Heron Lake Plateau Just a basket full of memories
Ghost
So then find Dodge, then get out of it
1,740 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Warrior
Master Guardian
Offline
#1
All Welcome 
Word spread fast, and when Niamh found out that Raven and Quixote had been promoted to the alpha positions, while Towhee had stepped down, she felt a bunch of mixed emotions. She didn't worry about her own safety within the ranks- surely Towhee's resignation didn't mean that she and Screech weren't welcome anymore, and it wasn't like Clover or Fiadh had made it to a leadership position. That would likely have ended with her expulsion from the pack, but for no real reason other than the fact that the two girls didn't like her. She was determined to change that, but hadn't exactly found the right way to do so yet. 

She kind of liked Towhee as an alpha- she was blunt, and had a lot of conviction, and she liked that about her. Sure she was a bit hot-headed, but that wasn't a bad thing for an alpha to be, in order to keep the pack safe, was it? It had apparently been Towhee's decision to step down, so she had to respect that. And she had no input about Raven becoming alpha female, and was happy for Quixote- but if nothing else, she started to wonder why the two had been promoted together. Quixote hadn't mentioned that Raven was his mate or anything...She felt a tinge of jealousy that she couldn't quite explain. While she was happy that Quixote was a leader, she didn't really want him to have someone else as a mate- but she didn't realize that yet. 

She continued on around the borders that evening, a very light rain spattering to the ground every now and again as another cloud passed over. The day had been partially cloudy all day, with hours where the temperature was higher with the sun, and then all of a sudden got cooler when the clouds blocked it out. She didn't mind so much- it just meant that with the rain, she had to double up on marking the borders so that none of their scent markings got washed away.
hey, motherfucker!
770 Posts
Ooc —
Ambassador
Ranger
Offline
#2
"hey, newbie!" came tegan's voice from the opposite direction, floating rather ungracefully through the air, scattering some nearby long-necked birds bathing(or whatever it is birds do). it looked like this chick was patrolling, and tegan was... wait...

what was tegan doing? 

no, ugh, don't be stupid-- he wasn't trying to make friends. he didn't miss being friends with easy-- she was old news, he was so way over her. he was perfectly fine and dandy being friends with only his siblings. other wolves his own age? big ole fart noise. nope. didn't need em. he just so happened to be in the area and was in a good enough mood to be friendly. don't be jumping to conclusions over there, talkin about things you don't know about-- sheesh.

"you're uuuuhhh-- nah i don't know your name, my bad, i was gonna act like i did but i don't. my name's tegan!" he introduced less than smoothly.
Ghost
So then find Dodge, then get out of it
1,740 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Warrior
Master Guardian
Offline
#3
Newbie? Niamh froze for a moment, locating Tegan as he made his way toward her, and recognizing him as yet another one of Finley's kids. This was one she hadn't really met, though; he wasn't as big as his brother, and was a bit lighter. From what she'd learned of that family, though, he fit in as he still had the dorsal stripe that seemed to be a family trait. She waited for him to catch up, as he hadn't growled or shouted at her angrily, so she assumed that he might be civil. Lucca had been, so maybe this guy would be too...Maybe the crazy gene was one only passed down through the female side of the family. 

He was a bit...Strange, though. He had a sort of bold but uncouth confidence to him that wouldn't likely score points with an older, mature wolf, but for some reason, his frankness made Niamh chuckle. "I'm Niamh." She said, intrigued by her new companion simply because there was nothing reserved about him whatsoever. "What're you up to?" She asked, figuring his reply would likely be as entertaining as his introduction.
hey, motherfucker!
770 Posts
Ooc —
Ambassador
Ranger
Offline
#4
had tegan known how to spell he might've been very amused to hear than both his real name and niamh's name were not pronounced how they looked at all! but he's a wolf and can't spell so that's something only i can be amused about. niamh. he repeated the name in his mind and committed it to memory, and for once in his life chose not to make up a crude nickname about it right away. 

