He could hear the rustle of their paws, the soft sway of a branch disturbed by a gray flank; he could hear it, but they were so soft, so subtle, he didn't know how many.. one, or more? Wide-eyed he threw his head up to stare into the shadows, but the moon's light didn't reach the dark forest floor and wherever the wolf, or wolves, was, remained hidden. Something like a curse sat just behind his teeth, each exhalation forceful but gradually slowing, even if his feet did not. He danced lightly on the spot, tensing momentarily as the great beast turned to face him again. As the predator's gaze locked on him again, he wondered why he wasn't running — why he was here, toying with his own life. Fishing for information. He blinked, listening to his voice. So oddly cultivated, coming from such a savage mouth, and he felt his own movements grow still for a moment. One frosted hoof rose to stomp down onto the moss, his tail giving a swish of defiance even as he ignored the lurch in his prey-heart at the growl.

The wolf-beast went on, and Mauja's ears flattened for a moment. His light dance had resumed, and somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that she was coming but her hunt had taken her far, she was not fast enough, but she was coming and no one could save that bastard if he so much as curled another of Mauja's hairs... Irma's vehement rage burned brightly in the back of his skull, and as Osiris demanded Mauja become the prisoner of The Grey, he felt his lips curl back. Liquid, frigid darkness seeped through his veins like poison, but he bit it back. Who the hell were The Grey? "No," he replied, his voice a cold sneer; there were at least two wolves apart from the big one, but he had a feeling that if he ran, he'd be surprised.. otherwise Osiris wouldn't be so calm, so confident.

Or would he?

"I might be outnumbered," he ventured in a flippant voice, drawing a half-step closer, his heart hammering madly in his chest even as his blood cooled. Wings beat in a frenzy. "But am I the weakest here?" And his cold horn dipped a fraction, pointing at the cowering, skulking wolf, the small, scrawny one, and within the gray's chest, the blood of his heart grew colder and colder. Ice was in his veins, and Mauja's gaze sharpened, one corner of his mouth curling upward.