Jose
The quiet of the forest had allowed Minnah's thoughts to drift, far away from the concerns that usually plagued her mind, to more pleasant topics. As she absently worked on a tree branch laying on the ground, she thought about her mother, about the changing of the seasons, about the little creature on her shoulder, everything and nothing, really. It was rare for her to not focus on her worries for a moment, and while it might not be a big deal to many people, she really appreciated times like these. 

Of course, being as lost in thought as she was, she didn't notice someone else appearing for quite some time. It didn't help that the hood of her cloak was both doing a great job of hiding her face, but also limiting her field of vision, giving her even less chance to see the other. Only Azeria seemed to notice something, and the fox nimbly jumped down from her shoulder, watching the newcomer from her new position on the ground. Minnah winced slightly at the sudden change of pressure on her shoulder, but paid what Azeria was doing no mind. After all, the fox kind of just did whatever she wanted to do, and Minnah had learned that most of it didn't matter to her.

To say that she was spooked from the sudden vocalisation of the other person would be an understatement. The poor woman practically jumped out of her skin, her paintbrush falling to the ground as she spun around to see where the noise had come from. Surprised by her sudden movement, Azeria yipped and took a few steps back to avoid being hit by Minnah's cloak as it spun with her. How had she managed to miss someone get this close to her? She stepped backwards herself, instinctively reaching out her right hand to pick up her bow - only to remember that she hadn't brought it with her. After all, the snow might have ended up deforming the wood, and that was the last thing she wanted. Still, she felt like an idiot for not bringing any kind of weapon with her.
** **

However, she was also quick to realize that the newcomer didn't seem all that threatening. After all, if this person intended to hurt her, she would have already been hurt, right? She took a deep breath to try and calm her rapidly beating heart as she straightened herself, pulling at her hood to make sure that her face was still covered. Perhaps Vhun might have caught a glimpse of what lay beneath, if she was paying close enough attention. Minnah had her nose and mouth wrapped up in a brown knitted woollen scarf to help protect her from the cold, but more notable was the rest of her face. The right side was fairly normal, her skin pale and the eye an amber color. Her other eye, though, was completely white, and the skin was coated in pinkish scar tissue, looking like it had been burned badly some time ago. The few strands of hair poking out were almost as white as the snow, but mostly hidden beneath her hood.

Minnah didn't say a word as she quickly snatched up her paintbrush, brushing off some snow and carefully placing it down on the easel. Although she was still a bit shaken, she began calming down, focusing her attention on the one who had approached her. She wasn't quite sure she had ever seen someone like that, but then she remembered the tales her mother had told her when she was younger, about the mothfolk living high up in the sky. This person seemed to fit that description exactly. But... What would someone like that want with her?

Quietly, she raised her right hand and gave the newcomer a little wave. She kept her left hand hidden behind her back, and overall didn't seem too keen on showing off parts of herself, but hopefully for her, this person wouldn't mind too much.
Damon
Vhun had continued to creep closer, her lower set of hands holding her deck of paper cards, and her upper clutching a single fray-edged parchment card. She twisted it between her hands as she stood there, waiting for this stranger to notice her. She was nervous, as she always was when approaching strange people. Many had strange ideas about mothfolk, and she never knew if one was going to be hostile. She'd yet to encounter anyone that was truly dangerous to her, but it always was a small concern of hers. She had no interest in being shot, stabbed or magically obliterated.

As the mothfolk spotted the fox, the creature took a long stride back, antennae twitching rather nervously. Though she was quite fond of the outdoors, and by extension the wildlife, she certainly wasn't adept or even capable in terms of ability to handle them. She didn't want the thing to bite her, nor did she want to have to fly away like some kind of coward. She wasn't a coward. Her head tilted downward, focusing on the creature in full. It was difficult to tell where the mothfolk was looking, given the nature of her eyes, but she seemed to be making quite an effort to direct her body in such a way that it was clear.

The poor mothfolk made an equally surprised sound as Minnah spun, head whipping after her hand as she watched her reach for... Something? She didn't know what. Probably something to throw at her, she thought, given how startled the poor thing seemed. She wondered briefly of her species. Certainly not mothfolk. Maybe some sort of shapeshifter? She couldn't see anything that would suggest anything else. Really, she couldn't see much of anything at all. Maybe she was just senstitive to the cold. It didn't matter. She truly just wanted to complement her art.

Slowly, Vhun lifted her hand to copy the wave with her free upper hand. Her face was rather non-expressive, given her nature, but one could see that she certainly had given a lot of thought to her appearance. There was thin white hair there, hair that striped down her face in a long, thick band, and appeared to be powdered as a means of creating even more contrast against her otherwise dark gray complexion. She took another slow step forward, lifting up the card and presenting it to her.

In neat —albeit loopy—handwriting, a single word stood boldly out against yellowed parchment.

*Hello.*

Her lower set of hands shuffled through the cards once more, passing another card up, then continuing their shuffle.

*My name is Vhun.*

The sets of hands traded cards.

*What's your name?*

They traded once more, this final card being presented alongside a finger pointed in the direction of the painting.

