It had been a hard few months now, he had felt it in his bones when he last saw her. That he wouldn’t see her again; he had watched her go one last time into the night and woke up in the bed on his own. Staring up to the ceiling, the first night had been the hardest, the second more so. He felt the weight of her absence thoroughly. It had made him sick; it had made his life start to grow dull. The life that he had lavished upon her had quickly been sent into the empty void without her. He still woke up hoping to find her next to him again; only for the eerie silence of her absence and the soft gentle ticking of the clock across the room.

He had spent so much time lamenting that he had felt his magic grow stale and leave. He had lost much of the drive that was there. He knew he needed to move on but how do you do so when you were… so in love? The kitsune rubbed at his face, he was sitting around a fire on a beach in some far off distant place. Away from peregrande. A drink in his hand that had been half taken to his belly and a part of it on the ground as the mug wasn’t exactly built for his physique. He didn’t complain though, the drought was bitter and it helped him ease some of the pain to numbness. He wore his casual dress without the orange vest it usually came with. Too damn hot, though it sat next to him; neatly folded and ready to go in case something happened.

He wasn’t aware of the event that was ongoing but hearing the announcement his ears flicked and he’d stand up. Draining the drink and stashing the cup away while he picked up his vest. Having it folded over his arm the fox padded along. There were only a few people that stood out from the crowd to a degree. One woman that reminded him a bit of the shrine maidens out of joya and another that made him think of those from swimsuit magazines. What was strange is that both of them reminded him of the family members of his clan to a lesser degree. He seemed comparably colder and distant than the others around him. Hearing one of them speak, referring to the event that was ongoing the fox sighed.

”Didn’t even know that there was an event tonight. What’s it about?”

If it was something that didn’t help him relax and take it easy he wasn’t sure if he wanted to partake in it. If it was something that he could just lay back and listen to others talk or perhaps share some drinks he’d be more privy to it. He wasn’t looking to jump around and go crazy after all. It just didn’t sit well with him at the moment.

Skald’s ears flicked and he’d turn his head as the blond foxish girl seemed to be very excited at the fact that there were other foxes here. They were something of a rarity it felt and when the woman approached skald didn’t feel alarmed or threatened. Just a hollow numbness as he stared at them; he’d sigh a bit. Though it didn’t bring any form of relief. Excitable people were always somewhat… easy to guess how they’d act. She was probably going to get physical and… There it was. A hug around; just around him as the other moved out of the way. He didn’t seem bothered by the touch.

”Family reunion of sorts I suppose.”

His eyes adjusted and noted the tequila in her hands; it wasn’t a surprise to him that the other had been drinking. What else would you do on the beach at a time like this? Other than telling stories and the like. Hell parties had a habit of running like that and he’d rub at his neck, each of his tails flicking or adjusting at the closeness of another. To bella there wasn’t any warmth to skald’s body or touch. It was as though he was completely void of that required touch. There was no breath coming from his mouth and there was a strange ponderous movement for some of him like he wasn’t sure how he should be acting.

”curiosity brought me here, maybe not looking for a party in the same sense you would be.”

Skald’s eyes flicked over to Elyse; his eyes were cold as though they had seen too much. There wasn’t a spark of warmth hiding in them and there was a certain sadness edged deeper within. He seemed largely unbothered by the proximity to bella and when offered the bottle by bella he’d simply take one. There was a thin layer of amusement at the behavior or perhaps he was amused at something else?

”I’ll join. Don’t have anything better to do after all.”

There was a pause; he’d glance to Bella and then back over to Elyse. He didn’t introduce himself yet but that was one of the things he wasn’t sure of. Did he go through all the titles he was lavished on? Ones that felt hollow without… He’d brush that thought aside and just stick to his name. No war or conflict stretched out this far for that long and the echoes of what had been wasn’t within his capacity to care at the moment.

”My name is skald, what about you two?”

Skald would bump the drink he had accepted against the one that bella was still holding as though toasting it and took a drink thoughtfully. It didn’t burn on the way down and that numbness sat there. At least he could taste things still, at least he could feel the touch of others. But there was a blanket numbness to everything he went about that made him wonder how long that’d last. Or maybe this was just his life now until he either decided to get rid of the gift or accept it fully. He felt the ache of wanting to talk some more so he’d ease into a simple conversation.

”Been a long time since I’ve been to Hargeon. Trader caravans and all that. Are you two from around here?”

”Partygoer type then I take it?”

