Heron Lake Plateau It takes you back to from where it is you came

After parting with Quixote, Niamh abandoned her original plan of visiting @Towhee to see how she was coming along. According to Quixote, she was doing fine, which was a good thing- otherwise, she might not have listened to him at all, even though the majority of the words she had listened to, from him, had gone clear over her head. She needed some time to process everything, and for Niamh, taking time to process also meant that she was taking time to plot. She remembered the last time something like this had happened- it had been the day she and Ceara had gotten into a fight. She'd gone directly to Quixote (what had she been thinking?! Present Niamh couldn't even believe it.) and Ceara had gone crying to Raven. In the end, she hadn't lost her rank or even really been punished for it- but she'd gotten a glimpse of just how apathetic Quixote could be toward her, and it had since blossomed into much more. 

So she decided that this time, she wouldn't run directly to Towhee, even though she wanted to. Tired from having travelled through the wilds just beyond the borders continuously and beaten down by Quixote's demand that she take time off from leadership, she traipsed back to her den where she could properly mope and grieve everything that had happened to her. She slipped inside the den and the first thing that hit her was the residual scent left behind by Colt- and it served to be enough to make her break down, finally. Colt was gone, Quixote thought she was a lunatic, and she was left with nothing more than a half empty den lined with the brownish fluff she'd plucked from his coat while he'd been sleeping. Feeling exceptionally sorry for herself, Niamh shuffled all of the lining of her den to one corner, where it piled up to her knees, and then stepped into it, circling twice before she flumped down into the mass of soft, cool fluff. She inhaled smoothely, but her exhale was nothing but choking, spluttering gasps that she was well aware could have been heard all the way outside her den. She wanted nothing more than to simply cease existing, so that all of her pain would just go away.

Kiwi wasn't sold on this whole RedHawks thing.  I mean, she was glad her mom seemed happy.  And on some level she was happy Sequoia seemed to be getting along with everyone.  But jealousy had crept in when she found out Sequoia was hanging out with Bat, and her run in with Phox hadn't made things much better.  She was having a hard time adjusting to a new group when before, acceptance had been something she could take for granted.

It made her restless, and it made her want to do something.  She knew Niamh wasn't technically a leader anymore, but even if she had been demoted, she still would probably know things right? Kiwi hadn't been able to find Quixote and she didn't really want to talk to Towhee about this.  So the newly demoted former Beta was her best bet.

It didn't look like anyone was around when she arrived, but the young girl paused, listening.  Maybe?  Anyone here?

Niamh heard Quixote's call vaguely, and assumed that it was best that she simply leav things to that. She knew Towhee would be around eventually to check her out and see what was up, and didn't even consider the fact that Towhee might instead go directly to Quixote. She half-hoped her Person would show up, so that she could mope and sob and complain about Quixote without having someone make the Quixote face at her. Yes, that was a thing, she was ertain of it. Quixote had a particular face that he almost always greeted her with, and if that look could talk, it most likely would have said something like 'what did you do now?' or 'so what do you expect ME to do about it?' Maybe she was being too hard on him...But presently, she was more fixated on being too hard on herself. 

She stopped, sucking in her breath and holding it when she heard a small voice at her den. It was high and clear, and definitely didn't belong to Towhee- it was too articulate. She rustled herself up out of the fluff she was resting in and rubbed her face against one front leg to try and hide the fact that she'd been doing something between sleeping and sobbing. She took a deep breath and emerged partially from the den, squinting the way one would when hungover, and peered at young Kiwi. 

"Yep," She responded blearily, trying to sound more upbeat than she actually was, forcing her voice into a slightly higher register than normal. "What's up, Kiwi?" She asked. While she wasn't in the mood, really, she did like the fact that the pack's younger members seemed to be drawn to her, for talking about things they didn't want to talk to a real adult about. Niamh could handle that- being sort of in between was her specialty.

Oh good, she was.  Though maybe that wasn't good.  Kiwi wasn't used to this feeling, and wasn't much liking it.  New setting, new wolves, and her very first experience with feeling fully self conscious of her place here.

Hey.  I was wondering, do you have anything that you need done? She asked, glancing up at her.  She was oblivious to her state only minutes ago, one of the blessings of being so wrapped up in her own self.  I'm not sure what I should do here and I'm just as good as anyone else at anything so I thought maybe. You'd know something, she finished internally, though she cut the thought off and merely looked expectantly.  

So maybe she wasnt her first choice, but she definitely wasn't her last.  And she'd show that stupid boy that she was just as worth being here as he was.

