The Cougar Eye taste the rainbow

What was that unholy smell? She wiped her tongue on the roof of her mouth, letting it hang out. It was almost gag worthy. Surely she had never in her life got a whiff of the likes of it. When she searched all her memories she never thought her father had described something so.....over powering. So, gut churning. Had one of those boo things died? Or those stranger shaggy beasts? She'd figured they would have smelled like all other deteriorating carcasses. This was like...like twenty cougars had decided to piss in one spot or something.. But, what did she know? Zip. How easily she could have headed to the lake again, and have fresh air. Rem just had to know where it was coming from. What else did she have to do?

Long cream colored legs shifted course, where she would stop and take another breath. Deciding if it was stronger. "Ugh, yep." She wasn't sure this was worth satisfying her curiosity. Even if it was something dead, she'd never be able to eat it. This was better than waiting, standing around doing nothing. Forward, she went little by little making rather slow progress. Thankful at least the sky promised some form of storm, and may help clear the air.

Vere's lips curled into a grimace as her senses were assaulted by an acrid, overwhelming tang that curled thickly on the slight breeze. It was an awful stench, foul enough to make her hair stand on end and her toes curl into the earth. It filled the air around her, and try as she might to escape the vile miasma, it seemed the more she tried to escape it only brought her closer to its source. Her fine sense of smell was simply overwhelmed by the all encompassing odor.

Eyes watering, she could make out another wolf and a blessed breeze brought slightly fresher air along with it. "You wou-... ack--" Vere began but couldn't finish. The wind shifted, bringing with it a fresh wash of the festering scent that practically clawed at her senses. Her voice was stolen from her with a rough cough as her lungs rebelled at the foul air that she had filled them with to speak. She shook her head roughly, sputtering before she fixed the wolf before her in a glare. The other female likely had nothing to do with the stench, after all, what living being would be capable of such foulness? But all the same Vere's irritation needed a direction, and the other wolf had witnessed her rather unflattering display of hacking and coughing. Vere's lips briefly wrinkled before she tried again, breathing more shallowly this time.

"It fucking reeks," She bit out this time, cutting straight to the point.

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

Remi realized she had company, and promptly turned about face to meet it. Leery of strangers, she measured her up, feeling her tail twitch at her back. She was ready to retort, but realized what rendered the woman speechless. Silver mask crinkled in time with her nose, and she shuddered, but didn't start hacking. If that's what bothered the strange woman Rem wasn't sure. Something sure did with the look she pinned her with. The silver kept her in her sights with a more inquiring look. "Ya think?" She chimed back. Though at least she was just as befuddled over the nastiness.

Clearing her throat, she motioned. "Whatever it is, it's through there." She made no other inclination, she merely continued working her way through both live and dead trees, leaving it to the other to follow or go her own way. It didn't necessarily matter to her.

The trees thinned, and she kept an ear turned back, just in case she was being followed. Suddenly, she halted in surprise. It was a large spit of land, that the trees did not touch. There was a path of orange, and yellow flowing with water, encircling a large pool. Her gold toned eyes traced the turquoise circle where she did not see a single dead thing. "Huh." She'd have to show Phoenix this. But what was it?

@Remington

The darker coated female quickly retorted back at Vere's choked out observation. Before she could say much else, the female had motioned and started off apparently looking for the source. Vere wasn't sure herself why she trailed after her, after all it stank and it probably wasn't going to smell any better the closer they got to it. Vere breathed solely through her mouth now, blinking watery eyes to clear away gathering tears to reveal a vivid ring of orange and blue stretched out before them.

"Is this it?" The words dropped from Vere's lips as she came to a stop, not sure whether to be surprised or disappointed. She wasn't sure what she had imagined, but she hadn't expected such malodor to be coming from water, of all things. She slowly padded up beside the other wolf, not too close to cause alarm. Had something died in there and been left to rot? It was then Vere noticed banks of steam billowing off the multi-chromatic surface, warmth brushing over her face along with a nosefull of that sulfurous stench. Vere coughed again, eyes watering as she turned her face away from it.

"Ugh, what is this thing?" She asked, almost rhetorically.

The stranger followed, and Remi gave a laugh. "Guess so." Bleh, it sucked breathing this through her nose or her mouth.  She felt the itch to cough, but cleared her throat, trying to keep it at bay. When the hot, moisture pressed against her nose, far stronger she gagged, giving a short cough, and backing away.

