Falls of the Hinterlands Demons, I get. People - they're crazy.

He kept on travelling east until the sight of the mountains overtook the skyline, and he knew he'd have to turn back to get anywhere. This place was like a cul-de-sac from hell really; anywhere he turned it either smelled like pure unhindered ass, or the ground was soupy with water that made him cringe, being closer to liquid sulphur than anything drinkable—and that's if he could find a patch that wasn't iced over. The hell kind of place was this anyhow? Who actually settled down and raised a family here? Crazy people, that's who. All the sane ones he'd left on the coast apparently, and the longer Yutani spent sleeping near ditches or prowling for more than a mouthful of rancid meat, the more he missed the sea.

He wasn't a bitch though. No complaints passed his lips, and it wasn't like he had anyone to complain too anyway. The last person he'd come in to contact with had been that kid; cute, but useless to him. Yutani hadn't thought too hard on the subject; he hadn't considered that befriending Sugar might've been a blessing in disguise, a path opened up to him by the fates or some shit. A home—even a temporary one—would give him access to a more reasonable amount of food, so maybe it was worth checking out.

The sound of the falls roared from up ahead. Not just further along the path that lay twisting before him, but up, maybe an hour or two of hiking would get him there. He wasn't here to sight-see though. Yutani paused at the crossroads, for that's what this area of the wilderness had become. He could turn back and head further south, leave this wilderness—or go north and figure out where Sugar lived. Then again, there was the mountain blocking him... Maybe something had gotten trapped on the floodplain? There were too many options.

With a disgruntled huff, Yute looked to the sky with narrowed eyes and said, C'mon, now what?

Chanel had just begun to explore outside of the Firebirds territory. She was the kind of girl who had lived her life on the safe side; staying in Firebird land meant familiarity and safety. But in some ways she was already beginning to discover her own rougher side after leaving her parents behind- it wasn't much, she was still clean-cut and well-groomed, but she found herself giving in to curiosities more than before. She had the freedom to explore her personality better, without her family policing her into a bourgeoisie and mannered lifestyle. In this way, she found herself at the Falls of the Hinterlands. 

As she wandered, gazing at the mountain like a trance all the while, a voice interrupted her moment of awe. 

"C'mon, now what?"

It was a man's voice, cutting clear across the noisy silence of nature. 
Now, Chanel was a young girl. She had been so protected and sheltered in her original home with her parents, that she had met barely any men. In her father and mother's mind, it was for her safety. But as she had become a teenager, the fair lady found their rules frustrating- the opportunity to meet boys her age now was something particularly exciting to her. She dreamed of romances like the ones in stories she had been told as a child. 

So you can imagine how she felt, when her eyes searched for the source of the voice, only to find a man seemingly average in every way, except his freakish height. Not exactly the same as princes in fairy tales... Perhaps men weren't that great after all. Still, Chanel approached the stranger, whose voice had held a tone of frustration, or something alike. Keeping a distance of a few yards, just in case, she spoke up: "Sir... are you lost? Is something wrong?" She was a bit naive in approaching a stranger like that- but she was young with a good heart, what else could she do?

He paced in circles a few times, his eyes dropping from the sky to peer at the surroundings. There were too many trees here. The forest might've been a nice hidey-hole if he was some punk trying to hide out, but that's not what he was interested in right now. Yutani was hungry, frustrated, but focused on this immediate need for food. He wouldn't be sleeping until he had something nice and juicy in his belly, of that he was sure. Where to try first, though? Everything looked the same; dark corridors between spires of naked trees, leading to nowhere good. The life of a lone wolf was unstable (to put it mildly) and full of drawbacks, and Yutani was in the middle of experiencing one, intimately. If he didn't eat soon he'd starve.

As he turned around again, paced in another direction only to stop short and curse under his breath, he heard a rustling and froze. The boy's eyes moved first, flickering like candle light in the dark. His entire demeanour shifted to something defensive as he reacted to the sound of movement among the trees—until the slender figure of a girl met his eyes, and her voice filled his ears. He moved towards her slowly, and his eyes shifted a little to the shadows around her, almost as if he expected an ambush. Best to be prepared, either way.

She offered him help, which was cute. He stopped at a safe distance from her and the posture slackened in his body, immediately charmed by the girl's innocent features, the glossy sheen of her eyes. Ain't lost, he murmured. I was huntin', but it doesn't look like I'm having any luck right now. Things would change though, they had to.

The relaxation in his posture did not go unnoticed by Chanel- his lack of tension made him appear to be comfortable with her, and probably he could be trusted to a degree. That's what she decided, at least, and so she did not back off when he approached her a little closer. 

When he said that he was having poor luck with his hunts, she nodded. A more careful individual might've warned him away from hunting so close to their territory- especially now, considering the state of the famine- but Chanel had the tendency to see from other people's point of view. Even in a time of struggle for food like this, she could only feel empathetic to his situation. 

