Blackfeather Woods i've got a switchblade in me that cuts before it's open

This is back-dated to the morining after this thread.

She does not try to return home until the next morning, instead finding somewhere hidden for the remainder of the evening through the night. Cooped up somewhere, licking her wounds, replaying every second and trying to figure out what had gone wrong. He’d been a comrade of hers, once, but he’d fled—her first mistake—but their shared bloodshed should have been enough. It keeps her from sleeping and getting the rest she needs, instead keeping her head down and ears perched high, listening for strange sounds of the night that may indicate her attacker’s return.
 
The first sign of day break, Shivali is up. Her joints are achy and her muscles are sore. She’s been in fights before, wounded and thrown around, but somehow these aches and pains supersede everything she’s been through.
 
Before she crosses the borders of her home, she shivers, re-inspecting every inch that there is no blood, especially near her backside. Most of the cuts and scrapes can be blames on a simple fall or disagreement with another canine, but the tears to her groin prove to be a harder battle and keeping them from view proves more difficult. She shakes out her fur and moves carefully, glancing to the sky as it darkens with the oncoming of snow falling thick from the sky. A good enough distraction.

Carefully, she begins to pick her way through the forest with no particular destination in mind.

Whilst she made her way into the territory, Kove was heading out; his role as the leader made him take his work as a Guardian even more seriously than before, if that was at all possible. He patrolled often, returning his borders to their former glory and ensuring that they were all safe. His ears stood tall atop his crown more often than not, searching for any sounds that might be worth investigating—and it was in doing so that he heard footfalls not too far off from his current location. With the wind against him, he maintained a defensive stance as he steered himself towards the source, yet relaxed the moment he realised who it was.

Kove’s pace slowed but he continued towards her, gradually closing the distance between them. The moment he was within earshot, he called out: “Salutitsinik.”

Kove’s scent begins to thicken and she turns her head, ears cupped forward and listening for and sounds that he is near. Snow crunching beneath his feet draws her attention toward him, watching as he averted his path for her. Each muscle stiffens in response, joints locked in place as she scans him for any signs of aggression—a silly thought, she knows, but it is hard to deflect—and as he gets closer, she back pedals a single step to remind her she has some kind of control.
 
The leader has never been anything but kind to her. He understands her more than anyone else but her former comrade forced a barrier between them, something she cannot share with Kove. She licks her lips nervously and tries to shake off the struggle to keep their trust. Shivali mimics the same salutation with a flick of her tail. He is not the kind of distraction she needs in that moment, but deflecting his attention may seem more suspicious than she’d like to lead on and so she forces a smile to her features to hide some of the awkward.

As she took a step back, he slowed to a stop, watching her carefully but saying nothing. He wondered, briefly, if he might have startled her—but the thought was cast aside just moments later, her actions left unquestioned. Though her nerves were clear he refrained from questioning her, a single brow quirking just once to show he’d caught anything at all, though his expression was wiped clean moments later; he was curious but did not think it his place to pry into her personal affairs and feelings, given just how little they knew of one another.

When the greeting was acknowledged and a smile crossed her lips, he flashed one of his own, ignoring whatever feelings were brewing in his gut; as perceptive as he was, there were times when Kove did not delve deeper and question things, feeling far more content to let things be as they were in certain situations. “Would you like to walk with me?” he asked, always appreciative of the company he was given; he enjoyed being around her and exchanging words, and would gladly do so as often as their times allowed.

Her eyes have already averted away from the leader. Her cheeks burn read as his scrutinizing gaze rests upon her, like he can see through whatever facade she’s trying to muster. It feels so obviously written across her face that something happened, that she is not the as she was yesterday. The monster had taken something from her she can’t get back and it would be easy to unload it on someone else. To give them all the pain and hurt and grief caused from such a brief moment.

When he asks if she wants to take a walk with him, her mind screams no. She’d rather keep going, find somewhere secluded, and lick her wounds until she feels better. The brief wash she had before returning the woods doesn’t feel like enough to get clean.

Shivali takes a deep breath, accepting the offer regardless of how she feels, and turns a bit to allow him to lead the way.

Kove acted as the silent observer, watching her whilst awaiting a response. And once she agreed, he did not take the lead immediately; he stopped alongside her and took a single step, encouraging her to walk along with him and assist in deciding their path, rather than him guiding them entirely. Whether she opted to participate or not, he’d start moving forward, steering them first towards the creek.

“Are you well?” he asked as they walked, glancing her way. The winter was drawing to a close—soon, there would be nothing left to resemble the north other than the two of them.

He does not seem to take the lead right away, waiting on her to move, but her motivation is not strong. As he remains slow, she takes a step to follow along, but ultimately she hopes to get into a pattern where she doesn’t have to think about it. 

The question goes unanswered for the time moment, considering how to answer. Any word that comes out of her mouth is going to be a lie; she hasn’t had time to process everything that happened to her and Kobe’s involvement is unnecessary for now. The old Shivali would have been warmer in response but she seems so far removed from the woman she’d been yesterday, that she doesn’t know how to be. 

”Âha,” she says softly, trailing off and looking elsewhere. ”PiKutenngai?” she returns, hoping he’ll have more to say so she doesn’t have to talk about herself.

For a little while they talk and she deflects anything about herself. The first chance she has to get away and recoup what she’d lost, she takes it and scurries off into solitude.