Though it had been a few days since she'd been asked to be the godmother of the Caldera's future litter, Finley was still rather... completely freaked out by it. She had never before considered the prospect of raising children. She'd never intended to have any of her own, nor had she expected to ever be somewhere long enough that she would earn the trust of a litter's mother. Fin was learning rather quickly though that her life was not meant to always be what she had expected. While that made it fun and exciting, events like this also made her a teensy bit nervous. What else would happen to her that she didn't intend?
Fin had passed outside of the territory's borders hours ago, and unfortunately, nothing exciting had yet to happen. She trotted steadily in the wake of a herd of buffalo she'd been keeping track of ever since she and her alpha had taken one of its youths. They were a strong bunch of animals, but even the strong grew weak under winter's influence, so Fin was determined to keep an eye on them just in case. She paused upon the landscape, her gaze suddenly ensnared by the Heartwood looming nearby. It wasn't likely the herd would have headed that way, but Finley knew that Whitefish River wound through the woods on its way to spill into Big Salmon Lake, which was where she had last seen the herd. Perhaps they had forded the river to the other side and were headed towards Greatwater.
Either way, Finley cantered off towards the woods, interested in finding a temporary shelter between the trees to rest, if only for a little while before she headed off again.
snagging this because I can >:) and I miss threading with youuu
[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]
[size=small]The prospect of new life at the end of Winter was seemingly not a scary one to Cara alone.
Though the situations tormenting the two females and their respective roles in each of them were completely different, the yearling's feelings towards the upcoming challenges resembled the grey coated female's own fears more that she imagined. While The Caldera female worried for the unborn members welfare when they arrived, the Frost Queen could not help but worry about her own -- but before you come to any conclusions you must understand Cara's logic was not nearly as selfish as it sounded like.
Because didn't her unborn children's welfare depend on her own after all?
Unlike the worried Beta that scurried into the core of the Heartwood doubting whether she'd live up to the expectations, Cara worried she might not live to expect in the first place. Though the biological clock inside her organism had marked the timing as right, she wasn't sure if the ambient was. It was just now as she wandered alone across the Great Bear Wilderness that the excited bubbles that had lived in the mouth of her stomach died out, leaving her to really ponder in the quiet without emotions to interfere.
What was she afraid of?
Or better yet, what wasn't she afraid of?
Being a mother was not an award given by producing children like a copy machine, and unlike other things it didn't not come with an instruction manual. There was no one to prepare you for this, and having being been raised with out a mother, Cara out of all the wolves was desperately in need for some kind of guidance.
With her ears swiveling at the top of her cranium as she continued to walk, her head still lost in her internal monologue as she unknowingly began retracing the stranger female's steps. In fact it wasn't until she was practically stepping on her that she realized she was
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OMG Marie, your writing is so gorgeous I just. I can't even. Holy snaps. Gaze upon my massive pile of dung that I fling out next to your shining diamond O_____O
Fin too was lost in her thoughts, unaware that her steps were being closely replicated by a perfect stranger. It wasn't until she felt the girl's hot breath upon her rump that she suddenly realized that something was off, and she whirled around in surprise to face the yearling with a yip. Finley bounded backwards a few feet before she stood, stiff-legged and wide-eyed to gaze upon her too-close-for-comfort stalker.
"OH!" she barked at her, her breath frozen in her throat,
"Um." It was all she could say until she let her chest settle, swiftly realizing that whoever this was, she was not a threat. At least, not at the moment. Maybe she would in the end attempt to make a meal of Finley's rump, but for now at least, she had put herself between the stranger and the prize (lol get it, cause she's facing her?).
"You uh... Sup," she said after a beat, still not fully centered enough to make normal conversation. But at least she was trying, eh?
aws <3 having you say that warms up my heart because I actually love your writing best
[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]
[size=small]In the same brusque manner the silver carpet female turned around, Cara jerked herself away from the girl, her own ears swiveling madly over her cranium as she watched the girl spin like a (slightly less graceful) ballerina to come face to face with her. While Cara would have naturally spatted a (completely hypocritical) 'watch where you are going' by know she remained silent -- which was a bit good considering it had to be her who should watch her own steps.
For once, her troubled mind had saved her from being a bitch; something that was what not needed during the times of exceptional frailty the leadership change and stressful thoughts brought.
