Set in the Dampwoods. Open for anyone, preferably one or two others.

So Dresden had been having an interesting couple of weeks since arriving in this new area, wandering back and forth to wherever Stranger felt like taking him. Drifting, essentially, with no purpose but to keep himself moving. He’d met a few of the locals, some… crazy, others tense and on edge. And with good reason, he’d learned. Somewhere out there was a war being fought. The warrior knew what that could do to people. He could only hope that the fighting would end soon, for their sakes and his own. If things continued like this, he wouldn’t be sticking around for long. As much as he was built for fighting, it didn’t appeal to him to settle down in the middle of a warzone right now.

The warrior had camped out for the time being in a small glade deep within the forest. It was late afternoon, cloudy skies hiding the sun. There would likely be rain later in the evening, but the male hardly considered it much of a hindrance when travelling through dense forests like this. Silently, Stranger grazed nearby, scraping at the grass with his hooves every so often. Dresden himself had sat down beneath a sturdy tree at the edge of the clearing, working his whetstone along the smallest of his daggers. The sound of stone scraping on metal rang our through the otherwise silent forest as he worked. He had no intention of getting involved in the bickering between these packs, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to be prepared. With everyone around here on edge, it seemed better for the male to keep his weapons in top condition.

The solitude that the husky and his stallion companion had been enjoying was soon interrupted. A coyote girl approached him and he halted in his blade work as she neared. Icy blue eyes took in her reddish fur and green eyes, taking note of her small build as he assessed her for potential threats. She didn’t appear to be looking for any trouble, and her scent did not hint that she had any companions lying in wait in the forest surrounding them. The warrior let himself ease up then, tucking his whetstone into the satchel on his belt as she spoke.

The words were confident, no hesitation in her tone as she suggested they hunt together. The warrior considered that for a moment. It was out of the blue, but he didn’t see the harm in it. He gave a quick nod and stood himself up. “Sure, why not.” He tucked the small dagger into the sheath also hanging from his belt and made his way over to Stranger. He busied himself grabbing his bow and quiver of arrows from where they hung with the horse’s saddle bags. As he slipped the quiver’s strap over his shoulder, he turned back to the coyote. “Name’s Dresden,” he gave as an introduction. “We can scout together, see what we find.” The husky preferred hunting with his bow, rather than tooth and claw. He and the stranger may have had different methods of hunting, but they could make it work together; he’d successfully hunted in such a combination before.

While the stranger took a moment to shift to a larger form more suited for the hunt, Dresden busied himself with tying the horse’s reins loosely to a low tree branch. He knew it would not be hard to find the stallion once their hunt was complete. Stranger would have to sit this one out; when hunting in a pair such as this, the stallions pounding hoof beats would leave them at a disadvantage, and for those unused to the equine creatures, his scent could prove to be a distraction.

He followed the girl out to begin their hunt, all of his senses on alert for any sign of potential prey. Minutes later, her bark stole his attention, alerting to him that she’d caught wind of something. He hurried over to her and noticed the scent of a young deer. Perhaps once they got a good look at it, they could split up to take it from opposite sides. The coyote’s speed would aid her in chasing it down, and Dresden’s skill with the bow would slow their prey down. He nodded to the other, an eager smile finding its way to his lips. He crouched low, following the scent forward at a slow and quiet pace. He readied an arrow, holding it and the bow loosely in front of him as he moved.

The pair had been quite lucky in their discovery. It wasn’t often a hunting party could get themselves this near to their prey before the chase began in earnest. As the girl moved forward, Dresden began his own approach from the other side. It would be easy work for the two of them to herd it forward and pick it off from the sides. There was the silent moment before the chase, and then it began. The coyote girl leapt forward to startle the deer and Dresden hurried forward, keeping pace with the creature as it ran.

His hunting partner did well to steer their prey toward him and he began to ready his bow. He watched intently as the girl snapped at it’s leg, almost appearing to be successful in tripping it up. A moment later the deer managed to get free of her jaw’s grip and attempted to run straight to where Dresden lay in wait. It spotted him as it limped forward and tried to turn away, but the warrior was prepared. He let the arrow fly loose and it struck true to its target. The deer was taken in the shoulder and was sent tumbling down.

Dresden hurried to where it had fallen, eager to pin it down before it could rise, though with their comined damage, it wasn’t likely to have gotten far anyway. He dropped is bow by his side and held it’s struggling head down. His free hand went to one of his daggers and cut a clean line on it’s throat, giving it a quick end. He grinned at the secui girl. “A good, swift hunt.” He hadn’t had many of those lately.

