Redtail Rise still miles to go till i arrive

tuhin hummed, thoughtful. steam curled from his lips.

ah. he knew this man's type well. the warriors who so gloried in their strength... they starved as anyone else in lean winters, but perhaps this one had known none. and perhaps tuhin had been simply unlucky - or even foolish, to walk so many miles in the dead of winter, alone.

"when i must," tuhin said mildly, noting the slow flick of the man's tail. "i am no stranger to hunting... there is simply little to hunt."

only for one so unfamiliar with this place, perhaps. a long journey north, in his native forests, he would have had little trouble finding the well-used hunting grounds - and another half-dozen jaws eager to bring down elk or caribou with him, if he should be summoned for the hunt at all. but here he was only one man, and there was no pride to drive him otherwise. unlike some of his old compatriots, he was no blood-hungry crusader; he had not much of that to spare.

nonetheless, he sensed something else in the question. whether derision or honest interest…he could not yet tell, only suspect.

"but i cannot imagine the prospect of some wanderer's skill to concern you," he murmured, "unless there is something you wish of me."