Mudminnow River under pressure

their territory got old, fast. 
after the initial excitement of travelling here, and then exploring every inch of the territory over the course of a few weeks, (Without the responsibilities or worries of an adult, how else was she to spend her time?) the girl with the fiery gaze found herself out of activities. tree-climbing had become rather haphazardous, the Bypass had claimed the territory north of them (and she did not wish to invite her father's anger by testing their borders again), and the territory had been thoroughly combed. 

she waltzed along the borders, practising stalking a hare- which soon had her feel away from the freshly marked borders and to the south, where she promptly gave up her halfhearted stalking and wander aimlessly for a time, before passing a moment to sate her thirst, drinking deeply from the river she had visited once or twice in the past.

---

@Aoife

[table width=80%][tr][td]The wayward princess had conquered her fear of mountains and had explored a huge chunk of Teekon undocumented. Primal urges began racing through her blood as boredom ensued and she was unsure of what to do. She had no connections, no home and simply put; no title despite her having seen so much of the land. Her desire for her own rebellious group started to grow and grow and she had trouble keeping it all together without plans spilling from her mouth. Coyotes; she needed them, and young impressionable pups that she could sneak away too.

She decided to go quench her physical thirst near a river, not noticing the stranger at first. When she did, she had a faint flashback to the day she had met the warm-pelted boy, even though that had been near a lake. She stared at the other for a while, sipping up the water with her body turned so she could spy - obviously so.[/tr][/td][/table]

she was not alone for long, for shortly after she dipped her muzzle deep into the cool waters of the stream did another appear. her gaze fastened on the other, yet she did not raise her muzzle from the current immediately, instead drinking greedily for a time while she watched the other. finally, she lifted her dripping muzzle from the river, watching her- and when the beautiful woman made no move to speak, the girl broke the silence with a few words that were probably too loud. "Who are you?" 

her brow furrowed in the slightest, voice unnaturally loud sounding in the silence that had existed between them a moment of two. the woman was pretty- her pelt held not only the icy shades of winter, but also a fiery shade that, if Dawn knew more of the world, would have reminded her of summer, or perhaps autumn. 

[table width=80%][tr][td]A young specimen the stranger was; still quite lanky and pup-like unlike herself. Especially unlike herself were the girl's colours; they were dark, ominous and rebellious and lack most to all true colour. Aoife's eyes grew wider in curiosity as the other spotted her, smiling around her lapping tongue that was still gathering water. The stranger lifted her head, and the rebel princess did too - magnificent maw dripping with the cool liquids that she had been drinking. Her ears swivelled atop her head, surprised by the sudden voice that cut through the silence like a hot knife through butter.

My, my... Aoife said sweetly, cocking her head to the side. So curious, aren't we? She chuckled, clearly having no ill-intentions but a rebellious playfulness.[/td][/tr][/table]

the other replied in a sing-song manner, and the winterborn let out a huff. "Well, it'd be real boring not to be, wouldn't it?" came her retort, watching the woman. she hadn't answered the question, and the girl's brow furrowed even more. "I'm Dawn." she offered, wondering if giving her name would cause the other to do the same. she scented the air as had become her habit as of late, scenting nothing other than the scent of the woman- from this, she deduced after a moment, she should be alone. right? probably.

she moved a step closer, watching the woman, and finding herself, despite the lack of true conversation, interested in the young adult.

[table width=80%][tr][td]Aoife chuckled loudly at the other's response, even though it was true. Curiosity made the world a whole lot brighter; but also a whole lot more dangerous. What else do you consider boring then? She questioned, now intrigued. Aoife found nothing to be particularly boring but knew that that had not always been that way. As a kid, she had found a lot of things boring. I'm Aoife. She admitted proudly, speaking not her last name nor anything else that might get her in trouble in the long-run. The runaway princess was not to be discovered, and there was a chance someone else was called Aoife around here.[/td][/tr][/table]

what else did she consider boring? the territory, for one- at least, a little bit. It was still beautiful, simply lacking the exciting newness that so drew her. and then- "Sunny. He's my brother, and he thinks he's better than me and likes to boss me around and stop me from doing anything fun." came her words in a whirlwind, fast and yet legible, to an extent. "He thinks I need 'protecting'" she added with a huff, frown on her features of a fleeting moment.

Aoife. the woman's name was Aoife. she loved the name- it wasn't a thing, like Dawn was. It was something new, something that was a whole new order of sounds put together like she had never heard before. "Aoife- I like that name. That's a beautiful name." she said, perhaps a little dreamily (and with just a little bit of jealousy).

[table width=80%][tr][td]She raised a sassy eyebrow dot at the girl's struggles, inching closer carefully as to not give the wrong idea. She chuckled at the quickly spoken sentences of utter annoyance, finding it quite hilarious that instead of her parents it was her brother trying to shelter her from the real world. Aaah - yeah, I had parents like that. Y'know what I did? She asked with a proud smirk. I abandoned 'em all. She revealed, not wanting to wait on an answer.

Her ears moved down almost bashfully at the Dawn's next comment. The way she said it sounded almost jealous which made her wonder. Don't you like "Dawn"? It was strange to call your kid after a time of day - not to mention they had called her brother "Sunny". Perhaps her parents were just not very creative.[/tr][/td][/table]

Aoife revealed that she knew how it felt to be crushed by rules (though, really, she wasn't- Dawn didn't quite understand that rules were born merely out of her family's love for her. abandoning one's own kin seemed drastic, and a foreign idea to the girl- she did love her father, and her brother, no matter how many times they stifled her fun (and mostly dangerous) games. "Didn't you love them, though?" she asked, confusion furrowing her brow in the slightest. 

her next questioned caught her off-guard- still young, she did not know how transparent her thoughts were. "No- I like Dawn. Dawn is...pretty. Besides, Dawn is me, how could I not like me?" she asked, confusing herself in the slightest as she tried to explain.  "But Aoife sounds...magical." she admitted, looking up to the woman. another thought occurred to her, and she asked, "What do you do now? That you've left."  she questioned, half wondering at what it would be like to abandon all responsibilities of home and run away.

