unlike the summer, I'm the moon, I'll bring the sun down

Even when the sun shone the forest would not allow much light to shine through the canopy, even less so now that clouds obscured it from view. The usually sun-dappled ground was dark as shadows, and the coywolf blended in easily. The darkness of the woods suited her mood. Not that she was trying to hide. No, the girl wanted nothing more than to be found — for her sister to find her. The storm had taken her. She would have suspected that red-eyed boy if it weren't for the horrible event that spawned from the sky and wreaked havoc on the ground.

She had seen it. It had destroyed so much. The pack fled their packlands and Lakhesis sought shelter in a different direction. She cared little for the wolves of Blackfeather. Only her sisters — her fellow vessels — were of any importance to the young girl. Pale eyes stared intently ahead of her as she aimlessly wandered the forest, trying to remember where she had last saw Shego. Magic could return her, but Lakhesis' sullen mood would influence it's effectiveness.

She needed different blood.

do you mind if i date this to take place close to nightfall on 8/19/2015?

 
Overcast as it’d been all day, the sky was slowly but surely darkening as nightfall approached. And where the sun made its retreat, Sien followed, making her way through the exposed tarns where little shelter was to be had.
 
Eventually, she reached the edge of what appeared to be a sizable, densely packed forest, and after casting her eyes upwards to catch one last glimpse of the Creator's soft glow, she entered it. It was considerably dimmer inside, under the network of intertwined branches at the height of their summer’s growth and as Sien ventured deeper into its heart, she soon found herself missing even what little light the cloud-burdened skies had afforded. And yet, in spite of her clear preference for illumination, she neither hated nor feared darkness – its cover had been a faithful friend far too frequently in the past to inspire any animosity.
 
She was shortly reminded, however, that darkness favored no one; that its services were available to all and sundry. When the faint but distinctive scent of another canine wafted across her path as she paused to inspect a collection of fallen logs, Sien froze. Her muscles tightened in preparation for potential ambush and her nostrils flared, seeking more information. Whoever it was, they were nearby, but the forests' many aromas masked them well enough that she couldn’t pinpoint their location by smell alone. She scanned the area, but failed to discern their figure from the flickering, deepening shadows. ”Who’s there?” She demanded, a clear edge sharpening her tone.

Not at all! :D

Deeper she crept into the forest, large ears swivelling as she took in each and every sound. The scent of fox was heavy here, mingling with others that were common among the woods. Something skittered by through the undergrowth to her right, but Lakhesis paid it no mind, instead pressing on in an undetermined direction.

A smell distracted her — new, not of the forest. She paused and turned her head sharply, eyes focusing on where a voice now sounded. Demanding and female. The girl cocked her own head and lightly spun on her heel, moving through the trees as she followed the stranger's scent and call.

She stood out from the pitch darkness, a pale, burly wolf. A warrior. She had to be careful. Eyes trained unblinkingly upon the other's own golden ones, Lakhesis stepped out of the shadows like an obedient dog after being summoned by it's master. "Lakhesis," she introduced herself with a small nod of her head, mind whirring into action.

ah, excellent; thanks. i just wanna make keeping track of thread timelines easier on myself. owo!

The other wolf... no, the scent was different – a hybrid, then. The hybrid slid forward like an oil slick, distinguishing themselves from the shade. Upon setting her sights on them, Sien’s suspicions were confirmed; they were smaller, slimmer and quite possibly younger, with the coyote displaying itself prominently in certain traits. She felt herself relaxing marginally, now that she had visuals and knew what she was up against. But though her assessment had revealed her company to be less of a threat than she’d initially geared herself up for, Sien was not fool enough to believe the stranger harmless. “If it has teeth, then it can bite.” Dad had always said. And yet, now that some of the tension had left her and gave her a chance to sort out her thoughts, awareness of her mistakes dawned on her. ”Lakhesis.” The other spoke before Sien could act to correct herself, words accompanied by a small nod of acknowledgement.  

Sien made a soft, stifled noise in the back of her throat in response before she could help herself and tried to adopt a friendlier posture, smoothing down bristled fur and straightening out her ears. ”Sorry, habit.” She said in reference to her earlier aggression, dipping her head lower than Lakhesis had, an almost-bow, by way of apology. ”Sien.” She offered, after she’d composed herself again. In normal circumstances she would’ve left it at that, but Sien felt compelled to go the extra mile this time for the Creator’s sake; for having forgotten Sect ideologies so easily and completely at the slightest sign of trouble. She cast about for an appropriate conversational topic with not inconsiderable difficulty. ”What's your purpose? Nice to meet you.” she said, at last. And immediately winced. Good job, her mind drawled, That was worse than if you’d said nothing at all. ”…Other way around.” she clarified awkwardly after an embarrassingly extended pause, resisting the temptation to avert her gaze from Lakhesis' face even momentarily.

Haha, no problem!

The softest of growls pierced the silence after Lakhesis announced her name, and she took a slow, wary step backwards. While she not a fearful wolf, she was cautious around those who were much larger than herself — especially ones who were so quick to anger. She was no fighter. The stranger was quick to relax, however, apologising and offering her own name with a dip of her head. The witch tilted her own head again, returning a light-hearted smile and accepting her apology with a sweep of her tail.

