Altar of Twilight nocturnal spirits

For @Wildfire, set tonight (early-ish evening). <__<

Magpie hadn't expected that she would make good on her promise to Wildfire so soon; while she didn't anticipate rejoining the Caldera, she had been planning on her visit extending for more than a single afternoon. The young woman hardly blamed her sister for cutting things short, however— there was a lot to contend with in her kingdom, and part of Magpie was relieved to be moving on, anyway. The last thing they all needed was for Magpie to have her first heat and add to the chaos!

In fact, she was really yearning to visit the Sunspire... with the intention of seeing the honey-eyed boy that had been her first kiss, her first love. She had always dreamt of stealing him away to be hers, for them to begin a pack of their own. A lot of time had passed, though, and it was a bit selfish to think he had been pining for her all this time.

In any case, her priority was stopping by Moonspear to teach her niece the art of slaughtering rabbits, and then she would be free to head west. Not entirely sure where the mountain Wildfire had mentioned was, Magpie paused just north of where the pair had met earlier, where the mountainside sloped into a small valley. It would be a perfect hunting ground for small game, particularly at this time of night— and so she tilted her head up towards the setting sun and called for her niece. If the game were frightened into their burrows, so much the better.

The past few days had been exhausting. The instant Wildfire returned home, she sought someplace warm to curl up and sleep. She didn't pay much attention to her surroundings, so when a howl roused her later that evening, she didn't know where she was. Wildfire blinked groggily, then realized she was tucked inside a hollow tree. Her underside felt damp and she looked down to see that she had bedded down on a slimy bed of wet, rotten leaf litter.

Wrinkling her nose, Wildfire quickly exited the makeshift den and rolled around in the snow outside to get rid of the detritus clinging to her coat. She then licked her lips and glanced at the sky before trotting off in the direction of the call. She blinked owlishly with every step, still trying to get her brain to boot. She noted with another wrinkle of her nose that she smelled exactly like she had just spent the past few hours sleeping on a compost pile.

"Mags!" she called when she spotted a flash of white through the evening gloom, arbitrarily dropping the "Aunt." It seemed unnecessary somehow, now that they were both adults. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon," Wildfire commented, albeit with a smile that made it clear she was happy to see her relative.

She didn't have to wait long before her niece approached, startling Magpie out of her swirling thoughts— Wildfire's scent was masked, which would make hunting for game all the easier. It would be more useful for larger prey, but it wouldn't hurt this smaller mission either. Her eyes had adjusted to the dusk, and the younger wolf's fur was stark against the white of the snow. She wagged her tail happily, returning the greeting, "Hey, Wifi! It was definitely a shorter visit than I was expecting."

"If you have time, I thought we could go on our rabbit-hunting date," Magpie went on to explain. "This time of day is usually pretty perfect."

They exchanged some pleasantries and Wildfire had the presence of mind to say, "Sorry about the smell. I evidently fell asleep in a dumpster." She grinned crookedly, eyes lighting up when Magpie mentioned their hunting date. Of course she was game. In fact, she felt a little thrill go through her. Once again, she found herself recollecting those days spent watching Magpie slay rabbit after rabbit near the caldera. If ever there was an expert at small game hunting, Wildfire was looking at it. This was going to be an awesome opportunity to round out her own skills in the field.

"Yeah, I'm down," she said a little breathlessly, motioning for Magpie to take the lead before blinking backward over a shoulder. "This is Moonspear, by the way. I guess you already know that." Seeing as she had showed up here on its doorstep, looking for her. "I wish I could give you a tour..." She trailed off, mouth closing for a moment before she added excitedly, "But hunting rabbits is way more fun anyway!" She couldn't wait to get going.