Shy Deer Steppes in the junkyard, it's every dog for himself.

now the taiga gave way to dry steppes which were blue and cold. shoko shook out his fur, watching as his breath faded in wisps.

the barely audible growl of his stomach pushed him on. there were no deer here that he saw, but a small herd of plain clothed bighorn sheep grazed between drifts of early morning mist.

shoko trailed a distance behind them.

the population within akashingo had swelled of late, which should have been a blessing. there were faces satsu did not know flitting about the place; mostly it was the constant feeling of eyes upon her that made her withdraw, and so without prompting, satsu departed.
her maidservant tamar was hot on her heels, but any protest was ignored long before, to the point that they now moved in silence. somewhere further away strolled the crimson shape of arsenio.
all that satsu wanted was the freedom to roam which she felt entitled to.
the freedom that a band of errant sheep could enjoy, trailing across the steppe at their own pace, but was not permitted for the soon-to-be queen.
a wistful sigh escapes her.

three wolves, but shoko only saw the one. his quarry - if it could even be called his own - were wiser, and fled. 

he paused where the thinning reeds met rubble. the wolf he saw bore a coat of mist and silver. she was too far for shoko to discern any particular expression or demeanor.

unsure of her intentions shoko turned to face the huntress. she was either friend or foe; shoko would find out soon enough.

when she deigned to continue, satsu did not speak and instead found her footing on thin ledges, moving carefully and quickly. tamar nursed her sore paw pads and did not look up until it was too late; she was too large to follow the same path.
satsu felt the stirrings of pleasure in knowing the servant and herself were parted. it would take some time before the maiden found an alternative path.
finding herself alone at last - or perceiving herself to be so - there was a renewed lightness to her step. one ledge gave way to a henge, then a span of reeds, with an increasing chill across the earth as it leveled out.
the mist gave everything a mystical look. some places glittered with faint traces of dew. as her gaze drifted across the landscape, she caught sight of a pair of eyes set in a dark face.
this froze satsu to the spot immediately.

Cameo unless directly addressed.

The guard prowled a good distance from the lady queen’s path, just far enough that he could keep her within his sights and to make sure that he could reach her before another might try. Arsenio was certain she was tired of his presence, his loud voice, but he did not test her in the same ways that he did the maid girl. Satsu was the queen and she belonged to the Pharaoh – he would never contest this.

Ahead, there was an unfamiliar figure. Arsenio watched with a cold stare; head lowered into a hunter’s prowl. For the time being, he kept his distance. The ice of his eyes did not leave the man across from the queen.

his breakfast was long gone, leaving the clattering of stone in their bounding wake. 

shoko turned once to watch the round bottoms of the sheep flee, then turned back.

the woman was closer now. her skulking flame-furred guard remained sheathed by the early morning fog. something about how she stopped unsettled the wanderer. 

he turned his head to the left, then to the right curiously; apprising her out of two glinting eyes as if each might see their own distinct interpretation of satsu.

the man didn't speak. he watched the movement of the fleeing sheep before turning to her, and while satsu was unnerved to be found by a stranger she wasn't afraid. it was almost refreshing to face someone who didn't know her at all, or think of pharaoh when they looked at her.
she tried on a smile. dark circles had begun to form beneath her eyes lately and the smile exacerbated them.
ohayō, i ... apologize, for frightening your breakfast.
had she been sequestered for so long that she had forgotten how to hold a normal conversation? the air staled; she watched him carefully, unaware of how close her guard had come to them.
it didn't occur to satsu to offer compensation, such as her aid in a hunt. that was for the low-born, or the vagrants.

shoko thought several things, none of them pharaoh when he beheld satsu. he thought of river stones and the old peaks of his home. her eyes reminded him of his mother; he had forgotten her face, but not her eyes. 

he had time now to see she was tired, her smile strained. he did not return it, for the expression would not be genuine. the stranger’s speech was unlike his own, so he turned an ear to better receive it. 

she apologized for the loss of his breakfast. shoko found such a thing unnecessary. he had little chance bringing down even the weakest of the herd on his own. her presence was simply a well timed deterrent to avoid doing something stupid. 

i was wishing rather than hunting. shoko confessed, still unaware of the lingering presence of satsu’s guard. breakfast would be nice, though. 

after this he fell silent, for shoko had the opposite problem: he had only his own company for companionship these days, and was at a loss for much more to say.

