The seals were always of interest to the panther. He laid atop his rock one afternoon, watching them play while he thought about his seal hunter. He'd not had much time to miss him over the past few weeks, but he'd managed it all the same. The visit to Moontide hadn't helped — seeing the lodge so empty and being near to his fading scent had made his heart feel empty.
It was less so at the glacier. He had a family here, too, and one that seemed more or less complete. Even so, he thought often of Chakliux — as often as he'd thought of Tulugak before her return.
As often as he still thought of her, truth be told.
With his head on his paws and his tail whisking in quiet contemplation, Dutch tried to exorcise these thoughts in favor of appreciating his own personal Sea World.
the inhabitants of the glacier were a warm sort. their friendly faces, friendly smiles, friendly words. she feared they might melt the ice before summer did.
some would greet her when she passed, and she would often return their beaming grins with a thin line. the act of acknowledging others in simple passing was a foreign act to the viper. in her homeland one would only receive recognition when they were deserving of it, otherwise most kept their head down and mingled only in the name of daily labor.
the thought of adapting to these kindly ways crossed her mind briefly before being promptly shoved into the darkest corners of her mental filing cabinet.
it was in the depths of her mind that she stumbled upon the chief. she followed his gaze to the spirited seals, chin tipping in interest as she wondered if he sought to make a meal of them.
An ear twisted toward the sound of pawsteps approaching. He waited for the wolf to announce themself — one of the women, he thought, for the lightness of their steps — and when they did not, he knew exactly who it was.
"If you stand in silence much longer, Nephele, I might begin to think you're up to something," he said, his amusement clear in his tone.
He'd tracked her scent from time to time, noting where it mingled with others and where she simply cross their paths. It was difficult to get a full picture from this sort of sleuth work, and so the panther continued to withhold judgement.
she kept her sight cemented to the seals, only tearing away from them at the sound of the chieftain's voice. her attention spun to the relaxed figure of the man, brow raised in mild interest as she chewed through his words.
"is silence not fond company?" she pressed with an air of meddling curiosity.
the playful bark of a seal saw her attention returned to it's initial focus. it appeared all creatures of the glacier were far sunnier than chill of the home they inhabited.
The panther turned his head, regarding her with a familiar narrow-eyed look for only a moment. Then he interpreted her tone and settled himself, likewise looking back to the pinnipeds diving below.
"It is customary to offer greeting," he replied, "lest your friends feel stalked like prey."
Truly, though, Dutch found he could not take offense, and his tone did not suggest that he did. She was a strange creature, but so had his shadow girl been when they first met.
"are we friends, dutch?" she questioned with a teasing resonance and raised brow.
she did not consider him such, as she was certain he did not consider her one either. and yet his choice of words suggested otherwise. she assumed it to be a mindless statement, but picking apart words was her bread and butter.
words held more power than fangs ever could.
she did not stray her sight from the seals, a salmon tongue slithering between lips to lick the edges of a pale snout.
The panther watched her a little longer, perhaps just admiring the view. A tiny smile played at the corners of his mouth.
"By some definitions," he replied, guessing that she would disagree. "By deed, I would say that we are. I intend to act like we're friends for as long as you are among us. Does friendship require fond feelings?"
Dutch thought that, just maybe, he could scrounge them up.
archiving this, let me know if you'd like to revive and continue it <3
she supposed in a way, he was correct. she would not consider friendship to be the appropriate word for their connection though. she thought their relationship, if it could even be called that, was more symbiotic than anything else.
she considered his question, and promptly offered up a resolute,
"no," for an answer.
"friendship requires mutual benefit." often times it was an emotional profit gained from each party, though that was not an obligation for the viper.
she did not offer her words any tone of hostility or strife, only coarse, opinionated sincerity.
eventually she pulls off, offering dutch a curt goodbye and moving on to the next thing that drew her interest.