Emberflame Ridge you know, it takes a village to raise a scheme

for @Orlaith
backdated to august 1

it felt…good, quite simply, to finally have something to do. tenuous as the order was. renard had practically had to drag it out of him, too, but regardless of its circumstances, here it was, laid in front of them. sagtannet was not worth their concern until praimfaya showed her hand, and they harbored no illusion that they could talk her motives out of her. if only she wasn’t very clearly some sort of spy.

…and what did it matter if she was? renard hummed, their smile widening. that deserved some thought.

but it would have to wait until later. one concern at a time, and their concern now was the court. quite a lot of enmity for such a distance; donovan insisted he’d only trespassed and said a few rude words, and renard didn’t believe him. the details, though, were less important than the reality. they had better things to do than drag the truth out of him.

if he wanted renard to help dig his grave, who were they to argue?

which brought them here. the ridge had been burnt, sometime in the not so distant past; there were parts where the trees were burnt black, the ground dark with ash. too exposed for renard’s taste, but the only option for a good view of the willows far below.

they slipped down the ridge anyways, black-on-black, a barely visible shadow under the overhang of clouds. the trees loomed ahead of them, a thick canopy of green – the ridge stretched much farther, miles before they could even be said to be approaching the willows, but they weren’t planning on duplicating donovan’s or riley’s stunning feats of diplomacy.

wind whistled through the trees. a gentle rain began, steadily, to fall.

Orlaith counted herself as a loyal, diligant guard and prided herself as such. Whoever was an enemy, she often would take it with an issue regardless whether it was her land or not. An enemy needed to know she was ready to take them on, and let them know they are definitely not wanted within the lands. She felt if one was attacked on a daily basis, it would give reason to move.

If no one wants you, why do you live near them?

The wolf couldn't understand the saints in their line of thinking. She saw the leader as a damn Fool, especially with his barbaric words. They seem to flow 'nicely,' but it was but a sham that Orlaith saw. If he truly cared to be at peace, he wouldn't have moved into the mountains, with Yuelong's allies lingering by. A real fool, she thought, and a horrible leader.

His companions were no different. Riley was a buffoon, who crossed the border and shamed their land- now there was no reason to be at any peace. Who would dare follow a man who causes chaos at the coast, and at the mountains as well? She could only think of them as lunatics.

Today it rained, feeling like it represented her murky and fustrated mind. Orlaith skulked out of the forest, and climbed the slope that looked down to the willows, feeling for a refresher. However, doing so.. Another was there, and an obvious smell to his being. Her fur bristled, as a snarl crawled back, letting him know she is there.

the ash crunched softly under their paws. not something they were entirely used to, but there was rain to muffle it; no sunlight, no flames. under the trees, the darkness thickened, and renard settled comfortably into the shadows they brought. the patter of the rain on the leaves was more than enough to silence their steps and the slow rhythm of their breathing.

the quiet didn’t last. the snap and crunch of brush wasn’t their doing, even without the accompanying snarl.

an ear flicked in her direction. renard’s head turned, and with it their attention; they’d met none of the court before, and for all the mess they’d kept their distance from the canyon, so far – but it didn’t take familiarity to work out just where she was from. not when the willows lay so close below.

not with the description derg had so helpfully provided.

renard looked her up and down, the edges of a smile curling their lips. bared teeth, bristling fur. if she truly wanted to attack, she would have done better to do it without all the fanfare. might have even caught them unawares.

wasted energy. but who were they to complain? “you’re with the court, i take it.” it wasn’t much of a question, but the alternative was giving her a glimpse into the reputation she was cultivating with the saints. they’d save that for later.

"Orlaith, guard of Seelie Court," she said, confirming his question, "and why is a saint so close to our borders?" She hadn't meant to come across one, and didn't think that would've happen. She only wanted to take a breather on the slope, but instead had the misfortune of coming to the enemy himself. It seemed she had a constant streak of meeting them- and fighting them.

