the very least, liked having her ears scratched. He was still glad she wasn't one of the temperamental Dires. Some were like cats, they would enjoy the attention for a few brief moments, then turn and bite. Usually it was the handlers that were more familiar with when they would turn and bite and when they were in the mood for attention, rather than bypassers like him. "Well I'm most definitely glad to hear that." he said, leaning back on his heels as Mistra suddenly licked him on his face. Dire drool. Lovely. He reached up his arm and swiped the back of his hand across his cheek with a chuckle.

"Well that's good then." He said, but he followed the movement of Ria's head to look out across the fields at some of the other Dires that were roaming about, playing with one another, lazing in the sun, or wrestling with their own handlers. It seemed that all the Dires out here had their handlers accounted for, so her comment about the Dires that would be volatile, but listen to their handlers regardless made him breathe a silent sigh of relief. Not that he figured any other handlers, or Ria and Mistra for that matter, would let him get mauled by a Dire any time soon.

((Gah. Terribad post. Sorry D:))