King Elk Forest I look around but I can't find you.

It felt strangely gratifying to be among her people again. It had only been a few hours since her induction to the pack. Zephrine had made a point to hike some ways in to the territory and rest a bit, then hike out again, retracing her steps so that she could map the terrain a little bit. It was faster the second time. She could make out a few quick observations about the shapes of the trees, little landmarks recorded at a glance, things that would be useful to her for the first little while.

She knew she was hungry. That was something every wolf was keenly aware of; especially so when left to their own devices for long stretches of time. Her month post-flight of the fire had left her gutted, more or less. Her appetite had been sparse until the recent change in her circumstances. Zephrine nosed her way along to a pile of freshly churned dirt and deliberated over unearthing the contents of the cache.

Would be easy, she thought. Have a bite, sleep a little, be a new person by morning. It didn't sit right with her to do that though, much as she'd been tempted. Better to hunt for herself and prove her capability to these people - turning over a new leaf, and all that. This version of Zephrine did not need to be mocked and ridiculed, this version could feed itself.

She left the cache, and after a few beats of silence, plunged along another trail.

Hope it's ok if I throw Henryk in ;u;

Henryk had been busying himself with remedial tasks. Checking the caches and downing small prey to add to it here and there, nothing substantial yet though. He was beginning to ache for another hunt akin to the one he'd had some weeks ago with that larger fellow... The thrill of taking down a large deer making his tongue emerge and brush against his lips.

Now trotting along with that thought fresh in mind, his ears perked as he caught sight of another one of his packmates. Definitely one of them, but one he didn't recognize yet- making her way down the path with purpose. He let out a soft bark to announce his presence- hopefully without startling her.

Going hunting?

Zephrine felt pretty good. Sure, she'd finally reunited with her long lost family and didn't know anyone with any degree of certainty, but even with all of those unknowns floating around in her head, it was progress. She knew from previous experience that things could, and likely would, go downhill in a hurry.

She wondered if it had pained the beautiful woman to accept someone like her. Not the perfect Deorwine specimen by a long shot - but good enough, evidently. What would the King Elk say to that, then?

The girl made one more spritely leap across a gap in the foliage. When she landed this time it was atop a pile of leaf litter; the pile crunched and sagged beneath her weight, comprised of discarded twigs and old pine leanings hidden beneath a blanket of autumn. Zephrine tensed. Her tail puffed as she felt the ground give, expecting to fall, but she didn't.

As she disembarked the pile in favor of the path, a soft bark sounded. She tensed again and felt her tail thwack her hocks. It sickled almost to her belly.

So much for letting old habits die. "What?" There was a person staring at her and they'd said something. Zephrine was so self-involved in that moment that she hadn't caught it, or hadn't thought she'd heard properly. A moment later the subdued question clicked in her head. Her ears twitched.

"Oh, yes. Trying to find a fresh bite to eat, maybe stash some leftovers for winter. Are you... Also, hunting?" There was no mistaking the vaguely hollow quality of her voice, almost metallic, as she tried to sound invested and welcome at the same time. What came out was something closer to prepubescent.

The tone of her voice did little to dissuade him, though he did shrink for a moment in apology for doing exactly what he hadn't wanted to do- startle her. No matter though, her response seemed welcoming enough. The earthen man took a few steps forward and gently tilted his head, his tail giving a few pleasant waves behind him. I was planning on it. Want to team up? Maybe we can get something a little bigger...

If she didn't want to, his feelings wouldn't be hurt.

He silently wondered to himself whether she was another Deorwine, or an outsider that Celnes had accepted like Germanicus or, well... Himself for that matter. The fact that her pelt was topped with grey didn't really affect his thoughts on it, he wasn't one to agree with the sentiment that anyone's coat made them higher or lower than others. He was simply trying to make friends in his new home, indiscriminately.

I'm Henryk, by the way. I don't think we've met.

Henryk did not look like a Deorwine. Some would argue that Zephrine didn't either. She looked him over as he spoke, a passing glance as she averted her eyes, noticing how he looked almost like an elk but in reverse. Whereas an elk would have a dark front and greying rear he was almost sandy colored across the forequarter, turning swarthy in a ragged gradient until he vanished among the trees at the hips. The boy had a coltish look about him.

"Two heads are better than one, right? I'd appreciate some help. I haven't hunted anything larger than a rat in a few months - not that I'm incapable." Zephrine said. She made sure to dissuade any notion of her inadequacy around the hunt, just to be safe. It was hard not to throw in something disparaging to clear the air, but, she had to remind herself in that moment: New day, new me.

A blink, a breath. She huffs a nervous little laugh and begins to walk alongside him. "I'm Zephrine."

Henryk smiled politely. I'm sure you're very capable. He assured, having no reason to doubt her abilities one bit. But regardless, she was absolutely right in that two heads were better than one when it came to the hunt. He knew himself to be a pretty good hunter but he wasn't going to say anything on his end, the earthen man wasn't exactly a gloater- too humble (and sometimes too insecure) to think himself above another in most situations.

