A hunter’s blade was the most important tool on their belt. A dull blade was a useless one and it needed to be sharpened often to fulfill its purpose. Despite his absence, she continued to hone the skills that he passed down and while he could not be there to finish his teachings, she would never let herself settle with the same knowledge. The world had many hidden secrets. Lyssa would have preferred to uncover them together, but she would carry on with or without him. They had started their journey together, but it seemed to her that she would have to finish it alone. Papa always said that dependence was a weakness. A hunter needed not but rely on anyone but themselves. That was where her kind faltered and how they would inevitably meet their downfall. While she would honor him in memory, she would not allow herself to fade in his absence, for it was not what he would’ve expected of her.

These strange and unconquered lands called to her and after some time she could no longer resist its pull. By then winter had arrived, rearing its head, and baring its teeth with a ferocity like none she had ever seen.  The blight rolled in swiftly, its icy touch turned the world pale and sucked the warmth out like marrow through cracked bones. In a matter of moments, the skies would turn a sickly grey, and everything would be swallowed whole. Though she could not truly feel its bitter caress, the wilds groaned and creaked in the complaint. Bits of ice and snow stuck to the outer rim of her eyelids, leaving her not only blind but disoriented, unable to find a way out of the white maze. Weather like that was not common where she came from, but a true predator adapted to any environment. The thick and downy material filled in under her natural coat already providing some protection against the elements. However, that would only provide so much protection. She concluded that she needed shelter. A place to hold the line until the season turned.

After some time looking for papa, she began to experience the side effects of what many called ‘hunger’. Her search ended abruptly to satisfy those bodily desires but with no sign of her preferred prey, she settled for smaller game. The hunt began as it usually did with her trying to position herself downwind. Large pointed ears pulled keenly forward, and fern-green irises focused intently on something in the distance. She circled around from behind, careful not to disturb pockets of unpacked snow beneath.  Lyssa flexed her toes, stretching them wide enough so that the impact was less concentrated and evenly spread on the surface as to make less noise with each step. The creature shifted slightly jaw churning quickly as it nibbled on fragrant spruce-needles. Lyssa had no desire to drag the dull affair on longer than necessary. There was no enjoyment to be found in hunting simple-minded prey.

She crept forward slowly getting as close as she could until… The hare turned its head, ears swiveling completely forward as it suddenly realized the danger. Its predator lunged, long powerful legs propelling her forward. She glid across the snow's surface with ease, thick fur on the undersides of her paws keeping her from sinking. The chase began and it was the prey that held the advantage. It was much swifter than its predator, easily outpacing her. She could only hope that it made a critical mistake that flipped the odds in her favor. The creature made a sharp turn around some rocks near the underside of the mountain. It had fewer options here, yet the rocks provided more of a challenge for her to overcome. She dug her back paws into the gravel pushing her up and over a large stone that blocked the direct path. Her jaw stretched open and snapped together but instead of flesh and bone, she caught something soft between her teeth. Tufts of soft white fur dangled from her clenched jaw. She was so close now that she could hear the flutter of its panicked heart.

A barrage of paw steps struck the ground with intensity. Right when she thought she had the creature trapped it turned sharply, disappearing into the rockface. The huntress skid to a complete stop, head snapping around to where her kill should have been, visibly confused. She lifted her head and her nose twitched attempting to retrace its scent. Where she expected to find an earth-coated mountainside there was pitch-black emptiness. A hollow where the mountain should have extended. Lyssa peered into the darkness and it almost seemed to look back at her. Within the abyss, the echo of claws scraping against a hard surface.

A stale and earthy scent wafted out from within the cavern. She took a step forward into the darkness but paused wondering whether the reward was worth the risk. It was an ancient structure built long before her time. Only layers of deteriorated stone held the weight of the mountain and it could collapse at any moment. In the end, the decision was made on her behalf. She would be going inside whether she wanted to or not. Mother nature had little mercy to spare for someone like her. It started as a single snowflake and it grew and grew until it was coming down in great sheets. She slipped further into the cavern to escape the roar of the wind outside. From within the cavern, the storm screeched and howled like a demon. Her eyes darted around adjusting to the change in light. The darkness seemed to squirm in her presence. Unnatural shapes contorting as if it were alive. Unlike most, she found comfort in the darkness, but there in the pitch-black, she could feel the presence of something else. Whatever it was, wherever it was, whether it had noticed her or not, it decided to remain silent. It was Lyssa who broke the tension. “Am I trapped in here with you? Or… Are you trapped in here with me?” Her voice bounced against the stone-walls; her velvety tone playful but seasoned with something much more threatening.  

