On silent paws Casanova crept across a sturdy pine bough. The trees grew so close together on this side of the island that once he reached the end of one limb he simply stepped onto one that belonged to an adjacent tree. He carried on in this way for some time, silently moving from tree to tree, with his gaze on the ground below. He was following a trespasser. She was out of sight right now, but the she wolf was definitely there. Casanova knew without even laying eyes on her that she was up to no good. No one who came to this island ever was. No, as far as he knew, they came for one thing and one thing only: the treasure. Well, not on his watch! It was his turn to watch over the western coast and there would be no shenanigans while he was on duty. Usually he spent this time simply pretending to keep watch while he did more important things. Like eating. Or sleeping. ...Really, it was only by chance that he'd caught wind of the wolf, but now that he was aware of her presence, he was going to do his duty and protect their loot. Tied firmly to his side by twine was his trusty blow gun and two darts wrapped in a small hide. For now he was content to follow her, but if she made one move towards their cache he would shoot her in the butt with enough sedatives to knock over a moose!

She was on one heck of an adventure compared to her usual range. Echo'd done well to stay in the west enjoying the familiar climate it offered. As autumn rolled in, though, she decided to do some last-minute exploring of other lands juuust to see if there was anything cool. She was not disapointed when she pulled herself out of the water onto the shore of an island that seemed rather... occupied, she supposed. There were hints here and there. Paths worn through the island that suggested consistent travel by the same handful of animals, on a more regular basis than what you'd see if they only passed through occasionally. She was eyeing the tracks,  trying to decipher what they even were. Having never seen a moose before, she just assumed there was a freakishly large deer here. The other ones though, those were harder to decipher. Clearly her upbringing had her at a disadvantage when she tried to do silly things like be some sort of tracker. The dark woman had come upon one of the odd structures that were nestled at one end of the island when she heard a disturbance in the canopy above. As a card-carrying coward, Echo did what a coward does in the face of literally anything potentially dangerous - she dove straight into the bushed and attempted to conceal her small frame in the foliage as her gold eyes looked frantically around for whatever it was she'd heard. Heart thundering in her chest, she had to use all her willpower to keep focusing on the possible threat while the sudden glimmer of something shiny far ahead to her left tried in vain to demand her attention. Walk. "Speak!" "Think."

Casanova winced and fell back on his haunches. The branch he'd nearly broken slowly creaked back up and once again caused the rustling sound that had so rudely ruined his stealthy approach. His face scrunched up sourly as he angrily eyed the offending branch. He'd put on a little weight recently but until now it hadn't occurred to him just how much. Perhaps the tightness of his twine harness had been the first clue, but that, unlike a broken branch, was easy to deny and ignore. Casanova bypassed the clearly puny branch and shimmied down another and into another tree. From there he crossed into another and then another until he was at the corner of one of the rundown cabins. Upon seeing it, alarm blossomed in his chest and he briefly thought about shouting for the others. The wolf was getting close to one of their stashes. This was not good, this was not good at all. But - and this was why he didn't call for the others - if she didn't know what she was close to, him yelling would tell her something important was close by. He wasn't willing to risk it. He stood still with whiskers quivering and ears straining as he tried to figure out where she'd gone. The wolf had gone quiet after his little screw up. It was likely that she'd heard him, but why should she care about a little critter in the trees unless she'd heard the stories? Maybe he was just being paranoid...or maybe she was after the loot. Unable to pinpoint the wolf's location, Casanova scuttled onto the roof and began to inch towards its highest point. Maybe he would be able to see her from up there.

