It had to be the strangest way she'd ever made a friend or acquaintence. The injuries along her side and shoulder were healing, but it was taking quite a bit of effort to ensure that. The muscles stiffened whenever she wasn't moving, but she couldn't move too much or they'd never rest and recover. The stretching was the worst part, but gradually her side was recovering until there wasn't really any pain at all anymore, just a slight ache when it rained. That too would fade with time.
She still found herself hoing to run into Shego again some day, on more pleasant terms maybe, but still. Something about the female's attitude, she had earned Talia's respect and the aimable air between them after their fight certainly had put both in a good mood. They clicked.
It didn't change the fact that she hated the recovery part that followed fighting, especially when it meant she was having a harder time hunting.
Talia grumbled as she settled down between the roots of an old tree, about ready to clean her wounds and try to sleep away her hunger. It was the closest thing to a den nearby, and she wasn't about to fight a badger out of it's home just to catch some sleep. Maybe after though, it could certainly pass for a meal if she managed to kill one.
Veero had kissed his mother goodbye, literally and seen the rest of his family for brief farewells as well. He wanted to have an adventure, nothing dangerous but Talia had sparked something in him. He knew he would return to the pack, he had to help with the war after all. Still for now maybe experience out in the world would help him. Who knew maybe he'd learn some things to help when it came time to actually fight, sparring was fun but it wasn't a true serious fight to the death.
His nose twitched and she smiled, it had taken him a few days but he had finally tracked down Talia. "Talia!" He called out and smiled loping towards her eagerly.
The dark female hadn't been expecting a lot, but that was the last thing she'd wound up expecting, still. She lifted her head up with a soft jerk at her name and a familiar voice, though it sounded more excited than she could remember hearing it last.
"Veero...?" She watched the dark wolf bounding up to her, confused. "What are you doing way out here? I'm days past your pack's borders."
Or was she really? He'd said the markers were clear, and her nose was too experienced to lie, but--
"Well...yes...yes your quite far from the pack. You travelled rather fast I'm glad I was able to catch up though." He smiled and sat down his tail giving a slight wag. He let out a puff of air and then looked at her seriously. "Talia...I...when you told me about other places other packs...I realized how much I wanted to see those things for myself. I was hoping maybe we could travel together a bit, keep each other company."
It felt like a wild goose chase now that he had actually found her. What if she didn't actually want any company and he had come all this way for nothing? "I...I can hunt, I'm the second lead in our pack hunts! I can fish too...sort of." He hoped that listing his better traits might convince her to allow him to come.
He either had caught on to her fading injuries already or he knew how to sell his better qualities. For a moment she considered, not missing the irony. Shego had a lynx suitor, and while Veero was niether feline nor a suitor, here he was, having followed her all this way among all those scents saturating the lands.
Besides... she couldn't lie, company would be appreciated if only for a while.
"... Alright. You need to be aware that if you slow me down, though, we'll have to split paths."
Not likely. She was pretty easy going. She tilted her head a bit at him, guaging him. The stutter... he wasn't sure.
Well, it wasn't like he was trying to mate her or anything, he was probably just young.
He puffed his chest out with a grin his tail sweeping again excitedly. "I'm fast don't worry." He tilted his head and frowned peering at her side. "Did something happen to your side? It looks like..." He looked up at her hoping she would fill in the blank. Suddenly it seemed rude to tell her she looked like she had been attacked.
"If someone's hurt you..." He trailed off uncertainly, he wanted to help her even if it meant helping defend her.
"Hm? Oh, this? I got into a bit of a fight." She confirmed, looking back at him calmly. "It's alright. Just a bit sore. Worth the wounds for the friend I think I made."
She leaned over to check on said wound, which thankfully was really just a series of punctures rather than any actual gaping tear or hole.
"I'd definitely appreciate the help hunting for a while though." She sighed, looking back at him. She hated to admit it but she couldn't do it on her own, injured like this. "It's hard to bring down anything like this, and rabbits are too damned fast to chase down till this heals."
"A friend did that huh?" He looked at her a bit surprised, hey with friends like that who needed enemies? Still she didn't seem to concerned by it, but her hesitance in asking for help told him what he needed to know.
"Well I'll help then, can't have a starving traveling partner after all. I might be able to bring a doe down if you'll help with a bit of flushing and flanking, that will keep us going for a while." He was excited now, a part of a team and for once it wasn't one of his older relations telling him what to do and how and why. Nope he was his own wolf now and traveling with such a pretty female too. His heart gave a little thump of excitement as he looked at Talia again.
