Neverwinter Forest a distant land caused me to linger

He permitted her nearness, and Hydra helped relieve him of his burden. As she worked at the burrs, she observed another when he spoke, and pulled it out. They weren't too deep, and even the others she noted that were within his reach hung loosely enough that they would not be a bother for him to remove.

Eat the weasel, she insisted with a smile, and then nosed the grouse to him, bring them this. I'm sure you've been hungry long enough, ah, Hydra, the benevolent giver! She wasn't, not really, but knew food was the way to any beings heart... and there was no doubting the travelworn mans hunger. Never met a weasel I liked. What a little shit, trying to steal your fare, she said with a grin. Good riddance to him!

She made easy work of the burrs he couldn't reach, and it was a chance for him to keep the tension down that rose within. It had always been one thing for someone he knew to be so close, but a perfect stranger? Granted, she was not as strange as she seemed some time ago, streaking past his original bedding for the night. But he hardly knew her, and vice versa. It was the way they fell together that troubled him, but here and now was not the place to sort such things.

Besides, she had finished and he caught an opportunity to watch her at what may have been a lax state. A moment of altruism, perhaps, though given the parting words she had for the weasel he couldn't help but think she didn't want that anywhere near her home. He smiled at the words, his interest held over the prospective meal barely hidden.

"He was only doing what he thought he should," he said, adding, "and is that really how a princess should talk?" Not that she didn't seem the swearing type, but her words had been selected before. This crass evolution was amusing, but he didn't anticipate an answer either. Dirge scooped up the mink again to carry it, and this time away from the burrs and branches altogether. He dropped it again where he deemed it suitable, a pointed gaze back to Hydra's dark form.

"I'd share you, if you could get past the smell."

Hydra grinned at Dirge and his observation. Though typically she was stoic and aloof, she had her moments where she simply let everything go. It wasn't those moments that defined her, but she was certainly a multifaceted youth. He thought wrong, Hydra decreed, and as she moved past Dirge she tossed her head in the wolf equivalent of a hairtoss. One of the best things about being a princess, Dirge, she stated, now peering over her shoulder at him, is that we can do, and say, whatever it is we please when it pleases us. She reclined onto her haunches and began to preen at her shoulder, and at his invitation and pointed look, Hydra returned her attentions to him and smiled again. 

Not only was he a handsome devil as well as an adept hunter, but a gentleman? 

I've eaten recently—there is some hour old mountain goat scraps left, waiting for you at Moonspear, she informed, pulling away from her shoulder. But the weasel was fresh and warm both—such a thing Hydra would not pass up herself were she alone for a time, and any bit hungry. Her tail thumped against the earth as she returned to her self-grooming, moving on to her chest. The grouse lay limp between the both of them, and the snowfall and quiet around them was altogether peaceful.

And it was a peacefulness that Dirge shattered, when he tore the mink in two. Far from equal halves and a spine that suggested a better time, he was already making work of it. It was an amusing meal, watching her preen as though she were truly the one who was filthy, and well, now bloodied. It was hard to say which if his sisters she would have been like, which was probably why they got on so well—she was much like him. Not so much that they were identical, but enough to compliment one another. Enough to have something in common, anyway.

When he had managed to get down what he could of the mink, Dirge licked his chops. He probably could have ate more, but that would have only served to make him ill. He rose to his feet, shaking out his coat and scattering the two mink halves to the brush. Treats for the next poor soul that found themselves there, he reasoned. There wasn't enough to justify carrying or burying in the frozen earth.

"So then, what of your errand from earlier? Your enemy hasn't shown his face here," and he chose his words carefully here too, still uncertain of what to make with the goings on.

He ate his fill as Hydra groomed herself. Though she was the wildest of her sisters, she did care some for his appearance... and felt with Dirge near, she had all the more reason to. Once he was finished and standing, Hydra nosed the grouse toward him. Best he not forget that. His inquiry was met with a look toward the horizon. There's always tomorrow to search for him, though I do not think he will return to these parts again. Still, better to be safe than sorry. Moonspear's involvement in it extends to my sisters and I. He attacked a friend of ours too close to home, she explained (i.e. he would not need to get involved in any way, shape, or form). 

Hydra paused then, and suggested unless you would like to help me hunt for him tonight,  after all, perhaps he had an interest in expanding upon his tracking skills? But... though it might be best we head back, if you want that warm place to bed down sooner than later, her gaze now turned toward Moonspear. It wasn't too far off for them from here, fortunately for him. If he wanted to help, the offer wasn't limited to this one day anyhow. But if he didn't want to be involved, he needn't be. In any case, she'd understand his preference for rest now if he desired it. She could imagine the life of a lone wolf was not filled with fitful sleeps.

She left the decision in his hands, surprisingly. Hydra hadn't forgotten about what had brought her there and ge didn't thi k she would have. Not when the matter was personal. He suspected he would have felt the same in her position, which thankfully he wasn't. Though curious if these sisters she had mentioned, he turned his attention to the grouse at his feet while her gaze scanned the forested horizon.

"I suppose it would look a touch strange if I came along carrying a grouse and looking quite mad," he made his attempt at humor, "just as it would look strange to arrival and your pack's claim the same." Or maybe the latter was more common, more proper. His brow quirked at the end of his statement, as though he were deciding which was the lesser evil to choose.

"But tomorrow is another day," he went on to reason with no one in particular. "And fresh snowfall waiting to be tracked over may be good aid. Could knock out a lot of wonder that way I would think." And besides, if the bloke was too stupid to go near somewhere he shouldn't be then he'd get his just desserts wouldn't he? It made sense to Dirge, but he no experience with it. His choice had been to flee when things got to be too much, too involved. No surprise here he wanted to rid himself of something he had nothing at all to do with.

For her own part, Hydra was still learning the nuances of tracking. Though her nose was keen—perhaps, even, keener than most—she was no expert yet and was under no wolves tutelage. All experience she had gleaned was from instinct alone. Hydra peered at him and smiled.

You've proven to me you're an adept hunter, and even have some insights on tracking. You've got your ticket in. You can meet your other leaders tomorrow, she decided. He did look exhausted, now, and she certainly did not want her parents thinking she was accepting a madman. So, let's go home, she suggested with a wave of her plume. And I'll show you the warmest spot to sleep. After a beat, Hydra howled to her sisters to meet her back at Moonspear. They had come with her here, after all. He'd meet them soon after he met her parents, she was sure. The yearling looked to him before beginning to move back in the direction she had come, gesturing invitationally to her side.

Let's go home, she said and somehow, he managed to withhold a scoff. It had been so long since he thought of anything but the open road as home that calling somewhere home wasn't high on his agenda. Filling those primal needs, however, was higher up there. He had knocked out a few of them tonight alone and there was little doubt in his mind that by the time they reached the jagged range that nested Moonspear he would be beyond tired.

Picking up the grouse, Dirge fell in line to follow Hydra as she led the way. Tomorrow was another day, but rounding out the night with somewhere proper to sleep sounded like a good end. Whatever day would bring was another story.