Footfalls. Silent and calculated but with a lazy ease to them as the woman slithers across the earth. Moisture clings to her paws with an unrelenting hold as spring has washed over the landscape. Cerulean optics cast about uninterested as the demoness moves amongst the vegetation and boulders, living sculptures captured within steep stone walls. Before her the canyon splits the passage wide, as if the lands themselves were making way for the female. The space before her yawns in encouragement while the walls rise high in warning. Slate and ebon frame match well with the rock as she reaches deeper, looking almost at home amongst their cold surface.

A low thunder whispers to her and audits flicker lightly atop ebon masked crania. Water. Her mind whispers an answer as nostrils twitch hungrily. Mouth waters as the woman's speed picks up just the slightest. How long had the warrioress been traveling? Quill didn't know, nor did she care. Since leaving her pack she had enjoyed the time alone, the time with no rules or cautions. The time with no consequences. Maw splits just the slightest with the hint of a cold grin as the gears of her mind turn in memory. 

Two young wolves face each other, chests heaving as the pack around them jeers and howls. Blood spatters their coats and a mix of fear and hatred shine in their eyes. One of them would would achieve their place among the pack, and the other would rest in the ground with the rotting corpses of those that had failed before them. They circle each other, taking in this greedy moment to catch their breath. "Quill, we don't have to fight. What would they do if we just refused?" The boy speaks, breathless and tired. Pleading with his sister to rally with him. To make the change. His paw steps cease as he looks to her, waiting for her to do the same. To join him. They had trained for so long and talked of their futures in the pack. As he looks to her though his features darken. He doesn't recognize the girl across from him. Her eyes blaze back with a hunger, lost from them the innocence of his littermate. "Who says I want to refuse?" Words slip from her lips, a haunting coolness to them. Quill's eyes look beyond her brother to the man behind him. Their father watches her with a greed she won't yet recognize. One she mistakes for pride. With a short nod of his head she lunges, ivors meeting their target into the throat of her kin.

Mind pulls back to the present as she reaches the small waterfall, one that had been brought in with the presence of spring. Drawing to the edge, neck leans forward eyes casting down to a reflection she doesn't truly recognize. The face of the girl is gone, replaced by a warrior-built woman. Gone is the roundness of youth from her face, giving way to angled femininity and a steeled expression. Maw dips greedily into the pool, breaking the surface in several shattered ripples and sending the image of the woman with it.

I'd rather be dead than live a lie
BURN THE WHITE FLAG!

Ambition blossomed in Natha's chest as she caught the faint scent of dall sheep. Golden eyes glittered with the thrill of hunts to come and the challenge of taking such large prey for herself unless she was able to enlist the help of another predator or two. Natha gazed up the fjord wall, searching for the white forms that would dot the stone like living snow. Her ears twitched lightly as the wind picked up. It was shifting in her favor… or so she hoped.

Natha leaps with silent and deadly grace, her massive paws hiding razor claws as she begins to work her way along the sheer cliffside. She doesn't go up very far and continues along horizontally. This is for practice. If she spies her prey she will have to move swiftly and silently and this is not a terra she was familiar with.

She continues farther until the sound of a waterfall catches her attention. Tufted ears swivel one way and then another as her golden eyes narrow. Yes, all life required water and there was a chance that she might find her quarry in such a place. Carefully she descends back to the ground, slinking along the rocky ground until she arrives at the waterfall where a dark-pelted wolf was drinking. Nostrils flared as Natha took in the scent and she noted that as of yet she did not smell any other wolves nearby. Was this another loner. She debated continuing on her way but then decided to throw caution to the winds. What was the harm in asking a simple question?

"Excuse me, have you seen any dall sheep pass through this way in the past hour?"

A voice rouses her from her drink and the woman turns, expecting to have crossed paths with another loner. In a way she had but she freezes in confusion when her eyes land upon the lynx. Audits twitch several times and eyes pace about the immediate area before returning to the woman. What the hell? The cat had just spoken to her. What lands had she found herself in? Where she had grown up communication with other species was unheard of, but here she was staring back into the golden gaze of the female lynx. Fur rises in apprehension as tongue curls hesitantly in her mouth.

"Can't say that I have." Words are clipped, teeth clicking together in habit with the always silent warning. Always the hint of danger behind those feminine features, the ones that promised if the woman was crossed there would be consequences. Nerves tingle knowingly but her inner demoness urges her to calm. Pathetic.The hiss is harsh against her ears and they rise forward towards the stranger. Limbs slither her form a few steps closer, eyes narrowing just the slightest.

