Her stomach was flipping and twisting in an agitated, hungry revolt - her last three hunts landed in absolute failure and she was starting to worry. She was on a particular pathetic streak of failures in hunting lately and had succumbed to gnawing on what little edible plants were still around in the cold winter. The petite gray lady was following the scent of a hare she'd picked up an hour ago or so, but she could tell the little creature was outpacing her and she wasn't paying the best attention. She knew she was approaching the ocean and that got her mind preoccupied. She thought of her family she'd left - they taught her to fish when their pack traveled south in the summers. Fishing was one thing she might admit she was decent at. Her smaller frame and her speed made grabbing the fish as they darted past easy work. Noe's family used the old technique of wading in, crouching low, grabbing the fish, and throwing them on the shore to flop and writhe for a while. It was easy, effective, and even fun. The soil was turning to sand and she could smell the salt and brine up ahead, mixed with something surprising. The permeating stench of a sun-baked fish. Forgetting the hare entirely, Noe picked up the pace, and soon her paws sunk deeper and deeper into gritty sand. Up ahead, a washed-ashore fish was baking in the sun. It hadn't been out of the water long she figured - no lesser creatures were picking at it yet. There were still lines dragged through the sand where the fish struggled to find its way back to the tide. Noe glanced in either direction, then delicately ripped into the fish. The meat was strangely warm but absolutely delicious, and the usually demure girl began to rip and pull at the fish, enjoying every last bite.

They would be moving on soon, but Gloom had asked if they could give her some time to fish for them, before she and her brother's moved on to try and find their mother. The delta was not great fishing though, the brackish water made sight fishing hard and frankly she was reluctant to get it on her paws. So Gloom had headed back towards the bay again, even after her run in with the red man... Fishing was one of the few things the girl could claim was a skill he knew, her cousin Corvus having taken the time to actually teach her back when they'd been all but forgotten by their pack...

So it was that she was determined to actually be useful to her brothers on this trip, her newfound confidence carrying her towards the bay with a faster pace than she might have otherwise... Even breaking into a bit of a run as she neared the beach, somehow missing the scents of the stranger, of her pawprints. So it was that she suddenly skid to a halt, the familiar fear rolling over her as she spotted the stranger, much to close for her to be able to turn around and flee unseen now... A soft "Oh" the only sound coming from her lips as she suddenly dropped onto her stomach, limbs folding under her, ears pulling back and tail tucking.

"Speech"

Image by Madandcat

Her face was flecked with bits of filet and she even let out a few delighted growls. It felt good to be on her own, without the judgmental eyes of her family members. No one to tell her she was eating too loudly, too messily, too much, too little. After quite a few bites, she lifted her head and licked her lips, glancing out at the water in front of her. It was peaceful here. She considered wading out in the cold for more fish after she finished her meal, but the cold made her wary. It would hardly be worth it to get in this frigid water. She sighed and began to eat a little more, her stomach welcoming the tender meat. A soft sound behind her made her fur bristle. She twisted around in a flurry to see a female about her size crumple to the earth in… fear? Anxiety? She was confused for a moment, then realized -- she was imposing. Did this fish belong to the stranger? Had she been eating on someone else's land? "Oh, uh, I' m s-sorry. I'm in your way. I'll go, don't worry." She sputtered out. Her voice was soft and quiet but feminine. She turned to step away and glanced at the flattened wolf near her one more time. She was pretty. Noe immediately noticed they both had similar markings under their eyes, and if she wasn't mistaken, this wolf had.. purple eyes? She began to shuffle through the sand, hoping her indiscretion didn't bring on a fight, completely oblivious to her company's obvious body language.

The other woman bristled and Gloom squeaked nervously. The stranger seemed to be confused, then jumped to her paws as if nervous herself. Somewhere in the back of the panicked girl's mind that started a gear turning. Her voice seemed to reach her and the girl shook her head frantically. "N-No..." She said softly. "...I'm just bad with strangers..." she mummled, the "I'm" in her words so soft even she barely heard them.

She skittered away slightly, partially wanting to let the other woman pass if she wanted, but also felt guilty about making her abandon her meal, she glanced at the fish for a moment and made a small gesture of her head to indicate the woman could return to eating. She could feel the woman's eyes on her and she dropped her head, avoiding eye contact as much as possible.

"Speech"

Image by Madandcat

If anyone was watching through the trees, they would have probably laughed at the two nervous girls. Noe stopped walking away when the girl said no, and turned to her with flattened ears and wide eyes. She was bad with strangers, was she? Well, they had something in common. Noe glanced back at the half-eaten fish on the sand. "Is this your fish? I just found it, uhh, I didn't mean to- no one was around, and…" The more she stood in Gloom's presence the more she could pick up on a myriad of scents clinging to her. A pack wolf, hm? Was she so close to a pack? Noelani had been traveling for two seasons without seeing a pack. A few loners, but no groups. Perhaps this was good land if there was a pack nearby. Another consideration for her travels. Noe wondered if the purple-eyed wolf meant to gesture her back to her meal. While still hungry, the burning in her stomach was sated. She could live without the rest. Noelani wondered if this wolf came to the beach for a meal too. "Do.. Do you want the rest? I, uh, had plenty, and it was just here, I didn't even catch it.." She didn't want to be rude - even to a complete stranger.