"Well, she wasn't a friend at first." Talia ammended with a slight yawn, settling her head down onto her paws. "I appreciate it." She chuckled. "That sounds good, maybe after a bit of rest? Been wandering most of the day.... Speaking of which, why go to so much trouble just to catch up with me? I had a few days head start on you didn't I?" Talia blinked grey eyes curiously at him.
"I'm glad in the end you two managed to get along." He eyed her side again wishing he had been around earlier to help. Then again she seemed a very capable female, she might resent him trying to butt in. She yawned and he had to keep from smiling, he nodded and stood.
"Well I'll go see if I can't find you a snack at least for when you wake up..." He was about to turn away when he caught the rest of her question and turned back sheepishly.
How was he supposed to explain that she had been so pretty he decided he wanted to...what was the word? He had overheard grandma Alas telling his mother he was off to go courting. He wasn't though...well maybe he had hoped too a bit. "Well...I'm fast and you know I needed to travel with someone. why not you, you certainly seemed nice enough, and you seem to know your way around."
She chuckled at that, agreeing. She didn't notice his drifting gaze, peering back at him at his offer to get her something to eat. She would have insisted it could wait if he wanted to rest first, but already he was answering her second question instead. It was an acceptable answer to her, so she nodded, glad. She missed traveling with others, or was beginning to.
"Thank you, Veero." She offered a small smile, more from being tired, and rested her head again, exhaling slowly as she began to tentatively relax.
"Of course Talia...my pleasure." He smiled and trotted off his tail wavering with excitement. He was going to find a rabbit at least to bring back to her especially if she hadn't been eating well since she had been injured.
Veero returned with a rabbit dangling from his jaws the fat brown hare had been fast but not fast enough. It would make more then a snack for the lovely Talia. Still she looked to be pretty sound asleep when he returned and so he laid the plump rabbit infront of her and moved to lay down. He would wait until she woke up and then if she still wasn't sated he'd take her for a hunt.
Talia was well asleep by the time he returned. She was truly exhausted to even sleep outside of a den without having scouted the area first, so when he settled the kill before her at first she didn't even so much as twitch out of her breathing pattern. After taking an inhale or two with the scent of fresh blood nearby, though, she began to stir. For a moment, lying there, waking up to a fresh meal, she almost wondered if she was dreaming being back up in the mountains with Tsume. They used to hunt meals for one another too, like that. Smelled too fresh to be a dream though, right?
She snapped awake again then, eyes flying open, though she fought against the instinct to jolt upright.
That's right, Veero had followed her. He must have been successful in his hunt. How had she...?
"Veero..." She looked in his direction, sitting up slowly. "I fell asleep?" She sounded surprised. She knew she'd recommended rest, but didn't plan to fall asleep unguarded like she had.
Veero waited patiently for her to wake up and smiled when she started to. He felt quite successful and pleased by his hunting prowess. His ears twitched and he lifted his head as she spoke. "You did..." He nodded and sat up giving a little shake off.
"I brought you a little something, figured you could use it even before the hunt. Once you feel up to it we'll take down a doe and then we can continue? If your up to it that is?" He looked at her curiously trying to judge just how healed up she was.
Talia looked over the rabbit then, a bit surprised by the size of it, but grateful. It would be enough to give her the energy needed to track and flush out larger game. She hesitated briefly, looking back at Veero before closing her jaws around one of the legs to bring it closer. "Thank you for this. I'm sure I'll be fine to hunt and travel a bit after I've had something to eat."
"I'm glad I could be of assistance Talia, well I'll leave you to your meal. I'm going to go see if I can sniff out any trails for a small herd or a lone doe. Follow me when you feel up to it?" He was quite proud and eager to show off for her again. Not that he was courting...exactly, well maybe he was a little. Truthfully Talia was very pretty he couldn't help but admire her lone independence. The life of a pack was the only one he had ever known.
"Hm, alright." She replied, glancing at him one more time, more alert by the second as her body woke. He seemed pleased. She supposed he was excited to be out on his own and away from his birth pack.
Well, it would be nice to have company again for a change.
Quietly she began to eat, navigating past the fur as best as she could.
It didn't take too long for her to finish picking the meat from the kill, and feeling a dozen times more like herself again already Talia got back to all fours, shook herself off, cleaned herself up, and loped off after the direction of Veero's scent. It was time to put her muscles back to work, time to hunt.
