With a hare clamped firmly between her jaws Ferrous lit out across the grassland as if her tail was on fire. Somewhere far behind her was a very angry rogue. She could no longer hear him yelling, which was a good sign. Perhaps he'd finally given up. The thought gave her no small amount of pleasure. She'd learned many things in her short life. The depth of depravity, for example. From the moment he'd approached her, Ferrous had known something was amiss. She knew how to play and that made her difficult to play. Instinctively she knew when someone was trying to manipulate her.

Very quickly she guessed at his motives. He tried to lure her in with kind words and the promise of a meal. Unfortunately for him, Ferrous knew his type and had seen him coming from a mile away. She'd ever so naively wandered into his trap and then promptly made off with the lure. Heh.

The wall, too tall to jump and too solid-looking to try digging under, briefly stalled her getaway. Ferrous eyed it angrily and let a frustrated hiss escape her lips. She ran several yards in one direction before stopping to stand up against the wall. Even on the tips of her toes she couldn't reach the lip of it.

With a grumpy huff she dropped back to all fours and then continued running along the wall as fast as her legs could carry her. Sooner or later it had to end or break down, right?

Korinna felt a shiver crawl down her spine as a slight breeze moved in, ruffling the grey-furred wolf's thick coat. It was clear that autumn was on its last limb, with winter pressing in close behind. She knew she'd be smart to head south soon, but she'd yet to get her fill of the northernmost part of this continent and she was wary to leave before she truly felt satisfied. And right now she was quite curious about this structure, this long and crumbling stone wall that seemed to stretch on as far as she could see. The yearling narrowed her sea-green eyes, squinting as she looked far into the distance. She had no idea what purpose this structure might've once had, but now it merely separated the grassland from the more desolate tundra, the former of which she had yet to really explore. Korinna padded through the grass lazily, though her attention was captured after some time by the sound of someone - or something - scuttling in the dirt up ahead.

Her interest was instantly piqued, even if she didn't necessarily want it to be. It was something loud enough to be heard a good distance away, and further approach told her it was another wolf, most likely a female. Finally the scent grew louder, the sound of someone running hard nearby clearly audible - though she couldn't quite see anyone. Nobody was coming her direction, not that she could see, and it was only when she heard the sound zoom past her did she realize someone was on the other side of the wall. The realization came quickly, and she snapped her head upright. "Hey! You on the other side!" Korinna barked out loudly, her lazy saunter ceasing suddenly as she spun toward the wall, a look of consternation crossing her features. "You see any cracks in this thing you or I might be able to get through?" From her direction she hadn't seen a way across, and it was far too high to climb without assistance.. and yet suddenly getting to the other side seemed a mission she couldn't pass up.

Ferrous ran at a hard, ground-eating pace. If she couldn't get over the wall she could still keep putting distance between herself and the molest-y weirdo by running alongside it. Sooner or later there had to be a break, right? Either that or it had to end. She'd take either option, honestly.

A voice seemingly out of nowhere scared the bejesus out of Ferrous. She leaped away from the wall as if it were on fire before realizing that she wasn't in any danger. Her first thought upon realizing that she wasn't alone (before the words had time to register) had been that the creeper had managed to catch up to her.

After a second to process the situation she calmed and padded back towards where she thought the speaker was. Ferrous cast a glance back the way she'd come to make sure she couldn't see the weirdo and then she dropped the hare so she could speak. "'Fraid not. I've been running along it for some time and I haven't seen so much as a pebble out of place."

The wall that separated her from this random stranger that had been running by suddenly seemed less like a structure and more like challenger. I dare you to climb me, bitch, it seemed to taunt her silently, and she sneered silently up at the crumbling - but still very tall - stone wall. Her competitive spirit seemed to flare up inside her, and she was already annoyed that she couldn't simply jump over the damn thing to see who was on the other side. "Running, hm?" Her inquiry was more curious than presumptuous, though she was partially distracted by scoping out the wall still.

"Feel like running some more? First one to get to the opposite side is the winner. What d'you say?" A slight grin was audible in her voice. For a moment, just in case, she reared up and scraped her claws against the wall, leaning all her weight into it. Nope, it was definitely solid, and the only way across the giant structure would be to find a hole in it - or find the end of it. Just in case this stranger was willing to partake in her game, she faced the opposite direction she'd been heading - the one Ferrous had been running toward, since by the sound of her slightly winded voice she'd been running alongside the wall a whole lot longer than Korinna had.

