The sun was creeping toward the western horizon, its light shifting to gold as it drew nearer to its resting place. The green leaves and fallen fruit of the orchard were illuminated. The heady smell of fruit that was overripe filled the air, lending a sickeningly sweet atmosphere to the serene scene.

That was perhaps what had made the catch so easy - that, and a significant amount of luck. Kuwindwa would've liked to attribute her most recent catch to skill, but really the long-stalking technique she had been using to follow the young deer and its herd had started to falter over a day ago, and she had begun losing hope in catching a larger meal some time ago... until today. The herd had passed through the orchard and, nose-blind and distracted, the young deer she'd targeted made the mistake of straying from its herd's protection. The fight was over relatively quickly with minimal struggle. The young animal was quickly worn down by the experienced hunter and stood little chance against the bigger, stronger wolf. Kuwindwa's fangs were mercifully quick, though they failed to stifle a final, desperate bleat.

With the herd frightened off and her fresh meal in her jaws, Kuwindwa was left with no company but her thoughts as she half-dragged the carcass into one of the overgrown trees and settled down to enjoy a quick meal. The deer was a few months old by now - big enough to provide at least a couple meals for a single wolf, or one enormous one... and given she was unlikely to store her food or revisit this place meant Kuwindwa was inclined toward the latter action. Allowing herself some distraction, the she-wolf began to tear into her kill, pausing only once to lick a few stray pieces of gore from her nose before continuing. She'd been in this land a couple months now, wandering constantly. She'd seen no signs of her pursuers - she hoped that luck would hold. Maybe they had given up? She'd like to think so... but she also though, had it been the other way around, she never would have stopped hunting them- such was her tenacity. Shaking herself gently, Kuwindwa paused and settled onto her belly. She should eat quickly, but the air here was so thick... it dimmed her sense, much as it had her prey's.

Voltage seemed to have a front row seat to a very good show. He had been wandering again, too energized to stick around the beach for too long, and in that time he had somehow managed to find a place where trees dropped the sweetest smelling fruit. Settling to eat a very ripe apple he had managed to find on the floor, he stayed there, chewing in silence and hidden by the overwhelming aroma of the orchard. It was just as he finished his snack that he noticed more deer amongst the trees than normal, and before he could even react to the sight he heard the sound of a hunt. Blinking towards the equally overwhelming scent of blood, he watched as the woman took down her kill and settled to eat. The rest of the herd had dispersed in this time, as they tend to do when one of their own is ruthlessly slaughtered by a huntress such as she. It was obvious she had more skills than he had alone, because it often took more than himself to take down a big kill such as that.

With a michevious smirk he back up into a dense undergrowth, hiding his vibrant colors amongst the deep green. He wasn't the greatest at hide and seek, but he thought, with her so distracted, he might be able to circle around her and surprise her. He didn't much want to surprise her and cause her to attack, but it was just the fun in life. He stepped from behind her then, tilting his head at the kill and smirking. "My my, you sure seem talented. He said gently, grinning as he glanced back at her, wondering how she would respond. He didn't want her meat, he was well sustained with that he and his family managed to find, but he did want a little new company from time to time.

No, no. This is not the time to rest, the woman silently berated herself and began to move again. She was unaware that she was being watched until it was much too late. There was only herself to blame for allowing her guard to falter. She, who was always so alert and intense had let the rich smell of the orchard play with her head, and now she would pay the price. Kuwindwa was half-way to her paws again when a silky voice sounded out behind her. The woman inhaled sharply, the gasp half-strangled as it instinctively became a snarl. It mattered little to her that the voice contained no malice; it had been unanticipated and therefore was automatically categorized as a threat until she deemed it otherwise.

In the same blink she made that throaty noise, Kuwindwa had swiveled on her paws, performing a 180º to put the fastest to shame. Her bronze eyes were wide in alarm as she took in the smirking façade of the man who'd managed to flank her. In another blink, she'd hopped back and half-crouched defensively, her hackles raised. She made no aggressive move toward him, but the woman was the very image of a cornered wolf, ready to strike desperately if he made any move toward her. Her mind was rudely awakened from its stupor, forcing her into that dreadful alertness that kept her awake far more often than she would like once again. Kuwindwa barely suppressed a shudder as she looked up at the man. Her movements had placed her awkwardly over the deceased fawn: her hindquarters were pressed into the brush behind her, while one forepaw rested oddly against one of the deer's forelegs - an unstable location she would remedy had she collected more of her senses in the moment.

