Firefly Glen the mysterious ticking noise

Hydra knew that with her banishment of not one, but two wolves, she had to check and see if things were, well, kosher. Imagine her surprise, then, when as she arrived to the Glen she noted two incredibly strange, seemingly mingling scents. Korei Julia, and Vaati. Had he met her? Or had he been seeking her, and Korei's path had intersected over his tracks? Korei Julia was utterly oblivious; it was not like she would know who Vaati was, would she, if she scented him? 

It was not her sister that concerned her. It very rarely was. Hydra was irate with the scent of Vaati so nearby, but imagined that he would not have come unless he had news for her. Of Screech, perhaps, or of something worth him risking his hide. Hydra began to move forward, moving toward the wood nearby to the Glen with an ominous expression on her face. Her tail lashed in a predatory fashion behind her, though her features quickly morphed into a mask of stoicism; a hunter, resolute to her task.

The incident with Alya has left him feeling rather unsatisfied, the need to do more than they had. It is as if his sexual drive had been awakened, and rather ironically as it had been Hydra he had sought out in the first place. Hydra. Alya. What was the difference? Perhaps cruel to say so, but he found few differentiating qualities between the two sisters. At least the later was unopposed to explore what friction lied between them. Either Hydra was unaware or simply uninterested in doing the same with Vaati. The very notion caused him to inwardly grumble, not out of self-pity but disappointment.

If one found him desire-worthy, why should the other not? It plagued his mind for many moments, before deciding to suck it up and stop being a bitch about it, rather, focussing on the task of returning home following his abrupt meeting with the other, seemingly cast aside sister, Korei Julia. 

That was when he caught her scent, the one he had intended to follow in the first place. The warrior princess who had given him his scars. For a moment he decided he had had enough of the Ostrega girls for one day, before redeciding against his previous decision; one could never have enough of their company and the unusuality of each encounter it brought. He meets her as she hunts him down, standing rigidly to intercept her path, noting how she doesn't appear to be pleased in the slightest. "Hydra." He lets out the small greeting, ears adept and muscles tensed, unsure of how she would respond. It dawns on him in that moment that she had explicitly ordered him to stay away from her side of the woods, and that, he reeked distinctly of both Korei Julia and Alya.

Though he did not know that she knew of his meeting with Alya in explicit detail—that she had even seen the end of it—she was quite aware of that. It was Korei's meeting with him that was a surprise to her, however—and so the tone she used was one that betrayed her genuine and earnest surprise: You've seen my sisters, she stated, her ears pricked. Hydra stated the obvious, but it was clear what she wanted from him: his full disclosure of the events as he perceived them. One he had seen too close to home; she had warned him away from here for good reason. The Caldera wanted his head, and at present, she was in no position to deny them that... even with all that transpired, but that was largely because he had not listened to her single request of him. Her annoyance with that was great, though the scale of her irritation was not revealed.

She isn't pleased, at all. But in her displeasure at his actions, he yearns to remind her that he does not take orders from her, nor anyone for that matter. Hydra is not his keeper, despite how much she likely believes so, and the fact that she had let him live does not mean he is in dept to her in any way. If she wanted his fealty, for him to recognize her has his superior, she should have killed him when she had the chance. Facts were facts. But the way she says sisters indicates she already knows of the incident that occurred between himself and Alya, but how in depth her knowledge is on what they did remained unknown to him; leaving him only to guess what she planned to confront him on. The fact that he had likely (accidentally) alienated one sister from her family, or that he had almost bedded another did not look well on his part, at all. Seeking to avoid a quarrel if he could, the yearling obliges her with an honest answer. "Yes," His tone matter-of-factly rather than regretful. "I was returning to Blackfeather when I found her wailing at the top of her lungs like she wanted someone to find her, so I did." Vaati purposefully avoids going into detailed explanation on why and what he did with Alya, saving himself from the uncomfortable act of doing so.

He described Korei Julia, and she fights the urge to roll her eyes. It was the perfect description of her. She fought the urge to tell him she knew this already; that she had cleaned up the mess he had left behind in the process, as well. The alienation of her sister was a thing Korei Julia had seen to herself, as far as Hydra was concerned—if she was to believe sweet nothings from a stranger, her loyalty was not to her family. It never had been. Hydra was finished with protecting her; it was clear to the Beta that Korei Julia did not wish to be a part of who the Ostrega's had always been. They were never pretenders. 

Still, she wanted to know. Hydra wanted to hear it. What did she find? Were you comforting? As she spoke, there was a half-grin, a thin, crescent-moon of a smile. Hydra did not presume to be the boss of Vaati by any means; she could have killed him that day, but she did not, and it had not been out of the kindness of her heart that she let him live. Hydra also did not expect him to be under her thumb, or anything of that sort. But she expected respect—she had asked that he not lurk around her neck of the woods. That, too, had not been for her. His being here was his putting his neck on the line; and, as he was meant to be on her hitlist, would have to understand there was a blood price for transgressing. 

Not unlike Alya, Hydra drew nearer to Vaati. Strangely, the movement was not predatory; there was a nearness she sought, a nearness she thought of when she had seen him and Alya, but did not think to place on herself.

