Sun Mote Copse So I've gotten used to coffee sweats

Rolled for a thread prompt. Got coyote near borders....Typical Niamh. Anyone is welcome to hop in :)

Once Niamh had been shown where the borders were, she made it her job to fall back into the role of guardian. She told herself, though, that this time things would be different. They weren't to treat outsiders with hostility, and that made her relax a bit. She wasn't sure exactly how to respond, as it had been al to easy simply to chase down anyone on sight unless they had some reason to be at the borders. It'd been so easy to be a strict security guard- so now she would have to learn how to be softer, gentler, friendlier...Which wasn't too hard for her, presently; she was pretty darn happy with how her life was going currently. 

So for the majority of the morning, she trotted along, marking here and there, with a bounce to her step and a faint smile on her features. She could do this. She could be a friendly border guard, sure. She could be approachable and greet strangers in a friendly way. She told herself this over and over again, until she pretty well believed it- but as soon as she caught the coyote's scent, it was like a switch had been tripped. Niamh hated coyotes. They put her into a mode that was somewhere well beyond predator mode, and this was a mode she needed to forget...But at the same time, she couldn't just let the coyote come this close to the borders without chasing them off, could she? She just didn't necessarily need to hunt them down, dismember them and spread their body parts along the borders like she had at the plateau, to ward off other coyotes. 

...But some habits are nearly impossible to drop. She continued tracking the creature, eyes sharp and ears pricked, hoping (for the sake of both of them) that she wouldn't catch up to it.

Now that her heat had passed and her hormones were no longer driving her (and admittedly clouding her judgment), Wildfire considered paying Raven another visit. She wanted to talk to her sister about Eljay; Rave had gotten knocked up first and tied the knot later, so Wildfire could only assume she would have good advice about how to proceed. It would be a few weeks before she knew if the pregnancy took, of course, but Wildfire was quietly excited despite having made some choices way off script. She wanted to share that with Raven too, as well as solicit some guidance for general wellness.

Before she went, the Sovereign did a thorough patrol. She was just preparing for departure to the plateau when she saw Niamh bustling through the underbrush, evidently keen on a scent trail. Wildfire couldn't resist the urge to accompany a pack mate (especially a newer one) on a hunt, so she woofed in greeting and began to stride toward the Tradesman.

Having been quite fixated on the scent, the sound of Wildfire's bark spooked her, and she sidestepped nimbly, lifting her head with a jerk to see the matriarch approaching. She immediately softened and waved her tail from side to side, glad to see Wildfire but slightly embarassed about the fact that she'd been taken by surprise. She moved toward the sovereign, and touched her nose gently to Wildfire's cheek in a show of deference and amicability. 

"'Mornin', Wildfire," She greeted. "How've you been gettin' on?" She asked, glad to have a distraction from the coyote she'd been tracking. The creature had been dogging their borders, possibly just so he knew where he had to avoid, but also looking to see, maybe, if there were any weaknesses which might mean that a particular area might be less defended so that it could trespass and steal from them in the future. Either way, she needed to know what it was up to- but at the same time, she could feel the stress melt away from her shoulders when she was distracted from the tracks.

Niamh greeted her with amiable deference, which was met with a few slow wags of Wildfire's tail and the words, "Good morning. I'm doing all right." Bat's death, followed soon after by her heat, had blown her off course a bit lately, but she was eager now to steer straight and continue leading the Firebirds into prosperity. "How're you? What're we hunting?" she tacked on there, chestnut eyes glimmering at the thought of a hunt.

Sure, it would waylay her from visiting her sister, but only temporarily. And she would get to see Niamh's skills in action and quite possibly get a meal out of it. Then there was the fact that she wanted to get to know her newest pack mate better. Wildfire was well aware that she and Colt were together (or at least trying to mend things) and she had no desire to interfere with that, especially with her own complicated status. But it would be a lie to say she wouldn't enjoy spending time with the blonde simply because she was fun to look at too.

