Of course it had to be this night. This night when the moon hung just right in the sky, that the God chose to summon Ashamin.

To be clear, Öde fully understood that he was not the one being summoned. His title was not the HARUSPEX that was being bellowed across the tundra. His was not that word that thundered into the myriad of caves that lingered near the mirror, where all the disciples kept, where Öde himself stood and lived and cursed the new night.
Yet, how could he ignore something so tauntingly powerful, something so tantalizingly godly? Perhaps he was not the title that rose this clamor, but he was part of it, or he intended to be.

Except he'd rather not.

"Damnit," he swore into his crevice, bloodshot eyes glaring into the dark. "They do this on purpose I swear it." After a pause and a few more inaudible, choice curses whispered under his breath, Öde hobbled out of his hollow and slowly but surely made his way towards the electric gathering.

His movements were slow and clearly pained, much as they were the evening Ashamin called his lesson. There was a price to cheating death, and a cost to battling gods (where most of his current renewed scars were earned), and Öde paid it twice a month. Gritting his teeth through the agony the dark steed limped close enough to hear and be seen, but otherwise did not intrude further. It was not his place nor was he in the health to do so. He only even left his cave because of the god, though unfortunately it was on these poor terms. He had seen the Spark at the first fight, but that was different, not so intimate, so he surely couldn't miss this opportunity now.

openly Öde watched, even as he bled and his breathing shook where the memory of the ice spike knocking free a rib which in turn deflated a lung hung heavy on his mind. Not to mention the burns across his back and chest, staining the black blacker.

Öde had to resist a laugh at Ashamin's expense as the Time God ribbed him with his tongue better than his horn; the sound instead came out like a strangled snort, reminiscent of a pig's oink. He tried to mask it with a rough cough and a groan, the latter not really being a charade as the jostle to his organs renewed that endless agony he endured this evening.

Surely if Öde were on the receiving end his mirth wouldn't be so free, but he wasn't, and so it was. In fact, quiet as he sustained himself, the broad grin nonetheless flashed across his lips, exposing his teeth like a hungry wolf as he clung to his distance and whatever shadows the night had to offer. Everything considered though, Öde was sure he was a bit more open to such casual conversation with a God. True, he was expecting something a bit more, well, godly. Proper perhaps, professional surely, like all leaders were supposed to be, figure heads to inspire and rouse the herd to motivation and action when the need came. It was hard to love sarcasm, especially when the frigid north already bit you often enough.

So Öde was not immune to the disappointment that he was sure Ashamin was feeling before the god, accentuated by his own stubbornly cordial replies. Simultaneously though, Öde relished the manner of the Time God, for it felt so, so, equal. If the God before them could be at such ease in conversation, then it felt even easier for Öde to reach at the heavens and grasp the godlihood for himself. The notion widened his smirk, soon lost to a wince when next he breathed.

Yet the shadows did not hold Öde secure, and the God did place him beneath his teeth. It was such a simple, short, smooth question that Öde almost didn't notice it. he only did because his attention was rapt on the deity, obsessing over him in ways similar, yet disparagingly different from Ashamin. At once the realization of being addressed dawned on Öde and in response his head lifted suddenly. the movement pulled taut parts better left loose, and in response pain flared so cruelly he shrunk into himself even further, his bloodied gaze glazed over. His teeth grit before parting to shovel out a reply, doing his best to seem at ease and conscious he was utterly failing at it. Was this how Ashamin felt every time before the mirror?

"I did," he affirmed, and thought to leave it at there. Surely that'd be enough to satisfy the God, but now that he had managed to garner some attention he was reluctant to let it go, however poor his grasp and his condition in the spotlight. "And I have, but then i don't," he tried to stay cool and casual, as if immortality were a walk in the park for someone like him, and like the Spark.

In the end that's all it really was. He died, and then he didn't any more, and all the while he hurt for it and it was both a reminder of his godhood and his mortality, loving and loathing it like some sort of hostile relationship.

Then, just like that, the spotlight turned from the god-child and he was left to suffer the pains of his immortality. He grunted, not sure if he appreciated that fact or not. Still though he lingered, for exposed or not, addressed or not, it was enough to bask in the presence of their god. There was worth to it, aside from just Öde's compulsive need to draw in the power of the immortals, there was also knowledge being swapped around. For instance, he'd no notion they had a tent at all, or why on earth it would be useful or necessary, but it had to be something if a god was willing to mention it, right?

Öde didn't have long to wonder because the Reaper soon picked up the conversation, short as he was with his words. He was hardly revealing though, much to Öde's disappointment, a feature which revealed itself in the frown of his lips. The moment passed however as Deimos echoed some of Öde's curiosity on the new lands and the horses that came from them and their gods, now dead. The god relayed more snippets of valuable information regarding it all, but it was nothing new, just expectations confirmed - no more portals, so no more lands, no more riftians, and no more gods. On the one had Öde was disappointed for the news, but on the other, he was utterly impressed with the ability of his own patron. Could Öde one day be so powerful?

Turning his head to watch Ashamin now as he spoke, Öde was startled to find a purple and black mare lingering in the shade with him. Snorting, Öde lifted his head, eyeing her. She was not an unattractive mare he decided, and her presence, though unnoticed until now (how long had she been there!?) was not obtrusive, so he made no move against her. Besides, Ashamin was saying something interesting for once, so Öde's ears pricked to listen.

Öde's reaction was quiet, but not so different from the Time god's which came swiftly in turn. Though, Öde had to admit, wolves were certainly a good choice of protection, but he supposed he was biased on that aspect - the recognition made him grin. Choosing to hold his tongue lest he draw unwanted attention to himself, Öde mulled over the questions in his head. Real wolves knew their pack through scent and sound, perhaps sight to some degree. Scent wouldn't be plausible with an essence, Öde guessed, not could he imagine how to alter one's scent to make them accepted - it could be learned he supposed, but most wolf packs were family, born into it, so their smell was already similar. Howling was a way they found each other and communicated - although it would be hilarious to watch new arrivals howl to enter, he supposed something like a set phrase could work, but that seemed like intel easily stolen. A meat offering, perhaps, he smirked.

"What do you think of wolves?" he asked the girl lingering near him, the voice so quiet only she could hear. It still pained him to even be here, and to talk was no easy feat on the agony his lung remembered, but sometimes Öde couldn't help himself. He certainly wasn't leaving, he'd already learned so much and he certainly would never walk away from a god or Ashamin being embarrassed, much less both at once. "I think we just need a better trained army," he murmured again to her, unaware of her role, but he meant nothing by the comment having been a soldier before this and still a participant on the battlefield, as was the haruspex. Then again Öde was use to relying on his physical and mental prowess, since his main magic kept it from others, he never really dealt in magical affairs and had no real items to his name, not any large want of them. He was a simple stallion in ways of artifacts, and he thought of the world simply because of it; he was young yet though.

Besides, it was better to watch Ashamin stew beneath the rough regard of the god. As much as Öde liked their patron more and more, he did not envy the haruspex his position any longer. Perhaps it would be smoother under the careful care of Öde's hooves, but he suspected the Time god was liable to generate sparks regardless of the limp-horned caller or not.