Lost Creek Hollow You shouldn't even be here

Whoever joins, feel free to run into her while she's still making the trip back, she doesn't have to make it all the way.  Just wanna get the description written before I forget. :P

Treason had finally settled on a place that would likely be her den.  It took her long enough, but she'd relocated her helicopter debris to a shallowly buried hideaway underneath a particularly thorny bush that wove itself above and to one side of what was perhaps an old coyote or fox den.  Or something of the sort.  It was definitely too small for her at the moment, and seemed a little big for a fox and a little small for a coyote but maybe she was just guessing wrong.  Digging would be required, but right now she didn't have the urge to bother.  Either way, it was long abandoned by its original inhabitant, and the surrounding area was now clearly marked as Treason's personal bubble.

Her muzzle was scratched and scraped from depositing her prize in its protected grave.  If anyone else went after it they'd be crazy -- it wasn't like the sharp-edged piece of metal was edible, and the new security system made it unlikely anyone would try.  If they did, it'd be easy for her to identify them.  Certainly they'd bleed.  Hell, it had taken her enough time to wedge in there and bury it, there was half a chance they'd get caught in the act unless they wanted to maybe poke out an eye.  So, as far as Treason was concerned, everything was secure.

Being fairly close to the center of the territory also meant that there were a couple of caches relatively nearby (along with the namesake creek) and it was from one of those that she was now returning to her chosen spot with a particularly frosty squirrel or something -- she honestly wasn't sure after it had been buried and dug up, but it was nice and snack-sized.  The forest around her was calm at the moment, the layer of snow doing a good job at dampening sounds.  There'd probably be more in the next day or so, but this late afternoon the skies were clear.  It was a good day of rest.

terance was still not the biggest fan of dens. he liked being able to sleep underneath the stars, especially on clear nights. but he wasn't stupid, and the winter season of course called for him to find himself some sort of makeshift den. upstream from treason, actually, and a little while back, terance had dug out an already made foxhole under some large tree roots-- making a pretty decent wolf den. he didn't prefer it, but it was warmer than the snow covered ground.

he was making his way from his den downstream, accidentally meeting treason at her own claimed piece of property... though terance regarded it sort of gingerly, figuring the deputy would be pretty territorial. he eyed her curiously, noting the cold, small carcass at her paws. his tail waved amiably, but he didn't move to join her or anything. "hey, treason," he greeted instead, head tilting gently to one side.

Where she'd settled down to eat was in front of the too-small entrance of the den-to-be.  She still didn't mind sleeping in the open.  The real reason she'd even bothered to stake her claim in the first place was because she was thinking forward to spring and didn't want to have to panic then.  By the time pups could even be a thing, she was pretty sure that she'd have gotten bored enough to make it actually inhabitable.  Okay, the fact she had a secure place to store the helicopter part was nice too.

However, at least when it came to Terance, she didn't seem to care that he was here.  She wagged her tail a couple of times as well.  She looked own to the half-eaten thing between her paws, then back up to him.  If I knew you'd be by I'd have picked something larger.  Was she being flirty?  It wasn't like she was batting her eyelashes or anything.  It was hard to tell with Treason.

terance snorted, accepting the comment as an invitation to join her. "you'd have still eaten the whole thing yourself," he teased, but that wasn't necessarily true. either way, it was unexpected, and terance took it well enough. good for treason, lightening up a little bit from the get go. though terance's language was usually pretty physical, the last few times he'd done any sort of nudge of recognition he'd gotten snapped at-- so he didn't bother this time around. instead, he settled a little ways away from her and rested his head on his paws, green gaze settled as well upon her features. 

he didn't really want to talk about this, but it was sort of important. "have you been okay?" he asked, already anticipating the answer, "since hyacinth, i mean." he had been fine, mostly. it really sucked, and terance always really appreciated her-- especially after all she'd done for rannoch... but with everything else going on, he'd been able to repress all of the emotion that he should've had along with it.

Again she looked down a second, What, do you actually want all the crunchy leftover bits?  It wasn't like it was particularly delicious to begin with, but she'd definitely gone after the most delicious bits.  But before, her behavior before hadn't actually been particularly aggressive -- it had been restrained, maybe from being a little too... You know what, maybe at some point he'd find that out, but he'd have to play his cards right.