Seemingly unable to work her jaw to even form words, Kuwindwa could only clamp her muzzle shut tight and wait for him to make a move - to do something, anything. She'd ask who he was - what he wanted - but her wits seemed to have scattered with the frightful pounding in her chest. She did seem to slowly realize his manner was not aggressive, nevertheless, she couldn't bring herself to move.

She reacted a lot stronger than he thought she would. Stormy eyes grew wide as she spun and dropped into the most defensive and submissive stance he'd seen. None of his family would have responded this way, and he didn't think other wolves could be so terrified of him. Infact this was the second stranger that reacted as if he were some scary looking bad guy. He quickly shook his head and took a couple steps back, lowering it towards the ground. Ears would twist back as he whined, not liking that he had scared her so. "I am terribly sorry, little lady" He said in the gentlest of voices, his tail swishing behind him as he tried to assume the least scary and aggressive of stances that he could. He didn't like when strangers were scared of him, especially the way she reacted.

He glanced down at the deer under her paws and inclined his head towards it. "I merely wanted to congratulate you on your catch, little lady." He said softly before settling on his haunches, his head low and his shoulders tucked along his scruffy neck. How could someone so loving look dangerous to many different wolves? He would have to work on it, ask the opinion of his family. He couldn't be that scary right? "Are you alone?" Perhaps it wasn't the best question to ask to calm her down and consider him less threatening, but he wanted to know if that was why she was so defensive, why she reacted so strongly to his mere presence. Maybe she didn't know how to defend herself properly, and so was always on her toes about strangers. It wasn't right for someone like her, with such skill as a huntress, to always be tense. "It must be exhausting..."

If she could will her heart to beat steadily, she would. But its racing and adrenaline filled her ears with a rushing that reminded her of the hunt, of battle, of running. No doubt a buzz would follow, then the exhaustion. She was all too familiar with how it worked. But in the moment, she felt alive with electricity, her pelt on end and eyes brighter with feeling than they had been in weeks. But, as was so often the case, they dimmed soon enough and narrowed, a new sharpness forming on her face as he backed away with a very audible whine. It was a strange contrast to the man's build, and an unexpected (but no less welcome) occurrence after such a start. He followed up with an apology...

Kuwindwa seemed to unfreeze at last, first with the movement of her forepaw from its place on her kill's limb to stable ground, then finally the rest of her moved fluidly as she straightened and her pelt smoothed. Even once she righted herself, there was a distinct guardedness about her: small things gave her away, like the cautious twitch of her ears, the quick dart of her eyes in case he was not alone, the nervous appearance of her tongue, flicking to wet her nose. After a pregnant pause, she finally gathered herself enough to speak, and that came in a halting monotone as she regulated herself... and that perhaps only served to make her seem more suspicious: "And that required sneaking up behind me?"

His appreciation for her skill was all but disregarded at first. Truthfully? She didn't know how to respond. Kuwindwa must've looked more than just a little paranoid to this man who so clearly recognized his mistake. He didn't need her chiding remarks. Still she spoke clearly, her voice betraying nothing of the terror she'd just experienced. Knitting her brows, she gave her head a quick shake as if to dismiss a thought, then continued with the acknowledgment he might've deserved, "Thank you..."

He had been watching her. Is that what he meant? He had been spying? Then there was his question and comment which, when paired together - even from a friendly face - felt rather more menacing to Kuwindwa. Unfortunately for the golden-touched wolf before her, her recent wandering made her more than a little suspicious of strangers, and try as she might to stop herself, she was reading between the lines. Yes, she was exhausted. She couldn't remember the last time she felt properly rested. And that scared her. But she would never admit it, never let it show if she could help it...

Then again, who could miss the pelt that could use more upkeep, the darting eyes, a frame a little more slender than it could be? The image of a stressed animal, even if she was otherwise healthy.

Sidling forward just enough to free her haunches from the brush behind her, the woman made to the side just enough that she might feel less trapped in spite of the male's "evident" harmlessness. At the same time, she was doing her best to reign in her own feelings so she could at least try to return to some semblance of civility. As she inched into a new position and planted her paws again, she verbally sidestepped his question altogether with a brusque "Who are you?" followed by an uncomfortable pause. Even as the words left her mouth, Kuwindwa's expression seemed to suggest she realized how rude that sounded... but too late to reign it in, she stood like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle... except a deer had more emotion than she seemed to have at that very moment.