The Sunspire can books look sad.

There was a chill in the air that morning that had grown more pronounced the higher the young wolf climbed. She'd had a very restless night before finally giving up sometime just past midnight and heading out of the territory along the ridge to the South. The rising sun found Liffey meandering along at the base of the Sunspire, high above the plains to the East with the peaks towering overhead to the West. Her gaze was usually on the beautiful mountain while her imagination ran along its cliffs. Today, she gazed in the opposite direction as she walked, her mind holding fast to the faces of the family she'd left behind there.

Liffey was uncertain why exactly she'd been thinking of them so much lately. Perhaps it was the fact that the pack was now settled in the Vale and the excitement that had distracted her before had lessened. Or maybe it was that she felt so happy with Rannoch lately and yearned to tell her loved ones all about him. Maybe... Maybe she just missed them fiercely and was desperate to make amends for how she had left them.

A cool breeze swept along the mountainside, causing a shiver to dance along her black spine. Liffey rolled her shoulders and forced her gaze away to return to the land before her. She had done some exploring of the area, but was still feeling a little unfamiliar with it. The aspiring ranger picked up her paws and continued along, seeking a clearer path through to the green slopes of the Sunspire to see what sort of land features she might be able to find there.

Despite what Rannoch said, she did not venture from her little perch above them all in the mountains. She kept there out of spite, her eyes watching the wolves move below — so much like ants they were. She liked it up there. It was beautiful in a way that social interaction could not trump. She lingered there because she wanted, laid there when she woke because she wanted. And that was all the reason in the world she needed.

So when she saw the creature trailing up the mountainside, she felt invaded. In a way, this was hers. Sure, the others may live in the mountains, but their home of choice was a valley. She had been born in the mountains, lived on them and climbed them nearly her whole life. Her hardened pads were a sign of that. 

Graceful as a mountain cat — sometimes she wished that she had been born a solitary, powerful mountain lion instead of a social, dependent wolf — she slid from the small cave where she made her nest to a outcrop above where the girl was treading. She laid there, watching until the girl was closest to her.

She saw the young woman's shiver and smirked. You're not from here, are you?

Liffey was just about to lower her muzzle to the earth to sniff at a small shrub when she jerked her nose in the opposite direction to set her gaze upon a dark form above her. Her eyes narrowed slightly until she took in the frame of her packmate, which caused her to settle but only slightly. She did not know Airi well, but had always found her to be a bit odd, even back in that short period of time they'd been at the Caldera together. The delta often refrained from making assumptions about those she didn't know, and peculiar as the violet-eyed female seemed on the surface, she was no exception.

Liffey arched an eyebrow at the question posed to her, uncertain of how to respond. Either Airi didn't remember their time at the Caldera together, or she had forgotten they were packmates now and lived nearby. She supposed it was more likely the former - after all, they had never interacted directly and perhaps no one had shared much insight on the pack's familial ties with her. "Not.. originally," Liffey replied with a shake of her head, "You seem pretty comfortable up here though, so I'm guessing you actually grew up around here?"

There was no recognition on her face as she glared down at the woman below her. To Airi she was just another new face, several in the pack that she apparently belonged to. Airi nodded her head, then slid down to land beside her. Born and raised.

Liffey did not quail under the stare of her packmate, nor did she shift at all when the girl slid down to her level. She only tilted her head as she regarded the black wolf with curiosity. There was so much disdain in that glare. So much distrust and resentment. So much... Liffey couldn't place it, really. Dislike of some kind.  But why? They had not spoken when Liffey's father had given the strange girl brief shelter in the Caldera, and she could not recall a time when she might have been inadvertently offensive. Then again, this was not exactly a look that Liffey felt was reserved for herself. No, she had seen this look given to all of the wolves of the Vale, and not for the first time did the Blackthorn wonder why she was with them at all.

"Why are you so... angry?" Liffey asked slowly, suddenly unable to help herself. She had always been an easy victim to her own curiosity, and apparently not even the desire to avoid and awkward social interaction was enough to stop it.

holy shit airi's never been called out like this before omg sorry for the shitty short post last time

it was not every day that someone so blatantly told airi for what she was. hell, it was practically never. her mother repremainded her, others looked at her in confusion or plain submission. but never had anyone told her for what she was, truly. it caught her off guard. she had expected this girl to beat around the block, just like the boy from the Caldera had, never speaking what he was thinking. instead she was faced with it head on.

distress took her over first, then indignation. she wanted to hiss, shrieking: Excuse me?? there was a small amused part of her — Zennyo — that relished in the confrontation. but airi herself willed herself to calm herself down into an icy tone rather than the flames that burned in the back of her throat. Excuse you?

lol you're good, I'm loving this! I try to make Liffey way more bold than I would EVER be ever haha

Liffey was not surprised by the response. She tensed from the look that was given, but stood strong before her anyway. Really, she hadn't expected anything. She hadn't even considered it. If she'd known the response she'd receive, she would never have needed to ask the question. So, she just stood, and breathed deeply as Airi spat back at her.

"I mean... you seem really unhappy," Liffey answered slowly, not even sure of what she was saying as the words flowed, "You're never around, you barely integrate with the pack and whenever you are near us you just seem so mad. As though we did something terrible to you, which I don't understand because you aren't around enough for us to wrong you like that. At least, I don't think, but I could be wrong so... I'm just... curious." The Blackthorn fell silent then, already feeling as though she'd said too much. She didn't want to offend the girl. She really didn't know what she wanted to do, except to just.. understand.

she listened to every word she had to say with increasing suspicion and disgust. Airi felt her hackles rise, and she cut off the woman through her questioning. eventually she stood to her feet, glaring down at the woman from her stone above. her teeth bared slightly as she began to speak. It is none of your concern, she sliced through the girl's words. Being my pack doesn't mean you have a one-way ticket into my brain,

The dark girl answered with venom. Liffey felt herself bristle slightly, but it was a guarded response, not an aggressive one. She had inherited the even temper of her father and met the other's gaze with his impenetrable stillness, even as the other glared and snarled her words across the mountain.

"Being your pack might not mean you need to tell me what I ask," Liffey answered steadily, "But it does make you my concern." She lifted her chin slightly as she spoke, but her tone never lost its honesty. Truth be told, she didn't at all like Airi. She was too arrogant, too selfish and too insolent. But Rannoch had made her pack, and pack simply didn't turn their back on each other just because they seemed to lack any redeeming qualities.

her stern gaze still held, but her biting words fell silent. she glared at the woman, saying nothing. she had nothing else to say in regard. every retort and quip she had felt tedious, and would only elongate a useless discussion. the only option was to leave. Airi sucked her teeth, flinging her head away before turning tail. she was not going to bother herself with this any longer. she left, to say the least, fuming with each step she took away from the inquiring woman.

Thanks for the thread!

Liffey didn't realize she was holding her breath until the lack wolf was out of sight. She released it slowly, feeling her nerves begin to tingle as adrenaline began to ebb away with it. The exchange had not gone well. She couldn't say she'd expected it to, but she had been hopeful that addressing Airi's attitude issues head on might have created an avenue to alleviate some of the tension. It felt instead as though that she had made things worse but for the fact that she felt a bit better having at least tried.

Wordlessly, Liffey too turned away to continue exploring the mountainside. As little as she liked Airi, she did find herself trying to emulate some of the girl's movements as she moved from ledge to ledge. The dark wolf might be an angry, arrogant bitch, but she did have some moves.