trekking back to the bay had been an easy enough task. the winds blew relentlessly, causing her to seek shelter in the emerald woodlands. it was akin to the first arrival of this realm. the wind had been blowing in a similar manner. Huntington did not so much as stop until she reached the cover of trees. the woman settled under one, reclining upon the earth and looking to the sky. it seems it was keen to rain as well. it was cloudy above, lacking storm clouds yet accepting rain all the same. if her assumption was correct; it would rain a bit then stop. the clouds were not heavy looking.

it was a good thing then that she had gone for the cover first. whatever encounters she had given herself - or allowed herself to give - were lost upon her mind. right now, the concept of finding shelter for the rest of the winter played within her mind. she could easily join a pack; they required healers after all, yet committing herself down was troublesome. they expected loyalty and gave none in return. they always expected much from their servants, she'd found. the woman eventually lowered her body to the ground, ignoring the cold take of the snow.

she would wait out this brief drizzle. whatever else came to her, it was merely experimental.

Saucy was out on patrol, marking the borders and what not. Since her return she’d felt an urgency to get things done, to protect her new home. She didn’t want what’d happened to Dalia, or any sort of unfortunate incident for that matter, to occur on their land again, so she put her mercenary abilities to work. This time she was playing guardian, the noble sentinel of Stavanger bay. Well, maybe not noble- yeah Saucy was not quite that.

She was nearly going to turn in and return to her den, as she sensed a rain coming, when she caught the scent of an unfamiliar. She wouldn’t be bitchy about it, as technically they hadn’t fully claimed the territory, but she did feel obligated to figure out who this was. The muscle toned girl carried herself along the scent path, until she came across a greyscale woman, seeking  shelter from the coming rain. Saucy narrowed her icy eyes, then barked to get her attention. Her posture was that of dominance, but not aggression.

So what’s your deal then? she asked, with no ill intent, just curiosity.

soon, another would come to her midst. her pale gaze shifted to the ivory woman as they barked a greeting. a question soon followed, causing an ear to flick backward. was that not known? shelter from the drizzle; it was painfully obvious to anyone with half a brain. Huntington already did not expect much from this encounter. to be fair, she never did. especially with women. she was one of the types to not have much in common with her fellow gender. wherein they wanted families, she sought knowledge. that got in the way of any familial pursuit. 

the woman's stance suggested some form of claim upon this land. Huntington had come back here due to it be familiar to her; she had treated a stranger on this bay. she had tread here before with no one challenging her or claiming she was trespassing. had some pack already sunk their claws into this land? unfortunate. t'was a quaint little place. "there is no 'deal' " she replied at last in her monotone voice, keeping the exhaustion out "I merely sought shelter. should I have not?" her head tilted slightly, eyes appearing larger against the back drop of black.

The stranger’s reply is in a nonchalant tone, and the girl perceived a bit of snark in it. This wasn’t the type of response she was expecting, and she was put off by the slight air of disdain. Her icy eyes narrowed, though she still showed no aggression. She walked a little closer as a droplet of rain plunked against her nose, You can do whatever you want I guess, but you should know that this land is being claimed. Soon your deal would be trespassing. She shrugged, since for now it was alright and she didn’t have much right to stop her. 

I’m Saucy, by the way, you? she asked, settling down under a branch to act as a shelter.

so this place would soon be trodden upon by a pack. how shameful indeed. there were many herbs that grew in this bay location that she would have enjoyed collecting come spring and summer. she saw careful remnants of it in various places along the area. Huntington's expression did not change, though she did store the information away without many words. "noted" she gave, at last, having no desire to 'trespass' upon land that really did not belong to anyone.

if one wanted to be realistic, this land belonged to whatever had created it. natural or unnatural. deity-divined or scientifically inclined. though most mortals saw something 'shiny', something they thought meant something to them and sought it. possessed it. obsessively guarded it. she wondered briefly who had the nerve to even attempt this before she did not care anymore. it mattered not. this was merely another place she was unwelcomed in.

"Huntington" she replied, another wonder coming to mind. who named their child Saucy? she had no maternal instinct herself, yet she would have put more effort into such things should she ever have children. then again, a mother did not name her. she could not talk. "and who lays claim to this land, exactly?" she might as well know the name of the pack.

The stranger didn’t seem all too interested or worried at what Saucy had to say, so the girl took that to mean that they were on the same page. Whatever the land meant to the other woman, to Saucy it was just a home. She didn’t put too much thought into ownership and the fine prints. If this was where her friends were, then this was her home, and a home is somewhere you protect. 

