The lightweight woman tiptoed delicately through the charred wood. There were some signs that a fire had swept through here some time ago, years, at most. It could only explain why things around her were so green. Even in the darkness she could see the bright foliage among the old stumps. The air was sweet and cool as the woman brought it in, her thick dusty tail swaying pleasantly over her back. Her demeanor was happy enough, though she was clearly trying to keep her footsteps quiet. Nasty critters wandered around in the dark, although not as likely in a new forest like this. But regardless, it wasn't good form to walk around like your paws were made of rocks. There was no inherent goodness in every creature upon the earth, so Partessence would have rather picked who she ran into.

So, along she sidled, hopping over logs and sipping from lingering puddles from rain past. Her life here so far had been pleasant, though it had only been a few days, something she could still count in hours. She'd made her home among the rocky crags of the mountain, so she'd gotten an excellent view of the strangely parted forest from her perch. Past the waterfall, she'd traveled until the musty air consumed her. In a few years time, this forest would be double, perhaps triple this size. Flora was relentless. Murky yellow eyes gleamed in the darkness as the woman paused, turning her head towards the sound of rustling. Not everyone could be so careful as she, but Party wouldn't judge, not yet at least.

Changing direction, she trotted towards the source of the sound, and quickly spotted the female who's fur was not unlike her own. <b style="color:#8f8806">"Excellent attempt at camouflage." Party piqued up, ears tipped forward as her tail wagged over her back. Even earthbound, Party could tell that this woman was larger than her. Stronger, too? Most likely, but that wouldn't keep the firey woman from holding her tongue. Besides, it was all in good fun! <b style="color:#f6eb09">

The woman took her words well enough, causing Partessence to smirk, pleased. <b style="color:#8f8806">"Partessence. But please, call me Party." She offered the woman no bow or nod. They were equals, so Party felt as there was no need for such fastidious respect. The much smaller woman remained on all fours, far too worried over her own well being that she wouldn't weaken herself by sitting in the presence of a stranger. Especially not with the way the woman, Muerda, was looking her over. Partessence was suddenly glad that she hadn't bowed any sort of respect. Her smirk faded into a faint irritated tug of the jowls. <b style="color:#8f8806">"I'm not a piece of meat, you know." She snapped, tail ceasing its go-lucky waving over her back. Her defense wasn't so extreme that she'd make any attempts at provoking the woman, as certainly she was free to look as she wished, but Partessence wasn't going to let her do it without some kind of displeasure from her own end.

The woman wagged again, but Party didn't return the favor, though the irritated facade had disappeared. <b style="color:#8f8806">"Just looking about the woods. I saw the weird look of it from the mountain, so I figured it was worth checking out." The woman gave a little shrug of her shoulders and a little tip of her head. There really wasn't any deeper purpose than simple search. <b style="color:#8f8806">"You wouldn't happen to know of any packs in the area, would ya?" One ear twitched and turned to address another quiet rustling, but she could smell faint traces of rodent on the air and left it alone. There was no real reasoning behind her question. She wasn't really looking for a place to live, not yet at least, but knowing the packs in an area was always important. <b style="color:#8f8806">

Her usually happy disposition was temporarily sullied by this woman, but she wouldn't let it ruin her evening. Nor would she run off. She'd see this little interaction out. Swallowing her pride, Partessence decided to disregard the fact that she'd been surveyed like a choice square of land, and focus on the fact that she was in a burnt forest in the dark of night with a stranger. It seemed like the beginning of a story that her mother would tell when she was a child, to scare the willies out of her curious babes. The woman rolled her shoulders in a shrug, eyes shying away for a moment. <b style="color:#8f8806">"I guess we're both fucked then, eh?" She let out a bark of a laugh, and her eyes flicked back to the elder woman again. She was certain enough that this land was not claimed. Pack lands usually smelled rather strongly, and all she smelled around here was must and food.

There was a strange silence, and Partessence was unsettled. But was it the woods or the wolf? It probably wasn't a great time to ask that. Muerda asked if they could journey together to find the packs. Partessence almost wanted to laugh, but that wasn't fair. Of course the green-eyed woman didn't know anything about Party other than her name. <b style="color:#8f8806">"I don't really...Do teams." She said with a tight jaw. Mild discomfort permeated her being, but the woman shrugged, more or less unforgiving of the way she was.