Skald’s carried himself like a gentleman; the physical touch of belle didn’t necessarily feel hollow to him. He did feel it but it didn’t illicit the response she likely wanted from him he felt. There was a slight flick of his ears as she asked to touch his ears. Another flick and he’d give a small shrug of his shoulders. The touch of his chin warranted his eyes flicking to her. She could see that coldness, the intense sorrow that was just behind the eyes and there was that soft gentle smile that hid the pain that he was still feeling.

”Go ahead. Mind the tips though.”

With the way that his ears were, the fur there was the densest and the hardest to clean and he’d rather them not be fussed with too much. Though if she would take too much time fussing over them he’d gently reach up to pull her hand away from his ears. Too much stimulation would be bad for him after all. It was something that a lot of his kind had to deal with. The tails were more the focus for many and while not as sensitive still suffered from the same. In regards to her question he’d shake his head.

”I’m not from around here, I just typically travel a lot; first as a merchant. Now to try to find someone.”

Skald would fiddle with an extra earring that he had been carrying around for a while, rolling it through his fingers and pondering lightly. So in essence of her question it was a ‘yes’ but maybe he wasn’t being more clear. His eyes trailed over to Elyse as with the way she held herself maybe she was more for simple not inebriated parties. Skald looked to the bottle that he was given, taking another sip out of it and exhaled.

”You could say I’m new in town, I had been here at some point years ago. Couldn’t tell you when.”

Skald shook his head; he couldn’t get that ache out of his chest in regards to his family before and now… He was hung up on the one that had his heart in a vice. But that was the same sort of pain he was okay with; one day they’d run into one another again. Maybe. He’d rub at his cheek and blink.

”How long have you been part of Blue Pegasus Bella?”

His tails adjusted a little bit and one of them would hold his drink for him. The others lazily listed around and it was the middle one that had him put his extra earring away into his pocket. Not wishing to lose it to the sands. Or the drinks he would likely take. The burning sensation of this drink wasn’t heavy like the rest; it was… Well non existent and skald would softly exhale. A forced act. He didn’t need to breathe at all anymore.

”Might need something stronger to even… feel that anymore.”

”Less shy and more reserved I’ll admit.”

Before he might have been a little standoffish, now he was simply just a bit more reserved. Thanks to the mix of his love of his life leaving and his vampirism the fox adjusted slightly. There was that pang of sadness in his voice in this regard but it was something he wasn’t about to delve into at the moment. Hee had felt the burning down his throat but didn’t feel the usual pang of liquor on his mind or in his stomach. His ears flicked as she fussed with them, she certainly knew her way around them. Maybe it came from the fact she had them too or…

”Loosen up?”

Skald pondered the meaning of this for a moment and it clicked; his face didn’t spread a noticeable blush or anything like that but what she was suggesting clicked with him and he’d rub at the back of his neck. A stiffness in it was only understandable. He hadn’t slept for ages and often felt tired without any real reason to. He didn’t understand the new needs of his body nor did he understand that his fangs were sharper and had a need.

”Mm. I’d be remiss to push myself past an offer like that…”

Skald dipped his head in a nod at her explanation; it made sense to him. It was something that he could enjoy and like; as if it got too hot in the summer he would be forced to go to the north or the like normally. But ever since his transformation the heat and the cold didn’t really bother him much anymore. The idea of her being a part of the vaunted blue pegasus for such a short time was a surprise; perhaps it was just because she wore it very well?

”Mm I see. Most of the guilds that I’ve been privy to I was with them a year or so. Glad that it fits you so well then.”

He failed to mention that both guilds he had been a part of or others that he had considered had all been dark guilds. There was no reason to bring the sour note into the air and it’s not like he was going to be snatched up by a neutral or good guild anyways. Skald however blinked when she suggested he sit with a pat to the log she took to reclining on. The innuendo that slipped in had the kitsune taking a drink; the burning down his throat was accompanied with a slight exhalation afterwards. Still nothing? It seemed to be that way before he took a seat next to her.

”I.. Do usually drink a lot of wine, maybe that’s the reason this isn’t burning as much…”

Skald paused for a moment and looked to the other fox; he was glad that he could have run into more of his kind. It wasn’t something that often happened if at all especially after his clan was slaughtered down to him. The fox didn’t feel that ache of his family on his back anymore; not once did they come up in his mind since his transformation. But there was that hunger that he couldn’t explain and couldn’t fill; exhaling again and setting the now half filled bottle down among the sand. Easing it into a groove in the sand; if half of the bottle wasn’t doing anything for him he doubted that the full thing would. But he would like to enjoy the next few hours in clarity for certain.

”I’m glad I ran into you here Bella.”