Otter Creek deep six

ooc; early morning. all welcome!

she was in no hurry. not to get anywhere, and certainly taking her time to do so. Huntington had no plans here. no outward goals one could gracefully talk to another about. she had picked a direction at randomity and wandered further into this land. thus far, interactions had been brief and also disappointing. she learned a little from the people here. either by watching from afar or even speaking directly to them. she did not mean to assume anything she was uncertain of, however.

what she did know, about this realm and its people, could fill a proverbial bucket. albeit a small one. the search for such knowledge, of besting others despite her newcomer status, was forever a quest. the woman walked lightly, her steps carrying her to the small creek. she bent her white face down to lap idly at the liquid, taking in the cool water and refreshing herself. the water was cold due to the season, yet all the more refreshing. she raised her head, pale gaze flickering about her surroundings. to anyone nearby, she was merely another rogue. 

and that is how she wanted it to remain.

the water reached out with cold hands and embraced the dark limbs of the girl. she waded until she could no longer stand the frigidity of it before she lowered her crown to drink from the creek. the water burned against the dry back of her throat, but she lapped at it with a feverish burning that originated in the pits of her stomach. once she had quelled the dehydration that had limited her travel, the ghoul stepped out from the water and onto the rocky bank. there, lucy turned her gaze to the skies and searched for a purpose – a place to go.

elfin swooped over her head and lifted up into the skies to disappear against a backdrop of dismal grey and the beginning of snowflakes. the girl followed her bird companion until he had vanished from her sights. a quiet sigh slipped through her flared nostrils and lifted into the skies in a plume before it vanished. the tufted stub of her tail wavered for a moment and then froze. her gaze traveled downward to catch sight of a dark-bodied stranger with the most striking hood of white. if her manners had not been so poor, she would have realized that she was gawking. instead, the ghoul stood with stiff limbs and waited to see if she would be noticed, or if the other would pass by without so much as a flick of their whiskers.

ooc; early morning. all welcome! 

she did not so much as look at the other; at least not right away. flickering out of her vision, the dark coat of the other dismissed. a passing fancy, if anything. she did not have much in common with the, ah, other women. wherein they wished to settle, desiring affections and contentment, she was the oddity. true, she could easily shape into such a person given the correct exposure to another, yet did she really want that? no. Huntington was acutely aware of the bird before the shadow encompassed her previously. in such a season, the presence of an avian was cause to look up.

she did not, however.

it made no sense to attempt to snap at something so far away. her eyes drifted to the stranger, assuming this creature was in some way their familiar. a companion against loneliness? how pathetic. she did not seek out other species to spare her own. she had none to speak of. and if she had, she did not request the company of lesser beings. then again, no other of her own species had stepped up to take a place on her altar. it would appear, however, she would be loathed to make the first move. her long lanky legs did not move. she calmly gazed at the stranger, aware of her eyes.

"do I mayhap look peculiar to you?" she mused quietly, though her tone was not offended. Huntington wanted to know if she was 'odd' to others. she sought a difference, to stand out among the crowd yet effortlessly blend in. 

do I mayhap look peculiar to you?

the question was almost strangling to the dark shadow. it mattered very little that she had quenched the parched feeling in her throat, as the air seemed to be sucked from her lungs immediately. the question had been direct, and it did not seem as though she would escape without providing an answer. lucy lowered her head toward the earth without drawing her gaze away from the stranger. she hoped to make herself appear as small as she could.

“n-no... i'm sorry,” the ghoul muttered to the white-hooded prowler. she clenched her jaw tightly before she had mustered the strength to draw her crown upward. still, she appeared demure and disheveled. “your colors are... you're... very beautiful,” she managed after a few failed attempts. in her life, she had not seen the patterns that were reflected in the cloak of the other woman. it was as though the light shone from her skull – like the darkness could not quite win. this would have been impossible for the shadow to have described.

but it gave her a shred of hope.

caught like a child with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar.

Huntington was nothing if not inwardly amused by the reaction. her outer self, however, remained emotionless as always. she merely stared at the other woman, regarding her before speaking. a slight chuckle entered her tone. forced, perhaps, to better connect with the company. "am I?" she mused, shifting her head away from the other to gaze about. she did not seem taken by the flattery. no, she was not a woman to be vain. she merely existed as she was. genetics, DNA... all factors in one's appearance. there was nothing beautiful about it. it was a fact. merely a fact.

however, she could not (as much as she could) leave the other 'hanging' with that reply. her body forced itself forward into the lull of conversation. "I have been asked if I was perhaps a floating skull" she went on, eyes drifting back to the other "I wonder what one I prefer more? beautiful or floating? surely there is a gain in both?" she did not expect the other to reply to such a thing. she was merely ranting quietly to herself. Huntington was not offended by the other, nor any other than this one. it took much to break her shell, the wall she had placed up.

however, the other had done little to warrant offense. mere curiosity. she could not fault that. "ah... my manners have escaped me. I am called Huntington."

