The girl had been lonely for a long time now, wondering where her sister had gone, and regretful about her father. He'd been a man she'd wanted to look up to, but now she just wasn't sure he was worth it. Yes, she was lonely, feeling isolated and there were days when she just spent her time in a dark den where she wished for her carefree days as a pup to return to her. But she was intelligent; she knew such a thing could never be had again. And despite missing all of the things of her short past, she knew there was a future for her, that she could move past all of this and put it behind her. She didn't need to dwell on this.

Normally she stayed within the shadows and confines of the mines in order to avoid meeting anyone, but today she intended to delve into the depths of darkness in order to explore. Perhaps she would come away with a treasure that nobody else could claim. Or perhaps she would find something nobody had ever seen before. Whatever it was, Saffron was determined to explore today and find something different. She didn't expect to see anyone, as she rarely saw anybody pass by these parts, but she was always aware of the fact that she might come across someone eventually.

Lips pressed tightly together, the young female prowled into the darkness of the mines, silver eyes glancing around as her visual perceptions faded around her. Paws carried her carefully, avoiding sharp stones and stepping over old metal rails. She may not be able to see now, but she was confident in her other senses - smell, touch, hearing. The world around her felt just as perceptible as if she could still see, even in the darkness. Now, what interesting artifact would she discover today?

Oddly enough Mara hadn't found herself doing a whole lot lately, which was both enjoyable and growing a tad old. Normally someone interrupted her peace by now. Eh, best to appreciate the little things in life when she could. Yawning, the dark woman rose from her spot nestled in some of the sparse brush the north provided. She really did prefer warmer climates, yet she continued to hang around in the north for some reason. Foolishness? Laziness? Maybe both. She'd not entirely given up hope of locating her missing sibling, though she certainly wasn't wasting any more energy specifically looking for that idiot. She'd ditched Velia and now she was more than ready to do her own thing. If her brother happened to show up or she caught her scent that'd be great. If not, well, no skin off her nose. Slinking out of the woods she'd only visited once before, Mara chose a random direction and began walking towards the rocky slopes of the mountains wondering what they might have in store for her. Bits of old wood and metal suggested some sort of odd structure, a concept she'd only recently started to become familiar with. With a non-committal shrug of her thin shoulders the slouched wolf meandered her way into the darkness of the cave-like opening, yellow-orange eyes ablaze with an uncommon spark of curiosity. The darkness grew and grew, swallowing her lithe form into it's depths so the most visible parts of her were the bright eyes and pale cheek fur, and in time even those would become harder to make out. The scent of a younger wolf wafted up to her nose, though she remained unconcerned. It was only when she heard the paws padding along ahead of her that she'd emit a low growl to announce her presence. She probably wouldn't mess with the kid - probably - but she wasn't going to come sweeping up unannounced either in the dark. Youngsters were... A weird topic for her. As long as they didn't annoy her too much she didn't tend to have too much of an issue with them, especially knowing that children who belonged to someone else could easily be sent on their way when she tired of them. She couldn't imagine being charged with her own... The thought made her lips curl. "Talk" "You" Think

It was an interesting walk into the darkness, peaceful almost. She felt lulled into an odd sense of security, her sight blocked out entirely while she depended fully on other senses that felt ignored. What an odd feeling, but it was a good one. She padded along rhythmically, paws stepping gracefully over each wooden slat in the run-down rail track. She closed her eyes since she had no more need for them, her tail flicking upward to remain even with her body and improve her balance as she walked along blindly What could possibly ruin her quiet exploration?

Saffron's body froze, ears folding back as she went stark still at the sound of growl. Had somebody entered the cave behind her? And now they were growling at her? Slowly she shifted around to face the opposite direction she'd just been facing, hoping that she was keeping her back turned away from the intruder. She wondered who exactly had been following her, and why they were growling at her now that they were deep into the cave and there was no light. Surely the other wolf was at no greater advantage than herself, so why choose this time and place to become hostile? So, the girl decided that she would growl back, if anything just to announce her presence, but also to show that she wouldn't be intimidated and she could hold her own if push came to shove. Her muzzle wrinkled up instinctively as she bared her fangs, a low rumble escaping her throat.

"Well, who's there?" she demanded, tail tucking closer to her body now. She didn't like being caught alone in the dark, but she refused to let anyone push her around, if that was the intention they'd come with.

