Two Rivers Isle To be safe

@Aeronwyn :) set right after THIS thread.

Malice led them to the river, but it wasn't a long journey. They reached it within around 15 minutes. They were in the South part of the territory, she could tell by the looming mountains in the distance, the ones too high to climb on. Malice went into the river without hesitation, wading to the other side and climbing on the shore at the opposite side. 

Let the work begin. She joked with a small giggle, and made her first mark on the borders. After today, everyone would know that they were there, ready to fight for what they now called their own.

Aeronwyn followed, surging through the river like a fish trying desperately to beach itself. She popped out of the water on the other side, shaking the water from her pelt, and tread softly after Malice. She joined the dark femme as she begun to long process of marking all of their borders. She kneaded her paws into the ground, rubbed against objects, and urinated on a rather sad looking stump. The first few moments she worked in silence, but then spoke of a subject she thought Malice might be rather fond about. 
"How are your pups?"

Perhaps others would find a wet pelt to be annoying, but for a dark-pelted big female like Malice in the summer, it was quite refreshing. Yes, it dragged her down a bit and made her look scruffy, but she couldn't help but feel good. Far away from her sorrows, far away from the places and wolves she so despised and instead surrounded by family and friends in a beautiful land to call their own. Perhaps only once in her life had she been this happy-and that was whenever Avalon and her had looked at the stars. She hadn't forgotten about the Moonlit Wolves though, never could she, and she wondered how they were doing.

Rubbing her scent on almost everything she could find and peeing whenever she felt necessary, she joined her companion in marking the borders. It was true that there was silent at first, but it was not the unpleasant kind. But she also didn't find it to be ruined by Aeronwyn speaking up and asking something.

They are doing quite well despite the long journey. Malice answered with a smile on her muzzle. Even Pyro, the little thing, is doing just fine. They are a strong litter, I can tell. Malice praised her kids. Though now she found herself curious. How have you find traveling with us?

Aeronwyn chuffed lightly. "Strong they are. You must have great pride in them, being so young and surviving so much." Aeronwyn was beginning to feel great affection for the little potatoes, they were completely innocent to the fire of the world around them. They would grow to be strong, tempered wolves. 

Malice asked of how the found travelling with them, and Aeronwyn pondered the question for a moment. No doubt, it had been quite the adventure, but she did not quite know how to put her thoughts into words. "It has been exciting, wonderful, travelling with you. Thank you for accepting me, and I feel...I feel as if..." she paused, trying to put her thoughts into words that made sense. "I have come to as if you were like family. You, Burke, the pups..." her sentence trailed off into silence as she kneaded the ground at her furs, depositing her scent once more into the soil.

Every mother has pride in their young, and so have I. She responded dreamily. To think one fortunate meeting at the Greatwater Lake had resulted in this was unthinkable. It was the butterfly effect, one that effected a large group of wolves. The Moonlit Wolves had suffered, so had they, and now everyone under the rule of Damien and Nemesis would suffer. How long had it been since the day she joined Burke? Since she met Cogitemus? Where was he now? Had he found another woman who was able to make drastic decisions in the blink of an eye?

She was surprised to hear Aeronwyn saying she saw them as family. She hadn't though about it like that yet, but since they were a band now, perhaps she felt the same. They traveled further and further as they talked, marking their borders better than anyone ever before. I am glad and flattered to hear that. Malice said. I never did apologize for acting so mad at our first encounter, but Burke never wants me to say sorry again. She giggled. You know, I bet the pups would one day see you as their aunt.

This time, when Malice laughed, Aeronwyn laughed with her. She had every right to be angry, seeing as she was a new mother and Aeronwyn bore the scent of those who wanted to gut her. However, Malice's next statement caught her off guard. An aunt? Aeronwyn liked that, liked it quite a bit, and a smile touched her muzzle as she continued along with Malice.

"You think so? I would would like that...I would love that." she did hope the pups saw her as more then simply another wolf, something that occasionally brought them food. She hadn't wanted to intrude, and spent time with the pups when she was with Malice, not knowing if the other trusted her enough with them. She may as well ask now, however. "If you wanted me too, I could always watch the pups for you and Burke. I'de love to play with them, and I promise I won't loose them" she said with a chuckle. It was seldom that Aeronwyn cracked jokes, being rather serious minded.