She sat in silence for a few minutes, bright eyes flickering shiftily side to side as she waited to ensure she wasn't about to be tackled by some rabid stranger or something. A cropped ear flicked, piercings shifting with the movement as Echo's mind worked out the odds that someone was living here. Whoever it was, they were no wolf. Some time after the cracking sound that had startled her, Echo  still sat unnoticed, entirely in one piece. It probably hadn't been all that long... still, she was fine, right? All that her ears had picked up was the shuffling of a couple small animals somewhere above in the trees, but she had no reason to be concerned about that alone. "Nothing to worry about, yeah? You're just paranoid, you mangy thief." Okay, yeah, that's right. Just paranoid, after years of sneaking around it was habit to leap like a coward at the first sign of possible danger. Now that she felt slightly better, Echo turned sharply to focus on a glittering spot in the dirt. Slinking closer under the cover of the brush, she dug at the dirt and pulled free a- oh, shoot. The portion of what must have been a gold necklace was so short she couldn't have even turned it into a bracelet for a pup. Turning to crawl back through the foliage, Echo made her way back on course to the cabins, laying low as a precaution until she reached the point where the plant-life grew sparse and the dark wolf was forced to saunter her way out into the sunlight, pausing to let her eyes adjust as she entered the clearer, sunlit space. As soon as she entered the scene, Echo's nose began working, taking in the scents that were most present in the area. As the thought - no wolves were hanging about consistently. Good, as long as there were no other large predators hanging about this space was basically hers for the taking. Maybe the rest of that necklace, or other object like it might be hiding just around the corner. The lithe vagabond was about to follow the tracks she noticed leading through the cabins whens he heard something near the cabin to her right and whirled to look for what it was. There was no cover, so hiding was hardly an option. Walk. "Speak!" "Think."

The glint of something gold was what gave the wolf away. If there was thing Casanova had an eye for it was shiny things. Once he knew where she was he simply hunkered down to wait. Finally she began to move and Casanova resumed his shadowing of her. This time he kept an eye out for puny branches. When she found the length of necklace his nose wrinkled in annoyance. This was not good, not good at all! Where were the others? He was loath to engage a predator on the island. It just wasn't a good idea. The phrase 'don't shit where you eat' came to mind. But she was getting awfully close... When it became clear that the wolf was circling back to the cabins, Casanova turned around and ran back the way he'd come. Hearing her approach, Casanova hurried up onto the roof. In his haste one of his hind paws slid and he was forced to dig his claws in to save himself from sliding off the roof. Immediately he whirled to see how close the wolf was and to his dismay, she was in the clearing. Looking his way. Uh oh. Immediately he fell into con mode. His surprised expression smoothly morphed into something more affable. "Ah, hello down there. Hope I didn't startle you."

She wasn't fully aware it was a small creature she was spying atop the roof until he spoke up. Ah, woah, the ball of fuzz talked! What even was he? Putting on the air of a wolf far more confident than herself - which was an easy enough feat when facing someone a fraction of her own size - glancing over the small, fuzzy creature with a single brow raised and a derisive snort. "Hardly." she huffed, as though forgetting she'd nearly leapt out of her skin. No no, that didn't happen and Echo was an expert in denying reality. "So, you live here?" she asked in a bored tone, moving to wander in what looked like an aimless manner, glancing between the cabins and eyeing some broken pieces of seemingly ancient wood as she walked. She circled between the cluster of buildings, unfazed by the structures that might make some wolves weary with their unnaturalness. Echo wasn't a stranger to such things, to the contrary, she'd lived in similar places before arriving in these lands. Sitting between the cabin the creature sat on and another of the ramshackle structures, Echo glanced up again and hummed, "Hmm, anything cool here? Seems pretty boring so far." After a moment, the dark woman continued her slow wandering, zig-zagging around in an unhurried fashion, following the most work trail as slyly as possible, occasionally circling a cabin and going off the trail to keep her movements from displaying a clear destination. Whatever they kept walking to, she was gunna go find it. The appearance of the little orange rat was suspicious now that she thought about it, but that probably meant there were things of interest here. Things Echo was gunna see for herself whether the residents liked it or not! Walk. "Speak!" "Think."

Her mouth said one thing and her actions said another, and if she wanted to pretend that she hadn't been within an inch of running, well, that was her business, now wasn't it? If he hadn't been so caught up in being, well, caught he probably would have found her surprise - and her denial - amusing. Couldn't stand the idea of being startled by a little fuzzy creature, could she? How cute. "Indeed I do," he chirped enthusiastically. His expression still affable, Casanova allowed himself to slide down the tin roof a bit so he was a bit closer to the ground. He was still well above the wolf's reach, but their new proximity would hopefully make conversing easier. In response to her second question he shrugged naively. "My favorite thing about the island is the beach." You know, that thing you passed on your way off the island. "There are all sorts of neat critters in the tide pools." No trinkets, though. "But aside from that it's a pretty quiet place. Probably not much for a wolf to do here," he hinted. He watched her - his expression innocent - as she poked around the cabins. He needed to get rid of this mongrel - and fast. Otherwise she was bound to stumble on something interesting. The thought was almost enough to make him reach for the darts.