But this talk wasn't exactly going to conjure that mood, I didn't really know her.  I kept out of trouble, so I didn't have to.  Or maybe she avoided me. I don't know.  Probably both.  If Treason had known that her presence sometimes made Hyacinth uneasy, she would have been quite amused and would have mentioned it directly.  I've tried to make sure the cougar's gone, but it seemed like it stayed in the area for some time.  Hopefully gone by now.  So much for this being less dangerous than a mountain, hm?  They'd had far more issues here so far with other predators than she did back at the Sunspire.  Though her wry comment did give voice to the opinion that maybe this whole moving thing had been silly, it was too late to go back and change.  It was the wrong time of year to say "oops" and go back.

From Treason's perspective, there was only so long a wolf could or should dwell on anything.  Sure, maybe it was sad (even if it didn't really effect her this time, either) but the rest of them were still here.  But time won't stop, we will have to look ahead -- the rest of winter, spring, and on from there.  They would still have to work with whatever fate gave them, protect the pack, continue on.

he chuckled again. "not particularly," he returned, tail flicking with amusement. he wasn't hungry anyhow, just making casual banter. or something. and then ruining it with a heavy topic. /shrug

treason didn't say anything that surprised terance, though he did chuff in acknowledgement to her comment about so much for this being safer... because, seriously? he outwardly blamed wrean and seabreeze and liffey for all this. wraen and seabreeze especially, since they'd just up and left themselves anyway. but that was besides the point, terance tried not to harbor any bad blood. sure! it'd cost him two loyal wolves and almost cost him his best friend! but fine! whatever! fuck the mountain! they lived here now, and he would not be returning to that place. too many bittersweet memories attached to it.

"i think everyone is moving on well," he said, ears pressing forwards. he gave a small shrug, "i just wanted to make sure you were alright." again, not that he expected her not to be. anyway. he moved on again, glad he at least addressed the issue.

"you settling here?" he asked her, noting the den nearby them with a flick of his nose. seemed pretty haphazardly put together-- but maybe she'd just started. then again, terance's was just as thrown together.

So how much did he remember about Treason's plans, anyway?  That conversation seemed so long ago, she wouldn't be surprised if he'd forgotten.  Was he just asking that regarding the short term to be nice?  She did this whole over-analyzing thing, but suspected it was just a question asked politely at face value.  But it hadn't been a secret from him -- he was the one who knew the full story instead of the euphemized version Rueger had gotten, so what was the point of denying?  

Well, some part of it still made her uneasy, like it was counter to her nature, but she'd decided on this damn road so she was gonna follow it until it seemed like a bad idea.  That's the plan, but I still have time to change my mind.  I did check most of the territory fairly well, but this seemed best from what I can tell.  I think it will be a good choice.  She looked back to the small den entrance.  But at least it won't be a rush.  She was just... Not particularly inspired to go digging at the snow-locked ground at this point.  Back to him, You've been nearby, haven't you?  All her wandering had made her pretty familiar with where the rest of the pack had set up their bases of operation.

oh terance remembered, he was just mostly surprised that it was so haphazard... she'd seemed pretty set on the idea whenever they'd last talked. but, again, maybe she'd just started. he was wondering who she was holding captive in hopes of bearing a litter in the spring... no scents drifted past him, but maybe he was just very well buried.

"nah, i agree," he said with a shrug, "this would probably be a good place to raise children." probably, anyway. and then he nodded. "yeah, just upstream from here-- i think it was an old fox den. good enough just for while the weather it bad." based on that comment alone, clearly terance himself wasn't making any plans for the breeding season. but... seriously... why bother? he'd recently opened up to the idea of a one night stand-- or something, a fling, probably would be more accurate-- but another thing revolving commitment just... ugh. terance really didn't care to put himself in that position again. "close to the creek, too," he added thoughtfully. terance was a big fan of the creek.

