For as far from home as he was, Antares tried to imbue a quiet confidence to betray his.. relative uncertainty. He didn't know exactly what he was getting into. But the forests were a welcome change, and even despite the chill of the rain, he found he liked the weight of it on his fur anyway. It had helped him before, he remembered. Now he could try to puzzle out the mystery of her, next.
Before anything else, any of his usual avenues.. her question paused him just a few steps away to take that in. Unexpected so soon, even for the rogue Ostrega, he blinked at her, tail giving a tentative quiver. Well, he had not looked so closely until she prompted. She was lean, dark-browns, in a shade he didn't see that often lately in the north. Tall. He appreciated the look of poise, of a balance that he thought came alongside certain strength, or a self-assuredness, something like that even if only in this moment where she had the edge over him. It could look different, depending who, and where, but he had long begun to see its form--he once idolized fine wolves, after all, and continued to appreciate them of all sorts through life even now. That made him painfully aware of himself, too, enough to unfurl only some. He kept his nerves close to his heart, but curious interest was an easy motivator for him and he wanted to see more.
He glanced across her face, determined not to linger despite in the molten pull. Antares didn't know who she was, what that could mean. That remained a dim worry as he regrouped enough to nod. Pretty like the woods, like in a late summer, almost near autumn, when the humid days begin to have crisp nights, but well before the last fireflies. He swallowed and felt he should level back with something more present. That was one beginning, so not to be left too many steps behind, he drew up his head steadier. “Mhm, I'd say so. Why do you ask a stranger like me..?” A soggy one, no less, one quite far from his usual roosts. But once it was said, he supposed he could take some strength from the anonymity if that suited her too. “Am I pretty?” the shadow gathered his courage into a playful smirk, like he was some expert--though he did consider himself a pretty good eye.
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