Nocturne Summit an empty space has filled the void behind my face

Probably set a few days after his thread with Nyx. For @Hydra!

He'd wormed his way across the valley and through forest after forest, and it had been a monumental task. He was exhausted each time he stopped to sleep, and would rise early to continue. As long as the wolf kept on moving he knew he was alive; it was thrilling to a point, but ultimately exhausting.

In the early hours of the morning on this day - he couldn't tell you which day, or how long he'd been within the wilds by now even if he could speak - he'd managed to catch a plump hare and happily feasted. There was nothing left of the creature by the time he was through with it; he'd devoured every scrap of flesh, clump of bloodied fur, and even some of the thicker bones.

The food was invigorating. It gave him a desperately necessary burst of energy, which itself showed through the beast's renewed vigor. He had been roaming throughout the foothills of a mountain range all morning and after finishing the meal, he chose to tempt fate. The mountain had loomed for long enough - and he, curious and missing his old haunt, chose to scale the lower reaches.

He did not quite make it to the summit before his belly began to roll, but Tsukiko had pushed beyond his own limits all the same. He came upon a narrow plateau shrouded by thick pines, criss-crossing elms, and one old oak which looked to have split down the middle at some point in its lifetime - now the boughs touched the earth, and their arms looked unnaturally curved. He stopped there just for a minute and up came some of the rabbit's remains - but Tsukiko didn't let them sit long before he tried to return them to the pit of his desperate belly.

Hydra had noted a herd of some sort here via scent, and came to find them again. She wanted to tempt them in the direction of Moonspear; with her mother evidently being due any day now, no one was going too far. And though Hydra and her sisters had lured a herd of deer into their mountains reaches, Hydra was always working on doing more. If she could, why not? So she ranged in that direction, following the scent trail of the beasts. It was an erratic trail to follow. The weather had been poor but an hour ago, and a generous sweeping of rain had caused nothing but detriment to her tracking. 

She paused and huffed, shaking out her furs. One light sniff to the air indicated that it would rain again within the hour, though this Hydra did not mind. Like her mother, Hydra enjoyed roaming within the rain. In the distance there was a sound of wretching... and Hydra's ears flicked atop her head. They turned in the direction the sound came like the radars they were, and Hydra turned and prowled in that direction in a slow, steady lope. Perhaps the culprit was one of the creatures she had scented? She intended to find out.

He ate so fast that he gagged on the still-warm puddle, but some agile licks (wherein his tongue became encrusted with soil) remedied everything. The wolf was licking his muzzle over hastily, trying to clean himself up (pointless though the effort may have been) when he heard the clear drumming of footfalls in the wood. He stopped what he was doing and observed. His tall ears fanned either side of his head, then stood tall as he looked owl-eyed at the forest - but he only saw the shifting of shadows, and wasn't looking for any particular shape, so the wolfish figure approaching him went unnoticed until they were nearly atop him.

Fortunately, his shape and cut were distinguishable to Hydra—though he blended well with the wet stone he stood upon. The beast she saw was clearly wolf, and she debated turning back to find the trail she had been so interested in. Instead, Hydra simply darted around him and moved in a loose circle so she faced him, curious about the man before her. Something about him kept her here for the moment, and her ears cupped forward in his direction.

He was startled back upon seeing her figure materialize. The boy moved fluidly back although there was a spider-like quality to his scrambling. She was a dark thing indeed; her eyes shined confidently from the vastness of her shadow, and her presence was an anomaly to him. But Tsukiko was curious of her - even as his heart raced - and so he slunk closer with some care, reaching with his long sandy snout in order to sniff her breath. His tail flicked at the end, but otherwise was stiff with nerves.

When he slunk forward, Hydra moved too, though kept herself prepared defensively in case he decided to strike. But her interest in him superceded her fear of that potential outcome. The males smell was more wild than anything else she had come to know, yet. Other loners smelled of a pack they recently dispersed from, but this one must have been alone for a long period of time. As her nose draped toward sharp ribs, it was made all the more evident. Her ears flicked as she then dashed away and let out an inviting whuff, ears pricking forward once again. Distracted, indeed, by this man of the earth—she let her forelegs slip downward and slap against the rocks before rising and moving toward him with a vigorous wave of her plume. Perhaps he would not be willing, but Hydra tested the waters nonetheless as she moved to playfully nip at his hindquarters before darting away, hoping to tempt him into a game of chase.

It was strange to encounter someone so young, so much like himself, yet so different. Mentally Tsukiko was closer to the dark girl than anyone he'd met so far; but having grown up with an already aged wolf as his sole confidant, there were some things that were off about him. He was perplexed for a minute or two after her ground-pound and the fur of his shoulders spiked when she dove in to make her playful grab. He pulled back from her as if to avoid the danger of her teeth, turning in an awkward spiral while his tail lowered and curved into a belly-grazing crescent. He bared his teeth defensively, but not seriously. More like a grimace filled with his uncertainty, telling her he had defenses if he needed them - but from her antics, it appeared he did not. Tsukiko licked his lips then and briefly turned away from her, feigning interest in something else while he considered what to do next, and then slumped towards her with a far from graceful play-bow of his own.

She watched him, and when he turned away from her with disinterest Hydra huffed, disappointed, and prepared to be on her way. Her body shifted to the side when she saw his attention return to her, her tail waved in loose, sweeping arcs. He fell into a play bow and her head lifted as she let out a low growl, encouraging him to come closer as she shifted her weight, muscles rippling beneath her furs. If, and when, he did, Hydra would prance out of reach until he caught on to the fact that to catch her at all would require true effort on his behalf.

He wasn't as strong as her. Not nearly as healthy. So when he began to play (even in the bare manner that he attempted) he was out of breath incredibly quickly. She dove from his reach and he moved to compensate, but no matter how much he tried, Tsukiko could not parry her snaps or grapple with her; he was always falling short, until he had to stop and slouch with his tongue lolling out and breath panting from his dry throat. He was not very good at playing to begin with - and to add to this, he was wasting precious energy when he should've been hunting. But it was fun, and he did not wish to stop for long; so even while the man gasped for air or twisted and stumbled, he kept up the attempts at the game until his sides heaved.

Hydra's tail waved as she evaded capture, ears turning backward when he was behind her to sense his distance. When he paused, Hydra whirled around to watch him, panting herself due to the hours heat, and when he moved to play again Hydra insisted that she capture him this time. Hydra darted in his direction, letting out a few sharp barks to encourage him to move away and that their roles in the game had changed, tail continuing to wave in thick sweeps.