Fox wasn't sure why, but she wandered far away from the creek the day prior. A part of her wondered if she was chasing after a ghost—Haunter—but she also knew that it was no use, even if she found him. He had left, and that was that. There was no bringing him back. He had left on his own accord, and she did not think that she would be able to convince him to return to the creek now that he had left. Of course, all this was assuming she had found him, which she had not. His scent had dissipated, and she had lost it to the rain and the wind.
With a heavy sigh, Fox slumped down on the edge of the river, idly sticking one of her front paws into the water. She had hoped it would help her mood, but it did no such thing. Instead, it only made her angry that he had decided to leave. It was unfair, unkind, and she would not be able to forgive him for it. On one hand, he had come to Swiftcurrent with the idea that he would leave. But on the other hand, he had promised to stay. To keep her safe from whatever dangers were out there. He had failed her, and she knew it.
Growling lowly, she rolled onto her side in an effort to calm herself to some degree.
Chaos and confusion seemed to rule Jinx's world. She ran a tight ship, and knew well that not everyone would agree with her methods, but of late her suspicions were beginning to wrack up. First it had been Bazi's scent in the mountain's vicinity, but now the Alpha bitch was beginning to turn her suspicion upon her own members. Though the rules of the mountain were clear, and though she had no cause yet to worry, she could not shake the frustration that had mounted in her ever since Tyrande spoke out against the way she and Sitri handled the intrusive coyote mere days prior.
Though Jinx was an Alpha and a Warrior first, she was also an Outrider, and took advantage of that title to leave the mountain and get some air. Lecter was de facto leader in her stead, and she trusted him to take care of any issues the mountain faced. She found her way into the wilds, but when she emerged from Neverwinter Forest and headed for the river, it was a wolf in shades of red she caught sight of.
She may have left her former pack, but Jinx would never forget Fox.
She strode brashly along the river's edge, with heavy steps to announce herself, but when she came within earshot of Fox and spoke, her tone was aggressive. “I will get right to the point,” she said brusquely, having believed all this time that Fox was behind Bazi's suspicious presence around the mountain. “Either you will stop Bazi from coming near my pack again, or I will catch her and I will beat her until she quits it herself. I will not stand for her scent appearing in the lands all around my borders, Fox. I have not sent wolves to skulk around yours.”
The heavy (and strangely familiar) footsteps caused Fox to spring to her feet, and she did not relax when she saw who had approached her. Jinx, her former Beta, former confidant, and now more of a frenemy. The Swiftcurrent leader remained on high-alert, knowing that Jinx apparently "hated" Swiftcurrent, according to Tuwawi and Bazi's relay of the events that took place at Duck Lake. The words that filtered from the Kesuk were bewildering, considering Jinx's own lot had lingered so close to the creek.
“So the one you sent to Duck Lake that said you hated us doesn’t count?” she hissed, finding herself oddly defiant to Jinx's demand. Jinx certainly claimed Silvertip, but she did not lay claim to the land around it, which she implied was hers as well. And while Fox was never terribly keen on the vale wolves lingering too close to the creek, she was willing to leave them alone if they left the creek alone. But that was a point she and Jinx had never seen eye-to-eye on, despite the fact that Jinx had never voiced her opinion on the matter.
“I sent no wolf anywhere near your land, and nobody said anything about hating you,” Jinx replied, perplexed. She was entirely unaware that Lunar had gone to Duck Lake, and she was furious that someone would put words in her mouth. Should she have suspected Lunar, she wouldn't have been surprised, given the woman's less-than-comforting acceptance pitch. If a wolf went to another pack under her command and harassed them, that was one thing. If a wolf went to another pack and put foolish words into her mouth, that was quite another.
“Frankly, if I hated you, I would not have spoken to you, I would have attacked you. Your... Visitor did not act on Silvertip orders, and put words in my mouth. Give me a name or description, and I will be rid of them. If you have neither, there is nothing I can do.” But, to return to her point, “I do have a name. I expect action to be taken in kind.” The Warrior may have once respected Fox as a leader, but she was a leader in her own right now, and it was plain that if Fox did not discipline her wayward Outrider, Jinx would do it for her, no matter what was said here.