If anything, Cara needed to be the opposite of a bitch.
Puppies didn't like bitchy parents right? Though she had vague memories of her own mother in her mind, she was certain she had never been bad to her, nor had her father -- which drove her to come to the conclusion that in order to be as good of a parental figure as they had been she needed to work on that..
It was at this second that the awkward muttering of the almost-trampled female pulled her back from her thoughts. While she had associated very little with the Caldera, she was well aware of its existence and relative proximity to the Spine -- and while the sole fact of having one of its elusive members finally facing her would have been enough for the Queen to raise her guard she did exactly the opposite.
Finley would be trial #1 at attempting to be a non-bitch and apparently Cara would be part Finley's own experiment at a normal conversation.
What a good day for first timers!
"Sorry for almost, um, stepping on you" She barked addressing their awkward encounter before focusing back onto other more 'conversationally normal' manners. "I am Cara, Alpha of the Ouroboros Spine" .She continued, her pale eyes lingering on Finley's own for a brief minute.
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Short post is short! sorry D:
The girl didn't seem to mean her any harm. At least, she didn't react to Fin's outburst with any sort of anger. She did the exact obvious actually by apologizing and introducing herself. Fin shook her head with a smile.
"It's okay, I was doing my carpet impression, I should've been better prepared for the consequences," she replied with a grin,
"I'm Finley, beta of Redhawk Caldera. Nice to meet ya."
:p
[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]
[size=small]While it had been a long time since she had come across a wolf with a humor similar to Finley's, Cara knew to appreciate it just as well ; and as strange as the dusty female's words mightn't have been they still managed to pull a good chuckle from the Alpha. And it was a hell of an impression. She piped up, playing along to the female's innocent joke with a smile of her own.
A smile that slowly shifted into a curious smirk as she listened to her quick introduction. RedHawk Caldera.
"Well now I can finally say I've met a wolf of the Caldera" She barked, the top of her tail flicking in a cat-like manner. While she knew (by scent markers alone) that said pack had been established more than a few months ago, never had she managed to come across with their elusive members; until now.
"Nice to meet you too" She added with an amiable flash of her teeth towards the girl.
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Fin queried a brow at the girl's enthusiastic response at learning where she was from. It seemed the Caldera had earned itself a it of a reputation with the nearby packs. The beta couldn't help but grin at that revelation. She had always enjoyed the spotlight and to be recognized, so she went ahead and took some of the Caldera's glory and renown in that moment for herself.
"I didn't realize my pack was so famous," she replied with a pleased grin, "Hopefully you've heard good things about how awesome and good-looking all of its members are." She considered adding something on about how gross and smelly their alpha male was, but with little chance that Peregrine would ever actually meet the wolf before her, there wouldn't have been all that much fun in it.
[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]
[size=small]To be honest, Cara had not heard anything at all.
The only knowledge she had had been passed to her by the lips of the mebers of their pack. As an Outrider as well as the leader of the neighbouring pack, Cara was instantly inclined to ask more about the Caldera; but still (and for once) she held her tongue to listen first to whatever piece of data the female would be willing to share.
Again, she was greeted by a joking remark, only this time Cara didn't play along as well as before. Despite the friendly atmosphere between them, it would be a lie not to say that Cara did not want to know actual facts of the female's pack.
"I have heard very little really, but I'll take your word for it." she barked as she flashed her teeth in a playful grin.
"Actually, I think I do not even know the name of it's leader" she barked as she sought to make contact with the female's eyes briefly. Though in another time she would have been using her viperine tongue to extract every minuscule piece of information and flaw from her companion, she did not hold more than mild interest towards the answer.
Aside from being elusive and secretive the so-called Caldera wolves had not caused trouble with the Spine, so Cara held no grudges against them.In fact all she held was a very vague idea of who they were. As even if a leader Cara preferred to have as little interaction or relation with other pack seeing that this could create a dependency, but she knew that not getting involved did not mean being ignorant.
With her ears pricking on top of her head she waited for Finley to illustrate her with her words, hoping they would give her a better picture of who she was living next to.
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The alpha admitted that she had heard little about the Caldera and Fin felt her pride wane. That was kind of a bummer. But, rumors and reputations had to start somewhere and here was a pretty good opportunity to plant the grapevine.