His soft little voice was kind of annoying actually. Glancing up at him with a sweet smile in response to his confirmation that this was indeed his home - how could it not be though, since he didn't really look like a swimmer - while she continued her stroll among the cabins. They were so shoddy looking, nothing like the buildings carved from sandstone that Echo grew up with. These things were like, half rotten. Okay, some were in fair shape but still. Circling back around, she padded over to one across from where the panda stood, marching over to the door and inspecting it. Nosing at the doorknob, she leapt back as it simply fell off. Yikes, it almost landed on her paws. Grinning up at the fuzzy critter she chuckled, "Never been a fan of the beach. Too much sand, brings back memories." Wasn't even a lie. Although the vast majority of the time she liked hanging out in Boreas' desert lands. Something about living in a mix of contentment brought by the familiarity and self-inflicted pain and nostalgia was mildly addictive. Pushing at the door, it half swung, half collapsed open. She padded int the structure without a moments hesitation, eyeing the dust-covered interior and the small array of weeds growing inside with only mild interest. She hadn't seen any tracks approaching this one, there probably wasn't anything of interest unless whoever visited it was sneaky. Glancing back to the door she called out loudly, "So are there more of you, or are you the only one of your kind hanging out in this place?" After walking up to a table that was layered in dirt and filth, Echo managed to knock a small crystal looking object off of it, shattering the thing with an accompanying, "Oops!" It was only when she spotted the halfway open back door after wandering through several unimpressive rooms that Echo's mind began to fill with mischief. Padding quietly through it, she rushed out into the grass and began to creep her way silently through towards the bend where she'd lost the worn trail. No way was there a frequently visited spot that would go unexplored by the shadowy woman. Walk. "Speak!" "Think."

As he watched Echo amble through the cabins it occurred to him suddenly that he really needed to booby trap the loot. It would certainly save him a lot of stress. And the time he usually wasted on trespassers he could spend sleeping instead. "That's a shame," he said with genuine disappointment. "Our beaches are quite lovely." Using the branches and cabins, Casanova climbed lackadaisically after Echo as she wandered around. He maintained a placid, amiable expression as he followed her under the guise of interest in a conversation with her. Secretly he was wondering how hard it would be to convince Atlas to haul her body into the sea, but he kept such devious thoughts to himself. "Oh," he said wistfully, "I'm afraid it's just m-" As sound of something shattering reached his ears Casanova had to fight to keep from cursing. His eyes wide and innocent, he peeped through a hole in the cabin roof and said, "Oh, dear. Are you alright?" He sure hoped not, but his hopes were dashed as he looked around the cabin and couldn't find her. That bitch. Immediately he clamored back up into the trees and disappeared into the shadows. Once there he began to look around for the wolf. He'd made up his mind. Her little disappearing act had confirmed his suspicions. She was up to no good and needed to be stopped. He was going to have to dart her. Now, if he could just spot the shine of her earrings...

