Firefly Glen she deserves a crown, but where is it now?

Open to the brat pack!

 

Back to Big Salmon Lake Hydra went, this time by herself. She wanted only to check that the herd still rest there... but she was surprised to note their movement toward Moonspear within the Glen, where they now seemed to move through. But there was a disturbance in the force that Hydra noted, and her ears swiveled atop her regal head as she caught the whiff of Rannoch and his wolves. She made it a distinct point to not mentally name Rian, who had not come to see her to her knowledge (unlike Cypress, who she had heard call for Alya) and grit her teeth as she did. She knew their being here would not be approved of by her father, who was particularly territorial nowadays since the incidents. At the thought, her notched ear twitched atop her head and she peered at her side, which was mostly healed by now.

Shaking out her furs, Hydra figured the right thing to do would be to let them know and have them decide what to do with the information she gave them. It was a rare moment of "goodness", but mostly she did it for selfish reasons. Maybe she would get to see Rian (she snorted at herself, annoyed with her own quiet pining). As for herself, well, she would act on her parents orders when they were given. Perhaps for whatever reason they did not think it would be a bother, but she was here to correct their view.

Airi isn't a part of the brat pack but I want her to be so I guess I qualify?:P

After resting for some time in the Caldera, keeping to herself, away from the strange children that lingered in the collapsed volcano, she finally felt ready enough to leave. There were scars on her body now, and while they marred her pristine beauty, she felt a sense of pride in them; she was officially a warrior now. 

Deciding that the pack had done enough for her, she left without a word, taking nothing but her presence, though that in itself was a detriment to them. Zennyo no longer pushed her to return home, eventually coming to accept the newfound freedom they both had, though he continued to remain her moral compass. Instead, while they wandered north, it was not towards the Lair, but in a haphazard line in an attempt to find something interesting to do with themselves now.

Eventually the vessel came to a lake, bending her head to lap at the cool waters. Her eyes remained closed for a moment, until they peeked open, the sight of a wolf in the distance instantly grabbing her interest. Surely they could provide some entertainment to her.

It's an open thread so anyone really qualifies, and I've fortunately always wanted a thread with Airi anyway #winning

 

A stirring wind brought the scent of another, but it belonged to none that she recognized. The moment Airi noted her was the moment her head turned in the others direction and once the girl caught sight of her, Hydra was on the move. Perhaps this was a new recruit to Rannoch's band—if it was, she would find out. It did not matter if it were Rannoch, Cypress, Rian, or another of their following so long as one of them knew. Hydra paused a respectable distance away, the gesture less out of respect for the others personal space and more out of her newly learned self-perserverance. She let out a low whuff, licking her chops as she tested the others receptiveness to company. Though she did not intend to be here too long now that she had not been greeted by those she would have preferred to see, she did intend to exchange (cordial) words with those that ran with the argent boy.

At the moment her head raised to see the girl, their eyes met. Airi regarded the young woman levelly, even as she began to move. The vessel's lower body tucked underneath her as she waited for the other to approach, emanating some kind of expectant civility before the girl eventually came within speaking distance. What do you want? She asked pointedly, not intending any trouble...but it would come anyway.

The other got straight to the point, and so Hydra did, too. To know who it is you run with, she responded succinctly, displaying the very same civility the stranger did. The warrior princess had no qualms in behaving politely, though abrasive and rough around the edges in nature. She was not uneducated, and had observed her parents enough to know what to say, what not to say, and when saying anything was no longer necessary.

Who she ran with? She had a very simple answer to that, which she dictated a hint of pride that was never absent in her tone. I run with no one, She says, a small upwards twitch in the corners of her lips. She's aware that most children her age were still clinging to their parents' sides, and took her independence not as a sad fact of life, but of a show of her independence and her natural high status. What of you?

Whereas Airi felt pride from her admission, Hydra felt a sort of repulsion—though Hydra understood that at a certain point in some wolves lives, dispersal was natural. Still, it was the pride that struck her as peculiar—the reputation of a lone wolf was not a good one. Certainly not something to be proud of. Moonspear, Hydra informed readily, and her own pride was not within her voice but in the way she held herself. Moonspear was comprised largely of her family and even with its low number, they thrived and survived upon the peak. The fact that the other ran with no one did not help her at all, and so Hydra bid the other adieu with a stiff head-nod. She would not pretend to need the other, but neither would she leave this place quite yet. Hydra moved back toward the trail she had noted, hoping to catch wind of a legitimate member of the Valley's proclaimed brat-pack.

The girl's expression was not what she was expecting. Had it been something else other than repulsion — perhaps jealousy — she might have ignored it, revelling in it. But this was not it. It was...disgust? You don't like lone wolves? She inquired with some of the hauntiness that lingered from her recent boast.

She named a pack she was unfamiliar with. Where's that? Ryujin had little interaction with outside packs, and she, despite her wandering, could only name one other: Redhawk. Airi wondered what other packs were like, with a strange display of curiosity and interest that she did not show for many other topics.

The others question was regarded with a blink, and then, I do not care for them. She neither liked nor disliked them, and she was not even curious about their lifestyle. Wolves were not meant to be alone for long, though... this she instinctively knew, and felt. And she pitied this one, who felt pride with her lot in life. To be a loner was to live a paltry existence, living solely off of scraps. That was how her father had made it sound, anyway.

As she moved to depart, the other had another question. Hydra gestured in the direction of the tall mountains. Within that range, she said over her shoulder, before she did the other adieu verbally this time: bye. Hydra then moved to trot off into the distance, though should the other try and give her pause she would likely humor it. Though given the fact that the other could provide her with nothing of use—nothing she immediately wanted to know, anyway—Hydra was not at all inclined to stay.

I do not care for them. Once, a few months ago, she might have answered the same way, as she had been born and bred a pack wolf, knowing how best life truly was within a pack, with others to help and protect and hunt for you. But the freedom and independence that came with loner life far outmatched that, in her eyes.

She looked to the mountains where the girl pointed, her eyes flickering down to see her body move with a single word spoken in parting. Airi did not hold her — she had no reason to. This young girl had nothing but disdain for her and, what she should now consider, her people. There was nothing else to speak of with her. No bond, no connection. She shrugged, taking on last look at the mountain before she turned and left.