Torleik followed his new acquaintance's lead in rapturous silence. That this Ulrik character chose not to engage him in pointless, idle small talk pleased the water demon immensely. It wasn't that speaking to others irritated Torleik on a basic level, the stud simply found small talk to be cumbersome and without substance. If he wished to converse and share musings with another creature, he wished to do it with measure slowness and depth. A real conversation. Nothing less.
The air's chill steadily increased as Ulrik led them northward until flecks of snow whorled and danced in the moonlit sky. The newcomer to this land felt himself settling in comfortably the more the landscape changed and morphed into this snowy haven. Winter was a welcome, comfortable season for Torleik, snow-capped megaliths, frozen ground, blinding tufts of kicked up snow - these things he knew well. As the follower, he had opted to fall a few paces back from his guide and observe the stallion in front of him. Ulrik was a shaggy beast, interesting, Torleik thought, since those of science were not usually of a woodsman appearance.
His leonine tail, chest and face were blanketed in a semi-thick coat of fur; Torleik mused that must be helpful in this cold, though he could not imagine it would benefit the dark horse much in a heat wave. Turning his lightning-bolt marked face, he cast his gaze around to the land, seeing how the pristine white powder gave way to hearty tundra grass and a lake up ahead remained solvent. The moon's reflection off the bright white surface did not bother Torleik as much as Ulrik, for his eyes were accustomed to the glare and he knew how to hold his head to best compensate for that.
He listened in silence as Ulrik explained where they were and mentioned that his power had left him. What power? Torleik's curiosity was piqued, and the engineer's mad smile did nothing to sway him. His gaze next found purchase on glittering metal wreathed in snow. Cocking his head to the side, he walked over and nudged a piece of cold alloy, inhaling deeply. It smelled...strange. Righting his head, he realized the pieces of metal looked to be in the shape of an animal...perhaps a...wolf? Large face showing an expression that spoke to desire of knowledge, Torleik finally addressed his companion.
"This metal...what is it? Or what was it," he amended. He had not missed Ulrik's disappointed expression towards whatever this heap of broken things was.
So, this was the Aurora Basin. Home. Torleik was not sure of that. Something felt wrong about this place, though he could not pinpoint the source of his disquiet. Perhaps it was simply that the inhabitants of this place he had come across so far were all...mad, in their own way. Ulrik's madness seemed to be the product of a churning mind, however, and Torleik could respect that. To be so gifted meant something else had to be lacking, and why not sanity? The mind could only do so much, stretch itself so thin and function well so far.
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