Mara let one of her ears flick back, Brows raising at the sound of the returned growl. The feisty return was oddly enough well received by the dark woman, who let just the slightest crinkle of one side of her mouth hint at a smirk, though it would be lost on the stranger who couldn't hope to see what Mara was doing. Oh well, from the smell of it this wasn't a particularly old individual. She doubted she had to worry  too much about the hidden stranger, but she did enjoy the reaction she'd gotten. It was nice to find someone who didn't shy away from a fight even in the dark. Mara liked that, laughing ever so faintly. "Well, who's there?" called the voice from the vast darkness before her. The girl wasn't too far away, but surely out of reach. No matter, Mara decided to focus on the question at hand. "Even if I did tell you my name, what good is a name without a face?" she queried. What good indeed. Wouldn't be all that helpful to go looking for someone using only their name. Names could be changed, or one could use an alias... This was getting a bit too in depth to continue pondering now. Sitting with a heavy Thud! Mara mumbled, almost to herself rather than the wolf nearby, "Though, come to think of it that really is the standard greeting. Always with the names." Mara shook her head, failing to understanding the need to know such things. Maybe that was just because she was a bit on the antisocial side. After all, whats the use in collecting names of wolves you never plan to see again? Just good manners, she supposed. Unfortunately for any poor souls caught engaging with the irritable wolf, Mara had no use for good manners. "Talk" "You" Think

Ears flicked forward as she waited for the other's response, her eyes searching hopelessly in the dark. She knew she wouldn't find any physical form of the wolf nearby, but she couldn't help herself - she wanted to catch a glimpse. But she knew she wouldn't be able to rely on her eyes here. A voice finally cut through the pure darkness, and Saffron turned to the direction of the voice, her hackles prickling in irritation. No, that's not what she'd meant. A name would make no difference to her. She shook her head in frustration, even though she knew the gesture would go unnoticed. Before she could respond to the first remark of the stranger, that wolf spoke again, musing about the standard greetings of well-mannered wolves. Exchanging names. Perhaps that would be important in some other context, but right now it didn't feel necessary. Saffron grumbled irritably.

"Listen, I don't need your name," she snapped, "I don't care if you don't wanna get introduced. I don't needa tell you my name either. I'm more interested in what you want. Why'd'ya come in here after me and growl before sayin' anything? Makes me think you got a problem." The young woman continued staring into the darkness, listening for any sounds of movement. It really didn't matter to her why this wolf was present, but the other wolf's answers would probably give her some insight into the other's intentions. She hoped that would leave her feeling better prepared, whether she needed to fight or not. Her body rigid, trying her best to face the other wolf head on, she fell silent, waiting for the other to speak again.

She laughed, voice echoing loudly through the enclosed space, replicating the patronizing tone over and over as if there were more Mara's lurking in the dark all around, all terribly amused by this stranger's words. She couldn't care less about the girl's words at first, but eventually she just found it all funny. One of the few times she laughed, and of course it was brought on by entertainment at someone else's expense. Standing, she paced around where she'd heard the girl, giving the spot a wide birth so she wouldn't find herself bumping into a wolf on edge. She preferred to do that on purpose rather than by accident. "Maybe I do have a problem," she hummed softly, voice relaxed as though she were putting a great deal of thought into it. She quickly dropped the act though, letting out a sigh and sitting again. Restlessness was seeping into her body lately, making her more irritable than usual. Her shrug would likely go unnoticed in this much darkness, but it could almost be heard in her voice as she added, "Maybe I'm just not good at playing nice, especially in the dark with a stranger I didn't expect to meet." "Talk" "You" Think

Saffron grit her teeth as she heard the older woman cackle and howl at her expense. It pissed her off, but she wasn't going to do anything rash. There was no sense putting herself into a predicament she couldn't get out of over something stupid like this. Instead, she remained silent, her tail standing tall and rigid while her ears flicked, listening for anything other than the raucous, echoing laughter of the bitch sharing this dark space with her. Finally, the laughter died down, to be replaced by the sound of pawsteps shuffling around in the pitch black. Damn this blind hell of a cave, she hated not being able to see a possible threat. Why had she ever come in here in the first place? She'd thought she'd be in solitude, of course, but apparently that just wasn't destined to happen.

