Last time she had been on the banks of this creek it had been deep winter. The snow had been deep and the prey nonexistent, every breath of frigid air had hurt. It was only the familiar curve of the flowing water and distinctly-water-loving trees that reassured her it was the same place. It was still hard to believe. Now everything was flush with green. The trees were far from barren, harboring songbirds and chipmunks. They were much different than the raucous red squirrels she was used to and her gold gaze drifted to them benignly. She only chased the red squirrels because they pestered her so.

Glancing up she caught sight of a glossy form soaring in the sky and stopped to watch the raven. He dipped, croaked once, and wheeled about. Still by the creek Iopah watched his flight. Ravens had keep her from starvation once long ago. Emaciated and inexperienced she would steal their meals. With an excellent vantage point they saw carcass's from far off. She glanced back at the creek, clearly considering something. Animals would flock to the water and leaving it seemed counter-intuitive to hunting. But that raven was going somewhere. Certainly she could search for prey in the direction the raven had taken? If she lost track of the bird she could just veer back to the left to meet back up with the creek and continue. She leapt up the bank of the creek excitedly, sending a spattering of mud against the tree trunks, and broke into a steady trot after the raven.

Last time she had come to the creek under the pretense of hunting, it had ended up being more of joyous exploration. There must be something in the water here.

She never caught sight of the raven again. Whether he went too high in the sun-washed sky for her eyes to follow or was hiding from the meddling wolf was unknown. She broke off the raven-chase; her quick lope fading into a loose and easy walk. The mud had long since dried on her legs. A single, humble glance at the sky. The raven was an adept hunter, on par with the wolf. He had saved her before, he was entitled to keep his meal today.

The air was cool, despite the early summer weather. No doubt the meandering creek had something to do with that. The ground was crisscrossed with the scents and signs of numerous animals. Iopah spent a few long minutes taking them all in. She day-dreamed over an elk-scent. The dream was as far as she got, she'd never consider on her own. Porcupine was intriguing and she spent some time with her nose to the ground, snuffling along after it. Too precarious, she decided before moving on.

It took a few minutes, but the little sounds returned. Chipmunks scurried up trees and looked down with unabashed fear at the prowling wolf. They disapproved, Iopah's form was one of a predator following a trail. Birds whistled back and forth to each other. Once a bird shrieked in the distance and her creep paused momentarily as she looked south in it's direction. She didn't want to go any farther south and squabbling birds weren't very auspicious. No more wild goose chases today. Her held breath was released gently and she padded forward again. It must be there. It was just a few minutes—

The loud crash made her freeze, a cream foot lifted mid-step. Her smoke ears swept forward in surprise. Had she given herself away? Her prey was ripping through the forest, desperate to get away. Anything running would always have her attention. She just had to see what it was. With no more consideration than that she raced after her prey. Fleeting glimpses gave the impression of dark fur and the distinct musk of rabbit. The commotion was separating into rapid footfalls and tearing foliage. She pulled ahead just in time to see the huge wolf plunging forward, chasing something. He was after the rabbit and Iopah stopped to watch the chase play out. He wasn't lacking for enthusiasm and the pale woman found her own legs flexing and twitching in sympathy.

Finally the chase ended and Iopah squinted in the distance the chase had placed between them. Her intense gaze held no trace of jealousy, only interest. The Barberi woman considered the entire thicket her backyard and the meadow her personal hunting grounds. But out here? Out here nothing had her name on it and she knew her size was no advantage here. She stretched onto her toes to call out, "Did you get it?"

With the distance it was hard to tell, but the closer he came the more she realized he was a large wolf. He was just a bounding blur earlier, but now she could tell he was huge. Reassured by his demeanor she held her ground, though she considered backing up once or twice. She was quick to act in kind, keeping her eyes from his as he approached and giving a relaxed twitch to her tail. This was an encounter she didn't want to go sour.

He said something and her ears flicked forward to catch it. It was a lighthearted remark and her ears fell back comfortably again. Her lips flexed into a smile, but she said nothing. He'd admitted he wasn't made for chasing rabbits, and Io had to agree with him. Chasing was a waste of energy for him. The thought that had run through her head at his comment was, 'then why do you chase them?' So she kept her mouth shut, 'cause if she opened it to say anything her sharp thought would come out.

The comment directed to her was safe ground, she gave a little half smile and shook her head. "Trying to do a little hunting as well." Her tail lost it's wag at his name. Titan Thorben. She'd not forgotten Sloane, the first male lead of Secret Woodlands. He'd returned to his own mate in due time. She now knew that mate was Narime and that he'd later left them. Her tail started up a slow, distracted twitch. Was this her son?

"I'm Iopah Barberi." She didn't hesitate in giving her name, she wasn't hiding from anyone. No point in being elusive or lying. She inhaled, scenting rabbit and his pack scent. He even smelled like Narime. Her head angled up to him and she studied his eyes intently. "Do you know Narime?

Few wolves had eyes of this color. Back home no one had blue eyes, the gene pool was too limited for that to happen. Even here, in a place that wolves of all over converged upon, she'd only met three wolves with eyes on this end of the color spectrum. And here was another one. It could be coincidence. An amazing coincidence at that. Two of those previously met wolves had, or still did, lived in the thicket as a Woodlands wolf. Her lips twisted in an amused manner at a ludicrous thought. Certainly Titan wasn't the son of either Hollow or Miccah.

Just as she had that entertaining thought Titan seemed to rise in front of her. Her quick gold eyes took in his narrow stare and bristling coat. Oh shit. She reacted as any self-preserving wolf would in her position. The huntress ducked, keeping her joints loose in case she needed to move away quickly.

Feeling juvenescent, she backed up slowly. Pulling herself backwards she looked anywhere but at Titan. In her quest to identify him correctly, she'd forgotten herself. When Titan started to speak her tail beat at the ground pathetically. A weak movement that she hoped would communicate her appeasement. She said nothing while Titan spoke, her tail flicking in silent agreement with him. At the mention of Danica the Barberi woman reacted slightly. She remembered Narime coming to them with news that the Cavern wolves had accepted Danica into their family. Hopefully she scooted forward half a step. Her tail beat faster, now truly wagging. She was trusting that this Titan would not mean any harm. "Thank you for taking in @Danica. I searched for weeks for her."