Breaths came out fast and heavy, foggy vapor clouding the air before her muzzle. Her golden-orange eyes were ablaze with the excitement her adrenaline provided, though her body was in sorry shape by comparison. She had several scratches along her muzzle and shoulders, though they weren't deep enough to scar they still hurt like hell. The dark woman had just come out on the winning end of  scuffle with some dumb, entitled little shit of a wolf who thought they could snag Mara's freshly  killed prey out from under her. That bold fucker had been wrong, clearly. Letting a loud snarl rip through the air, she sank down to eat the still warm meat while making sure to keep an eye out for the possible return of that dumb wolf. Honestly, a regular one was annoying enough, but bold little beasts like that left her fuming and itching to beat the snot out of 'em. Unfortunately the coward finally took off... What a pity. Still snarling a bit out of pure irritation, Mara ate her fill from the carcass of the elderly doe, tongue flicking over her blood-stained muzzle periodically. When she was finished the sun hung low in the sky and she would slink into the bushes hoping that either the fool who had tried to snag her meal would return or that she might have a hope of getting in a nap now that she was full. Either way, soon she'd have to go looking for a spar or something to work off her frustration. "Talk" "You" Think

Félicien was wandering, naturally. Though he was growing older the tough mercenary still bore a hardened heart and body, a body that refused to give up and give in just yet. No, Féli could feel in his bones that he was going to last longer than he had thus far. It wasn’t his time yet, and the man felt in his heart that when it was his time it would be upon the battlefield, where his heart belonged. There was a sense of happiness at that fact, something that Féli rarely shared, though the slightest of smiles danced upon his lips. His silvery-gray gaze was hardened as he walked along, however, searching for what could become his next meal.

That was when he noticed the carcass of the elderly doe. Something had recently fed from her and, as the man breathed in, he realized the scent was a bit familiar. He couldn’t place it quite yet, but the man wasn’t about to walk away now. This scent had caught his interest more so than the food. Ears perked forward, body coming to a stop as fur bristled slightly along the base of his neck. He breathed in, searching for the source of that scent, and then he remembered, a soft chuckle leaving him as he spoke aloud.

“Never thought I’d be running into you again.” He remained a few paces away from the doe, waiting to see if he’d spoken loud enough to be heard.

It was only when she'd finally begun to think she would give up waiting for the thief to return and get some sleep that the sound of paw-steps approaching was heard. Would it be the wolf she was looking for? Maybe someone else entirely. That would be disappointing, but maybe something would come of this either way. Hunched down in underbrush, she waited and listened, but the wolf stopped just far away enough that she couldn't very well make out who it was. Not the food thief, this wolf looked to be larger. Frowning, she pondered the situation for a moment. Until the wolf spoke, that is. Ears perked up instantly, eyes widening. It couldn't be. He was gone, off to who knew where, right? Slowly she picked herself up and slid out from her place in the bushes, yellow-orange eyes narrowing slightly as she approached and inspected the man. She made a few circles around him, expression rather serious as she took in the sight of him. Naturally he'd changed, as every wolf did during time apart from others. She'd changed too, he was sure to notice that right off the bat. How could he not, with her missing half her tail, and her body littered with some rather visible scars. Eventually she broke the seriousness with a small half smirk, "I could say the same. Long time no see." Even Mara didn't know what it was about him that seemed to bring out her more pleasant side. Perhaps a sense of respect, after all, he'd been the one to help her find the one thing she enjoyed aside from lazing about. It was hard to not appreciate that, though she did cringe internally at this demeanor she exhibited that was bordering on friendly. Only Féli could do this. How delightfully irksome. A whisper of a thought at the back of her mind felt relief that her brother was not present for the reunion taking place. She had a nagging feeling that wouldn't go too well. But, why did she care? Hell, it didn't matter anyways. It was just her and Mr. Teacher man, chattin' over the food she'd been jealously guarding not long before his arrival. "Talk" "You" Think

Félicien remained still as his former apprentice slid from her place in the bushes and began circling him. The whole while he was alert, gaze following her and examining the femme he’d long since left. She was older now, and appeared stronger… but scarred too. What had she been getting herself into that could produce such results? The man debated about asking Mara where she’d obtained such scars but in the end decided not to push the matter; for that if Mara wished to tell him she’d do so in her own time. What had him curious, however, was the fact that the femme was here to begin with.

“Too long.” The man rumbled, his head cocking ever so slightly to the side. “So you decided to leave them too, hmm? ...and seems you’ve gotten some battle scars of your own too.” He might have been her mentor, as he’d been with Zephyr, but he wasn’t a forceful creature when he didn’t have to be. Particularly with allies or those that he respected to a degree… and there was a level of respect for his once apprentice.

“Considering you’re still kicking I’d like to say that our training was effective.” A slight smile played on Félicien’s lips as he edged a bit closer to Mara, an almost fatherly look entering the man’s gaze. “Though one can’t help but what has brought you to these lands in particular. Searching for work perhaps? Or something else?”