Right; she wasn't just talking to her sovereign, but to a mother who'd lost her daughter. For some reason, Niamh simply couldn't digest the thought of Bat being gone- she seemed so invincible and tough, that it didn't seem possible. But nevertheless, the girl was missed. Niamh couldn't even begin to come up with the words to say to Wildfire, but fortunately for her, the matriarch seemed intent on finding something to eat- until Niamh realized that Wildfire had likely joined her because she had been in hunting mode..Just not the right sort of hunting mode. 

"Well," She said, with a bit of a guilty grimace. "I caught wind of a coyote along the border. I was kind of hunting it down to see if it trespassed, or if it was just kind of passing by...It's definitely checking the borders out, that's for sure," She said, slipping into a bit of a defensive mode. Niamh hated coyotes. She had no respect for a creature that would just as soon rob them blind and try to make off with a wolf pup. "But I'm always hungry; these legs don't run on nothin'," She said, stretching them out. "Wanna come with me? Just wanna make sure he didn't cross the borders, an' could find something to eat along the way or after?" She offered. Sure, why not- kill too birds with one stone? Though she was aware of the fact that the coyote and their possible future meal would likely be two separate things. While Niamh had no qualms with killing, dismembering or even eating a coyote, she knew that not all wolves really shared that sentiment.

Her newest Tradesman mentioned a coyote and Wildfire felt her spine stiffen a little. She knew they were wolves' smaller cousins, though they were also natural competitors; she'd killed at least one in her day. A coyote posed nearly as much threat as a trespassing wolf. They should treat it just the same as one, Wildfire decided on the spot.

"We should deal with it just like we would a wolf," the Sovereign agreed. "If it's trespassing, we'll chase it out. But hopefully it has a healthy respect for clearly marked borders." Wildfire nodded as she added, "Yes, that sounds like a good plan. Let's go."

Niamh felt a flash of light come into her eyes as Wildfire agreed that the coyote- if trespassing of course- should be chased off. Fortunately, it seemed as though her penchant for chasing coyotes wouldn't be too much of an issue while she lived with the Firebirds. She nodded briskly to her sovereign, and the two began to move along the borders, following along the clear set of tracks left behind by the coyote. 

"This kind of reminds me of the time that Eljay and I chased one down," She said, with a small chuckle. "I think it'd trespassed into the plateau, and it turned on me as soon as we put the heat on its heels," She said. Of course, Niamh thought nothing of killing a coyote that was brazen enough in nature to attack her when it was already trespassing. The part that tickled her, though, was how gentle Eljay had been with it. "Eljay had to hold it back by its tail, like he was dealing with an unruly pup," She said with a soft laugh. Unlike Niamh, who'd savaged the creature, Eljay had at least simply tried to stop the coyote from hurting her without actually hurting it.

Niamh's mention of Eljay took her by surprise, for reasons Wildfire didn't know. They'd both come over from the Redhawks, so it made sense that they knew one another. She simply hadn't associated them before, probably since they'd migrated at totally different times and under very different circumstances. The Sovereign mused about this only a moment before being distracted by her companion's tale.

"I don't think Eljay's capable of hurting a fly," Wildfire mused with affection in her tone. She paused for a moment, chestnut eyes sweeping the nearby borders for any sign of the coyote, then decided to add, "It's one of many reasons why I think he'll make a great father: he's just so gentle and sweet."

The kind, caring way Wildfire spoke about Eljay didn't go unnoticed by Niamh, who smiled faintly thinking about their incident involving the coyote. Wildfire was right, and Niamh nodded- and opened her mouth to agree verbally, but she snapped her mouth shut when Wildfire continued, and gave credit to Eljay's experience with pups...But she wasn't just alluding to him being a puppysitter, but being a father, so Niamh turned her head sharply and looked at Wildfire. She wasn't showing anything yet- but Niamh would be damned if she didn't have a bit of a glow about her- even though she did seem tired and worn down by the grief of losing her daughter. 

