The Coyote and The Wolf

Delsin's heart pounded like a drum, it's beat resonating through his body as his paws hit the ground, black fur shining in the moonlight as he prowled through the deserts. He sniffed in and a tidal wave of smells and odors washed over him, throughout the sandy plains live was thriving. He could smell the coiling rattlesnakes, the pronghorn and coyotes. He loved this, the feel, the open air, the wind on his coat. Above all else, he was a lover of nature and as he ran across the sands he couldn't imagine feeling more alive. The sound of his heart in his ears, the smell of prey in his nose, the feel of sand under his paws. Running his way up onto a great formation of rocks he leapt from perch to perch, scaling all the way up to the top. After taking a moment to appreciate his own agility and the height of his perch he began to scan around for anything. Once again he inhaled, and as he sifted through the wave of scents smelled the familiar strung musk of another wolf, finally! Breathing in deeply he lifted his head to the sky, he locked his eyes on the great full moon that sat in the star filled sky and let out a howl that echoed out across the desert, letting everything within a few miles know that a wolf was on the prowl.

Emma closed her maw arround the neck of a coyote, its warm blood spilling as she felt its coppery taste. She would take a bite of her new meal, she had been lucky finding that old one, too weak to escape her when she lunged at him. She started to eat, when suddenly she heart another howl, all her black fur getting erect. She smelled her surroundings, yes, under the smell of blood and coyote she could smell a new scent, another wolf. She left out a small growl before howling back, defensive of her territory.

Delsin's ears perked up at the sound of such a quick response and he let out another howl, trying to figure out where the answer was coming from as he scanned around the desert landscape. Then he smelled the scent of fresh blood, coyote blood being spilled. Quickly he leapt off his perch, landing deftly and running towards the sent, letting out a few smaller quicker yips and barks along the way.

Emma faced towards where the howls came, not losing time with answering back, devouring the more nutrient rich parts of the animal as she could. She had learnt in the wild that annyone bigger than you could steal your prey if you were not fast enough, and in case she had to abandon the carcass, she at least would have the more important parts

Right as she finished off she heard the soft pad of paws on the dirt, and from behind a large boulder came a dark colored and slender wolf. Delsin approached slowly, measuring her up to see if she was hostile, and skirting cautiously about her, but had a friendly posture. It was clear he was a werewolf, though in all honesty he was slender enough to pass for a coyotle, and around his neck was an old amulet bearing the mark of a tribe in wolfscript.

He would also recognise Emma as a werewolf. Her fur was also black, but her body was raw muscle, not having had enough food to build any fat, and with several old scars covering her body. She would let out a low growl, not overly agressive, but rotecttive of her food and her territory, sizing up the male, trying to identify his intentions.

Though a bit startled by the growling, he didn't flinch and simply stared her down with a firm yet inviting gaze, knowing the weakness wolves tended to have with eye contact. He had long since learned that many hostile anihwaya could be shaken with a firm and held gaze from one of their own.

Emma would steal a quick glance to her meal, making sure he wasnt trying to distract her, before looking back up at him, more calmed, but still wary of the extranger

Sensing that she was no longer hostile, he sat and using a claw, carved the wolf symbol for 'parley' into the sand, he was hoping he could made a friend of this strong looking wolf. Yet if that wasn't possible, it would be wise to split territory now instead of later.

She would look at the sign and then back at him, confused. She never had learned any of that, she was too young when her parents died, and he was one of the first of her own kind that she had met

Oh, Delsin quickly figured out what was going on, this wolf must have been a loner, never learned the old tongue and the signs. For a moment he wondered how rough it must have been to survive on her own, with spirits naturally drawn to her and hunters tracking her. That wasn't important right now though, and deciding it'd be easier to talk in english Delsin shifted back into his human form. Now instead of a slender sable furred wolf there was a handsome and athletically built man with long black hair and deep brown eyes...None of this distracted from the fact that he was naked except for a few wristbands and the charm around his neck, but he didn't seem to care. "Hi...I'm Delsin, can you speak english?"

Emma would nod, staring to also transform. She had expended years in the wild with only fur as her clothes, so being naked didnt bother her that much. He would see her turn into a tall and athletic pale woman, her skin covered by several scars. She was still thin, with not much else than the muscle mass, similar to her wolf form. Her raven hair fell behind her back as she stared at the man with her deep grey eyes.

"Alright good, have you met any other wolves before?" He questioned with an inquisitive look in his eyes as he took a seat on the sand.

"..A couple of times.." Emma answered, still careful, pointing to a couple of old scars

"Guessing none of those ended well huh?" He replied with a sheepish chuckle and a crooked grin "What's your name, and is this all your turf?"

Emma would sit down too "Emma...Emma Curze..I live at Ghost Town, but yeah, thesse are part of my hunting grounds.." she answered

"I'd say nice to meet you, but I'm not sure about that yet." Delsin quipped dryly "As I said earlier, I'm Delsin, Delsin Locklear of the tribe Red Wolf...I'm new around here."

"Yes, I sensed that" Emma wasnt sure if that tribe thing should be important to her, so she shruged it off "So, what do you want?"

Delsin weighed out his options here, he could either tell her the truth and she could easily get hostile or just give a half truth and keep on his way. The second one was the easier one and the one that would get him out safer, but he was here with a job to do so in the end he picked the first. "I'm here to form a new pack, pay back my tribe for the mess I caused."

"Ah, I see" Emma said, still not understanding the length of what he ment

"You know what a pack is right? Among werewolves?" He questioned as she seemed to lack a lot of what others would call basic werewolf knowledge.

"Yeah, like a pack of wolves you mean?" Emma asked, knowing what she had seen in wild wolves

"No, little more complex than that honey, a pack , at least the type I want to make, is a family like unit of wolves who patrol an area, keeping the sacred duties of Anihwaya and all that jazz, and answering to a greater tribe. In my case that tribe is the Red Wolf, we're the tribe that claims the southwest."

"Ani what?" Emma asked, totally lost "and what duties do you mean?"

Delsin's face looked as though someone had told him sharks were a vegetable"Oh yeesh you don't even know the First Tongue?...Good grief did yer parents even try?" He wondered aloud with a sigh "The Anihwaya are what we are, Werewolves, a fusion between mortal and spirit, man and beast, etcetera etcetera...And it's our sacred duty (though most seem to forget it) to guard the mortals from the spirits and defend nature from the mortals...Really quite a lot to ask from a bunch of super pooches if you ask me."