Her presence had continued on unknown to him and yet, even if he had spied her in the outer reaches of the crags, he likely would not have acted on it. After all, he had come looking for anything and the predatory gaze of another creature certainly fell beneath that banner. In fact, he might have grown curious about it, lured in by the foreign nature of it all; compared to his life, it was leagues different to live such a way, with such thoughts. He never saw the world as weak and strong. He could not have imagined seeing it in such a way - it was far too big a place to break down so simply. So, he continued on unaware, the pale of his fur consumed by the shadows slowly but surely.

He had continued in some distance, the rocks above cracked enough to begin letting the faintest of lights in. It bathed the darkness with a silver aura, the crimson and white of his fur faintly illuminated in such a place. It had begun to feel oddly satisfying in such a place, alone and separated from the potential thoughts the outside world drove him to. Here, he had no need to consider his options or which path to take; there were only two, after all. Down or back into the light. For now, he was content not to choose either. Instead, he merely focused on the slow and steady sound of his breathing as he stared onward, unfocused as his eyes begun to imagine swirls of colours in the endless shadows beyond.

His breath suddenly stopped, however. There had been the sudden feeling of... he did not know. It simply felt strange all of a sudden, as if two eyes had begun to bore into the back of his head. He had felt it before, though perhaps much more strongly. In his younger days, he had encountered many cougars and bears, their curiosity an unusual combination of hunger and discovery - he had not envisioned feeling it again any time soon, yet it made the hair across his back prickle nonetheless.

Instinctively, he had pivoted suddenly, his lungs having pushed out a sudden expulsion of air - a hushed growl of warning, and confusion. His neck had fallen instantly down over his chest and throat, his ears pinned back and yet, one curious inched forward before the woman shot out with sudden ferocity. For a moment, he remained stiff and unsure as she lunged once more; he had never encountered a wolf who would do such a thing for no apparent reason. He knew this was free territory, it even reeked as such and yet, she pushed forward. He shrunk back for a moment and yet, he pushed forward just as fast, his teeth clacking faintly as he took a short step towards her, an attempt to force her back to a more comfortable place.

His body had seemingly moved on pure instinct, his mind remaining in the swirls of colours and darkness that he had been staring into not so long ago. His mind had grown curious about the darkness beyond and yet, his body insisted he remain very much here. It drove him forward another step, his lips twitching over his teeth and yet, his eyes seemed to glow with uncertainty and curiosity. Like a child, he had not a clue why he had become driven to do as he did; he merely knew he had to reassert his space.