And they likely both knew that Jinx would be far less forgiving about it.
“Lunar,” Fox replied, “Where was Bazi when you found her?” The yearling leader was quite fond of the blue-eyed girl, and she could not imagine Bazi causing any trouble intentionally. In fact, she expected Bazi to be more on the peacemaking side. Then again, Fox knew that Jinx was not one for making peace with anybody. They were alike in that way, at least.
If anything, the information that Jinx had it out for Bazi was helpful, if only so that Fox could warn her Gamma of the danger. Jinx was a powerful wolf, and Fox knew that she was a force to be reckoned with. Fox would likely not punish Bazi, if only because she did not feel it was her job to do so. Her comrades could do whatever they wished outside the pack, but they would have to deal with the consequences on their own. Jinx had suffered this first-hand (whether she knew it or not) when she went trespassing onto Northstar Vale.
She flicked her tail, placated by Fox's quick responses. She shouldn't have been surprised that it was Lunar who was behaving out of turn, for Jinx had questioned the mottled female from the moment she entered the pack. She had sworn fealty and claimed she could befriend others and manipulate them, but the Alpha had to keep a close eye on her lest Silvertip become the victim of her trickery. Had it been any other, Jinx might have doubted Fox's claim more readily, but she had expected as much from the slippery spy.
“Ravensblood Forest, very near the mountains,” she reported, “and Neverwinter Forest, in close vicinity to the pack. I smelled my subordinate in the same location in the latter instance. I presume Bazi was told to leave.” Little did she know that Tyrande had actually sworn some kind of allegiance to Swiftcurrent Creek. She would have been shocked to know it, and even more shocked to know that Fox knew it. Presently, however, she didn't suspect the strange toxicologist at all.
She glanced at the river, feeling none of her prior camaraderie with Fox and not knowing what else to say.
It sounded as if Bazi had only been near Silvertip, not actually encroaching upon the Kesuk's claim. This caused a flurry of annoyance and frustration to flicker through the yearling, thought she showed no outward signs of it. Silvertip was far enough away that it would not be a problem for the creek... but Perry's pack was much closer. They practically bordered one another, and Fox was surprised to know that Jinx was being such a huge bitch stickler about neutral territories surrounding her own when she had settled right next to a fully-inhabited land.
Even if Bazi had been close, it sounded as if she had taken the order to leave peacefully enough, especially since she had come back unscathed. Fox, having the fuzzy memory that she did, had forgotten any other details that her scout had brought back from that encounter. If she had remembered, she may have taunted Jinx with the knowledge that two of her followers were disobeying her.
The conversation dried up, and Fox waited for Jinx to leave, unwilling to be the first to do so. It was some kind of weird and stupid power trip for her.
No further words passed between the two Alphas. Jinx thought very little about Fox, if only because she had nothing negative to say about the woman. Instead, she thought about other things, such as suddenly remembering how, right before her severance from the Creek was absolute, Njal had defended an outsider. Jinx hadn't had the opportunity to tell Fox about it, and being a petty individual without a shred of honour, she suddenly said, “I would also keep an eye on Njal, if I were you. He sympathizes with your enemies.”
Whether or not she expected Fox to even heed that warning, the pale female turned back to the mountain, content to let the Swiftcurrent Alpha lie. There was no sense in trying to remain friendly when there was no such feeling between them any longer. With her piece said, and disregarding anything the Swiftcurrent female said, Jinx began to lope away... But her back-turned ears betrayed her continued interest for just a moment.
Jinx loped away, and Fox relaxed back onto the ground to sleep away the rest of the afternoon. Only when she awoke hours later would she return to her homeland and the wolves who followed her so loyally. Haunter was forgotten for the time being, although it went without saying that Fox would not be able to forget him completely, even with her terrible memory.
I sneakily revived this to make one last post so it had 10. :D
There was no response to Jinx's warning. That had been expected. The mountain bitch spared no further thought for those of the creek, including the fiery female at the river's edge, as she made the return trip to her home. None of them concerned her any longer so long as they stayed away from her territory.