After one too many twists and turns through the dense forestry cost her any advantage, her hunt was finally deemed a failure and thus, was abandoned. Reluctantly, she slowed up her chase, panting and with her disheveled fur prickled with an occasional piece of forest debris. She growled lowly to herself, biting back frustration as she cooled down to a loose, bouncy trot.

It was then that she heard something else moving through the woods -- something much larger than her quarry had been, which prompted a vague flicker of disappointment. Her ears quivered forward and she breathed deep to catch a distinctly wolf scent, and evidently one from the inland packs. Amekaze was vaguely curious, so loomed closer through the trees to get a better look.

He was a wolf only a few scarce shades lighter than herself. Large, and cutting an imposing figure, she was leery and quiet to see if he would react to her presence.

Albeit not strictly a creature of the shoreline, there were days and weeks where she represented them more strongly. It was normal that she would touched subtly by the tang of salty winds, making it perhaps one of the more distinct scents she would wear (considering her absence of pack fellows). Yet the coast's hold on her was not firm and absolute. She traveled with the waterways, both great and small, and scaled the mountain slopes, but there was something about the coast that inevitably drew her back.. eventually.

Amekaze's ears quivered with a touch of anxiousness spurned by his quick reaction that manifested as soon as realization became clear on him. She steeled promptly, and wore her impassive face, watching the wave of his tail and the motions his body made to bring him face to face with her. It was then that she got a good, thorough look at his face and his lack of one eye. The scars on his head, too, were noted quickly.

Her tail stiffened although remained low and she sharpened her green eyes disdainfully; to think of her as a mere dog was a lowly remark. Ah, well good thing I did not expect to gain anything from you, she quipped, sniffing at his direction plainly then. Wolves of the more inland scent are infrequent visitors, to my knowledge, so excuse my finding you somewhat out of place. Considering that he had come to face her, she stayed put with her paws squared neatly, ignoring his suggestion to move along. He could carry on himself if she was truly that undesirable.

Licking the backs of her teeth thoughtfully, she then nodded stiffly. Wise, indeed. If she were not, she would be long dead by now. It was not luck alone that kept her alive.

Tilting her head ever so slightly, she lingered on his words -- the way they spanned differently than much of what she heard. Still, his message was clear. Hm, I see.. she chuffed. Perhaps it was not a stretch to say she agreed. In a sense, or her own way of it, because there were many times amongst the company of too many others that she felt out of place. So contradictory to her nature as a wolf, the feeling unsettled deep, deep down at times. But this was different to her. More akin to an ink-spot on otherwise untarnished parchment was how he stood out in these landscapes, so contrary to their energies with his own.

Straightening her ears, she continued. True, that is only the start of it. Your purpose here also leaves me curious, among other matters. She squinted at him. There were many other questions on the edge of her thoughts, however more inconsequential. Instead she focused on him. I doubt you come to admire the sights, and neither did he look to be in need of a hunt.

The fact that he was humoring her at all was not cause to relax yet. Something about him advised her against it, and trusting her gut had yet to fail her..

She only stayed a while longer in his company. Eventually there was nothing to gain and she slipped away from the dark wolf. She went in a different direction than he did, of course.