Fairspell Meadow You look at me

The red woman had traveled for some time now, coming in from the southern wilds without looking back. 
She knew she was here, alone, at least for now. 
Skalda hmmed in a sultry tone as she looked with red eyes at the Mesa to her left. It smelled of wolves...and coyotes. 

Strange. 

Skalda shook her fur out and continued on, prowling with borderline-feline fluidity. 
She thought nothing more of it then, deciding it best for herself to avoid such things unless they came to her first. 

Would they...?

She was prowling. Yes, very obviously prowling. The guard observed the red woman from a risen slab of rock, luckily downwind from her. She didn't smell of any pack he recognized, so it was apparent this could very well just be a passerby. He was not about to "pass her by" though. We love a terrible joke.

In silence Sakai descended from his perch, keeping pace with the stranger from quite a length away. Then, a howl to greet her. His vacant gaze rested on her build to take her in fully as his ears pressed forward, hard. He wondered if she would reply or simply walk away.

Sayf had followed the mazoi's scent through the mesa and across the borders, curious about what he was doing. The fellahin hadn't left the territory as much lately, but with the scent of heat filling the lands, he had found himself eager for a break.

It wasn't until he heard the howl that he caught the added scent of the stranger. He was intrigued to see what would happen. 

When he was close enough, he remained hidden,  his gaze glued to the handsome giant as he watched the woman. For now he would stay in the shadows. He might come out later, but it would depend on what happened. 

feel free to notice him or not <3 he can be skipped for now unless addressed

The priestess was intent to continue on her way.
Until a low howl sounded behind her.

Calmly, she drew to a stop and turned halfway to see the approaching stranger. Grayish in pelt, emotionless. 

Skalda hmmed quietly, watching the man with a level ruby gaze. She didn't yet notice the coyote hiding further out.

It was as if an invisible thread connected the fellahin and the mazoi, for Sakai knew he had an observer. His gaze never left the passerby, but his peripherals had caught sight of the camouflaged servant as he made his decent from the perch. Perhaps subconsciously he always looked for him.

It wasn't until the woman turned that he took note of her heated gaze, reflecting shades of embers. It was alluring in a dangerous way. "Could help you find anything? This place is vast and difficult to navigate. Do you have a destination in mind? I also happen to be very bored, so it would give me something to do." Why couldn't he stay serious for more than a few hours? His time was up unfortunately it seemed. Sakai wouldn't even catch on how immature he must sound to this stranger, it was just a fact. Lately being a guard was kind of a drag.

The russet woman smiled softly as the man came a bit closer. 
He offers to help her, which she finds rather cute. In the way of a child, that is. 
She didn't say these thoughts, however. She was not so mindless as to provoke a pack wolf, especially so close to their territory. 

"I'm new to these wilds." She purls instead, "But perhaps a lay of the land would be no harm."
Skalda sways her tail slowly, inviting him closer.

The invitation was immediately accepted as the young man approached the woman. Upon looking at her more closely, he found her overall appearance to be quite striking. Enough to make him touch fire twice. But he kept cool regardless of the heated thoughts.

"If you need a tour, I'm your man. Wait, sorry- not like you're man, just... I'm Sakai." The confidence held within the first few words fell to sounded exhausted from his own awkwardness. Kai had been doing so well with his social interactions lately, of course he would sooner make a fool of himself. The embarrassment didn't weigh on him too heavily, however. Still standing tall, the soldier couldn't hide an amused smile. Hopefully she had a sense of humor.

Skalda's smile widened some as she observed the man, who seemed stricken with her appearance as he neared and stumbled from confidence to embarrassment rather quickly in his words.

"Sakai." She tested his name, then after a pause, decided it was beneficial to give her own. "I am Skalda." 

She looked around the flatland, at least as much as she could see from where she was, before returning her gaze to Sakai.
"Shall you lead the way?" Skalda inquired, motioning gently to the vastness of the land.

"Skalda." Mindless as the man usually was, he tested her foreign name on his simple tongue. The name had an edge to it, which Sakai appreciated. He immediately wanted to be this woman's friend. She seemed interesting, a good time to put it bluntly.

"I gotchu." The pale soldier mused with a light woof and fell into a leisurely walk. He would keep her just around the borders of his territory. There was no need to put the lady in a potentially dangerous situation. 

"Where do you come from? Have you traveled far to get here?"

She smiles gently, patiently, as he tests her name upon his tongue. 
With that, they're off. The russet priestess falls into step alongside him, eyes ever watchful.

"I come from a place called the Darkwood. It was indeed a far away location, but in its prime, it held a great community." She answered, choosing for now not to disclose all the details of her home. In time, perhaps, but not upon the introduction to the tale.

The boy knew a thing or two about being apart of a community while in it's prime. The example that immediately came to mind was his homeland, the pack he had been born to, before they had been overrun by another regime. But still, salt and peppered maw nodded politely as he listened and held back morbid thoughts on the matter. 

"Darkwood. I'm going to assume the place was well shaded? A decent amount of trees? I've been known to be wrong, though..." Sakai let his side eye linger to his new acquaintance for a moment with the slightest of grins before looking straight ahead once more. "I'm not from around here either, though. Imoxille Garden. Wayyyy south of here." The on duty soldier gestured behind the two. He was almost sure he was pointing south.. Southeast? At least he thought they were traveling north? No matter. 

"Where are you headed, if you don't mind my asking Miss Skalda? Gotta date?"

Sayf had watched quietly until this point, but now the pair was walking off. The fellahin wasn't sure what they were up to, but he wanted to be a part of it.

He trotted out from the shadows, picking up speed so that he could catch up with them. When had finally closed the distance, he glued himself to the giant's other side, brushing against him as he moved. 

Who is your friend? he asked, reaching up to nip at his lover's shoulder. Is there room for a third? He gave a suggestive raise of his eyebrow. Sayf was intrigued at the idea of playing with them both, if that's where this meeting was headed.