Heron Lake Plateau All I'm tryna say is get back, click clack, BLAOW!

Ceara stormed from the garden she had been digging for @Raven and used the time it took to get to her to cool off.  She didn't want a repeat of the night it had first gone down; she knew she had been disrespectful and in turn she had left plenty of beautiful handpicked flowers and a ton of food for the alpha.  She hadn't had a chance to talk to her yet but she figured that now would be the best time — she had a mind to think that it was likely that Niamh had a very similar idea and although she would rather see @Tuathal first, she didn't know how much time she had before she was inevitably painted as a, what was it?  Oh yeah.  Crazy, unpredictable bitch.

She had the intelligence to dig out one of the caches she'd stored to take to Raven later (which had been conveniently on the way) as she rehearsed what she was going to say in her head and it wasn't long before the very pregnant alpha was in sight.  She started to second-guess this whole thing and she kept her distance as she approached, flowers and food both dangling from her jaws. 

Raven hadn't missed the flowers and food that Ceara left her. In the rapidly-advancing final weeks of her pregnancy, she was often hot, hungry, and miserable, and the sweet, unexpected surprises -- laced with the subtle scent of the fiery-coated epsilon -- had brightened her days considerably. She wasn't sure if Ceara was simply looking out for her or if she was trying to atone for some offense she felt she'd given (for the alpha had already forgotten about the minor incident on the day that Screech had awakened), but the gestures were appreciated all the same.

Raven was out for a walk, panting and trying to loosen up some of the cramping that plagued her, when a sheen of golden sunlight on a richly autumn-hued pelt drew her eye to none other than Ceara herself. A big smile painted her features as she maneuvered her planetary mass to meet the Blackthorn, and within moments she was close enough to comfortably speak. "Hi, Ceara," she said warmly as she approached, her tail waving behind her. "I found the flowers and food you left me. Thank you so much." She noticed that the she-wolf carried more in her mouth, and felt a resurgence of gratitude toward her. Quixote had been so concerned about his ability to keep his mate fed in his injured state, but Ceara had more than helped out in that effort.

Ceara took a second to set down her gifts, her tail wagging amiably behind her.  She wished she could've just.. enjoyed the time she had with the pregnant alpha, but she didn't want to put this off any longer than she had to.  Hey, Raven.  She offered a smile that was overshadowed with concern, You're welcome.  I wish I could say I was here just to socialize, but.. do you have a minute?  It's important.

She sniffed the flowers appreciatively -- yellow dandelions interspersed with a few white alpine daisies -- and smiled. They would look lovely in the whelping den she and Quixote were working on together. When Ceara asked if she had a minute, Raven looked up at her seriously and replied, "I always have time for you. What's up?"

Was there a nice way to put this?  She danced uncomfortably for a second, shifting her weight around before she metered a breath out from between her lips.  It's about Niamh, and I don't.. know what I did wrong.

She took a deep breath and gathered herself.  How far back did this go?  Should she start at the first time she met the butterscotch girl, or was that irrelevant? So, I guess it started back when Screech woke up.  I came and I dropped off some food for them.  I noticed Screech was awake and I asked her if I needed to come get you, and then out of nowhere she's lunging at me, snapping at me with her teeth, and she spits at me to go get you.  She averted her gaze to the ground and her lips thinned as she took a moment to reflect on that night.  I'm sorry that I kind of threw that at you.  I just.. I didn't want to bother you with the drama, and it seemed better to me at the time to look insubordinate than it was to break down and distract you becuase Screech is more important than my stupid feelings.

She took a beat to allow Raven to respond before she continued rambling and would continue to do this at appropriate avenues, but this post is already going to be a monster and Stray doesn't feel the need to mention it every time.  So, you know, for the most part I stayed a respectful distance from her.. their.. whatever.. den.  Sometimes I'd drop off food when she wasn't there, so she could come talk when she was ready.  Today I had decided to.. um...... well, I started digging a garden for you, she admitted sheepishly, her ears slicked back, because I thought that maybe if I found where these plats would grow, they'd do it more efficiently and they'd be convenient to locate too.  And Niamh comes to me.  And she asked me what I was doing.

She cleared her throat, embarrassed.  And I didn't want to let what happened just sit between us, so I asked her if we were going to pretend like nothing happened?  She responded to me by growling at me and telling me to stand down, showed me her teeth again.  