Niamh had been mildly self-conscious about greeting anyone save for Towhee in this sort of condition. She was tired beyond belief, but nevertheless, she wouldn't turn away a packmate when they wanted her. It seemed as though either Kiwi actually wanted her, or simply wanted to know who was in the den- but it smelled enough of her that she could only assume that it was the former of the two. She tried to brighten up her expression a bit, but lacked the heart to truly put on a better facade for the adolescent. 

She'd expected some kind of reaction to her appearance, but didn't get it. She was then led to believe that she looked better than she thought- which was a good thing, because she felt that if she looked as bad as she felt in that condition, having gone directly to her den following her conversation with Quixote, then she'd look like something that'd been pulled out of a moor- without all the mud. She was quite surprised that Kiwi volunteered then to do something for her- if she had anything that she needed done. She needed a nap, and she was hungry, but she didn't feel comfortable telling Kiwi to get off her doorstep because she needed a nap, or to go fetch something for her to eat. She simply stared at the girl, baffled from exhaustion for a moment, before her ears flicked back. Maybe Kiwi hadn't heard- and was trying to score points with the leadership. 

It seemed, though, that Kiwi was looking to prove herself...And Niamh, tired as she was, liked the fact that one of the wolves she had seen fit to welcome into the pack was looking for things to do. She yawned softly, and forced a wan smile onto her features. "Well," She said, her tone somewhat soft and vacant, but still light. "Let's go check on some of me caches," She said. "I can show you where they are...Always good to check and make sure we've got some stuff stored away, an' no coyotes," She said absently as she pulled herself out of her den. One of her hips gave an audible crack, and she sighed with relief as it did so. "Snap crackle pop; I hate winter," She murmured darkly. She didn't want to do anything- but surely, this had to be better than just waiting around in her den feeling sorry for herself.

For a minute she wondered if she was going to get blown off because for the first time she noticed that Niamh didn't look into talking right now.  She perked up, though, when the older woman mentioned the caches.

I was Hompleia at home.  I know how to hunt, she replied proudly, following.  My brother was teaching me how to fight, but. she cut off.  Artaax should have stayed, but he hadn't, so that training wasn't happening anymore.

Niamh made a tired but confused expression when Kiwi described some sort of rank or title she’d held back at Drageda, and frowned softly when Kiwi referred to her old packlands as “home.” Maybe it was because she still wished it was her home, or maybe because of habit. Niamh chose to ignore it for now, as it likely wasn’t terribly important. What was important, though, was the fact that Kiwi could already hunt- but couldn’t fight.

Before she’d been stripped of her role as beta, she and Towhee had taken on the responsibility of training their packmates to defend themselves...But her demotion in rank wasn’t going to stop her.


”OK then,” She said, and decided to shift Kiwi’s training completely. Though they’d been walking peacefully side by side, Niamh lunged suddenly toward the shorter wolf, hoping to catch her both by surprise and off balance. She growled for emphasis, though it was hardly a savage sound at all- she could only muster up so much gumption. She didn’t aim to bite or shove Kiwi- but wanted to see her reaction to her sudden onslaught before the sidestepped neatly and beckoned with a tip of her head. ”Come at me, kiddo,” She said simply, hoping the juvenile would take the invitation to continue her training with Niamh.

rolled 15/20 and that's min of what I was gonna count to dodge!

Apparently her training with Artaax had paid off a bit, because Kiwi's reaction to Niamh's shift came pretty quickly.  She turned and jumped back, lowering her head defensively and showing her teeth.  Niamh didn't push though, instead giving her the go.

What was that he'd said? Keep your emotions hidden.  Don't show them where you want to attack.  That was way easier said than done.  She tried to keep her eyes on Niamh and not really show much, but definitely failed because she needed to see where she was going.  So halfway through her run she gave up, and the smaller girl went very clearly for Niamh's shoulder in a nip attempt.

Noice! I just rolled a 19/20, so that'll be Niamh's dodge. She doesn't usually get lucky rolls like that!

Niamh was slightly impressed by Kiwi's fast footwork, as she dodged the sharp arch of Niamh's shoulder and moved out of the way so she couldn't get bowled over. It caused Niamh to lose her own balance slightly- as she'd simply assumed that she'd be able to give Kiwi a good check, but she recovered well enough as she moved just far enough away that they could face off against one another. Now fully invested in their current task, Kiwi looked at her with cool calculation, and Niamh did her best to read the youngster's features, but for the few moments leading up to her attack, Niamh couldn't see any remarkable tells. Who exactly was Kiwi's brother? Niamh was impressed. 

