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

Natha took shelter from the rain under the great oak trees of the southern continent.  Her trip down to this territory had proved fruitless and so she was on her way back north for more familiar territory and the regions she hoped to one day claim as her own.  The rain was gentle but Natha hoped it would lift soon.  She much preferred the snow that would cling lightly to her coat instead of the rain that would quickly soak her to the bone.  Autumn was settling on Auster and the temperatures were dropping.  Leaping onto a low branch of one of the nearby oak trees she stretched herself lengthwise along it.  Shaking out her coat she bent her head to lick at her forelegs, cleaning off the rain and picking out debris.

It was raining again today, it did little to dampen the young girls mood though. Her glowing pelt pulasted as she made her way through the areal. Ily was either following her or safe with their new friend. Her front legs were being lifted high and in a straight manner as she splashed through puddles and mud. Her eyes were closed and her smile was huge on her face. All seemed right now that Ily was back. She was happy as a clam, though were clams really all that happy? She didn't know. She padded onward none the less.  She came across a new scent dulled by rain and her eyes opened. She stopped in her tracks, mid stride as she tried to decipher the mystery. From the smell she knew it couldn't be wolf, nor was it like the prey her parents had brought home ever. It was strange. She gave it another whiff before turning to follow it. Though when she did she saw what was likely the source and quickly seated herself. Her head cocked to there right and the puzzlement was on her face. Whatever this creature was she wanted to know. Though she knew better than to approach strange creatures and just start poking about. Thought she really wanted to go touch it.  It looked like it hated the water with the way it hid under the tree and licked it off so there was that. But the form was foreign and it's size was really small. Was it friend? Or did it eat things like her? The mystery was everything. For now she kept the water between them in the form of rain and puddles for safe measures.  Walk, "Talk" Think

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

Natha continued to work at cleaning herself, her raspy tongue sorting through the knotted fur on her chest. It was important to keep clean, especially if she wanted to hunt late. Any left over scent of blood could tip off her prey. Natha preferred to have as much in her favor as was possible. As she was working on her coat a flash of brilliant color caught her attention out of the corner of her eye and her fur stood on end as she turned to see a strange looking wolf. The canine was smaller than many of the wolves she'd encountered in this place but it was the way the girls coat seemed to shine and glow that caught Natha's attention. That was spirit work, she was certain of it. Well if this was some hybrid wisp she knew better than to follow it off into the forest. Natha's left ear twitched as she watched the canine site and stare at her curiously. Unconsciously Natha's own head tilted to the side as she gaze at the wolf. "What are you? Are you the spirit of this forest?"

Te creature ceased cleaning itself and stared back at her with the same sort of curiosity she herself displayed. She tilted her head to the other side and then back. Its voice identified it as female then. Though she wasn't sure what to think of her just yet. Apparently the other though her some form of spirit and she shook her head at the question. A paw came up to point at the creature. A silent way of asking about it. She was mute after all so it wasn't like she could give straightforward answers to anyone or anything.  This to her seemed like a job for Ily to communicate for them. She stood and moved closer as she deemed if the creature was speaking to her that it was indeed not a threat. She joined it under the tree and shook out her pelt. That was likely to splatter the woman and she sat and gave her an apologetic look after quickly. She didn't mean to if she had. She didn't exactly understand why this woman thought her a spirit but she couldn't just explain her coat off either.  She moved her eyes off the woman to try not to seem rude from staring but couldn't help chancing the glances at her. Her pelt was so slate and her form was so strange that Arwen really just wanted to know what she was. She hadn't seen anything quite like her. She didn't smell bad like the skunk she had once saw, nor did she smell yummy like a deer.  Walk, "Talk" Think

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

Natha watched silently as the wolf continued to take her in. Perhaps the girl was perplexed. It was an unusual talent in these lands she supposed, for a lynx to be able to 'speak wolf' though where she was from it was not all that uncommon for predators to be able to speak to each other. Now speaking to prey would be a strange and horrifying gift indeed. At her question about being a spirit the wolf shook her head. Natha stretched a bit and considered the wolf for another moment noticing that the canine did not answer her first question. Instead the wolf lifted a paw and pointed at her. Was it asking her a similar question? The wolf moved under the tree and shook the rain from her own pelt.

"My name is Natha, I am a lynx. I would ask your name but… the way you gesture, your silence... Girl, are you able to speak?"

The woman introduced herself and gave her species to Arwen. She nodded as she listened to that part. Then the wwords she spoke next had Arwen shaking her head to answer her. She was able to deduce quickly then most likely that yes and no questions were her specialty she was sure. She'd never seen a lynx before and her eyes moved to her paws. The held no nails and Arwen lifted a brow at the fact. How did she dig a den if she didn't have nails?  She tilted her head again. She was perplexed by the way she looked. It was strange to see someone that didn't look like she dug a den or like she could get traction chasing down a deer or a buffalo. It was much too strange to think that she would steal someone's den, after all that wasn't nice.  She then cast her golden eyes to Natha's face. Her eyes were a darker honey color and were almost intimidating to look at. She pressed her ears back and tilted her head more. It was so strange to her. She supposed she should start with the simple question. She scrapped at the ground a couple times with her right forepaw and then looked down at Natha's paws, then to her face expectantly.  Walk, "Talk" Think

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

As the girl shook her head in answer to Natha's question the lynx fell silent, contemplating how best to carry on this conversation.  She felt a small sense of pity for the girl.  Being mute would not bother the cat much for she was solitary and had little need to speak to the others of her species but for a pack wolf it had to be difficult to be able to communicate.  Though there was always body language and it seemed the girl could get around well enough.  She gestured to Natha's paws.  Natha lifted one and looked at it then back at the girl, trying to figure out what she was asking.  "Yes, my paws are quite large.  They're for hunting on snow. I prefer the north and its colder regions."

That didn't quite seem to be the question the girl was asking.  The girl scrapped the ground then looked at Natha who stared back in confusion before it suddenly dawned on her the girl must be referring to her claws.  She held up her left forepaw and flexed her muscles causing razor sharp claws to spring from her toes. "Cats can hide their claws, to keep the ground from dulling them.  Girl are you alone?  Do you have family in this forest?"  She was careful to choose her questions, doing her best to make them easy to answer.  "Is there anyway you can tell me your name?"  This would be the trickiest question but she felt foolish to keep calling the wolf 'girl'.