She brushed her nose on the inside of her leg, trying to breathe while it was pressed there. Blinking harshly against the burn in her eyes. She gave a harsh bark of a cough. "No idea, never even heard of such a thing. But Imma call it stinky cat pot." With her curiosity satisfied, she motioned for the loner to follow her. Remi couldn't bare to remain in the stink. So she put a bit of ground between her, trying to get upwind of it. Somehow keeping tabs, or trying to on the brown and tan woman."Don't take this the wrong way, but you look almost bout as rough as me. You plan on lone wolfin it long?" There was a tilt to her silver face, curiosity bright in her gold stare.

Vere laughed at the moniker 'stinky cat pond', turning into more of a wheeze at the end from the fumes that seeped into her nasal passages.

Vere was more than happy to put some distance between her and the wretchedly scented pool now that the mystery had been
solved. She picked up her pace so she walked abreast with the stranger, not wanting to be left behind particularly. Soon she could breathe again, and not long after a question floated out between them, prefaced by the darker coated female with an observation on her appearance.

"I'll take that as a compliment," She responded with a smirk, bright green eyes sidling sidelong towards her companion. A brief chuckle, then silence as she turned the question over in her head momentarily. "There's not much of a plan, really," She finally admitted. "Besides, I'm more than capable of making it just fine on my own." She added with a small, yet noticeably haughty toss of her head. "Why? You starting to worry about the winter?" She asked somewhat roughly, glancing back towards the wolf at her side.

Usually, she wouldn't like the idea of permitting someone she didn't know to walk beside her. But, she didn't find herself bothered by it. If she was gonna get attacked would a few inches really matter? No, it wouldn't. She couldn't help wonder. Was she just so pathetic in her loneliness this is what it had come to? She'd walk shoulder to shoulder with a stranger and find it nice?

Easily, and rapidly she tossed the thoughts aside. There was amusement from the woman Remi could appreciate. She couldn't stand anyone who took themselves too seriously, and thankfully she hadn't found that kind of company. But, there was something else. Did she detect a little pride there? Either way a faint grin hung on her lips, and she rolled her shoulders. "I've been alone for seven moons now. Winter isn't what I fear." Though, she couldn't, or wouldn't pinpoint down what those really were. "I was just curious if that's the life you want to keep. I mean as appealing as it is not to submit to someone with an ego, it is a little hard to out do the system nature has forced upon us."

She blinked uncertainly, a line furrowed down her forehead as she scrunched her brows it thought. The way she phrased it... Well, was the worry, then?

"It's not like I've ruled it out," Vere shrugged back, a little sour. She had the feeling she'd know it when she saw it whether a pack was meant for her. It wasn't exactly her leaders that had the ego problem. "Apparently I'm 'a lot to handle'. Whatever." She said as she rolled her eyes. She'd just try her best just not to jam herself in somewhere just for sake of a warm meal and a place to sleep. She didn't want to be anywhere she wasn't wanted.

"So tell me then, what is a wolf like you afraid of?" Vere asked, roughly changing the subject, a small peek of ivory tooth showing in a smirk. "The big bad wolf?" Her smirk widened to a grin, breaking into a chortle.

It didn't seem like she was avoiding it for impractical reasons. Remi was merely curious what made someone similar to herself tick she guessed. Her own circumstances of being on her own.

"Oh," she muttered, not exactly relating but understanding. Though the loner seemed uncaring of the issue, tossing it lightly away. "Better not to stick with wolves with those kinda thoughts. How they hell they even hunt with that kind o' mind?" She gave a shake of her rough. She hated those straight liners.

She was being questioned herself. Remi wasn't so good at vulnerability or sharing it. Gold eyes widened, if she'd been found out. But, it didn't take effort to hide it the way she as teased. Easily, she used her surprised expression, changing her tone of voice to something more playful."You got me. Keep having these visions he's chasing me, and telling me he's gonna drown me in my own blood." But, then she snickered at the whole thing. Even if it might be close to the truth.

Instead her tail gave a twitch. "Truthfully, I've always been afraid of never leaving my home. Never seeing anything or doing anything. Just stuck in the same place with my mother berating me for not being her. Easy to handle."