Wapun Meadow You can't be late until you show up.

soft screaming,,,, sorry for making you wait so long! things've been pretty busy for me but here's a long post to make up for it uwu;;

Forced as her cordiality was, it appeared to be working. Once the male had visibly relaxed, some of the tension left Sien’s own frame. She was not fool enough to relax her guard entirely however and, she noted with some measure of approval, neither was he. The male continued to hover defensively over his carcass, and so Sien continued to give him space. She wasn’t interested in his kill – only his company – but he didn’t know that. Were she in his position, knowing only what he did, she would naturally do the same. ”You startled the herd.” he commented at last, having reached that conclusion after some complicated mental machinations, she was sure. Not on purpose, Sien thought immediately in response. But she refrained from giving voice to the comment, lest any accusation buried within it managed to worm its way out. ”Yes,” she said instead, a simple response to a simple statement.
 
He regarded her apprehensively with narrowed eyes, apparently still mulling things over. As he did so, Sien likewise kept her focus on him, attentive to any potential changes in posture that might indicate imminent violence, on the off-chance he decided to change his mind about her. She felt slightly guilty even accounting for the possibility, but Sien was not yet at the point where she could override her instincts and give complete strangers the unconditional benefit of doubt, like Niall had – she wasn’t sure if she would ever reach that point, but she certainly wouldn’t stop trying. In the meantime, it seemed the male had come to some sort of conclusion. A flicker of surprise crossed Sien’s face when he dropped his defensive posture and slowly retreated a few paces. ”Hungry? Sounds like you helped me catch this one.” he said, backing up even further, before settling on his haunches.
 
Bewilderment gave way to understanding upon hearing his words. Still, Sien hadn’t expected him to be so…gracious. In her experience pack wolves rarely were – at least, not to loners. Sien eyed the male thoughtfully as she considered his offer. Even though she’d eaten not too long ago, the antelope was already dead. There was no point in sparing its life to avoid wastefulness if it had no life left to spare. At this point, the only waste would be not taking full advantage of its death. Likely not a problem, she mused. Surprised the whole pack isn’t here already. His pack wasn’t here and he'd offered second dibs to her, which on some level was inherently suspicious – but his actions had clearly indicated that this wasn’t meant to be a trap. Of course, it still could be, she thought. But it was a risk she was willing to chance. Sien had never been one to look a gift horse in the mouth, and the timing of her next meal was always up in the air; better to load up now than regret turning down the offer later.
 
”If you’re sure,” she enunciated carefully, making eye contact. She waited a full minute to give the male a chance to object before advancing forward. Mindful of her status, Sien refrained from going for the best parts. Instead, she went to work tearing a sizable portion from the shoulder, remaining acutely aware of the male’s position the entire time. After successfully detaching the slab of muscle from the rest of the antelope, she quickly backtracked. Only after she’d put several additional feet between them did she feel safe enough to start wolfing down her portion. Sien ate quickly and efficiently, finishing her meal within minutes. Her only regret was that she hadn’t had a chance to savor the taste – but she’d take security and a full belly over risky slow enjoyment any day.  ”Thanks,” Sien offered, once she’d finished cleaning stray blood and gore from her lips. ”Name’s Sien,” she continued on a whim, inspired by her newfound gratefulness to find out more about this stranger. ”Yours?” Maybe this time, he would actually answer.