Ouroboros Spine preserve the evidence

trespassing! very fast, very sneak.

how far was too far?

the salt licked the air here, if only barely.

she slunk in the dark; the sun had gone down nearly at midday, and the cold was refreshing, the dark a boon to the girl as she picked her way south... south? she really didn't know.

from a ledge she could look back, and there on the horizon she saw the glimmering sea. it was so far! she was so far; but so long as she could still see it, runa felt alright.

up, up, up, through the dark between the trees, until the scent of pine was everywhere and she had briefly forgotten the tether to the sea. something moved — she stood upright, eyes wide, jaw hinging readily in case of danger.

breathing in through her slack teeth, she thought something smelled... warm. like meat, like blood, like — food? food! and she is again moving, sauntering and weaving, until the scent is strongest. it is thick within the earth, which she finds peculiar, but runa is curious, and she is hungry, so she digs.

A stranger's scent on the outskirts of Moonglow, within the spine of low mountains to the north. It is carried with the cold breeze of winter's coming. 

Far. The stranger did not announce themselves and Arrluk wondered if they would even still be there by the time he arrived.

it was fun to dig! it felt good to have the earth crumble with every drag of her palm. the dirt moved differently from sand, it was more malleable, it kept its shape when she made it pile or kicked it away. beneath the layers of pine needle and sod, runa found the body of a weasel that had been killed, tucked up, and buried.

this was a prize she had not seen before! shoving their nose in to the burrow, runa took great huffs of its scent and then quickly grabbed for it, tugging, getting it free. a spark of entertainment riles her then; excited, thrilled to have found something and enjoying the weight of it in her teeth, runa shakes it and throws it, and when she catches the weasel's body again she chuffs and seems to dance between the shadows.

another shake, which clears dirt from its long body, and runa drops it to the earth so that her paws can hold it, and she can pull it apart. the taste isn't so good—the thing is pretty fresh but very different from what she was used to—but it is still food, and she is distracted.

In the dark gloom, the little black female was hardly one easily spotted hidden along tree and foliage within their forests. Arrluk's own starkly contrasted coat always made it 100% certain that he was easy to spot, if not hidding himself in the cover of brush. His white shined by the moon at night. His black standing out in winter snow. 

Eventually however, his eyes did find the other woman, where nose and ears had captured her long before. He woofs sharply to grasp her attention, his stance stiff. Ears and tail erect. 

Moonglow has much to offer its visitors, if only you'd ask. Following the teachings of his mother, Arrluk was a hospitable man, whom opened his doors to those in need. It was not often he saw his parents raise teeth to others, yet when he had, it was to those which disrespected their good efforts.

she's playing for a bit longer, tossing the creature, tugging at it, thrashing it - then during a pause in the action, as they clean the taste from their lips and catch their breath, a boof issues from very close-by. runa drops the creature immediately, although it plops between her paws; she looks sharply after the sound, and it is then that she notices the stranger.

a bit of fur is caught in her teeth, and she works at this like a cow might chew on cud, wrinkling her nose and contorting her lip so she can gather up this chunk of old tissue. as it rolls to her molars she chews it, swallows.
the wolf smells like a man - and his posture is tall, imposing. he speaks, and she hears it but shows no sign of understanding. the weasel is their prize, and runa clicks her teeth, making sure it is known that she has them - and is ready to use them, if necessary. such information is conveyed through her looming figure over the weasel body, the rigidity of her spine, and yes - that odd clicking of teeth.

She hears, but does not listen. No signs of understanding registered. Instead Arrluk is met with snapping teeth in warning and a protective stance over the weasel she had claimed now as her own. 

Tigiak. Take it and leave. Arrluk took a step closer, snapping his own teeth in the air to mimick the child's. Or stay and work for your meals. Would she understand? Arrluk had no other language to offer.

the stranger flashed their own teeth—a challenge for the food? maybe. they did not advance any closer but runa was a flighty thing. she wasn't interested in warring for long. as soon as she saw resistance in the form of those fangs her willpower appeared to falter. she lowered, slinking back a step, but in that same motion grabbed for the prize sprawled between her paws and took off backwards, in to the tree line.

she knew not to turn her back.