For whatever reason, she had found herself remaining outside of the dark caves. She had crept away, sure, a little further from the maw and yet, she seemed to find herself fixated on the idea of staying close by. It had been an unusual crowd and at first, she had felt anxious at the prospect of so many - such tension, after all, was not something she had encountered often. Yet, soon enough, she had begun to feel... unusual was the best way she could describe it to herself. It felt like a certain kind of curiosity combined with a sudden peacefulness, as if
something was about to happen. Something good, though. Something other than a scuffle or anticlimactic dispersal. So, she had waited. Crouched in the shadows, but waiting nonetheless.
Shad had fallen into a trance of sort; she had begun to focus on the strangeness that she felt. Her heart seemed off beat, as if it suddenly began to pick up its pace before suddenly relaxing. Like a bird, she could not help but think. And her mind raced through so many thoughts at once and yet, suddenly they had become hushed. She could barely keep her thoughts in one cohesive string - instead, they kept drifting absently back to the grotto. She kept picturing the maw of the caves, the darkness within. Even the sounds around her had suddenly shifted - things had fallen silent. All she could hear was her breath and then, suddenly, the breath of another. Paw steps. The sound of claws of stone. That had been what had forced her to look up from her paws so suddenly, her eyes wide with shock and curiosity.
She had not expected to find another soul - or at least, not one in the flesh. Part of her had expected to find something... more, perhaps. Like a spirit of some kind - something divine, something unnatural. Yet, he simply stood there. Dark furred and bright eyed. He seemed just as taken aback - it made her ears twist forward in curiosity as he spoke. His tone was one she had never heard and - how strange - she had found herself giggle beneath her breath at it, her lips pulled back into an instinctual, small grin.
"I think a better question is who you are."
The words came out without thought, a playful tone and yet, serious all the same. She had never been too good with strangers since her mother's incident in the fields and yet, she found herself unwilling to pull away from this particular stranger. Instead, her body had shifted so that she faced towards him now, though she remained partially concealed in the shadows.
"I did not think anybody would find me here, you see."
She raised a brow, a silent question: how'd he find her? Why'd he find her? Surely it had not been a mistake. Had she slipped up? The thought that she had failed at being so well hidden made her bite down for a moment, though she felt strangely okay with the prospect.