The stranger threw down the gauntlet and Ferrous, being Ferrous, couldn't resist. Of course she was going to accept. Saying no wasn't an option. For her, a simple challenge was more or less equal to a triple dog dare. Accepting was a matter of honor. Ferrous crouched down with her sights set on the distance. She was already panting, but that didn't mean squat. She was going to win. Period. End of story. She dug her toes into the ground. Her eyes narrowed in concentration as she tried to will her body to get its act together. "I say, three..." she took a deep breath, which would hopefully allow the stranger time to catch on. "Two...one- GO!" Immediately she was off like a shot, streaking along the wall like a bat out of hell. Her gaze flit between the ground in front of her and the wall up ahead. As soon as she saw a gap she was going to throw herself at it. "Speaking" - "Thinking" - "You"

Korinna wasn't quite sure what she was planning on doing if her new acquaintance disagreed with her idea. Maybe she'd just attempt the task anyway, or maybe she'd find something better to do entirely - but Ferrous was just as interested in the challenge as she was, apparently. Kori was pleased, and felt a playful grin tugging at her lips, not that the stranger on the opposite side of the wall could see it, taking her initial silence as assent. If she had no interest in this game, surely she would speak up right away - or ignore her entirely, right? She swayed a little as she stood, fighting the urge to pace slightly to keep her anxious excitement at bay.

Without having to wait long at all, Ferrous reaffirmed her agreement, which earned a sharp bark of appreciation and consent. Following suit, Korinna fixed her posture and slunk down slightly, gearing up to run. Without realizing it she nodded, knowing full well that Ferrous couldn't see her, and waited for her cue. Go! She kicked off hard with her back legs, propelling herself forward with a hard intake of air. Though she could feel hear own pawsteps slapping against the solid ground, she could hear the movements of the other woman beyond the stone wall, and she struggled to keep up. It certainly wasn't an easy task, but she was happy with the challenge. Eventually, after what couldn't have been more than a few minutes of hard running, Korinna saw something that looked like a gap... and she kicked up her pace, looking to clamber over it as soon as possible. Little did she know that Ferrous was running about at the same speed as she was, and if the two of them went for it at the same time they would very well bash heads in the most physical sense of the word.

Ferrous' gaze darted between the ground and the wall every few seconds as she looked for a hole. Already she was a bit winded. The run across the plains had put her at a bit of a disadvantage. But, she reasoned, that didn't matter because without a doubt she was going to win. Winded or not, victory would be hers. The stranger had no idea just who she was up against. The stranger's pawsteps were almost identical to her own. She couldn't quite tell who was in the lead which probably meant they were neck and neck. Knowing that spurred Ferrous on. Ferrous breathed in sharply as she caught sight of a gap. Grinning wickedly, she ignored the pain in her lungs and doubled her efforts. Her vision narrowed down to nothing but the gap and she poured every last drop energy into running. The crack loomed overhead and without pausing she flung herself at it; her back claws scrabbling wildly against the stone. Victory was- CRACK! Ferrous was sent reeling backwards as something hard struck her head. She was on the ground staring up at the sky before she could blink. What little air she'd had was forced out of her lungs with a whoosh and she was left gaping like a fish. "Speaking" - "Thinking" - "You"

Korinna wasn't quite sure who was on the other side of the wall, though she could take a guess at a few of her qualities. She had a youthful voice, and was doubtlessly female, going off of voice and faint scent alone. She didn't really care about much else besides this stranger going along with her little game, which would at least entertain her for a short while. Still, Korinna was pretty sure that she was going to win, and she would damn well try her hardest - evident by her heavy breathing and the way her paws beat steadily against the earth. The sound mirrored that of that of the female across the other side of the wall.

Once she reached what looked like a gap in the wall, she dove for it. Korinna wasn't a creature who hesitated much, in anything, which could very well spell disaster for her someday. If there was a trap on the other side of the wall, she'd be diving right into it. She didn't think there was a trap, of course, but she also didn't anticipate that Ferrous would arrive at the same exact second she did.

Shit.

Kori saw her mere milliseconds after she dove for the wall, giving her no time to stop her lunge. Instead of beating her across, she collided quite roughly with her, trying to jerk her head to the side to minimize impact. The other woman's head smacked her roughly against the side of her own face, and she too was sent toppling over backwards, struggling to remain upright instead of landing flat on her back. She huffed, trying to catch her breath and flip herself back upright. "What the hell was that?" She grumbled, shaking her head, already feeling a dull bruise blossoming beneath her coat where Ferrous had collided with her like an angry ram.