She moved on with ease, slipping into a more relaxed and open gait.The introductions commenced, the pale eyed woman was Huntington. It was just a name, nothing special- but she committed it to memory in case she ever saw this female again. She was asked about the pack, Stormrift, we’re all about the ocean and stuff. If you were interested or anything you should talk to Ford, she said, as any sort of recruitment wasn’t really her strong suit. She loved talking, and she was often friendly. However she was much better at protecting borders than filling them.

mayhap she was more pagan than modern in that regard. or perhaps she did not see the land as a home. more of a temporary housing situation than anything. borders were walls others placed upon themselves. both physically and mentally. she had experience with these walls, yet only the mental ones. the physical was beyond her. she mused quietly to herself. Stormrift. it was not an eloquent explanation of their rank and beliefs that the woman gave.

and she suspected the other did not want to speak much on it. recruiting others was perhaps out of Saucy's hands. whether it was a rank situation or she did not care to request Huntington to join them. therein was always the possibility that the woman did not care for her. she tended to rub others the 'wrong way'. was there even a correct way to be aversive to others, she wondered? "I prefer the marshes" Huntington, however, replied, with a small smirk.

that was perhaps a given, considering her voodoo-esque appearance. "Stormrift is quite new then?" she asked, going back to her earlier traversing into these lands. no one had stopped her. nor the injured man she had treated.

The marshes? Oh, interesting. Saucy couldn’t imagine wanting anything to do with a stinky oozing bog, but to each their own. Huntington was on a much different plane mentally than the very physically bound girl, so perhaps the other  saw something in those places that Saucy simply didn’t. Whatever the reason for preferring the marshes, Saucy couldn’t dream of it. She shrugged, her tail falling into a low and slow sweep. I’m not the biggest fan of water in general but I’m getting used to it, she returned, her face softening into a slight grin.

Huntington showed more interest in Stormrift, which for some reason Saucy hadn’t been expecting. And while she was no recruiter, she would try her best to answer whatever questions were presented. Yeah, we started hanging out here a couple months ago maybe? Me and a group of friends- some more have joined though, there might be like eight or nine of us right now? she said, not entirely confident in those numbers. She had been gone for a little while, and if there were anything close to eight or nine others, then she hadn’t met them all.

"one has to be used to water, for one to settle down here" Huntington concluded casually. her reasoning for the marshes could be simple like previously stated, yet also more branching was involved idea-wise. she rather enjoyed being called a swamp witch; t'was an insult meant by others in the past that failed to even be insulting. swamplands carried interesting things. herbs and plants not known to the general populace. a different environment, a living ecosystem of not just wolves impacting it. it was quite fascinating.

however, she kept her viewpoint to herself when it came to Stormrift. Saucy went on to speak of being here months. she failed to even see a pack border, or the beginnings of one when she had tread here before. the lack of others was also problematic in a way. no one had chased her from the bay. "I see" with all things, she kept it guarded close. there was no reason to reveal the meeting of the injured boy upon this bay. there was no reason to say there was someone seeking him. 

this was not the same pack as him. she could have told that alone by the scent. if anything, it was considered a rivalry. all pack life was. the quest for members, the recruitment process... wars, fighting, battle. all disinteresting to her. "if it is not an official pack yet, you and your... friends. they must not hold rank so soon, correct?" she claimed Ford was the leader, so that was about all Huntington did know. unless the leader had applied rankings to them already. she was curious how pack life differed here.

One has to be used to water, for one to settle here, Saucy nodded but flicked her ear in slight annoyance. It wasn’t as much an irritation felt towards Huntington as a frustration towards her inability to fish well. Or swim well for that matter. She was working on it, she really was! She had a feeling her friends had plenty of pack traditions they brought from wherever they came - which Saucy was starting to feel like was actually the depths of the ocean - that they would just love to put in motion once the whole shabang got established. More than likely, at least one of them would require her to swim. 

Saucy was asked another question about Stormrift, about their ranks. They didn’t really have those yet, or at least that she knew of. She sort of took it that since the Mayfair-Cairns were establishing the pack  that they were leaders, but she also valued Dalia the same rank as them, and also didn’t think of herself as anything lower. Until that was made clearer, they were still a hodgepodge of sorts. No, they don’t, she replied, unsure of what other answer Huntington was expecting.

so, they only had a leader in the man they called Ford. no rank nor title had been given to the loyal subjects of this start-up band of merry little seafarers. interesting. should it be here to start a community, she would reward her most trusted advisors with some weight. yet she was not their leader, and this was not her pack. this was merely a passing fancy. at the bay. at the coast. she would move on soon enough. Huntington flicked an ear backward.

"fret not. I will not trespass upon this land again" because there was no reason to be in a controlled area. it had nothing to do with respect. " and I wish you and your pack... good tidings." it seemed Saucy would not leave her be alone, so Huntington took it upon herself to depart. the situation grew dull the more they spoke, and either woman had much else to say. her lanky legs carried her forward as she left the bay - and her brief hopes - behind.