Dhaska was expecting an opportunistic competitor to come and challenge him for his food, and he couldn’t be personally offended by it; there were times when he was young, hungry, and alone where he would steal from others to sate his hunger for another day. It was survival, he could understand it… But he had to survive too, and he wasn’t about to flee before making sure that he could take the fight.

So when the tell-tale rustle of foliage announced a hungry soul emerging to feast, he hunched further over his food and raised the fur on his hackles, a visual indicator that he wasn’t about to be pried off of his lunch if he could help it. He was expecting the huff of a bear, maybe the low growl of a cat, but not the voice of one of his own kind.

He turned, and observed the female with a hint of surprise. Red fur overlaid against black like the smoldering embers after a wildfire, with a demeanor that was equally as relentless and consuming. In spite of that, her grey eyes were cool, studying him at a distance with the expected amount of intrigue held by a social but lonesome creature encountering one of their own species.

Dhaska didn’t want to assume this one was alone. As far as he knew, she could be distracting him before the rest of her family showed up to bully him off the carcass. But the lack of wolf scent in the area made that idea shaky; maybe she was alone, or perhaps drifting from a previous pack? Kita was like that, wandering farther and farther from her family until she ran into Dhaska, and she joined him to make a family of their own.

One of his ears twisted back in uncertainty, but he responded to her praise with a measured amount of pride, I don’t quit. I respect the hunt. It alone chooses who’ll live and who’ll be fed.

He narrowed his eyes with scrutiny, pondering longer over what she said. He was not one to assume things, but… It was becoming difficult to ignore this as an opportunity. She requested some of his food, and for the first time in a while, Dhaska dismissed his immediate gut response to violently turn her away. No, that was no way to treat a potential companion.

... I suppose, he answered, his voice suddenly a tone lighter. He sat upright and cleaned the blood from his lips with his tongue, making himself look more presentable as he opened a space for her to come and feast alongside him. His eyes flickered over her form before courteously returning to meet her gaze, So long as you don’t mind the company.