Bearclaw Valley and now i am shown, the treacherous pains to become something whole

sometime after challenge? for laurel but any others are welcome at any point too

indra looked over @Laurel with surprising insistence, her fur still on end from their encounter. she trudged around her sister with an absolutely wild possessiveness, damping the snow with stiff strides.  part of her was choked with fury that the nameless wolf (and whoever else that other wolf was) could be so threatening -- the other part of her was simply worried. worried that xan would hate them, that somehow they would be at fault -- bitterly she thought of how they were finding themselves replaced and wished that the fight had been even more violent.

"are you hurt?" she drove her muzzle into laurel's neckfluff with a loud huff, casting her gaze around the clearing with apprehension as she thought about what the hell they were going to do.

Laurel hadn't ever wanted to let it get to a physical altercation, but it had happened anyway and she was glad they'd got off it so well. Laurel nuzzled Indra as she asked if she was hurt and sighed into her sister's fur in exasperation and letting go of all the adrenaline that still ran through her veins in the aftermath of their encounter. "Are you? I'm okay — Just a few scratches," said Laurel. There were a few shallow cuts along the side of her face and her ear, but they would heal and not leave a scar, she was sure. It wasn't anywhere near as serious as the wounds Jhala had inflicted when she'd attacked Tapat as a child.

"I can't believe that bitch attacked us!" Laurel said with a huff. "Like she's got more right to be here than us. She better have learned her place." She would like to see her gone from the pack, if she had any say in it; Xan liked her far too much, which impeded Laurel winding him 'round her finger.

a cold look furrowed indra's brow as she inspected her sister over; there were a few ugly marks marring laurel's muzzle, a few nicks here and there -- but nothing serious. indra was relieved, for the fight had been tense and terrifying to watch. she had wanted so deeply then to drive into that mute wolf with every fang she possessed -- but the wolf's companion had frustrated her progress.

indra was equally outraged as laurel, and a sharp fin of hackle hair flared across her back as she thought of the altercation anew. she was visibly angry -- and visibly distressed. "she doesn't have any right." indra insisted quietly, her tone cold. "we were here first." her gaze then shifted from laurel to the forest, and she looked on with a somewhat empty stare. "hard to see what he likes in her."

Laurel nosed Indra to make sure that that stupid guy who'd come to the girl's aide hadn't harmed her, but also to make her know that Laurel was here for her, and that they always had each other. Next time, maybe they would catch her alone and then they would just beat the snot out of her when she didn't have any stupid friends 'round to help her out. "Yeah," said Laurel with a dark frown when Indra said that they were there first. "I don't get it either."

After a short pause in which Laurel nuzzled the fur behind Indra's ear she said, ".. Maybe it's time we move on soon. If this doesn't blow over. I mean — maybe she'll just run away, like she did before, and stay the fuck out this time. Or we should try to make Xan be on our side." She considered this and found it worth the shot. How fulfilling would it be to see him choose them over the stupid girl? "We can always leave if he betrays us. But we must make him see how lame she is — gotta try, at least." Laurel smiled again then, in a haughty manner that indicated she thought that they would be able to make it happen. She was still mad at Xan, sure, but what if they got to him too? They'd make him ditch the girl, and then they would leave him too, like he deserved.

with the challenge thread pushed forward i think the mating thread could fall before this, but i'm going to say it doesn't because it wasn't mentioned nor played a part in the challenge thread, so that seems easiest!

indra was on the same wavelength as laurel, though it was unknown to her. she envisioned what would happen should that scene unfold; indra was not a bloodthirsty girl, but that wolf had challenged the only thing in the world that mattered to her. she would never let reigi live that down.

she nibbled lightly at laurel's ear in affectionate rejoinder, mulling over what laurel had just spoken. she liked bearclaw valley - she liked xan, she liked blondine -- she even liked poet and phocion - she would be sad to leave this world behind, but then she remembered how her parents had done it to her. these dark thoughts quickly contorted her affectionate ones, and suddenly, the prospect of leaving this all behind didn't seem so hard at all.

she mused on if the wolf would run away again - then xan would really know how badly he had messed up. "yeah. maybe." she replied quietly, her eyes dull as she worked out these various scenarios in her mind. "we're smarter than her. we can think of something."

Laurel did think herself pretty smart, but when she thought of it she couldn't think of any really good things that she could do. The only thing she could think of was to tempt Xan while the stupid girl was gone, but it would be pretty hard considering they weren't on speaking terms very much right now after what'd happened with the stupid girl, Xan, Indra and Laurel. She didn't really want to be near him right now at all. But maybe for the sake of their goal.. It was all she could think of.

"Yeah," Laurel agreed confidently, though no immediate plans popped to mind. "Maybe we should just make Xan forget all about her. Or I dunno, lure her somewhere where we can trick her into looking like a dumb-ass." Laurel hesitated a moment before adding: "Or if nothing else works, we could always find her when she's alone and show her not to mess with us again." They'd shown her now but it was different, for there were all sorts of other wolves involved. They needed to be quicker and make sure they knew nobody else was around. She was always on her stupid rock, anyway, so how hard could it be?

indra didn't want to be near xan either. he had made his choices pretty clear and her pride still stung from that; how could he have picked that rotten wolf over them? they had been with him since day one. a sense of betrayal filled her gut, and she tried to divert her attention from the intense feeling before it claimed her.

she was at a loss for ideas too -- that had always been laurel's forte. her brow scrunched as she schemed alongside laurel, finding very little that was promising enough to articulate. she liked laurel's last suggestion the best, and nodded slowly, her speech somewhat slow as she spoke. "hm.. yeah. we should show her we're not going to let ourselves be pushed around. she has no right." which had already been said, but indra found herself insistently repeating it.

the idea of causing the wolf bodily harm both excited and distressed her at the same time. she knew it was bad -- so bad -- but in indra's eyes, that wolf surely deserved it.

It surprised Laurel that her sister would go for the most violent option; she'd always seen her sister as a sensitive wolf who she should protect, even moreso after what had happened to her, and hadn't expected such things from her now. But it was not an unwelcome thought. Yet the rock at the pack's entrance was a busy place and it would take some planning to find a moment when they would find her without anyone else nearby there.

"The hardest part is nobody can see it, or they'll take her side," said Laurel, who had known and experienced enough wolves to know they would not understand, even if it was clear that they'd only beat out her teeth because she deserved it. "But if we ever catch her alone, we'll know what to do." The words were somewhat ominous, spoken darkly, like a pact between them: If they would be together and they would find her without anyone nearby, then they would get her for all that she'd done.

last post for me <3 feel free to PP for conclusion or just archive

it no longer surprised indra that her thoughts were so dark.  she had grown accustomed to the ugly worm that brewed inside of her. it was like some snarling black root, come to take anchor in her psyche. her life had been nothing but turmoil and pitfall, and she was weary - exhausted of it - ithrik savaging her and the insolent wolf challenging her sister had been the straw on indra's understanding and kind back.

she was tired of being nice. nice got her nowhere but heavily trod under other people's feet.

her sister was right -- they would know what to do, but they had to be careful. she nodded in affirmation, finding laurel's gaze before she settled down into the snow to sleep off the stress of their prior altercation. indra had no intention of stalking down the wolf and brutalizing her -- but should a single hair lift out in defiance again, indra knew what to do.