"just boolin," he said casually, like his slang was a universal language that everyone understood, "needed a break from it though, thought i'd see what was up over here, anything fun?" probably not, he wasn't sure why he thought that, but somehow heron lake plateau had proven to be much less eventful than the caldera.
Ghost
So then find Dodge, then get out of it
1,740 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Warrior
Master Guardian
Offline
#5
Boolin? SHe wriunkled her nose in slight confusion at the word, but due to the deftness with which the word was spoken, she could only assumed it meant something along the lines of 'doing fuckall.' Why one would need a break from doing nothing, though, was beyond her- so maybe it was something after all- but of course, she didn't want to look stupid, so asking what he meant was out of the question. If she wanted to blend in with the locals, she simply had to do as they did, right? And if it meant assuming she knew what boolin was, and occasionally doing whatever boolin was, she'd do that. Unless it was a guy-only sort of thing. 

"Eh, nothing yet," She admitted. Border patrols weren't often all that entertaining, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. "Was just patrolling; but I could probably use a break from that too." She said. Not that she really wanted to take a break from patrolling- but she did want to do something fun. She eyed him up and down for a moment; she was taller than him, but that didn't necessarily mean she'd have an advantage over him. Remembering what Quixote had said about the Blackthorn pups being told to sit out on a war, she was curious to see if at least this kid wanted to at least learn how to fight. "Wanna spar?" She asked, casually throwing the idea out there- but not with enough excitement to make him think she'd be disappointed if he said no.
hey, motherfucker!
770 Posts
Ooc —
Ambassador
Ranger
Offline
#6
doing fuckall was probably a good way to describe it, honestly, but tegan preferred his own lingo to logical terms. 

and, whoops! wrong blackthorn. wow, she could've run into any of the other three and gotten a good sparring in, but she ran into tegan, who cared nada for that kinda stuff. he was the only blackthorn hellspawn that wasn't actively whining over not being able to participate in the war. so, hopefully she didn't actually wanna fight. and, just for the record, tegan was hardly younger than this girl, so he doubted he had anything to learn from her anyway. hmpf. 

"nah," he said bluntly, rolling his own shoulders. but did tegan have something better to do? no, of course not. ah, well,... he tilted his head to one side, viewing the blonde girl curiously. "damn what the hell, fuck me up," he said before falling into a play bow, a clear indication that he'd changed his mind and did indeed wanna spar.
Ghost
So then find Dodge, then get out of it
1,740 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Warrior
Master Guardian
Offline
#7
His first reply didn't surprise her too much- she'd put it at about a 50/50 chance that she'd actually get to practice, but then he seemed to eye her up and down and change his mind. She laughed at his comment, and circled away from him slightly, ears perking, tail curling slightly and her posture lowering so that she was slightly crouched, ready to bound this way or that. His play bow was an invitation, but she wasn't sure she wanted to make the first move, assuming that he'd hzd less experience sparring than she did. 

So she mirrored him, even though a play bow wasn't exactly where she wanted to start, in terms of defense postures. "Bring it, kid," She said, jabbing her chin in an upward nod, giving him the first move.
hey, motherfucker!
770 Posts
Ooc —
Ambassador
Ranger
Offline
#8
aww what the fuck-- kid? come on, dude. tegan was fully grown, thanks. was he sort of awkward looking? probably. was he super huge and scary? lmao-- don't ask dumb questions. but like, still! he looked grown, mostly? and totally like the same age as her. totally the same age as her, mostly. 

and though he'd sparred many a handful of times with towhee, he really wasn't that great at it... so this would probably be an easy win for niamh. he gave a small wiggle, thinking about what he was gonna do. so many options-- hm-- and when the time was finally right (or right in tegan's eyes, at least), tegan lunged for her right side, aiming to ram right into her.
Ghost
So then find Dodge, then get out of it
1,740 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Warrior
Master Guardian
Offline
#9
While some wolves liked to play mind games, make it look as though there was no thought to their actions at all so that they couldn't be read, Tegan almost made a show of his thought process, though it came across as being a bit scrambled. The wiggle he did wasn't something she'd ever seen a serious dueller do before- and she hoped to dear god that he wouldn't do that if he was ever faced by a serious opponent- unless he wanted to catch them by surprise after making them laugh. 

