At first his words seemed to disappoint her again somehow, but then she was smiling, her plume swaying in rhythm with his. Lucien's own smirk grew wider, too. Somehow her smile seemed to brighten even this gloomy forest feel a little more alive. These were the sorts of moments he missed the most about being among other wolves, and he decided that he had been fortunate indeed to meet Iopah today.

Trying to think of what to say next, Lucien glanced over his shoulder, absently gazing at the bare trees. He had always been taught not to hold a stranger's gaze for too long, and there was a rather hawk-like sharpness to Iopah's gaze that was enough to make even the most vainglorious wolf feel... scrutinized. The lad was trying to think of a tactful way to bring the subject back 'round to her pack, when a sound broke through the quiet and had both wolves at sudden attention. The breeze idly betrayed the origin - there were deer close-by, and upwind. Glancing back at Iopah, he was rather surprised when she didn't commented not upon such the fortuitous interruption, but instead continue their conversation. "I've found it ...liberating. But it's a lonely life, too. And a hungry one," he replied, resisting the urge to get too lost in his thoughts about the benefits and costs of such a lifestyle at the moment. Instead he rose to his feet, amber eyes tracing back toward where the sounds of the deer had originated, on the lookout for signs of movement. "I'm sure you know that, though."

He hoped she might invite him to hunt with her, and if she was honorable, to take a share of the kill should they succeed - Lucien hadn't had much success hunting anything large like deer since he'd been alone, but the times he'd hunted with the Youngbloods had been... exhilarating. Far better than guard duty back at home. The hint of an opportunity now was irresistibly tempting to him. He feared she would turn a cold eye toward him and call upon her pack, denying him any chance, and possibly chasing him off, now that there was food on the line. If the pack was close enough, they probably didn't need his help anyway, and most wouldn't want to spare even a little during this season for someone like him. And so he left his last statement hanging in the air, a clear enough statement of his own personal agenda, rather than asking outright - Iopah was quite possibly weighing similar options, and he waited to see whether she would react benevolently toward a fellow traveling soul, or not. He could not, however, prevent the hopeful growl of his belly, nor the way his tail swayed in excitement at the thought of a hunt, as if it had and even more indomitable will of it's own.

Iopah seemed to appraise him for a moment before she spoke, as he tried not to watch her too closely out of the corner of his eye. It was not easy, for the lad was more desperate for a a good meal than he liked to let on, and while one chestnut ear swung to catch her voice, the other still strained to hear the deer moving through the woods off in the distance. Lucien's grin broke free and unrestrained across his jaws when she did at last speak, his broad paws shuffling in the snow with anticipation. "Thank you, lady Iopah! I'll do my best." he shouted under his breath, loping after her pale form through the trees.

As they grew nearer, the scent of the mule deer grew thicker and thicker on the air. Lucien felt his senses shift into focus, his instincts begin to take over the motions of his body. Back at home, he had hardly been allowed to participate in hunts, but among the band of young wolves he'd known, it had been a task he'd come to relish. Most of what he'd learned had been with those other young wolves, learning on their feet as they tried to survive. He'd had no proper instruction in the art of hunting, but he was a wolf after all, and was wholly determined to show now that he was not inutile. Still, his pride did have it's limits, and he forced himself not to creep ahead, instead hanging close to Iopah's side - she would certainly know this terrain better than he if she visited here often at all, and she was most likely more experienced at this, too, he had to concede. Hunkering down in the underbrush at the edge of a small clearing, they watched their quarry for a moment, the three does obliviously pawing at the snow for any food possibly still to be found so late in the winter. Luc took his cue from the flicker of the pale lady's ear, the pointing of her muzzle, and without another word, the wolves broke cover and leapt into a two-pronged charge.