If she was going to be blamed for something, it would be this — she hadn't stood down when she maybe should have.  Carefully, she prepared her words.  She wasn't angry anymore, she was just upset and it was written all over her face, in the wavering of her voice.  I told her she doesn't get to use my kindness and throw it in my face.  I told her she's not the only one who cares about Screech, who at this point was so irrelevant to the conversation and what had transpired between the two girls it was unimagineable.  

She raised her lip at me and had the nerve to ask me what I'd done here.  Of all of the things this had perhaps offended Ceara the most.  She could dish and take name-calling and curses all day, but to imply that Ceara hadn't pulled her weight?  And then she told me to remember my rank, like I'm.. I don't know, useless.  Unimportant.  The wildfire girl started to blubber, and she knew that soon the floodgates would burst and she could only hope that no passerby would find her in this sorry state.  I told her everything I've done since I came here was so she could take care of Screech and that it hurt me that she didn't recognize that.  I said that I hadn't done anything to her, I was standing like this, she demonstrated, position neutrally firm, and that her duty as Gamma wasn't to shut down everyone who disagrees with her.  I hadn't felt like I had overstepped.  That's where she took to cursing at me and insulting me, she told me to pull my head out of my ass and acted like she had to protect Screech from me.  And then she took everything I said and twisted it around, like I had accused her of being usless when I had just said that I was doing my job around here so she could take care of him as best as she could.

I told her that she was the one who approached me, and that if you and Quixote didn't think I could be trusted I would've been gone by now.. that she should trust your judgment.  I told her I didn't want to fight, but if she wanted one.. well... heh.  But otherwise, I had things to do.  I was busy.

She took in one last, long breath, embarrassed because she had been prattling on for actual ages now.  And then she called me a quote-unquote 'batshit crazy unpredictable bitch,' and told me that she was right to protect Screech from.. people like me. 

She sighed and dipped her head low, one paw swiping across the ground.  I don't want you to, you know, fix this or worry about it too much.  I don't want you to get inbetween anything.  I can handle myself.  I just want you to know, because if my suspicions are right she's off telling whoever that I deserve to be gone.  And if it's up to me, I'd really like to stay?  Her last words had the upwards inflection of a question.  By now she was full-on sobbing, because what if this really did ruin it for her?  She wasn't sure she could forgive Niamh as it was, but if she got separated from Tuathal again after all of this?  She'd never live it down.

Raven listened intently, not begrudging her epsilon the time it took her to explain. She nodded occasionally to acknowledge a point made or to indicate agreement or understanding, but otherwise she remained silent and let Ceara speak without interruption or judgement.

When it was finished, the alpha promptly reassured her, "You're not going anywhere." Since she'd joined their pack, Ceara had proven herself to be a pricelessly valuable asset to their pack. She'd helped provide food for Raven, stocked caches, patrolled the borders, showed an interest in medicinal plants, carried a message to Ironsea at Raven's request, and, as the alpha had just learned, had taken it upon herself to start a garden for her -- a fact which elicited a surprised grin from Raven. There was no way Ceara was getting kicked out, and while Raven didn't like to take sides in an issue without first hearing both accounts, she absolutely would not tolerate Niamh spreading unfounded rumors around her pack about any of its members.

She chewed her lip and thought quietly for a moment. The few times she'd met with Niamh, the blonde female had seemed pleasant enough. Raven was surprised to hear about her aggressive, bullying behavior. But then, she didn't really know the gamma that well. Had her high rank gone to her head, perhaps? And what was her deal with Screech? He wasn't her mate, there had been no indications that they were courting. It had been Niamh's choice to have him placed in her den, and that should have come with the understanding that people would be visiting and offering their help in caring for him. That was what it was to be in a pack.

She shook her head, glancing up at Ceara with a softness in her eyes. "I'm...really surprised to hear of this behavior from Niamh. She does outrank you, but that doesn't give her -- or anyone -- the right to lord it over you anytime they want. There's a time and a place for that that."

Raven was so generous in this matter that Ceara had to take the time to collect herself.  She felt like an idiot for breaking down like this, but she had just started to feel like she was at home.  With the addition of Tuathal, this place was everything she ever dreamed of.  She didn't care about rank, she cared about doing her job and doing it well (and being appreciated for it, even if it was just in passing).  