The flaming wolf prowled closer, a glare to her olives, and a dominating posture to the man as she begun her circling.

she gave her information quite freely. renard was not inclined to do the same. surely she could smell the saints on them, as much as they could smell the court.

they’d dismissed riley’s experience already. the kid had wandered right into the willows and pissed on the trees, acted the injured party, and then gone back for round two. they had more important things to do than lend him a sympathetic ear. the last thing the saints needed was an idiot kid set loose, smelling of the canyon, with less of a thought in his head than donovan.

derg hadn’t been so forthcoming with what he’d done to provoke her. they hadn’t asked, but they doubted it could have been much. he was impressively level-headed, especially considering his company – up until you held his head underwater and took a hold of his throat.

didn’t seem they had to do much. she was already circling, now. tail up, narrowed eyes, the whole production. renard kept an eye on her, their own expression left neutral but for the widening smile.

“i like this place.” it wasn’t strictly a lie, but it was avoiding the question.

"Leave," she demanded with a snarl. Despite what was said to be neutral territory, it was far too close to the willows. It'd be one thing if it was a random loner, she wouldn't set such wariness over, but it was an enemy that dared to come forth, "you are too close to the court," she said even more-so.

She stopped dead in front of him, rising up with head held high and glare to her olives. The man of browns and lavender looks, a pretty boy, but one of them, she couldn't be friendly with such a savage.

they weren’t expecting the quip to calm her down in the slightest; she didn’t disappoint. for all riley’s boneheadedness about it – renard wasn’t about to defend sticking your nose into claimed territory, formal or not – maybe he, accidentally, had a point. he wasn’t the only one stirring up trouble between them, was he.

no. the fun of this was renard didn’t even have to do anything besides talk. for all the rumors and warnings and rumblings of war brewing in the canyon, this was their first time seeing the source.

why not keep digging?

“does this show work for you often?” renard asked, conversationally, again examining the lift of her head and her narrowed gaze. “this is neutral ground. i’m not hiding the rest of the saints behind me, don’t worry.”

She didn't understand what he meant, and only narrowed her eyes, a spiteful fire coming forth, "I don't care if it's neutral- you're kind isn't wanted in the mountains, and definitely so not near the court." She crept closer, all too careful to lunge froward. However, while not showing with her flaming spirit, she held a hesitation.

Orlaith fighting had only proven to be reckless it seemed. Disrespected by cougars, by intruders, by other packs! She was getting sick of it- and it all stemmed from her rage within the belly. She could feel herself nearly snap, in a want with his neck between her jaws. But she was learning.. Slowly..

But if he didn't leave she was fucking attacking.

they were very aware they were walking a tightrope. they didn’t need her narrowed eyes and bristling scruff to understand that – and they had them anyways. she was making a token attempt to think before she acted, at least – but they didn’t need all their past experience to know that it was just that. a token.

they wouldn’t be instigating more mess for the saints to deal with. they had plenty to keep entertained as it was – and as it was, they didn’t even need to instigate this. not with the way she crept closer –

but. much as it would be fun to goad her until she snapped. much as they would learn from ay spar – they also didn’t need her running back to the court with the news of another scary saint in the area. they were here for scouting, and they could control themselves. if she wanted to follow them all the way through the sunspires, all the better to turn and pick her off in their own time.

“all right,” renard said, smiling. “you’ve convinced me.” they did not move beyond a lift of their own head, violet eyes gleaming. “we'll see you later, orlaith.”

Wow.

Talking worked.

What a surprise, that she raised a brow to. Though.. She couldn't tell if that was sarcasm, because while they said so, there wasn't any movement given, "then get up and fucking leave." Orlaith barked at them, an order like a commander. They were definitely on edge by this man who seemed to have a taunt to his words, and she didn't have time to play mind-games, or even the care.

Those with silver-tongues were always the most irritating.

she didn’t attack. just looked surprised when they gave her what she wanted. her lifted brow turned immediately back towards barking orders, but off of riley and derg’s encounters, they’d expected the gentle taunt in their words to be the breaking point – maybe she’d started learning in the interim.

or maybe derg was more eager to start things than they’d thought. maybe that thing renard had drawn out from him under their teeth didn’t take nearly as much prodding as they’d offered.

they inclined their head to her, smiling the same knife’s-edge smile, and turned to vanish back up the slope. the back of the ridge dropped down into the valley between the mountains – a longer way around to the willows, but they had the time. perhaps donovan would even notice who had vanished in the interim.

they wouldn’t hold out hope.