hope in the long run / joining

✧ — Living was... incredible.

He didn't know how he wound up staring at the isles floating among the bluest of skies, their presence unabashed and fantastic despite the inherent mystical strangeness of their very presence. He couldn't quite remember; his actions were a blur. The crevices of his mind held the blurry shape of a face, the mumbling of a voice speaking jibberish to him, light so bright that it overwhelmed his senses. There was little of definitive structure, but Paladin forfeited the worry from his heart. He knew who he was, what he was doing, where he was going. The clan that lived in the sky spoke to him through birdsong and starry chimes, calling him there in the presence of its home. The Coven, they were called. He didn't really know what they were or what he was supposed to do to get there, but it all just felt right. He was alive, in some fantastic way, and he felt at peace with it.

Hence, the canine painted of moonlight stood there under the spring warmth of the sun, simply content in staring up at the islands with a smile on his face.

✧ — He felt the presence of another individual before he heard it, causing the ethereal warmth to slip from his face and his expression to retreat into the reaches of neutrality. When was the last time that he'd spoken to anyone? Had he ever spoken to anyone? He didn't know... Couldn't quite remember. The mortals of the Agrelosi-Earthen realm were a mystery to him, so he was intent on making a good impression; excitement toward the prospect of making their acquaintance made him almost jittery. When the hyena approached on soil colored paws, Paladin turned to stare with wide ice blue eyes, his breath stolen by the windswept clan scent which hung to the stranger's pelt. He spoke with an unsure quaintness that the canine was immediately entrapped by. At the mention of friendship, a wide megawatt smile stretched over his face.

"I'll be your friend!" he said excitedly. Oh, this was so easy! There was no worries in his mind about being met with hostility, but the hyena's short words offered him access to his true desires, and he was more than willing to oblige. Moments into his life in Agrelos and he'd already made one friend! Thoroughly pleased, he nodded his graceful head toward his newfound companion. "I'm Paladin. I'd be absolutely thrilled to join you here, my friend. What's your name?" The pale canine preened, disposition sunny. He wanted to know everything about his first ever pal! Maybe he could give him a present in order to concentrate their newfound friendship? Paladin considered his options inwardly, the scales on his neck puffing proudly.

✧ — While it was true that he behaved with a certain naivety, Paladin was not neglect to observe the somewhat startled nature at which the hyena responded to his rambling. He wondered over the reasoning, but as he listened to the sharp speech which seemed to half-catch on the Covenite's teeth, he figured there was some kind of language barrier there. Should he be speaking something else? Perhaps the creatures of the Coven had acquired their own dialect, or maybe they weren't big talkers. Whatever the case, he was determined to make his first friend as comfortable as possible, therefore putting a hold on the endless questions which he so desperately wanted to be asking.

"Moscow," the reptilian canine repeated. It was a name unlike he had ever heard. Or... maybe it was the first name he ever heard? Beside his own, of course, and that of Naleren and her condemned brother Dherog. It was a good name. Paladin's bright smile never faltered, but his eyes brightened as Moscow requested that he follow. He eagerly kept in step with the hyena, his own gait airy, a surfer on the clouds. He could have easily flown his way up to the island, his wings tucked neatly at his sides fluttered lightly in the breeze, but he much preferred walking up with Moscow as instructed.

Instead of a massive staircase or ladder leading all the way up to the threshold of the first island, Paladin was surprised to see a boat docked on the ground down below, having just touched down from the sky. His pale eyes widened. Bewitched contraptions leading them to and fro the magical isles above? How incredible! Impressed, Paladin padded closer with his tail wagging, his nose catching the scent of someone nearby.

The fox was orange-red like autumn leaves, or blooming poppies in a summers field. It was a warm, fiery contrast to Paladin's own snowy white, and he thought it rather charming. At the vulpine's chiming he gave a laugh. It seemed he was wrong about the language issue, but it mattered little. "There's a certain tenacity in optimism, isn't there?" he responded merrily. For what reason did he have not to be enthusiastic? He was in the world! For everything that it was worth, he was thrilled. "It's an absolute pleasure to meet you, Mulder. It's a wonderful home you have here." Sparing a glance toward his hyena friend, Paladin took the invitation to board the vessel of water and air, eager to continue onward.