The cold hand of winter had pulled all the colors of the flora from the land and left lifeless trees, snow, and ice in its wake. The once lively river turned into unmoving ice and the shores now covered with snow. The sun's rays provided some beauty as icicles reflected the light and glittered.

      On the shores of the river was a slinky wolf; mask upon his face. His fur was a charcoal black with auburn socks and a auburn Mohawk like fluffy stripe running from his head to his tail tip. A pair of bright green eyes shone from the dark mask on his face. His body was decorated with some of the beauty that still was present in the land. A crown made up of white and red winter flowers was worn on his head. His mane was decorated with dark feathers that he had woven in.

      Julian had only recently arrived in these new lands, these lands that had more creatures than he had ever met. He had been isolated for so long, staying away from others like how his mother had raised him. He followed the trails of the deer and other hooved creatures that he lacked the true ability to hunt, his body fed only by carcasses and food brought down by sheer dumb luck or those too weak that they became easy prey for the young hellion.

      The slinky creature looked nervously at the ice as he was hungry but didn't know if the ice was strong enough to support his substantial weight. He hunted in the rivers during the spring, summer, and autumn though this was his first winter without his mother. He had been warned away from the ice when he was young, told of the danger that falling under the ice brought. But he was hungry and meals had been few and far between due to the few carcasses in the area and the beast's lack of hunting ability. His large frame was skinnier than it should have been at his age. The dark and hellion needed to eat and he thought that he could find something across the river. Perhaps a carcass.

REDVOX "VINNY" ABRAMO - cis male - goat-bat hybrid - harbinger

Vinny was really, honestly, starting to grow very tired of the wintertime. The snow storms as of late had been coming more and more often, and he found himself wishing that he had a thicker pelt to combat against the ice and winds that seeped into his bones. Hell, he had even considered, a few times, searching through the rooms in the fortress until he could find a jacket that would actually fit over his strange hybrid frame. Or, at least one that he could rip up enough until it did. It would hopefully protect his vulnerable thin wings from the harsh winter cycle, and that was really all he wanted. Still, he had decided to wait it out a little longer, not wanting to give Aslisk another excuse to make fun of him. After all, wouldn't he look rather silly trotting around in a human winter coat, fumbling with his wings and his hooves? He did feel a little bit jealous, though, that Aslisk could simply warm herself with her strangely acquired fire elementals. She could warm her body and everything around her, even if it was only briefly. He didn't know the full extent of the powers yet, but she certainly flaunted it enough for him to know that they were useful for such a thing.

In order to combat against the cold that attempted to freeze his bones, Vin had been going on walks around the territory more and more often as of late. After all, he had little time to contemplate the chill in the air when he was rushing along, getting his blood pumping and trying his best not to skid across ice he had missed by not looking down. Often these walks were beneficial, since they led to things such as prey, herbs, or random other old human items that could be made of use back at the fortress. However, this time he had stumbled upon something else – an intruder. Well, not so much an intruder, considering the male was on the outskirts of their territory, and could've not known that it was the territory of the Halls, but still, Vox felt his fur prickle when he spotted the wolf. He took a deep breath to settle himself before he moved over, walking alongside the river so that he wouldn't slip and collapse down beneath the freezing cold water. Once he was near to the oddly colored large canine, he cleared his throat and straightened up, trying to look as leaderly as possible, "Hello there... you're on th'territory of th'Halls of Hiraeth. Could I know your name? We don't appreciate strangers 'round 'ere." He was trying to pull off vaguely threatening, but really only got across mildly annoyed.

      The thin furred man had approached him from the other side of the river, Julian raised his right eyebrow. The masked wolf saw as the spine of the strange creature  straighten, Julian merely blinked. What was this creature doing? He might catch a cold if he didn't put a pelt.

      "I know, this is Halls territory," he croaked. The feathers and last decorations of the previous season swayed gently as a small wave of wind whipped around their bodies. "Hence one of the reason i've come to the borders." He sat down, which he regretted, the snow that stuck to his rump as he sat was uncomfortably cold. Julian stood up quick, still looking at the man. With a small smile that could barely be seen through his mask Julian did an awkward crouch; somewhat of a sit but where his rump didn't touch the ground. "Yes strangers like myself must be every so annoying to deal with," he grumbled.

      The petals upon his head swayed and quivered even in the slightest of winds, yet they still sat their upon his head; adorned it. Green eyes would blink softly in annoyance to the wind that dried them. Fur disturbed in its invisible presence as the soft stands of wind whipped around a slender shape. "My name is Julian," and i am no greater than your Gods, but no worse than your demons. If the winged man would let him join, he'd be content. Maybe he'd look for any opens spots in the medic genre? Or even continue being an Anatomist; further more his Autopsies to show everyone how the bodies of certain creatures work and what part of the bodies are called."I am here to see if there are any open spots in Halls of Hiraeth." He mumbled this next part; his voice barely a whisper. "And to get a good meal, im starving."

