he had discovered the girl's homestead -- now, he waited to discover her. the coast was an ever-evolving feature of scouring winds and bright sun, heavy clouds and still atmosphere. he liked it, in the way one might initially like a new trinket -- yet overtime would become tripe and common, grating on ones sensibilities like the overstay of an unwelcome guest.

in the keep iliksis had made a den for himself, a makeshift site that sat facing the open sea and the long strand of glittering sand that flanked it. from this vantage he could oft see the coming and goings of various wildlife: some wolves, some not -- yet none wore a pale bleached coat, nor limped.

One might anticipate the light of the sun to be an inviting thing, a warm and welcome aspect to the passage of time. It was not so for everyone. Light was a violent, volatile thing; or maybe she was the violent thing, projecting something to the world outside of the meat-suit that housed her. She smelled something fresh and earthy which did not align with the terrain that she crossed, a vibrance, like the coming of rain. There was salt in the air but not a single cloud — wishful thinking, then.

This was not how she liked to travel. She had always thought that the practicality of darkness was much more valuable, but there was only so far one could go before meeting the edge of the world. In such a space she was exposed. A crimson shape against a backdrop of something far more natural. She did not belong here, in the light.

When she stopped she was trailing the darkness of a cave. It opened like a great maw, and something stirred inside of it. The shape of the opening rose around her like an iris of black, and she was the inquisitive pupil at the center. Inquisitive, but not curious — she felt nothing as she looked in to the dark save for a certain... familiarity.

a noise outside drew the male's attention; he did not rise, yet he studied the light that flittered across the stone floor. a shape rose in his peripherals, a raw and untold red that commanded his full gaze, which he gave freely.

it was not a creature iliksis was accustomed to beholding; her fur was a shimmering, visceral hue - a hue he preferred to see within a wolf, not without.

a hue he preferred to extract himself, rather than simply witness.

all the same she was in his space without propriety or invitation - he cut her a doleful stare, and did not hide the visual dissection of her body.

If her vessel was akin to a livid red heart, perhaps this cave was meant to be the carapace that held it. It was, however, occupied. The creature within turned a sharp eye upon her - she felt it, the shards of his attention roaming across her.

She caught his eye and was reminded of the sunlight. As she slipped in to the dark, it was clear that she would not await an invitation — but there was also a lack of restraint, for she wasn't afraid. As the chill of the shadows sank across her form she felt a great calm descend with it, and let out a breath. This would do.

he knew not what to make of this violently red creature; the way she slipped so comfortably into his place -- as if the world he occupied belonged to her, and no one else. his dull eyes swept closed in a heavy-lidded blink as he considered what to make of her unabashed entry.

there were only two other beings he knew that commanded their presence with such cutting confidence -- one was himself, and one was his uncle. yet the lack of emotion simmering behind the firebrand's gaze was cold -- far colder than the fiery warmth of her sunkissed fur.

he elected then to test her -- thinking of buffalo and his quibbling queerness as he closed the gap between them, and draped himself closely to her frame in the same manner the shadows had cloaked her.

The man descended upon her, and he was soon too close for comfort — alas, that would be the case if she felt anything at all, but the woman's body hardly reacted to the closing of that gap. The reduced proximity gave rise to some sensations; the feeling of warmth emanating from his large body, for one. A hunger, too, but perhaps that was reserved to her alone.

She tilted her head ever so slightly as if to look at him, and her eyes closed. She pressed her cheek against his chest, twisted so that she could drag her cold nose across his chin, and simultaneously inhaled as she snaked beneath him. He smelled cool, like minerals.

The woman sighed softly, and withdrew. Whatever game he had started, she had changed. The feeling of warmth lingered for a moment on her cheek and as it cooled, she let out a humorless spit of laughter. Your turn, said one blithe look.

she rose to meet him as he came closer; an unusual reaction. iliksis knew then that she, like him, was testing the boundaries -- and as she rose and pressed her muzzle to his chest he allowed it. his gaze flickered in an inscrutable manner, but for the moment the man remained motionless as stone.

and then it happened -- a flash of fangs as he turned upon her with a snap as she withdrew. his teeth chattered in his skull as he swung his muzzle towards her, as if to say she would not be permitted to touch him again.

she got the hint. iliksis' eyes watched, glittering in that gleamy dusk, as she made her exit. he might have followed her -- if he was not so sharply aware that there was something about her keenly dangerous.