Cerulean Cape Prehnite

@Chip <3

portia left without telling anyone, because she would only be gone for a day or two. she knew her presence wouldn't be so missed, and didn't think anyone would worry-- especially since wildfire was the packs biggest worry. she assumed that everyone else would assume she was merely looking for the fiery woman gone MIA, and therefore was okay to leave.

she wasn't sure what direction everyone had gone in, but she wanted to stay on the coast. she was quick footed, and therefore good at catching the wandering crustaceans. she felt safer along the coast as well, it made sense to her. she grew tired though, eventually, and sat at the waters edge, careful not to get her pale feet wet. she stared at the water quietly, almost sadly, hoping wildfire would come back. this was, after all, her fault. when her green gaze finally parted the sea, it fell to a patch of green sprouting beside a nearby boulder. her ears lifted, nose twitching, as she studied it, surprised to see it growing here.

She’d been accepted into their… well, it wasn’t exactly a pack yet. It was a following. And they were obsessed with the ocean. Chip still didn’t follow why they had such a crazy relationship with it, but they were allowing her to leech off of them, so she wasn’t going to argue. Besides, they would probably help her get better at fishing, and that was a perk she couldn’t pass up. Chip had wandered away from them for the day, the ranging bunch, seeking to plot out the rest of the coast. She had a knack for mental mapping, and she didn’t want to let that trait go dormant.

Chip was traveling north east when she spotted the rather sad-looking wolf staring out at the sea. A single tan ear twitched as she moved forward. Chip was still thin and lanky from her time on her own, but she was beginning to gain some of her weight back. The stranger suddenly broke her gaze from the ocean and looked at a rock. Chip smirked, amused at the sudden change in focus. She was still twenty or thirty feet away when she called out. “What’s with the rock?” she asked.

for a second portia was almost terrified, considering she hadn't even realized that someone had been watching her-- what would she have done if the wolf was hostile right away? be dead, probably. her shoulder fur bristled slightly, but the other didn't seem like she wanted to eat her-- not yet, anyway. "oh," she said quietly, studying the dusty wolf for a moment, "it's a rather bland rock, i'd say, but there's a plant sprouting beside it." she nosed to the green, standing to ensure a better get away... just in case. she motioned for the other to come see, stepping a few steps to the side. "i've never seen it this close to the ocean-- especially when it's this cold," she added, wandering what the stranger would make of that, if anything.

The spotted wolf seemed still fascinated by the rock. Or rather, the plant that was growing near it. Chip leaned in to look, but she didn't really understand why it was so great. A rock, a plant, who cares? Chip had never been terribly concerned with the more, uh, intelligent aspects of life. She enjoyed conversation, but only the soft stuff. Anything regarding actual knowledge wasn't terribly fun for her.

"Uh huh," she replied anyway, figuring it wouldn't hurt to amuse the girl. "So you have an obsession with plants and rocks? The band of rascals I'm hanging out with has an obsession with the ocean." What was with these folks out here? It didn't seem entirely natural to Chip, but maybe she'd understand if she kept hanging out with The Nereides. Probably not, though.

her nose scrunched up, sensing the obvious judgement this woman had towards her and her love of plants. "i'm a botanist, thank you," she said with a quick sniff, "it's mint. it's an herb, medicine. if it grows here i can grow in my territory, and i can heal sick wolves who need it." so hah, she wanted to add, but that'd be useless. she wasn't obsessed with plants because she just could be, but because there were so many wonderful qualities about them. she could make wolves better, or worse, or literally anything just with a single plant-- or a mixture of plants. plus, they were quite pretty.

her ears pricked. "the ocean's nice," she commented then, glancing back at it, "who are you with? where are you forming?" her next questions were mostly for gossipy curiosity, but she felt that heda would appreciate it if she could bring back some information about coastal wolves-- especially if they threatened drageda's borders.

