It was a challenge for Vesper to wake before the dawn.

Light blue eyes peered through the pine trees as the first tendrils of color danced out from the horizon; a small and satisfied smirk tugged on her lips. She had been sitting outside her temporary den for close to a half hour now, watching and waiting, listening to the melodies of the night getting replaced by the heralding of birdsong. Almost carelessly, she turned her head an inch to look at a cardinal perched on the bough beside her. It chirped a tune when she flashed her teeth at it in a smirk, and she watched its red wings disappear through the forest before she followed suit.

Having triumphed over the sunrise, the small tawny coywolf decided that she should conquer breakfast next. She kept her ears pricked for the sound of deer passing through the woods or squirrels venturing to ground. One chattered at her from its place clinging to a trunk, and she growled back, judging it too hard to capture.

The loner trotted onward, however. She did not have the luxury of a pack to take down large prey with—didn’t need one—so she needed to hunt tiny prey frequently to keep a full stomach. Sometimes, when she was lucky, she could take down a fawn—but with autumn approaching, infiltrating a deer herd would be suicidal.

As her large ears swiveled toward the sound of a gurgling stream, her mind explored the possibilities of fishing. It was something she hadn’t really tried before, but anything was worth attempting if it could turn out useful. She definitely wasn’t against having another food source. Deciding to wait for the sun to rise higher and the water to grow less frigid, she trotted alongside the creek until conifers mingled with deciduous trees and golden warmth poured on her black-streaked back.

Vesper settled down on a soft bank, forepaws almost dangling in the water, sharp blue eyes looking for traces of a fish. There were several curious minnows that came up in an attempt to nibble at her toes, but they looked like hardly a mouthful. Frowning, she dipped her head and scooped some of them up in her mouth—then grimaced and coughed when she tried to swallow the wriggling things.

“Fish. Are. Disgusting.”

I hope this is okay. >< Definitely not my best post, but I'll get back into the swing of things.

The sound of footfalls drew the female’s head away from the stream. A minnow flickered in her mouth, and she parted her jaws enough to let it drop back into the water. Despite that last comical action, however, Vesper was completely alert, ears pricked and light blue eyes sharp as she stared into the surrounding woods.
However, it was not long before the other creature presented itself—herself—with an easygoing and humored remark about how fish were better when cooked.

Rather than reply right away, the loner let her eyes wandered over the other female. She was built strongly, yet at the same time there was a lean cast to her body. Shredded ears indicated that she’d fought before, while oddly bright green eyes appraised the fishing coywolf. She was quite lovely, really, with a nice hue of chocolate in her fur.

“Cook fish,” Vesper echoed, smirking. She always seemed to smirk; smiles and grins came difficulty to her, but she did have quite a range when smirking. “I might have to try that sometime, if I ever have the resources.” She stepped away from the water and fully faced the other canine, lifting a small paw and dangling it in front of her. “First off, thumbs.”

Luperci were beings that the loner was not unfamiliar with. She had never been fully acquainted with one, but many seemed to reside around ’Souls. She had seen their unnatural, two-legged bodies and observed them at a distance, slightly revolted yet slightly intrigued. They looked ungainly, large and clumsy, but at the same time, there were aspects of them that Vesper found herself admiring.

But that was not how she had been born, so she never considered the lifestyle in more than a passing thought.

“So who are you?” Vesper asked, her tone not totally friendly but not in the least impolite. She sniffed the larger female from the distance, able to tell that she was younger than her and in pretty good condition. There were traces of what might have been a pack on her, but if she was part of one, she hadn’t been for long enough to reek of them. Once she’d finished gathering what she could from scent, her eyes jumped back to the torn ears and the odd green jewelry that adorned them. “And how did you get those?”

The woman seemed startled that she was speaking with a non-luperci, and though she quickly apologized for her outburst, Vesper’s smirk grew a little less warm. She would not hate someone for a harmless remark like that, however. While she was often irritated by the way she was viewed, being one who wasn’t “gifted” with other forms, she could understand why others were so shocked. “Not many of us around here, are there, sweetheart?”

The luperci introduced herself as Aysun, mentioning that she was new to ’Souls. The loner nodded slowly then pricked her ears when she mentioned an Inferni pack. “I haven’t heard of it, actually,” Vesper said, her brown tail swishing behind her and her blue eyes curious. “I’m quite new to the area as well, but I’d love to hear more about Inferni.” She knew that an understanding of the packs and their structures around ’Souls would be important for her survival. She might end up joining one that she found worthy, but for the most part, she needed to know how tolerant the packs might be of a random non-luperci loner like her. If they had bad reputations, she’d skirt them, and if they were kind, she’d ignore them.

Aysun talked about her torn ears, and before the coywolf could restate her question, she went on to explain about the emeralds. “Piercings,” Vesper repeated, glancing at the bars. Luperci tended to decorate themselves a lot, she’d noticed, and while some of them were ridiculous and seemed to only get in the way, she thought the earrings looked nice. “I might have to ask about getting something like those.” She smirked and flicked her untorn ear. “In this one, of course.” That would require dependence on someone with hands to put the metal through her ear, but maybe she’d find someone tolerable and interested in piercings during her travels.

The two scarred females appraised each other for a while until Aysun asked if Vesper had ever considered becoming a luperci. Immediately, smoky-streaked hackles stiffened, and she flashed Aysun a disdainful look. She wasn’t entirely irritated by the question, mostly because Aysun seemed nice enough for a luperci, but it was clear she didn’t think much of it.

“I think I operate fine the way I am,” Vesper stated firmly. She looked over her shoulder at the water then back at the green-eyed girl, wearing a smirk. “And, from what I’ve heard, the process of becoming a luperci is either disgusting or painful.”

I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. I've been going through a really busy period. ><;