“i – i don't think you look like... a skull,” lucy uttered after the other had responded to her comment about the woman being beautiful. the markings were very particular, but they did not echo death in any way to the dark shadow. though their conversation seemed to have shifted to a theoretical one of whether it was more beneficial to appear like a floating skull or to inspire beauty in others. to the ghoul, she could only imagine there being one benefit of looking like a deceased creature. “i guess, if you – you wanted to frighten someone, then being beautiful isn't the way you'd like to look,” the girl remarked with a nervous flicking of her stubbed tail. if the woman before her was the type to want to strike fear in the hearts of others, lucy felt she might have made a terrible mistake by approaching.

the peculiar wolf then seemed to find her place, offering an introduction to the dark shadow. with nervous blue eyes, the damaged young thing dipped her head and flattened her ears to her crown. “my name is lucy,” she returned, though she could feel the sound of her own moniker hitch against the back of her throat from lack of use, and she wondered how long she would have been able to keep the presence of the woman huntington. as though she was trying to find a way to further their conversation, the ghoul turned her sights to their surroundings and canted her head just slightly to the left.

“do you – is this your home?”

at least this one could carry a conversation. despite the nerves she showed, the woman was at least able to partake in an exchanged reply. Huntington had been lacking a suitable back-and-forth for a few days now. ever since she stumbled upon this realm, the natives and foreigners both looked upon her as if she was something to be wary about. she did nothing to dispell their anxieties, though it was a bit refreshing to meet this one. 'beautiful' was not something she'd ever come to terms with.

and perhaps she never would. how sad for her, some would claim. "there is merit in appearing frightening, yes" came to her hushed reply, pale gaze slightly bulging "though one could also say you catch as many flies with honey" the wives' tale of vinegar versus honey, such an old classic she employed now. the name was given; Lucy. short for Lucille? Lucinda? she resisted asking. "a pleasure... however, this is not my home. I have none." little harm in giving that information, for it was clear. she did not belong to a pack. anyone could sniff that out.

"and you? do you have a home?"

the strange woman spoke in a way that lucy was not accustomed to. then again, the dark ghoul had never really been used to chatting with strangers at all. she did not understand how there was any merit in a foul appearance, unless this 'floating skull' wanted to be left alone. in that, the dark shadow wondered if it was the reason that she had been plagued by the presence of others all her life. when she thought of a fearful looking wolf, she could not help but to retort to the shimmering yellow eyes and dark cloak of the man. she did not wish to ever look like him.

“n-no... i've not had a home for a while,” the girl responded apologetically to the white-capped female. she had sought to find her strength again in the wilderness beyond where she had been born, but she had only returned with the same demure and shaken psyche that she had left with. the ghoul had not done well in tending to her fears; they plagued her in every moment.

perhaps it was the other's timid nature that kept her interest. surely, she had seen the likes of such a personality before? yes, she had. many times. though the wilds here held self-assured, egotistic people. Lucy's timidity was a breath of fresh air in itself. Huntington did not easily pluck others apart by voiced venom. she kept her reserves about her. especially her true opinions of others. unless they were going out of their way to prove her correct.

the point was, this stumbling woman had done her no harm. she was 'fine' in the proverbial books. "I see" Huntington mused carefully. logic told her to press further yet she did not. mayhap the other would tell her in her own time. or perhaps they would never see each other again. such was the life of a vagrant. a wolf without a pack was an easy target. one she had avoided for long. "it would be foolish to assume you know of the packs here, then?" she asked.

the ghoul found that it was far easier to trust other women than it was to trust the men who roamed the wilderness. and while the stranger who stood before her seemed an odd type, she did not seem as though she intended any harm to the fragile shadow. she spoke directly and did not seem to dance around the subjects that she approached, which was good and well, but seemed awfully intimidating to the blue-eyed specter. she was doing everything that she could to appear capable enough to continue on the conversation that she was holding.
 
when huntington asked whether or not lucy knew about the nearby packs, the slender girl dipped her muzzle and shook her head once. it had been a great deal of time since she had been in the wilds last, and she did not want to think back to those days. she had done everything that she could to pass the image of iliksis from her mind. so, when her cosmic blue gaze latched to the woman’s she did so with an apologetic expression.
 
“no, it’s been far too long since i’ve been in these lands – i’m sure much has changed,” the dark thing spoke.