Larksong Grotto You pray it all away but it continues to grow

The journey to the grotto was indeed treacherous, but to the northern beast it proved a moderated challenge. He finds himself in a forest frozen by early winter, a landscape familiar to him and one which reminds him of home. His belly rumbles in hunger as he stalks the forest in silence. His lean form is entirely level, fluffy tail held straight out from his hindquarters and head lowered. 

His nostrils quiver in search, his mind compartmentalizing various scents found in the icy wood. One of them meets his desires, the scent of a polecat a mild distance away from him. Vegas presses on hoping to close this distance in time to make a kill and sate his constant and formidable hunger.

Kasatka had no way of knowing this, but she'd inherited her father's insatiable need for travel. And although her main reason for departing once again from her natal family was searching out Aditya, she could not deny that ranging the open wilderness on her own held great appeal to the young girl. After all, she had still yet to experience true evil or true hunger. She thought that, having survived her father's death and the fire that had ravaged the plains of her birth, she was wise to the cruelty of the world.

She did not know that her own sorrows hardly scratched the surface, and she was happier for it. But it left her vulnerable, and ignorant to that fact.

As it was, the tawny eight-month-old traipsed happily through the taiga, ranging high peaks and invading deep valleys with high-spirited determination. The purpose of her ranging did make her sad, at times, but Kasatka was a soul unable to be repressed by her sorrows. She felt them, and felt them deeply, but the thrill of being alive was enough to keep her trucking on.

But it would not protect her from danger. Kasatka knew this - or thought she did - but somehow the knowledge did not keep her from approaching the pale wolf as soon as she saw him, tail swaying merrily at her hocks. Hi, she called out, scrabbling down one of the grotto's walls. You're the first wolf I've seen for a week or more! Her tone suggested that she was very pleased to see him. One might even wonder if she'd mistaken him as an old friend, for the undeniable warmth in her voice.

The pale wolf's nose, focussed entirely upon the scent of the polecat, is invaded by the scent of another wolf. A female, not far off. His lip twitches in mild irritation. He had closed in upon the polecat when she approached him and from the corner of his blue eye he sees the creature dart off in a seemingly impossible direction. 

Vegas is wise to the cruelty of the world as, much like the young woman's past, his homeland had been ravaged by wildfires of a dry summer, separating him from his natal pack. But the snowy wolf is not, in fact, wise to the cruelty of others yet and for this the tawny adolescent is lucky. He meets her friendly gaze with an amiable one of his own, large blue eyes more curious than irritated. The polecat, he reasons, was skinny and probably diseased anyway.

His long tail sways as he continues to regard her, clearing his throat before he responds, "Me - me neither. What's your name?" He offers a sweet half smile.

Kasatka stopped short when she saw the polecat disappear into the underbrush - had she interrupted his hunt? "Oh - were you hunting? I'm sorry," she hurried to say, stumbling to a halt just a few yards away. She couldn't help but feel that she'd made a poor impression, now, even if the pale wolf seemed friendly and open to her company.

"I'm Kasatka," she said shyly, nose twitching as she took in the other wolf's scent. "What's your name?"

It seemed that, this time, she would not find her reckoning.

He watches her stumble to a halt and leans forward a bit as if to catch her should she fall. But. The young woman rights herself perfectly fine and hurries out an apology. Keeping his soft smile Vegas gives a shake of his head, brushing off the apology with such a gesture.

"Don't worry about it. Maybe I'll find it later." The snowy wolf chuckles in a mildly awkward manner. 

She gives her name and his eyes widen at the sheer beauty of it. He likes names, especially those with a strong yet feminine tone. After a moment of indecision he opts to comment on it. "Pretty name."he says this in his soft tones, a mere comment seeking not to flatter or overwhelm her with unwarranted or flirtatious intentions. 

"Mine is Vegas. Vegas Sadira." His smile fades before returning. Usually surnames are unnecessary but he had spoken it out of habit and now it's too late.

"Ahem. How are you today?" He wonders.

Kasatka's ears pressed forward in interest at the sound of the unfamiliar name. It occured to her, belatedly, to offer her own surname - but the time for that seemed to have passed, so she refrained.

"I can try to help you catch something else, if you want," she offered, thinking that she could use a meal herself. Her mother had taught her a bit about fishing, and she'd learned to hunt birds from Sunny. Perhaps, between the two of them, they'd be able to scare up a meal. "I'm doing well, but I'm pretty hungry, too. I didn't mean to ruin your meal - but now that we're both out of luck, maybe we can work together?"

His ears perk at her offer. Behind him his tail begins to sway at his heels. "I would like that. Maybe we will find something better than polecat. They are not my favorite." He gives a soft sigh and his tail wags a bit faster.

"I'm pretty new around here. Know of anywhere to look for some food?"

Kasatka had grown up in the area, but she had never been to this area in particular. Still, she pointed her nose toward the nearest source of water - a calm, still pool that was just barely visible from where they stood. "We can try fishing," she suggested. "I know how, but I'm still not the best at it. You should see my mom at it, though!"

But still, she was proficient, and she was sure she could rustle up some catfish for them if Vegas was willing to be patient. She said as much as she led the way toward the pool, tail wagging behind her as she chattered a mile a minute about autumn trips to the river, and how her mom used to live on an island, and about fishing in general.

The young wolf suggests fishing and his ears perk in excitement. In a fleeting memory he recalls his father fishing with him although patience was not Phoenix's strong suit. 

Vegas nods. "Yes, let's go," he says softly and with a smile, following the adolescent with his tail swaying along, ears cupped towards the sound of her chattering voice as he listens with interest and patience. He says nothing but he smiles, attempting to show her that he is enjoying her stories and recollections. In his mind he thinks of his own mother, now dead and gone, a patient woman from whom Vegas inherited such traits as patience and kindness.

Eventually they reach the pool and Vegas looks towards her. "Well. I haven't fished in years, heh. You're gonna have to show me what you know. And... I'll try."

Kasatka waded into the water up to her ankles and stood there quite still. "It's not too difficult if there are fish around. You just wait for them to come close to you and then snatch 'em. Mom showed me a trick where you step in some berries or a kill, and then they come to eat it off your paws so you don't have to wait as long."

But since they didn't have any berries or a fresh kill, they might be waiting a while for the fish to get over their fear and approach.

"I've heard of wolves who go swimming in the ocean and hunt fish like you'd hunt a turkey, but I can't do that," she chatted, glad to have someone to talk to after so much time alone. "But maybe my cousin Seelie has learned? I haven't met her, but she lives on an island! It seems like you'd get very good at fishing, living around so much water and all. Don't you think?"