"Yes, we had the same problem. There seems to be a dreadful famine taking place in this land- so unfortunate, really. I know how you feel,"  She offered. She wish she could provide him some more assistance or advice, but she had found her stomach growling too, more than the pampered girl had ever been used to. Her tongue slipped out to lick her lips slightly as she thought about her own hunger, before adding: "Really wish I could help you out, Sir." 

Ah, there was that word. Famine. He'd had an inkling that something was wrong in this place but nothing that bad, not yet anyway. He'd thought that maybe the population of wolves was so great that the food was low as a result; to survive in the wilderness alone a person needed a strategy, and he kept up as best he could with what he had. Knowing now that there was in fact a famine, well, that changed things a little. Changed his strategy. He'd have to be more cut-throat if he was going to make it through the winter without adequate supplies available.

She offered to help, of course. Innocent girls often didn't think in the same manner he did. She looked healthy despite the limits of the season; his eyes roamed over her figure, lingered too long in some places, hungry for more than just food now that he was presented with this sumptuous lady. When was the last time he'd gotten laid? Not worth thinking about right now, but, the thought crossed his mind. She was cute.

Ah, its alright. I'll survive somehow, I always do. That smirk again. Warmth in his bright eyes, just a flash. He strides around her and looks to the trees where she'd emerged, then comments over his shoulder, You live around here? There was a kid wanderin' around a few days ago—Sugar. Part of your family? The least he could do was gather intel, and maybe in the process he'd find some other way to pass the time. Hunting, screwing—either option was preferable to milling around having a conversation.

Yutani doubted the girl would be up for anything like that but, he could dream.

Although she noticed his gaze, passing over her slowly- she was too innocent to realize it was anything more than a gathering of information. Whether it was naivety, stupidity, obliviousness, a lack of experience, or some mix of it all- she didn't even consider that the seemingly kind stranger was sizing her up like a piece of meat. If she had known that- well, she'd definitely be a lot more cautious and nervous right now. But blissfully unaware, she listened with perked ears to his words. 

Round eyes lit up when the man mentioned the name, Sugar. She smiled and nodded with enthusiasm. "I live just north of here, with a pack called Firebirds. Sugar isn't exactly my family, but we're friends! She's a sweet little girl. Same pack as me. Interesting really, that you've met her." 

She imagined it for a moment- this towering, dark man, talking to little Sugar. She found the idea of it amusing, although slightly worrying that the kid was out meeting strangers. But the little girl seemed responsible enough- in fact, it wouldn't be too long before she could be considered an adult. Chanel figured Sugar was probably almost old enough to fare perfectly fine on her own outside the territory.

The kid he'd met before had mentioned that her home was this way, but it took this encounter for Yutani to connect the dots. North of here, aye? The man murmurs, his eyes flickering across the foliage of nearby trees. He was mentally drawing the landscape from what he could remember seeing on his way through the hinterlands. Must be a pretty decent place if it could support families, especially so if those families felt comfortable with a six-month-old hiking around without protection; but what did he know, he wasn't (knowingly) a father and it wasn't his duty to look out for the little ones.

The girl seemed pleased that he'd at least met someone she knew. Her voice took on a childish quality, bubbling, happy. Yutani briefly wondered if he'd ever sounded like that—but dismissed the idea. He wasn't some chick. He'd been a fighter for as long as he could remember, and a hunter. No such naivety had ever rooted itself within him. 

Disappointment flared in his gaze, but he wasn't looking at the girl so she wouldn't see it. The expression faded from his face as he turned to smile at her instead. You think that's interesting? My, my, she must have quite the sheltered life if brief conversations were cool in her eyes. What do you do for fun around here anyway?

Chanel didn't bother to hide the childish qualities of her words as they stumbled excitedly from her lips. To some degree, when her train of thought slipped out of her like that, she wasn't even entirely aware of how annoyingly upbeat she could come off. And as for finding it interesting, she gave a slight nod when he asked. To her, interesting didn't necessarily mean "cool"- more like, "nice" or "intriguing"- but she was unaware he saw the term in a different way. 

When he asked what she did for fun, her head cocked slightly. For fun? The most fun she had had since moving into Firebirds was probably tearing open the dead squirrel with Sugar- but she certainly wasn't going to mention that to a stranger. She wasn't a barbarian. 

"I admit, I haven't had a lot of fun yet since moving in here. Most of the members are way older than me or little kids- so... you can imagine, life can be a little dull, without other people my age here. I suppose I like to take walks through our land, to relax..." She trailed off quite awkwardly. She hadn't considered it much yet, but she did miss the company of girls her age. She missed her friends in the North; the little lady wanted people to play games and gossip with. The adults were too old and mature, the kids felt too childish to her. She hoped things would pick up soon.

