Larksong Grotto Mouthful of rabbits

The woman turned upon her, ducking as if to protect herself, and briefly Tavi wondered if she'd made a mistake. But the stranger's posture quickly softened. The way the woman bowed to her was fuel for Tavi's ego, but she was caught upon the woman's words instead. Her own mouth opened as if to answer — no, to correct — and instead, she was silent.

After the brief introduction, Tavi let a small smile drift across her face. You're fine, because really, dirt wasn't a bother at all. I'm Octavia, she finally stated, but found that her full name felt strange upon her own tongue. It didn't fit, even if Tavi wanted to forge some kind of new persona for herself here — Tavi the Alpha didn't have a very good ring to it. Her full name, on the other hand, was more imposing. In the end, she went with what she was most comfortable with -- but you can call me Tavi. Everyone else does.

Swallowing her words, she took a step or two around Eslani's dark figure and craned her neck. It looked like she had been doing more than just digging. Did you find something in there? A quick sniff identified blood, and her drifting eyes noticed a red sheen to the woman's pelt. Had she found a pit of blood or something, and bathed in it?