REDVOX "VINNY" ABRAMO - cis male - goat-bat hybrid - harbinger

The Halls being a known entity... despite this being something that had been occurring more and more often as of late, it still somewhat caught Vinny off guard when Julian explained that he knew he was on Halls' territory, and why he was here. It shouldn't really had been that surprising, after all, they had been steadily growing in size over time, had plenty of events with other groups up to this point, and were even having debates about allies and enemies and all of that important official business. They had all the major signs of a growing important clan, that would be known by name all around. Still, it took Vin a moment to process Julian's statement, just because of the fact that, for so long, he had grown used to the name of the Halls of Hiraeth being nothing more but the faintest of whispers on the breeze. This, however... this was so much better than back then, and Redvox couldn't help the toothy smile that curled upon his face, despite the fact that Julian gained a bit of an annoyed grumble to his tone.

Had it been earlier in the lifespan of the Halls, Vox might've been insulted by such a hostile response, but after spending so much time dealing with Aslisk? It was like a walk in the park, and Vin found himself shifting a bit before he responded thoughtfully, his body arching a little so that the cold snowy ground wasn't touching his sensitive belly, "Y'wanna join th'Halls, huh? Well, then you're in luck. M'name's Redvox Abramo, although y'can just call me Vinny. I'm the Harbinger around 'ere, and I'll be glad t'welcome ya in, Julian. If you're lookin' for a meal, we've got a stockpile of food back at our main buildin', th'fortress. Plus y'can meet some of th'others that live 'ere, like Aslisk, 'n' Roman." If Vin had known that Julian would possibly be interested in the medic slash cleric position in the group, he probably would've been overjoyed. After all, they didn't have an official cleric yet, and even though he was desperately attempting to learn as much about healing as he could, it was yet another thing on his plate that was stressing him the hell out.

  "Thank you, Redvox." He gave nod, and his ears swiveled forward. "I do have a couple questions though," he said. His mask bobbed up and down as his chin moved while he talked. The masked man set his paws on the edge of the river bank, and with his hind paws he sprung. Julian's paws hit the other side; where Redvox had approached him.

The black and auburn wolf looked around him, taking note of his surroundings. Before he spoke, Julian took a moment to think about the wording within his sentences. How could he ask this without being blunt.. he couldn't. With a metaphorical mind shrug, he opened his mouth to give his grumbled words. "I appreciate you welcoming me to Halls of Hiraeth and i will forever be in debt," Julian gave a small smile; hardly visible from outside the mask. "I'd like to become a medic in Halls of Hiraeth. Truth me told, what i lack in brute strength but i more than make up in knowledge of the body, the mind, and the practice of medical attention.." and i can teach the fighters of the group the certain spots to hit where it'll hurt. Julian gave a small chuckle. "Forgive me if that sounds narcissistic," the male gave a small huff, the wind carrying it away in a small cloud.

If this was a problem, he'd want to know. If it wasn't then he'd be more than overjoyed. "The stockpile doesn't sound half bad, Vinny."

REDVOX "VINNY" ABRAMO - cis male - goat-bat hybrid - harbinger

A medic. An honest to god medic. Bertille be praised, it seemed as though things might've been looking up for them. Vinny felt a large smile split over his muzzle when Julian asked, and he opened his mouth to speak, shifting a little on his large wings, but then the sound of flapping caught his attention. Looking up, he found himself relaxing a bit when he saw it was just Aslisk, and not some other unknown entity. Listening to what she had to say, the hybrid found himself snorting a little before he spoke, "Aslisk, be nice. We don't 'ave a cleric yet, 'n' even if he's not the best in th'damn world, anythin's better than nothin'." He flicked one of his large ears before turning back to Julian, explaining softly, "Our medical ranks 'ere are known as clerics. We've been severely lackin' on candidates as of late, so I'd be 'appy t'make ya one, provided you'll be around." He then gave a firm nod, as if confirming it for himself. He then turned, ready to lead Julian back to the fortress, when he heard the other's final question. Making a soft surprised noise, Vox chuckled a bit before mumbling, "Oh. Oh yeah, I should probably do that at some point... once we're back at th'fortress. Just follow me." He then turned, moving along towards the fortress as he slipped through the trees.

The hellion gave another small smile. "Trust me Vinny I'll be around," he looked back at the scaled being then to Redvox. He corrected himself after the 'new' rank had been introduced to him. "Well then, i'd love to be a cleric in Halls of Hiraeth." Julian could tell that Aslisk was not fond of him, he didn't mind that. He didn't expect everyone to absolutely adore him; didn't need that distraction.

Julian followed the man, his mask bobbing as he walked. The hellion gave one last glance towards the creature, a glance that would probably annoy the woman. Your not a fan of me, nor am i to you. But i suppose your.. tolerable. I don't expect your gratitude, and quite frankly, i dont need it. Listen to your Harbinger. Julian wove around a couple tree, the feathers and petals swaying as a soft gust of wind danced past them.
"Thank you again, Redvox."

(out)