The entirety of their journey, she attempted to keep track of every scent and location they passed; she would have to more thoroughly investigate the entire area if she wished to find the attacker. After all, she imagined he would not have made his home too far from the kill - wouldn't that make sense? Just as with Diveen, they often hunted within their own territory - safe and familiar meant a lesser chance being discovered before and after the assault. It was when Fathom's whine caught her ear that she knew they were getting close and she pressed herself against her in an effort to comfort her, flashing her a supportive smile before speeding up so to be a few steps ahead. The cavern ahead of them was surely their destination, the pungent aroma of death radiating outwards - she could only hope she had gotten thee before the foxes and rats made good work of the corpse. Luckily, winter had only just passed and with a tentative step, she moved into the darkness. Immediately she searched the air for any trace of living being, her body held defensively in front of Fathom for a few minutes before she nodded to herself; it was just them. She glanced back at Fathom, her ears twitching back apologetically. Honestly, she couldn't imagine what was going through the girl's mind at the sight of the kill.

"If it's too much, feel free to wait outside. I am going to try to find his scent - perhaps you can give it a try around the outside of the den? To see if he left in any particular direction."

With that, she turned back to the kill, moving closer and lowering her nose to the area around - through the dried blood and decomposition, she could find traces of Fathom and another. The other's scent was foreign, masculine certainly, but one she had never encountered before - she frowned at the prospect. The description had not lead her to believe it to be an Iromar wolf, old or new, but the kill was all too obviously performed by another of their species. It would be difficult, to say the least, to accurately track the culprit down particularly if the scent outside of the cavern had been washed or melted away. It was pleasant though to have some company at least during the ordeal; she'd have to talk to Fathom more, of course, to ensure she hadn't been the cause of some irreparable mental trauma or something. It was hard enough to accept cannibals existed let alone see a kill in action.

"Cicumstant te docebit vos in lucem angelorum et Maii," she spoke quietly, her voice echoing through the darkness as she took a few steps back before bowing to the corpse. It had been so much like Valkyrie's remains - splayed and decimated. Perhaps that said something for itself though there was no way the kill had been performed by Tobias - not even Jaidah's scent was present but the style of the kill... too familiar.

She pivoted then and moved towards Fathom, dipping her skull in respect before halting in the half light of the cavern. Had she found anything? Malina's head tilted as she moved her gaze from the female to their surrounding area, searching for the likely method of escape. There had been no evidence of residence within the den so where did he go? She narrowed her eyes as she came across a winding rock path, one that lead up and over the falls - it could be a start, but perhaps Fathom had another idea.

"I'm sorry you had to see it again - are you okay? I have spoken the Prayer over the deceased - do not fret, they have left in peace now. Did you find any trace of where he might have gotten to? They seldom live too far from their hunting grounds - they are cowards."

M A L I N A
[ five - dark angel of diveen ]




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