Emberflame Ridge we'll not go home again

@Tree

Scorched trees were certainly not new to Maya. There'd been plenty of that back in her old homeland -- she remembered the scorched forests her old pack had laid claim to, sprouting green with new leaves but still blackened with fire; this place, it seemed, held something of the same. All thick yellowish grass damp with melted snow -- where it wasn't buried, anyways -- that bent rather than crunched under her paws when she stepped forward; above them, stands of trees dark with burn marks and the fresh smell of smoke. With her ears pricked in curiosity she bounded forward, enjoying the way the grass swished when she sped through it.

She was, in fact, so busy doing ridiculous bounds through the snow like a fox hunting prey that it was only the sudden gap in the thick, leafless forest that kept her from tumbling right over the ridge. Instead she drew herself to an abrupt, startled halt when she saw the edge of the ridge loom ahead of her, the drop into empty, open space. Her jaws parted, tongue lolling from between two neat rows of white teeth as she blinked out at lakes and mountains, white ground and the distant grey specks of trees almost obscured by falling snow.

This was familiar too.

Tail wagging cheerfully, she pounded her paws against the snow. Thick chunks of ice dislodged themselves from the clifftop and rolled down into space, clattering against the exposed stone in rather spectacular explosions, sending shards raining into the valley. Too wide and deep to echo, but satisfying nonetheless.

The blackened trees suited her mood as the large female slipped through them. A contemplative look set on her face as she thought about the last c. Her lip curled up as she remembered how she had to fix up the...whatever  the hell kind of creature it was..wolverine he had called himself. Shaking her head sharply, she scowled at nothing. Mouthy animal, no matter what he called himself. She didn't bother remembering his name.
Snow crunched under her heavy feet, and she swiveled her one good ear, her eyes watchful as she smelled a new scent, her nostrils flaring. Picking up her pace, she stopped and crouched slightly, the wolfess now in sight. Her head tilted as she watched her tail go back and forth and then pounded her paws against the earth. What the hell was she doing? Icy chunks began to fall, and she raised a brow. What was the purpose of this?
Shaking her head, the thought of killing her crossed her mind, but she had a meal yesterday,her stomach still full. She stood and trotted a bit closer, then spoke, her tail raised over her back, dominance clear. What are you doing The question was a bit sharp, yet curiosity tinged her voice.

Another stomp dislodged another shower of icicles, breaking loudly on the rocks. Somewhat unfortunately, it also drowned out the sound of paws crunching against the snow, but then again Maya had never been known for any logical response to strangers as her brothers would be happy to attest.

It wasn't until a voice spoke that she turned, curious but unhurried, head tilted jauntily to the side.

The stranger was, in Maya's estimation, doing her best attempt at dominance, but -- this wasn't a pack's land by the scent and she'd never been particularly deferential to them, anyways. Her only real incident with that had ended in her bolting off, cackling loudly as she did so, and though, admittedly, she was backed up to a cliff right now, that wouldn't be changing.

She took in the raised tail, the brief distance between them, and wiggled her oversized ears.

"Having fun?" She huffed, taking a few neat steps to the side. "That can't be a new concept to you."

The girl cocked her head, looking at her with curiousity, and she quirked her brow. No sense of fear anywhere. Dumb? No, her eyes seemed too bright for that. Careless? Maybe a little, seeing how she was on the edge of a cliff, pounding on snow and ice. The logic of her actions made no sense to the tortoiseshell, and she also tilted her head, trying to gauge on whether to stay or leave.
She spoke, and a moment of realization hit her, dropping her tail a bit as memories hit her. The last time she had innocent fun...She honestly couldn't remember. Twitching her tail in slight irritation that she couldn't, she shook her head. Fun. The concept of your type of fun hasn't crossed my mind since I was a child. I can't even remember the last time I laughed. Glancing over at the edge, for a moment she thought about trying it herself, yet it quickly passed as she glanced back at the curious wolfess. Little dangerous, don't you think? She didn't honestly didn't care if she slid off the side, and yet this one was a little bit of a puzzle, and she was curious as to what her answer would be.

The ever-present grin on Maya's face widened a fraction as her words seemed to strike true, as the other woman's tail lowered just a fraction and she glanced over at the drop. Hoping her words had proved enough of a distraction, she took a couple more steps; while she was hardly planning to flee just now, a precipitous drop at her back was something she'd prefer to avoid if possible. This wolf was much larger and older than she was, but agility meant nothing if you slipped on ice and fell. 

And she was slightly worried. Especially since she knew her idea of fun when others were involved was needling them to no end. Especially since this wolf seemed the type to take herself much too seriously. She wasn't going to stop, but she liked to have a potential escape route handy.

She cocked her head at the response, laughing as her oversized tail waved behind her. "Really. You must be a joy to be around." A huff. "It's only dangerous if someone decides to push me off. And you wouldn't do that, would you?" The amused smile she offered had a few too many teeth to be wholly friendly.

Her ear twitched in annoyance as the girl spoke. She had barely got started talking when the wolfess wished that that disrespectful brat of a wolf had taken her other ear along with the first one. Raising her eyebrow, she shifted back from the edge and looked at this way too happy wolfess. She huffed, a dry smile on her face. I don't live so others like being around me. I couldn't care less if they liked me or hated me...although, sometimes...I prefer the latter. Wolf meat is pretty good... especially in a harsh winter.
Flicking her tail, her eyes never left the others as a harsh chuckle rose from her throat. Now why in the hell would I go and push a perfectly good wolfess like yourself off a cliff? That would be just plain wasteful. Subtly, she had moved while talking, now far enough away from the edge so the other wouldn't be able to shove her over.