He lunged for her side, head down, and she had to give him credit- he was fast. She was able to side-step, moving her hips out of the way a toreador might whirl their cape over a bull's head, but it still kept them in close contact, and she used the momentum from her first move to propel her toward his own right side, aiming to nip at his flank with a playful growl.
hey, motherfucker!
770 Posts
Ooc —
Ambassador
Ranger
Offline
#10
what?! sorry tegan's fighting style just doesn't suit your fancy, niamh. i mean, he's totally gonna lose, but if he's gotta lose at least he looks cute as hell doing it, right? don't lie to yourself, tegan was cute as hell. but cute or not, she avoided him with ease, side-stepping to one side and whipping right around to get a nip on his right flank. she landed it, obviously, cause even though he was pretty quick he was sort of careless-- and didn't bother trying to make a second move immediately. 

her own growl warranted one from tegan, who, as she was nipping at his flank, did his best to twist and nip at her shoulders-- he looked sort of like a weird fluffy horseshoe but... well that was the only thing he could think to do.
Ghost
So then find Dodge, then get out of it
1,740 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Warrior
Master Guardian
Offline
#11
Just as she managed to get close enough to run her teeth through the pale fur of his flank, missing the skin on purpose, she felt the muscles of his torso curve as he reached around for her shoulders. He growled, his warm breath sweeping across her withers and she felt a smile tug at her lips. Had they actually been fighting, they both could have inflicted painful wounds- but this was something more akin to olympic swordfighting- where a touch was enough. 

She pulled away from him then, squaring up quickly before she lunged again, this time tucking her chin and snapping at one of his forelegs and then the other, darting in and out as she did so, hoping that his movements would mirror her own in a kind of dance.
hey, motherfucker!
770 Posts
Ooc —
Ambassador
Ranger
Offline
#12
[Image: teganfaceplant_by_magdalynrose-dcb40b8.png]
so where niamh was like 'this'll be a cool graceful dance', tegan was more along the lines of 'oh shit keep those teeths away from my feets'... which was fine, probably, but he probably looked dumb as hell. every time niamh would lunge forward to snap at his forelimbs, tegan would bounce onto only one side, other limb lifted in an attempt to keep her away. and he wasn't on top of this whole sparring thing to move with her as she fought, so he didn't even think to make any attacks back at her... not like, with her anyway. 

and, go figure, the one time he tried, tegan accidentally tripped on one of his paws still tucked up to his chest and tumbled forward, chin smacking into the earth and skidding forwards, rump up and paws all tangled up beneath him. aw crap.
Ghost
So then find Dodge, then get out of it
1,740 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Warrior
Master Guardian
Offline
#13
OMGSOCUTE
Well...She certainly could see why, now, the Blackthorn kids hadn't been allowed to participate in the war Quixote had told her about. After a few snaps, he lost his balance and fell face forward into the ground, arsehole to the sun. She considered making another move- she could probably scruff him, or grab his tail and haul him over completely- but maybe today wasn't the day to just take an easy victory when it presented itself. She'd already won this round- at least, in her mind she had. So instead, she tapped the ground near his muzzle with one foot, and said "Round one- Niamh." 

She bounced back a few paces, and resumed a play bow position. "Round two...Come at me, bruuuusef!" She enticed, wiggling her hind end in the air and grinning at him, with her chin just as close to the ground as his was.
hey, motherfucker!
770 Posts
Ooc —
Ambassador
Ranger
Offline
#14
"damn," tegan muttered good naturedly, his pale tail wagging behind him. niamh seemed eager for another round, but tegan was sort of into riding the train that led to less social embarrassment. so, standing himself back up and giving his fur a good shake, he stuck up his nose. "aw come on, easy opponents can't be all that fun," he said, taking a nice shot at himself. he did, however, appreciate how alike her lingo was to his. he decided very quickly he liked niamh! maybe even more than easy, and she was way more convenient to get to anyways. he tilted his head, eyeing her playful posture. "are you a mercenary?" he asked curiously.

pride too damaged to spar more, poor lil loser
Ghost
So then find Dodge, then get out of it
1,740 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Warrior
Master Guardian
Offline
#15
When he sat up, at first she thought he might be trying to distract her, so he could pounce her when she wasn't prepared- but he honestly didn't look that interested anymore- and she could probably still whoop him even if he did decide to surprise her. She shrugged one shoulder to his statement, and nodded. "Yeh. I guess you're right," She said. Hey- he was calling himself easy, she was just going along with the message. 

