Blacktail Deer Plateau curves like a Bugatti --

@Harps

Tensions were running high ever since the confrontation hours ago; Reyes was itching for a fight, or a hunt, or something to work off the irritation beneath his skin. Ever since the group dispersed (which shall be kept vague) he had the unyeilding desire to find something pristine and destroy it. A field of snow untread; a patch of frozen water unblemished save for frost; a sapling standing perfectly still without the slightest bend. Anything he could snap at, break, pulverize, rend -- he sought it out, smashing ice to pieces or cracking branches in half as they drifted too close to his jaws. He managed to create a teenager-sized path through a segment of the woods before he realized how much destruction he was leaving behind, and paused to catch his breath.

She retreated to her den to process the day's events. Perhaps her entry into the ranks should've given her a clue about the pack's nature. But Harps had assumed, perhaps naively, that they only picked fights with trespassers. What she had just witnessed was more of a civil war... and it reminded her of being back with her dad and Spur. It disquieted her greatly. She'd left to escape all the in-fighting and wasn't sure she could stomach it here.

Harps looked miserably at the walls of her new den, chosen just the day before, and tried to sort out what to do. It didn't help that she liked both Erzulie and Ying very much. The three of them had fought together, after all! Now they were at one another's throats. Harps let her chin sink to the dirt floor, her paws coming up over her eyes as she moaned under her breath. Surely this wasn't the norm everywhere, right?

She sprang to her feet at a sudden noise just outside the burrow. It sounded like a limb snapping. Hesitantly, Harps crept into the den's mouth and poked out her head, copper eyes scanning the area and quickly finding a reddish brown figure stamping through the wood. For a split second, she thought it was Rosalyn, then she realized he was lacking the Beta's trademark scars. She said nothing, sensing his ire and reluctant to engage.

Reyes stood among the chomped-up saplings, breathing heavily, letting the plumes of his breath rise and dissipate. His mind was blank for a change, and he'd finished with his latest round of thrashing-about. His shoulders were getting a bit stiff from all the activity, and he knew he had to chill the hell out - but as he turned around and crunched through a fresh layer of icy snow, he felt the stabby fingers of the trees drag through his coat and lost his shit all over again.

The boy was oblivious to the girl trying to sleep nearby, and honestly would not have cared if he'd trampled all over her in the process, not that he could. He lunged in to the foliage with a gaping maw and grappled with everything at shoulder-level, nearly stabbing himself in the eyes a few times as he hurried to snap bits of bark away, branches, and whatever else. As Reyes tore out from the bushes this time he was a mess; twigs stuck out of his tangled scruff, and there were a few fresh scratches to his cheek and snout where he'd missed the mark and been properly (rightly) jabbed.

The expanse around him was a refreshing change. He could not fathom why anyone would choose to live in this crowded place - but he had to be here, if only because Nieve was, and his mothers. He was pacing and panting for a few seconds before he noticed that something - or someone - was moving in the dark just off the path, and stopped to stare. Whatever had possessed Reyes to be so destructive had faded in that moment, the rage dimming from his eyes.

He barked towards the hollow where he could sort-of make out some glimmering eyes: Hey! What're you doing?

As if he was the one who should be asking.

She flinched when he took notice of her. Quelling the urge to retreat into her burrow, Harps instead emerged from the den's small mouth. She shook out her coat and lowered herself as she suddenly remembered his role in the earlier altercation. Between that and the behavior she'd just observed, Harps dearly didn't want to cross him.

"I was just resting when I heard..." Her eyes flicked to his face, then down again, knowing she didn't have to complete her sentence. Surely he was aware of the racket he'd made.

The wolf drew from the burrow promptly, and he watched her with the same gimlet stare he had set upon the three sisters; when he watched the deferential turn of the girl's eyes and the sickle of her body, he met a mental pause. Her explanation - and the transition of her gaze up and down again - slackened whatever residual aggression he had been feeling. She was afraid of him. Unlike with the sisters this did not bring Reyes any joy.

They resembled himself, back when he had been found-out by the roaming crews of Tortuga. Nervous... Uncertain. Afraid.