"And... you? What do you do for fun?" 

He didn't envy her one bit. The more she spoke the less and less he wanted to stick around; mostly it was the cheerful idiot routine that he despised. It was good for her, though, as it drew any potential lovemaking out of his mind promptly. Yutani had a thing for powerful, self-assured, more control-oriented women; this was a pretty girl but that wasn't his thing. The bubbly comments and good cheer flew in the face of his moodiness, like a candle in the dark. That and learning this Firebird pack was mostly kids and older wolves -- yeaaah, not his deal.

What do you do for fun? She asked of him. His mind went to lewd places first, and the smile on his face faltered only a little, feeling his face get a bit warm. Yutani didn't get embarrassed; he liked to think of himself as cool-headed and mysterious, like the pirates he grew up around and the stories he'd often overhear from rogues. He wasn't embarrassed now either, but the images that flashed in his mind were quite graphic and, at least to him, entertaining.

He couldn't exactly go in to detail about what he liked to do for fun—so he bullshit his way out of that question with an emphatic shrug. Huntin' is one of my favourite things. Tracking stuff, gankin' my way up the food chain. Brawlin' with my buddies—well, can't say I do any of that now, what with the famine. My crew up and left me too, which blows. This was swiftly becoming a pity-party or very close to it, and Yute huffed to himself, unwilling to get maudlin about it. It had been his choice to leave the crew, not the other way around.

I roam a lot. Seen all kinds of things. There's lots to do out there if you know where to look, and here he winked, because why not. She'd probably miss any innuendo even if it was blatant.

ahh chanel's so oblivious I cant stand her lmaooo :"D

As she listened to his list, she nodded, noting that he seemed like something of a tough guy. Hunting, tracking, brawling... Referring to his friends as his 'crew'... Chanel remained oblivious that the answer he gave was not exactly his real answer; she was a nice girl of course, but she couldn't read people that well and had no idea he was bullshitting his way through their conversation. 

Chanel laughed lightly like a teenage girl when he winked, as if she was in on some joke. She wasn't, of course- she hadn't caught onto his meaning yet, and who knows how blatant he'd have to be for her to realize? She knew about "the birds and the bees" and yet, it had been taboo enough of a subject while she was growing up that she could not pick up on innuendos. If she had known, well- it probably would have freaked her out. Big time. She'd probably already be gone and on her way back to Firebirds. But she didn't know. 

So instead, she further proved herself painfully innocent by asking the man: "Where's the right place to look? My time here has honestly been utterly boring, I could really use a pick-up." Poor Chanel, completely unaware.

Ah, innocence. It didn't thrive all that well in Tortuga, often being bludgeoned out of people or at least tricked out of them, as they would inevitably be forced to make some manner of hellish deal in order to survive among the pirates. Seeing how easily the girl accepted Yute's presence and commentary was a breath of fresh air, considering he'd lived among the lowly beasts of the coast for such a long time. The first thought to cross his mind as the girl spoke was: 'I could get used to this,'  and he couldn't help but smile, a nefarious little glint in his eye. He didn't mean her any harm; Yutani was all about freedom, from free food to free love. From the way she looked at him and the manner of her words, she might've been innocent but he could've sworn she had other designs in mind—but that was more likely Yutani projecting his desires out in to the world. She was cute, he was handsome, they were hitting it off so far, so why not make that mental leap?

Aye well, you don't need to look any further than me, sweetheart. I'm loads'a fun! The irony of that statement was lost on him in the heat of the moment (you aren't really cool if you have to try so hard to convince yourself of it). I can show you a game. Its all the rage back home—eh, or it was, last I visited. You down to play? His tail whisked behind him, batting a bit at the air as it raised like a triumphant little banner for a split-second, and Yute watched her expectantly, his mind abuzz with the many things he'd like to do with her.

When he called her sweetheart, it threw her off a little, her eyes widening with some surprise at the little nickname. But she wasn't too bothered by the word; she did thrive on attention. She was the belle of the ball after all. Or at least, this is what she believed to be true in her head. She was pretty and sweet, of course men would be charmed by her- that's what mother had always said. So she allowed a smile to creep onto her face at the little name he had used, and at the fact that he was apparently "loads'a fun". 

And then, the stranger offered to teach her a game. All the rage back home? She was intrigued. Back in her home, there were only a few games she had learned. That's about how it goes, when you grew up mostly around adults and not with many kids of your own age. And the kids she knew her age were girls who liked to pick flowers and splash in the water in their free time- little girls raised to be lady-like just like Chanel. They didn't invent games with the imagination of a child. Because of this, combined with her age of only a year and therefore childlike mentality, she was eager to learn this game, whatever it was. 

"Yes, I'd love to- er, I'm down to play," She affirmed with happiness, trying to pick up on his way of speech which was so different than her own.