“But never forget Taki. Unlike many mamono, our kind do not have the luxury of sampling different men before choosing a husband. The first man you choose to mate with is the one you will fall in Love with and desire for the rest of your life. You must be wise in choosing."

“I will be," Taki assured her.

“It is not a matter to worry over though," her mother assured back, her expression softening slightly. "Unless you ignore them, your instincts will tell you who is suitable. But the voice of your instinct is quiet, as it is the voice of the emotions locked in your heart, feelings you cannot understand until you mate. So always listen to your instincts, even when they don't make sense."

-Present-

Now those instincts were pulling her to this man.

"Yes mother," she said to herself softly. "I will always listen."

She leaped away to search for him.

Several hours into his trek Carter had realized something important.

Namely that for most areas he had no real idea where Taki's territory ended and another began. He had hoped to see scythe marks on trees or some other visual signal to mark the boundaries but had yet to see any.

“I really should have planned this better..." he remarked. He had wanted to reach the edge of at Least one territorial boundary to get some sense of the scale of Taki's territory, then trek back, but for all he knew he had already left her territory.

He might not have trusted her but simply asking her about her territory was seeming Like a better and better option. A few more hours passed, and, noting the sun was beginning to set, he opted to try to find his way back. The first step to do that was to climb a tree. Taki's tree was one of the larger ones in the forest and thus visible for miles above the canopy.

Yet no sooner had he spotted the distant forest giant then a mighty howl reverberated through the air and into his very bones. A firm believer in discretion being the better part of valor, Carter half climbed, half fell out of the tree and made a run for it.

"I know which way to go now, I can make it,' he assured himself, almost laughing at the fact he wanted to go back to Taki. He was unsure what had made that cry, but whether it was a wolf or a wolf type monster he wanted to avoid it. The sound had been primal, awe-inspiring, but also terrifying in the power it conveyed. Whatever had made it was not to be messed with.

It was then that another howl sounded through the forest, this one closer. Carter's knees nearly buckled in reaction but he managed to recover and run with even more fervor. Still more howls came, even closer and from different directions, and while these were less powerful they still motivated him to increase the pace even further.

Then all was silent, save for the sound of his own heart beating wildly. The birds had even ceased singing in fear of the predators pursuing him, though an occasional alarm cry would ring out, signaling one had spotted something. Not that it helped him, he couldn't fly away.

Minutes passed, and while he didn't stop running Carter did start to feel more optimistic. Maybe he had lost the-

As if in answer his thought was interrupted by a brown, furry form tackling him from behind.

In utter shock, Carter didn't resist as his assailant used his own momentum to send him tumbling to the ground, landing on top of him with a victorious grin.

"Got him boss!"

The woman on top of him Looked to be in her early teens, with a very athletic form. Her furry hands held him down with ease as he tried to struggle free, her canine ears perked and alert. He might have found her girlish voice cute if she hadn't just knocked the wind out of him.