With her then by his side, he began to trot as they spoke. Zephrine. It seemed different from other Deorwine names though he couldn't quite place why, perhaps it didn't sound as lofty- then again he wasn't yet sure that she was a part of the family. That observation would hold no weight in his first impressions though.

Pleased to meet you Zephrine, I'm still trying to learn all the deer-kin faces around me- seems like more and more appear every day. He murmured with a light laugh. What did you have in mind? Maybe we could try to find a doe.

Deer-kin? She supposed that was an appropriate term, perhaps a little bit on the blasphemous side if you ask the wrong Deorwine, but it didn't bother her so much as it sounded... Odd. She shrugged off the feeling.

"Honestly I don't plan these things, I just go out and try to find something. Lately -- at least, before I found New Kingslend and the others -- I'd been hunting small things, as I was alone." It was an easy explanation; rogues hunted incessantly and for smaller game.

At the mention of a doe her entire demeanor changed. The deer she had fawned over (pun intended) before the fire ravaged Old Kingslend and sent them scattering had been a fixation of hers, and with the potential there to see the holy creatures again, Zephrine effectively lit up.

"I would love to track down the herd! Its been ages since I've seen any deer, but there are plenty of clues we could follow. The graze-lines are well tended in some areas of the forest and then there's the scat, and the rubbings on the trees by the bucks, they're probably getting ready to rut --" Oh, oh, she was blabbering a little, wasn't she? She caught his eye as she recognized the slight mania within herself, and then promptly buttoned up.

Henryk smiled and remained politely quiet so he could listen- not bothered at all by her talking. When she stopped abruptly he returned her glance with a questioning gaze, for a moment looking around to see if something else had caught her attention and caused her to clam up. 

"I hunted a lot of small game too, but I managed to find some wolves to hunt with here and there." He mentioned, deciding to pick up where she's suddenly left off. He deduced that perhaps it was his turn to fill the silence.

"I think that's a good idea though! I'm pretty sure I saw some grazelines due only a bit west of us. Do you like tracking too? You seem really knowledgeable of it." The man commented gently referring to her verbiage in listing the different ways they could find the ungulates, after all it was one of the things he excelled at as well. 

Thankfully Henryk did not appear bothered by her word vomit. That was good. That was... Surprising, actually. Zephrine did not anticipate one of her weird behaviors to be so readily accepted when everyone else tended to correct her, scoff, or flat-out ignore her. It was nice to have someone that would listen and appreciate her knowledge.

I don't know about that, she stated, humbled when he called her out for being knowledgeable. I do enjoy tracking, to a point. I spent a lot of time as a kid following the herds around, studying the behavior of the deer, trying to understand why my family was so fixated on them -- her eyes shifted to the surrounding trees as if they might have ears, and then watched Henryk carefully.

Praise to the High Elk, and all that. I dunno. I think they're beautiful, and... Spending time with them, I never felt like I had to measure up. I'd watch them, they'd watch me back. Her voice went a little dreamy, thinking back to Old Kingslend, until she realized how deep and ridiculous she sounded.

Right but hunting. That's.. That's the point now. Lets go. You can lead the way since you know... Where... You saw things. She swallowed some of her nerves and shut up, finally, feeling really stupid for rambling - again.

A neutral glance was passed to the trees as well as if he were looking too, but admittedly he wasn't sure why. Least not till her following statement. Ah... Perhaps that was something that definitely shouldn't be said around others, considering just how spiritual some of them were when it came to the herd they guarded. He himself was still trying to envelope himself in their religion, trying to find meaning in his own personal experiences.

But it was a constant battle of mind and heart, not to mention the standoffishness he seemed to be plagued with. He could understand her sentiment though, as her tone faded into a loftiness that suggested she was daydreaming. "I watch the stars for the same reason, you know? At least it feels like they're watching back." He chuckled awkwardly. Maybe hoping that didn't sound ridiculous on his own end. "I'm still trying to understand The High Elk and why he-. He stopped himself short, realizing that was not something he wanted to reveal. No, his vision would remain something he'd keep to himself.

"What it all means." He finished his previously cut off sentence vaguely, quietly. A few moments of awkward silence between the both of them it seemed before he took her up on her offer. Lead the way he shall, nodding and flicking his tail for her to follow him. Soft chartreuse eyes would still pass her glances as they walked though, content with the silence but not minding one bit if she wanted to speak again.

Minutes later, a scent on the wind slowed down his gait and he lifted his nose to take it in more. There was a sign of wandering deer indeed, not many but only one or two does in coalition. Eyes squinted as he tried to pick up any potentially dangerous bucks but they were still too far yet to know for sure. He looked back to the two-toned woman. "We're heading in the right direction I think. Smells like a couple does but we're still far off, it could be more. Hopefully we'll find one singled out from the rest."