Ravensblood Forest but you don't know what hell you put me through

@Danica set deep in the forest of RBF

She hung back under the willowy arm of collapsed redwood bough, her eyes suspicious and straining. Overhead the sun pierced the canopy weakly and deep umber dapples of coruscating light brilliantly dotted the floor where pinestraw lit as if on fire and the dark recesses of damp loamy soil was lent the most incredible russet color.

In the breeze between brine and rot the musk of bear was unmistakable; lumbering and formidable like the beast itself. The forest floor was carved with leaden footprints of the monster, and distantly the dull echo of a roar split the tranquility of the humming leaves.

Caiaphas looked one way and then the other -- and with a dart she stole across the small bosk where a fallen fawn lay cleaved and broken with black blood spilling over the dirt and small swirls of dust and particle sat simmering in its surface. The eyes blank and hollow with a swollen tongue pressed forth from slack jaws.

The kill distinctly belonged to a wolf, Caiaphas could smell it on the fawn's pelt. She could only surmise the bear had come second and the altercation that had arisen had caused the two enemies to diverge from their meal. Ever the opportunist (and feeling fairly certain the bear was not returning) Caiaphas sunk her teeth into the mangled neck of the fawn and started to drag it swiftly back to Ankyra Sound.

After all, Larus and Kevlyn would be waiting.
CAIAPHAS
"how does a man decide in what order to abandon his life?"

To Be Alone -- Hozier

If you or @Larus aren't ok with Danica scenting him, let me know and I can edit! Figured that would be a good trigger though, she can't tell he lives with her, just that she's encountered him

Danica had once again crossed the Glacier borders, though this time not only for the purpose of searching. Bazi's reappearance had caused some serious upheaval in the woman and honestly she needed some space. So while the prospect of scouting lent itself as a good excuse, she knew what it was she was doing. She was distancing herself.

A coward's move, but when it came to situations where Danica saw no gain, she had always been one to pull out right away. This was how she saw attempting interaction with Bazi right now. It hadn't been long enough, and all the resentment that she had failed to release those final days in Swiftcurrent had, unbeknownst to her, been building within her all this time. Seeing the white dove again had only served to release the cap.

Perhaps this was why, when she saw the stranger, she decided to confront rather than avoid. Though the golden wolf never did shy away from confronting strangers. "Hey, you! Have you seen any..." she had been about to say 'lynxes', but the word died on her tongue as she caught the slightest scent of the familiar. Holy shit.

Instantly Danica's hackles rose and she let out a low growl. "You have encountered a pup recently. Where is he?!" Not the most friendly of ways to greet this woman, but she wasn't about to be trifled with. She recognized her as one of the coastal guardians, the silent shadow who had stalked behind her mistress when Danica first traveled to the shore. She did not know her name, but she did know that she had crossed Larus' path recently.

Gamely, Caiaphas continued her desperate lugging -- the fawn was proving to be the most unhelpful of corpses and Caiaphas had to pause often and tediously unsnare a lithe leg from a jutted stone or outreaching briar.

Grumbling as she bent over the fawn to disentangle it for the umpteenth time, she became aware of a scent. She froze, skulking over the carcass like some rough-hewn and coarse beast -- her eyes hardened in cold suspicion. The scent was very similar to the scent of a female she recalled on the coast -- and as she turned about she saw Danica in full boldly striding towards her.

At first Caiaphas mistook her confident purpose as intent to steal her rightfully (wrongfully) obtained meal -- her hackles lifted instantly in jutting ridges and her blackened gums curled back in a slavering yet silent snarl of defensiveness. The golden-spun female was given the most cruel of stares -- but as soon as she spoke Caiaphas' offensiveness somewhat resolved.

She rocked on her heels as if contemplating the answer thoroughly and a thoughtful expression hooded her eyes as she entertained the answer. Outwardly it may have appeared she was taken aback by the inquiry was trying to remember which wolf she had come into contact -- and slowly a look of conclusion flushed her countenance in an artful flourish. "Oh.. I have." She bit her lip as if unsure how to continue. She recalled distinctly the lynx that had been heavy on Larus' coat and instantly used that as a ploy. "I.. I'm sorry." Her eyes fell somber and darkly to the ground in a dejected manner.

"I came across one this morning, but he was gone." Her eyes remained fitfully on the ground as if wavering in grief. "Was he yours?" Her tone seemed to flood with compassion and she looked up to the cream laced female with a guise of concern masterfully wrought across her needle-thin features.
CAIAPHAS
"how does a man decide in what order to abandon his life?"

To Be Alone -- Hozier

Ok this I can also respond to tonight.... this is why I don't watch sad things! Throws off my mojo

The girl was demure and dodgy, dithering about her responses in a way that was particularly irritating to the urgent warrior. As a result, her mood only became increasingly worse and her patience shorter. She hadn't been running on a long fuse to begin with.

