Two Rivers Isle a painful truth.

The sounds of someone moving through the wilderness did not cease when he ceased; this was enough of an oddity to rouse Asa from his deleterious thoughts. He need not think of his dead sister, his heartbroken mother, when there were more immediate concerns to address.

The pounding of his racing pulse did begin to ebb, which made the approaching wolf all that easier to detect — and when he turned to stare at the path behind himself, he hoped to see the golden woman. Instead he was met with the pale eyes - and pale everything else - of a young woman. She was soft in every sense: a blushing coat, starlit eyes, and distinct lack of aggression. She was, in a sense, the opposite of everything he'd seen in Niamh. All the same, Asa was pleased to have company.

Hail, he called to her as he turned around, nimbly avoiding a few roots as he closed the distance between them. There was a little over a wolf-length just to be safe. Serene as she appeared, this woman could have been putting on a show to get close to him. One day Asa would not be so suspicious of outsiders, but it wasn't going to happen anytime soon. A few cursory sniffs of the air told Asa everything else he needed to know: that she was a rogue, like himself. Unmoored by any allegiance. What use was she, then, in his hunt?