Shadowwyn Moor addir melek

The roots of the tree afforded enough grip and enough space for her to sit and not much else, but she tucked her tail around her feet where they were cloistered, while tight shoulders bunched and lifted in to her neck furs. The seasonal changes of a wolf's body had only begun to happen to Sulukinak for this winter—but already she had noticed a deepness to her coat in both color and consistency. Now she looked feathered around the neck as if by a boa of shadow, but otherwise ragged with mud; not that she was the type to take notice of superficial aspects of herself or others.

All this to say, she looked odd and out-of-place where she was.

But, someone took notice. A voice carried across the moors which Sulukinak flicked an ear at, then with a draught sucked in through her nose, turned where it had sounded, spotting a not-so-distant figure. It was not a familiar one. That was not the issue, she surmised immediately upon hearing them comment on the firmament—it was the way she envisioned the caribou might react if they were near enough to hear it too.

Thankful in that instant to be soaking with mud lest her winter coat puff with her emotions, Sulukinak gave one last glance over the opposite shoulder to see if anyone of the Saatsine had noticed the stranger or, fates forbid, the caribou had been turned back by the voice—and she peels herself from the roots to pluck her way with careful high-steps, closer to the other.