turn off all the lights

Walk | Talk | Think

The russet and black she-wolf continued to pad quietly along the tide pools, checking each one in turn as she passed. So far luck had been against her, revealing empty pools of salty ocean water and nothing to show for her efforts, but Tahlia was not discouraged. Sooner or later the weather would begin to change here and the temperatures would warm, opening up a wider area for the fish to swim and more places for them to linger where she might find them, and when that happened she had every intention of returning.

She was on the move again, stepping hesitantly within one of the pools as she attempted to get around to its other side and chilling her leg, when she caught the sound of splashing water grow louder and more pronounced. It was easily mistaken as a small rogue wave at first, but when it persisted the she-wolf turned one ear and then both toward the noise, stopping in her slow progression across the stony paths between the tide pools to draw her head toward the splashing. A wolf had not been what she was expecting. The beach had been empty, devoid of life save for the few birds that lingered high upon the sea breezes and whatever had been washed up and not picked through along the shoreline. How could she possibly have missed another wolf?

And particularly one like this! There was nothing at all about the wolf that spoke of subtlety. For a second, she could have almost believed that a shadow paced the shoreline with her, possessing the solid, substantial form of a mortal as he padded along in her direction, perhaps intent on joining her beside the tide pools. Tahlia hesitated, a sliver of uncertainty preventing her from smiling outright as she might have to any other normal looking individual. Such darkness... A creature of nightmare or merely an unlucky soul to look like one?

It was still difficult for her to make her assessment even as he spoke, his words meant to be helpful despite their gruff, unfamiliar dialect. He spoke so strangely, distorting his words but retaining enough of her own speech patterns for her to determine exactly what he offered her. Confined by the strict etiquette that she had grown up with and lived by for all these years, Tahlia managed to draw her expression into a small smile, a thank you for the assistance he offered.

Whatever her thoughts, she knew better than to reveal them, and so she hid it all behind her perfectly constructed mask of politeness while she answered him. "I thought as much, but I had hoped otherwise," she answered conversationally, golden eyes surveying the dark wolf curiously. "Do you hunt here?" she asked in an attempt at small talk, wondering whether his knowledge came from some past experience or if he was simply that familiar with these pools to know of the best times to fish. Remembering her manners, she smiled sheepishly before adding, "My apologies. I forget myself. My name is Tahlia Carlier."