[SkyWolf11]

[Just doing a bit of character building P:  Again, though not publicly open, if you feel like you'd like to join in, message me and let me know!]

 In a place where the air was already thick with foul smells of the humans, it was only made worse by the steady rain that had washed over the area.  It was enough to make the male Werecain heave.  "What a horrid place.", he growled with his nose scrunched in disgust.  Behind him, a slightly smaller, female Werecain slowly walked.  

"Then why are we here?", she moaned angrily.  "It stinks, there's no food, and my fur's all wet!  I hate this!"  Her bright purple eyes locked with the male's more magenta eyes as he looked back at her with a sigh.  "I know I know..."

He'd wanted to say more but was stopped in his tracks as he heard a human voice.  The two were tired after having spent the better part of the day traversing through the Tengel Rainforest.  They were certainly out of their element, their home being a long ways away across the expansive forest, on other territory.  One thing they certainly missed was the lack of humans but here, there were more than what was comfortable.  

The male backed into the female, stopping her with a soft shh before motioning towards a spacious under area of a nearby porch.  Staying on the edge of the town and in the shadows, they hoped not to be seen by the humans that littered the town.  However, their home wasn't as safe as it use to be.  Measures had to be taken, unfortunately.

[SkyWolf11]

Under the porch, the two had a fleeting moment of relief.  They shook the water from their fur before hunkering down to rest.  At least the rain was no longer pelting them.  It was only mid day, however, meaning they'd have to lay low until things quieted down outside before they could leave.  It was a welcome rest for the male but the female wasn't as patient and voiced her displeasure quite loudly.

"It stinks under here as well!  And it's muddy and there's garbage everywhere..."  She slapped down a paw onto a tin can in front of her, making it clang dully in the mud as she jostled it around with her claws.  The male's ears flicked back in annoyance as her claws grated over the can just right to make a high pitched scraping sound.  With a growl, he slapped his own paw over her's to stop her fiddling.  

"Enough Naira!", he mumbled gruffly as to not alert anyone to where they were.  "I don't like this place any more than you do, trust me, but we can't go back home.  It's ... it's too soon.", he paused as he recalled the events that's passed in his head.  "We'd be killed.  Just ... just rest.  We've come a long way, we need to get our energy back."

[SkyWolf11]

The female scoffed with a roll of her eyes before turning away from him.  "Get our energy back, huh?  And how are we supposed to do that Zuro?  We haven't had a decent kill in a week!"  The past month, with all that had been going on in their homeland, had been one of the poorest ones they'd experienced in years.  And with Zuro ushering her on the last 24 hours, there was little hunting to be done and much more expending of energy she couldn't spare.  So could you blame her for being so grumpy?

Zuro sighed heavily, biting his tongue seeing as she was still the leader's child.  "Just ...", he paused with a shake of his head.  He really wasn't in the mood to continue this argument.  He searched for the right words to say to try and calm her a bit.  "Just rest for now.  Come dusk we'll see if there's a chance to hunt.  I promise."  After all, he was hungry too.  

[SkyWolf11]

As the minutes ticked by, things had calmed down between the two.  Few words were spoken inbetween the two hours that soon came to pass.  As the sun drifted lower in the sky, the tall canopy of the neighboring woods overshadowed the small town on the outskirts of the Slums.  It soon began to get cooler as the rain continued to drizzle steadily, which drove many of the residents indoors much to the Werecains' relief.  

Soon enough, Zuro found himself lost to his exhaustion and had fallen fast asleep.  However, the ever unsatisfied Naira was merely feigning sleep until she heard the male drift off.  Her eyes flickered open with a quick glance towards Zuro as she heard him settle into a steady heavy breathing.  Naira's ears flinched as Zuro let out a loud exhale before falling over from his upright position onto his side, his steady breathing picking back up almost immediately.  She waited a few moments to see if he'd stir again before she raised her head.  "Heh, out cold eh?  Good ridance.", she huffed under her breath as a mischievious smile crossed her lips.  

Making as little noise as her large frame allowed her in such a cramped location, Naira quickly snuck out from under the porch, giving little caution to her surroundings before she darted off into the woods.  "You can wait til dusk if you want but I'm not waiting any longer.  Rest is for the weak."

[SkyWolf11]

A full out run had downgraded into a steady trot as Naira wandered deeper and deeper into the forest.  She'd gotten a fair distance from the town before she decided to stop and survey the area for any fresh tracks or scent trails of game.  With this different terrain, she desperately hoped there was much more huntable animals around than there had been back in their territory.

Their home had hit a rough patch once the hunters and rival packs had begun to move in over a couple of months time and in the last month especially, game had been near nonexistant within their hunting territory.  The rival packs had all but killed off the surrounding population, Naira suspected, and if not them, then the hunters and humans had certainly driven the animals away.  

With each human settlement or house that popped up within the sheltered forests, there was less and less hunting grounds to be hunted.  It was dangerous to get close to these people; more often than not, they'd rather shoot you than look at you! It was terrifying...  With that fear instilled within them, more and more packs began crossing paths and so many fights broke out over territory and hunting ground rights.

If there was one thing she didn't miss from her homeland, it was the recent overcrowding.  Her pack had been one of the largest and most powerful in the region - they certainly held their own within all the chaos of all the recent happenings but still...  Her father...  had sent her away.

[SkyWolf11]

It worried her that her father had split the pack in such times of worry.  As the leader's only living child and, inherently, the next in line after her father per their pack's custom, she tried desperately to see the reasoning behind such a move.  What did he hope to accomplish?  Together they were strong.  Why seperate them and make them weak?  She just didn't get it.  

To make matters worse, after her father had his commands carried out, they'd been attacked by their longest standing rival pack.  It was a bloodbath...  That was the last she'd seen of her father.  With most of their pack sent off, they hadn't stood a chance.  All Naira could recall was chaos, shouting, fighting, then Zuro who told her to run.  She'd questioned him of course and utterly refused to leave but he'd practacially nipped her heels off and bullied her away.  All he'd say was that her father told him to take her away.  It was all so confusing and upsetting.  

As the thoughts and memories of her father flooded her mind, Naira followed the faint scent of fresh water, though everything smelt of water with the rain.  She weaved effortlessly through the tightly bundled trees and mossy rock faces as she came upon a ravine.  She paused as she observed the steep banks of the ravine.  Down below there was a small, shallow stream much to her happiness.  Where there was water, there was wildlife.  It was a good sign and as good of a place to stake out for prey.