Oh. Reyes blurts next. The accusatory tone he had been weilding was gone now. I... uh, What to say, though? I'm done now. His eyes shifted to-and-fro quickly, glancing at the ruined bits of tree matter that scattered the snow and ruined an otherwise pristine section of the territory. He licks his lips and tastes the blood of his scratches, feels a sharp stabbing pain from where his saliva is irritating them, and scowls a bit in response to it... But ignores all that too, choosing instead to watch the cowering girl. You can relax, he sullenly promises. No more tree murder.

Perhaps he hadn't realized the scale of his own personal tempest, though her observation certainly brought it to his attention. He looked about himself before redirecting his attention to Harps and reassuring her that he was finished. He told her he could relax. She wished it was that simple, though everything felt complicated after that showdown, much to her sorrow.

She wasn't sure what to say, so Harps let her copper gaze flick up again for a moment before drifting downward before she eventually found some words. "You look like Rosalyn. Are you two related?"

He watched her slouch, not exactly returning to the warmth of her little hidey-hole, but good enough. It was a little bit more impressive to him that she stuck around despite his dumbass tantrum while at the same time Reyes felt keenly watched, somewhat embarrassed, and eager to be parted from her; he did not need anyone watching him or judging him for things outside of his own control. 

When she commented on his colors - his possible connection to Rosalyn - he smirked thinly and nodded. Aye, she's my mother. One of 'em. That much was obvious; the same coat, the same eyes, and he liked to think they held the same views on things - but that might have changed since his return. 

After a pause he moseyed a little bit closer to where the girl was loitering, giving her ample space even then. He sank to his own haunches and fidgeted a bit. The girl looked thin but not unhealthy, young too, and adding to that her apprehension about all the chaos within Rusalka he had to ask, Ain't you a bit shy for a storm trooper for a Rusalkan?

Meeting the Betas' son made Harps feel even more torn. Was everyone else here related to one another? Was that why those sisters had been ousted: because they weren't blood? But then why welcome outsiders, herself included, in the first place? The yearling was confused as her pack schema was badly rattled again.

His question didn't make her feel any better. Harps didn't know what to say to that at all. If this was a fighting pack, then he was absolutely right and Harps didn't belong here. Erzulie had taken her in under a false pretense, she realized now. She hadn't even really bitten that trespasser.

"What's your name?" she queried without ever answering his question. "I'm Harps."

She ignored his question. Maybe that wasn't the right word for it, as she appeared a little bit more distraught after his commentary and maybe he had just jabbed her a little too hard with his own words - but then she was asking after his name and when Reyes opened his mouth he almost said, Alizarin. That wasn't his name here; that was his calling when he had been with those asshole pirates, and yet he felt compelled to use it now. He shuts his mouth temporarily as a wave of unease drifts across him for a moment.

Reyes, he finally says. Where are you uh... Where are you from, Harps? Can't imagine why anyone would leave a nice little home and seek out this place. He was trying to make nice, but his words were colored slightly by his own dislike of the plateau; he looked around as he commented on it, looking a touch more surly until he glanced back to the girl and relaxed again.

He offered his name in exchange, then pressed her with more questions. He couldn't know the irony of his latest inquiry, though rather than feel even more unsettled by it, Harps couldn't help but feel a prick of amusement at his particular phrasing. There was something about his tone that made her wonder too, her curiosity driving her gaze upwards once more but lingering now in the vicinity of Reyes's face.

"I didn't leave a 'nice little home,'" she replied. "I grew up in a very toxic environment, where my parents argued constantly and my mother resented my entire existence." Harps didn't say it to collect his pity, which she didn't want. It was context. "And I'll admit I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I joined Rusalka," she added, which should explain some things to him, as well as answer his previous question. "Is it always so... contentious here?"

She let loose with the facts. An unstable home life, parents full of angst (which would likely lead to kids adopting the same angst), her flight from that space to this one - he felt it was very different, because he was on the inside of all that contention and quite enjoyed it, but it took hearing Harps' tiny life story to understand how it might appear to an outsider. He hadn't considered that before. It had been her choice to align herself with the wolves of Rusalka as far as Reyes was aware, and she was still here despite the drama, which did bode well for her.

That's a good word for it, he comments dryly, but then shrugs and gives a small huff of a laugh. I can't say its ever boring. But uh, I also just got back home... So I can't really answer that. If he had any say in the matter, Rusalka was in for plenty more drama and chaos.

