Ravensblood Forest I live here, now.

@Durnehviir!

After her talk with Drogon and a short journey to the east, Sunspot had headed back West - but not to Morningside. Instead, she travelled along the coast, and when she came to the bottleneck that led from plateau to sea and discovered the scent of Drogon along with a budding pack's, the tired shewolf decided to stay. She decided she didn't care if she didn't know these wolves from Adam, or that they might well end up being her brother's adversaries. She wanted a place of her own, outside of Grayday's stifling influence, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.

So, tired as she was, the cream-cream-coated femme began moving along the borders, placing her mark alongside those of the nameless wolves she was determined to make her kin.

So there, thought the woman, moving several hundred yards into the forest and finding a nice place to curl up for a nap.

So sorry for the delay!

Although certain it was what she wanted, it was still strange for Durnehviir to settle in one place despite the hope that she could be happy there. It was around this time of year when Autumn hung in the crisp morning air, carrying with it the promise of the cold season to come, that she and her uncle Viinturuth would set plan in motion to commit to a pack for the Winter. The change was hard for her and she often wondered if the decision to go at this on her own was the right one, but Durnehviir tried her best to remain optimistic.

Constantine, too, had been fairly distant, and she hadn't seen much of any other potential comrades as they each seemed to adjust in their own time. She couldn't deny that she worried the other wolves might think she was setting herself apart or wasn't interested in integrating with them, and so decided to make the effort to reach out. Durnehviir meandered through the forest in no particular direction in search of Constantine's other followers, but she failed to pick up any fresh trails.

Finally, the russet female pricked a velvet ear at the sound of nearby padding paws, and she chuffed softly to announce her presence. No response came and, picking up her pace, moved between the foliage in the direction the noise had come from. She came upon an unfamiliar golden she-wolf as she lowered herself to the ground and curled close to herself, which roused a new feeling of guilt - the last thing she wanted to do was demand attention by interrupting another's rest. Not wishing to disturb her, the tawny Frostfur made to move away from the scene.

Her eyes were already closed when she heard the sound of another's approach and caught the scent of an unfamiliar shewolf. Her body tensed without her permission, reacting to the presence of a rival by instinct, but not by fact. Sunspot didn't have any plans to whelp this year, so it didn't matter how many other women were around - she simply got testy for a few months out of the year, and there was nothing to be done but grin and bear it.

"No, stay," called the trespasser, grinning and bearing it. Her tail beat the ground in submission - she hoped the other shewolf could be lured close enough to share scents with. Maybe no one had to know that she hadn't been invited.

This in mind, the shewolf rolled onto her back and wiggled entreatingly - Come cuddle me, she seemed to be saying.

As Durnehviir turned her back, an unfamiliar voice called out and she stopped in her tracks to look over a russet shoulder at the other female. She let silence linger between them, and observed with curiosity as the golden wolfess thumped her tail on the ground in whats eemed to be encouragement. Turning again to face her, the tawny Frostfur once more began to move closer.

She drew nearer, and a strange thing happened: the older wolfess rolled belly-up in submission, exposing her undersides. Durnehviir blinked, uncertain. With the pack being so fresh, and with Constantine's followers barely knowing each other, a hierarchy hadn't been established. Without hesitation, the crimson-tipped beauty moved in close, her tail instinctively arching in dominance since this wolfess had already made her place known. She growled lowly, dipping her muzzle to sniff at the ivory fur of the lesser wolf's throat to discover no recent scents that were familiar to her.

"Are you new here?" Durnehviir asked, genuinely curious but wondering if this female had been foolish enough to invite herself into the territory with no invitation.

Sunspot's eyes had fluttered shut once more - she could hardly keep herself awake after her long journey. Still, she did her best to greet the other, reaching up to paw at the russet woman's face and chest.

"Mmm," she replied, perhaps in agreement. "Just got back," she added, partially because it was the truth, and partially to explain the lack of pack scent upon her. "Where's that - " a wide yawns punctuated the sentence - "that angry kid? Drogon?" she asked, not knowing that he'd left the coast behind in order to join a pack in the mountains. "And Cas?" she added, not realizing that Cascada had not even accompanied Drogon as far as the forest.