To hear that she wasn't going anywhere lifted a weight off of her shoulders that was heavier than she thought.  Once she had calmed down, she wiped the tears from her cheeks.  Thank you. I'm sorry, I don't like.. crying like that.  And I don't want you to think any less of her.  I just.. I just want her to leave me alone.  She sucked in a big breath and sighed.

I know you'll probably wanna hear from her, too, I just.. hope she tells the truth, I guess.  There was no way she could prevent Niamh from lying if she wanted to, but she hoped that the butterscotch girl would be above that kind of thing.  But then again, she thought she'd be above petty name-calling too.  There's something else I should tell you, then.  Apparently if you eat enough of those apples, you get kind of weird.  I showed Screech the orchard and the idiot ate a whole ton of apples, but I kind of.. knew it wasn't really an emergency and let it wear off.  I didn't think it was going to need to get brought up, but... who knows, right?

Raven felt a rush of compassion for the young wolf as she swiped at her tears, clearly uncomfortable with her inability to keep herself together. The motherly alpha had to resist the urge to go to her and comfort her, lick away her tears and tell her it would be all right. She didn't want to further embarrass Ceara, though, so she remained where she sat -- but a small, sad smile crossed her face and she shook her head at Ceara's apology for her emotions. "Don't be sorry," she commented softly. "I would be upset too. I'll talk with Quixote and we'll sort this out, see if we can find out what's bothering Niamh."

She did step forward, then, and touched Ceara's chin with her muzzle in a reassuring gesture. "I'm glad you came to me with this. I'm sorry you had to go through this, but Qui and I will help make it right -- okay?" She wanted peace in her ranks, above all. If there was a problem, then it was their responsibility to get to the bottom of it and fix it. Ceara had said she didn't want them to get involved, that she could handle it herself, but as alphas they could not simply turn a blind eye to conflict and hope it went away. If anything, Niamh needed to be separated from Screech -- of that much, Raven was certain. It wasn't Niamh's job to nurse him back to health anyway, and Raven regretted ever allowing him to be taken to her den.

When Ceara brought up the side-note about the apples and their curiously mind-altering effects, the medic was particularly interested in that tidbit of information. She hadn't known that about the seemingly benign little fruits. An expression of surprised curiosity crossed her face, and then it was replaced by thoughtful consideration. "You know...the seeds of some plants have that type of effect when ingested," she commented, specifically thinking of the poppyseeds she was so fond of using for pain, sleeplessness, and other various maladies. "I guess it's not so crazy for apples to do the same, but I just hadn't heard of it in fruit. Huh."

She didn't want Raven and Quixote to have to deal with her.  They probably thought she was some pansy who couldn't keep herself together and tattled about nothing.  But was that better than the alternative?  Getting kicked out for someone else's lies?  She didn't even know if that was what was truly happening, but it was better to remain safe than sorry.  Thank you.

She nuzzled against the alpha and let out a sigh.  Ceara was still young, she'd reached adulthood a little later than most.  She needed a mother more than anything right now, but her solidarity with Tuathal kept her from going home.  

Really?  That's.. good to know.  She'd avoid them or eat them in moderation from there on.  She didn't like the way they'd made her head fuzzy, or how she couldn't remember what had happened.  An almost sinister thought crossed her mind that perhaps that information could be used against someone... but she tucked it away for now.  She didn't have anyone worth doing that to.  

Well um, I.. guess I'll let you get back to uh.. getting the babies ready.

Shall we wrap this? :)

Raven grinned and returned her nuzzles, her tail swishing the ground behind her. The more she got to know the young Blackthorn, the more Raven liked her. She really was a good wolf, with a kind heart, an iron will, and a smart head on her shoulders. She had only been with the Redhawks for a relatively short time, and already she'd made a niche for herself and proven her value. Raven couldn't wait to see what more the future would bring for her.

As Ceara excused herself, Raven nodded and gestured at the food and flowers she had brought. "Thank you for this," she gratefully said with a bright smile, then added, "At some point when we have time, I'd love to see this garden you've started." With that, she carefully picked up Ceara's offerings -- feeling a growl in her belly at the taste of fresh blood on her tongue -- and turned to head back to the tree where she and Quixote made their home.

Of course.  Why wouldn't she take care of her pack?  Raven had offered her so much it only felt right to repay that.  It made her happy to see that Raven appreciated her efforts.  With a renewed self-confidence and a peaceful smile on her lips, she made to go tend to the garden again — she wanted it to be perfect when Raven came to see.