He reveled in the warmth of the day, finding comfort in the golden rays that splashed down from above. Its light soothed him, and though the beast was made of inky shadow, he felt he preferred the light of the day. All the better for him to see and be seen, for mortal should quake in his presence, and shudder beneath his paw. No, he did not have any particular penchant for slinking in the darkness like a shameless predator - the darkness was cold and unyielding, and he far preferred the light which he could play on his face, manipulate to his desire, and eradicate at whim.

He strode in the light, and let the gold and yellow illuminate the hairs that hung heavy from his body, weighed down by oil and grime. Once, a creature had tried to cleanse him of the mud, the dirt and dried blood that caked in his fur, and he had struck them. He was a menace, and a filthy one at that; he held no desire to groom the debris from his pelt, and even less desire to allow anybody the privilege to touch him so. Raheerah's thick coat shook, even, with steps that he took, swaying as he moved like a rug draped over the body of the canine. Truly he was a monstrosity, a brute, a titan - he would dwarf what fool stood in his shadow, and soon, it would be the curious explorer of the frozen lake.

Raheerah saw her from a distance; having clambered among the mountains to reach this mysterious, closed in lake, he had spotted her first from above. An amalgamation of woody and warm hues, delightful to taste no doubt, he watched her sidle along the shoreline and then slowly move out onto its glassy surface. In this time, he had descended, and appeared on the shore opposite to where she had begun. And he, too, moved his body onto the ice. The first few steps remained silent, but as he progressed, heavy creaks and wails followed his movements. The ice shifted and bent to his weight, but did not give way, and he paused where he was confident the ice could still sustain him. He remained there, silently watching her, staring, curious.

He stared at her further, watched as she shifted and rolled her gaze over him. Her eyes were like the sky, like the ice below them. They too were hard and cold, but they held a light of amusement in them that matched the grin worn on her lips. Raheerah only tilted his head in response, but her observation birthed an inevitable satisfaction that leaked into the creases of his visage. His own lips began to twist into a sneer; she could see well the very essence of the monster, and that pleased him. Few openly admitted to his imposing air, even fewer dared to acknowledge it. He liked her.

But she didn't smell like the valley. Only recently they had set their scents into the Earth, and he was accepting of wolves that did not bear a scent of their own. This one did carry a scent, that of others, of a different land. It begged the question of what she was doing here, and he supposed that was enough of a reason for him to have approached her. "Yoouu tread daangerously close to the Vale." He pointed out, but made no effort to gesture which direction this Vale lay - he would prefer to keep it secret, for now, assuming she didn't already know where it was. If that was the case, then he would have no need to direct her to it.

His tail swung behind him and he dared to step even closer. The ice groaned beneath his weight, crackling like thunder but not daring to release him to the waters, no, not yet. He ignored the ice below and fixed his gaze on her. "Yoou are no meeere waanderer." Raheerah added curiously, requesting of her identity. It should only be natural that he wondered of the dangers lurking outside of his new home.