His hunting partner came over and sniffed cautiously at the arrow that had brought an end to the deer’s flight. She didn’t seem to understand quite how it worked. Growing up with tools like this all his life, it still seemed odd to Dresden at times that there were other canines out there without similar experiences. He grinned slightly at her question, motioning to the bow at his feet. “A bow and arrow can be quite handy.” While she took the time to shift forms, the warrior cleaned the blood of his dagger with a few quick swipes against the grass and returned it to its sheath. He switched from crouching beside their kill to being fully seated on the ground.

Icy eyes watched as the girl took a hold of the arrow and examined it. She let out a noise of surprise when she accidentally pricked herself and Dresden shook his head. “Careful,” he cautioned after the fact, “it’s a bit sharp.” She introduced herself and the warrior returned it with a nod of greeting. “Dresden.” He lifted his bow from the ground and motioned to it slightly with his other hand. “I can show you how it works, if you’d like?” She clearly had little experience with the weapon, but if she had the interest, he would be willing to show her.

His hunting companion was interested in learning, certainly, but it wasn’t the bow that held her interest. Almost before he could even react Terra had moved in close, snatching away the dagger he’d just returned to its sheath. Lips pulled back to reveal glinting teeth in a silent snarl. The old Dresden would have delighted in playing a little thieving game with the girl, but these long days of solitude had nurtured only the possessive side of him to stand out even more. He accepted the dagger back, a glare still lighting his eyes. “You would do well not to do that again,” he advised. He stood, eyeing the dagger in his hand while he took a moment to calm himself. She had clearly meant no ill will. Maybe he just needed to lighten up a little.

He sighed, turned to face the girl once more. He supposed he could teach her a little. He offered the blade she had taken back to her for the moment before reaching to his belt to pull out a second dagger. “There are a few ways to hold it,” he began, holding his dagger upright in front of him. “This way works best when you want to stab.” He demonstrated a quick thrust. Then with an effortless flip he switched dagger over so that the blade pointed downward along the length of his arm. “This way is better for stealth, or for encounters where quick slashes work best.” This too received a demonstration, a swift slash at the air in front of him.

The warrior watched as the girl imitated his movements with the knife, nodding in approval when she managed to give a good demonstration of it. It had seemed like ages since Dresden last taught anyone the use of these weapons. He had offered a young girl some lessons in the use of her newly obtained bow not too long ago. It was a different sort of thrill than fighting, but it made him feel like he was doing something right. That this new life of his wasn’t utterly hopeless.

"I have used them for stealth a few times, when the situations required it," he said, nodding slightly. Kobol’s warriors had their fair share of low-key, undercover missions, though Dresden’s forte was more along the lines of brute force and defensive measures. Defending the tribe lands from raiders was a much more common mission for the husky male. He watched as he mimicked the way he handled it, nodding in approval once more. "Yeah, kinda like that. Make sure not to hold it too tightly, though. You’ll want to be able to move it to different positions quickly if you want to use it for stealth. Then, as you go in for the strike," he said, swiping at the empty air again, "steady your grip so the blade stays true."

The husky warrior watched in silence as the girl continued her practice swings. It was clearly taking some getting-used to for her, which was expected. The use of a blade wasn’t a skill many canines were adept with, especially when first beginning. The girl did seem to have an innate deftness with her hands though, something he could pick out when flipped the blade around. With practice, perhaps she could become rather skilled with this particular use of daggers.

He shrugged at her question, considering it. “Recon around enemy encampments, situations in which we needed to go in for a quick and quiet kill... I only have a small bit of experience with situations like that. I much prefer the brute force ways of true battle.” He had his own sticky fingers, certainly, and had a fondness for the thrill of the thieving game, but wasn’t something he liked to mention outright. As fun as he thought it was, it was the reason he was in this situation in the first place, wandering around as a loner.

He watched the girl go through the motions a few more time, nodding in approval. For a moment he could almost imagine that he was back in the encampment on the outskirts of Kobol territory where warriors young and old gathered to train. But in the end, it was just a memory. He could long for it all he liked, but that would not bring him back. “Good,” he said as she moved to set aside the blade. “With practice I think you could do well.” Some were born with grace and quick movements, and with honing they would be valuable skills indeed.

He followed her lead and made her way to their fresh kill. His own hunger was gnawing at his belly, insisting on no longer being ignored. The husky set to work on the deer as well, teeth and claws being put to the task of what they did best. There was nothing better than the first taste of a fresh kill, he believed, with the possible exception of a well-matched duel. Hunting and fighting. That had been his life in Kobol, and it remained the same to this day.