Sheepeater Cliff To gather, such curious things

Scuffling raked across the ragged terrain the two of them were sharing. Beyond the inner chasms of Cassian’s mind it spurred forth a memory; but, be it as it may, all it did was clamor amongst the chains whence it was sequestered to. The sensation was a numbing chill that whirled its merciless path across the wolf’s cranium. A taunting, fleeting touch from the fates themselves and a reminder that the experiences this sun-kissed soul once held truly never belonged to him in the first place.

Boundless, curious, and overtly trusting was he. When met with the gates of hell, this temporary guest found refuge rather than discomfort. The murky brown waters that glazed over Envy’s figure took in the full essence of their physical self. From their boney frame, downwards to the silver and whites muted perfectly across her frame. To Cassian, they reminded him of nothing. She was the first since his inception and these sequences of colors would forevermore be tied to her essence.

”Well, youuuuu?”

The first shifts in her demeanor were mimed by Cassian. Tilted head, wide-eyed stares, perked ears. Simply for no other reason than finding strict glee in the act itself. ”A collection, huh? Out here? Alone? I think it’s difficult enough to live daily without something like that. You must be really talented to accomplish something that astronomical!” Granted, there was no information on what exactly it was that this stranger was hoarding. Still, the blossoming desire to lend them praise came freely from within this wolf’s chest nevertheless. From where he stood it was clear that they took satisfaction in whatever that was. Solidarity, the acclimation of living in a foreign world, and the uncertainty of the next day’s meal was enough to lay stake to a claim of ego. The fact that she wrought forth that same sensation from elsewhere opened mental doors for the wolf.

There were other things in life that could stake their claim as being worthy of pride.

”No, I don’t know anything about plants. I know about as much as the next wolf honestly, haha! I know you can’t eat them. Most of the time, anyway. A lot of them taste bitter and aren’t anything compared to meat. So, I avoid em!”

His gaze glued itself to her frame as she leapt forward. Flying, even if only for a brief moment in time, much like the birds in the sky that he enjoyed pursuing. Then, a faint whisper curled itself against the sun-kissed wolf’s ear. A twitch, haphazard and erratic, sprung forth. The voice within Cassian rarely ever spoke its piece. A fading, dwindling ember amidst the abyss it’d been banished to. Still, it had its moments, and right now it screamed from the ether to stand still. To tuck his tail around his frame and monitor the situation. So, he did, albeit there wasn’t an ounce of stress weighing down on the wolf. There was no reason and there had never been a reason.

It was foreign to him, the feeling of distrusting another.

”I could get you something to eat, yeah! You seem to be lacking meat in all the right places. I’ve never seen somebody so tiny before! Maybe you’ve been focusing too much on your collection or whatchacallit?”

The idea never blossomed to him that she might not have been able to hunt for herself in the first place. There were a variety of prey felled by Cassian that were scanned through for the purpose of her proposal. Why, the wolf’s first memory centered around blood draining off the side of his maw, kissing the earth below with each sickening, satisfying crunch of bones beneath the pressure of gnarled bites. A fox wouldn’t be enough to feed her, would it? But then again, she said she wanted a snack. There was no specification on an entire meal.

”A fox is a nice treat. At the end of the day, it’s meat, and you did say you wanted a snack. I want something in return, though.”

Only when she rounded her way back out in front of him did Cassian rise from resting on his haunches. Steps were taken towards the opposing wolf, leaving just enough space for an entire yard’s worth of distance. A smile splayed itself out, hospitable down to the very core. Then, a swaying of the male’s tail, in an eerie replication of the tempo her own had been going at mere moments ago.

”I would like to know your name. Mine is Cassian. But, if you don’t want to give me your name, then maybe you can give me something else. I think I’d be okay with telling you what that is after gifting you your treat. It’ll be something simple.”

Innocence met morbid curiosity today. In a twisted conspiracy melded together by their circumstances Cassian found that his heart was beating avidly. Racing, at the mere prospect of having this wolf choose between two options. But, why was that? What was this sensation? One that escaped him entirely up until now. A greedy, sinful, bumpy wash over his skin.

”So, what’ll it be?”