Discomfort didn't cover how Mara felt right now. Her feelings were all mixed up, all weird and just... what the hell? Her lip twitched in response to the confusion this was stirring up in her mind. Mara didn't do emotions and weird dumb feelings. She gave only a dismissive grunt in reply to his first words. That was debatable. She'd soften a little at the mention of leaving. "No, I did not," she corrected, glancing away while she debated whether there was any harm in telling him a bit more. There was only a slight pause before she relented, "They went on a raid one day while the young ones stayed home. No one who went came back, so eventually those who remained just left," Mara shrugged. She couldn't help a slight trace of a growl in her words when she added, "The scars are mostly from a particular woman... Well, and a badger, thats another story entirely." Planting herself in a sitting position in front of him, Mara let out a rumbling laugh. It was impossible for her to deny how much she'd liked that training. It was the only thing she really liked. Well, solo spars and the trouble she got into in the past few years away from her original pack were also pretty fun things too. Being taught by Féli would always be at the top of her list of not annoying things, though. "I'd have to agree, very effective indeed. As far as my reason for being here..." she trailed off, eyes narrowing, brow furrowing. How to best explain it. Somehow she doubted he'd be thrilled with some of the things she'd gotten into. What was left aside from her bad behavior? "Not work, I thought you knew me better than that. But really, right now I'm enjoying some precious alone time. Peaceful moments are few and far between you know. Aside from that just a bit of wandering. I seem to have found myself quite alone for some time. Enough about me though, do tell me what you've been up to since we parted ways, dear teacher." Something else indeed... But you don't need to know all about what I've done, dear teacher "Talk" "You" Think

Félicien frowned as Mara went on to explain what had happened. So there had been a raid where those who went never came back? One ear flicked back at this, his gaze narrowing thoughtfully. What opponents could have been so powerful to wipe out an entire raid team? He found this news to be unsettling, though he wasn’t about to admit that outright. He had to wonder too what had become of the rest of the young wolves in their pack. Had most of them perished too?

Féli was also surprised to hear that the collection of scars came from one woman, well, and a badger, in particularly. He canted his head to one side, a frown deeply visible upon his face. Yet she didn’t seem troubled by this fact. In fact she seemed to be content with how things were. That was… perhaps the biggest surprise. For now he remained silent, listening until she had finished speaking, and, in turn, turning questions around on him.

Félicien closed his eyes then, giving a soft sigh. “Wandering mainly. Being alone… save for here and there.” He smiled, a knowing smile, thinking of Zephyr, as well as the occasional one night stand he’d been with. Of course now that he was an older man such things were not really on his mind anymore. “I’ve been taking the odd job here and there as well, if it suits me. Mainly hunting down an old friend who I’ve reunited with… and it seems that luck smiled upon me again by bringing us together once more.”

Felicien shifted a little, expression becoming stony once more. “Though from what I knew of our pack… their demise troubles me a great deal.” It was a soft confession, and one that was not common to pass the man’s lips. “Those wolves were strong. It would not take the average opponent to beat them.” Féli looked upon Mara then, his silvery-gray gaze focusing on her golden hues. “I do hope you find whatever it is that brought you here, Mara.” His words, though rough around the edges, had a soft center. He meant those words… for each of them had something that lead them on a chase to this land. The question was; would they find it?

Dwelling on past events wasn't Mara's favorite thing to do. She preferred to let things that were done be done, but, sometimes she had to suck it up. Recounting events she could do, but getting into the nitty gritty and adding details just wasn't going to happen. It was hard to say why she was uncomfortable with the retelling, so she kept her feelings to herself and kept her expression neutral. Félicien had such a strange effect on her sometimes, it was annoying as hell, not that she'd ever dare to say such a thing. Some part of her had too much respect for him. The man got more consideration and respect from Mara than she'd ever given to anyone else, even her own parents. She eyed him carefully, as though trying to read his mind and figure out who it was the older wolf chose to spend his time with without actually asking. Who was so fortunate as to have become friends with Félicien? She smirked, retorting, "I wasn't aware you made any friends, Féli. Who's this poor soul, anyways?" She'd skip over the whole luck part. Something in her gut still said he might not be thrilled with how she spent her time lately. Her eyes cast downward at the mention of the pack. Worrying about all that felt strange, she'd been pretty young at the time so she never concerned herself with the sudden disappearance of the others, and had been pretty annoyed when the other youngsters were following her. Shrugging it off she responded, "I suppose you're right, never really thought about it too much. I have no clue who they went after though, but whoever it was must not have been the average opponent then." It was true the pack was nothing to sneeze at, they took being in fighting shape to an extreme, and raids were a part of life. An awkward smile slid over her features. Sidling closer she nudged his shoulder gently. "You too. We should do some fight training together again, before you go totally grey in the face," Mara proposed playfully. She'd enjoy a friendly spar or two, though on second thought she wasn't terribly excited about letting him see she was getting a touch rusty. Too much time being lazy, not enough picking fights. Maybe her absent brother did have some use after all, aside from annoying her and leading her all over the land. At least when they'd been together she'd been very much in shape. "Talk" "You" Think