"I didn't ask you when. I asked you where." Danica snarled, taking a few steps closer to the other woman. She was going to get an answer or she'd rip it from her. This was not a matter that Danica was going to take lightly or be gentle with. Tuwawi's pain was in the forefront of her mind. "Not mine, but one I care about, so you would do well to answer what you know."

If she didn't like what she heard, she had no qualms about bringing this into physical territory. She might actually enjoy it right now.

It appeared Caiaphas' false commiseration only further served to incense the female -- she watched the cream hued creature blandly in the manner of some indigent reprobate, her posture listless yet her tongue pressed quick against her sharp little teeth in barely concealed restraint.

She tilted her head to the side in the manner of a jester, her ears comical as they flapped uselessly against her narrow skull. "Oh, where?" She thought for a moment, no doubt infuriating Danica further with the length of the process. "Ahhh, I remember now." Her complexion seemed to brighten as if she were struck by some goading and delightful idea, and she inched closer -- the fawn entirely forgotten.

"Those filthy poltroons over at Stavanger Bay found him, and the alpha said something about offering the corpse in some heathen ritual." Her needly voice reached a pitch of obnoxiousness and she returned Danica's outward aggression with a crinkle of her lips in delight. "Sorry lot, those folks."

CAIAPHAS
"how does a man decide in what order to abandon his life?"

Cue attack 8)

Had she been expecting an answer, Danica was to be disappointed once more. It became quickly clear to her that this wolf was shitting with her, and Danica was not even close to being in the mood right now. Not about this subject.

Her breaking point was passed. If Caiphas wasn't going to give her an answer then perhaps some incentive would change her mind. If not, it sure as hell would at least make Danica feel better, if only for the moment. With a heavy snarl she launched herself at the offending she-wolf, done talking for the moment.

This bitch was going to tell her what she wanted to know.

Nary a second after Caiaphas' voice faded -- hardly a mere moment since she had fallen silent -- did Danica round upon her, hellbent and consumed by fire.

Caiaphas had detected Danica was not one to play -- but she had not discerned just how thinly the cream female's patience threshold expired. She sunk immediately into a defensive posture as the female turned upon her -- as Danica drew closer Caiaphas eyes grew wider -- until at last they were too close for comfort and in an impulsive gesture Caiaphas sought to expel their proximity by raising a front forepaw up rather weakly as if to banish her. Unlike Danica she was not one endowed with physical prowess -- and in trepidation she awaited the female's counter to her defensive positioning.
CAIAPHAS
"how does a man decide in what order to abandon his life?"

Rather than rising to meet her, Danica's opponent seemed to shrink back, a paw raised as though to push her back. Contempt rose alongside fury, and Danica did not move from her course, currently set on bowling Caiaphas over.

She wasn't even completely sure that her opponent had the answers she sought. But she would teach her a lesson for treating the matter as she had in any event. Blatant disrespect was hardly something for Danica to get her ire up about; in fact, in another time she might have gotten a kick out of Caiaphas' nature. This, however, was no laughing matter.

this is a little outdated -- do you want to finish up at 10 threads if that is ok? i'm trying to wrap up the older threads. thanks for writing with me! we should do another one soon!!

Caiaphas' feeble counter did little to stray the course of her assailant (not surprisingly). As she reeled backwards, Danica pushed forwards with all the vigor of a plowhorse, her burly frame brushing slender Caiaphas aside like a twig. Once more Caiaphas sought to counter her enemy's approach by offering a shove of her shoulder in defense -- but the maneuver was executed much too late and Caiaphas was thrown to the ground.

Unbalanced, the female nearly cartwheeled aside, scrambling to regain her footing on the unforgiving slab. Hatefully she rose and hastily placed distance between them, feeling Danica's fury hot against her backside. With a growl she wheeled about, her hackles flared and her sharp little eyes raw with ferocity. "Next time, I will beat the shit out of you." She spat sourly into the ground, her posture defensive. "And if I find that puppy, I will kill it too." A blatant lie, of course, but Caiaphas did not wait to see if Danica fell for her venomous words -- hurriedly, she retreated into the bush before Danica dealt her some more asswhoopings.
CAIAPHAS
"how does a man decide in what order to abandon his life?"

sounds good, I am trying to do the same. sorry for the wait!!! :/ Dante's been keeping me busy

With immense satisfaction Danica's charge had the desired effect, and she glared contemptuously as the other spit words of poison. She'd like to see her try. Her triumph soured, though, when her sparring partner turned and left without Danica having had the chance to get a real answer. Cursing Danica made to follow, but it soon became apparent that there was no way she was going to catch her. Not only was the other wolf faster, but Danica's movement was still slightly hampered by the old shoulder wound that had left her with a slightly off-kilter gait.

A silent promise was sent after her then. One day she would hunt her down somewhere she didn't have a pack to protect her and on that day her questions would be answered.