Subtle Lives

No threat of violence erupted from the nearby male; instead, he let a low greeting of his own, voicing that he meant no harm to her. Epiphron realized suddenly how silly her impulsive decision to venture into such darkness was, and she silent wished Syrinx would appear, her brother, her protector -- but in her time of need, she was utterly alone. The notion made her laugh inwardly, the sound light and hardly audible at all. He seemed to have a knack for showing up when he was unwanted, and not being around when she felt she might need him.

But the stranger's sound echoed no desire to harm her, and the female would square her shoulders in a slightly defensive posture as she traversed through the halls of stone. This way, if he dared attack, at least she was in a position to defend herself. Eyes would blink uncertainty as she struggled to peer through the dense darkness, occasionally catching glimpses of light that struggled to climb through the cracks of stone overhead.

The male was never illuminated by the light, but remained wrapped in darkness. Epiphron hadn't realized he was quite so close until it was too late -- their heads collided with a painful sound that echoed through the empty cavern, bouncing off the solid stone walls. Instinctively she jumped backwards, lips curling as her expression tightened into a snarl... until she realized he was not actually attacking, but had walked into her by mistake. Unblinking sapphire eyes gazed at his shadow in the darkness, barely able to make out his figure against the background. Hopefully he vision would adjust quickly. "It's... fine," the female answered quickly, as though slightly shaken by the sudden encounter.

Her posture would straighten, quickly shaking her muzzle as though to compose herself. Sweet tones spilled from her lips then; all she had needed was a second to back away from the stranger, to reassure herself he was not going to harm her. "What's your name, anyway? This doesn't seem like a terribly safe place for a rogue to be wandering," she stated plainly, though her tones danced with something like jest. Was he a troublemaker, she wondered? What else would he be doing here? What was SHE doing here, anyway? Another gentle inhalation of the male's scent told her that her initial deduction was right -- his scent was untainted with the heavy scent of a pack.