Vesper had been wandering around Seabreeze Brink quite a lot lately, her paws carrying her along the beaches and into the forests and looping around further north once again. It was repetitive, and yet for some reason she couldn’t bring herself to go further southwest toward the tip of the peninsula. She wasn’t particularly worried about it, but she preferred roaming the territories that she’d explored thoroughly, where she knew where the prey ran. In addition, AniWaya was in that direction, and the news about the new dictator concerned her. What would the tribe do if they caught a non-luperci coywolf near their territory?
The tawny female gave her head a shake as the thoughts assaulted her. She was traveling deeper into Ethereal Eclipse than she was used to today, and she needed to be focused on the present rather than on trivial thoughts. It was as dark as always in the thick woods, and much cooler than it had been in the weeks past. Autumn had leaped in; it would touch the leaves a multitude of colors and flick some away with its tail.
She sighed and let her eyes close for a brief moment—listening to the rustle of the forest canopy, the patter of a mouse darting under a small pile of leaves. She inhaled the scent of bark and prey and mold and wolf—
Blue eyes opened slowly, and the coyote hybrid turned her head, ears swiveling. A wolf had gone past here not too long ago—a non-luperci, female—but while the smell was familiar, she could not place. It certainly wasn’t Evane, whose scent she would have recognized. She sniffed again, lowering her nose to the ground and trying to place it with a face, a name, anything.
No cigar. She’d have to go find this canine.
The scent didn’t portend danger or any nonsense, so she knew the last encounter she’d had with this person hadn’t been a negative one. She broke out into a quick trot, catching up with the scent after a while. There was the flicker of a shadow in the trees, something nearly impossible to make out for its dark coat.
Vesper began to run, her paws crunching on the few fallen leaves left over from the last year. She swung in an arc around the stranger until she was somewhere in front of her. She would often get others’ attention from behind, adding a layer of panic to them, but she didn’t feel like playing manipulative games today.
The wolf had frozen, Vesper could barely see—and the scent of fear wafted ever so slowly toward her. She frowned briefly then stepped forward, her gait casual and posture loose while her eyes calmly appraised the female coming ever closer into sight.
“Blind,” Vesper said, eyes widening and head cocking. She’d instantly associated the name with those eyes, whose dual colors she could finally see at this distance. Those eyes were not blind, but they were brilliant, and they brought a smirk to her face. “Well, hello. How have you been?” Her voice was not overly friendly, mostly amused and polite. She gave the air another sniff, and the musk of other wolves came to her, too strong to be a quick brush with another random stranger. “You smell different.” Had she joined a pack?