So he remembered, for good or bad.  It wasn't like there weren't a few things she still had to figure out, but this part was the easiest just from being less reliant on other people.  It could be crossed off the list whenever she wanted and wasn't just going to ditch on promises.  A hole in the ground couldn't disappoint her when it made bad choices or believed in nonsense -- not that she couldn't just use one of them and just hope their idiocy wasn't genetic.  But this was Treason, and she was a leader now: she didn't want to share.  So once the hole in the ground was cooperating sufficiently, figuring out the other piece would be next.  What options did she have?  She still thought of Terance as her back up plan -- certainly if Seabreeze, who'd turned out to be of rather questionable character, had won him over, wouldn't someone far more loyal and reasonable like herself be a better choice?

Well, it wasn't like she was gonna share that thought.  Especially since she still wasn't sure about him.  Perhaps he was too meek for her liking.  Mm. So I can come heckle you if I get bored, neighbor?  A slight raise of her eyebrows.  It was also probably a little dangerous if Treason did get bored.  Her preferred entertainment wasn't always friendly. But what about you?  Anything interesting happen recently?  Or was he just a stick in the mud?  Probably that. It wasn't like he'd gone off on any trips, and she really doubted he'd hook up with anyone here if he was the one trying to initiate.

Then again... Hm.

"heckle away," came terance's invite, and following was a few waves of his tail against the frosty earth. 

and then she asked a question, to which terance's tail sped up a few notches to now beat against the earth, snorting as a large grin spread across his face. oh, but not because he had anything to share with her. "oh, are we gossiping now?" he asked. the thought of treason gossiping was the most amusing of the whole thing-- not really the question itself. if treason didn't take kindly to the joke he'd lose the expression. 

he cleared his throat. "no," he answered with a small shrug, and then admitted, "i  haven't been looking... i kind of keep forgetting." although, he did have a rather nice interaction with the firebrand wolf from the valley, but that was all that happened. terance wasn't sure he wanted to tell treason about that, it wasn't like he was falling head over heels after one conversation. it was just, i dunno, nice to have a good conversation with someone. right? ya know? he wasn't sure treason would get that, so he didn't bring it up. 

"maybe i scouted some potential, though," he added anyway. but... no, not really.

Oh, I hope you know what you'll be getting yourself into.  Not really a threat, but she did swipe her tongue across her lips.  Treason showing up when she wanted entertainment.  Well, that would be a fun avenue to explore later.  Gossiping, though -- she responded in sort of an even but maybe amused way, Is that what we're doing?  I thought I was just asking if you'd done anything fun...  Okay, next time she was going to pretend to Freudian slip just to see what he'd do.  She thought of it a little too late.

Though, she wasn't sure what he said after that was a good thing.  He hadn't left, but that would mean it was someone within the ranks, and after what Stigmata and the sisters themselves had said, she did wonder if it was wise.  Or at least she wondered if him taking too long to act would end up with him getting in too deep.  But then that would make him useless to her. And possibly endanger her rank, hm.

I didn't think that would take so much hemming and hawing about it.  She gave him.. not really a disappointed look, but maybe something more like, 'C'mon, man' or something.  A slight bit of scoffing,   At least I've had the excuse of being busy finding this.  The whole 'finding an appropriate male' quest had fallen to the wayside after the move.  She did need to go back to it.  Especially if Terance was going the opposite direction.  Perhaps if she allowed a peek at her cards, she could find out if he had any interest.  She was young, relatively inexperienced in the world, and to a certain point lazy -- it wasn't like she really knew love, so it was all just tactical uses of her time at this point.

terance chuffed, rolling his eyes for good measure. "oh don't be coy, treason," he returned with a quirk of his brow, referring to the fact that they both knew what she was inferring. his lips were turned in a playful smirk anyhow. 

he regarded her curiously now as she continued on, talking about how she was too busy. "sounds like an excuse to me," he said, head raising now to cross one paw over the other, "at least i'm not making excuses." ah! a challenge! well, maybe not, but terance felt like he needed to heckle her about this now. "what's the hold up, treason? no good suitors in the pack?"

She snorted, Sounded like an excuse to me. --  But what, out of all two of you?  Treason wrote off the new guy who joined for now, plus the other wolf she hadn't met that had come with them from Sunspire.  Rueger had kind of missed her insinuations in their earlier conversation, but maybe if she met him again he'd seem more promising, but at least he'd stuck around the pack as a loyal member.  Either way, there was a freakin' bucketload of women in this pack and definitely not enough guys for all of them to have their own.