Comforting. Vaati abruptly snorts, "I don't know about comforting." Truthfully, he doesn't have the ability. "By the way she presented herself, I was surprised to learn she is your sister. She is weak. I wasn't easy on her about it." His words to her were wholly out of line -- he knows it -- but had been nothing but the bittersweet truth. Something that despite the obvious drawbacks, he had no intention of keeping from her and didn't see why he should. "She seems to think she is being lied to." In her defense, Vaati isn't sure he isn't being lied to either. Perhaps rightly so; he doesn't trust Hydra. As she steps closer, he is unsure whether to welcome her close proximity or take his own step back. However, rooted in his spot, his head leans back a fraction as she invades his personal space. He deems her actions odd, and before he can stop himself, voices his slight concern with a raised brow and cautionary tone. "What are you doing?" It is a closeness he had only experienced with her sister, but does not wholly believe that to be Hydra's intention simply because he knows she just wouldn't. Not in that way, the way that suggested she had the same intentions with him as her sister Alya.

You don't need to be, Hydra hummed, as long as you do not harm her. Korei Julia needed to toughen up, mentally. She behaved the oblivious she-wolf, and frankly at this point Hydra was tired of it. Galaxy was dead; she hadn't the energy to expend on KJ's childish games any longer. But as Vaati continued, Hydra blinked. Lied to? About what? When acknowledged, there was nothing to lie to Korei Julia about. Hydra had taught her basic defenses, defenses even a simpleton ought to be able to maintain, but she and Korei Julia had never talked about anything worth even lying about. What the hell was wrong with her sister? Besmirching the family to strangers? 

What are you doing, he asked? Hydra gives him a measure of space. There is rage seething beneath her surface, and for a moment it was unadulterated and naked before his very eyes as her muzzle wrinkled. But her ears do not thrust forward in the prelude of her aggressive kiss; instead, they fan backward, listening to the wood around them. 

She breathes. I do not wish to be enemies, Vaati, she speaks then, in earnest. You and Alya are free to do as you wish to. Korei Julia you may make as strong as you wish, so long as you do not bring harm to her. But you must avoid this Wilderness. You are a wanted man by many, and I cannot protect you here. You are fortunate a storm comes this evening to hide your presence; but even still, you must bleed some. The storm ought to be enough, but Hydra was a woman who covered all bases. He would surely understand. Hydra no longer thought him completely dimwitted.

Vaati offers a nonchalant shrug, unable to provide an answer to her confusion. "I don't know." Korei Julia had a predisposed idea of her family, one seeped with prior distrust.

Only with time would he be able to answer the question of exactly what the metaphorical black-sheep meant by her bred sense of mistrust towards her own family. Time, time that Hydra seemed to be offering him. To take her sister under the cover of the dark woods and warp, pull and twist her into something else. Something much stronger. Vaati would fail to mention that he had already offered a similar deal to the girl herself, and would not be relying on Hydra's permission to do as he pleased with the weak link of her family. He nods anyways. 

She steps back, fleetingly and if only briefly exposing the skin beneath her pelage of stoic deceit, and he sees it -- clearly. Raw emotion, angry, but true. Something he has not seen behind all Alya's masks, and had yet to see from the woman till that point. As soon as it is gone, vanished, drawn back behind her curtain of smoke and mirrors, he wants more. 

Enemies, he does not consider them to be. His warden, more like, as it seems to be more of these days. A title he neither likes nor dislikes; it keeps her close in a way. Through the safety she provides but he does not rely on, guarantees that they will never not be near to each other. He is wanted, but she will find him. Yes indeed, Vaati understands what she means -- what she fails to say but makes up for in implication -- she must make him bleed for his crimes against her decree; to show the world that he is marked, punished by her. Something he isn't sure he would mind, in fact, rather enjoy.

"Do it." Vaati looks to her with a hard gaze, ears pressed forward, steady and without nervous anticipation. Trust.

Do it. 

The movement is quick and deft; her fangs are against his shoulder and she rips away from him, fangs behaving every bit a swiping knife as blood spatters their surroundings. She looks it over and nods, satisfied for the moment. I would not leave your home if I were you in the days to come. As I said, many seek your head, she forewarned. Moonspear cannot aid you in this battle. But if truly the Caldera sought a war, he would understand that one defeat did not mean, in the end, he would not turn out to be victorious. Your only option to win is to play the coward. Leave. Hide. Whatever it takes. Just do not die, she pressed, her own ears thrust forward and her voice thick with passion. All is fair in love and war.

And was this not war? Did she not love it?

Towhee and Gannet would be alright. The rest... Who cared? Her father had described them as imbeciles, and as they had produced Titmouse and Liffey, how could she refute that? Hydra needed time to think, but she had that on her side at least. At the very least, she and Vaati had an understanding. A relationship that was mutually beneficial to their own ultimate ends. If you have taken a wolf named Phox, I would advise that you release him, or she'd kill him, really. Her bonds with Towhee were such that she owed her friend that. Towhee had seemed willing to offer Titmouse to her, but he was not home. Hydra knew where he really was; Towhee knew that she would get her revenge. Phox? If he was held by Blackfeather, he could be saved.

She trusted Vaati to do the right thing; the smart thing. They had reached a great understanding, the two of them. Her eyes held him, appreciative of the circumstances that led them to this point. That would lead them, inevitably, to victory. She was possessive over the male before her now, as Alya was; she was inclined to see him live past this and if she had her way, she would. 

Run, she commanded then, awakened by the blood. She would chase him for a short time through the wood and bleed him once more. The wound she delivered was a superficial one that would heal in days, and the final blow would be much the same. 

But it needed to be believable. He would understand. Hydra grinned wolfishly to him and loosed a guttural snarl. If he wanted a headstart, he would have had to start his running the instant she demanded it; Hydra again threw herself toward him, teeth first. 

All that Hydra did, she did for love.