It had been a full day since Eden's last interaction and already her demeanor had changed. Her walls were quickly built back up and she was on full gaurd. She continued to wander, gathering each scent that crossed her path, and there were plenty. Every once in a while she would catch something familiar, something that reminded her of home: Amari. Despite this, she knew how unlikely it was that he'd found her after being seperated for so long. Beside that, the chance of him surviving alone for this long was small enough in itself to push any lingering hope away.
But that was her brother and she loved him. If there was a chance she had to take it.
With her voice at a low whisper, she said to herself and to anyone listening, "If you are there, show me. Help me find you, please."
Shrike's border patrol hadn't included a trip away from the packlands in quite some time, at least not since he'd done away with Hedda's body, but finally he felt strong enough to go on a longer path that took away from the comfort and security of his homelands and out into the wilderness. He was aware that Peregrine and Fox didn't encourage scouting behavior, but that did not mean he was restricted to the packlands. Wanderlust was a part of his nature, and thus he was hapless to ignore its call.
His nostrils quivered slightly when he picked up the scent of a lone female wolf, who smelled as though she had no pack. Keen silver eyes searched the wilds to pick her out, finally catching a glimpse of fur beyond a hedge, though he couldn't make her out clearly. She was the first to break the silence with her plea, something which caused Shrike to turn his ears back. She needed help? He wasn't terribly interested...As far as he could tell, she was trying to find him- couldn't she just search him out? And why did she feel the need to ask him to show himself? With a slight huff, he convinced himself to be the good guy and saunter out into her vision, thus allowing himself to catch a glimpse of her as well.
For a wolf who sounded and apeared so insecure, she was quite a good size, easily outweighing him and standing taller at the head and shoulder than he. She had a typical agouti pattern to her coat- a creamy beige lined with blacks and greys and the pale colour of stone-ground wheat on her face. Her strikingly blue eyes looked sad and almost hopeless, but didn't exactly gain any sympathy from Shrike, who wasn't exactly the most empathetic creature on the planet. Still, he could be reasonable, even to strangers, and with another somewhat impatient huff, he spoke. "Here." He quipped, and with his ears still slanted sideways in a slightly skeptical expression, he continued. "Now what?"
Eden was taken off gaurd by the quick response. Part of her was immersed in hope, praying that it was Amari, but the rest of her knew it wasn't. She turned, carefully, to face the male standing feet away from her. By his tone of voice and gaurded stature, she knew this encounter wouldn't be like the few others she'd had so far. She stood neutral, but kept her ears flush against her skull and her tail still behind her. "I-I didn't mean to call you. It wasn't..." she said, allowing herself to trail off. No, the cry wasn't for him, but he was here now. She had to make the best of what little she had. "I lost someone and I'm trying to find them." She was silent for a moment, then continued, "I'm Eden."
Normally, Shrike wouldn't have given much thought to simply turning and leaving after the female- who called herself Eden- confessed that she hadn't really meant for him to show himself. He nodded abruptly when she confessed that she hadn't been speaking to him, but to some absent other wolf. He might have simply moved on without another word had he not noticed the woebegone look in her eyes, and had he not also felt the pangs of grief and loss recently. He'd only just begun to properly mourn the loss of Peter's life now that his murderer was finally dead and in the ground where she could hurt no other.
He balked for a moment, not knowing exactly what he could say or do, as sympathy was not one of his strong points, and he bit his lip for a moment before he sighed inwardly and spoke. "Shrike." He said, figuring starting with his name was the best thing to do; it might make her relax if she knew his name. "Who you missing and what they look like?" He asked. He wasn't exactly ready to begin another hunt, and likely wouldn't be for some time, given the amount of time and energy it had taken for him to track down Peter's murderer. But still, he could keep an eye out for Eden's missing friend, if he had to.