SET: 30JAN
"limit two" is not a hard limit, but i do prefer quick threads/few participants
she could scarcely believe it. the third pack the listener had told her to seek was where she had stayed with her sisters. it was these wolves who had attacked viridian. though the smell of blackwater had thoroughly been rinsed from her pelt before her trip had even began, she shuddered to think of what trouble her
own smell might bring.
still, she gathered herself and called for the wolves who led the pack on the spine.
apologies for her being a meanie weenie >:D
cerulean had every right in her mind to be afraid of showing her skin to moonglow, for its
sivullik was hardly the forgiving type when it came to the desecration of their caches and the tomfoolery of one of the sisters who was torn by their teeth.
the call is silently answered as the woman brings herself to the border once again. first, there was the dark male, and now it was a small creature who smelled all too familiar. and shikoba could not stop herself from letting a threatening rumble escape her throat. no matter the business of this woman, be it to make relations or not, shikoba would not stand for such a thing.
the message was clear. the girl was not welcome along these borders. should she try her luck, she may receive a face full of teeth.
this one and her companions had dashed the hospitality of moonglow under their paws. destroying a cache was one thing.
limning everything in refuse was quite another.
shikoba granted a warning.
moonwoman was silent, passing through the world to sivullik's side and lunging silently for the girl. how dare she return to the spine!
cerulean had done no wrong. she had no hand in the desecration her sisters had wrought, and had come to the borders with intentions of peace. moonglow's leaders were on the verge of ruining it — and what was worse, she understood why.
i didn't do anything,
she hissed, reeling backwards. don't punish me for the actions of another.
her mouth twisted in a mixture of hatred and shame. she didn't even smell like her sisters, but she looked enough like them that she wasn't sure she could talk her way out of this mess.
if these wolves were to show any indication of violence, she would turn to flee. this wasn't worth it.
kukutux is quick to move and the girl is quick to try and explain. but her words come out in a hissing manner, nothing that begs for forgiveness, nothing screams submission to the primal mind of the woman. perhaps this brings trouble on both parts, but shikoba has little reason to fear a small woman in search of something from the wolves of moonglow.
a roar erupts from shikoba, teeth bared as she lunges for the girl with no regard for her words. the message is sent, the deed is done. the sivullik and matriarch have passed judgement upon the girl before them.
whether she was the one who ruined the cache or not, there was no apology, no beg for mercy or forgiveness. insubordination upon the borders is a spit in the face of sivullik and moonwoman. shikoba would not have any of it.
shikoba would chase if need be, but she gave the girl enough room to run, and perhaps share the message that moonglow would not forgive the harsh actions of others, even if the girl was not the criminal in the first place.
the girl pulled away.
this satisfied some small part of kukutux, that she did not intend to fight. but moonwoman was not forgiving.
she had learned that kindness often invited a cruel hand. she had trusted adrastus. she had trusted nyra. and she had been happy enough to give food and a sleeping place to those who passed through moonglow during winter hunting.
her fur stood in harsh spikes. the duck growled. do not return.
and if she was not heeded in mere moments, she too would lunge again.
this time she would not seek to warn but to strike.
they had left her scarcely enough room to move, and no time to explain. she had thought the crime had been victimless; how were they to know the abandoned territory would be inhabited once again? tears sprang into her eyes — she had failed in her mission, and she knew not what this would mean for her sister's fate or for her own.
for a split second, she considered fighting back. death by cop. she knew they would tear her apart and her flesh sang for it. blood, pain, at least then her anguish would have a reason.
sorry,
she choked, the word barely escaping as she fled for her life.
she would flee, flee like the coward shikoba believed her to be. whether she was truly the one who desecrated the land or not, kindness would not be given so easily to those who have no reason to receive. the thundering movements of the two women make the message clear, and shikoba can only hold her chin up as she watches the girl scamper off.
she looks towards kukutux, her burning rage soon swallowed by the woman's presence. a deep breath, a problem that seems to be relatively avoided. "thankful for you." she says to her, coming to brush against the woman's shoulder and neck with her own body and muzzle. "hope they never come again." she casts a gaze off into the distance, wherever the lingering sisters could be.
kukutux murmured softly, returning the affectionate touches of her sivullik. "they will not come back. moonglow will not be kind again." her village was strong and treated others gently. but they had little room for forgiveness now.
she turned with a chuff, wanting to walk with shikoba now.
in time they would return to their husbands, but these moments were meant to be shared between sisters.