R By the window

[Pipin]

The mountains had been frigid, though not as much as even further north had been. He ranged out into the open plains like the vagabond his was. Fur unkempt, bits of frost clinging to the tips of the tufts that rose along his shoulders and the nape of his neck. An almost whimsical look danced in his powder-lilac eyes as he lifted his head and simply breathed the cold air into his lungs.

New beginnings were exciting. It was almost tangibly tantilizing the way he could taste his prey on the air. It was also lonely. With Amadine not at his side, the sickly-sweet scent of their swamp was gone. The aroma of fresh and aged spices in her fur were nearly forgotten, except that even now he could catch a whiff now and then that reminded him of her. She wasn't the only woman which stirred in his mind with these hints of herbs, but he tucked the second down tight so that her chiding voice wouldn't convince him to turn tail and go home.

Truthfully, there was no home for him there. The beach where the woman and her coyote mate resided was not a welcome place for Pipin, who had payed for his trespass upon the sands with blood that poured from his eyes and nose. His very muzzle had been torn open as the black bitch Faina had sought to rip him open. His lips had taken weeks to heal, and eating had been nearly impossible without Amadine's assistance. And Ayla... Oh, she'd been livid in her own right.

He puffed a steaming pillar of air outward as he let the tension roll from his shoulders. There was no point in dipping into the past. Into the things he'd done, and not done, and whether those who would admonish him were worthy of calling him monster. He set his eyes forward, on the far end of the steppes from where he stood.

Then, he began to move, a gentle and gliding lope that would take him somewhere of new interest. Perhaps somewhere that would prove amusing to a bored and confusing mind.

[Sashay]

The chill was not appreciated by Sasha. She liked the more middling seasons, or rather, the times when those seasons shifted, one to the next. The twixts of the earth's movement, mother nature's twilights and dawns.

Probably a middle-child thing, Sashay thought, and kept crunching on the burrowing owl she'd unearthed. It hadn't gone down without a fight, unfortunately, even foxes wouldn't have found it much of one. It was mostly feathers, really, delightful, lovely brown feathers banded with white that Sashay had ooed and ahhed over a great deal when she'd had a moment to properly observe her prize. She poked her dirt-smeared muzzle at the corpse, running her nose through the soft, colorful feathers. She'd keep one-Maybe even a few. Carry them along, just for a while. With her wintery fur still puffy and warm, she wondered if she could get a couple to take hold in her woolen underfur.

For now, she finished the meal off, pushing a few of the nicer feathers in a pile to be easily found should the falling snow cover them. Sasha got to her paws, and stretched, content with how her morning was going, yes sirree.

[Pipin]

The silence that surrounded him was not missed. There were no field birds singing. No indications of life other than himself, and a distant shadow that he thought might be another wolf. For a while he moved with the acknowledgement that he was the scary predator that set the hush over the steppes.

Ultimately he moved close enough to see the cream and auburn form ahead of him. Her undersides decorated with a cream soft enough to be his own. She was picking at a bird. A grouse, he thought, though knowing the nature of different birds was not his strongsuit. The striped feathers were all he really saw from his approach.

Perhaps it was a good day, or perhaps it was the cream that pervaded most of her coat, but today he was going to be good. Wouldn't Ayla be proud of him, if he was good? He could be a good man. A kind mand. He didn't have to do bad things. And so as he grew closer to the short wolf he only raised his tail and head some, grinning as if she might be a dear friend and not a stranger that had piqued his interest.

"Hmmm... any to share?" he inquired slowly, as if he must be careful with his words.

[Sashay]

Oh! And here came a new face!

Sashay pricked her ears with clear curiosity as he approached, but didn't move from where she was settled demurely on the ground, bright green eyes tracking the man's motions with little fear. He spoke slowly, intentionally, and she swished her tail to put him at ease. "Would you like to share food or feathers, friend? I don't have much of either, but you're welcome to some of what I do. Come, come." Sashay waved him on, clearly inviting him-Or demanding gently, it wasn't clear-to lie down beside her and enjoy her bounty. She smiled warmly, dark auburn tail lightly patting the earth rhythmically.