blix is used to the fact that furi occasionally wanders from drageda's  borders - she knows she doesn't go very far alone, though it makes her a little anxious when she wakes up to her absence. this is the tricky thing with outsiders (at this point she barely counts furi as an outsider but for things like this) -- the gona has no problem accepting them but what is to stop them from leaving drageda behind for good? but furi's happy here... she thinks, at least.

she's on her usual patrol route when the wind carries, speak of the devil, the warm scent of someone familiar. impulsively the ginger decides to pause her patrol to go greet her friend as she approaches - and as she gets closer she realises there is not one but two scents on the air - furi's, of course, and someone she doesn't recognize. alarm flares through her as she quickens her pace, though she does not hear any sounds of scuffle.

the gona slows as the pair enter her field of vision, her alarm fading only to be replaced by confusion and something else that blixen doesn't know the name of but makes her bristle slightly. furi and a strange girl, talking, heading towards drageda..? "furi," she calls out, forcing herself to relax lest she upset the other warrior, "hei." pointedly, she looks at the stranger, waiting for some sort of explanation.

the girl - she looks a lot like her. a lot, actually. not exactly - blixen has those tell-tale fox markings, and she's bulkier, and she has amber eyes, not strikingly bright blue. but still. her mouth tightens into a frown despite her best efforts as she fixes her gaze on furi, in time to catch her brows knit. the ginger mirrors her unconsciously, feeling stung but not sure exactly why.

furi introduces the girl as rose. and says that rose wants to join. and something about plants - at any other time blixen might have been happy to hear that but now she's fixiated on wants to join. wants to join what? surely not drageda - but they're at the borders (together) and rose doesn't smell like any other pack. 

blix clears her throat. "furi," she says, fighting every urge to shout 'she can't!', "can i, uh, talk to you for a sec? privately?" it is the most mature she has ever managed to make herself be in these sorts of situations and she does not really wait for furi to move closer to her before she bursts out in a loud whisper, "what do you mean she wants to join? we can't just - nomi's not here," she says significantly, "and we're not really meant to take in outsiders." she shoots the red-furred girl a furtive look, her expression - not harsh but coming close to something bitter, suspicious. 

straightening up, she forces herself to soften her expression (ending up on a sort of guarded neutrality). "sorry," the gona says, not really meaning it a bit. she doesn't want to send her away necessarily - after all, they did take in furi and that big one, ette, so it's not like there isn't a recent precedent for accepting total outsiders, but she thinks about the possibility of the ghost showing up too and imagines what nomi will think. no, it really won't do at all. why did furi have to put her in this position of being the bad guy?

surprised that furi is pushing back, blixen bristles. she has no desire to fall into some dominance battle - they're both gona, they're equals, and they're friends, but why won't furi listen to her? "there are rules," she says, voice sharper than she means (and she winces a little, correcting herself with a slightly softer tone). "there're rules. i know it's eske's decision - or dio's," blix adds meaningfully, frowning a little, "but you don't understand..."

somehow she thinks she's not going to convince furi - and the girl is right, it is dio or eske's decision in the end, blixen's approval be damned. sighing, she turns back to the fire-licked girl, her ears flicked back in annoyance. "okay, rose, what can you contribute to drageda?" furi'd said something about plants but blix hadn't really heard it - and, anyway, she wants to here it from the horse's mouth, so to speak. if rose is so special and cool that furi has to have her join them, fine, prove it -- she isn't going to call for wanlida or wocha until she has an answer for herself.

 it did not occur to blix, bless her heart, that she is creating something of a scene, and the idea that rose might be off-put by her spat with furi escapes her. but rose holds her own and - actually, blix can kind of see what furi sees in her. assertiveness is a turn on somewhat... charming.

 "oh," she says dumbly, and glances at furi. "okay, good, that's. good." whatever negative energy had been building inside her suddenly dissapates, leaving her with something of a stomache ache. hell, she's definitely put her foot in it again. even if she's right this time. for a moment the gona considers just resuming her patrol and leaving furi to call for leadership but she isn't going to shirk her duties. "my name is blixen," she adds, incredibly belatedly, "our wocha, dio, or wanlida, eske, will make the final call." the ginger sucks in a deep breath and calls for @Dio - or @Eske, whoever's nearer.

secretly, she's relieved to see dio instead of eske. not because she has any doubts in eske's ability but she knows eske would favor furi's opinion over hers. dio, at least, will be impartial. 

furi doesn't speak - the gona glances at her, a little expectantly, to find her eyes averted. blix's mouth twists. she is not diplomatic, she does not approve of this, why is furi making her do the talking? but if she... voices her disapproval, her friend will definitely be even madder at her. the ginger licks her lips and looks at dio. "this is rose," she says, somewhat awkwardly. "she.. knows about herbs and has some medical experience. she'd like to join us," she adds after a beat, glancing at furi once more. her tone is not exactly warm and welcoming, but she thinks that's a fairly neutral introduction and she's careful not to mention that the other gona brought her to their borders. blix doesn't want to get furi in trouble - she was just trying to be preventative, you know? it just. backfired. a lot. a lot.

she looks at furi again, sees the way her expression softens when she looks at rose. her mouth twists, something ugly settling back into her belly, something different from the anger she'd carried when mother had been missing. swallowing thickly, the gona looks back at dio. as expected, he doesn't quite take her in with open arms, though he's certainly much more diplomatic than blix about it. his question is fair - she forces herself to glance again at rose and furi, wondering how much furi told her about drageda, about their way of life. she hopes more than nothing, for rose's sake.