Word Count :: 553 soulless tawny likes blood. 
There was really nothing for the girl to say in response to most of the other woman’s words. Half the time she couldn’t even understand the heavy accent, but it was very nice to listen to. Somehow it reminded her of her mother’s voice; back when they’d been together. Despite all of the abuse that the evil woman had put upon the small girl, she had loved her. An Alaskan wolf from a Russian pack up in the extremely cold parts of the world…they were intense creatures, and the woman had kept her accent throughout Tawny’s childhood. Liliya’s lilt was much stronger, though, and it made the girl really have to listen and pay close attention.
Describing what a festival was futile, as Tawny had nothing to base that knowledge upon. Of course she knew what trading and bartering was…but not the concept of gathering all of the packs together to do so. What was the point of that besides trying to stir up trouble when opposing packs intermingled? There was bound to be some bad blood in the area, she was sure. However, it also meant that members from Ichika no Ho-en were most likely there for the trading, and she sure would like to see some of her old friends. Perhaps Saul was there, if he was, she could spend some time with him and tell him about Wretch…then find the coywolf at a later date and inform her as well.
Her musings were cut short when she saw the woman move closer and lean down to push on the horse’s rump. Thankfully the mare wasn’t one of those huge beasts that some Luperci rode on, this one would have been too small for riding…but perhaps a cart carrier or a pack holder? It was bigger than the llamas, but still too small the carry a well proportioned canine.
Whatever it was, it was dead and needed to be stripped down quickly. Once moved away from the innards and Tawny caught her breath, she began the shift back into optime form. Her body never wore clothing, besides the occasional cloak when temperatures got too cold for her body to stand. Bare furred and covered in horse blood, she grabbed up her knife and began sliding it between the skin and meat. Liliya’s offers made the girl tilt her head and look up, studying her for a few moments. That was a lot of helping that the fisherwoman was willing to do, even if it was for a share of the trade. She was right though, this job would be too big for Tawny to do alone and in a timely manner.
Sighing softly, she shrugged and turned around, grabbing her extra knife from the snow and holding it hilt out for the other female to take. “Thank you, Liliya Russo. I am Tawny.” Her head bowed a little at the proper greeting and she smiled slightly, eyes flicking over to look at the baby horse and it’s positioning. The little thing kept creeping closer to them, most of the fear gone and now looking very curious. “It knows…the smell of blood must cause fear. But he is so curious. Hmmm…” Shrugging a bit, she turned away and went back to skinning the horse, pretending to ignore the foal this time.
Image courtesy of krystian_o@Flickr; table by the Mentors!
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