Ever diligent, the scarred woman patrolled the mountain the majority of the day and partly into the nights, resting mostly during the afternoons when it was getting too hot to do much of anything because she wanted to save her energy for evenings. Today was no different than any other day since they had arrived in these new lands. Aguta did go out of her way to try to mark various places around the mountain to tell outsiders that there were others here and most strangers were absolutely not welcome.

She was on her way to her favorite afternoon shade spot when she picked up the scent of a stranger there on the mountain. Icy eyes narrowed as she pushed forward, setting off into a brisk trot. It wasn’t long before she found where the scent was coming from. A warning growl ripped forth from her throat as she pulled herself up to her full height, lifting her tail partially over her back. She would not grace him with words, choosing to issue her warning growl only.

Part of her would be flattered, though the other part of her would wonder if he, like other males, would find her to be invisible in the presence of her aunt or, in her case now, her cousin. Only one male, thus far, had shown interest in her, and that had been during a time that neither one of them had been fully in their right minds, but even then, the male had called her by another female’s name. That was neither here nor there, a thing of the past. Though having a friend with benefits wasn’t something she would turn down if the opportunity arose.

Icy glare followed his every move as he pulled himself out of where he’d been snoring away as if he owned the place. “You are trespassing,” she growled, pulling herself up a little taller, if that was even remotely possible. “You make it a habit of ignoring territory markings?” His eyes were stunning but she was forcing herself to remain focused on the fact that he did not belong here.

Icy glare remained fixed upon the male, watching any and all movements from him. She wasn’t about to look away, that’s for sure. Who knew if he would suddenly try to have a go at her or not. She was just that untrusting, and for good reason. Life had taught her to expect the unexpected and to trust very few. It was hard enough giving trust to those she respected the most because she had quickly learned that even they could screw up your entire life, or as much of it as one would allow.

While he anticipated a bad reaction from her, nothing came. She merely stood there, watching him with ears pushed forward, listening to his every word. She made no move as he spoke of leaving, though she gave a slight shake of her head. Giving a sweeping motion with her muzzle, she motioned to the mountain itself. “Tartok,” she said, returning her icy gaze to meet his of green.

After a moment, she lowered her tail, though not all the way down. Her muscles rippled beneath her dark fur as she shifted her stance. She was still poised and ready for anything, but she wasn’t as tense as she’d just been. “Aguta.”

She was curious as to the flash of irritation on his face when she introduced herself. It was almost as if he were put out by her having given her name, but why? A slight tilt of her head was given as she continued to just watch him as he started to snap a reply, seemingly thinking better of it and not finishing whatever it was he had been about to say. He was a curious one, that’s for sure. Strangely enough, it peeked her curiosity enough to leave her interested in him.

“Why mad?” she finally asked, tilting her head slightly the other direction. She would never be one to be overly friendly, never had been before and never would be now, but she was very curious as to why he seemed to be put out that she introduced herself. She didn’t ask her question in a condescending sort of way. Just curiosity. Icy gaze traveled over his form, returning to his face, mostly his eyes. They were fascinating, really. Stunning in color and, though he was wearing a blank expression, there just seemed to be an unexplainable fire to his gaze.

It wasn’t often that she opened her expressions up to be read like an open book, but this was clearly one of those times that she did allow herself to do just that. She’d learned quickly from her Aunt how important it was to keep the face clear of any and all expression, to remain blank and unreadable, to not allow yourself to be vulnerable to others in any way. But sometimes, just sometimes, she forgot those lessons and let her emotions be viewable on her face. It was mostly when her curiosity was peeked, though, and very rarely any other emotion.

When he answered, he used far more words than she had grown used to hearing. Her ears were pushed fully forward and her icy gaze remained fixed upon his rugged face. “No,” she replied with a slight shake of her scarred head. “Just figured you’d want the name of the pack on the mountain, and perhaps the name of the bitch that woke you from your sleep.” She gave a slight shrug after she’d finished speaking. Since coming here, she didn’t get a whole lot of interacting with those that were also residing on the mountain with her and her cousins, mostly because she kept herself quite busy with patrolling and keeping an eye on as much things as she could. She took it upon herself to do these things without having been told to because it was what she’d been used to doing for her Aunt.

Bored yawn caused her to slightly part her jaws while it passed. She gave a slight shrug of her shoulders to stretch them a tad. “You hunt?” Although he was a stranger to her, to Tartok, she inwardly longed for someone to hunt with. It had been far too long since she'd run beside someone else to bring down something larger than a partially grown fawn or a sizable rabbit.

He would be surprised to learn that she wasn’t even half as dim-witted as he thought she was. Aguta was really quite intelligent. Her clipped speech came from the fact that she didn’t converse with very many these days and, well, unless you use it, you lose it. If she were to have someone to talk to more often, she wouldn’t have an issue with using more words. Then again, actions spoke a whole lot louder than words in most cases. So really, was there actually much of a point in using a whole lot of words? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. it really all depended on what the point was. But she was definitely far from being dim-witted. Maybe if he ended up sticking around, he would learn that about her.

He snorted, turning his face away a bit, but it was the expression on his face that left her wondering if he was going to decline. If it did, it was no skin off her hide. She longed for company, honestly, and that was why she’d extended her question. It was her way of inviting him to hunt with her, something that she’d been craving from others since having been sent to spread Tartok with her cousin. His response, though, brought a faint smile to her muzzle and a slight swish of her tail. His answer clearly pleased her, though not the fact that he was starving but that he seemed willing to hunt with her.

More than happy to lead the way, Aguta wheeled around and began to lead them away from the spot where he had been snoring. Since she patrolled the mountain on a daily basis, she knew where prime hunting spots were on the mountain itself. Her tail swayed behind her as she moved along. Though faint, she did have a slightly noticeable limp that would never go away. She carried herself proudly as she moved, sniffing at the air every so often as they went. Before long, she came to a halt, crouching down a little. She’d stopped them behind a thick bush. Motioning with her muzzle, she pointed toward just the other side. About twenty paces away was a couple deer; three does and two half grown fawns.

Together the pair hunted, downing one of the does that did not appear to have a fawn at her breast. Together the pair gorged, ate until they felt ready to burst. Eventually, they parted company, each going their own way, though Aguta did follow silently to make sure the male actually got off the mountain before returning to her own place of sleeping to nap off some of what she'd eaten.