Hushed Willows We are never belated

Whatever tenseness had been left in Phoenix' body melted away by the time his scent-introductory with the swarthy male had concluded. The yearling still looked a little full of himself, but there was no challenge to the set of his tall frame; just a bit of over-eagerness that an untrained eye might find misleading. "No. I'm pretty new to these parts," he answered readily. "I don't belong to this range, or anywhere really, but my father lived around here for a while. I'm just doing a bit of sight-seeing." He found no reason to keep his motives hidden, especially considering how innocent they were, but mostly he said this in case this stranger could be of any help to his endeavor; not that he wanted to wander around asking everyone for directions.

Phoenix wanted to be slightly more independent than that. "My name's Phoenix. Who're you?"