Lion Head Mesa friends can break your heart too

@Kemal

Something was different. Something was changing. Serein did not yet understand what was happening to her, but she knew that she couldn't stay in the flatlands she'd been frequenting. Too many wolf scents there; too many unknowns.

Ironic, then, that it was the scent of others which drew her to the mesa. Fewer than the crowd she'd fled, but perhaps enough to signify a budding pack. Perhaps enough to guarantee her safety. Serein shot a glance toward the darkening sky as she crept closer to the mesa, muzzle dipping every few seconds to test the scents strewn along the ground.

Kemal had returned to the mesa for another round of marking. The move was almost complete, resources being shoved into new dens and wolves beginning the trek from the pass to settle into the new home.

Maybe that was why he found himself feeling a bit more tense than usual when a stranger's scent found him. They were so close, too close for a misstep. He soon spotted her; smoky fur, bony and thin. A warning growl left his throat as he stalked around the rocks and corners, tail curling.

You are on Verapaz lands.

Her ears flattened to her skull at the sound of a low growl. She lifted her head only briefly, eyes flashing across the stranger just long enough to take him in. Then she dropped to the ground, pressing herself into the dirt in an effort to make herself as small as possible.

I... Her voice faltered and failed her. She swallowed, and tried again. What - what is Verapaz? Serein stole a single glance at the man as she spoke, limbs trembling slightly.

Kemal couldn't help scrunching his face momentarily when she shrunk so quickly. Did this one have no confidence, or just the sense to back down?

He managed to relax somewhat as he moved forward, nose twitching as he worked to inspect her scent for signs of other wolves, packs, or illness. Verapaz is a pack. My pack. He still had to remind himself of it sometimes. Who are you?

His eyes were more curious than suspicious now, having confirmed that she was indeed on her own.

Serein tensed when the man moved forward, but the attack she expected never came. After a moment she dared another glance up, shifting slightly to bring herself to a crouching position. She studied him more boldly now, but remained poised to leap away if he decided to choose violence after all.

A pack, he said. His pack. She let her gaze drift past him for a moment, half-expecting to see others. But no one came. Just a traveler, she murmured, letting her dark eyes settle on him again. My name is Serein. I was... looking for somewhere safe. She wasn't sure she knew what that meant anymore — but she searched for it all the same.

Kemal moved back, gesturing for her to stand. I am Kemal. He offered his own name once she provided her's, his tone easing out.

You look thin, and you freeze instead of running or biting back. Winter will not treat you well. The criticism came unprompted, but his expression said that he meant well. If you want to stay, Verapaz will keep you safe.

That had been the idea, after all. Move inland to take on dispersals who needed shelter. We come from the pass, but the move here is nearly done.

She rose slowly, letting the tension fall from her shoulders after a few moments. But at his words, Serein cocked her head to the side. You wanted me to bite you? She questioned, confusion coloring her tone. There was no hostility in it — only puzzlement.

She swept her tongue over her muzzle, feeling the sharpness of her teeth and wondering at it. All her life she'd been taught to fear the damage she might inflict on another with those teeth. Now she was just confused.

Kemal shrugged at her question, you are predator, not prey. Even a fawn knows better than to stop. Fight or flight; if you freeze, you're putting yourself at the mercy of your opponent. But I do not kill anymore. Not if he could help it.

He eyes her, tail cocking to the side. Well, will you stay? If not, then she better get running. I have food cached close by. We can put meat on your bones.

Slowly she nodded; she would stay, though she found the man very strange. Kemal of Verapaz, who had told her that she ought to bite him. Serein wouldn't soon forget it.

Okay, she agreed quietly after a moment, then hesitated before she added: I don't kill anymore either. That was why she hadn't bitten him. Why she wouldn't, even if he thought she should.

She'd never killed with her teeth before, anyway.