Trying to vaguely face the direction the voice came from next, she felt her muscles tensing as the words registered in her mind. So this woman had a problem after all, it seemed. The irritable sigh that followed, and the sound of the woman sitting, confused Saffron. What was this woman's deal?
It wasn't long before an explanation came forth, causing the girl to snort. Was she supposed to sympathize or something? It wasn't her fault this woman had come in here when the place was already occupied! "So what?" she retorted, glaring into the blackness, "Are you nose blind or something? Obviously you came in here behind me. Couldn't you have just left and gone somewhere else? You just had to come in here, and now we're both miserable. Or maybe you just enjoy being a pain?"

She wasn't afraid to speak her mind and express how irritated she was. This could have been a peaceful excursion into the dark, the perfect place for a deep, restful sleep, but now that definitely wasn't going to happen. In fact, she now had no idea what was going to happen next. This wasn't exactly what she'd had planned for today.

"Hah!" the laugh ripped from her throat so suddenly it was a surprise even to her. A bit loud as well, leaving her feel oddly awkward but she shook it off quickly and she wondered if her first true, genuine smile that lacked any hidden intent or irritation would be heard in her words as she replied, "I'm afraid you have me pegged all too well, there." Normally she never engaged with anyone for long enough to hear them speak such words to her aloud. That or no one ever had thought to call her out on her ways before. For some reason she found it rather funny to have someone say it out loud. The kid wasn't wrong, Mara was quite fond of leaving others feeling just as pissed as she did ever day. Definitely not a desirable quality to most, which was sort of the point. Her politeness had lived a brief life before she ended it and just decided to be as abrasive as possible. The tactic had worked pretty well so far; she thrived on keeping others at a distance.

She shuffled a bit in place, growing bored with the talk though her mood was improving a bit - couldn't say the same for the poor girl here, but Mara didn't mind that too much. After a bit of silence, the dark woman turned to walk deeper into the cave, walking a wide arc around the younger girl while proclaiming, "It's been great, but I'm gunna go take a 'look' around now." Their conversation dismissed entirely, she brushed it off and went on her way as though the whole discussion was quite done with now. Using one wall to feel her way forward Mara walked, not giving the girl another thought.

Yet again she was taken aback by the woman's laughter, this time just one loud burst of it before it ended. Why did she seem to find it so entertaining that someone else had pointed her out as a nuisance? What a strange thing to be amused by, at least Saffron thought so. Now at a loss for words, the girl found herself stunned into a dumb silence, unable to grasp at anything to say. Well, was there anything more? She didn't know this woman and wasn't really fond of the idea of getting to know her, not after their bumpy meeting. She didn't feel like this was going to turn into anything too hostile now that they'd sort of settled things, but she still felt somewhat on edge, unsure of what the stranger was capable of.

Then, just like that, the woman decided to pick herself up and keep walking, like none of this had ever happened. Not only that, she was going deeper into the cave, instead of heading for the exit. Her nose wrinkled up slightly in annoyance. Didn't this woman get it? She wasn't wanted here! Although... she had to admit, this was the most interaction and entertainment she'd had in a while, despite it being rather irritating. So Saffron bounded after the unknown she-wolf, following the sound of pawsteps and fur brushing up against stone and dirt walls. "Hey!" she called out in an annoyed tone, "I was here first! Why don't you find your own cave to explore?"
And just like that in the darkness, her paws stumbled over a rough patch in the ground, causing her to trip forward; she felt her nose collide with the woman, and she braced herself for a less than pleasant reaction from the older gal.

Mara was about to give a snarky retort to the girls words when she heard that unmistakable sound one makes when tripping. Her siblings had been particularly clumsy once upon a time. Yeesh, go back, no thanks no memory lane today, no sir. Her hackles raised as she tansed a bit and bristled reflexively. Surprisingly enough she didn't reach around and rip the kid to shreds. Maybe it was that bold personality, or something else that caused Mara to just stop and let the girl run into her rather than allowing the younger wolf to fall face first on the dirt or rip her to shreds. This counted as being nice, right? Cause Mara was pretty sure she just met her good behavior quota for the year. Shaking her head she simple muttered, "You shouldn't go running around when you can't see your own paws, much less the ground." Deep down she could almost feel her insides tightening in an internal cringe. Being less bitchy felt weird. She should stop that crap. After the smaller wolf recovered Mara would stalk forward, once again pretending as though nothing happened. Remembering the earlier words, she added, "You can't have dibs on a cave, so looks like you're outta luck. First means nothing." "Talk" "You" Think

