Or rather a snake in the woods, perfectly at home out here after an early morning shower ran through the area and left the forest trails a little damp. Not muddy, not so dusty you can't make a move without kicking up a smokescreen, but just right for the naga to be slithering along at a respectable pace. This felt more like home, like the jungles, like the wild and untamed South American home he'd come from. The trees here weren't as comforting, nothing as tall or thick, or even the same density, but it would do. He just really needed to get out of that cold stone castle for a while, get his scales back on something more natural, and something with Less Stairs! Oh gods how he Hated stairs and the place was FULL of them. He'd never been to see the headmaster in his own room, even the thought of climbing that tower made him cringe.

But aside from that, the naga came out here for a different reason. It was quiet, and he was used to the quiet back home. Unless he was working he didn't need five hundred or so kids constantly storming around, a few dozen adults always wanting something special from the cafeteria, so many people in there just so used to getting whatever they wanted. He could handle it most of the time but now, no, today he needed a break. And so he paused for a moment to sniff a patch of bright yellow flowers, using both his "naga" and "normal" senses to savor the relaxing aroma. Yes, this was nice, and most of those stuck up students and teachers didn't want to "muddy their paws" out here after the rain, all the more free space and time for him.

[bg=000000][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,350,true][atrb=background,http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/8906/azmiddle.png] Yes, the day was pretty nice, and the scent of the forest after the rain made the fennec's nose twitch, eagerly drawing in the earthy smells. The soil, the leaves, the grass. It was all so much better here than in the dank and dirty city that he was used to. Az leaned back, settling against the trunk of the tree, his paws propped up on the branch that he was sitting on. Most of his species couldn't climb particularly well, but Az was so tall and lightweight that it was easy to haul himself up into the tree. Golden Oaks was so different from what he was used to, the forest, clean air, room to move, and no constant shouting.. Only the sound of songbirds and insects chirping from their hiding places in the trees. It was kind of nice... A stiff breeze sent leaves swaying around him. Blood red eyes followed one that was cast away, sent tumbling and spiraling towards the ground below. A movement just beyond caught his attention, and his head tilted, huge ears lifting to catch the sound of something moving through the undergrowth. Az stared for a moment through narrowed eyes, but his ears lowered again. Nagas were very rare where he came from, but then again, they probably didn't particularly care for slithering through dirty city streets and scratching up their scales. Who would? Maybe they were more common around these rural-foresty areas.

As the naga progressed through the trails slowly he began to pick up other scents, a few little ones here and there, nothing too interesting. A rabbit here, a mouse or two there. Then the faintest trace of something, hmm, wait, no, a rather strong trace within only a few feet. Ah the advantage of a recent rainfall, it became so much easier to tell what was fresh and still around, and what had since moved on. Every once in a while he still had a slight predatory urge to squeeze something, and sometimes a new scent would trigger it in his head. No, this was definitely big, probably a student... and while he or she... no, he... yes there was a definite faint note that left it unmistakably a male. He might be of a possible "prey" species that wasn't too familiar to the naga but it was definitely a student, not for eating.

However curiosity did bring him closer and closer to the stranger, someone else that enjoyed being out here in these conditions, a kindred spirit of sorts perhaps? Hmm, he was out of practice or this person was good at hiding, he knew they were somewhere around but couldn't quite tell where. "Hm? Someone out there?" Worth a try to get their attention but if they didn't want to be found he'd have a hard time tracking them down. And what then, why would he want to track someone that didn't want to be found? Not often they'd just say "Congrats for finding me now let's have a longwinded discussion on the merit of trees" or some nonsense like that.

[bg=000000][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=width,350,true][atrb=background,http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/8906/azmiddle.png] Closer now, the naga was definently coming his way, and from the looks of it, scenting him rather well. Not that it would be to hard considering the cologne spray he'd used earlier thismorning. The musky scent still clung to his fur and baggy hoody. The tattered, patched black garment had to be at least three sizes to large for him, but it hid his malnerouished frame well enough. Besides, the patches were all hand sewn, skulls and other various gothic design. He lifted a hand, tugging the hood over his head, ears tucking close to his head. The fennec moved silently, slowly sitting forward and shuffling his paws to hold his weight as he crouched. His tail bristled. This guy was bigger than he thought, and from the way they were stalking, Az wasn't exactly sure that he was friendly. Good thing he was high enough in the tree to be out of reach.. for now.. Snakes could climb after all. Even so, he tried to make himself look calm, and rather uninterested. "Depends, who's asking?" His voice was flat.

Ah, a voice, that certainly helped him focus on the right direction. Thankfully his hearing wasn't as bad as a snake's, and with a little more effort he found himself looking up in the direction of a strange young person almost looming over him especially with how that hood made him look. "Just your normal everyday naga chef out for a nice relaxing stroll I suppose. Nobody too special asking, just someone curious. Nice perch you seem to have up there." The stranger seemed to be a fox, but not a typical one either in dress or in stature. Almost all predatory thoughts completely vanished from his mind as he started to get a sense of the kid, goth, eww, such a terrible taste they left... erm... not that he'd know from experience or anything.

"So what brings you out here this morning if you don't mind my asking?" He was proud of that, his speech rarely if ever had that siblant hissing about it. Only when he really needed to frighten someone or if someone told him it sounded cute, or sexy, then he'd intentionally use it but he was a bit out of practice. And in a situation like this if the stranger in the tree didn't have a gun aimed at him there wasn't any need for it. That was one of the few things his cousin was outright proud of him for though, "learning proper language skillsss" as he put it.