Serpent Lake Caza

@Legend - set before this thing

The pack in the lowlands was near to the pack on the mesa. There was only a stretch of land that separated the two claimed spaces. Juárez prowled them. He learned them from the outside. He studied the slope of the earth beneath his paws as he walked and searched and sought. 

Pausing at the edge of the water, the jaguar sunk his paws into the cool liquid and lowered his head to drink from the surface. The mesa could be seen in the northern distance. It would be a good place to sell their wares. It would be a good place to begin their distribution, if he could manage to convince those who made the pack their home. 

Juárez kept his bloody eyes trained to the kingdom on the mesa and his dark mind planned.

She traveled out under the sun.

Akashingo would not demand a return yet. Their hebsut granted her leave. Legend's head hung low and swept the ground with her nose. Scenting, or attempting to, but falling very short. 

Soto had brought spices to Akashingo that were rich, and of where they had been obtained, or from who, they'd not found. The imp followed the river first, slithering out animalistic whines to snare in attention, but scanning rendered her blind to the narrow path in front of her that led directly into the flank of another.

The shadow moved, drawing the blood color of his eyes. There was a feminine grace to her steps. Each placement of her paw pads against the earth, the sway of her lean figure, and the length of her snout told him that she was beautiful. Though, there were many things that Juárez found beautiful in the opposite sex. 

Hola... the timbre of his voice sounded out to the stranger. Juárez willed her to come closer. He wished to drink in the scents she wore upon her nape and the dark of her cloak. He wished to understand the fragrance she carried.

Already quiet steps fell silent when they stopped.

That inky nose lifted off the sand, and raised high until it pointed straight to a golden face with blood for eyes. Tail, calmly resting at her ankles. There was a stillness that stirred, and both tall spire ears stood upright. Hola, said the sand man. A siren voice that was almost soft in the low rumble of notes. Charming.

He greeted her, even in speaking a word that had gone unknown. 

Was he lost?

A smile curved up on her lips and she called out in an echo: "Hello."

The dark woman greeted him in return. She spoke the common language. Most of them seemed to, in these unfamiliar lands. It was of little concern to him. She did not look like she had been born in the southern heat. And though he had happened upon many Mexican men and women in his travels, he always held a glimmer of hope that he would find one of his kin out in the faraway places he discovered. 

¿No hablas español? the jaguar inquired, head canted curiously to the right.

Español, and the woman's head followed the quirk of the mans. It was then she understood the accent, and pinpointed the language of which had been escaping her. Spanish.

"No español." Both eyes touched the strangers feet, then eyes. "Little bit," then, that smile formed into a laugh that squinted up her eyes in a sly jest. "¿Comida?" It was the only word taught, spare for the new phrase that had been picked up. No hablas español. Legend dissected the sentence immediately and found many, many questions forming about it.

The imp filtered through languages to try and swiftly find a mutual one, if one existed. Common first. "English?" Old Egyptian. "Coptic?"  Arabic. "اَلْعَرَبِيَّةُ?" And while no, no, and no was expected for all three, they were offered regardless.

She snuck closer to the gold man. 

Inglés... the jaguar answered with a nod of his head. 

The shadow drew a little closer to him. Sun reflected in the gold coat he wore upon his back - touched by black flecks that swallowed all light and warmth. Juárez was not shy about the way his bloody stare traced her figure. She was pretty enough. She had a quiet curiosity to her. Softness and curiosity rarely paired well. 

You would like to learn Spanish? Juárez inquired. His dark lips curled slightly. The scar that cut through his mouth revealed the ivory glint of his canine tooth. A conman's smile.

That rampant nose started to work the more distance that closed between them. Inhaling, trying, pulling in something more like dust up the nose that caused a burning sensation. It was not enough.

Steps closer, closer, and then the imp took a sharp jump away from the stranger. Paws splayed, lowered, and then quickly rising again. They were still closer than before, but too close, and the yaret suddenly put back a few inches of space that she'd taken. Her heart taunted her to play chase with its beats, and then it stilled as quickly as it started to race.

"Yes!"
She needed to keep searching. Both of the devil spawns eyes sat reverently on the gold man's.
"Can He teach new word?"