"Well excuse me," Chip replied when the stranger went off on a tangent about how great plants were. It went in one ear and out the other. Why'd she have to be so rude? Chip was only trying to make conversation by pointing out that it was pretty weird to go staring at plants. But, like her sister, Chip didn't exactly hold grudges.

"It's alright," she said in response to the "nice" comment. "These ladies who call themselves The Neredies. We're still scouting places out. That's part of why I'm here. You live nearby?" Chip asked. If this girl and her crew lived too close, this wouldn't really be a great place to settle down. "I'm Chipmunk, by the way, but everybody calls me Chip."

"you're forgiven," portia said with a quick sniff, straightening up. she would make sure the other knew exactly what mint was used for, though not yet. she'd wait to strike.

"the neredies," she then repeated, her tail swishing against the ground. it was an odd name, though she supposed she couldn't judge anyone's name for anything-- considering drageda was filled with the strangest names and words she'd ever heard. "up north," she then responded, vaguely, since she didn't think heda would appreciate her giving away pack information-- especially since the pack was so well hidden. "still on the coast, though," she added, almost as a warning. like the teeny tiny lil' portia was some sort of threat to these neredies women.

her ears perked. "it's fitting, hun," she commented, glancing at her markings with interest, "i'm portia." she didn't note any pleasure, since thus far chipmunk's presence had been anything but a pleasure to be in.

"Up north" was far enough away in Chip's mind, and she took note of it. She wasn't sure if the crew (as she was mentally calling their not-quite-pack) was aware of the location of the other packs, but she'd definitely be reporting the information back—just as she assumed Portia would report back to her crew. "Nice," she commented when Portia mentioned her pack was also a coast-dweller.

The "hun" monicker made Chip cringe, but she managed to hide it reasonably well… or so she hoped. "You know of any other packs nearby? I'm pretty sure the crew wants to settle somewhere with plenty of breathing room." The Nereides didn't seem like a particularly war-hungry bunch. In fact, they seemed more concerned with talking to the water than anything else, which Chip found absolutely bizarre.

she bit at her cheeks thoughtfully, unsure if she had a solid answer. "a few weeks back some wolves from a pack were wandering near my own... lived further south on the coast, i believe," she commented with a flick of her ears. "i don't do much exploring unless it's for herbs, i'm afraid," she added with a weak smile.

"don't settle any further up north though," she added with a brief turn of her head back towards drageda, "i'm not so hostile myself, but i don't reckon my leader would be so pleased to find a pack so close to our borders." a friendly recommendation, she would call that. this place would be plenty of breathing room, any further south would be wonderful.

Chip took the information and stored it away. She would definitely be repeating all these things back to the crew so that they could be on the lookout as well. Portia seemed a little catty when it came to the crew even considering settling a little further north, so she'd keep that in mind, too. Maybe the further away from a hostile pack, the better. Chip clearly wasn't much of a fighter. In fact, she'd sooner scurry away or turn belly-up before she considered getting into anything more than a strongly-worded argument.

"I don't think anybody wants that," Chip assured Portia. "And thanks for the info. I think the crew is going to find it useful, and hopefully we'll avoid any kind of conflict. I'm gonna keep heading north on the coast, just to get the lay of the land. You have fun with your plants and rocks and stuff." And unless Portia stopped her to ruminate more on her mint or whatever, Chip would be on her way.

"it's mint!" she called, her fur ruffling on her shoulders. plants and rocks and stuff... who was she! they were so important, for a bitter moment the skayona almost wished that chip would find herself in a situation where she needed mint, and it was right there, but she was so arrogant and above plants to know she needed it! but that was cruel, and she felt bad the moment she thought it. regardless, she gave a light huff and stared as the striped woman left, her own tail swishing. oh well, her loss.

she was still quite pleased with herself, however. she hadn't found wildfire, but she had managed to discover that mint grew so close to the beach, and in such cold temperatures too. maybe she'd be able to plant an herb garden on the beach! that would be thrilling. with another quick lash of her tail, she turned and began back home. she didn't want to follow after chip, and if there was a pack further south she'd rather not run into them.