as the man spoke he was calm, not at all cautious from what satsu could discern. she took the time to study his face, though she avoided looking him straight on, as a habit that hadn't fully departed her.
her smile lengthened.
perhaps i could-- she began, in time for tamar to slink in to view, out of breath. sides heaving and shoulders drooped.
satsu glanced her way and her jaw tensed. an idea struck the woman when she saw the servant and in the next moment she was calling out, @Arsenio, i have a task for you.
somewhere in the morning's ether was the red-coat, watching, she presumed. whether he was near enough to heed her was another matter. satsu stood there waiting, trying not to be impatient before the traveler.

shoko’s studying of the female ceased when a new wolf slunk into view.  this one he peered at curiously, turning only to satsu as she called for yet another.  

he could not help the way he glanced into the clouds of mist; this one seemed within earshot. how many lurked beyond the gloom?

he cared little for this. down he buried that uncomfortable feeling of being watched, stifling instead with a look of quiet inquiry.

The lady Satsu called to him, saying that she had a task that he assumed she would have him perform. The Greek man burned at the thought of being summoned in such a way, brazenly revealing his presence to this unknown man. 

Arsenio prowled forward, emerging from the sheet of mist and to the side of the queen. His eyes did not stray from the other man. The Greek man grinned coldly.

it pleased her to be right. arsenio came prowling from the mist, his coat bleeding out a haze of ginger until he took shape, as if satsu held arcane power.
take tamar and aid this man in his hunt. you are capable of such a feat? her tone was light and expectant.
it was an order poorly disguised. satsu then looked to the man, her smile more genuine and warm.
it is the least i can offer. we live nearby, so what remains after breakfast will not spoil.
it would aid the war effort and potentially win satsu a new friend, if the others did as they were told.

from the fog a great shape appeared, ruddy and transient until arsenio came into full focus. 

a powerful man, stronger than shoko. it was not just his physique that unsettled the wanderer, but that cold grin that shed no warmth. 

he turned to satsu as she offered him not one, but two hunting companions. both were capable, clearly - but who was this woman? and how many more at her helm?

these questions lingered unspoken. shoko returned that sunny ray of a smile with a dip of his head. obliged. 

he was admittedly unwilling to part with satsu and go with these strangers. for all the cold of her mercury pelt, she was much preferred to the grim silence of her guard. he waited for arsenio to speak or move, wondering if this wasn’t some elaborate trap to get him off his guard and killed.

The Greek internally bristled. He was no errand boy, he was a man hired for his fangs. The lady would not be pleased if he denied her. There was little choice in what he could do, what choice he had. Hunting with the stranger meant that Satsu was not in direct risk of harm, not from the man. 

Very good, we go now then. 

Arsenio stared at Shoko expectantly. The auburn wolf stepped forward and drew his cold gaze upward. His smile faded to a thin-lipped curtness.

@Tamar hurried to her side but one look, closely shared and chilling, stilled her tongue.
the queen was pleased that her companions were so agreeable. perhaps she should applaud germanicus for his selection of the guard; but that was not important now.
very good. and good luck to you, i will keep out of the way. she couldn't exactly join them, being untrained in such endeavors and all.
she settled in the shadow of the steppe, circling there and then laying, her eyes on the retreating figure of arsenio.

feel free to skip satsu, or speed thru the hunt in one post, whichever! tagged tamar for reference in case eb wants to pop in.

much to digest in little time. the cold man  - so frigid despite the flame of his pelt! - stepped forward. some unspoken law bid shoko to look away from that pressing gaze. 

he nodded as satsu lingered by her companion. if he found it odd she did not partake, he said nothing. 

shoko turned after the departed sheep. he was loathe to keep arsenio at his backside, and so walked carefully, one ear always turned back.

when the queen suddenly darted up and into the stones, tamar did not try to follow.

it was a moment to slow her own pace, to breathe the good air outside the cloying fragrances of akashingo. studiously she ignored the cerise guardian and found her own path upward. 

tamar was not built for such steppes. she forced herself to stay upright but could not hide how hard the rocks had been to climb. during this journey, the queen called in her regal voice for arsenio. and when tamar arrived, he was there as well. but his eyes were for the stranger.

tamar did not wish to be given to this stranger for any purpose. she came to the queen's side but was halted by a harsh look that tied her tongue. even in the days she had served, satsu had become more powerful somehow, harder than the hours before.

arsenio and the stranger strode off along the game-trail. tamar bent herself in a bow before she followed the men, keeping back and just visible to the right of the hunters.

