Years have long past since the fall of Taiga.  Even more years since the wolf packs had dispersed, disappearing into the cracks and crevices of their world.  I was no exception.

I was not entirely alone in my solitude though.  As a spiritual medium between both this world and the next, I conversed with many past life forms.  They each had a unique story to tell and I was glad for the company.

Today though I move swiftly across the forest floor, unattended by a spiritual guide, my orange eyes shifting to place my location in the dim lighting.  With padded paws and a thick dark coat, I leap over a moss-covered log before stopping to scent the air.  

Winter was just beginning and soon the forest would be bitterly cold, but tonight it was a mild chill.  It was times like these I sought out my dens, having multiple in different areas of Beqanna.  I was a drifter and never stayed any one place too long so as to remain undetected.  I never felt the need to secure a territory, being the only unferal wolf had its perks.  

Prepping the dens each seasonal rotation was a never-ending task, but I enjoyed the busy work of it.  I turned towards one now located just under the fallen log.  Burying my nose into the darkness, I sniffed for intruders.  Drawing each front paw up to tidy the makeshift home by casting out built up debris.

Finding this den uninhabited and now in acceptable condition, I turn my sights to the forest, maw parted and tongue pulsing as I pant.

Food was next on the agenda, and it wasn't hard to find, if you had the nose for it.

Head down I begin to trot along a familiar hunting path.  Weaving my way through the barren trees, a light dusting of snow rested on the fallen leaves that hardly crunched beneath my soft steps. I follow the trail for some time, maybe a mile or so from my den deep in the woods.  It would be easier to catch something with less places to hide.

My travels stretched to the tree line, the icy breeze bringing me the scent of a rabbit.  I turn and heads towards it, downwind of course.  The crescent moon that hung in the skies was starkly similar to the one on my face, though neither offered me any favors tonight.

The winds shift and another scent fills my dark nose.  Suddenly the rabbit is an afterthought as I haven't scented another of my kind in sometime.  The stranger's scent was faint, so I assume they haven't been a wolf for long.  Truthfully, I have never graced this world with my equine form.  Just never felt natural I guess.

My movement stops as the smell lingers.  I shift my gaze around the area, seeking any recognizable form in the shadows.

Coming to a stand, my orange eyes strain to pick up the form of the stranger in the dim light.  I hardly notice as my supper bolts off.

It is when the other rises from their spot in the grasses, teeth glimmering white, that my attention focuses.  The display given by the stranger in a random shift to their equine form is unfazing.  This was the form I was used to seeing both in this world and the spirit realm.  

My tail rises in response, the dark purple ears seated on my head perking in interest more so than aggression.  I had always been more a lover than a fighter.  A kind and gentle soul.

Lifitng my nose, I test the air, my eyes remaining focused on the other and reading their expression.  

I now take a single step forward, testing the space between us, with a gentle wag of my still upright tail.  Having never claimed the territory, I don't feel the deep desire to protect it but I wasn't about to be run out of the area either, if that is what the strangers intentions are.

My purple maw parts in a smile of sorts, the pink of my tongue exposed and the glint of my white teeth.  The stranger approaches, extending its own nose to me in greeting.  My tail wags in response in a return of pleasantry's.

At the sound of movement in the underbrush my ears twitch, but my orange gaze doesn't leave the other.

Hunt?

My head tilts in response, a pause given to my panting as I consider the invitation.  Often a lone hunter, only a time or two had I joined a small pack residing in the Chamber, I nod before replying, "Sure! You want lead or flank?" My paws tread along the ground in anticipation, ready to leap into the chase at any moment.  With an excited yip I add, "Names Cyrus friend."

At the word I leap forward, darting beneath the underbrush that tugs at my thick purple tinted coat.  I slip through easily though, streamlining my body and tucking my ears to my skull.

Leaping over a fallen log, covered thick with moss and shroom, I land on the other side with a thud.  The noise vibrates the earth, sending a deer scampering from their place of rest within the forest.  I stop, watching it bound off, its tail high in alert.  That prey was too big for just the two of them to take anyhow.

In my pause I expect to see the dark wolf approaching from behind me, but instead a catlike creature appears on the log.  Baring my sharp teeth with a guttural growl, my orange eyes fixate on the feline.  Accustomed to seeing the cougar of the northern mountains I know just how crafty the creatures could be, and powerful.

"Get out of here cat!  Go find your own hunting grounds," I spit out with malice.  I wasn't often hostile but something about cats made my fur stand on end.

My worry goes to why Malik had not yet appeared, and that the vile creature had gotten him.

My orange eyes remain fixated on the spotted feline even when my mind travels to the worst possible outcome that may have fallen my new friend.  After I was done with the cat, however it ended, I would go search for Malik and hope for the best.

With a snarl and snap of my jaws, the Ocelot dissipates instantaneously.  My eyes widen as they frantically search for any sign of the creature.  I had seen many things in my life but this topped it as being odd, even for someone with a ghost shifter as a mother.

A soft whine exits my jaws as fear rises the fur on my back.  I turn around, not knowing that the other is still with me and certainty not knowing it has been Malik all along.

Then there comes a phantom voice and I consider for a moment that there is a spirit present, but there is a tone of familiarity in the voice.  "Malik?" I question, my head tilting as my ears search for the location of the voice.  I had known many shifters, myself included, but their abilities were limited to one other form.