we could be immortals [Kharak]

[attr="class","pltxt"]
Much like the last time he had sought out solitude in an attempt to work through his feelings, not even five minutes had managed to pass before some idiot apparently decided it would be a wise idea to disturb him. Król let an infuriated growl roll from the pits of his stomach as the soft sound of footsteps came to his ears, lips curling back over yellowed canines as his unwanted company stepped up alongside him. Only a very good deal of self-control kept the Tundra brute from lunging and snapping the stranger's neck right then and there for daring to get so close to him, but he was still in such a volatile state that sarcastic words were quick to escape from his lips before he was truly able to gather context as to just who he was daring to speak to in such a brazen manner.

"To get away from dumbasses like you," he growled out, raising his orange gaze to meet the other male's. "Obviously it didn't work out-" Król stopped himself just in the nick of time, however, as he saw just how large the other male was, how he seemed to carry himself with a great deal of dignity and pride. It wasn't that the Thilas of Sethos was intimidated by the other wolf's size- he'd managed to quite thoroughly trounce opponents that were larger than him before, after all- no, what stopped more sarcastic words from escaping his mouth was the fact that this stranger seemed to radiate power and confidence, meaning that he could very well be the alpha of these lands and that Król could have very well stepped onto claimed territory without meaning to. Just his luck.

Whether the male really was the leader of an established pack or just one more cocky bastard making his home upon these lands remained yet to be seen, but Król wasn't very keen on the idea of endangering his life should the male take offense to his words and decide to call in reinforcements. He would not let himself be led to the guillotine so easily, not when Sethos needed his support now more than ever.

So it was that Król reluctantly decided to play nice, in the hopes that he would find out just what kind of leader this male presented himself as. Would he rise to the unknown challenge that Król was laying out before him, or would he prove to be just as weak as all the other alphas that called Anikira home? The Tundra brute relaxed his posture by the smallest of degrees then, his voice still gruff but lacking much less of a harsh edge. "Apologies. It would seem you caught me at a bad time." Which was the understatement of the fucking week, but what this male didn't know wouldn't hurt him. "Truthfully, I came here for some peace and quiet. Things have been...troublesome, back at home. Wanted to get away before I damn well snap and rip someone's fucking head off their shoulders." He would have gone into more detail at that moment, but a reluctance to reveal any of Sethos's weaknesses to a potential enemy kept his mouth tightly shut.

Instead he flicked his gaze over the other male for a moment, taking in every detail of his form and what kind of weaknesses he could see before turning his orange gaze back onto the brute's own. "I can take my business elsewhere, if these are your lands." The words were respectful, but not to the point of groveling or asking for forgiveness for his potential mistake. Król liked to believe that he had every right to be upon these lands, after all, surveying them and seeing if they were worthy of belonging to Sethos one day, and if this male dared to stand in the way of that agenda he would be cut down like all the rest of the weeds that called the mainland home. The Tundra brute could give less of a damn about how high and mighty this stranger thought he was, or what kind of position he had- if he was an enemy, he would be dealt with accordingly.

At least this male seemed of stronger constitution than the last one he had met upon his wanderings, he thought with a small smirk, shifting the center of his balance slightly as he stood there. "I should be getting back to my land and my duties, anyway." It was a hollow promise, at best- Król fully intended to stay here regardless of whether the male was comfortable with his presence or not, as he desperately needed a few extra moments of solitude- but he figured a little false modesty never hurt anyone. "I am Król, Thilas of Sethos. And you are?"

[attr="class","pltxt"]
Król could tell that he'd somehow managed to touch a nerve with his disrespectful words, even if the other male wasn't quick to show it, and for a moment a smirk almost appeared on his lips before he rapidly banished it. Now was not the time to be getting cocky, after all, not when there was a very real chance of having a pissed-off alpha on his ass should he choose to make the wrong move in this scenario. Ordinarily he wouldn't have cared, and in the mood that he was in he likely would have ripped anyone else apart by now, regardless of what rank they held or what organization they belonged to. For whatever reason, something was staying his hand with this male. Król cared not for most of the alphas that made the mainland their home, for half of them were weak and too eager to let emotions dictate their decisions- but this male was different.

