Night hung heavy in the sky above, the air thick with spring humidity. Little silver stars seemed to lack their usual twinkle, staring down like countless sets of disapproving eyes. The arctic female felt their glare on her back as she stole through the tangled woods, swift and careless in her step. Electricity crackled through her veins, shocking her with every stride that removed her further and further from the Keep. She had every intention of coming back - always had - but in light of her recent life it felt very evil to need this time away. Quick could not help herself tonight. With each step she sought to escape her own skin, to purge herself from her own chaos.

Somewhere along the way the thickening wood turned more green and the smell of her own allegiance died out. No longer inhaling it with every breath she forced herself to slow down, hoping that clean air could refresh her system. Quick struggled to understand certain... opinions she had formed in that regard. And for a wolf of her caliber, it worked much better to wriggle her way from the shackles she'd made for herself than to stand and fight. Thus she pushed through the overgrown forest, winding around ancient tree trunks and slogging through tall green grasses and stomping on wildflowers with no remorse. Her mind churned without thought, full of static noise that prickled her temples. There had to be a way to stop it.

With one more stride the canopy broke apart and from the tangled overgrowth she made her way into a clearing, not very large but illuminated by the moon's light. Without branches grasping at her fur and roots stumbling her step the pale wolf suddenly found it much easier to breathe. She halted, flexing her toes against the soft grasses, and finally peered into the sky as if to confront it. She glared back in return, her silver eyes hot like liquid metal. Damn him.

Quick's mind-consuming kerfuffle kept her attention inward, failing to pick up on the hints in the air that another wolf had discovered the Wildwood's clearing. The shuffling of greenery so very close to her position was the only indication she recognized. With an instinctive bristle the Keep wolf whirled toward the sound, responding to the spoken riddle with a baring of her teeth while she adjusted to the situation. She was surprised to hear something so eloquent right now - and spoken from a wolf who had only partially revealed herself through the foliage. Something about the small female (besides the whole partial-reveal thing) had Quick perplexed, and in that sense also irritated. What the hell did she look so chipper for?

"Clever," she spat, mulling over the personification in her head. "And true," she added more quietly. The Arctic wolf slowly tilted her chin skyward so she might look down her nose at the younger wolf, relaxing her posture but refusing to move any closer. She was incredibly apprehensive of the little red thing, very confused by the glitter in her eyes as she stared. It was late, so Quick did not assume the other wolf wanted something of her. Most possible was that they were just in the same place at the same time. That didn't make Quick trust any easily, however. Was she smiling without her mouth?

She was uncomfortable in this situation, and that didn't sit well with her, given her already chaotic state of mind. In an effort to regain the upper hand that this strange wolf had somehow ripped from her grasp she pursed her dark lips and narrowed her silver eyes to stare right back. "Let me guess. Your name's leaf." She tittered quietly to herself. With just her head poking out from the neighboring foliage that's exactly what she looked like. If it was immature of her to make such a joke, Quick either didn't realize it or didn't mind (it's the latter).

The wolf moved closer, lowering her body in some form of a bow, while Quick took an equal step in reverse, trying to maintain a respectable distance from the ruddy-colored character. Something about her demeanor reminded Quick of a fairy, or some other sort of made up winged imp, with her tail swaying like a jester's flag. And of course, she took this as an offense rather than just a personality trait. Quick bristled as the other wolf bounced forward with some sort of command to be told - what? If the rest of the Keep could give her a ridiculous nickname? If that constituted power in her book, then perhaps they could. But then again, the Keep wolves weren't much for talking - so perhaps they wouldn't name her going after her blood.

With a cool shrug of her shoulders she leaned closer to the red wolf, silver eyes trained keenly on her green ones and said with a devious grin, "You'd be surprised what my pack members can do." She wondered if any of them would find enjoyment toying with this 'leaf' character while the 'leaf' character toyed back. Sometimes there was a very dry vibe within the tangles of their home. But with that there was also a rather violent undercurrent, so who really knew?

Then the young wolf did something precariously odd, letting her head sit crooked for a quiet moment. Quick narrowed her eyes, uncertain of what this meant. Was she charging up for some sort of blast of super-strange behavior? The Arctic female adjusted herself, allowing her tail to rise and nearly curl over her back in a dominant assertion - and yet she was taken back regardless when a slew of words came flying off the other's tongue - all of them apparently names the other would have preferred for Quick. At first they were not so bad, and then they got progressively worse. Cottonball? She play too much.

Quick uttered a short snarl to silence the other, completed by snapping her teeth in the space between them. "Try again, Leaf," she challenged. "I didn't like any of those."

Her nose wrinkled faintly as she tried to understand how this leaf-imitator thought. "Clearly," Quick murmured to the red wolf's odd remark. There was nothing magic about her, she thought bitterly, and it was trying to stand here and listen to literally the weirdest wolf she had ever met before. She recognized that there were far kinder wolves out there, but had trouble coming to terms with the idea that anyone would be able to stomach this kind of foolery. Too many abstract ideas for her taste. Quick knew what she was, she was wolf - not cotton or cloud or whatever. The red wolf seemed to think herself some bel-esprit. Quick knew she was not.

Then their dynamic changed. The youth stepped backwards instead of coming closer, opening the space between them. Quick watched as she did so, her silver eyes crackling with static and distrust. She suggested another weird name, and much to her distaste the Arctic female had to agree it perhaps fit her the least of all. There was nothing soft about her, nothing gentle to behold wih enough wear. At least the youth could understand that. And then she added, much to Quick's relief, that she would be on her way.

Quick pursed her lips at the invitation but remained quiet while the wolf bounded away. She did not relax, not yet, still reeling from the oddity that was their encounter. "Rather not," she remarked once she was satisfied that the female would not return. And speaking of returning, perhaps it was her turn now - clearly there was nothing good beyond the borders.