She leapt as he made himself known and regarded him with piercing, narrow eyes. Riumrix was impressed with her size – for a mortal wolf, she was tall, although among his kind she would still be considered petite. It was not her fault – she simply had been born of an inferior bloodline as it were. Yet despite that, she was just as much of an alien as he was in this place, but had been exploring and living among these strangers longer than his had been. Riumrix was never one to let someone go without gleening from them as much as information as he could, and so he had questioned her without pause, wanting to use her as much as was possible. She answered swiftly, albeit calmly.

‘These scents you smell are not for mating, I clean myself with and make myself be more presentable. Of my people I am to be the next clan leader, but I’m here to learn more about this land. If I can find a reason to stay I just might. You use blood? That sounds… Interesting to say the least. I guess I should grant you my name since you have granted me yours. I’m Atakask, meaning Sky Goddess. Though I don’t have any magical powers to become an actual Sky Goddess.’ Riumrix snorted – he had never heard of such a thing as a ‘Sky Goddess’ before, but perhaps her kind worshipped idols… or it may just be a direct translation. Oddly enough, she did not seem off put at all by learning that his people used blood in their rituals but rather intrigued. She neared him and sniffed at his pelt, and Riumrix straightened his nape, his cranium towers over hers, but other than that he hardly moved, nonplussed by her proximity. ‘I have learned that these wolves aren’t as intellectually smart as my people, they see the things that I can do and it makes them want to keep me around as some sort of trainer for them, but I haven’t really explored much.’ She moved to face him and Riumrix cocked his head to the side.

“You may be more clean, but you are also much easier to follow. Would it not be more useful for your scent to blend in with that of your surroundings? I found you with ease, you emanate a strong perfume that leaves a trail not just upon the ground but in the air – I could trace you over a thousand river crossings or across a battlefield of a hundred corpses. I would say congratulations on your position in life, but my kind believe that it is not truly this life that matters but the next, so your future throne will be rather temporary. I myself am a warrior, set to follow my liege through life and death. My name loses something in translation, but in this simple language it would be…” He mulled over it for a few moments because answering with a morbid grin. “Bringer of Blood. It is interesting is it not that the alliteration carries over? At any rate, where have you explored? I followed this river down south, not knowing how far out its tributaries would be.”

Word Count: 535