Winded, Ferrous wheezed and tried to will her lungs to work properly. They refused. Her chest felt tight and the tense muscles wouldn't allow her ribs to expand properly. She had to force herself to relax and when she deep, she gulped air greedily. "What the hell was that?" Ferrous coughed once, then wheezed, "My head." After a moment, when she was no longer quite so breathless, Ferrous had a chance to review the whole situation. She couldn't help but laugh. What were the odds that they'd both make it to the gap at the same time? She got to her paws gingerly and stretched to work out the kinks in her neck. "Alright, just a heads up, I'm climbing over now so, ya know, keep your distance unless you're ready for round two." Ferrous was eager to meet this equally hard headed stranger face to face. Well, face to face in a slightly less painful face-literally-to-face way. In seconds she was standing in the gap with her paws bunched together beneath her. After checking to make sure the other girl wasn't in her path, she jumped down nimbly. She turned to face the stranger and, grinning cheekily, said, "I win." "Speaking" - "Thinking" - "You"

Ow. Holy fucking hell. Korinna was surprised she hadn't broken something from the collision - though then again, maybe she had, and she just hadn't realized it yet. Sometimes she knew shock could take the real pain out of injuries, and only later would one realize just how hurt they were - it'd happened to her plenty of times, and she wasn't initially sure if this time would be one of those or not. She held her eyes closed for a moment, steadying herself and panting softly. 'My head,' she heard the stranger quip a bit sharply, elicited a sharp chuckle from her. Hey, at least this woman had a sense of humor, at least more so than most wolves she'd met. "No shit," Kori spat back, though not with as much malice as she might otherwise.

She grumbled something incoherent as Ferrous instructed her that she was coming over. "Yeah, yeah," she mumbled, slowly opening her eyes and stretching herself. Though competitive, she'd been caught off-guard by their quite literal collision and all thoughts of their challenge was briefly lost. If she'd been thinking clearly, she would've realized that the game was still in play and most likely would decide the risk of an injury was worth it, if it meant she might still come out the victory.

But only when Ferrous finally made her presence known, climbing over the stone wall and easily making her way toward her, did she realize what that meant. She'd won. Fucking bitch! Perhaps when she was younger she might've declared the unfairness of her victory, but she was old enough now to know that life wasn't fair to begin with, and crying over it wouldn't get her anywhere. "You got lucky," she declared, quite matter-of-factly. Only because of their little mishap had she won. Korinna was glad to finally get a better look at this stranger, initially surprised at how small she was in comparison to her. She was definitely a little spitfire, she thought to herself with a slight smirk, her loss forgotten as quickly as she had realized it. "Weird structure though, don't you think? Makes me wonder how long it's been here."

"You got lucky," the girl declared, earning a shit-eating grin from Ferrous. The goal had been to win and no other terms had been set. No one said it had to be fair. "I got a concussion," she said with a snort. "Consider my win a consolation prize, if you like." Ferrous was still going to call it a win, but that may have been simply because she hadn't lost. Ferrous' attention dutifully turned to the structure as the stranger began to speak of it. She studied it for a moment before offering, "Yeah...you know, I heard there were creatures once upon who built stuff like this. Ever seen that metal cave thing by the sea? Supposedly they made that. Perhaps this is their work too." "Speaking" - "Thinking" - "You"

Kori ended up rolling her eyes hard at the look on the other girl's face. Yeah, whatever, was all she could think to herself, but Ferrous seemed too similar to her to honestly be mad at her... despite her rather stubborn nature. They'd both gotten a massive headache from their collision, and now the stranger was admitting she'd gotten a concussion, which earned a pleased snort from her. "Fair enough," she mumbled dismissively, shrugging her wide shoulders as she turned to glance at the crumbling wall.

She shook her head at Ferrous's question, wishing she had seen this metal thing by the sea. "Nope, haven't seen it. Sorta new to these lands, truth be told." They were proving quite interesting so far, and the wolves here - if they were anything like Ferrous - were far more interesting than the boring ones from her homeland. God, why hadn't she left sooner? "Still pretty cool though. I can't imagine a use for it other than being cumbersome, but maybe.. territory disputes?" Okay, that she could imagine, though time had rendered the structure all but useless, given how relatively easy it was to find a way over it.