Walk | Talk | Think
It was surreal to be back on the Range again after so long away. In a way they were very different, still tainted in places by the remnants of the pack that had taken over after Seracia had been lost but also housing many different scents of the loners who had since cut across the place on their wanderings about the southern territories. That was probably the strangest part yet, knowing that the boundaries that had once stood here so firmly were entirely gone and that anyone could wander through and disrupt their family at any moment. But so far life had been quiet and comfortable, and she had had adequate time to get reacquainted with the place.
As she meandered toward the center of the territory, her lemon-gold eyes fixed themselves immediately on the large and eye catching red structure that was the barn. Even now, almost fully grown and too old to believe in children's stories, she reflected on the warning she had been given so long ago, about the Sharp Tooth monster that lived inside. She had always skirted around the barn after that, curious but at the same time wary. Enough time had passed for her to understand that it was not true, but out of habit she continued to keep it at a distance, knowing there were plenty other bits and pieces of this place that could keep her occupied and entertained instead.
And here was a new piece right now.
Anais's leisurely gait suddenly stopped, leaving her standing and staring at the individual as she finally took notice of him. A visitor to the Range? She knew they tended to travel through here, had even caught their scents on occasion, but so far she had yet to run into one. For just a second a little bit of rational worry coursed through her, warning her that not every stranger that she came upon could be trusted or made into a friend as she was so often eager to do. Leaving and hiding out with her family at their den, surrounded by their Talutah-marked trees, could very well be just as good an option as trying to strike up a conversation.
But, really, where was the fun in that?
Having made up her mind, the grey-gold yearling set off again with her course directed toward the stranger, her tail wagging in a friendly greeting even before she had arrived there beside him. He was certainly a curious looking male, his coat such a strange mixture of pales and darks that hardly seemed like they should go together at all. But it was not until she had gotten close enough to him to speak that she noticed the most striking thing about him. Purple eyes!
She was so surprised by this realization that she almost forgot to speak, and collecting herself a little belatedly the girl managed to shake herself from her sudden stupor to finally greet the wolf properly. "Hi," was all she managed at first, her tone a little surprised and airy with awe. How strange that his eyes should be this color! She had always supposed Crucifix to be the only one. "I'm Anais. Are you passing through?" Her tail offered another friendly wag as she spoke, curious now about this stranger and wondering how it was that he had come to be here when she was.
|
