Groggy and sleep deprived, Maeve slowly sat up, an ache in her head from not properly sleeping at all that past night. She sighed, brushing through her curly hair before exiting the makeshift tent with her pack slung around her body. 

      Once out of the tent, Maeve peered at it and looked it over to see what the tent looked like after last year. Gaze still cruising the leather, Maeve spotted a few shallow slashes in the material. She kneeled down, reaching a hand out to trace the lines. 

       It was odd to try to ponder what kind of thing could've done a feat such as this.

       "What the..." Maeve murmured to herself as her fingers continued to press against the wound in the tent.

        A mountain lion. That's what it had to be, Maeve thought to herself. "Let's just hope Sokanon's got a way to deal with animal encounters like this," Maeve whispered to herself, almost inaudible.

       As Maeve continued to examine the damaged leather, Sokanon slowly approached. "Good morning."

       Maeve nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Sokanon speak behind her. She stood, turning to face the taller woman. Her breath was fast and heavy.

      Sokanon, of course, noticed this. She grinned a little. "Sorry. Did I scare you?"

      Maeve nodded. "Yes, you did—-" The witch paused before asking the other woman, "Did you hear it? Last night?"

      Sokanon's head tilted to the side a little with confusion written all over her face at redhead's question. "Hear what?"

       "The animal?" Maeve offered.

        "What animal?" Sokanon questioned further.

         Maeve tried to explain, "Black bear... Bobcat, coyote... Mountain lion. I dunno what it was!" She paused, taking a deep breath. "There was some animal outside... in the campsite last night. I didn't hear it make a single noise, but it did shake the tent after I cut myself."

        Sokanon raised a dark eyebrow. "Cut yourself? What do you mean? What happened?"

        Maeve sighed. "I wanted to get something out of my pack... and unfortunately cut myself on a hunting knife."

       "Ouch." Sokanon looked down to the other woman's hand. "Is it okay now? Do you need to bandage it, milady?"

        Maeve inhaled, slowly. "I'm fine. I handled it last night." There's a pause before she told Sokanon. "...and you don't need to call me 'milady', by the way. Maeve's fine. I promise."

      Sokanon paused, taking some time to let it sink in. "Yeah. Maeve. ...it works." She paused before telling Maeve, "But to answer your question: no. I didn't hear anything last night... But I wouldn't be surprised that something was out there. The woods around the mountains are packed full of fauna. ...Some gentle like the deer... Others more vicious like the lions."

      Maeve asked, "So, you're used to them wandering into camp at this point?"

       Sokanon nodded. "Yes. It's the average here. ...Almost every night. You learn to tune it out after a while." The gold in Sokanon's eyes was far less unsettling as it had been the night before.

       "Well... I'll keep an eye out for animals like that as we go to locate Aelod then," Maeve said, watching the other woman's eyes. "I'll be far more careful then too... Make sure to refrain myself from injury or anything else that might draw them to me."

         Sokanon replied, "That's a good practice actually." Silence fell for a brief moment before Sokanon gave her a gentle gaze and asked, "Now, how do you feel about some breakfast?"