"I wasn't aware the cats of these lands could talk." Lyrics release upon her breath, brow cocking idly upon her crown. Might as well let the cat out of the bag. Thoughts arouse an inward smirk that doesn't reach the surface. Not the time to be cracking jokes but too easy to pass up. She eyes the woman with interest, nares flaring to take in the odd scent. She received only the smell of the woman but what was she expecting, other wolves? Did this creature plan to join a pack since it was able to speak in the tongue or was it typical in all those other aspects? The gears of her mind whirred and smoldered, chasing each other greedily as they often did. Quill was a collector of information and when giving an opportunity such as this the confines of her crania were often overwhelmed with activity creating their own sort of database of the encounter. This place was turning out to be quite interesting after all.

I'd rather be dead than live a lie
BURN THE WHITE FLAG!

Natha's tufted ears continued to swivel, searching not only for the wolf's reply but for the sound of rock skittering down the cliffside, any hint that might suggest nearby prey. Her focus shifted fully to the wolf as the woman's hackles started to raise. Natha felt her own fur begin to rise but this was far from the first wolf she'd spoke to and she was familiar with the reaction. The wariness. Natha stayed on her feet, her limbs coiling slightly should she need to spring into action, fight or flight.

Her golden eyes narrowed in frustration as the wolf stated that she had not seen any dall sheep in the area. Blast it. Natha was hoping for a warm, substantial meal but it continued to dance away just out of her grasp. She knew the beasts were here, she just had to find one. Her paws flexed and her gaze once more skirted the cliff walls. "I see, pity. I don't know about you but I could use a good meal."

"I wasn't aware the cats of these lands could talk."

Natha grinned coyly, like a cheshire cat. "Not all can speak the tongue of wolves, I just happen to have a gift for languages. My name is Natha. I don't suppose you'd care to share yours?"

It seemed the stranger was on edge just as she was and she finds that oddly pleasing. Her eyes narrowed it what was visually cued as frustration at her answer of the sheep. She looked to the figure and doubted the cat was even big enough to fully take one on her own, but she shrugged the thought away. It honestly was of little importance to her. As she speaks of food though Quill’s innards turn in response. How long had it been since she had eaten? It seemed she had given it very little thought, thoughts trapped more readily in her travels and reminiscing on the memories of the past she left behind.

She finds her head giving a short nod in acknowledgement of the statement. Natha. The name prints itself upon the image of the woman captured in her mind, though she doubted she would ever forget the feline. Her first encounter in these lands and an odd one at that. Tongue swipes hungrily across cream tinted lips, a soft breath coming across their cool moisture. ”I hail by the name Quill.” Her phrasing is most likely odd for the area, an almost regal tone to it, resonating strength and confidence. First impressions were everything and her father had beat it into her skull that it was important to let others know what you were about right off the bat.

Iced hues turn from Natha to scan the edges of the walls around them, much like the other had done before. Nares flared in a hearty breath, catching just the faintest scent of the sheep the woman had been looking for. Audits flickered in thought as she turns to her again. ”Two predators are better than one, care to seek out that meal you were hunting for?”

I'd rather be dead than live a lie
BURN THE WHITE FLAG!

Natha's ears twitched lightly as the wind shifted, instinctively sifting through the sounds in hopes of useful information. She did not have her heart set on a sheep. Any sort of prey would be welcome at this point though her attempts would vary based on what was available. The wolf named herself as Quill. A curious name that beckoned old memories of an unfortunate encounter with a porcupine. In her younger days Natha was far to ambitious for her own good and a paw full of quills was her first big lesson in humility. Hopefully this encounter with the wolf would go better.

The subtle scent of sheep tickled her nose and her golden gaze turned in the direction from where the wind was carrying the scent. Quill stated that two predators were better than one and Natha smiled. "Agreed. I can't eat an entire sheep by myself and I am happy to share." That was something of a lie. She'd be content to keep the whole thing to herself but in the far north it became difficult to bury and hide prey. She'd be curious to see how a wolf would fare against the agility of the sheep.

Stalking in the direction of the scent she leapt up to a ledge and began the tedious climb, keeping her body low and slinking deftly across the rocky terrain. Soon the prey revealed itself. A small herd of dall sheep resting on a larger ledge a short ways up. Natha watched them for a moment, trying to plan out some sort of strategy. She waited for Quill to join her as she worked out a strategy. The best she could come up with was trying to position herself on the far side of the sheep while Quill could drive them from the other side but it was difficult to predict which way they might scatter.