He had not risen to the bait when Król had openly insulted him, as many weaker individuals would have. In fact, the only emotion in his eyes was that of a cool sort of indifference as he stood there, practically daring the Thilas to try anything. The confidence could very well have been faked, but the Tundra brute found no signs of any faltering as his orange gaze swept over the other male, no quivering of the muscles or a shift in stance that would betray the fact that this brute wasn't quite as confident as he seemed. Król didn't know whether to be impressed or infuriated by the level of self-confidence that was practically being rubbed in his face at that moment, but he couldn't help admitting that the tiniest inkling of respect towards the other male had wormed its way into his heart, something which the Thilas rarely showed to anyone else.

Upon Anikira, he hadn't found many wolves that were worthy of his respect- to see that this male was one among the few was a bit refreshing, if he had to be perfectly honest with himself.

Therefore, he did not rise to the bait when the male asked the question of why he lingered in Sethos if it was so frustrating, though his brows still knitted together in an exasperated frown as he met the stranger's gaze. "You would question my loyalty to my pack?" he rumbled, his tone deceivingly gentle despite the sharpness of the words. This male was beginning to tread upon dangerously thin ice, after all, and Król was not keen on letting such a slight go unnoticed. Anyone else would likely have had an appendage removed for even daring to question that Król wasn't as loyal to his pack as he made himself out to be, and even with the respect that still ran through his veins the Tundra was uncertain of why he was permitting this stranger to stay in one piece for such bluntness. Perhaps part of him wanted to hear the stranger out, even as he internally scoffed over the ridiculousness of such a claim.

As the words went on, however, the spark of respect that had become ignited within Król was quick to sputter and die. He was not appreciative of the fact that the male seemed to be trying to lure him over to a more easy-going lifestyle, especially when he was so used to a life of hardship- this brute, by comparison, had probably never had to work for anything in his life. Król had earned the scars that he wore- had practically become the wolf that he was today- through hardship and turmoil, and he had pledged his loyalty to Far and Saul knowing that they understood what he had gone through. To so quickly leave that behind for days that would be spent chasing after females and lounging around a desert paradise seemed like the ultimate betrayal, both to his personal beliefs and to the individuals who he had sworn his service to. This royal brat had some fucking nerve, to try and pull him away from that.

Instead of flying off the handle as he desperately wished to do, however, Król simply swallowed his pride as he stood there, refusing to show anything that could be interpreted as some kind of weakness to this male. He forced his words to come out as evenly as possible, even though annoyance spiked through his system with every syllable. "Your offer is kind, my friend, but I will have to decline," he said, smiling a smile that didn't quite manage to reach his eyes. "You seem to think that I am the type of pack wolf that runs at the first sign of trouble, that would jump from one organization to another like some kind of god-damn flea looking for a meal. But let me ask you, what kind of Thilas would I be- no, what kind of pack member would I be- if I blindly threw everything away when times got tough?" His orange gaze fixed Kharak with an odd kind of intensity then, his posture straightened and stiff.

"I'm supposed to be setting a god-damned example. What kind of example do I give by running from one pack to another, in a time when they need me most?" Król huffed out an exasperated breath then, swallowing thickly before continuing. "Troubles come and pass. They will understand that I need time to think on my next course of action, and I will return to them." The words sounded more like a promise to himself than anything as he stood there, a reminder that he could not keep running away from what troubled him in life, though of course he would be damned before he let the other male know even a smidgen of the truth behind his words. Instead he flicked his orange gaze back to the self-proclaimed king of these lands, his posture slackening by the smallest of amounts. "Forgive me. Loyalty is not something I treat lightly, but I would hate to part on bad terms. You can tell me more about this pack of yours, if you wish. If fate has not brought us together for me to join up with its ranks, perhaps there is another reason."

