Bramblepoint Bitter.

For @Lio!

Low and behold, Kaster gets into a fight with a badger and suprisingly wins, though not without a few scratches and bite marks to his muzzle -- the screechy little shit. If it would've minded its own damn business and not provoked the male into a fight, then Kast would've left it alone. Now the badger was his meal. Good riddance.

"Ugh, fuck--" still, how could the archer forget how horrid tasting these toothy vermin were? Skin was tough as nails and the nasty meat wasn't worth all the ripping and tearing in the first place. Well, it was not like winter was giving him much of a choice right now -- a filthy badger was the only thing he managed to come across,  really.

And so the chewing, tearing, and annoyed grunts continued while he scarfed down his meal and attempted to keep the bile building up in his throat from leaking out. Though the sound of foot steps crunching through the snow made him freeze and sharply turn towards the noise. 

It wasn't like Kaster knew who it was yet, but he already felt the urge to tell them to fuck off. He didn't feel like fighting over his food right now, despite how gross it was....

Thank you for getting this up ^^

It was the noises that the wolf was making that drew Lio's attention. They had been wandering a lot these days, exploring nooks and crannies of the open expanse of wilderness. There was still so much to see and experience - it never failed to surprise them. And especially now that the snow was falling here - in the valley where the Carroch wolves lived, there was snow all year round, so the sudden lack of it had thrown Lio for a loop. After all, they stuck out like a gigantic dandelion without it. 

So it was no surprise that the wolf hadn't noticed them until they were close by. This stranger was a lot like Knox in coloration. Lio was not sure where their companion had disappeared to, but they were not worried about him. After all, Knox was very capable on his own, just as they were. 

Though, Lio noted, this new wolf was much bigger than they were. Several inches, and several dozen pounds. Especially with winter creeping in - Lio was a decent hunter, but they had lost weight in the cold season. Not that it was too noticeable under all of their fluff. 

Lio stopped when the other wolf spun around, and offered them a small smile. "Hello," they greeted, pink eyes scanning him over. He seemed... tense. "I am not going to steal your food," the yearling assured with one wag of their tail, hoping that they came across as friendly enough. And also hoping that that was the issue at hand. "But badgers do not taste good." Personally, Lio would prefer to avoid them at all costs. They were too mean.

Np <3

The interloper who eventually appeared -- well, he didn't know whether the be amazed or just weirded out by what he saw. A pale coat with so many spots you'd think they had some kind of skin disorder; definitely no pure blood wolf. Whats more is the fact that they came up to him smiling for some reason,  but who smiles and starts up a conversation with a stranger? "Then what are you here for, to breath down my neck while I eat?" The archer question with a spike of annoyance in his voice, raising a skeptical brow at the spotted lupine while sitting up rather defensively. No , Kast refused to believe they were only here on freindly terms, he didn't trust it. He didn't trust strangers -- ecspecially during a time of year where food was scarce.

The bitterness in his voice was... unexpected, to say the least. Lio paused, brows knitting together, and tipped their head to the side. They didn't think they'd done anything wrong in approaching, and they certainly hadn't said anything rude. Except the thing about badgers - but would a wolf really get offended on behalf of a dead badger?

"Being alone is not fun," they said simply, watching the stranger with a frown now settled on their maw. "Is it not more enjoyable to talk to new people?"

The speckled lupine proved themselves to be even weirder by the second -- to the point where they had the archer blinking in disbelief for a moment. His previous heeds to go away only seemed to make them more compelled to stay, which wasn't something he was used to. Though if he knew well from personal experience, there was definitely some sketchy shit going on here -- and he wasn't letting his guard down anytime soon.

Kaster turned his head and closed his eyes with a dismissive scoff, attention drifting back towards his unappetizing meal. "'Fun' you say, with strangers nonetheless? You sound like a child." Kaster said as he turned his head and closed his eyes with a dismissive scoff, attention drifting back towards his rather unappetizing meal. "Haven't had a run-in with any aggressive wolves yet, I suppose?" It seemed like the only explanation for such reckless behavior. The wilderness was not a very kind place for the innocent and gullible -- and it either looked like they couldn't see that yet or just chose to act on hopeless stupidity.