Kiwi lunged forward, and for a moment, Niamh simply steadied herself, unable to tell which way she should move- until she saw Kiwi's body lean just slightly to one side as her mouth opened a bit too far in advance. Niamh was able to side-step neatly, allowing Kiwi's teeth to click together neatly a few inches from her shoulder where she'd intended to strike, and she smiled a bit; Niamh wasn't the best sport in the world, whenever she lost- so it showed plainly when she thought she'd done a good job. Still, she put her focus back in the game, and aimed a nip for Kiwi's hip as she was now in close proximity.

13 but im doin all her checks hard to dodge completely

She was fast!! Artaax had been fast, but training with Niamh was like training with Blixen, and she hadn't done as much of that.  When she missed, she tried to recover gracefully, but it still took a second of distraction for her to turn to retaliate.

She felt Niamh nip her shoulder and instead of reacting, attempted to reach out and smack a shoulder back with a paw.

Just gonna go off the book rather than rolls.

Clearly, someone had put in some good time teaching Kiwi how to dodge. Though she could be surprised, she was still quite light on her feet- likely a trait she would bring with her into adulthood if she maintained her small, fleet frame. It would work to her advantage as long as she understood that her greatest strength might be speed; in which case, she would also have to face the fact that she may have to bow out of certain fights when faced by someone who could kill her as soon as they got a hold of her. What Niamh wanted to see was how long Kiwi would remain on the defense- as would be her best call when faced with someone with training and credits like Niamh- or would she foolishly try and throw her chance out the window for the sake of landing a few bites? 

So in this situation, where Niamh's experience and build gave her the upper hand, she decided to press Kiwi and force her into a tough decision, to draw from the girl either a fight or flight response. Naturally, flight would always be her best answer in a case like this- but did she know it? Niamh fearlessly remained in close proximity, and leaned into Kiwi's blow knowing that the slap of her paw wouldn't hurt either of them at all. But she whirled with a sudden ferocity, snarling and snapping her jaws as she aimed directly for the girl's shoulder once again, but a bit higher- aiming to grab Kiwi by the neck with her bared fangs. A power move, as she wanted to shove the girl to the ground and then wrassle her into a more vulnerable position- but that was Kiwi's call. Now was her moment to choose fight or flight- a lesson that Niamh herself was only recently beginning to learn.

If Kiwi expected anything, it definitely wasnt this.  Drageda hadn't exactly been easy in fights, but they had always been somewhat sedate.  More about the learning than the actual dominating.  When Niamh flipped the switch, it took Kiwi completely by surprise.

She likely couldn't have dodged even if she wanted to, but once she was shoved into the ground, she felt a burn of anger instinctively surge up.  Just because she was little didn't mean she couldn't win this.  

She wriggled, snapping up at Niamh with half play, half frustrated nips, trying to get herself loose.  It was pretty much the opposite of what Niamh wanted from her, but she wasn't one to run when a challenge presented.

It turned out that her attack had been q bit too unexpected for Kiwi, who neither ran nor put her weight into a counterattack, but was bowled over. Niamh didn't mind so much- this was a lesson that Kiwi would need to learn anyway, and Niamh might as well have been the one to teach it. She'd been pretty good at teaching kids horrible lessons so far, not add one more student to the list? Kiwi nipped at her, and that was all well and good, but it wasn't going to be enough to get Niamh to get off her. 

"I'm just gonna stop you there," She said, still straddling Kiwi and keeping her in place.  "Practicing this stuff is all good and fun, sure, but you'll never learn how hard it really is to get outa this situation unless you really try- and I really don't let you up." She said. She could put Kiwi through the moves over and over again, but until she actually had to exert herself, she wouldn't realize how difficult it was to escape being pinned; and much better for her to learn it from a safe source than from one who was actually attacking her. 

"So right now, you're gonna wanna protect your throat. If you tuck yours to your chest really quick, and sort of roll forward, and lurch up, you might have a chance at mine- if I haven't already tucked my own chin," She said, first mimicing the motion for Kiwi, then tucking her own chin to her chest. "But what I want you to try and do is use your back feet to kick me off; both at once. Coil them against your stomach, and kick up. I'm heavier than you'd think," She said, trying to tighten her abs so it might not hurt as much- but she wasn't going to simply step off Kiwi.

She was frustrated, and she could feel the dreaded heat lurking beneath her face... just like in her fight with Artaax.  It wasn't worth crying over, but that didn't mean her body agreed with her.

Fortunately Niamh started talking, and as flustered as Kiwi was, she did listen.  It was an odd time to be in.  She was at an age where she knew she needed to learn, but she also hated the idea that she was so much less experienced that everyone else.  Her size didn't help, and this particular lesson was doubly hard because she secretly kinda hated how small she was.  It gave wolves an excuse to think she wasn't serious, or an adult.

She gulped in a breath and tried to calm down, and did tuck her chin like Niamh told her to.  