If it helps any, now that those sisters have been booted from the crew things should settle down some. I don't rightly know what the issue was between them and my ma, but around here we look out for our own. They decided those girls were piss-poor crewmates and I backed 'em. Another shrug. If either of his mothers felt the way about anyone else, he'd do the right thing and support their decisions. Family first.

After stating all this however, Reyes realized that he probably sounded like a crazy person and that maybe his sentiments would further alienate Harps, and he didn't want that. She was new here, and young, and as far as he knew she wasn't a troublemaker. You have nothin' to fear. I know that probably sounds like bullshit comin' from me, after what I was jus' doing, but... He looked a little sheepish in that moment. What the hell could he say to fix this? You're part of our crew.

Harps licked her lips, not really sure what to make of his answer, other than to bear it in mind. Reyes went on to explain how the sisters' absence would likely result in calmer waters. She should've been reassured by that, though the yearling's brow furrowed. Piss-poor crew mates? She had spent time with Ying on several occasions and she never would've used those words to describe her.

But she hadn't known them—any of them—long enough to know one way or the other. Still, Harps couldn't help but ask, "Can I ask what they did?" They were part of the crew too. She thought better of voicing that out loud. Reyes's temper tantrum might be over but she still didn't want to make him cross. Being at odds with anyone was the last thing Harps wanted.

"The only thing that worries me," she confessed, "is watching this family tear itself apart, like my old one did, and being caught in the middle of it."

It was a good quality to be skeptical of others, especially in a place like this. However, Reyes didn't have much of an answer for Harps and it showed in the furrow of his brow, the blank affect of his stare as he heard the initial question. He felt like he'd already answered that bit: Rosalyn and Erzulie did not like them, felt wronged by them somehow, and that had been enough for Reyes. Harps must have been quite new to the ranks if she did not fully trust the older women; he tried not to hold that against her. But still, he glossed over that question in lieu of her worries.

Ah, well. We wont be tearing anyone apart - least of all the family. That's the whole point of this, innit? Long as you're loyal to the higher-ups you'll be fine. He was in a much better head-space now that he'd had this conversation; but by the look of Harps, she wasn't quite convinced. I'm making it my mission to keep my family together and happy. That's how a crew works; and as long as you stay loyal to us, you'll be protected too. Good deal, aye? But what the hell did he know, he was just some kid with some pretty shitty life experience.

His lack of an answer was perhaps the most disquieting thing of all. Harps thought of Ying, affable and sweet, and her stomach twisted. Her mind then went to Erzulie and Rosalyn, each of them having earned her respect. What she couldn't understand was how the three of them—Erzulie, Ying and Harps herself—could go from fighting beside one another to being ostracized, within a matter of days.

He mentioned "the family" and Harps wasn't quite sure what he meant. She was afraid to ask. He told her to be loyal and Harps realized she might not really know what that meant. Had Ying and the others been disloyal. How so? Could she possibly do whatever it was they'd done, without even knowing it, and break faith? She knew so little about packs and true hierarchy, so her heart brimmed with misgivings.

She said nothing to Reyes, except, "Would it be okay if I go back to my den?"

She appeared to take everything he said in stride, more or less, and aside from the unchanging look of disquiet upon her face Reyes felt confident that the girl understood him. He was trying his best to allay her fears but without fully understanding her history, nor the reason for his mother's being so antagonistic of the sisters, he could do little more. 

When she made the feeble request to be left at her den, he nodded quickly, and backed off to give her some space - but murmured before he vacated the area: Sorry fer the... y'know, the mess, n'all that... and without waiting for further conversation, he stalked off through the trees.

Reyes didn't protest. Rather, he backed away and apologized. It was Harps's nature to placate, to smooth things over and clear the air. She had done it a thousand times with Spur. Besides, whatever her mixed feelings about Rusalka at present, she liked to think his definition of family included her and she wanted to be on good terms.

"It's okay," she said. I'm used to it. "It was nice talking with you, Reyes." "Nice" was perhaps a bit of a misnomer but their exchange had been informative if not pleasant. Harps even managed a small smile before she slipped back to her burrow and her thoughts.