"Well, I'll make you a deal," Fin offered with a mischievous grin, "I'll tell you everything you want to know if you promise to pass along only the good stuff." It seemed like a pretty fair trade to Fin, even though she would have been happy to brag about her pack for free. Oh, hold on, brain caught up... "...not that there's any bad stuff, I mean."
[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]
[size=small]With the mystery of the Caldera about to be revealed Cara decided to let her weight fall to her bottom as she took a seat, and invited the female to do the same by swishing her tail over the snowy surface. As surprised as she was that the female, the Beta, was so willing to speak she did nothing to protest -- curiosity had gotten the best of her. While Cara would have been more hesitant to let another wold reel information of the Spine from her she guessed that what Finley was doing was simply being a good diplomat -- something Cara herself needed to learn..
Whatever it was, it seemed fair, so with a smile and a wink the Spine Queen agreed. "Deal -- you've intrigued me enough she barked as she quirked a brow playfully at her last remark.
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In truth, there really wasn't anything negative Fin even could say about the pack. They were a strong pack, full of able bodies. Not one of them was at all a detriment to their overall strength. And with all of them covering so many different trades, they weren't lacking for anything in the way of intellectual property. If there was one bad thing to be said about them, it was that they were all a bunch of lunatics. But since Fin was one of them, she wasn't actually aware of that little detail.
"Bring on the interrogation, lady!" Fin replied with a chipper smile, plopping down onto her haunches. There was much she could tell the girl of their history, how they came to be, etc. But Fin had made a deal that she'd spill whatever Intel Cara asked of her. Not whatever random fun facts Fin felt like sharing.
that avatar is perfection *__*
[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]
[size=small]Though the Spine Queen still held her reluctance about sharing information of her pack so casually, especially with a neighboor pack which she knew nothing about. Usually, Cara would be the first to boast to others, flaunting about the Spine and it's luxuries but right now she had to be especially careful with what came of her mouth. It was no secret, for the Spine wolves of course, that their had been thinning, and despite the fact the carpet female in front of her did not hold any malice in her brown eyes, Cara could never be too sure.
"Well, for starters, who leads the pack? she asked, her ears turning to face the female. Though she did not have many connections outside the Spine she did know a couple of names and a strories here and there.
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Omg I know, I love it so many
It didn't take the female long to come up with a question, even though it was a rather basic one that in iteself would not take long to explain.
"Welp!" she began enthusiastically,
"The pack's alphas are Peregrine and Fox DiSarinno. The betas are me and a guy named Elwood Grove. If you ever meet him, make sure to call him Twig. And to tell everyone you meet that his name is Twig." She gave Cara a cheeky grin. Hopefully Cara actually would spread the word that the Caldera's beta male was named Twig. That would be even worse than the pack calling him Twig...
"Peregrine and Fox were the alphas of Blacktail Deer Plateau before we left to found the pack at the Caldera," she added, unprompted. It didn't occur to her to clarify that only she and the alphas had been a part of the Plateau and not Elwood.
[size=medium]"in the land of gods and monsters,
I was an angel"[/size]
[size=small]With her tail twitching idly over her black-tipped toes, the young Alpha prepared herself to listen to what, judging by her companion's undying excitement, would be a good story. As the silver female began to speak Cara's ears cupped forward, never wanting to miss a single syllable. The first two names that Finley began to list were carefully archived in the young Moretti's mind, they could prove to be useful in the future in case a situation arised.
Even with the Spine's natural aversion towards making allies, she knew that knowing the names of those at command wasn't any harm, au contraire it was simple courtesy.
The other name, however, did not rouse any interest in the young Alpha, who unlike the silver female did not consider the little nickname to be amusing but rather stupid..
And it was by the way the female asked her to make sure to call him by that name, Cara wrongly assumed it was him who made himself be called that way -- something which only made the whole thing seem more absurb.
But anyways.
At the mention of the Plateu, the pale female's eyes filled with a shocked expression. She had heard of the Plateau and even encountered some of it's wolves when Jinx's reign still stood at Silvertip. "So is it the version 2.0 of the Plateau?" she asked, with a bit of humor laced in between the prying question of whether or not they considered themselves better than those they had seemingly left behind.
"I have not encountered many Plateau wolves since us, the Spine wolves, lived at Silvertip." she commented, rolling a shoulder back non-chalantly as she did so.
So far she liked Caldera wolves better.
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