Nova Peak death at the gates again / howling my name

silence followed her greeting, silence broken only by the bubbling of the spring and the lapping of his tongue upon the water. she wondered if he had not heard her, but she knew better: a wolf's ears were sharp, and from where he lay he could have picked up sounds much softer than the one she had made. he was ignoring her, or at the very least, taking his time. 

at last the slender beast looked toward her and replied. the moment he faced her, she felt her breath catch in her throat. it was as if she were peering not at the face of a living canine, but at the skull of a dead one. his markings were so reminiscent of death that she wondered if he were not some hallucination brought on by her weeks of solitude and poor nutrition..

she swallowed thickly and approached him, trying to bring her attention back to the present moment. the creature was smaller than she, bearing a distinct resemblance to her brethren the coyote. he undoubtedly had coyote blood coursing through his veins. in that case, he was probably physically weaker than she ; although if violence were to ensue, she would lose a fight against a rodent, such was her own present state of weakness.

in any case, he was living and breathing; had he not just been drinking water, an act performed only by living creatures? she could put her worries of insanity to rest, so to speak.

My name is Hollis, she spoke, offering a small smile and lowering her ears. How are you today?