*I like that.*
Jose
Okay, she hadn't been hurt yet by this... Person? Minnah was unsure if it was appropriate to call this probably a Mothfolk that, as she didn't know much about the species aside from a few vague details that she could barely recall. Either way, it seemed that her earlier idea had been correct, this person didn't mean to cause her harm. Beneath her scarf, her lips parted in a quiet exhale of relief, her breath visible in the cold. It truly had been a surprise to be talked to so suddenly, but she was recovering well enough.

Quietly, she examined the person, taking in her strange appearance. It might take her a little while to get used to, but something told Minnah that the other had put a lot of care into looking the way she did. And those details on her cloak, were those gold thread? It almost made Minnah feel a little inadequate, with how plain her outfit was. Almost, she knew better than to entertain feelings like that.

Minnah resisted the urge to step back when the other took a step forward, and instead turned her attention to the card that had been presented to her. She blinked in surprise, her eyes darting between the card and the Mothfolk's face. She couldn't help it, the thought crossed her mind - was this person, who was named Vhun, according to the second card, like her? She tilted her head slightly, booting the thought out of her head as she glanced at the third one. An open-ended question like that was going to take a bit more effort to answer, but she decided to wait, as it seemed Vhun had something else to say. Or, well, show.

She looked at where the other was pointing, finding that it was her own painting. That was unexpected, to say the least. Yet... It wasn't unwelcome. Beneath her scarf, the slightest hint of a smile tugged at her lips, though there was no way to see it from the outside. The sudden compliment did make it so Minnah felt more like having a conversation with Vhun, and the urge to run away vanished quickly.
** **

However, not a single sound escaped her. Instead, she held up her right hand, hoping to wordlessly tell Vhun to wait a second, and she crouched down next to her easel and stuck her right hand into the simple bag that lay beneath it, pulling out a wooden box, colored a dark brown. Gently holding it in her left, which was protected from the cold with a leather glove, Minnah pulled off the top to reveal a simple white feather - no, the point of it was sharpened like a quill used for writing. It didn't look like anything fancy, yet Minnah picked it up as if it was the most precious item in the world, which it kind of was to her.

She held the thing up in the air, and as if the air in front of her was a piece of parchment, started writing. More surprisingly, words actually showed up, a red color that was glowing slightly, but the light they gave off was difficult to see when the sun was up. *My name is Minnah*, she wrote, and paused, allowing the words to slowly turn around and drift towards Vhun so that she could read them. After fifteen seconds or so, the ink vanished, not leaving a trace of its existence behind.

*Thank you*, she wrote in response to the compliment, and then added, a moment later; *I like your clothes.* Her handwriting was curly and quite pretty to look at, especially with the soft red glow of the words themselves. *Is that gold thread in your cloak?* Now it was Minnah's time to point, though she pointed with her quill instead of her free hand, which she seemed to be avoiding using. She hoped her own words came off as sincerely as she meant them, as she was still hiding her face and its expressions, and she didn't have the advantage of the tone of her voice either.
Damon
The mothfolk stared back at Minnah evenly, given that her eyes were not capable of showing any other expression. She could tell this woman was unsettled by her, but didn't know what else to do to calm her. All she could do was twitch her antennae and wring her hands. It wasn't often that she was acutely aware that her appearance was strange, but right now she certainly was. She didn't like it. She didn't like being able to fix this. Her shoulders slowly drooped down, the muscles of her wings relaxing as the enormous limbs fully shed their tension. She was trying to seem non threatening through loose body language.

This other person did seem confused. Was she unaccustomed to those who could not physically speak the common language? Or was she unable to read her handwriting? Some people weren't all that good with reading, Vhun knew, and she supposed she couldn't blame them for that. It wasn't as if it was a malicious action on the part of either, though Vhun had recently realized her cards were getting a little bit worn. Maybe they were the problem...

Relief flooded through her as the other woman held a hand up for her to wait. What was that she was pulling out? A quill and cards? A quiet, thrumming chuckle slipped out of Vhun, a sound that was perhaps unrecognizable to Minnah, but most certainly quite gentle. They were similar, in a way. That was more of a relief than she could know.

The cards shuffled once more, Vhun counting through them for two cards displayed in quick succession.

*You're welcome.*

*Nice to meet you.*

If one looked close, or cared to make note of the cards, there seemed to be a system in place to organize them. Each card had a notch cut in one corner, though this corner seemed to vary. The two recently displayed cards were missing their top right corner and left top corner respectively.

Internally, Vhun was speaking Minnah's name. It was very pretty, she thought, and she wondered if she could pronounce it. The 'M' and the 'n' certainly could be a pleasant low buzz. Maybe she'd have to practice it when she made it home. This thought quickly slipped away at the complement, however, the mothfolk seemed to puff up with pride as she read it. Her wings fluttered excitedly as she traded cards between her hands again, head turning down as she shuffled for a new set of cards.

*No.*

*Wait.*

'No' was another card missing its top right corner, so was wait.

The whole stack of pre-made cards were transferred to Vhun's upper right hand, her upper left moving to dig in her pockets for a long moment, eventually producing a scrap of parchment and a stick of charcoal. It wasn't the most elegant of writing utensils, but it was effective. Her hands traded objects once more, lower set of hands now holding the cards while her upper set to writing.

*It is dye I made. I am very happy with it.*

She allowed a moment for Minnah to read, then folded the paper over to write more.

*You are a very skilled painter.*