Saffron found herself in a huff, although she wasn't normally so bothered with things like this. Of course, normally she was a lot more sure-footed, and she felt heavily embarrassed by her stumbling, in front of an annoying stranger no less. Her muzzle wrinkled up, baring her teeth into the darkness when the woman offered her a bit of sarcastic advice. Now she felt a slight burning in her face - why did she have to trip in front of this lady, making herself look like even more of an idiot than the woman probably already thought she was? Before she knew it, the she-wolf had stalked away again, and Saffron shuffled after her, trying to be more careful with where she placed her paws. She knew she'd gotten lucky that her face was still intact after stumbling into the stranger, but she might not be so lucky a second time, so she padded along more carefully.

"Well, looks like we're both gonna be outta luck," she stated matter-of-factly as she matched her stride with the older woman's, feeling her fur graze against the other's briefly, "There's no way I'm leaving, and if you're not either, then we're just gonna have to be den mates." She remained uncomfortably close to the other wolf as they walked, determined to make a point. If this woman wasn't going to get lost, then she was going to have to put up with Saffron.

"We may as well get introduced then," she blabbered on, not really caring for this conversation but committed to annoying the crap out of the other she-wolf now, "I'm Saffron. I was born in the North, and I haven't really been anywhere else. I don't have any hobbies. I also don't have any friends, and I'm not really interested in making any. So, what's your name? What brings you here? Why do you wanna be in this cave anyways?" Her tail flicked, hoping to tap against the woman's hip in an annoying, overly buddy-buddy gesture. Even if the woman tried to ignore her, it wasn't going to last long. Saffron was not a quitter, and she'd get this woman out of her one way or another.

She shouldn't be surprised that this girl was still persisting in whatever it was she was trying to achieve. It had been made quite clear to Mara that this was someone who spoke her mind and didn't seem to give up. That would almost be admirable if it wasn't annoying as hell. The sound of paws padding along behind her once more was soon followed by more bold talk. What was this kids deal? Ah, who cared. If Mara could shake the little pest that would be great. If not... It would be a long trek. "Oh, joy. But I think I'll let you den in the dark by yourself if that's cool, I'm happy to look around and then leave thanks." At first she considered joking about the girl growing big ol teeth like a mole if she spent too much time in the dark here, but that was too much chatting and not amusing enough to warrant the effort. "We may as well get introduced then," Let's not. "I'm Saffron. I was born in the North-" Oh, so we're really doing this, huh? Great. The girl rambled on with an abbreviated life-story that Mara wasn't too keen on hearing but she'd be damned if this kid was gunna annoy her out of the cave. Mara was always annoyed, bring it, like some little brat could honestly top all the irritating crap she'd already dealt with. She kept marching, keeping alert and trying her best to listen to the echoes on the walls to better understand what her surroundings were like despite the younger wolf who kept going on, and on, and oh yay questions Mara didn't wanna answer, oh joy.  She'd have eyed the kid sidelong if it wasn't absolutely pitch black. The dark was overwhelming, yet oddly comfortable. She'd have liked it more without the thorn in her side, though. "What on earth is a hobby?" she began, not really sure to be honest. Was it like, how Mara enjoyed spending most of her free time picking fights? Or what? Clearly that was something she missed while running off in search of some alone time when she was little. "And friends aren't a necessity anyways... As for my name, if you absolutely must know it's Mara." She only offered her calling to avoid having this persistent girl resort to being extra annoying and calling her lady or something stupid. "What brings me here is a long and... Well, it's just a bit of a tale." she muttered, happy to leave it at that. Most people didn't really care to learn that Mara'd spent a great deal of time following her brother around and beating the crap out of anyone who got in their way. Or she figured they wouldn't, she'd never had the chance or desire to share personal details like that. Shrugging, she finished with, "I wanna be here because like anyone worth talking to I enjoy a little darkness. That and there's not much else to do, so I may as well walk around with some chatty yearling." "Talk" "You" Think