Pupils dilated to adjust to the darkness as a slender coywolf entered the edge of the forest. She moved warily but steadily, swiveling her large ears to keep tabs on her surroundings as her paws brushed softly over the musky leaf-litter that had gathered over the years. She breathed in the cool, damp air, head cocked. Ethereal Eclipse had a suiting name—eerie and dark, the sunlight blocked by a thick canopy of leaves meshing far above her head.

It had been a rather spontaneous decision for her to travel west from the forest she’d hunted in since coming to ’Souls. Part of her was uneasy being so close to the packs lying on the borders of the Dampwoods, and another part was eager to blaze onward. Shaping her future with action had always been a mark of her independence, something that she’d valued greatly since her birth. Still, her paws were weary from a hard pace, and she wasn’t sure that she would have the energy to hunt now that she was here.

Now all that was left was to seek out a secure place to rest—easier said than done, considering she had never been to this part of the peninsula before. Vesper frowned faintly and picked up her pace, trotting across the soft ground and sniffing in revulsion at a tree recently climbed by a squirrel.

A twig snapped under her paw, and she leaped back, a bundle of nerves. She remembered the half-collie that had taunted her for her jumpiness, and her ears flattened. She smirked and gave her tawny coat a quick shake, deciding to venture onward.

In the darkness of the forest, Vesper did not notice the young black she-wolf until she was almost upon her. As it was, the scent of the startled stranger struck her, and the hybrid managed to stop and squint, vaguely making out the shape of the other canine. An awkward frown crawled across her lips.

“Hey,” the coywolf managed, not really sure what else to say in this situation. Her ears lowered again, and her posture was loose and uncertain.

I hope this is enough to reply to. xD

“Hello,” the black wolf mumbled, her paws shifting in the soil.

Vesper frowned immediately and took a step back. She was used to the etiquette of loners, who often avoided each other to avoid competition. However, this wolf smelled like it belonged to a pack—or at least had been in pack territory recently. She also did not seem like she wanted to simply walk away; she was more on edge than that. She practically smelled of it, an edginess bordering on aggression that made the coywolf herself bristle. She kept her body language neutral, her tawny tail languidly dropping against her hind legs and her ears at an indifferent angle. She did not want to give the stranger any signs that she was aggressive.

The frown continued to play across her lips until the blue-eyed, dark canine spoke again. Her voice was rough—maybe from disuse, maybe from some emotion, Ves couldn’t tell. “Who are you?”

Noting the upward flourish of the other’s black tail, Vesper lowered her ears once more and answered in a calm tone. “My name is Vesper. I’m a loner. No one special.” She smirked briefly, but it was more to make up for the awkwardness of the situation than at a joke. “What about you? What’s your name, and why are you looking at me like that?” Maybe she was only imagining the other’s look, but the situation was definitely unnerving anyway. She scuffed a paw in the leaves.

Haha, Vesper is a girl. x3 You kept saying "he."

The black wolf introduced herself as Nakato, mentioning that she belonged to a pack, Crimson Dreams. It was an interesting name for a pack, and Vesper was sure to ask about it later. Right now, introductions on a personal level were more important. She wouldn’t have to worry about a pack unless there were tensions or she ever decided to join one—not likely.

“So…are you a coywolf?” Nakato asked. “I’m assuming by your silence at hat you are,” she went on before Vesper even had a chance to say anything. The hybrid’s blue eyes narrowed slightly with annoyance, but she made no remark until the stranger—who had been so one edge before—continued to babble on.
And then she fell down.

Vesper sprang back as the other female fell down, startled. “Are you all right?” she asked, her tone flat and uninterested. She shook her tawny coat out quickly. “So Crimson Dreams doesn’t like coyotes?” Her lips twitched, unsure whether to smirk or frown. She shrugged. “It certainly does look like you need a pack, but not all of us do, Nakato. I’ve taken care of myself since I was your age.”