Kildeer Rest ten jaws

The others mingled in hushed tones or quiet gestures, but Sulukinak did not join them. She trailed at the edges, a shadow slipping between shadows, her ears attuned to the rhythm of the pack but her heart beating a separate tempo. She was reluctant to speak, to share, to press herself into the fold. The wilderness of her mind felt safer than the warmth of others.

It was during one such moment, her gaze wandering idly over the group, that she noticed Shadowpaw for the first time. The wolf moved with a peculiar grace, their dark coat blending almost perfectly with the dappled light of the forest floor. Sulukinak studied them quietly, intrigued by the quiet intensity in their movements. There was a sharpness to their focus, an edge she recognized from her own hunts. Perhaps it was nothing, or perhaps it was something worth watching.

Her ears twitched as she caught a scent, and then she eyed a figure following. The delicate grays of his coat had caught the winter sun; Saatsine were not kind to outsiders, and her uncle, Sun Eater, would brook no patience for those who overstepped their bounds.

As the Saatsine moved deeper into the forest, Sulukinak let her thoughts swirl and churn, her expression unreadable as the dark canopy enveloped them. She kept her steps light, her presence quiet, watching, listening, wondering. Whatever came next, she would face it as she always had: alone, even in the company of others.

She did find herself looking for another - the man Wake - the memory of his words lingered like a shadow over her thoughts, a thorn she couldn’t dislodge. But there was work to be done in settling the camp, and swiftly enough Sulukinak was drawn to it.