[attr="class","pltxt"]
For a moment Król almost wanted to spit in the face of Kharak's command to watch his tone, a laugh desperately wanting to escape his lips before he quickly silenced the temptation. But oh, how part of him desperately wanted to wipe that cocky fucking smirk off of the other male's face- how desperately part of him wanted to spit out that rank meant jackshit once you stepped onto free territory, how he could give less of a shit about how high and mighty this arrogant son of a bitch thought he was, how he could speak in any damn tone he wanted to someone who had the audacity to try and drag him away from his pack so easily. You can take your "watch your tone" and fucking shove it, your Highness. What, do you want me to kiss your paw and tote you around the desert too? Outwardly the only sign of Król's annoyance was the twitch of an ear, as he was determined to not show any sign that Kharak was getting the better of him.

The last thing he wanted to do was add further fuel to the cocky bastard's fire.

Instead he simply forced himself to stay impassive as Kharak spoke, throwing out excuses about doubting everyone's loyalty but his own, how he had offered a place where loyalty was valued to Król. The Tundra brute wanted to laugh at how pathetic and hypocritical the statement sounded, but instead he shrugged slightly, his words coming out surprisingly even for how much annoyance still burned deep inside of him. "I assure you, traitors to Sethos would be punished accordingly as well. We hold no delusions that we are a pack of honorable wolves, but we value loyalty as much as any other pack upon the mainland. And I do not think my King and Queen would take very kindly to my desertion, even if I wanted to leave. I made a promise to myself that I would not let another wolf scar me so easily after the first time my father gave me one, and it is not a promise I intend to break." His tone had become darker, though the distant look in his eyes would hopefully convey that the sharpness of his words was not intended for the wolf in front of him.

Rather, it was directed towards his father- his father who had taught him the concept of loyalty, but at such a high price that Król had often wondered whether the lesson had truly been worth it. His father had beaten him, made him kill his first love in cold blood, had driven every last ounce of innocence out of him. But he had also made the Tundra brute the proud Thilas of Sethos that he was today, and thus Król's feelings towards the old brute were rather mixed at best. Rather than conveying any of his thoughts, however, the Thilas simply shook himself a bit and looked back towards Kharak, his tone even again. "Despite the trials we go through, no one has been cowardly enough to desert us yet. We can be thankful for that, at least. Loyalty is important to me as well- my current leaders are one of the few wolves that I have placed my trust in in quite some time. I cannot break that trust, even if I wanted to."

Aware that he was beginning to ramble- and that Kharak might not take kindly to repeated discussions of loyalty- Król chose to shut his mouth for the time-being, listening to the other male's words about his kingdom. The concept didn't particularly sound like anything special, as it was just another emperor promising glory to any who followed him. Only the tests of time would tell whether Kharak's kingdom actually flourished or crumbled into dust, and Król knew better than to put his faith in it or suggest an alliance so early. It was only at Kharak's words of being a friend to him that the Thilas hesitated, turning the words over in his mind as he stood there. Were they really to become friends? Kharak was an arrogant bastard for sure, one who had tried to drag Król away from his loyalty to Sethos without a second thought and who made bold claims about an empire that he had barely even heard of until now.

Yet some part of him was intrigued. He couldn't help but be pulled to Kharak, somehow, despite all of the other male's infuriating personality traits. Perhaps Król saw something of himself in the leader of Khalsa, or perhaps he just didn't want to risk the wrath of a pissed-off alpha coming down on his head just because he made the wrong decision in this situation. Whatever the reason, the Tundra brute found himself nodding towards Kharak, his words neutral. "There are not many wolves that I trust outside of Sethos. But it is an interesting proposition. It would be beneficial, to have allies outside of my own pack." Besides, he thought to himself, he could always find a way to dispose of Kharak should the relationship suddenly turn sour, the other male's larger size be damned.