the only way to get rid of

temptation is to yield to it

He was not the most pleasantly expressive wolf in the world. His face seemed to be stuck, honestly. I hardly realize that my own face tends to come off as...harsh, but hey, I can see that his face is just as harsh if not more. I don't see why he scowls when I knock the bug out of his paw, but I am not going to dawdle on it either. He may not answer me either, but I am not phased. Perhaps I am ignorant, or persistent.

I had offered him something in exchange for what I want, and I stare at him with my blues as I await his answer. There is not much else I can really offer other than the dragons of the swamp. Some call them gators, but really, they might as well be dragons or the closest damn thing to them. I await his answer, my head tilting slightly as I waited, my ears flickering forward as I grow impatient (it honestly isn't that hard for me to get impatient). He finally a gives in, and my tail gives a wag at his response. I offer a smug look in return, pleased that I am mastering the art of negotiation.

He tells me to keep up and I allow my form to lope forward and to follow him where he leads. I do not fear the situation, of wandering into a strange land with a stranger. I might feel a bit...uneasy, maybe some butterflies from the unknown, but ultimately the stars will be closer if I go to the mountain. I will be able to see them and hear them more clearly, more loudly. It is not hard to keep up, and I do not get distracted. I am able to keep up as we travel, my eyes watching how different the world was from Iromar. There was much more climbing, which was a very different experience from the mud and gunk of the bogs. I do find that it is a different type of taxing on my muscles, my young muscles at that, but I refuse to show any sort of soreness from the experience.

We come to a spot where the mountain juts out. I come to a halt and l look to him in this moment. He does seem to allow my to go forth, and part of me does wonder if he intends to push me off the cliff. I blink for a moment, before my black paws lift and my red form takes a step closer. I am not to where I am at the edge, but enough to be bathed in the light of the stars. I allow my eyes to lift to the stars, and I feel their embrace from this spot just, perhaps, a little bit closer. I find a smile on my lips as my ears hungrily flash forward, even though I do hear his deep breath next to me.

"Wow..." I say in a bit of a whisper, my eyes trailing all across the sky as if to read them, listening to them and trying to decipher whatever it is they are trying to say.

"Well then," I say with a slight huff, turning my head almost in an upset manner as I look to him, my blues searching for his garnets.

"You did not hear that? Did your parents not teach you? I can teach you, you know, you just have to listen," I say in a matter the fact manner, head tilting slightly. I do not share what the stars shared with me, but I do wonder if he heard them, and if not...if he had any chance of learning, or if it simply my bloodline.

Belhara