Serpent Lake one

snow.

it felt too late. he itched for warmth, his skin begged for relief from a winter coat. at least it's light, not that it mattered when it kept the waters frozen and kept prey at bay. logic dictated he would find better meals if he aligned himself somewhere, made some friends.

his heart dictated they would do no such thing. not yet. not out of mere hunger.

he plucked at frozen fish bones, abandoned by a bird of prey.

it was better than nothing.

tavina was tired. her round-the-clock care for the queen and open availability for maegi left her with little time to rest. what hours she did have were spent hunting for jawahir.

the sesh swore as the rabbit she had been tracking bounded away and disappeared into a burrow beneath the snow. she lifted her head with a snort, eyes falling on the tall obsidian figure scavenging not far away.

"are you interested in hunting with me, stranger?" tavina called. she was too focused to point out that he wandered on pharaoh's extended land. ramesses was not here to enforce it.

she was an unassuming figure. stark against the fresh snowfall though, carrying the scent of others and herbs.

yes, he offered plainly. anything fresher than frozen fish would have been more soothing to his hunger.

and he would need not beg at borders for it, either.

tavina approached and began to scout the cold ground. "i'm from akashingo, that way." she gestured toward the mesa. "hunting duties have increased and i want something more than a rabbit to bring back."

the sesh studied her new counterpart. he was hale and reminded her of sihaya. the palace could now more than ever use more guards. but tavina was not focused for now on recruitment. "any leads?" she asked him instead, moving down the waterway.

akashingo.

he looked towards it with a soft grunt. an acknowledgement that he had heard her. little else to say on the matter, he wasn't one to stick his nose where it didn't belong — and had he known they saw here as theirs too he would have left easily.

would you eat otters?

"yes." she flicked her dark ears. "but i'm not so good at hunting them." he could take the lead on this if he had the skill, regardless of the fact that she'd asked him first.

the sesh set her nose along the creekshore and began to look for those little clawed prints that would indicate the near presence of the slinky beasts.

avoid the claws, he informed her. lips briefly curling in an ugly smile. it was the only type of smile gennesis could manage, unfortunately, but the intent behind it was well meaning.

slowly but surely the clawed marks in the earth would appear.

his body lowered, crouching near the ground while they stalked along as the pair grew closer to their aquatic beasts.

his smile was unattractive but not threatening. or maybe tavina was only a fool to hunt with a complete stranger. but she saw nothing wrong with it. akashingo was close. she would call the guards and the fellahin if this man attempted to try something other than run the creek with her.

she followed at his flank. the scent was musky. the cold bank became overrun with the little clawed trails.

"how do you choose one?" tavina whispered as lowly as she was able.