Honeyed Pasture strawberry

the land here smelled of familiarity.

there was no conscious way for apollyon to know that the great bear wilderness were controlled by related packs.

but their trails crossed far too often for those who did not know one another.

he faced a glacier. his nose twitched. women there, women and strong men.

the roaming figure of a lone elk took the demon's attention next.

Her mind was full as she travelled toward the distant ocean, but when she caught the first hint of salt on the air, it cured some of the ache she felt. Her conscience lifted; the people of Moonspear, Moontide, Moonglow and Moonsong all walked together- so perhaps they would understand why she might leave one for another, given how poorly she had adjusted to life on the mountain, life with a pack that seemed spread few and far between. 

She did not know where to find Moontide, however, but she assumed that she should head toward the West, and then travel down the shoreline until she found it, knowing it would be somewhere South of Moonsong. 

She was weary by the time she reached the meadow, but her senses sharpened when a long figure caught her attention- a solitary elk. Something about seeing a creature so majestic on its own caused her to soften, and for worry to creep in. Doubt sank heavily into the soft bed of her heart. She did not see the other wolf, as her blurred gaze remained fixed on the elk for some time, relating to its solitude in a means of cleansing some of the overwhelming loneliness from her own spirit.

and the scent of a woman stole it back.

apollyon turned only his muzzle along shoulderline, searching until he found the smaller figure with its curling tresses.

the black eyes blinked. his approach was slow. he looked toward the elk again.

no words sounded yet. apollyon would not break the moment.

As she watched the elk, she wondered what it might think of her- hardly a threat on her own, no more worthy of a batting eyelash than a fly. Their unspoken bargain of peace made her feel calm, though when she followed a flick of its ear, she picked out the outline of another wolf nearby, just as his muzzle moved.

She regarded him for a moment, more keenly intrigued than the herbivore who continued to graze. She dared not break the silence, lest it spook the majestic creature- but offered a candid, congenial wave of her tail should the man look her way again.

cautious were his steps beneath the watchful eye of the bison. the great ruminant stared at the wolves and then snorted, tail swinging as it sauntered away to seek a patch of better grass.

the black eyes then were free to take in the feathery features of the pretty she-wolf as apollyon stopped some feet away. 

"thinking of taking it on yourself?" he teased, his face a study in open interest.

His all-dark eyes caught her, and held her in his gaze, pulling her in like a giant but gentle hand. Her whiskers pushed forward as she sniffed for more details from his scent and found him bearing many- but no note of any wolves recognizable to her. A stranger, a loner. 

His question seemed a light tease; Simbelmyne showed no signs of understanding it as humour, though she had to fight to keep herself in check. Normally, she would have laughed- but she wanted to try being someone else for a moment. 

”Yes,” As easily spoken as if in response to a much simpler question. ”I am hungry today. It is small snack, but better than nothing.” She admitted. Her tone was devoid of any sarcasm, but her disguise began to falter when the feathery tip of her tail began to wave.

"you're a snack yourself," apollyon blurted before he could help himself. game wasn't genetic and this was proving to be pretty clear.

"well. maybe i could help you get this tea biscuit," he said sardonically, gazing at the prey before his dark gaze shot sidelong, amused. "i'm apollyon."

She turned to him so suddenly, that the elk's hide twitched in the distance, startled lightly by the abrupt movement. She felt amusement and resentment simultaneously; lightly offended that a stranger would say something so bold to her...But then again, she had set up this ridiculous statement, and he had followed through. She huffed and gave him a surprised smile. 

He was still a stranger- so the light discomfort continued. 

It had been so much more easy to flirt with someone when she was on her own homebase, too. Here, she was far from those who would protect her. 

She hoped, though, that he did not actually intend to try and hunt the elk, and was grateful when he introduced himself. 

"I am Simbelmyne," She said. "You are not from Moonspear, Moonglow or Moonsong; are you on your own?" She asked. Perhaps conversation might be enough to steer his attention away from the hunt.

"i am." he laughed. "lotta moon names. all related?" but apollyon wasn't really interested. not in small talk anyway. her feathertuft ears and the expressive gleam of her eyes had him fully focused.

"simbelmyne. that's pretty," the demon murmured. "mine is apollyon."

the black eyes glinted, snakescales at the bottom of a sunbaked basin.

"are you in one of these moon groups?"

He seemed to find the sisterpack names amusing; his laughter was unexpected, but she didn't perceive it as being unkind. "Yes," She said. "Allies, family," She explained, knowing it would do no harm to confess such a thing to a stranger. He would likely be better off with the knowledge- that way, he would know that the wolves from those packs were strong, together. 

His flattery worked, and earned him a smile and a fluttering of her lashes. Coquettishly, she grinned. "Yours is pretty too," Half in jest, though she did like the sound of his name. Her smile faded, though, when he asked about her own pack status, and she felt her confidence falter. 

"I- was," She said. But she had left them; she had found no bosom friend on Moonspear, and the mountain itself had been no friendlier to her, either. "I left Moonspear...Searching for Moontide, now," She said. "I know one who lives there, I- but I...Do not know the way." While she wasn't lost- she could always find her way to Moonglow or Moonsong and get instructions from there. But the idea of retreating to Moonspear, the great and icy monolith, did not attract her.

he gave a white-hot grin at her return compliment, noting the way she faltered a bit at his question. 

"i couldn't tell you where either was," apollyon said cheerily with a flick of his tail, "but i bet moontide is on the coast somewhere. and if everyone here is related, directions would be just a matter of asking."

he swept his lips with an interested tongue. "hungry? surely we can find something better than solo elk."

She felt a little bit of pressure lift from her shoulders to know that he did not seem too judge her for not knowing where she was going. His advice seemed to be to find one of the places that she knew and get direction from there- and she nodded. "Yes, I- they would know the way." She thought of her trip to Moonglow and Moonsong; her smile grew a bit. 

His suggestion earned him a wave of her tail and a bob of her head. "He would be too tough, too gamey," She agreed with a light laugh. They would spare the elk- likely because it might not spare them their lives, but she liked to think that they were being merciful. "I could eat," She added, mimicking the motion of licking her lips.

a grin lit him again, and apollyon set about at once searching for a meal. whether or not he got lucky for his efforts remained to be seen, but at very least he would have captured her interest in his skill.

and skilled he was, a permanent loner who had learned to feed himself in any climate or season. 

hare and rabbit were here, along with fieldmice and grass-rats. but he wanted something more impressive, and so halted only when he scented a covey of grouse in a thicket of tall grass not far from he and her.

but beyond! the thin figure of a coyote loped, and apollyon narrowed his eyes as the scavenger stopped to regard he and simbelmyne. "might spoil our hunt," he muttered. "what do you think, beautiful?"