Silverlight Terrace private reserve

Thread for @Kaylan - but I am keeping some of it vague since IDK if she'll be part of Moonspear by this point or not. Tried to stick her in a logical place, so I hope it works!

There was a sheep up ahead, and she had trailed it around the mountainside with diligence; more than she would have shown the prey of her old home, but things were changing for her. Eigma roamed along the edge of the mountain range in slow, dogged pursuit of her target. 

She thought it was an ewe at first, wandering and grazing and occasionally trailing its way beyond her reach - but once she worked her way over the shale and in to the forest (or what might have been a forest at one time), she was close enough to see the curve of horns. It was an old animal - likely seeking shelter from the threat Eigma herself posed - and to hazard a guess, it failed to realize that the forest had been flattened by a storm some days ago. Eigma picked her way around fallen trees and watched, gauging the situation, all while her hunger grew.

Hunger clawed at his belly. He was tired of small game and thin meat. Kaylan longed to tear thick muscle from strong bone. It would go a long way in returning strength to his skeletal form. The scent of ungulate perfumed the breeze as he continued to cut southwards from the shore. He stalked the animal despite being yet unable to see it.

He came upon a verdant landscape of rolling hills and lush foliage that had yet to turn in the autumn. Kaylan moved at a comfortable trot. His blue eyes scanned for the creature that tantalized his senses. Saliva dripped from his jaws in anticipation.

Something changed in one swift second. First Eigma was trailing after the sheep which seemed to mosey along, and then the sheep paused, let out a small nervous bleat, and changed direction. Eigma watched it, following with her body low and predatory, but the sheep vanished behind a cluster of once proud trees. She had to thoughtfully find a way through the ruined forest to the last point she had witnessed the ewe, and by the time she reached it, the creature had vanished. It was about this time that a new wolfish scent caught her attention, making her fur bristle.

He came upon a creature soon enough. But it was not the food he had anticipated. He growled in disappointment and his posture stiffened to one of defense. Kaylan had no territory. It was only instinct. To protect oneself. To defend against the death that unaffiliated wolves represented. He froze as his blue eyes gazed upon her form. She hadn't noticed him yet. He could turn and leave if he wanted. But curiosity stayed him. The last wolf he had stumbled across did not pose a threat and perhaps she would not either. Kaylan both desperately needed and desperately hated company.

Thinking that maybe the stranger was hidden somewhere within them. But she didn't see anything. Wolfish shapes among the trees turned out to only be more broken bits and pieces all jumbled together. While she could've called out - perhaps appealed to the stranger in some way - that just wasn't a natural step to Eigma. That sheep was her target, a last ditch effort of filling her belly before heading in to the east, and she wasn't going to share it. Then again, the sheep was gone now - maybe the stranger could be of some use. She sucked in a breath of cold air and, fighting instincts, did what she didn't want to do. 

"If you're out there, come out where I can see you." Her tone was more demanding than usual, irritated, but as open as she could be. "Whoever you are - you chased away my dinner. Come out and help me find something else." When she finished talking to the rubble, she gave a tired sigh and rolled her eyes; mumbling to herself, "Yeah, that'll work Eigma. Chase away all the prey and the tool that ruined your meal. Very persuasive."

This was the danger. A lone wolf does not have claim to prey like a pack does. A lone wolf does not have the strength to claim large game all on their own. Kaylan knew he was lucky in some part of his feral brain. He could have come upon a pack hunting the same ewe. They might have decided to hunt him instead.

Her words fell on ears that did not care. The white beast nearly left without further exchange. It would be easy to slip away with his hide in tact. Kaylan suspected this might be a trap. But he was hungry. He would die if he did not eat. He considered this and stepped out into the open. His teeth pulled back in warning. His hackles bristled so that he appeared larger. Kaylan said nothing. His body would tell her enough.

Eigma was not well versed in the behavior of pack wolves, their habits, or their hangups. But she knew rogues. She was rogue, born and bred. So when no words met her in response, she was unphased. 

It made sense that a feral beast would hold their tongue (if they could speak at all); but that meant they heard her, and it was very likely they lingered in the area. The woman chuffed softly to herself, slipping around one of the many ruined piles of tree matter, and turned her head. It was at that moment she spotted the pale creature; he was not very close, but seemed intent on watching her. 

Eigma's head bowed below her shoulders, and she eased herself closer to the ghost among the ruined forest. While her posture was defensive, it was not antagonistic - she was after a meal, and perhaps this stranger could be persuaded to aid her. The wolves of Moonspear might have thought her to be socially stunted, but she knew this language well enough.

He watched silently from his distance. Waited. There were only three outcomes and from his position he could be sure that he would survive even a hostile turn of events. She came closer. It ruled out one option. From here things would turn sour or not. Kaylan remained frozen and patient as their fates were decided.

She did not speak and the feral juvenile felt at ease. The anger that ruled him began to dissipate. She approached and behaved in a way that he understood. No emotions to confuse or enrage. Her posture was one of defense. A subtle submission that did not mean weakness. It only served to show that she would not attack. That whatever occurred would be his choice.

He took a step forward. His lips closed over teeth. His hackles still sat high. Kaylan would not surrender completely. This was still an intricate dance. His eyes never quite left her even as he lifted his head to taste the scents on the wind.

The stranger seemed to calm a little bit. There were still bits and pieces of his posture, his behavior, which told Eigma to be wary. He sniffed the air, and she waited; then when he looked content with his findings, she approached at a slow walk - sniffing as well, inspecting, learning. There didn't seem to be any foreign scents upon him; then again, the stranger was very clearly a lone wolf. It would be bizarre to find layered scents upon him.

She stopped advancing after only a few steps, not wanting to invade his space too much. Eigma turned her head in the direction that the ewe had escaped, trying to appear casual while observing the area, and then returned to watching the wolf, chuffing softly at him in an effort to say hello.