Redsand Canyon Depredador

Intended for @Leto Amaranthus <3

The canyon was deeply shaded by the clouds overhead. The ground had been walked a thousand times or more. Tracks and traces remained of wolf-kind. Remnants of dens and families that had once claimed the land for themselves. 

Juárez walked boldly through the stretch of canyonland. The ease of his gait suggested unwavering confidence. Dark eyes traced the walls of the terrain - natural curves and sharp jutting stones. He expected Soto had found something to occupy his time. The dark brother always came back. The jaguar would trust that his brother would catch up when he had finished with his fun. Until then, Juárez would find things to occupy his time.

Leto had found herself wandering through an unfamiliar area once again. She had no issue with wandering though, rubbing her scent onto the rocky walls as she went by and paying little attention to the activity around her.

However, an unfamiliar scent was always difficult for her to ignore.

Having caught the scent of a stranger she had found her pace quickly increasing, intending to catch up to them. It was never smart the way she would approach strangers, but she hadn't faced any issues yet. Most took well to her friendly nature, so long as she didn't push too hard.

The man was all too aware of the pale shadow that approached from behind. The winds had shifted enough times for him to draw her scent to fill his head. It was easy to ignore when he knew that she had trailed after his musk. Long enough that he felt he had drawn her interest without having to say a word. 

So the jaguar found a shaded place beneath a jagged orange stone and he sat himself in the shade to wait for the woman to draw nearer.

She soon spotted whom it was that she had been following, slowing her steps as she stared at the male who was only a short distance away.

She wasn't used to seeing another wolf with such a confident stature - sat so comfortably despite her presence. It was exciting, but gave her reason to feel nervous as well. Testing the waters, she decided to make conversation.

"It's warm out today. Did you come here for the shade as well?"

The question was simple, but then again she didn't know much about this wolf - what else was there to ask?

Juárez chuckled at the woman's question. Why was it always weather? Weather was unpredictable and constantly changing. If he charted his courses based on those fleeting days of sunshine or rain, he would have gone nowhere. He would be nothing. 


El sol es mi hermano. 

The jaguar stirred slightly, shifting so that his belly pressed to the ground and he appeared perfectly relaxed. Almost inviting with the way he watched her. Almost hungry in the dark red of his eyes. 

And you, mujer pálida? Are you here to hide from the sun?

While she did not understand some of his words, she didn't see a need to. His expression was enough for her to approach, any hesitation she may have had disappearing.

"I am." She snickered, sitting herself down. "My coat isn't suited for this weather, though I'm sure it might shed properly next year."

Leto had never experienced heat like this until she left her pack - it was new, and quite unpleasant.

Juárez smiled as the pale woman sat. The gleam of his teeth showed in the scar that cut through his lip and up his cheek. It might have appeared sinister but this friendly stranger had not been taken aback. Either she was stupid or she was trusting and he had found that these two things were the easiest to manipulate. So he did. 

Ah, but you are so pretty with that white you wear, the jaguar purred to her.

"Isn't it?" She grinned at the compliment, easily flattered as always. "It's much more common where I'm from - but I haven't seen much of it around here."

She had seen plenty of unique coats in her travels, but her own would always be her favourite - after all there was no sense in longing for what she couldn't have. She looked over the wolf in front of her, deciding that his may just meet the criteria for her top ten.

"What about you, hm? Were you born here, or are you a traveler as well?"

No, no... I was born in the sun of the south. Always burning. 

Though he suited any terrain, he was a man of the sands and the red stone. He had hunted the desert prey alongside Soto for his entire life. He had built his skills in the harshest of warmth and he had learned to adapt when he had left those lands behind for greater promise. 

Tell me, pretty woman... what are you called?

"Leto." She was quick to answer, finally laying down alongside him. She intended on staying for a while longer. "Could I ask yours?"

She flicked her tail upwards, staring back at him with a look of clear interest. By now she should know better than to be so comfortable with a stranger, but it was a lesson she never seemed to learn.

The woman was named Leto. It had no meaning in his Spanish tongue and he was left to wonder faintly if she had her own language. It didn't matter, in truth. The art of the tongue was one he had mastered. The meaning of names could only tell him so much about a woman. All of them were called something. None of them were remembered. 

Leto, he tested her name on his tongue with a small smirk and a nod. 

I am Juárez. 

The jaguar pressed his hip to her side. He studied the musculature of her from this small motion, feeling the thick of her muscles against the soft touch of his frame.

She felt an odd sense of pride as she lay next to the male, finding that she outdid him in size even if it was just slightly. She didn't oppose to the sudden touch, but wouldn't reciprocate it just yet.