What he asked next, caused her to sit up out of her play bow and nod. "Working on it!" She said. "Just gotta find some more stuff to do, to prove myself. You working on anything?" She asked, wondering what kind of trade might suit Tegan.
hey, motherfucker!
770 Posts
Ooc —
Ambassador
Ranger
Offline
#16
to prove herself? oh boy, did tegan have a proposition for her! i mean, maybe niamh shouldn't have been the first wolf he asked, but after clover's weird ass breakdown in front of colt he didn't think he should ask her-- and all fiadh talked about lately was how she couldn't believe that she was below tegan in the ranks. like, hey, motherfucker, pull your weight, maybe you'd be higher. and if she came along with him and bumped up in thee ranks all she'd do was gloat to him about how she was higher up in the ranks. like? what kinda backwards logic would it be to help her out if she was just gonna be a bitch? 

no thanks.

"that's rad-- i'm not super into fighting, too much work. i'm real good at scouting though! world's best, you could say," he told her with a wag of his tail, "actually, i'm goin on a mission to drageda-- but like, i'm probably gonna need some back up..." pause to leave the statement up for interpretation. "there's potential for a rank boost too, lotsa room to prove some worth."
Ghost
So then find Dodge, then get out of it
1,740 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Warrior
Master Guardian
Offline
#17
She smiled softly. No, he didn't seem like the type who was too much into fighting- she bet he could talk a lot of shit, but fighting didn't seem to be his forte. At least he didn't talk big, as though he did fight a lot, like his sisters. She liked that about him- even though she got the feeling that Tegan's filter...Well, that there'd never been one installed when he got his parts put together...Even though he seemed to have no filter, he at least didn't seem like the type to talk or act like king shit the way his sisters did. It was a relief- maybe he could help them see that she wasn't all that bad. 

And it seemed like the perfect opportunity presented itself. Her ears perked, and she thought for a minute that he was actually going to ask her to go with him. He didn't, but he did kind of leave things open. She had to play things cool, now, not step on any toes, not seem too desperate, and maybe inflate his ego a bit. "I dunno where Drageda is...But part of being a Mercenary is travelling. I bet you could teach me a few tricks about scouting, and in return, I could watch your back while we travelled," She said. She wasn't sure how to play her cards with Tegan yet- nor was she creative enough, on the spot, to come up with some undeniably cool reason for her to go with Tegan. She wasn't sure how well it'd go over if she just said "Wanna piss your shitbag sisters off? Take me with you!" would go over since she didn't know him that well yet.
hey, motherfucker!
770 Posts
Ooc —
Ambassador
Ranger
Offline
#18
"well! gosh darn, niamh, aren't you sharp as a pine needle!" tegan said with a wag of his tail, "ya know i think that's a great idea." truthfully, tegan would've been delighted if niamh mentioned doing it only to piss off his sisters, but she didn't know him so he'd cut her a break there. "and maybe you could give me a few pointers on fighting cause, i mean i don't really care about it but i probably should be better at it," he added with a shrug. 

oh! how exciting! tegan's mission really was falling in to place. all he had left to do was tell mama finley and pack his bags!
Ghost
So then find Dodge, then get out of it
1,740 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Warrior
Master Guardian
Offline
#19
Tegan seemed pleased- and he seemed like he might be the kind of wolf who was hard to really please, or admit that something tickled him. He took to her idea, and even suggested that she could try to teach him a few fight moves. Not that she was the best at fighting- but having grown up alongside a brother, she'd learned enough. Not a day had gone by that Ambrose had let her try to get anything without a fight being involved, as playful as it was. It had all been a good learning experience. 

"Great!" She said, thereby accepting the mission as Tegan's second and bodyguard, if that was even a thing. "When do we go?" She asked. She didn't feel like she needed to tell anyone she was going- she'd already flown the coop, so as far as she could tell, she was free to do whatever she wanted, especially if it was in service of the pack.
hey, motherfucker!
770 Posts
Ooc —
Ambassador
Ranger
Offline
#20
hm. when did they leave? soon? who knows. "dunno yet, hopefully soon, it's a hot minute away, so get all your ducks in a row," he advised with a shrug. drageda would be about a week or so (or more idk i gotta do the math) travel, and they needed to be prepared. yeah, i know, tegan, prepared, sounds crazy-- but he was trying to take this seriously. 