Silence settled again which Lakhesis was in no hurry to break. She studied this Sien, the tip of her tail flicking back and forth as she did so. Young. Strong. Her face was long, almost exotic-looking, and framed by darker speckles of brown. She was not who she was looking for...but perhaps she could still be of some use.

The coywolf stood unflinching even as Sien stumbled over her words, seemed to cringe, and then paused before a quickly adding a footnote to her messy introduction. She huffed a laugh in her throat, not particularly caring how awkward the other female felt, instead finding her antics amusing. Her purpose. The question made the girl's tail stop it's waving, and she took a step forward, nose twitching as she breathed in Sien's scent. "You are sick," she stated bluntly, skipping the pleasantries. A lie, but she was betting on the other having no skill in healing.

oooh my god, oh my god im so sorry for taking so long; school started up again and ive just been swamped

That the hybrid was able to remain impassive through Sien’s conversational fumblings was something she was strangely grateful for. Then the hybrid chuckled lowly, and just like that, any solace Sien had felt evaporated, replaced once more by chagrin and a flicker of self-irritated longing. So bad, her mind tsked again, and were it a wholly separate entity from Sien herself, it might’ve shaken its head solemnly in affected disappointment. Oblivious to Sien’s internal turmoil, the other female seemed to have come to some sort of realization, one which made her bolder. She advanced a single step and inhaled, face alert and nose quivering. ”You are sick,” she said casually, the harshness of her words in sharp contrast with the indifference of her tone.
 
A frown swept across Sien’s countenance and she stiffened. Excuse me? she thought, almost acerbically. What was the hybrid trying to do, pick a fight? So maybe Sien’s attempts at interaction had been a little…awkward. Maybe they even deserved the laughter the nameless stranger had directed at them – but by the Creator’s grace, she’d promised to try and she was trying. Yet not only had her company seen fit to laugh at her, she’d pointedly avoided answering any of Sien’s questions, choosing instead to hurl an insult of all things. Didn’t even offer her name, she realized, with no shortage of annoyance. But... Sien had promised to do better ‘next time’, had she not? Tamping down her feelings of offense, she attempted a smile – a frostily polite one, but a smile nonetheless. ”How so?” Sien asked, and despite her best efforts, the words, bland as they were, left her throat edged with ice. 

Noo it's okay, totally fine! Haha <3

That she responded with no amusement wasn't a surprise to Lakhesis, her features remaining stoic as the other's let a frown flit across her own. She worried for a moment that Sien was an experienced healer and knew exactly that this was an outright lie. The witch herself had no real skills and would not quickly be able to come up with a reason for thinking why she was sick. However, the stranger didn't give any other indication that she knew, instead offering just an icy smile that was edged with scorn.

"I can smell it," Lakhesis answered sincerely, trying to earn back some of the former friendliness of the girl. She tucked her ears back, taking another step forward and waiting to see if she'd let her come even closer, eagerness in her eyes. "Your blood has gone bad."

@Lakhesis; weeps im sorry 4 the wait (again) ; w; im also v sorry that sien is a conversational disasterpiece, but less sorry about that bc it can't be helped

"I can smell it,” Lakhesis said, almost placatingly. Sien cocked her head slightly to the side and a flicker of confusion crossed her face. Smell it? What was that supposed to mean? How could you smell…? Unless… It began to dawn on Sien that she might’ve misinterpreted the hybrid's meaning. Puzzled, and mildly alarmed, she replayed the past few minutes in her mind's eye, searching for clarifying clues to try and help her reconcile the old information with the new. 

Then, the other seemingly took advantage of her distraction to take another tentative step forward, and she re-focused instantly, unease prickling faintly across her skin at the mental interruption and the hybrid's gradual advance. ”Your blood has gone bad.”  Lakhesis spoke again, eyes bright and unnervingly earnest. The frown that'd appeared on Sien's face deepened; this new statement was just as unhelpfully ambiguous as rest, if not more so. 

She’s playing you, using a metaphor and hoping you won’t catch on, her mental voice murmured, ever the paranoid pessimist, as she tried to parse her own conflicting impressions. Sien flicked her gaze upwards, and though she could only see a scattered diffusion of light bleeding through the clustered canopy, it was enough to strengthen her resolve. Yes, it was entirely possible she was being mocked, but she'd made a promise, and regardless of what was really going on, she would do her best, Sien decided, to assume the best. 

”Okay,” She said at last, accepting the female's assessment. ”Thanks for telling me.” She added after a short pause, some measure of warmth returning to her demeanor now that she’d sorted out how to approach the situation. 

Although Sien didn’t put much stock in the idea of being able to “smell bad blood,” she'd made her bed and she was determined to lie in it. She’d humor the hybrid if nothing else, and if it so happened that what Lakhesis was saying was legitimate and her blood really was tainted somehow... well, she’d cross that bridge when she came to it, if ever. 

It was unclear to Sien what, exactly, “bad blood” entailed, let alone how to go about treating it, but she felt fine now, and that was enough. A more pressing matter, and one that'd just occurred to her however, was worth voicing. "Is it contagious?" She asked, somewhat belatedly. It wouldn't do for a Sunbound Sect disciple to go around spreading diseases after all; she was supposed to be helping others, not hurting them.