[table width=80%][tr][td]While she had believed it at first, it had become quite apparent that her parents had not put up rules out of love for her. She had needed to be a perfect little princess - something she wasn't. Her parents had forbidden her from being herself because they had selfishly wanted their image clean and pretty. Sometimes, Aoife wondered if her parents had even loved her. She snorted. If you love something, you have to let it go. She said. 'n if it comes back, you can keep it... She followed a little softer. It had been her motto for a long time, even though she had only ever felt strongly for her brothers and their trainer.

Mhm - both you and the time of day is indeed very pretty. She complimented with an approving nod and a smile. I suppose it's not very usual to not like yourself... but it does happen to a lot of wolves. She explained. While Aoife had been comfortable with herself for most of her life, there had been a time in her youth where she truly hated herself for not being what her parents wished she was. Once again the little sprite complimented her name - flattering yes, but comfortable? Not really. Aoife knew not what to respond but quickly flashed a grin at the other. I guess... I do whatever the hell I want now that nobody is expecting anything from me. She said slowly, eyes moving up in a thoughtful manner.[/tr][/td][/table]

her head tilted a fraction when Aoife spoke the words about love- they confused the child, for a moment. why let something go if you loved it? why not cling to it with all you had- wasn't that what you were supposed to do? but she supposed, that if you let something go that you loved- leave them, perhaps, as Aoife had- they would come to you, if they loved you enough. but- what if two people let go at the same time? and what if they didn't come back? she decided, though they but at her tongue, not to ask those questions- they seemed confusing, to the girl still trying to grasp the concept in only a few moments. 

instead, she offered a grin and a wiggle to the other's compliments, obviously pleased that the beautiful lady thought she was pretty, too. "Why wouldn't a wolf like themselves? Did they do something bad?" she asked, moments after Aoife finished. but her attention was instead stolen by the last few words she spoke, and eyes wide with a sudden idea and an excitement that grew in her chest, she asked, "Aoife? Do you think that you could take me on an adventure, with you?" she said she could do whatever the hell she wanted, and that idea appealed to the girl in the best way- her eyes gleamed and excitement was tangible in her voice.

[table width=80%][tr][td]Aoife believed that clinging to someone or something just made you vulnerable. It went completely against her care-free nature and rebellious spirit. Of course, it had still hurt to leave her brothers behind in that cave, even though she would never admit to it. Aoife giggled softly. When someone expects something big from you, and you can't satisfy them - wouldn't that make you feel terrible about yourself? She asked, hoping to clear things up for the girl.

Her blue eyes then grew big and her smile disappeared, instead replaced by a small "o" at Dawn's words. One ear flicked to the side as she thought about simply stealing a kid from their family. Then again; was it stealing when the "stolen one" wanted to be with her anyway? She smiled then. She could take care of a kid and herself, right? I suppose I could. She said slowly. I was heading to the coast - wanna come with?[/tr][/td][/table]

Aoife explained why one might hate themselves, and Dawn replied with a sound of understanding. She did understand, she found; sometimes, her anger was directed at herself when she slipped up, couldn't be the rule abiding girl her brother wanted her to be and her father would likely appreciate. 

her ears twitched uneasily when the girl's demeanour changed. surely she wouldn't let her down; not when she had glimpsed an idea of an exciting adventure. but a smile broke out on the girl's face, and Dawn's face echoed it. "Hell yeah!" she burst, grin etched on her face. then her maw dropped in an "o" as had Aoife's minutes ago. "The coast...as in the ocean?" she put the words together now, and her grin returned as she realised that that was, in fact, true.

[table width=80%][tr][td]The runaway princess smiled brightly at how happy she had made the other - not knowing how things would work out and not caring either. If Dawn would get into trouble, Aoife was only partially to blame, right? Besides, she had ran away from many problems before and that this time it involved an immature child changed nothing. Yep - the big ass puddle. She giggled. When should I come and get ya - or are ya coming with me right now?[/tr][/td][/table]

"I'm coming with you." the words came without hesitation, and a grin twisted across her muzzle as she tasted the joy of open adventure and freedom for the first time. she twisted around to glance in the direction of home, adding shortly thereafter, "Morningside won't leave. I'll come back, eventually." she offered lightly, gaze glinting as she turned back to Aoife. "Where do we go?"  she asked, willing and ready to follow the perfect friend wherever she might lead her.

[table width=80%][tr][td]The runaway princess was glad she would not have to wait on Dawn to come to her - for who knew how long that would take. She offered the girl a playful smirk, whipping her tail about at the thought of having a small lady companion. Hopefully her rebellious nature would rub off on the sprite. We go that way. She said with a nod to where she knew the sea would be. Ya hungry? She asked then. She wasn't the best of hunters, but now that Dawn was slightly under her care she felt quite protective of the girl.[/td][/tr][/table]

the girl agreed quickly, and after alerting the woman to the fact that she was not, in fact, hungry, and merely excited to get started on the adventure, a grin lit up her muzzle. overjoyed at this sudden boon that had come her way, she pranced alongside Aoife as they journeyed from home, to the sea, where they were sure to do many interesting things along the way.