"i'll tell raven you're coming with me! and my mom-- finley, she's gonna help me prepare for it," he told her, and then paused, nose scrunching, "i'm grown, i can do it all on my own, but mom knows a lot about traveling cause she's old." just clarifying.
Ghost
So then find Dodge, then get out of it
1,740 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Warrior
Master Guardian
Offline
#21
Part of her wondered if it was a good idea for him to tell his mom that she was going with him, and her expression said it all. Had it just been a matter of Tegan choosing a companion and leaving right then and there, it would have been a lot easier. Now it seemed he had to tell Raven- which was alright with Niamh, who hadn't exactly had the chance to meet one-on-one but nevertheless she had a good feeling about her- and then he had to tell Finley as well. And she knew already that she wasn't right up there in Finley's book of favourite people. 

"I...I don't think your mom likes me very much." She admitted, softly. "Your sisters don't. I'm trying- Towhee's teaching me Ptero, so maybe they'll hate me a bit less, but nothing seems to be working." She said. "Would they hate me more if I went with you?" She asked carefully. All of a sudden, her optimism and self confidence seemed to drift away. She didn't want to make the Blackthorns dislike her more than they already did.
hey, motherfucker!
770 Posts
Ooc —
Ambassador
Ranger
Offline
#22
oh yikes, she was actin like a real girl-- getting all emotional and bleh. he quickly shook his head as her rambling came to an end. "okay okay first of all-- i'm not your counsellor, so don't expect any comfort outta me," tegan said with a quirked brow, he didn't have time for that, "and probably, but... clover's a baby and all fiadh does is sit around and whine about not being higher in the ranks-- do you want them to like you?" he asked with a small shrug. i mean, he loved his sisters (and lucca), they were a dynamic group that worked wonders together-- but clearly he was the best. and he wanted to make sure niamh knew that.

"besides," he continued with a small puff of his chest, "i'm the favorite child, if i tell mom you're cool she'll give you the time of day... and if you can keep me from getting eaten by a puma or something, i bet my mom would like you a helluva lot more."

since tegan was king of keeping people right where he wanted them, he merely shrugged. "but if it's too much for ya then... you can just stay behind, i'll find someone else to go on a rad adventure with me."
Ghost
So then find Dodge, then get out of it
1,740 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Warrior
Master Guardian
Offline
#23
Finally. Tegan was the first wolf who didn't think that she sun shone out of Clover's and Fiadh's butts, and that just because they were higher in the rank than she was, that she didn't necessarily have to kiss up to them. Finley was something different- she did legitimately care how Finley saw her, and Tegan brought a smile to her face when he claimed to be the favourite child. He seemed to sincerely believe that, and his reasoning was solid enough. She'd wanted to impress Clover and Fiadh and make them like her...But then again, she had both Towhee and Tegan on her side- so maybe she didn't need them at all. 

"You're right," she sighed. "I...I don't need Clover and Fiadh to like me, anyway." she said. She grinned, regaining a bit of confidence, then. "They're probably just jealous. Or they will be." She said, still not sure if she'd crossed a line or not- but she was willing to bet Tegan might agree. "I mean, your mom's cool, though. So as long as it's fine with her, I'm in."
hey, motherfucker!
770 Posts
Ooc —
Ambassador
Ranger
Offline
#24
"alright good shit," tegan said with an affirmative nod. he didn't wanna agree or disagree with her 'they're just jealous' comment because... he didn't care. whatever helped her sleep at night. 

alright alright, tegan had this all planned out! "okay, i'm gonna go get shit in order and then i'm gonna leave like, asap, so i'll come get you whenever i'm ready and you better be ready!!" he exclaimed with a wave of his tail and a quick bounce. and then, without waiting to see if niamh was like 'wait actually i need a few days...' tegan took off to go find @Finley to update her.
Ghost
So then find Dodge, then get out of it
1,740 Posts
Ooc — Jess
Warrior
Master Guardian
Offline
#25
Deftly, he acknowledged that she'd finally gotten things right, and told her to get her ducks sorted yet again, and then took off. She watched him go for a moment, and once he was gone, she laughed. Kind of a spaz, Tegan was- but nothing to dislike about him. She stood then, wondering what she'd have to do in order to seem like she had ducks in a row...There wasn't much, really. She had no one to tell, nothing to do. So she set off, deciding she should go get a meal in her to build up a bit of energy before they hit the road.