WC: 300+
Thank you!

Finn drew in a deep breath, letting the air slide over her tongue. Her lantern eyes flickered at the little shape on the edge of the border, and her head tilting to the side of it’s own accord until it was almost completely sideways. She had heard him coming, but dismissed the noise as some nocturnal creature rooting around in the dirt for food. How careless. She stretched slowly, almost unfolding from the ground, and shifted more into the light. If the pup had been a bigger wolf, she wouldn’t have given him such an advantage, but considering he looked ready to turn tail and run, Finn figured that letting him see her in better light would perhaps calm him down.

Finn drew in a deep breath, letting the air slide over her tongue. Her lantern eyes flickered at the little shape on the edge of the border, and her head tilting to the side of it’s own accord until it was almost completely sideways. She had heard him coming, but dismissed the noise as some nocturnal creature rooting around in the dirt for food. How careless. She stretched slowly, almost unfolding from the ground, and shifted more into the light. If the pup had been a bigger wolf, she wouldn’t have given him such an advantage, but considering he looked ready to turn tail and run, Finn figured that letting him see her in better light would perhaps calm him down.

Then again, maybe not. She realized belatedly that her appearance could be construed as frightening to some, what with the scars and the missing ear and lip. Finn clamped her mouth shut, determined not to let the jagged row of incisors show. She liked puppies, she envied their mothers. Finn had never been able to settle down and have some of her own, and so it always did her heart good to see one. Considering he was on the opposite line of the border, he must have been the child of one of the pack members. Finn shrugged her shoulders uncomfortably. Could she get in trouble for this? Packs guarded their pups without hesitation, and a lone wolf sulking around would probably be attacked. And yet…

"Hi" She said quietly, curling her tail about her feet, "Out for a midnight stroll?" Finn’s eyes, so used to the darkness, could pick out even the minute details about the little wolf. He was very young, not even a year old. Finn was quite impressed by his inquisitiveness. At his age, she had been huddled up in the den at this time of night, sleeping or listening to her father’s stories. She didn't have had the courage to wander out into the snow filled nights. The gray wolf hadn’t been around pups too much, by the time she was born both of her brothers were well over two years, and her father was nearly six. There hadn’t been any other siblings, and no other packs nearby, so Finn grew up playing with Brom and Aegnus, neither of whom ever played fairly or even nicely.

WC: 300+

Finn flicked her ear, amused by the little pup’s goggling stared. She wasn’t really bothered, double-takes and staring had been a part of her life since she had lost her ear so many years ago. She had never been overly concerned with her looks, knowing that the more she fought the more they were ruined. But since Finn had never had time to form an opinion about how beautiful or ugly she as before the first scars, she couldn’t bring herself care now. ”There’s… nothing wrong with the night.” Finn said, knowing it was true for many, but a lie for herself. Pups like this had so much life in front of them, there were worse things to be afraid of then the dark.

”Mind you, I still prefer the day.” Finn loved the heat and light of the sun, nearly worshiped it. The winter months were very difficult for her, as they combined two things she hated: cold and darkness. If she had the inclination, she would have migrated south, towards the blue waters and scorching sands of the equatorial countries. But Finn was tired of traveling, tired of dragging her body onwards and onwards in a never-ending journey. She had to give this place at least some kind of chance before her wanderlust ways caught hold again.

The gray she-wolf fell silent again, slightly at a loss. IF she had met this pup during the day, she might have been more boisterous and outgoing. As it was, she had already retreated into her shell for the night, to weather the thoughts that rambled through her brain and eroded her confidence with their precise blows. ”So, what’s your name?” She asked, laying down more comfortably in the grass. Here, with the moon being veiled and unveiled constantly by the clouds, she was almost invisible, even in direct light. Her pelt, with it’s shadows and hues of slate and iron made for amazing camouflage.

”S’ Finn Fidh.” She said, amused by his exuberance. It was nice to see pups happy, it made her feel a little light-hearted as well. Finn remembered some of her father’s nieces and nephews, they had never been very happy. A big bunch of lazy malcontents they had been. Useless at hunting, too. Finn remembered the day she met them very well. It was the one time she, Aegnus and Brom had actually stopped their usual infighting and competed with someone else. The grey wolf still remembered the smug smile on her father’s face as she bested her elder, male cousin at a sparring match. Alaric probably never lived that down.

”I couldn’t help but notice that you aren’t particularly adept at moving quietly.” Finn said, quirking an eyebrow. She’d learned from the best, taught how to move as quietly as a ghost by dark-furred and low-voiced Brom. When she wasn’t facing off with Aegnus, she was busy stalking the little snow-hares that peppered the mountainsides. They had nearly been as dumb as her cousins, sitting like oddly shaped stones till Finn bounded upon them out of nowhere. She’d taken to stalking prey like a duck took to water. Since her family had been so small, it was hard to hunt bigger game, and rabbits, mice, foxes, badgers, raccoons and even skunks had become fair game.

She looked at the little pup again, trying to divine if he was someone important. If he was the son of an Alpha, she could get in big trouble for luring him off the pack boundaries, no matter how innocent her intentions. Finn wanted to pass on some of the things she knew, and this young wolf was as good a candidate as any. Perhaps he’d eventually impress a future mate with his skills if all went well. That is, if he even accepted her invitation. She hadn’t voiced it yet, but depending on his reply, she just might. Knowledge wasn’t meant to be hoarded like a dragon with his gold, it was meant to be shared, so that others might profit.

Finn laughed and smiled. ”Finn is supposed to mean “fair” but that’s where it’s wrong.” She pulled a face, tongue lolling from her mouth, ”I’m not exactly the fairest in the land.” Finn knew that her mother hadn’t named her, for she wouldn’t have let the double dishonour of being given both a male first name and surname. Because of Cuhlain, the entire line of the ó Maoláins had petered out, ending with the ignoble death of Mab ó Maoláin at the jaws of a couple starving coyotes.

”Nothing to worry about,” She assured him, ”I don’t think there’s a pup in the world that can move quietly. When I was young my legs were entirely too long to be manageable. My brother had a huge head and paws, and a skinny little body.” Aegnus had grown into himself, though. He had become a hulking wolf by the time Finn left. She may have been tall and long, but even in the best of seasons Finn didn’t have much meat or muscle on her bones. And that was the way it had to be. It kept her quick and agile, able to turn and twist like a cat. It was because of her light weight and slim build that she was able to move quietly.

”I could help you, if you want. Teach you. It’s not too hard to sneak once you get the hang of it.” There was a trick to stalking silently, a mindset. Once you could reach that place, where all the shadows seemed a part of your body and the distractions faded away, you could move like a ghost. It silenced the quibbles and worries and voices in her mind, that place. Nothing was important but the prey, or her objective. Finn only wished that she could stay like that forever.