Greatwater Lake i haven't had a shower in the last nine days

the edge of the lake came in to view.

zharille did not slow, now. she did not wait. the paths were familiar and they were her's, she would make sure that was known to anyone passing through the area.

as she came upon the old den site (which once housed her newborns) she found that it had been filled and abandoned. there were no vermin scents here, no wolf scents either; it was only zharille upon this plot of land now, she was certain of that.

a grunt of approval left her chest as she moved again, seeking a place to begin her mark-making.

she teeters on the edge of yellowstone, toes stretching just over their claim when the wind dances through with the faint scent of a distant stranger. she would not have sought after the foreign aroma before given it was that of a woman, but any and all individuals close to the grounds of her home were now taken with keen interest.

they were to be recruited, or sent on their way.

there was more distance between them than what the viper had originally thought, and she soon found herself near to the great lake she had visited once before.

her steps drew her in close enough to catch sight of the brutish woman, who if not for the wind, would have been mistaken for a man.

nephele does not move to announce herself, but does not take any effort in concealing her presence either. she is simply watchful from a distance, curious of the unfamiliar wretch who strolled the water's edge.

having so recently hunted for scents of her kind, it was with some surprise and a great rapidity that the discovery of the stranger brought zharille to focus.

she had been scraping her mark in to the soil and was previously intent with the instinct to comb her shoulders with nearby trees, so they would hold her scent more strongly; but this ceased as the foreign scent came to her.

it was not the scent of dust and desert, not that she should have hoped for such. it was clean, almost bright in a way that reminded her of winter; and there was a green scent mixed in, like grass, but sour like hay.

without pause she moved in to the wind and tracked the scent, which did not take much time once zharille set her mind to it. the stranger she spotted was a pale female; with her hackles prickling, zharille stood her ground with her posture demanding obeisance, while her face was a scowl of warning.

her presence is noted, and met with an air of authority. there was an immediate churning of distaste settled in the pit of the viper's belly, a sour, rancid flavor left on her tongue. it was assumed then with bold speculation that this woman was either protective of the lake, or imperious by nature.

aware of the physical difference between them and no stranger to the fashion of being out of her weight class, nephele did not push what ire she felt brewing. instead she kept to where she was, steadfast and with a plain mistrustful gaze swirling in the absinthe of her gaze.

there was yet information to gain between this meeting, and she would drain every once of it before moving off.

the female stood her ground, which was bold of her. zharille lifted her tail higher to make her point more obvious and drew herself closer, so she may loom, pressing the advantage of her size to elucidate a point.

that warning rumble came again and she flashed her teeth, telling the stranger in her nonverbal way to leave. zharille did not want other women upon her land unless necessary and this was not necessary.

one day soon her claim would be realized; her heat would begin; she would seek the strongest men again to bring to life sons and daughters of great power. until then, zharille would keep those unworthy from taking what was her's.

last post from me, tag for reference!

and so a stance was taken against her formally, to which nephele considered a challenge against herself and her home. a threat; one that would need to be dug up from the roots and thrown out.

she thought it a shame the stranger was so dispiriting, truthful the viper thought her of an impressive stature. not many women were crafted as burly as the one before her now. she might have been well suited for their claim, but they would not discover the truth of this today.

with her suspicions tucked neatly in her mind, nephele turned to make her leave, though never strayed her sight from the brawny woman until there was a good distance between them. she would take extra time to leave thick markings upon the edge of the plains, a clear and obvious statement that the land belong to her company.

she would seek out @Arktos and inform him of the woman making camp near the lake. she would let him take charge from there should he wish it, aware that there was little she could physically do against the woman herself.

zharille's display did as it was intended: inform the woman and give her a choice. the choice was between staying and threatening the claim, or leaving; and zharille was pleased to see her pale figure retreat. she did not go the full way—only to where the land gave way to open grassland and sedge, where she stopped.

the ogre woman tensed, ready to give chase if she needed to (in fact, eager for it). she watched as the pale woman made a decidedly stupid move and mark the earth there, spreading her scent in a way that made zharille's lip lift with a held grimace. at least afterwards the stranger departed—but zharille saw the message within the action.

somehow her lake was contested. if not the lake, then something very close to it. she dragged her own heels where she stood, then arrogantly lifted a leg to spray at the greenery there as a rebuttal. the woman had already gone by then, but it didn't hurt to be thorough.

with a grunt zharille swung her attention away from this very real pissing match, intent on fortifying her claim upon the lake from the heart of her land.