Blacktail Deer Plateau Ullaaq

a tilt of asperas's head followed the greeting, accompanied only by silence. then another tilt to the opposite side, muzzle tilting and extending outward, sniffing, whiskers twitching delicately. the unchild's features were sharp with fascination, eyes bright with razor-edged intelligence as thoughts whirred well past the speed of sound. he did not smell like the wolves upon the mountain. he smelled unlike any wolf asperas had ever encountered before; of sweet summer greenery so varied as to be vague, of wind-scoured stone, of damp tree bark and warm soil. and distantly, faintly, something the voidsent could not identify. not yet. the scent of snowflakes and ice floes, cold running water and a vast pale emptiness.
who are you? asperas was careful to articulate in full, aware now more than ever that she was not among family. she knew that her father could take the half-count of words she offered and fill in the rest, and she did not care to speak to any of her packmates enough for it to matter. but this man, she did not know, and it was not in her nature to trust anyone to understand her. even the bear-priest had proven himself, in a way, before he had been granted his night-pearl's trust; even he did not possess the full extent of it.