Little Goat Mountain I love the mayhem more than the love

For @Mira! Other tag for reference, slightly backdated

The goats drew her to the mountain, but the lingering scent of a wolf stopped her. Elphaba had never encountered a claim by a single wolf; she was certain it wasn't enforceable, but less certain she wanted to test the theory. @Equinox wasn't far; any conflict would be risking his safety.

She wasn't willing to take that chance, so she poked around the outskirts, hoping for one of the goats to wander in her direction. Or perhaps whoever lived here would come to say hello, and they could work out some kind of trade. Elphie really wanted a goat, damnit.

her den had served her well here- it was a very small nook in the stone, but perfect for her who stayed here alone, and did not have to worry about unwanted company upon waking. she had developed a habit of saving bits and pieces from her kills to decorate the place; despite the thought that mira might not be one who cared much for frivolous decor, she did indeed. why shouldn't a queen rest on soft comfortable bedding? and she would line the floor with goat pelts, and occasionally bring back cleaned bones too, which she stuffed in the back of the cranny.

she had set out this morning to get her legs moving and potentially hunt once more, when the air drifted to her with the scent of wolf. a female a little younger than herself. mira was not often one who investigated strangers- often she preferred silence over chatter- but lately new instincts had been driving her. the desire to ensure her home would be absolutely safe, even it was not to be hers forever. 

and so she pursued. 

pace casual, no hurry, but she made her way over grasses and scattered stones until up ahead, her gaze locked onto a dark figure. in a way she looked a lot like mira from here. 

and so she watched from here like a vulture, standing still without initiating greeting. waiting to be noticed or left unbothered, but alert at all times.

A shadow at the edges of her vision. Her ears flicked back once or twice, but Elphaba otherwise let the presence go unacknowledged for a moment. The wolf only watched.

Good place to set up camp, Elphie called, breaking their momentary stalemate in favor of approaching the other woman. Are you claiming it? There were no others that she could see, no other scents lingering quite so heavily, and that was odd to her. It usually took a pair to start a pack, didn't it?

She thought of Nox (weren't they a couple? Weren't they suited to this?), and quickly pushed that thought away.

one thing mira did appreciate was a lack of... the filler conversation, that most wolves started speech with. the heys, the hellos, how are you doing, how's the weather. the things that she wasn't particularly socially capable enough to know what the right answer was supposed to be. the stranger was quiet for a couple moments before asking what she wanted to know right away. 

i'm not, mira replied plainly, only here for the time being; it is a good place to hunt. but by the spring i will be elsewhere. not guaranteed, not necessarily, but she stated it as if it was a fact. she probably wouldn't occupy moonspear yet, not that soon- her 'army' would still be small and weak- but perhaps closer to there, or upon a bigger mountain than this, to familiarize her soliders with the terrain. 

are you just passing through? despite her hunger for power, mira wasn't territorial of this place, since it wasn't her main goal- thus she was content to allow others to travel within it as long as they were no danger to her. she couldn't quite assess this individual yet in terms of whether they'd cause her issues, but that was why it was important to know.

Elphie nodded, intrigued by the mention of elsewhere but not quite enough to inquire. Yeah, passing through, She confirmed. My husband and I are looking for a pack to join. Not having much luck.

If you're heading east, watch out, Elphaba advised next, recalling the blood Nox had found and the icy reception they'd received at Kvarsheim's borders. It seems tense in the valley. Not sure what's going on - we left before it could catch up to us. The blood had been the surest sign that it was time to move on. She could hardly stand the thought of Nox coming to harm.

passing through she confirmed and mira relaxed ever so slightly. the mention of a husband slightly surprised her- not enough to show on her face, but she found the stranger awfully young to be 'in love'. or was it just mira that hadn't experienced any tug of her heart yet? maybe it was 'normal' to be married off at that age, she supposed she wasn't really sure. 

to the mention of packs, the dark lady shrugged a little, i can't really point you in the direction of a good one. she was a lone wolf; she figured that much went without saying. 

the warning was appreciated, and she took it with a firm nod- i'll be careful. i probably won't head out much that way though, i have my eyes set on the west. she seemed safe enough to share that with, right? the other mountain range has a good spot that i'm hoping to inhabit eventually. just the little detail that she may need to oust some families that were staying there already. 

briefly, mira wondered if this lady had children with that husband of hers. probably too young... but if they did. well, she hadn't really considered the angle before that she could take other people's children to add to her army if they were young enough to still be swayed for her purposes, but now it was an idea that flashed through her mind. it was only fleeting though, and she let it go, returning her focus to the conversation.

Her ears perked when the woman mentioned heading west. Popular place to go, maybe, she mused, but couldn't resist pointing it out. That's where we're headed. Checking out a couple packs we heard about - Moonglow and Moonspear, Elphaba had no way of knowing whether these packs were in the coveted mountains Mira spoke of, but she wondered.

Does the other spot have more goats? Humor in her words, but Elphie was curious. Why leave one mountain range for another? Why stay here at all if the plan was to leave?

moonspear? mira cut in as elphaba spoke, lead by who? her yellow gaze gleamed. would it be a name she recognized or a stranger unknown? either way her heart beat faster at the confirmation that a group was certainly there, and she would need to bring them to their knees, for it was not her mother, and unless one of her siblings held the crown she was not satisfied. (honestly, mira didn't quite have a solid code, even if she thought she did- even if one of her siblings was in charge, what she really wanted was to usurp the throne no matter what.) 

elphaba's joke bounced right off of mira, as her expression didn't change and she didn't quite take it as rhetorical. they probably have about the same amount of goats, relative to the size of the mountain? she shrugged, looking a tad perplexed.

it's my birthplace and was once ruled by my mother, and her mother before her. a couple years back, the pack fell apart when my mother died. i was young so i fled, but i know i'm meant to take that place back as my own for the sake of my bloodline. plus she wanted power. my mother always wanted to rule the wilds and i intend to make her wishes come true by my own paw. it was a rather dramatic speech, and another wolf might've been a little embarassed but mira had little social awareness. she simply looked at elphaba waiting for her response- and hopefully she had no attachment to the current leader, nor plans of getting in mira's way.