Halifax.



    There was business to attend to here, and the coyote walked with a purpose in her step, though she was certainly wandering without a clue as to her actual location. The city streets were winding and confusing to the coyote, who was quite used to moving through territory as the crow did, straight and without wavering from the most direct path. These city streets with the buildings and barricades confused her, especially since she still did not know this Halifax nearly as well as she had the prior territories. Still, she was determined to find what she needed here. Some weeks had passed since she had last seen her tawny gold grandchild and promised to brand her a Lykoi permanently, surely sufficient time for the girl to complete the gift she had planned in return for Kaena, that tooth of Astaroth's on a necklace.



    The woman's golden-yellow eyes eagerly roved over each of the signs on each of the storefronts, seeking that familiar word: tattoo. She could read pretty well anymore, though she often stumbled on larger words and was worthless when it came to writing. She might have been able to spell her name and perhaps scratch out some semblance the letters it consisted of, but beyond that she could not translate verbal speech into written word at all. Creating images was quite different, and the Lykoi woman found her hand was quite steady enough to create inked images, so long as she had a reference to go by. Her wounds ached. Her shoulder was healing, but it was doing so slowly. The woman sorely missed the healing talents of Fatin Kali, and she gingerly touched that open wound across her right shoulder, certain now to scar her already battle-worn body.



    After several minutes of wandering, the Lykoi matron finally happened across that which she had been seeking, a tattoo shop. Eagerly, she wandered to the door, trying with one extended silver hand. It opened slowly, and she entered cautiously, peering around before darting inside, moving quickly. The sun was still high in the sky, but the clouds threatening drizzle had obscured them somewhat, making for dim light for the Lykoi woman to work with. No matter. There were only two colors she needed, black for the outline and bloodred for the interior. The six-pointed star was marvelously simple, and the duo of colors worked well together. She had always thought of Inferni as a red and black word, bold red emblazoned with a dark outline.



    The woman was slower to gather what she actually needed; the woman took two of everything and carefully inspected each item she selected to insure time had not ravaged it. There were needles and ink, but the gun itself was most difficult. Kaena gnawed through the cord attaching it to the wall, leaving as little of the frayed power extension as possible. There was also the matter of a mirror, and she found one with a hole in the handle, perfect for hanging so she could see her own tattoo and use it to reference Halo's. There was a thick black marker on the counter, and she tested it on the painted white wood, pleased to see it had not dried out. She tucked these things into a plastic bag she had found, and put this inside of her canvas bag. Hurrying now, she mentally reviewed the list in her head, and then headed out the door, allowing it to close noisily behind her as she scurried down the city streets, adrenaline pumping through her as if she had just stolen something. Scavenging the ruins always gave her that feeling, as if she was committing some great crime against the ancients by using the items they'd left behind.

Nooo problem.



    The silver hybrid's steps were quick and pointed toward Inferni, eager to get back home and see if Halo would be ready to receive her tattoo. It didn't much matter if her necklace was unfinished; the silver hybrid woman didn't even need that to trade with her granddaughter. It was an honor and a pleasure to add the Chaos star to a family member's flesh, though Kaena would have preferred this to have happened upon her coming-of-age. Better late than never, she figured, slowing down as she realized she had absolutely no idea where she was headed. This city was strange, the streets winding and less easy to navigate than the old city. Or maybe it was just her familiarity with that city that threw her off in this one; memories of the old streets clouded her ability to wander here.



    She halted on a corner, the seemingly ever-present drizzle coating her mane and her back. She liked the rain, but it seemed that it had not stopped for weeks now. The earth was soggy and moist, and the woman wondered how much more water it could hold before it burst, flooding and drowning everything on it. Her tail wavered back and forth for a moment, silky gray and black fur flinging tiny droplets of water to either side of the coyote as she peered down the long street, unaware of the presence behind her. Her ears were pointed forward, not listening for potential noise behind her until he called out. There was friendliness in his tone, but the Lykoi spun around on her heels regardless, eager to see what had found her here in this desolate city. It was rare to make any kind of encounter here, and usually the creatures she met were mystics or demons—Ahren, Lillith, Salvaged.



    The creature awaiting her appeared to be a wolf, but as he approached, Kaena detected the slightest muddling of his features, just slight taper of his muzzle and his ears, which were just a hair too large for his head. There was the muted call of the coyote in his face, and Kaena recognized it and settled. Her injuries prevented her from being terribly snarky, anyway. Kaena was too glad to receive wounds in protection of Inferni, though, and anyway, they had begun to heal up nicely, the flesh stitching back together again to leave just a red scab and eventually a shiny new scar. "Hey," she said, casually enough, though she sized him up. He smelled more like a loner than anything else, and Kaena was put at ease by this, her golden eye regarding him with simple interest.