Loud. The jaguar heard the maned wolf’s pawsteps meters away in the treetops, her hazel eyes immediately seeking out the teenager. Everyone walked so loud, their paws thundering against the frozen ground as though pleased with themselves for announcing their presence to the world. Vale hated how everyone else moved through the world as though it owed them the courtesy of listening to their every move – pawsteps, mumbling, breathing. Gods, even their breathing sounded far too loud.

Creeping through the trees, the melanistic jaguar prowled closer to the maned wolf. Even irritated, her paws moved fluidly over the bark; the woman hardly made a sound. Why would she, when the groaning of a branch screamed like a drill in her ear? Even as a human, she hated noise; adapting to the quiet tactics of a feline hunter came more than naturally to her, as she practiced the art of silence more than a lady of her social standing ever did.

Her muscles flexed, bunching under her skin, before she jumped off from her perch. Dropping through the air like a stone, she nevertheless landed without a hair out of place in front of the mumbling stranger – though her ears flicked with irritation from the resulting thump of her paws striking the ground. “Well, this is Ascendants territory – perhaps you’re looking for somewhere else?” she suggested, black nose twitching against the offensive smells that stained the loner’s pelt. “If you tell me what you’re looking for, perhaps I can help. I’m Vale Aston, by the way,” she added with a flick of her tail. The maned wolf looked like a lost puppy – almost young enough to be one, too – and the older woman clearly underestimated her due to their size and age difference. But Vale was being genuine; no matter how much the teenager offended her with her… sounds and smells.

[ vale has enhanced senses and isn't adjusting well, just to clarify where her 'AHHHH NOISES AND SMELLS" rage is coming from ha ]