Genetically, Pyro and Vassago already had two uncles, three if she counted Avalon. Malice found females to be smarter, so why couldn't they also have a aunt? Whether they already had or not, she had no idea. She had never hung around with her brothers much, and neither did she want to think about it now. She was busy with the future, not with the past.

She nodded at Aeronwyn while she marked a branch. Aeronwyn was the only female they knew beside their mother, surely they would see her as some sort of family. You would? It would be nice to have the troublemakers in someone else's fur for a day or so... She said. Of course she loved the children, but they could be very bothersome-especially at night. She laughed. I believe you. She said. If she had known Burke had dropped Pyro in the river, she would have begged for Aeronwyn to be the father.

Malice seemed willing to take Aeronwyn up on her offer, and for that the pale warrior was glad. The two seemed to trust her, to an extent, much more than they had the first few days she had been travelling with them. That trust, that feeling of being part of something, part of a family as close as Malice's was...that had changed something in her. She felt more at ease, less inclined to go pick a fight. Sure, if someone approached the little band with malicious intent, or threatened them, she would not hesitate to rip out their scrawny throats. But she was not going to fling herself into that kind of situation without any regard for those around her.

After a moment of thought, Aeronwyn spoke again. "Of course. Perhaps, when we are settled, it would be wise to explore the surrounding area. We encountered no packs on the way here, luckily, but I wonder if others might be around her, or to the north. What are your opinions on other packs?"

The two had more in common than at first sight. Malice, too, had changed because of the feelings of home, of family. Never would she revert back to her feral state, the state that the Dark Brotherhood and Lucifer Peak so admired. Her kids deserved a better mother than a feral beast, ready to snap at any given moment. If she raised them with love and compassion, they would turn out better than her- and that was her goal.

Their task of marking the borders was almost to an end, she noticed as she marked another lone tree. But their conversation was not quite over yet.

Other packs only bring trouble. You see how well it worked out for me. Malice spoke, but then remembered Aeronwyn couldn't know anything of Moonlit Hills unless they had told her in the Brotherhood. I had my own pack in Phantom Hollow before I got pregnant with Burke's pups. Perhaps it would have been better if I had never settled there at all... She explained shortly. But I don't think I could miss my family nor you now. The point is; it's better not to associate with other packs. Rumors might spread about us settling here, and those rumors could easily reach the Dark Brotherhood.

Aeronwyn marked things with her scent absently, focusing much of her attention to Malice. She spoke of a time before the Brotherhood, when she had her own pack. This story seemed to be an odd one, and as she thought and connected the events in her mind, she thought she might have understood some of what the pair had gone through. So Malice had been an alpha, then become pregnant with Burke's pups. If this had been love or a single meeting, Aeronwyn did not know. Somehow, Malice had ended up at the Brotherhood, where she had been shunned for having Burke's pups and Burke had stepped down from leadership. Many details were missing, some occurrences made little sense to her, but she did not dwell on it. The past was simply that.

Aeronwyn nodded, accepting the woman's words. "When we have established a firmer hold on this land, I will scout if only to see if any other packs have or will settle in the vicinity. But you are correct, for the Brotherhood possess a fierce bloodlust, it seems."

Not even Burke knew her whole story, for he had never showed any interest in knowing. Not that she would ever tell anyone how fucked up she had been. Perhaps, with time, when she would be around Burke's age, she could talk about it more openly; but for now everything was fine. Only Judas knew of her twisted mind that now had been smothered by love for her family.

Their talk had made the time seem to go faster, for Malice could already see the point where they had started. Spending time with Aeronwyn had been nice, but now she wanted to check up on Burke and her children. She was, after all, a beginning mother and she was kind of stressed about leaving the pups in Burke's care. 

Then please do not speak of our names, nor the land we have claimed. Malice requested worriedly. The reached the beginning, and Malice made one final mark to top it off. Their borders were now strong, and any loner who would now wander in here either had a death wish or could not smell. Our work here seems to be done.

Malice seemed worried, and Aeronwyn was quick to calm her. "Have no fear, for none will know of this place. I will make sure it is so." They had reached the end of their marking, and Aeronwyn scored her claws against the bark of a thick oak fiercely, for they had reached the end of their marking. She turned to Malice with a small smile on her muzzle. "It seems so. Farewell, for now, Malice."

With a chuff, she was in the river once more, swimming to the other bank with strong strides. At the opposite shore, she spun and offered a quick nod to Malice, a goodbye, before slipping off into the trees once more.