She considered the name as he told her. She hadn't heard many like it, particularly up north. It seemed to be more common in the Teekon Wilds.

"It's a good name - I like it." She decided.

It is the only one I have known. 

And he did not miss the way her voice was soft as she complimented his name. It filled him with swelling pride. To know that even a name could be used to manipulate. Even the offering of it had created a safe space between them. A place where she allowed his hip to press to her side without shifting away from it. Calculated, the jaguar canted his head and eyed her with his bloody stare. 

What has brought you to these lands?

As he looked she met his gaze, soft lavender staring through as though she intended to break through and tear into the deepest layers of his soul.

"My birth pack was only of my own kin - I was expected to leave. That's the only way to continue our bloodline."

Now it was her turn to test him. She shifted to lay with her legs out to the side, leaning into him as she did.

Mmm, the man hummed thoughtfully. 

You abandon your family to expand it? 

And Juárez watched the way her legs stretched. His dark eyes admired them unashamedly. The soft touch of her plush coat against his figure was met with a gentle return of his sinewy frame. Not enough to startle. Enough to reciprocate. It was important that she felt safe. It was important that he give her a sense of peace before stealing it away.

"Well when you put it that way it sounds much worse."

She never had a desire to leave home, but she understood the need for it. She needed to move on to have a chance at a life of her own.

"I love my family, but that's just how these things work. Most wolves leave home eventually."

The man understood the need to become something. He understood that it was difficult to do so under the watchful eyes of family. There were always unspoken obligations and expectations that would aid in the shaping of a person. It would carve at them, hammer to marble, until they became something fitting. 

Why here? Juárez asked Leto next. He needed a deeper understanding of her wants. He needed to know how he could promise her things that would make her follow him.

"Because there's plenty of wolves, why else?"

Her initial answer was simple, but didn't provide much information just yet.

"I like the companionship of a pack - the trust they put it in you, and the affection you provide in return. Those sorts of relationships are hard to find on your own."

A smile found his snout at her words. 

Because there are lots of wolves. The man would have agreed. It was his reason, as well. Though as she continued to explain her desire for trust and affection, he found himself growing more confident. Women were often simple. They wanted the softness of love and support. Such things were not hard to mimic. Not for a man who had sold to the coldest souls in the world. Such simple wants would make easy work of her. 

And have you found it yet? he asked her with a curious tilt of his head.

"A pack? No. I have met some wolves in similar situations though."

She thought back, a small smile crossing her muzzle.

"I met a she-wolf a while back, beautiful coat and she was so well-spoken.. and a male who filled my fur with these lovely flowers."

"And Pepper, of course - I've been travelling with him. My feelings towards him are more friendly, he's sort of like an odd uncle." She snickered at her own statement, tail flicking upwards.

Juárez listened as though he was deeply invested in her words. In a way, he was. She was revealing things to him that would benefit him greatly. She traveled without a pack but she had a familiar of sorts in the man she called Pepper. A strange name for a man. Her reference to him being an "odd uncle" was interesting enough that he might have asked questions. 

Instead, the jaguar opted to compliment. Affection, she had said, was important. 

You are good at making friends, señora. Beauty and skill with your tongue... tsk- 

The man shook his head as though those were things to be admired.

It was something Leto was told often, however it felt far more flattering coming from him.

"It really isn't too hard, you just need to learn to be friendly hm?"

Of course her appearance played a part in it too. Leto was nearly always unscathed, she was well cared for, and looked to be in good health. She had no reason to attack another wolf and rarely appeared aggressive - her size is her only intimidating feature.

Perhaps you should give me some advice, he spoke with a chuckle. 

Juárez felt that it would make him seem timid in the art of speech. That he sought the skills to expand his ability to make friends by being friendly. The man did not need friends. He did not need to be friendly. He needed mouths to open as he passed. He needed them to beg him. 

We could be friends. 

Blood red eyes glinted curiously as the jaguar gazed into her face.

Her expression turned rather smug, as though she felt that she had one-upped him.

"Aren't we friends already?"

This is a game of skill and both parties believe they are winning. But only one can take home the prize and the odds are not into Leto's favour.

Her match met, she was going to be beat at her own game.

A knowing smile spread across his dark lips, showing the glint of his teeth from beneath the scar. He did not miss the slight arrogance of her features. It was good. She liked the compliments he offered her and she was feeling confident in herself. It was a great thing to build up such a soft woman and to make her feel special. 

It would be hard to resist those lovely eyes, señora. If you say we are friends... we are friends, he conceded to her with a small shrug of his shoulders.