"speech" | whispers | nothingness

OOC: Getting to know Lyssa and how to write her. It's rough, bear with me.

‘...the place where we go to confront our sins - to test our flaws. That place exists. Part of finding your way out is knowing what your sin is.’

“Yeah. Unless you don’t believe…”
I kept my eyes closed while I shifted my position closer to the wall tucking my tail under my hind leg. Listening to that voice over and over again for what seemed like an hour had my temples pounding. It was either that or the fact that this bloody storm had me cooped up in here for the last couple of days and small rodents just weren’t taking the edge off like it had been. The sounds of light fluttering bounced off of the towering walls around me and rang through my ears, pushing me to focus more on that than keeping still.

Deep breath in, count...1 - 2.
‘Do you know what your sin is?’
Exhale, 3 - 4.

My lungs fell in on itself and let out a faint circle of warm air painfully slow. This was one of those days that wasn’t going to make it easier on anyone, and with my luck I wasn’t thinking that I would be the only thing to run towards the darkness for cover. Which meant that eventually, the silence would have to come to a close. A rock slab that had been chipped away by time deterioration collapsed some time ago and created a makeshift lean-to against the adjacent wall, providing just enough space for my body to slip into and melt away into the structure while I listened to the wind's ruckus outside. An’ boy was it really howling now.

‘Well. What do you believe in?’
With a hunger more intense than my own, the closer that I dwelled around the entrance of the cavern, the more I felt the heat being sucked out of the core of my bones. Mother nature was insatiable. But going deeper into the dark caverns of this place? I don’t need to be reminded of what curiosity killed. Blood orange optics cracked open to the sound of light scurrying off near the mouth of the entrance. Ears flicked as I hoisted my frame off of the floor and rolled it onto my paws without being able to erect it fully. My elbows almost skimmed the floor as I inched forward and saw a small creature dart in frantically and shoot off to the other half of the room. I pushed forward and took a few hurried steps out of my cozy nest towards the creature on pure instinct, my mouth already watering. A thought stopped me in my tracks and I turned to look towards the opening.

“Hm...Who spooked you...” I whispered to myself. I felt my nose twitch shortly before I whipped my body around and stepped deep into the shadows of the main hall, taking care to pad softly off near a side wall. I planned on waiting it out and catching the vermin later...preferably before it wandered back into that frozen hell. When I turned to look back out towards the light, I saw a black figure meandering in and looking about. Another wolf it seemed. I fell into a sit and watched as I leaned my shoulder against the wall. The light behind the walkers frame created a subtle glow and I was able to decipher the build...female? My nose never stopped working while I silently watched her. She spoke after some time. Her voice echoing around me and causing me to flick my own harks. Trapped… Yeah that’s what i’d call the feeling. Tied up both inside and out if I had to describe it.

That dark frame continued to shashay her way into, melding with the darkness like one shadow joining another. This midnight vixen was still too far away for me to see any details on her or get her scent. My mind whirred with different situations that this could end up in, but all of them pointed to us eventually finding one another unless one of us decided to head in deeper into this palace. My lips pursed together - I didn’t like either option immensely. But if i’d have my way….

“Define…’Trapped’.” I woofed out to her after letting some time pass. My voice echoed back around us stirring some of the bats taking refuge above us, latin accents dripped over my words making it clear this was not my native tongue. I let my head fall back on the wall my shoulder was already leaning on as my stance shifted. I was happy enough that we were in the dark together and not under the spotlight of the sun. It gave me some weird sense of security, like a barrier between me and this newcomer.
“I suppose it depends on whether it’s consensual or not, no?” I added, my voice lowering as if it was an afterthought.