My, this  guy sure didn't stand a chance. The way he appeared, and how he trailed her so intently after she arrived among the cabins, yeah that was suspicious. Echo wasn't stupid, she knew there was something worth finding and dammit she'd find it no matter how many pesky fuzzballs were on her trail. His soft little concerned call that rang through the cabin as she left had her grinning. Echo would really be alright once she found whatever was here! Slinking low through the overgrown grass, it was a little difficult to navigate but she couldn't very well risk lifting her head up and being spotted. If there was something worth hiding, that might just mean he had a way of protecting it, and she wasn't keen on finding out how such a small critter managed that feat. Ears tucked back against her head to keep her jewelry from giving her away too easily. Once she picked up the trail again, Echo hustled along side the worn path until she singled out the cabin that had to be the little munchin's treasure trove. The front door was too obvious, he might be watching it. Slinking around the structure, she found the back door to be blocked off too well to use. There was, however, another option. One of the windows was shattered, with a rusty metal object sitting below it. She could jump in that way, but it would be loud... Think, Echo, you're supposed to be good at this! Laying in the grass for a long while, she kept hidden in the shade of the cabin while she hatched a plan. Belly-crawling along, Echo gathered several small rocks in her mouth. Once she had enough she moved to where she could see the most cabins, setting the rocks down and taking a deep breath. She used to be really good at this, so hopefully she still was. Grabbing one, she pulled her head to the side, drawing back before throwing her head forward and letting go of the rock. It sailed across the open space and smacked the door of a nearby cabin with a loud crack! Success! Several more were tossed, hitting doors, one going high and banging against a tin roof, and another shattering a window. The moment she stopped throwing, Echo used the momentary diversion to leap, bouncing off the trash can and in through the window of this jealously guarded cabin. She was in! And who was to say if the sound of her paws hitting the can was a wolf or another rock, so long as she wasn't spotted? Landing lightly on the wooden floor, Echo glanced around. It was a wide space, several wooden things filled the room, layered thickly with dust. Exiting into the hall, she peered into several moor rooms before finding something of interest. There was a wooden cabinet that stood partially ajar, a glittering gold necklace with a shiny pendant hanging out from the bottom. Well, hello, what was this? Nosing the door open, Echo found quite a sight indeed! Shiny things of all sorts, some actually valuable and others just junk somebody grabbed up on a whim. What really caught her eye though were two gold bangles stuck into the side of the pile of goodies. They looked... familiar. Pulling them from the tangled mess, Echo set them down and examined them. The way one was dented in the middle, and the little notch in the other... Were these hers?! No fuckin' way. Sliding them onto her bare wrist, Echo turned and rushed out of the building, suddenly remembering she'd rather not get caught. If the panda was in here she'd just trample right over him, she had the thing she wanted most and now she would disappear like a shadow in the night, flying out the front door and racing into the grass in an attempt to disappear seamlessly into the vegetation of the island. She'd zig zag her way on out and be swimming back to the main land before that little beast could blink! Walk. "Speak!" "Think."

Bathed in shadows, Casanova sat up in the tree looking very much like an angry little gargoyle. That nasty little harpy was after something. She'd managed to play him, but her little victory was going to be short lived. Right now she was probably feeling pretty good about herself. Probably a little smug. Well, she needed to enjoy that feeling while she could, because soon enough she was going to be strapped to the back of a moose with a dart in her ass. The little panda slunk from one branch to another and in doing so crossed into a different tree. He scanned his surroundings for any sight of her. Sooner or later she was bound to surface and when she did, he would be waiting. Casanova unrolled one of his darts and gently clasped the feathered end of it in his teeth. He then pulled out the hollowed bamboo stick he'd been using as a dart gun, clasped it between his front paws and carefully threaded the pointy end of the dart into it. Instead of letting it go, he held it there and rested the opening of the tube against his lips. Doing that steadied the "gun" and made aiming easier. The seconds ticked by in silence when all of a sudden there was a loud clang that just about scared the fur out of his hide. Casanova jumped and spun to face the source of the noise. In an instant there was another clatter as yet another object sailed through the trees. She might have thought she was being clever, but he caught on immediately. Ignoring where the objects landed, Casanova focused on finding out where they were coming from. Ah HA! The shine of her earrings gave her away as she darted towards the cabin. He almost shot at her right then but realized at the last second there wasn't enough time to line up a good shot. Once she was inside he scooped up all of his things and raced through the trees until he was closer. He knew the cabin well so Casanova took up position where he could see both the window and the door. Those were her only options to exit so he would get her then. He waited patiently with cold determination. Already he was thinking of the kind of work that would need to be done to fix this mess. The stash would have to be moved, that was for certain. He also needed to work on some traps to prevent this from happening again. And the wolf probably needed to die; news of the treasure couldn't get out. And there she was! Boy was she fast! With practiced ease Casanova lined up a shot. He breathed in deeply, let go of the dart... and then blew as hard as he could. With no small amount of satisfaction he watched the dart sail through the air towards Echo...