Bramblepoint bleak

guilt gnawed at her, a constant churning in her stomach. she'd been in the mountains when her brother had vanished, telling a stranger how she really felt about blackfeather. maybe she couldn't have done anything to stop the coyote, but maybe she could have - raised the alarm, or tried to face it together with Fall. but she hadn't even been in the territory. 

she deserved the brambles that tugged at her pelt as she tried to force her way through a particularly thick patch of undergrowth. @Moonshadow and Rowan were somewhere just behind her, but she was intent on forging ahead, not quite willing to face them. this path, however, was a dead-end, and so she was forced into an awkward backward-wiggling retreat.

Darkmoon cursed as the thorns caught at his coat, wincing when one would reach right down to the skin. His fur was sticky and stained with burst berries that heralded the changing of the seasons and cooling of the weather. It was not berries he had a taste for, however; he was interested in something more filling.

There was the faint sound of breaking twigs in the distance, and curiousity piqued, Darkmoon set about to seek out its cause. He was upwind, and the scent of whatever was making the din was lost to him, but it was surely something sizeable. It was difficult going, however, to seek out the source of the noise. The undergrowth grew thicker as he drew closer, and he was forced to backtrack and change his course multiple times.
    It was at a particularly dense section that Darkmoon lost all sense of direction, and spinning to free himself of the brambles he stumbled upon the young wolf. Blinking in surprise, he quickly put two and two together. "So it was you making that racket."

she's faced, suddenly, with a stranger; startlingly close. she's not especially scared, knowing the rest of her small family must be somewhere just behind her, but cowed enough to stop still, ears folding back as she looks up to him. "yeah," she managed, acutely aware that she's somewhat struck but not wanting to wiggle to freedom in front of him, save she make it worse. "sorry." she winces a little, but offers a wary, "I'm moony. moonshine." 

Darkmoon felt a sense of power as the pup cowered beneath him. It was almost exhilirating, although the feeling was foreign and new. He stepped towards her, in a lame attempt to intimidate her further. There was no need; he was already at an obvious advantage.
    He scoffed away her apology. "Whatever, I just thought you would be some food instead," he said, feeling disappointment at the turn of events. He would have far preferred something to eat. "Huh, funny," he remarked at her name. "I'm Darkmoon." He looked down at her with a glare, before continuing, "Not Moony - before you get any ideas."

"oh," comes her response, and then to his comment, "what's funny?" she has a plummetting feeling it has something to do with her name, and realizes starkly that ashamed and cowering in a bush is not how to wants the rest of the encounter to be like. she doesn't have control over most of it, at least until her family catches up, but cowering—

"you don't have to be so rude." you're scary enough as it is. she hasn't known an occasion when telling someone not to be rude has worked, but she's not lost hope.

He snorted at her insolence, but let it slide. There was no use getting into an argument with a pup; even he was beyond that. She had missed the point, however, and did feel the need to correct that, at least so they were on the same page.
    "What's funny is that our names sound similar. Darkmoon - Moonshine." He nodded between them as he said this, to drive his point home. "That's all I meant." He rolled his eyes at this and sighed, bemused at how sensitive such a young creature could. Or was that one of those things you were supposed to grow out of? "Shouldn't you, you know...not be alone?"