Thick frost already lay thick across the ground this far north, the antiseptic scent of pine permeated the air as she strolled through the sparsely scattered pine trees. Brown needles matted the ground and a scattering of cones littered the floor, some popped open to drop their seeds from the summers that had passed before, others still clamped up tight. Now, Deluge was no seer, but she could assume her parents would be having more pups soon, it was her mother's season for it after all. Perhaps she should gather up some pinecones for the little blighters to cut their teeth on? And if not, well she was sure Ken could make something pretty of them.

“Speech”

Redrum's senses pricked with caution as he noticed a figure amidst the frost-covered ground, a stranger to him within these northern woods. The older girl, her form adorned with horns, moved with purpose among the pine needles and cones. It seemed as though she was collecting leaf litter, but he did not know why.

He had been prowling for a hunt, before he heard the faint rustling of her in the underbrush. Curious enough, he veered away from his trail in favor of observing the stranger from cover. She was no one he had ever encountered before.

Edging closer with a mixture of wariness and curiosity, the boy observed her actions for a few moments only. He had not been raised to be shy nor shifty, and quickly tired of merely watching her. So he straightened up his posture, ears standing tall atop his crimson skull and he announced himself with a crack of a small branch below his foot. He did not speak, instead he watched her closely, searching for any sign of threat or ill intent as he pressed forward into her field of view.

""

The crack of a branch was met with a flick of her ear, if they'd meant to jump her, they were doing a bad job of it. She set aside her pinecones and lifted her head to look back, spotting the red through the underbrush like a burning beacon. Her tail began to wave, thinking it must be one of Ig's kids out exploring, but as she turned and fully took in the elongated ears, “How many kid's has Ig got anyway?” She asked quietly, mostly to herself. Nobody else threw red like that that she had encountered anyway... “Haven' seen yer around before,” she greeted, her shortened tail waving at her back in greeting, “Yer live up this way?”

She thought she caught a whiff of Ghoul in there somewhere, so Insomnia maybe?

“Speech”

Redrum observed the stranger's reaction with a mix of curiosity and caution as she acknowledged his presence. Her flicking ear and relaxed demeanor suggested that she wasn't threatened by his sudden appearance, which put him slightly at ease. Also kinda made him pout internally though, was he not a threat? Couldn’t he be? Did he want to be? Why?

As she set aside her pinecones and turned to fully face him, Redrum's crimson fur seemed to catch her attention, prompting her to say something about an Ig? What was an Ig? Her assumption caught him off guard, but he quickly realized that she must have mistaken him for one of this Ig's children due to his vibrant coat.

Suppressing a chuckle at the misunderstanding, Redrum shook his head, his own tail swaying gently behind him. “Redrum– is not- Ig’s? Redrum is– Medusa’s-!” The boy replied, his tone of voice hinting at amusement – like she was silly for thinking otherwise. He tilted his head slightly, studying her features as she spoke in question of his origins. “Redrum is– from Insomnia.” The vermillion boy stated matter-of-factly, golden eyes gleaming with certainty.

""