Porcupine Ridge i've seen a million different doors on the horizon

fog rolled in like a stampede of bison. visibility reduced to nil.

pakasqa threaded through a stand of alpine, watchful of the many moving shapes in the mist.

some shapes rose hideous and grotesque in their opaque rendering, only to reduce in size until she was upon them: just a stone, just a stump, here's a fallen log that looked like the great shoulder of a massive bison at a distance!

the forest here played tricks. pakasqa kept her head low as she searched for tracks of game.

She played tricks on his vision, too. One moment, a dark shadow—the next, a flash of fire.

It took him a moment before he realized her face was bi-colored, more different than he'd ever seen. Of course, this was Anathema's sister. He lingered a moment before emerging from the forest, falling onto the same trail the girl pursued.

Hex chuffed gently, chin lifted. He was a few wolf-lengths away from her, and he figured she had already caught onto his approach—but the introduction seemed cordial, and necessary.

she'd known she had company beyond her shadow, but the rolling mist was heavy and scent doused heavily in this eldritch place.

suspicion mounted in the girl so much like her uncle and great-dam; she whirled upon hex as he chuffed and showed a bristling display of menace -- only to realize in the last moment the shape that followed her was wolf and one of her own.

sheepish, she slunk to her belly in the snow.

She reacted instinctively, then sank as she realized her mistake. Hex shook his head, dropping down to a sort of play bow before rising again. It's okay, he told the young woman, giving her a gentle nod. 

How are you settling in? he asked. He was drawn to the bright patch upon her face, though he tried to avert his gaze in case it was some sort of harbinger or source of shame. He'd never seen anything like it before, though, and he could not hide his curiosity.

He dipped his nose toward the trail. Are you hunting? the Seer continued. And can I join you?

Too many questions at once. He'd let her reply before speaking again.

hex would wait a long time before he ever heard the girl speak.

she extracted herself from the snow with girlish shame, her body's silhouette still impressed among the pearly powder. glancing him over, she saw his gaze linger; on what, she could not say.

but of his slew of questions -- all but one would go unanswered.

she thrust her nose to the ground with a nod, sending a billow of fine snow scattering along the hardpack.

somewhere here was a scent waiting to be threaded from its hidden place.

No reply. Well, some—though it went unsaid. He'd known wolves who chose not to speak more than a word or two; supposedly, his mother had been one. Basic concepts could still be conveyed.

Lead, and I'll follow, Hex told her. He hadn't intended on hunting today, but he was glad to shadow one of the Ridge's newer residents.

He stood, tail shifting slowly, gradually behind him, waiting for her cue.

she rarely lead; hex’s order caused a ringlet of thought to upend outward in the girl’s mind. 

lead — but what if she failed?

she nosed the snow aggressively now, scratching at places here and there. for a time she ignored hex, so intently focused that she very nearly missed the thinning scent disguised by a raft of fresh fallen snow. 

thrusting her nose into the ground with loud snuffs, she pulled back — eyes expectant on hex as she waited for him to do the same. 

but this scent belonged to a long bodied, graceful predator — one the girl had the good fortune of never encountering.