A paw reached toward her, and Durnehviir flashed her teeth briefly to accompany her low growl of warning. She had not yet stepped aside to allow this wolfess to rise, and her dominant posture in no way gave an open invitation to be touched. There was an air of uncertainty when it came to this stranger, who'd so openly submitted to a woman she did not know and was evidently much younger. 

The other stated that she'd "just got back", which explained the lack of Constantine's scent on her fur. The tawny Frostfur stepped aside then, leaving room for her apparent packmate to gather herself, though Durnehviir continued to eye her with mild suspicion. She asked after someone she didn't know, though she recalled the name having been mentioned to her by their swarthy leader. "I don't know him," she said, canting an oversized ear. The other name was one she didn't recognise, so did not press the matter. "Who are you?"

At the sound of the woman's growl, Sunspot's own lips peeled back of their own accord. Hey! she wanted to say, what's your problem? But the effort wasn't worth it, and she wasn't worth it, and the strange woman would probably easily overpower her at this time either way. With a subdued huff, the woman fell limp once more, her tail beating tiredly against the ground.

"Spot," she answered listlessly, speaking to a rock a few inches from the tip of her nose. Her eyes began to flutter shut once more. She was so tired... Her legs were leg lead, and her heartbeat seemed unnaturally loud and sluggish in her ears.

She was weird. Utterly, completely, irrevocably odd. Durnehviir had been expecting the golden wolfess to rise, to pull herself together and make an effort to reach out, but instead remained flopped pitifully on the forest floor. The crimson she-wolf frowned deeply, her nose scrunching, and emitted a soft snort of disapproval. 

Her questioned was answered, though the name was offered to a nearby rock and not to the mottled Frostfur herself. Iirritation itched at Durnehviir's hide, though she did not move to place herself within the other she-wolf's sight. Instead she remained solid in her place, tail lashing in cat-like frustration at her hocks.

"Is there a reason why are you just... laying there?" Durnehviir asked, annoyance in her tone as the bold guard hairs of her nape bristled.

Sunspot became aware of an awful spinning sensation in her head. She heard the woman's voice as if from very far away, but understood enough to realize she was acting rather strangely. However, when she stirred herself, attempting to rise, she found that she was quite unable to lift herself -

- and fell back to the earth with a surprised huff, lids heavy but still open.

"Legs are sleeping," said Sunspot, somewhat alarmed but too tired to show it. She stifled another yawn and tried again, rolling onto her belly and lifting herself a few inches on shaking legs. Although she didn't fall, this time, she soon lowered herself back to the ground. "I'm too tired," she sighed, tail whisking uncertainly. "I've been running for days."

Wanna finish up in your next post?  :)

The strange female indicated that she was tired, and Durnehviir growled lowly. If she was really so exhausted, why hadn't she allowed the tawny Frostfur to simply be on her way rather than insisting that she stay? This encounter between new pack mates had roused nothing but irritation and hostility on Durnehviir's part, and she found herself doubting her attitude toward Constantine had been as disrespectful.

She made to turn away. The golden female lowered herself to the ground, and Durnehviir wasn't prepared to guard her if she chose to sleep out in the open. "Rest, then," the dragoness urged as she strode off in the direction she'd initially been heading. Truthfully, she didn't know how she felt about Spot. There was clearly something odd about her, and her body language confused her entirely. Eager to get away and not incite a scuffle over dominance so early in Ravensblood's conception, Durnehviir jogged from the scene with the promise to herself that she would not look over the next mockery so easily.

The woman left. Good riddance, Sunspot thought after her. But that deep, pervading loneliness was quick to grip her once again. She thought of Grayday and Sameth, and the homes she'd left behind. A tiny whimper breezed past her lips as she sank into a deep, restless slumber.

When she woke, her encounter with Durnehviir would be overshadowed by her anxious, uncertain dreams. It would take weeks to fully shake the lingering unease from her heart.