Viinturuth was a creature of the night. It was the darkness he thrived in, and so spent most of the daylight hours asleep. In the early hours, with the moon still bright in the sky, the dark Frostfur prowled the forest in search of prey. Since joining the pack he'd struggled to fell a decent meal, but he was confident that luck would soon find him.

And it did, sooner than he expected. Having fallen from its nest and with no parents nearby, a plump owl chick made a very easy snack. Viin killed it swiftly and with little noise to alert any nearby caretakers, and quickly carried it away to consume the flesh in peace.

He lay in the snow as the sun began to rise, licking his paws clean of blood and downy feathers. A flick of his tongue over his jowls concluded his grooming session and, with food and his belly and his hunger satisfied for the time being, Viinturuth was looking forward to a lengthy nap in the warmth of his hollow. Gathering himself on stiff limbs and giving his muscles a good stretch, he proceeded deeper into the forest to return to his quarters.

As he sauntered, he enjoyed the scenery. Despite how unkind the Winter had been to him during his time as a lone wolf, he could not deny its beauty. The suns rays made the untouched surface of the snow glimmer, and he was loathe to disturb it. He wondered how long the ice would remain, and if it would ever be warm in the Teekon Wilds, but these thoughts dwindled as he lay his champagne gaze on the tawny form of an unknown wolf. Curious, he veered in her direction.

Viinturuth greeted the young female with a low woof and a friendly sweep of his obsidian tail, and paused nearby to observe her response.

Glad to see that the wolfess welcomed his greeting and offered one similar, Viinturuth let the corners of his mouth tug upward in a warm smile. He watched her quietly for a further few moments, giving her time to speak up first if she saw fit. When she piped up, the dark Frostfur blinked curiously at his rather random companion and wondered how he was supposed to respond to such a question.

Viin had been a member of Neverwinter for only a short time, and much had been explained to him in the beginning. He'd been so exhausted from his travels that the information provided had been too vast to take in at once, and so figured he would learn as he lived. As he plotted his reply, it seemed the female was giving him no opportunity to do so. He gawked at her, utterly lost.

"Uhm," he stumbled with his words, cocking a rugged ear backward as he pondered. "I... have no idea." Viinturuth laughed then, at himself, and felt himself growing unusually bashful in this bold wolfess' company. "How about you give me some time to get to know you, then maybe we can talk about your co-rank suitability?" He revealed a mischievous grin, satisfied with his way of recovering himself without appearing too much like an idiot.

When the wolfess apologised, Viinturuth smiled warmly at her. "No need to be sorry," he announced, having not noticed his companion's reaction to his harmless chuckle. Viin let the silence linger then and he used this opportunity to examine the tawny creature before him, nicked and marked with battle scars. He found himself wondering where she'd come from, and why she seemed so adamant to pick up once more as a fighting wolf.

From above, tiny flurries of snow began to drift slowly toward the ground. Looking up, his pale eyes surveyed the breaks between the branches and found the sky to be overcast with the promise of a heavier snowfall. Huffing through his nostrils and not at all looking forward to a fresh load of snow on top of what they already had, Viin looked in his pack-mate's direction once again. "Care to walk with me a while? We'll freeze our tails off if we stand around here much longer," he grinned, making to turn away and begin their saunter. "What am I to call you? My name is Viinturuth."

Sapphire, she said. Her name was Sapphire. It was a pretty name, though not one he'd expect for a wolfess who claimed to be a fighter. He did not challenge it, however, and trusted her as his pack-mate, though he smiled at her comment regarding variation of her title. Viinturuth did not extend her the same courtesy - he did not mind being called "Viin", but any other variation of his name was not appreciated. It was up to her to discover that on her own, and let silence fall between them without elaborating further.

"Not too long," he answered, when Sapphire piped up once more with a question for him. "I'm actually pretty new." Still learning the territory, the ways of the pack, the hierarchy... it was all so different from what he was used to and, although it felt right to be a part of Neverwinter Forest, there was still much to know about the ways of life beyond Samarkand. "I came from the far South, and hadn't ever seen snow until I decided to travel further North. The Winters here are a lot harsher than I anticipated. Did you come from somewhere nearby, or...?" He did not acknowledge her little trip over the branch, having sensed earlier in their meeting that she felt a little awkward and embarrassed. Viin wasn't entirely sure why, but he didn't want to bring attention to it, and so he ignored it.

She seemed to slacken as they walked, as though his presence became less awkward for her, and he smiled inwardly. Viinturuth had always been a social creature, one who made great effort to make others feel comfortable, despite his often stoic appearance. He enjoyed being part of a traditional pack, without restrictions on who he could be alone with, and had felt far more relaxed in Neverwinter than he ever had in Samarkand. He loved his family, of course, and he missed them fiercely... but the traditions and laws of Susa were not natural for him, and he'd never been able to truly accept them.

"My mother was a Northerner," he explained, in response to Sapphire's question regarding his decision to venture further from his desert home. "She met my father, a Southerner, and when their pack disbanded they made their way back to his birth-place to take over from my elderly grandfather." Viinturuth rolled a shoulder, content with the brief explanation of how his parents came to reside in Samarkand. He did not offer information on the pack's unusual ways, for fear of offending her gender. "When they left last Summer, my brother before me took the reigns of the pack and I decided to take my leave and see more of where my mother's family had come from. I never did get along particularly well with Sahrotaar, so it was best for us both."

The sound of paws on fresh snow made him paused in his tracks and his tall ears pricked forward. Viinturuth's pale eyes scanned the area and settled on the figure of an unknown, russet male. He seemed narrow of frame, and young, maybe just shy of a year old. Viin let him approach he and his companion, and soon he was content that the other wolf was not a trespasser. He relaxed considerably, and flicked his feathered black tail in silent greeting.

"Hello to you," the corners of his mouth tugged upward in a smile, welcoming the sleek yearling. "I am Viinturuth and this is Sapphire," he glanced her way, hoping he hadn't irked her by speaking for her. In the short time he'd known her, Sapphire seemed independent and he realised that she may not appreciate his sharing of her name. He moved on then, beckoning his pack-mates to follow as hunger gripped his stomach once more, figuring that together they could slay something that all of Neverwinter could benefit from.