sitting on an angry chair — joining

[melantha]

very rarely do her senses fail her. without the extra edge of supernatural powers, the girl relies heavily upon her natural-born abilities to help her survive to see another day. every single one must be in prime condition, lest a hostile creature gets the jump on her and boom! she's dead. though she may be young, she is a killer in her own right. perhaps not nearly as efficient as killua—for she is but a simple panther and not an assassin—but as far as adolescent mountain lions go, she can handle her own. so as the young girl stands there, channeling so much of her remaining energy into staying upright that her teeth begin to ache from her clenched jaw, a distant crunch of snow and creak of a branch begin to eat away at her paranoia. she cannot smell anyone nearby, but they have to be there. she knows it. no, she feels it. on a good day, perhaps she could have spotted killua as he approached, but  today is not a good day. she is so tired she could just collapse, her vision is blurry, her breathing is ragged and everything looks the same across the snow-dusted landscape.

regradless, she is far too paranoid—perhaps cautious is a better word?—to simply give up searching just because the unknown presence is not immediately identifiable. although it took a moment to fight through the exhaustion, she managed to pick up on the sound of branches moving above her. she twists her head around, her eyes locking upon killua just as he sits down upon the bough. a ghost of a snarl flashes across her features, hackles raising defensively at the stranger who so suddenly appeared in her space rather than simply walking up and saying "hello." she is already annoyed by the male's decision to sneak up on her instead of confronting her directly as if she is some sort of prey, so one would assume that watching him nonchalantly summon a piece of candy would only worsen her mood. however, she has never seen candy before, much less smelled it, so any hint of irritation is quelled by the arrival of something new and interesting. coal black pupils dilate curiously, intrigued by the sight of the lollipop. "what is that?" the question balances at the tip of her tongue, only moments away from spilling over before she remembers that this strange guy is not to be trusted, no matter how sweet-smelling the stuff he puts in his mouth is.

"yo. you look a bit worse for wear." squash green eyes narrow as they scrutinize the speaker, sweeping across his slender ivory figure. given the pitch of his voice and the advancement of his growth, the serval could not be much older than she, but the countless scars peppering his pelt make it clear that despite his youth, he should not be taken lightly. she feels his gaze upon her, but she refuses to show any hint of cowardice. he not only possesses the high ground, but the those metal claws look awfully dangerous. besides, she is in no physical condition to fight. "i'm glad you're capable of making basic observations," she replies in a tone that is not disrespectful so much as it is testing the boy. the young girl has no idea how these things are supposed to work; she's never joined anything before. the cold is starting to get to her and she's anxious to get some water and perhaps a nap, too. "my name is—" cough "—melantha. are you from snowbound?" best to check that he isn't just some creepy rando, especially since he oddly seems to be lacking a scent.