Two Rivers Isle who of you will persevere?

Ines could feel the warmth of Spring creeping into the weather, a sign of good fortune given how brutal her Winter alone had been. She had lived in isolation, nearly starving, during the darkest days of the year. She'd busied herself—and almost driven herself mad—with constant patrols around the isle when she wasn't eating or sleeping. Not only had it kept her warm, but it kept her sharp.

It was mid-morning, and there was warmth upon the breeze. Ines sighed in relief as she settled on the isle's shore that neighbored the plateau. She watched the empty territory idly, wondering if anybody would come to her borders today.

Her legs were still damp as Masquerade loped across the isle in idle pursuit of breakfast. Truthfully, she was more curious than hungry this morning. She hadn’t spent much time exploring the lands immediately adjacent to Shadewood, though she found them rich with all sorts of scent trails. Masque couldn’t help but take advantage, resulting in a quick chase, a sharp scream and a dead rabbit at her feet.

She’d worked up more of an appetite now, so she settled down on the ground, the bleeding carcass pinned beneath one foreleg. Masque decided she would help herself to all the nutrient-rich internal organs and perhaps save the rest for @Riley. She carved the meat with her teeth, marigold eyes idly flitting around the surrounding forest.

The smell of blood instantly soured her mood; apparently, she hadn't been doing a good job patrolling or protecting the limited resources she had. With a heavy sigh, the princess pushed herself onto all fours, turned on her heel, and began to follow the trail leading to Masquerade. She was bristling when she arrived, her usually pristine coat spiking every which way and a scowl upon her face.

HEY! That’s mine!! she barked, wondering if the other wolf was ignorant or just plain dumb. She had patrolled diligently daily and knew that she had kept the borders fresh to some degree—it would be hard to deny that somebody lived on the isle.

She’d just polished off the kidneys when a wolf materialized. Masque stopped eating and pushed to her feet, body stiff as she regarded the stranger, a yearling by the look of her. Her golden eyes narrowed when the young she-wolf declared the kill belonged to her.

In response, the Redtail’s tail lashed upward as she stepped over the remains. She curled her lip at the upstart, though she quelled the growl rumbling in the deeps of her chest. It was like snarling at one of her younger siblings, which felt wrong somehow.

How do you figure? she demanded, nostrils flaring.

She realized she’d come across this scent, among many others, and she hadn’t thought much of it. There was a lot of foot traffic in this area, she’d found. It hadn’t occurred to her that such a youth might claim a territory, at least until this very moment. Her eyes widened in an incredulous stare.

"How do you figure?" Masquerade demanded, standing possevily over her kill.

Because this is my home, Ines snapped back in reply, her tail lashing and a growl gurgling in her throat. I was born here, and it is my right as my parent's daughter that I inherit this land and everything that comes with it—that kill included. It was frustrating; she spent so much time patrolling, and these sorts of things still occurred. There wasn't enough of her to go around, and she was tired.

Masque’s hackles ruffled as the younger stranger growled at her. She met the sound with a warning growl of her own, though she restrained herself from unleashing her full aggression. Her slanted ears and raised tail said enough, for the moment.

I hate to tell you this, she retorted coolly, but that’s not how it works.

She paused, pondering her next few words. Part of her wanted to dare the yearling to try taking what was hers. Actions spoke louder than words, if she was trying to defend her claim. But Masque actually felt a flicker of concern for this disgruntled youth.

Where are your parents? Is anyone else here? Masque wanted to know.

Chilled hostility flashed between them. She felt the sting of it in the interloper's words - and Ines let them roll off her shoulders like cold river water. Maybe on a day when she'd had more than scraps to eat, she'd have been a little kinder. Eh, probably not. Whatever the case, this was the Ines the stranger got.

Oh? she scoffed, with a dismissive lift of her chin, and what would you know about how these things work?

She wasn't really interested in hearing. This one had been dumb enough to cross her scent line, after all - and was she even fully wolf? Her face held sharper angles than those of her peers. This one was probably the daughter of some sorry wretch and her street-rat.

I'm old enough to rule in their place, and take care of myself and the land they gave me, if that's what you're asking, and she yawned, geeze, you sure ask a lot of questions, in reality, Ines was sure her parents had simply abandoned her and Matteo to the Wilds, or maybe died somewhere off and away from them - but the stranger didn't need to know that. Nor did she need to know that so far, her tactics hadn't been working, and she was, in fact, completely alone. So instead Ines said, why not give me a turn. Is anyone else with you?

Because truth be told, this thief looked about as alone as her.

I'm so bad at writing abrasive characters I am so sorry she is such a butt :') ;___;

Her teeth clicked as the yearling spoke. Her words riled Masquerade, admittedly, but she resisted the temptation to demonstrate just what she meant. The stranger was so young, a teenager with a chip on her shoulder that probably came, in part, from a place of vulnerability.

It required a lot of restraint not to react to her attitude, though Masquerade replied as evenly as she could, My mate and I live in the forest just across the river. She paused before adding, We will do whatever it takes to defend our claim, including chasing off competition.

But how seriously should she take this potential threat? She was too young to defend her claim via offspring. And who would choose to follow someone so young? She supposed other yearlings could band together and that would pose a problem.

Masque’s eyes bored into the small, thin stranger as she contemplated. She stood her ground firmly, head and tail still raised, curious what the reactive yearling would do or say next.

Haha, all good!

Irritation flashed in the glint of the interloper's. Good. Smugness stirred in three yearling's chest, satisfaction in the other's reaction, knowing she had struck one cord or another.

Ines narrowed her eyes at the stranger's that, but for once, lnes held her tongue. If the stranger had been alone, she'd have fought the woman right then and there, and settled their score for good. But one more wolf on the stranger's side was one more wolf than she had...

Ugh, why did she have to be stuck in this position! Maybe Matteo was right to follow Iseul to the coast.

I'm ready to do the same, she curled her lip, but that was all; unwilling to back down - but in this situation, willing to compromise, as much as the idea made her skin crawl.

How about a deal? There's plenty of other land for both of us to hunt on. So you stick to the other sides of yours, and I stick to the other sides of mine, and you don't cross to my Isle again, and I don't cross to your forest.

Masque wondered if her bite was as bad as her bark. She doubted it, though unless properly provoked, she didn’t want to get physical. She didn’t doubt that she could defeat the yearling in a fight, though the Redtail didn’t want any harm to come to either of them.

It surprised her when the young woman proposed a truce of sorts. Masquerade shifted her weight, unable to school her expression entirely as a brow arched. She was proposing a ceasefire, a compromise. But unlike their other neighbors, her claim literally bordered Masque’s.

A thought struck her. If this yearling was territorial of the little inland isle, then it would reinforce a large section of Shadewood’s borders. Supposing they were on civil terms, it would be an extra layer of defense against intruders. Of course, it would mean sharing hunting grounds, though the younger woman made a salient point about their respective territories supporting them.

She still didn’t see how this small upstart would find anyone to rule, though she certainly seemed passionate. And it was evident she took her claim seriously and intended to defend it. Masque’s head cocked as she pondered this, eyes still trailing back and forth across that swarthy face.

Finally, she broke her thoughtful silence to ask, You’re proposing an alliance, then?

It would be an uneasy one at best, she knew, taking her leave shortly after as her first act of acknowledgement.