Haunted Wood ships in the night

When the sun dipped below the horizon the darkness grew, deepening the sky to purple and then, eventually, a dimming grey. Despite the dwindling of the light there was no end to the residual heat rising from the soil. Hours of being warmed beneath the summer sun left the earth practically humming with energy. The warmth rose like the spirits of the dead hunting for a vessel, twisting between the trees and catcing in the net of the canopy overhead; above, the stars watched with a glimmering indifference.

The shifting air was all that heralded the stranger's arrival from the south. A humid breeze gusting, undulating like the breath of giants, to tousle at the scruff of the wanderer's coat. He moved carefully - but, with a flamboyance, somewhat poised in the manner of an athelete or perhaps a dancer. As the wind died down so too did the tempo of the wolf's steps. The lull brought a striking lethargy to the creature, their head lowering frorm where it was level with their shoulders, probing the dirt, investigative. As the wolf stopped they raised their head and peered around, maybe having discovered something different in this particular patch of nowhere - but what?

The ebony wolfess had been doing patrol and resting her limbs after she was poisoned and after the fight with Nakara. Her bones aches all over but she seemed to trekk forward as if a dent wasn’t made. She knew that if she appeared weak others would see her as someone they could take advantage of. 

During her patrol she noticed a foreign wolf in the territory. She let out a low chuff to make the other aware of her presence. “My pack occupy this land, state your business.”

A chuff, then a voice carries between the trees, My pack occupy this land, state your business.

The ink-dark woman appears in Zabaniyah's periphery. They are larger than her, but even so, the wanderer does not appear bothered. The commanding tone of the stranger's voice draws Zabaniyah's attention. A flick of the eyes, a twist of the ears. The stranger smells like the forest, of other wolves, and bloodshed. 

Travel, she states plainly.

The woman seemed to be one of few words and it only slightly irritated her but she guessed there was no ther way to explain it. “Well if that is all and you have no intent on joining I suggest you be on your way.” She saw no reason to chase the woman out just yet.

The stranger's tone shifted. Zabaniyah listened to the change and found it curious that a simple answer could assuage the other wolf's aggression. It was curiouser still that the stranger would presume Zabaniyah was here to join any collective without a proper introduction. A slight crease of the agouti woman's brow gave the impression of a hesitation; she pondered what the strange shadow of a woman meant.

Then her features relaxed. She glanced around at the dark forest and took a long, deep breath of the summer air. There were other wolf scents here but nothing to indicate to Zabaniyah that she was in danger. She leveled her gaze upon the stranger and asked, Tell me of your people? Perhaps her search was over as quickly as it had begun.

She didnt know exactly how to respond since it was rarely spoken about but she spoke of what she had gathered in her time here. “I guess you can say we’re a group of mercenaries for hire.” If she was speaking in simple terms that’s what they were.

The woman paused long enough to listen, but as not much detail was offered she deemed the conversation a dead one, and moved on.