Grezig was coming towards the river in the opposite direction. She had been growing restless for the last few days, stuck in this part of the Wilds longer than she would have liked. To relieve her boredom, she’d been doing patrols farther and farther away from the rest of the group, coming back to the places surrounding Overture Downs. She had decided on a whim that day to make a trip to Mudminnow River, the place where Liri had recruited her. Were she a nostalgic type, she might have thought this place had sentimental value, the place where she’d met all of her current… friends (yes, she supposed they were friends), but she was not sentimental. To her, this was just another river, with a memory attached.

A fox suddenly ran past her, breaking her out of her thoughts. She cursed at the jump it gave her, and growled at it, but it didn’t stop. It looked as if it was running away from something. Brows drawn, Grezig moved in the direction that that fox had come from, wondering if another predator was about. She smelled the air, but all she got was the mud from the river. And… blood. She picked up her pace and up ahead, saw a wolf sniffing the ground around a fish carcass. Maybe he had scared the fox. 

Grezig chuffed in greeting. He looked soaked, as if he had just crossed the river. Well, that would explain the lack of scent.

Well… the wolf seemed to notice her, or, at least he noticed… something? Why was he looking at the tree over there? Grezig followed his gaze, thinking she’d see or smell something interesting, but there was nothing. It was just a tree. She opened her mouth to ask him about it, but he’d already gone back to the fish. Maybe he was just ignoring her? Well, that was fine. Grezig often ignored others, so she knew she had no room to complain if others ignored her. She shrugged and almost turned to leave when the wolf said something that made her halt in her tracks.

’I’m watching you, tree…’

Grezig slowly turned around to stare in open bewilderment at the male. Did… did he think the tree was talking to him? What— Oh, and now he was throwing up. “What is wrong with you?” she asked, pulling her head back as if afraid of catching his lunacy like a disease. Instinct was telling her to stay away from this waste of nature, but there was something strangely mesmerizing about him, like watching an accident as it happened. 

Finally, at those words, he seemed to notice her, staring at her in what seemed to be shock. Her lip curled in disgust as she stared back, as if challenging him to do anything else disturbing.

Grezig watched impassively as the male proceeded to eat a part of his own vomit. Some part of her was disgusted, but dogs and wolves often consumed their vomit, so it wasn’t a sight that bothered her too much. The fact that he’d thrown up in the first place bothered her more. Perhaps it was nothing, but he could be sick, and she could not afford to catch whatever physical illness he might have. And, again, he’d thought that a tree was talking to him, so there was that.

He spoke to her after a leisurely stretch, asking if she liked fish. “I suppose so,” she replied. Grezig did not often eat fish. She was used to mammals, mostly, small or large. She was not very good at fishing, so she didn’t try very often. She watched him for a moment, coming to a decision in her head. He seemed a bit daft, but harmless enough, and they needed the numbers more than anything. If he could fish, he was at least good for something. (She did not know that he had taken the fish from the fox she had passed earlier, and assumed that he had caught it himself).

“Are you part of a pack?” she asked, in her usual semi-demanding tone. After a second, she realized she hadn’t even introduced herself yet and backed up a bit. “My name is Grezig. I'm helping to make a pack. You should join us if you're looking." It wasn't the best introduction, but that was how Grezig normally was -- pretty much monosyllabic.

Grezig gave the male time to think as he seemed to space out for a moment. She knew that this could be a big decision for some and didn’t want to pressure him into joining. Putting pressure on others was sometimes necessary if they were prone to fits of indecision, but since she did not know this wolf, she did not know if pressuring him might just cause him to walk away from her. He did not take too long, but he said another thing that gave her pause, causing her brows to scrunch in confusion. What was this about a deer…? She wondered, for the third time since their meeting, if maybe this wolf was a bit… slow. Stupid, even. Some part of her regretted giving out the invitation, but with every member, they were growing close to their goal and she was becoming impatient to settle down. She supposed if he ended up being more trouble than he was worth later, then they could always chase him off.

“Our pack is not a real pack yet," she said. "We are searching for a home that will suit us. We are growing in numbers quickly and soon we will have enough to protect whatever territory we choose.” She stood and turned towards the direction of where she knew Kavik, Liri, and the others were. “Come,” she said. “I will take you to the others.”

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