It was lucky that she was in the south rather than on the snowy northern continent that she'd never seen nor heard of, because her dark pelt would have stood out like a sore thumb against the pale snow that currently blanketed the other Alacratia. As it was, it was only because of the way she crept through shadows, and the brightness of the flowers that grew on her continent, that made her even close to stealthy with her chaotically colored fur. She'd snuck away from the den while her mum and sisters slept and her daddy went off to hunt for them. Well, what did they expect? She was too bored to stay in the den! Besides, she wanted to hunt too, so that Daddy didn't have to do it all and so that she could one-up Arry! Plus maybe a little (maybe a lot) she wanted to meet these Diamachi her daddy talked about. They seemed like a lot of fun! Always getting to wander around and no one telling you where to go or what to eat or to not try to stick slugs in yours sisters' mouths or not drop spiders in their ears... Pffft. Right now she was stalking an unsuspecting woolly-worm that was wandering slowly up a stalk of grass. She wasn't sure yet if he tasted good or not but he was colorful and stripey and fuzzy so she'd probably have to take a bite to see if he was yummy too so she could bring him back to her mum. She'd taken the same approach with slugs and it was only after deciding that they were definitely NOT yummy that she'd tried to stick one in Iskra's mouth and gotten in trouble for it. But the mud bugs had been pretty good once you got all the mud off 'em so the method did work! Sort of. Her nose quivered, breath ruffling the woolly-worm's woolly butt. To bite or not to bite, that was the question... "" ""

Steel didn't like children. Never had, and felt like he never would. He didn't relate to them in the least - his own childhood had been.. abnormal. He'd been raised by two wolves that were far too old to have kids. He hadn't gotten to frolic and play as he pleased, not that he ever really wanted to, anyway. Being around them, now that he wasn't a kid, just made him feel awkward. He didn't know Faria and Mithras's kids. He'd seen them, and he knew what they looked like. But he was keen on staying in the shadows and staying out of their way, for the most part. Hell, truth be told, he wasn't even convinced that it was in his best interest to stay here near Faria and her new family. Maybe he should go north to Ara and Novel again, or go in a different direction entirely. A whole world awaited him, and yet here he stayed, brooding and aching over his own sad story. Though he didn't necessarily like kids, he wasn't willing to watch them jump into harms way.. and definitely not when it came to Faria's kids. He hadn't meant to stumble upon Leto, but suddenly there she was, quiet and obviously quite focused as she stood by the creekside, as though she was watching something. Slowly, tentatively, he moved closer even more, trying to stay unnoticed.. until he realized she was stalking.. a bug? Quite the hunter, he could've scoffed, but as he eyed it he saw that it was brightly colored and there was a chance it was not safe to eat. "Don't eat that," he grumbled aloud, stepping forward and clearing his throat. The last thing he needed was to watch this kid eat something to make her sick, knowing it was his fault that he hadn't stopped her..

Leto continued stalking the woolly worm, her ears laid back in concentration and a particularly devious expression on her star-marked face. Oh this woolly worm was soooo going to be eaten. It didn't even know how dead it was. Like, deader than dead. So dead! Her butt waggled, paws shifting in readiness for a pounce... But a voice suddenly spoke up, and Leto jumped guiltily. Oh no, she'd been caught! Wait no - that wasn't Daddy's voice or definitely not Mommy's either. Maybe she wasn't busted at all! But whoops, her startled movement had knocked the woolly worm off the leave, and he'd disappeared into the leaf litter beneath them. Leto scowled at the spot in disappointment, then turned her scowl onto the wolf who'd told her not to eat it in the first place. "Why shouldn't I?" she demanded with the start of a pout. This guy had lost her woolly worm! She had a right to pout. - Leto

Leto reminded him - a bit painfully, if he was being honest with himself - of Mithras. Everything had been fine before he'd showed up, and Steel was pretty sure things would've been better if he hadn't appeared in his life. But this girl.. she was just a kid, and he couldn't feel frustrated with her. Instead, he felt slightly protective of her. She was Faria's kid, after all. His frown deepened at her reaction. She looked a bit disappointed about it, maybe even frustrated with him? It was just a bug though, and he hadn't expected her to be upset. It was difficult to empathize with children.. even though he'd been one, not too long ago. "Those bugs can make you sick," he instructed her after a short pause. Usually they'd just taste bad, but he couldn't be certain. Kids were more prone to stuff like that, right? More vulnerable or whatever. "Usually bright colors on bugs and stuff means they can be poisonous." Steel didn't even know if she'd believe him, but whatever - it was worth a try.