"Waaaait," She said, though she continued to move forward alongside Wildfire. "I mean, of course; Eljay's great with kids- lots of patience, empathy, he's super sweet and soft, and last year's kids just all sort of flocked to him," She said. "But...Him being a father?" She asked, ears flicking forward. It'd been no secret that Wildfire had gone into heat, and that Eljay had been more or less guarding the large den in the embankment. "Are you...?" She asked, hopefully. She wasn't sure it was her place to ask personal questions of her alpha, but at the same time, she couldn't help herself. She could already picture what Eljay's kids would be like. More or less sissies, in Niamh's eyes, but absolutely adorable sissies nonetheless.

Niamh's long drawl of, "Waaait..." caused Wildfire to do just that. She paused, though her pack mate continued walking, so the Sovereign took her cue and matched her pace. Her ears flicked, a defensive look flashing behind her eyes at the implied skepticism in the Tradesman's inquiry. But it soon became clear that Niamh wasn't doubting his merits as a father, just trying to piece together the parentage puzzle. Wildfire was almost positive she detected a note of hope in her tone, actually.

Smiling a little secretively, she nodded. "It's too early to tell for sure. But we did the deed, so the odds are in our favor." Her tail snapped. "I know he's done a fabulous job helping raise the last few generations of Blackthorns and Redhawks. Now he'll be getting a much-deserved chance to experience it all firsthand."

Niamh wasn’t aware of the history between Wildfire and Eljay, and had missed out on any gossip that might’ve come up around the two of them so her surprise stemmed from the suddenness of a pairing that she’d never expected- not that it was a bad thing. Her features brightened considerably from confusion to glee when Wildfire admitted that they were a thing, and that they were expecting puppies. 

”Oh wow! For sure, for sure!” She said, agreeing with Wildfire completely on Eljay’s excellence in childrearing. ”Well that’s great! I mean, I don’ wanna jinx anything, of course, but that’s awesome! Lemme know if there’s anything I can do to pitch in, of course; I’m a pretty good hunter so I’ll put her in overdrive to keep bellies fed this Spring,” She said, stopping briefly to examine a change in the coyote’s tracks.

So far, no one had reacted badly to the prospective litter. Wildfire supposed there wasn't much reason for anyone to be upset about it, though the positive reactions always meant a lot to her, Niamh's included. Her black tail waved, particularly when the Tradesman offered her services as a hunter.

Before the Sovereign could say anything in acknowledgement, Niamh paused and checked their trail. Wildfire paused too, waiting for her to finish her assessment, her own chestnut gaze trailing thoughtfully over the tracks.

In considering the direction the coyote’d come from, and then the way he had turned now, Niamh snorted in appeasement and gazed off down its tracks, which- though they meandered this way and that- they seemed to be heading off into the cedars and away from their copse. ”Smart coyote,” She said, putting an emphasis on her pronunciation of Ki-yoat. She licked her lips. ”If he’s gone, we’ll have a better chance of finding snacks,” She said opportunistically. Hopefully, the coyote’s absence might mean that something else- something a bit more edible- had wandered closer to their borders. ”What’s your favourite?”

Would you like to fade, since we have a more current one? :)

They led away from the territory, meaning the threat had gone. Niamh observed this aloud, then shifted their focus toward obtaining something to eat. "I'm not too picky," Wildfire replied. "Let's just find a trail and hit it," she suggested with a twitch of her black tail. She was a small game expert, though she made no move to take point. That was Niamh's role for this particular venture and the Sovereign would happily follow her lead.

Sure :)

Wildfire didn't make any specifications, so Niamh wandered this way and that, nose held aloft as she did her best to catch the scent of something. It took some figuring, of course, as the copse was so rich with scent that it could sometimes be difficult to single out just one scent, especially one belonging to something that they could actually eat. She froze, though, one front foot dangling, when she thought she caught the scent of rabbits. They wouldn't be able to see them for some time- not with their winter coats of white allowing them to blend in better with the snow- but she was sure she scented them. "Be vewy, vewy quiet," She joked, and gestured. "We're hunting wabbit." And off they went, tracking down the wascilly wabbit for lunch.