Fairspell Meadow And I was in the darkness so the darkness I became

Her entry to this land was uneventful, the red woman simply kept walking and soon found herself over the threshold and in Teekon. The land itself was barren with a few splotches of regrowth to its name. There was little sign of prey, at least from this spot there was. There didn't seem to be any sign of the poisonous plants she dealt in, though she would have to look more extensively.

Kinvara padded across the dirt of what had once been a meadow in the middle of the night, one of her favorite t times of day, before stopping at a small stream. In the darkness, Kin couldn't tell if the water held fish or not; her eyes were not so good that she could detect the reflective scales even with the moon to light her path. The woman drunk her fill and then straightened, looking in each of the directions.

To the North, the South, the East, or the West? Decisions, decisions. Did it particularly matter? Kinvara had many questions, most that would go unanswered given her tendency for silence.  Turning, the former slave began walking once more.

The meadow offered Menta peace, peace that she desperately sought out at night. The female struggled with consistent sleep, especially now with the increased necessary anxiety that a lone wolf faced, and she found that the meadow gave her the unchanging and seemingly calm scenery that would help whisk consciousness away.

Menta had her chin placed on her front legs as she concentrated on her breath, trying to keep herself in an illusion of inner peace, and it was a very immediate now that her ears demanded her attention. They had caught the unmistakable sound of another animal - friend? foe? - walking nearby, and she quickly rose to her feet in a bit of a daze. Nose quickly worked to inform her that it was an adult wolf and female, but could not provide further. 

Yellow eyes flashed out to where the shape of the wolf walked, and Menta gave a quick woof. Hello? More of an inquiry than a greeting, and the cream went back to still and silent.

Hearing the other's voice set the former Servus on edge, her neck fur bristled the tiniest bit before she forced herself to calm. It was similar every time the she-wolf encountered people, Kinvara would get a prickling sensation along her neck which she would force to the back of her mind.

Moving as silent as the dead, Kin soon came upon a cream colored female who was stretched out on the ground. It wasn't surprising given most wolves slept through the night, Kinvara was a peculiar creature with her nocturnal habits. The stranger called out to her and Kin stepped forward into her line of sight. 

The red woman knew she had an unnerving effect on others, she simply stared at the cream wolf with blank red eyes and waited. Will you be afraid? The mute girl made no move to speak, only staring in expressionless silence at the stranger and waited for a reaction or mayhaps more words.

Menta stood steady as the wolf turned her attention towards her, stepping closer and more into the direct moonlight. The cream's coat naturally stood out more in this darkness, reflected and highlighted by the white orb in the sky above, but she had yet to see the color of the other female. Darker was usual, but red was altogether surprisng - Menta's father had a running undercurrent of red in his coat, but she had yet to stumble upon a wholly red wolf in her travels.

And so it was that the usually unflappable wolf felt a flinch of surprise on her haunches. Hello, she tried again, this time more of an assertive statement as she regained composure. Are you mute? Menta asked without sneer or judgement, having just spent time with a mute wolf for the first time and having to get over her initial confusion at the lack of verbalizing. Now it seemed a perfectly reasonable thing to be, just as the red of the wolf before her would come to be.

The other flinched and Kinvara nearly smirked, but managed to keep her composure. Are you afraid white wolf or just surprised at my apperance? It was controversial depending on where you went. Some had revered her at home as being 'kissed by fire' a heaven sent from their God. Others had feared her, called her a demon. Some even went as far to call her Satan for the blood red of her eyes and the amber of her pelt. 

Astute, I like that. Kinvara dipped her head in a clear nod, letting the other know her assumption was correct. There was no malice in the stranger's voice which surprised her, many thought the red woman dim for her lack of speech. Not to say she couldn't speak, Kin just preferred her silence. 

Kinvara gestured to the she-wolf with her muzzle, asking her name silently. How she would tell this stranger her own name was unknown, mayhaps she wouldn't need to. Some didn't care to learn her name.

Mute, again. Menta marveled that this was two mute lone wolves in one week that she had run into. Perhaps the packs here had a policy for shunning those who were so different? After all, the other mute wolf had just as bizarre a form and colors as the red female in front of her and neither wore the scents of many wolves claiming them as a pack member.

Just as Menta wondered how that could be with so much communication being nonverbal, irony twisted her understanding and she misstook the red's muzzle point. I'm not a threat to you, the cream assured her. It was almost laughable in her mind - the female before her was a good bit smaller, and Menta had always placed too much confidence in her fighting abilities as she rose up the ranks back home. I was just trying to find a place to settle for sleep. Not that she would for a while now, knowing that there was another lone wolf with unknown intentions nearby.

The other didn't seem to understand her silent cues though Kinvara didn't mind, names weren't so important and it wasn't as if the stranger knew her well enough to guess what she was trying to ask. Kinvara was briefly frustrated with herself, though one couldn't tell outwardly, but it was gone before she could blink.

The stranger's words nearly made her snort in amusement. This woman hurt Kinvara? She had faced scarier than this stranger and lived, Kin bore the scar. Mayhaps Kinvara was tiny in stature and mayhaps she wasn't a fighter, but one shouldn't count her out of the running based on size. Either way, Kinvara appreciated the effort and gave the stranger a rare but small smile.

Was that laughter?

Menta had considered herself generous and welcoming, at least as far as two lone wolves could be in their precarious positions, and was a little thrown by what she perceived as it being thrown back in her face. The cream felt her legs lock up as she raised an eyebrow in suspicion. When the stranger gave a small smile - even more bizarre and unsettling in Menta's mind - it was met with the most miniscule of a frown.

Basta, Menta told herself, as she had to do multiple times a day - her family sighing it at her had turned into an internalized voice. Enough, this is enough from you, and you don't need to scuffle. Pushing onto her pride wasn't exactly worth expending energy to defend it. While this famine hadn't killed Menta, it had weakened her and made her more critically evaluate her choices of where she put forth energy.

Her legs remained stiff, her ears rigid, and her yellow eyes fixated on the female before her - but Menta gave no start, no growl to express her disapproval.

A stiffness took over the stranger's form; her legs straightening, her eyes locking on Kinvara, her ears raising. Overall she seemed to scream cautiousness, anger. Her small smile was met by a frown, and so it slipped from her face and instead returned the emotionless expression from before. I've offended her somehow.

Deciding it would be a good time to make her exit, Kinvara gave the stranger a parting glance before turning away. Padding off just as silently as she came, Kin left the stranger to her dreams and continued on with her journey.