Coming upon her is not something done in stealth so he is not surprised when her own eyes rake over his figure, calculating, discerning. There is nothing supine about the way she is poised over her kill. In only a second her hackles raise and a flash of her teeth is enough to halt Zaphkiel in his tracks. He did not come here to fight with her, though the idea is tempting in some ways, for he has fought many wild beasts of the world but in reality very few of his own kind. The cougar who's mark now adorned his left hip - that was a creature that was hard to figure out. So supple and feral that Zaphkiel had no insight into how that fight would go down. It had been a brawl of wits, of strength, and of will and somehow he had come out the victor. It had been a massive creature. So massive his own jaws had barely fit around it's wide neck. He had been forced to use the boulders around them as a leverage to kill the beast. But a wolf - he would have some idea of what they thought in battle.

He had no doubt Astrid would prove a worthy assailant. He is struck by her deeper, huskier tones as she speaks to him and his own mouth pulls into a smile, somewhat roguish. "I am quite fortunate this day then, for your trap and release has given me a tasty snack." No doubt she had left the mice for the other smell that had lingered back there, the male's scent, but Zaphkiel had seen no real reason to waste such mice for a wolf that may or may not return. The hawk would have eaten them and well, he could not make it easy on the avian fiend.

Zaphkiel hadn't really intended to elicit such a response. He had only joked that if she wished to drop her own meal to further her hunting skills he would stay behind and finish up her scraps. Yet the idea now toys with him of a deer, perhaps, it's soft flesh sliding down his throat and hot blood staining his maw. He could have that any time back in Diveen but there is a feeling of strength when in mid-hunt. It clears his perceptive mind even further and drives him into a frenzy, the way his body - built for speed - can stretch and surprise the prey around them.

A slow grin blooms on his face now as she waits and there is an eagerness in Zaphkiel's eye; he takes a few steps forward now, his body tense as bowstring. "Are you swift enough for a young deer? They will be mighty tasty at this time of the year, fattening themselves up for winter and rutting." His tongue slides out now and across his lips, eager and hungry once more. "I'm Zaphkiel, by the way. Hunter extraordinaire," he boasts with a jesting manner, his tail wagging slightly and a tilt of pride in his maw.