In her peripheral vision she saw a snow drift marred by smudges of color, and it called out to her with a sneeze. She did a double-take on that.

Wha — no, that wasn't a snow drift. That was a wolf! Possibly the first real and living person she'd seen since her departure from the Oaks. Kratha's big dumb ears fanned forwards like fleshy wings, and she fixed her big-eyed stare upon the stranger.

She had something in her mouth that looked interesting, so Kratha closed the distance between them with the ease of her long strides, happy enough to have found company and even giddier at the prospect of food. Hey girlie! What you got there? Her pupils seemed to grow upon mentioning the food, blackening her eyes and making the iris seem all that more unnatural in their brightness.

The response from the stranger made her toss back her head again, but this time instead of snapping at the snow that fell in dandruff-sized chunks, she was laughing uproariously. High! She thinks I'm high, but on what? The cold? Well, it was possible. Heaving a breath back in to her narrow-set lungs, Kratha looked at the odd girl and snickered, shaking her head and blinking away funny beads of tears at the corners of those big eyes.

You takin' that home with you? She slunk forwards a step, slowly, as if she were approaching something incredibly dangerous or incredibly interesting; to be honest, Kratha hadn't decided which type of person this stranger was. Or are you gonna eat it here? Can I watch? Her eyes zipped between the rabbit at her paws and the girl's face, to and fro, frantically, before she had to lick her own lips to stop the drool from pooling from her sharp face.

Sorry! Sorry! I must be so weird to you — ahem, Kratha plopped her butt down and crossed her forepaws, looking almost dainty if it weren't for the concave nature of her empty belly or the way her shoulders and hips jut out from their sockets. I just — it's been a while, y'know, since I've seen anyone.

The girl stared at her, and Kratha stared back, breath puffing from her own open maw while her pulse continued to race; she wasn't tired or anything, her blood just ran hot in her veins. Probably to counter the chill of the winter and her lack of nourishment, or something. She had always been hot to the touch.

When finally the stranger spoke, it was to offer her something to eat. Kratha was overjoyed by this eventuality and her whip-like tail swat at the falling snow behind her body, her hips wiggling a little. She stared without meaning to be creepy (but lets be real, there was nothing Kratha could do about that) as the rabbit was sectioned off. The pungent smell of red hit the air, metallic and inviting and warm, and she inched closer.

Before Queenie could finish offering the thing to her, Kratha lunged and snapped, grabbing the nearest section (which happened to be the leaner portion) and began to chew at it. Red splattered about as she hurried, naturally inclined to eat as quickly as she could, and the last bits she tossed up, playing with them, and one by one caught them and thus, her section was gone.

A long pink tongue slapped at the bits of blood and tissue that marred her dark snout, slurping and cleaning in a frenzy. Kratha heard the offer and set upon the rest of the rabbit without further inquiry thereafter, but this took more time to break down. The rear portion had rich fat and a bulbous stomach (the rabbit must have fed well prior to its own death) adn she tore in to it greedily. Using her paws to pin the thing and her long face like a violently stabbing beak, she picked at it and made quite the mess.

But, it too was consumed with haste. Her concave belly had a nice plumpness to it afterwards and she, warm and buzzing from the activity of finally feeding after so long without, grinned toothily at her patron. Nice to meetcha, there was that tongue again, slicking across her shiny burgundy teeth, working at a chunk of gristle in an ugly manner only to deftly swallow it — M'name is Kratha.

Pleasure, I'm sure.

Thin? Her? This seemed to be news to the gaunt hybrid, or she effectively behaved as such. Her eyes widened again and she, with a small gasp, looked down at her chest and then shifted to look at her belly, glance over her own hips, and wrap that whip-tail around her haunches. As much as she wanted to snipe back with a comment, Kratha couldn't formulate anything quick enough - Stephanie was jolting to another topic, which would save her some sass.

I just thought you had a UTI or somethin', she jested, head tilting and ears flopping. That was a lot of piss. Not that I was attracted or anythin', uh, now she was just digging a hole. Taking all her narrow feet and shoving them in her proverbial mouth. Restarting this bit! Uhh, I didn't mean to invade or nothin', like I said, I was just happy to find you.