Curse women, the auburn brute thought with a scowl over his shoulder. Tamar was there, flitting along the back of them like a ghost. Arsenio returned his cold gaze to the man beside him, taking stock of the stranger’s physique and build. He was thick and stout, made to endure it seemed. The Greek man thought he might have made a good fighter, but he was still uncertain. He would watch the stranger hunt, would see how well he moved against prey before determining if he would be a fitting member for the queen’s guard.

From where do you hail? the misthofóros inquired gruffly, russet ears swiveling to catch whatever answer he might receive. The man did not speak with a Greek voice, so Arsenio did not believe that they shared the same homeland. Still, he was built firmly, and the mercenary was curious.

satsu watched them go.
she would have been pleased to take this moment to flee, cavort across the steppe, or find her way back to akashingo alone; but there was the ever-present thread of the saints to think about. she did not wish to be difficult with her servants, even if she disliked their constant presence.
it was their presence that would keep her alive until her wedding, perhaps beyond.
so she began to doze, waiting for their return.

shoko tried to keep his mind occupied on the game ahead of them. it did little to the mind to be paranoid; he might think this cerise brute and his light-footed ghost were to dispose of him, but he must never show it.

he kept his face unreadable, feeling the burn of the man's icy gaze. they followed the tracks easily, every bent reed openly betraying the sheep's progress.

"clarion heights." shoko answered forthright, an ear turned behind him as he heard rather than saw tamar bring up the rear. "directly south of here." he added, as if anyone might know his homeland. truth be told, he doubted it - for every beast had their own name for the pristine mountain range that slouched just below kintla valley. "yourself?" in due time he might inquire of tamar's heritage, but shoko got the impression she did not want to be here, and likely would dislike any attention brought upon herself.

meanwhile, satsu faded from view.

tamar would have been grateful to know the stranger thought of her.

they spoke. she heard the sound of their voices and documented what was said. otherwise she remained close at hand, ready to be loosed upon their prey or commanded to another part of the hunt.

behind arsenio, she was free to at last look at him with the attention he gave her. his hard figure was brilliant beneath his robes, and the way he put his attention on the other hunter was not warm. the guard protected.

her belly warmed. she lowered her head to sniff at a grass-tuft.

A place called Clarion Heights was nowhere that Arsenio knew. Truth be told, he did not care much to know of it, only that he wished to have some idea of where this strange figure had originated. Even with the answer, the Greek man did not budge his gaze. With Tamar behind them and the lady queen even further back, the misthofóros did not wish to risk anything.

Just a small seaside town called Skoteinó Neró. Where days were filled with sunlight and fish.

Arsenio cast the man a grin, toothy and wild. The harsh glint of his blue eyes did not shift, did not soften. The auburn wolf remained on high guard until his gaze was turned by the strong scent of prey.

being under that gaze was stifling, like his throat was being seized and he was simultaneously held under ice cold riverwater. shoko was grateful then the scent of sheep was stronger near where tamar had bent to inspect a bushel of grass.

sunlight and fish. yet here arsenio was in a place of clouds and cold. why? shoko had no time to respond before his attention was drawn to a straggler sheep that bolted not two hundred yards from them.

he paused, giving each wolf a quick glance before he galloped after.

the man shifted toward the sheep.

tamar felt the eyes upon him and then she was coursing in a pincer across from the stranger.

she was not built for steppes; and yet she remembered the dunes and rolling sands of her homeland. and here she transformed into a shimmering giltblood shape. tamar remembered, and her swiftness returned to her limbs.

she cut sideways, snapping at one flank to drive the animal into a hard right.

The wolves moved quickly to single their target out. Tamar rushed to force the sheep to her right. The animal bleated pitifully but darted in the intended direction without error.

Arsenio moved to close the gap that might have been used as an escape point. His eyes were sharp on the prey. He moved quickly, lowering his head toward the ground so that he could growl at their mark, scaring the animal toward the jaws of the stranger. The Greek man barked sharply, making sure that the sheep knew his position and feared the flash of his fangs. Arsenio waited to see if they would succeed.