Iktome Plains i have begun to admire

well met. her response strikes him as posh and for a moment the eloquence of it startles him. he collects himself soon enough, however, and offers her an easy grin. light-hearted and friendly. ailill's vernacular isn't very elegant on most days and he hesitates for a moment in awkwardness, wondering if he should return the 'well met' or not. in the end, as to not come across like he's mocking he decides ultimately not to.

i was just tracking, he says nonchalantly, subtly communicating that his pause on his activities wasn't a big deal. the whole point of being a tracker was the ability to pick up the scent even after he'd lost it; and anyway, he hadn't been tracking with the intention of hunting necessarily. at least, not right away. at this point, he'd mostly been storing information the scent trails had to offer him. i was just gathering information about some of the herds in the area. he cuts himself off before he can get too deep into the mechanics of it. no doubt, she was well aware what it meant to track a herd and didn't need him to mansplain it to her.

what about you? he asks, glimpsing from her to the glade around them, wondering what has brought her to this territory as well. was it a similar vein as his own? or was she just passing through, he wonders.