Raven's Watch Two hearts fading, like a flower.

The hunt continued, in more than one way. Ciri scaled unfamiliar slopes beneath scorching heat of a Summer sun just the day prior in search of prey, and as she roused from the mountainside hollow where she'd settled on the ravenhome for the night, she rose her muzzle to look out into a downpour. With the weather a stark contrast to what it'd been less than 12 hours before, she decided to wait for the worst of the rains to pass - impatiently.

Still her belly grumbled, and in the quiet of her lonely cave the swallow came to realise that she'd been foolish to reject Kukutux' offer. In hindsight she should've rooted herself for a day or two, ensured that her body was well prepared for a long trip over the mountains, but Ciri had not been of a clear mind. It continued to reel, tormented her with grim thoughts of a family lost, and to keep moving held them at bay. 

She huffed a sigh and propped her chin atop the dark elbow of an outstretched forelimb to gaze out into the heavy rain. A dark ear rotated forward to the distant sound of thunder, booming far off toward the wild sea.

After his initial dance with crows and the thunder and lightning that violently tossed open the darkening skies, Dragonfly found himself once more back to Raven's Watch. There was something that lured him back in, though he couldn't quite definite yet what it was. Previously he had met Sakhmet and learned about a pack that formed nearby, Blacktail. For a moment he wondered whether it was okay to visit -- like she said -- but it had been too early. The close-knit pack was still forming and its boundaries were faint; if he came he came when the rules were defined more clearly and his steps wouldn't be stopped by a muscular wolf who claimed he was on border patrol.

Whenever he threaded among Raven's Watch, bad weather followed. Just his luck. Once more rain clouds loomed above his head, darkening the world with its forebode of water. Not moments later it began to rain -- or no, pour -- from the sky like somebody pulled a bath plug from an ocean. This brought him to a deja-vu; time to find shelter in these lands once more. This time he zig-zagged, climbed a little -- while getting wetter and wetter -- before finding the nook of shelter that he spend waiting with Sakhmet before. Speeding up the last few meters, he nearly summer-saulted his way back in, unbeknownst that there was another wolf. "Oooh, oops..hi." Rotating his ears back apologetic as he wasn't one for grande entries, he added. "Is it okay if I wait here too until the bad weather passes by?"

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Woah, isn't it 10 years ago since we last met at a reptile show in Hamm, Germany? Hi, Chetan/Fatalis here! Couldn't resist ;-)

It was! Hiiii! <3

Over the sound of pouring rain, Ciri heard the clack of claws against stone just beyond the entrance to her little cave. She lifted her head and dark ears swivelled forward, trained toward the hollow's edge, and promptly pulled herself upright at the appearance of a pale, sodden stranger.

The girl drew in a sharp breath and held it, for her anxiety spiked with the realisation that she could be trapped there should this interaction take an aggressive turn. Coarse guard hairs pricked defensively, Ciri's vivid eyes were sharp on the alabaster face of the intruder, though she refrained from baring fangs.

His words were in no way threatening, though the swallow maintained her quiet suspicion. "Hi," she returned, comparing her size to his and wondering how easily she could squeeze past him should she have need to, "I, uh... I guess?" She wasn't too thrilled to have company in any way, but she supposed she could deal with it as long as he didn't try anything funny.

His honey-brown eyes observed the contours of her body as she spoke; there was a flicker of hesitation in her words and her body language was defensive. Nobody rolled out the red carpet on his mission to find shelter. And he could completely understand her reaction; not only did it feel like being forced into an escape room with a complete stranger, he was at this moment not at his best. Or, rather -- not at his prettiest. The rainfall had completely and violently poured down on top of him, making him appear like a drowned kitty. His coat was completely soaked as water droplets rolled downwards and a small pool was collecting where he stood.

"I can also leave if you really don't want me here." He offered as an option, of course not one he preferred but if she was really hesitant and anxious now that he was here, he would go. "I'm Dragonfly ..the drowned." With a dip of his head he offered his greetings. Maybe the playful way he said the drowned, would break the ice.

Did I already mentioned Dragonfly wasn't at his prettiest (read, more like a beast)? Well, Ciri was obviously more a beauty. Beauty and the beast. She had a rich, chocolate-bronze hue to her skin. There was a contrast of light and dark. It was completed with her gold-kissed eyes and her sleek figurine. 

@Draggonfly sorry for the wait here!

Despite the anxiety that gripped her at the sodden stranger's appearance, at the idea of being trapped, Ciri's scrutiny of him found that his face was a handsome one. He had kind eyes, she thought, each a warm earthen shade that looked upon her gently.

He offered to leave, yet remained rooted. This suggested that he didn't want to, probably did not particularly want to scour the cliffs in search of another shelter. The swallow's bright eyes lingered on the pale wolf's soaked brow, on the way the wet furs of his ears had been curled by the rain; she wondered if he knew.

"I'm Ciri," she answered, each corner of her lips tugging upward in the hint of a smile at the way in which he offered his name, though she could think of no amusing way to share her own. Ciri the doomed didn't have the same charm, "just... just Ciri."

The flow of conversation was clumsy, at least in the swallow's part, and soon the rains slowed to a soft drizzle. She grasped at the opportunity for freedom and bid the pale-furred wolf a soft farewell, not looking back as she slipped past him and out into the open.