And in case he at all pondered about the other middle-ranked man she was ignoring, I'm excluding Xan since he apparently spawned all their pups and caused his share of misery.  If I wanted someone that useless, I'd be better off finding an appealing loner I'd never see again.  Okay, now she was sneering a bit at that.  And again, she didn't particularly want to share any more -- that had been an appealing choice before she had rank, but now possession was nine tenths of the law.  She didn't know if Terance knew the details about Xan's apparent behavior last breeding season, but she was not impressed.  He'd made it onto a special list of "observe for trouble" instead of "contenders."

Pause.  A thought: there was a bit of an opening there.  Her expression shifted, trying to keep from seeming too devious (it was fun placing all the cards on the table), Unless you're wanting.. higher consideration?  Though a little playful, she'd be taking his answer seriously -- if this got her a reasonably straightforward answer so she knew which direction the game would go, she'd take it, no matter what he said.

mmm fine. yeah. his was an excuse too. "touche," he returned with a gentle raise of his chin. hearing about xan was kind of shocking. terance hadn't actually asked anyone about the man's... uhm... night life? or history, for that matter-- that was probably a better way of wording that. maybe that made some sort of sense though-- he had been the alpha, after all. maybe he just wasn't the tied down type. terance could relate to that.

HAH. if only... 

"sounds like a real piece'a work," commented terance in a mutter, a little peeved that he might've done that to indra. terance actually hadn't bothered looking at the packs ratio ever. i mean, he wasn't really interested in settling down so... why bother counting? clearly, though, it was not a good ratio. big taco party. whoops! 

and then treason dropped something on his poor little head that he absolutely had not expected-- especially after the last time he'd attempted a fun, flirty banter with her. but terance wasn't stupid, he knew what she was asking him. he regarded her now with a bit of shock, though his expression showed a good bit of consideration. there was a lot to consider, after all. if treason chose him(what was this, survivor? was he voting people off an island or what?) then he'd potentially have more children. granted, maybe treason didn't want him to actually deal with them at all. maybe she just wanted him to come and go(ha). but that begged one final question... what exactly did she want from him? are you asking me to sire your kids? he almost asked, but the answer to that was duh. so terance tried something else. "i'm not really looking to settle with someone..." he said, nose lowering as a brow quirked, green gaze searching her face, his scarred appearance matching her own playful expression.

wraen always said he wasn't so good with words-- it was why he always tried to be more blunt. but, he hoped treason would be picking up what he was putting down. was he looking for a relationship? probably not... definitely not now... was he okay with maybe passing his genes on through a capable wolf like treason? well, it certainly would be something spontaneous-- and definitely for himself. well, actually, it'd be for treason... but he actually got a few benefits out of this one. whatever. he waited to hear her response, hoping he didn't have to clarify what he was saying because then he'd feel really awkward about it.

Well, yeah, it kind of was Survivor or something.  She was crossing off the options until she got to the one that would be the best fit.  She expected the best and only the best.  No disappointment, no chances, just an excellent start for her brood -- emotional connections were secondary.

Though she couldn't promise anything because characters (let alone their players) are mischievous things, she didn't think that was much of a problem, I'm looking for the best, not to just settle for the sake of it, in either definition.  The likelihood of an average, normal wolf wanting much to do with her always seemed exceptionally low.  Who would really want a beast as savage as she could be?  Treason's primary interest was getting what she wanted -- unlike Terance, she had no problem knowing what that might be, let alone reaching for it.  Not to mention, she figured there was probably a much higher chance of him getting hooked by someone's wiles than her.  The last wolf that had a higher chance of interesting her beyond just being useful?  Disappointment.

But he should be warned -- it wasn't like it was an entire free-for-all.  My only note.... Well, two.  If chosen, be wiling to prove you want it, and I'm not planning on sharing.  No Xan antics.  So maybe slightly settled, at least just for a season?  One litter per wolf was more than enough, wasn't it?   Either way, she'd obviously given the whole thing some thought, regardless of how far along her den was.  Just hopefully Terance or whoever didn't go and find the love of their life while it was still the spring.

