Prior to Ptarmigan murdering Jinx.
A rare shaft of sunlight cut through the cloud cover, illuminating the needles of the pines in Neverwinter Forest, but weakly dissipating before ever hitting the ground. Ptarmigan therefore walked in a shroud of tranquil darkness, with ears alertly pricked forward and tail waving at half-mast behind her. She had followed a pine marten into the trees, and was intent on finding it, if the diligent sweep of her nose inches over the earth was any indication.
The trail went further into the forest, and sensing no immediate threats from the black bears that constantly roamed the area, the small Endore female pressed on.
It was the Maiden who took hold of the body this time, as she usually did. The body was still under her influence, as it would until the vessel passed its third year. Occasionally the Mother and Crone would take over, but it was rare. For now, she was a playful, teasing child who dabbled in toxins.
Hekate-Melinoe skipped through the darkness of the forest, humming a nonsense song. Once and awhile the clouds parted, letting in a bit of sunlight in the dark. Whenever this sunshine radiated, the Maiden leapt into it and danced to her heart's delight. She was carefree, without any worries. She was not constantly fawned upon or asked to hold boring sessions where she answered the questions of her followers.
The light illuminated the forest once more, revealing a dark wolf stalking through the woods. The Maiden giggled before she hopped over to the black canine, beautiful tail streaming in the breeze. "Hi there!"
The pine marten wove a nonsensical path through the undergrowth. Ptarmigan was careful in surveying the low-lying leaves and scrub for signs of her quarry, but more than once she found herself turning back from a dead end and retracing her steps. Frustration was beginning to mount on her and turn her expression sour, and it was in this state she rose to a bubbly greeting.
Her ears twisted pensively to the sides as she levelled her brilliant green gaze upon the weird wolf that was skipping toward her. Hekate looked perfectly ordinary to her in coat colour, but Ptarmigan hadn't ever seen two-toned eyes before. It was a rare condition, after all, so it was no surprise that she was instantly mistrustful of a phenomenon she had never encountered before.
Still, the burgundy female didn't seem threatening, and was significantly younger than herself, so Ptarmigan decided to entertain her entrance, at least for a moment. “You need something?” she asked, taking care not to sound too brusque.
The girl blinked, undeterred by the older female's sour expression. Instead, she simply smiled to match it, her grin almost frightening in its unnatural happiness. She widened her eyes to show off her dual colors when she noticed the older woman gazing at them with mistrust. "Do you like? Everyone says they are pretty." Well, most people who did call them pretty were forced to do so, so she wasn't sure if that was the case. "I'm just curious. I haven't been here before, so I was hoping you would know about this place."
Up close, the maroon female was a little larger than Ptarmigan herself, but wore the awkward gangling frame of youth still. Hekate was therefore scarcely more than a child in the elder Endore's eyes, and that reality was only further emphasized when the strange wolf widened her weird eyes and innocently asked if she liked them.
“No,” she said rather bluntly, edging one forepaw toward the woods and away from Hekate in case the freak decided to do something rash or insane, like breathing fire at her. “They're weird,” she corrected, narrowing her eyes. After a beat, she quietly added, “they told you that so you wouldn't feel like a freak, but that doesn't mean you aren't one. Eyes like that are unnatural. Did someone do something to one of them or what?”
She twitched her ears back, anticipating an unfavourable response. Some internal part of her was snickering, but Ptarmigan hadn't said it to be mean. She wasn't really much of a liar, and certainly not a very good one—she was sincere in her distaste, if nothing else. Whenever she did lie, it wasn't about important things, but about minor ones, such as her saying, “I know it,” even though she really didn't.