The Heartwood decorate this silence

Dash swung his head toward the voice, tensing slightly at the surprise of her sudden appearance. He relaxed quickly, catching on to her casual, conversational vibe. "Understatement of the year," he replied, thinking the place was more than just "a bit" desolate. 

The way she was talking, even a scatterbrain like Dash could see she was looking for a place to set up a pack. "Yeah, this would be a shit place to try to put down roots," he agreed, gaze still sweeping the charred remains of the forest. If plants couldn't manage root themselves, it seemed obvious that wolves couldn't either. "The top of the food tower crumbles without the bottom," he murmurred to himself, reciting one of the few lessons he recalled from puphood. 

"Anything catch your eye?" his voice lifted as he continued their conversation, referring to all the territories she had listed. He pulled his focus reluctantly from their surroundings to focus on the woman. Wait.. did he know this person? He tilted his head in curiosity, searching his (admittedly quite poor) memory.