Cue another grin. At least this time the blood had been cleaned from most of her teeth, so they were more of a dingy yellow. That was better, right?

The girl had a point but it had been such a long while since Kratha had encountered a person let alone an entire pack — the mention made her give pause though and she seemed to be thinking about something. 

You should be more mindful — cautioned Queenie, and Kratha put her thoughts aside for another time. She'd spent enough of her life chasing ghosts and running from those that lived, and was ready to change things. Idiots you say? her ears perked and she chuckled, I'm lucky to have met you first. Don't think I'd have any hope left if I ran in to some fool.

That carried over to another thought, and this one did not give her reason to hesitate: And you? Do you find yourself surrounded by idiots or do you persist alone? Like me?

Her pack? So she wasn't just a vagrant hunting for her dinner. She could afford to give away to strangers and be charitable because she had a whole pack to support her? Sounded like a nice gig.

Hm, yeah, came the hybrid's nonchalant response to the question, I mean look at me, I'm the pinnacle of health. Strapped with muscle, trained from birth to infiltrate and murder! She was jesting again, pointing out the obvious flaw in Queenie's line of questioning. Why would she ask such a silly thing of Kratha? 

Okay but in all seriousness, I have no idea. I've never had to fight. I mostly roam around and try not to die, which could be said for anyone. Her ears fanned either side of her skull as she stared wistfully at the falling snow, thinking briefly. I was in a pack once before. Hunting came easy, and I was learning all sorts of things, but it wasn't... It wasn't meant to be.

Yeah, because you screwed it up, she thought suddenly, and her gaze dimmed.

Had Kratha realized she was being interviewed then maybe she would have fibbed a bit and come up with something meaningful to share, or something worthwhile. Paint herself in a better light. Instead she thought this was just a casual conversation - so she took some offense to the tone of Stephanie's voice and the implications within it.

I can do whatever the heck I want, is what I can do, her fur puffed a bit, but it was naturally short and her irritation easily missed. What about you? Hunting is a no-brainer, she had caught that rabbit somehow and it wasn't even that impressive; wolves hunted to survive, and if you sucked at it, you died; Can you do anything? Aside from talk.

It should not have surprised her as much as it did, and the expression Kratha wore for that split-second did not hide anything. Following this she felt only indignation rather than glee; that this wandering pack wolf thought to offer such a thing, as if Kratha needed any help what-so-ever in surviving when that was her forte, was an insult more than it was a blessing. She wanted to snap a comment at her to the same sentiment but, she did not. 'Pack's aren't always bad, Kratha,' said her concience, 'You know that - you can't keep running around forever,' but the last time --

Oh, she blurted, turning off her thoughts as quickly as they came. You're vetting me. I should'a clued in on that. Good, now we're getting somewhere. Whatever tension had arisen within Kratha seemed to dissipate then, and she regarded Stephanie in a new light - So? Did I pass?

She squinted her eyes at the other girl briefly, but understood and couldn't fault her for anything really. It was up to her to decide if Kratha was a worthwhile investment; so far she had nothing that she could offer, or it seemed like it. The opportunity to shadow someone was unique too, but held her interest. If nothing else, Kratha could use that time to fatten up and survive the last vestiges of winter.

I can tend caches, keep myself fed - probably hunt for more mouthes as needed. But anyone could do that, they'd gone over as much already. On the topic of being a shadow though, While I keep stock of the food, I'll 'shadow' you, I guess? Learn... What kind of stuff, do you think? Fighting maybe. She didn't look like an herbalist or anything esoteric, which would make whatever Kratha was being taught much, much easier.

It seemed like a good deal. Kratha had sussed out as much information as she felt she needed, and now she was faced with a choice. She knew she could survive on her own for as long as she must - her whole life had been built upon a foundation of single-lady-skills so it wasn't like she'd be struggling too much. It was an opportunity to be around her own kind though, to learn some new skills, to better herself... And if it didn't work out, she'd make some connections and fatten herself up, survive the winter. Seemed like there was only one choice to make, after she thought a tick about it.

Okay, lets go. Her face broke out in a crocodile grin, spreading up her sharp snout. Those big and buggy eyes widened again with mirth, and she bat her tail. I'll do whatever you want!