The stagnant water within the caves gave off a foul odor, something familiar about the moldy catacombs struck a cord with the rather rodent-looking wolf as he slowly, in an almost calculating manner approached the end of the cave systems. The tan-and-white wolf stood momentarily before a rather tempting pool of clear water to gaze at his reflection, white, crooked blaze across his face sticking out vividly against his slightly darker cream face. Rat knew better than to drink this water, the only thing to follow that out of his system would be a rather course bout of diarrhea and other unpleasantries. The male grinned at this thought, it was always the easiest way to clear out the family from his preferred sleeping spot, an upset stomach, nobody wanted to deal with his horrible stink. A quiet cackle escaped his windpipe, as his milky eyes dilated to accommodate the new-found light he was walking into at the mouth of the dimly-lit caves.
Standing ankle-deep in the snow, the wolf now felt himself a little uneasy, caves were familiar, caves were what he had known most of his adult life, this open-winded area caught him off-guard. The skinny male felt his muscles tense in the cold, his nose wrinkle and his jaw tighten. He didn't like this, not at all. He had half a mind to run back into the caves when a black object caught his eye. Turning his head abruptly, the mousy-colored male found himself staring at another wolf, a black wolf, a lady. Lips lifted into a cruel curl, an ugly smile not even a mother would love. Rat's throat vibrated in another multi-toned cackle, something akin to a hyena or a demon. Rolling his shoulders in preparation for a greeting, the male first tossed his head in a very showy fashion, like a wild horse might when trying to establish dominance, but for him it was merely an attempt to be suave. With a swagger in his step, the thin, slightly stringy-looking wolf trotted toward the other, he had come all this way, even if it was to find his good-for-nothing cousin, he might as well have fun.
Hey hey precious, do you know your way around?
The voice wasn't coarse like his laugh, but it definitely had a skeezy, slimy tone to it. The oily male had an air about him that made him incredibly unlikable, even to most of his family, he was lucky he hadn't become lunch himself one day, but then again had he stuck around maybe he would have been. Rat wondered to himself if Noxa had spoken against their family yet, it's not like they would be famous around here, hell they barely had a reputation at home, or so Rat believed. He had never understood why Noxa was so obstinate to accepting their way of life, the grand elder always had a point to make with his sermons, and Rat had found his arguments very convincing, but then again that's probably why he found his cousin so intriguing, why he had followed her piss-poor scent to this unknown land. Rat's world was ever-so-small, but even approaching this other wolf, this total stranger, would shed light onto his poorly-fitted, childish perspective.