Just kick her?  Ok.  Kiwi let loose a kick, and it wasn't held back.  Some kids might be afraid to hurt the other, but Kiwi was the type who figured if an adult couldn't handle it, then they shouldn't be asking her to do it.  At least it made her frustration better.

Feel free to PP Kiwi more or less launching Niamh if you want, haha.

The young female beneath her appeared to be struggling visibly- though she had tucked her chin. Perhaps she was lower on patience than Niamh had expected- and she got a fairly clear picture of exactly how short her patience was when she followed Niamh's prompting and slammed her hind feet into Niamh's gut. Niamh hadn't actually expected Kiwi to comply right off the bat- she thought she might have to goad her on a bit, maybe tick her off a little, or actually start to pick on her. The best way youth learned was through experience, so she wanted to prepare the smaller wolf for the wilds by putting her through the hoops, but in a much safer scenario. But what she got was an abdomen full of hurt. 

The wind was kicked out of her by the blow to her stomach and though she wanted to hold her position she staggered off Kiwi, tears appearing in the corners of her eyes which quickly thereafter creased with faint smile lines, showing her amusement. "Ughhh, good one," She hiccoughed. She was impressed- and took a moment to collect herself, still standing with her front feet straddling Kiwi's shoulders, and reluctantly moved her hindquarters back into position. 

"Now as soon as you do that, make a ruckus- use your front feet to push me away, nip, bite, kick again if necessary." He said, shaking her shoulders out, to try and stady herself for another assault. "The first kick is shock value. Self defense is mostly about stun and run. You uh....You got stun down...damn good. This time I want you to do the same- but follow through. Stun, get me off you, and then bolt." She said, and sighed, steadying herself. She reached down then, hoping to grab the loose fur at the side of Kiwi's shoulder, just enough to spur her into action- and just enough so that if Kiwi did manage to dislodge her, she might get a nip to her skin while doing so. She'd have to learn to shrug pain aside, though, in the process of freeing herself. And though Niamh outweighed Kiwi, the particular moves she was teaching her younger student were incredibly effective. Niamh grimaced. This was going to suck.

Damn right it was a good one!  Some of Kiwi's frustration fell away with the praise, though she still really didn't like being in this position under, and Niamh didn't seem keen on the lesson ending just yet.  She almost tried to surge up when Niamh was staggered, but she got back into place too fast.

Well, this time then?  Apparently her earlier thought had been the correct one, which, duh.  Who wouldn't use the kick to get out if they didn't want to be under?  In a day or two she'd look back and see the value of this, but right now she was just pissy, and pissy Kiwi was gettin out.

Almost simultaneously to Niamh's grab, Kiwi's feet struck out again, needing no more spur to action than her continued presence pushing her down.  This time she was quicker to twist, and as Niamh staggered, she scrambled to her feet, dashing a few feet away and standing with her sides triumphantly heaving, ears askance.  She better not be hoping for round two today because Kiwi was not doin that again.

The moment Kiwi kicked out, Niamh regretted goading the girl on. The firey cinnamon girl easy stunned Niamh with the swift kick to her gut that made her gag and wretch, and she nearly tripped over herself as Kiwi twisted out from underneath her and bolted away. She tried to pounce after her, but a stirring in her gut made her stop, lower her head and utter a loud, painful belch. It was the impossibly loud sort of belch, which brought a stunned expression to Niamh's face and forced an unpredicted chuckle from her at the same time. 

"Jeez, Kiwi," She said, licking her lips and glancing up at the girl who continued to give her a sour, defensive look. "I pity your mom if you kicked like that in the womb too." She said, visibly wary of the girl who'd literally kicked the gas out of her. "Imma call you 'Thumper' from now on," She cracked dryly. "I think we're done for today...If you want any more lessons, though," She said, slanting one shoulder as though handing out lessons was something she reserved only for students with top potential- "I'd be happy to-" She paused, suppressing another belch. "To teach you." She said, exhaling softly.

She wasn't sure how she felt about a second round.  On one hand, she reallllly didn't like this one.  But on the other hand, Niamh's praise stroked her wounded ego, and she knew that things like this would only make her better.
 
Ok.  Sometime.  I gotta go find Sequoia she replied.  She was glad she didn't want to continue now, though, because she was out of here.  No thank you given because nah.  But she did give a quick nod in goodbye before she jetted off to see if she could find her friend.

Niamh simply nodded at Kiwi as she made to leave. She yawned and headed back toward her den which wasn't far away. Now she could finally go back to her den, curl up, and pity herself a bunch, and try to figure out exactly what had happened, and how she was supposed to move forward from that bunch of nonsense.