<b style="color:#8f8806">"But, uh...Maybe we could do a bit of late night hunting." Party had offered her own suggestion. She'd smelled rodent, but wasn't quite in the mood to chew on the tiny bones of a mouse. At night, it wouldn't be easy, but even deer stayed up late sometimes. They'd probably have to move north, since Partessence couldn't quite imagine the long legged meat bags wandering foolishly among this sparse foliage. <b style="color:#8f8806">"Deer, ya know? I'm sure we could find some insomniac north of here. <b style="color:#8f8806">

Partessence was beginning to feel a little dispositive. <b style="color:#8f8806">"North." She repeated, a bit blunter, ears flipped back. Had Muerda not heard her the first time? Oh well. Nosing the earth, she lifted her head facing the proper direction now. It wouldn't take more than an hour to get to the northern part of this wood, probably less if they ran. She could see the higher, unaffected trees from the mountain, and she even faintly see them now, earthbound. A stream separated the two sections, not that they'd need a marker such as that to know when they'd made it. If they were going to do this though, they'd need to do it soon. There was the scent of damp on the air, and it definitely wasn't coming from the dirt.

Party nodded in agreement with Muerda's stormy prediction, though said nothing. But, oh she wish she had. Perhaps something that would have driven the pair north, to prevent Muerda's actions. The woman clenched her jaw, ears still back. <b style="color:#8f8806">"Are you trying to scare all the prey away and get us killed?" Party wasn't interested in attracting hoards of wolves to their spot, nor was she interested in startling all the potential prey away with loud outbursts like that. With her luck, they'd end up attracting someone from the north and they'd wander right through their likely feeble hunting attempt. Maybe she'd made a mistake, but she tried to remain optimistic. It was just a usual reminder of why Party was much better off on her own.

With a gruff sigh, she broke into a run north, assuming Muerda would follow her. The landscape was easy enough to navigate. Any broken flora had rotted away so there were no logs to trip over or tightly bunched trees to navigate through. She could even hear the desperate scurrying of rodents as she plunged past them. But the further north she traveled, the more dramatic the landscape changed. The closer to the stream they got, the higher the trees became, as though there were a few that managed to survive the fire. It didn't take long to reach the stream, where she paused to figure out her surroundings. Bending at the knee, she took a sip of the chilly water, letting it quench her thirst. When was the last time she'd had a drink? Probably earlier today. Much earlier. <b style="color:#8f8806">"So, just over the stream should be something to hunt." Party addressed her company, trying to push aside the tempting idea of deer. She suddenly felt very claustrophobic and wanted nothing more than to settle down with her own rabbit far away from anyone and everyone. <b style="color:#8f8806">

To hear the uneven thumps of paws on the earth as Muerda followed her caused Party a bit of relief and exhaustion. The prospect of a large meal had been tempting, but now she only wished to excuse herself, continue her aimless journey after spending far too long in the useless burnt wood. She licked the damp from her lips as she finished her drink from the stream, and settled to her haunches. Her eyes drifted towards Muerda who had crossed already. Her words had given the yellow-eyed woman an easy way out. Party let her jaws click together as the pink muscle disappeared back into the shadows of her mouth. Why not just take what she was given? Certainly she wanted to go off on her own, but her only cruelty towards the elder woman had been her obvious scolding when her company had chosen to break the silence of the wood.

With a casual roll of her shoulders, Partessence nodded, indifference gleaming in her eyes. <b style="color:#8f8806">"I'll leave you be then. Best of luck to you, Muerda. Just...Be careful out there. Howling to nothing is never the wisest idea." She gave the woman a glance of caution before turning on dainty paws. She would follow the stream close to the mountain and cross there. Maybe when the sun began to rise, she would do a bit of fishing, find her meal that way. Maybe one day she'd come across a weak fawn and make a proper meal that way. But for the time being, Party would let mild hunger gnaw at her to be satiated later. <b style="color:#8f8806">