But obviously, feel free to think about it.  There's time.  For now.  Not forever, obviously.  She didn't like uncertainty, and if she could work things out earlier she'd greatly prefer it.  Then the only problem became what if there was a late competitor on the field.

so-- it seemed that there were strings attached. terance couldn't say he was surprised, it was treason after all. but the strings weren't that crazy. i mean, this did lack all of the emotional shit that really got him off, but he was still really trying to channel that whole spontaneity thing that she had told him to do! he really did believe doing something stupid for himself would be good in the long run. 

and this also kind of solved his problem of not wanting to settle down. if he was tied down to this agreement, he didn't run the risk of wanting to settle with someone else... rush into something like he did last year. granted, there was no telling if treason would pick him or some other rando, but terance did have the upper hand of rank. at least, he was pretty sure rank played into treason's decision making, considering how he'd bribed her the last few months into staying with the pack. hm. 

terance shrugged. "it's a deal," he said, not bothering to give it anymore thought-- which truthfully caused him a great deal of bubbling stress, but he repressed it best he could in the moment-- be impulsive, terance! of course, he wondered how he would have to prove it... but he figured time would tell. "you let me know when you make a decision."

While he was stressed, she was quite pleased, wagging her tail a bit as she nodded in agreement.  To a good spring, then.  As long as he didn't have some sort of regrets before doing the deed (and assuming she didn't have a new backup plan), it sounded like everything was going to work out in her favor.  Okay, Terance also would potentially get some kids that weren't halfway across the planet, too, but Treason thought of herself first.

And a sharp grin, And if the idea does particularly strike your fancy more later on, bribery is fair game.  No saying this can't be at least a little fun.  It would certainly be more fun for her if she had a couple of men competing for her interest.  She just needed to find another candidate or two to make it happen.  But did they even exist?  She'd have to look, but at least right now she didn't have to worry about having no options.  And heck, she didn't even have to trick him into being her backup plan!  Terance was actually on board.

Then again, Treason figured maybe the time between now and then might be amusing enough anyway.  It freed her in another way, though it might not be immediately obvious, but basically now she wasn't particularly worried that some of her antics might cause problems with her future plans.  They'd come to an agreement, so why worry?  She'd rather find out what he'd do...

"i've got loads to bargain with," terance said, quite confidently too. though, truthfully, if there was another man who really wanted to jump treason's bones... he wouldn't stop him. i mean, let's face it, terance was a little soft for treason. and while he found her attractive in her own ways, treason had never given him the opportunity to like... actually fall for her. in that way, then, this was pretty platonic, and half the reason terance was so fond of it. no strings attached... except for kids. but, those were good strings. 

and then, with a quick dip of his head, terance added. "to a good spring." 

That response did seem to please her, at least given her catlike grin,  Mmm.  Then I'll certainly look forward to you surprising me.  It was a whole different game to play then, wasn't it?  A few too players for maximum enjoyment but hey, the framework was there.  Treason would just have to make sure to call a few others to the table if she could.  Unless he really did do a good job impressing her early on, but thus far Terance hadn't exactly the most proactive of wolves, so she wasn't expecting much on that front.  But hey, she'd see where this went.  There was always the chance someone else would show up as a better option...

So unless he was going to make a move now, things seemed to be drawing to a close.  She eyed her half-eaten whatever yet again, Last chance for the crunchy bits?  Her ears perked forward, though she wasn't exactly expecting him to say yes.  It was sort of in that weird zone where you're kind of just doing it to be polite, but if they answer in the affirmative, it won't be the end of the world.

"sure," said terance, though generally speaking terance wasn't really one for surprising. he was pretty predictable in all his ways, good at just taking orders and doing what he was pretty sure was expected of him. unfortunately he wouldn't take her comment seriously, and would do no surprising. ever. 

anyhoo. 

"i'll pass," he said in an amused chuff, and then got to his feet, "i'll leave you to it." and with a dip of his head, terance would turn and go -- pondering the strange agreement he had just made and what exactly it would entail.