Cedar Sweep The wheels on the bus.

Tagging La Muerte pledges for visibility, in case you guys could use some founding threads! @Reyna @Paloma @Klara :)

She wandered into the sweep, her step steady as her orange eyes roved warily through the trees. Now that it was unclaimed, perhaps the passerby would cross through its middle rather than straddle the copse’s southern borderline. Towhee pondered this as she moved closer to the river, walking along its banks toward the mouth of the strath.

She wouldn’t pass through it, of course, though she paused to give it the same old hairy eyeball she always did. Towhee tipped her fading muzzle toward the April sky—mostly cloudy today, with glimpses of blue—and studied the scents on the light breeze. For the nth time in her life, she wondered why wolves were attracted to this mountebank of a region.

idt she'd be alone while visiting the entire territory but she would be when visiting the nest unless paloma's w her. she wouldnt scoff over someone elses babies in front of anyone else !!!

the haunted sweep has chased away the little village. the vampiress now floats through it, observing what was left behind to be forgotten.

she smells it. a nest of vermin was growing here! the pale wraith scoffs when she realizes it. good riddance; they sorted themselves out without reyna having to get her hands dirty.

but she smells someone else too. another scavenger. the queen follows the trail, each step calculated so as to make as little noise as possible. when the stranger finally comes into view, reyna stands at a distance, crimson eyes fixated on the figure. if it were at any other time, reyna perhaps would've gotten closer. but at 5 weeks pregnant, reyna knows she is defending not just herself, but the little ones — the ones of sacred blood — that grow inside her.

Reyna wished to explore the lands below, now that they had come to silence once more. Paloma, of course, follows behind with each step she takes. In Paloma's opinion, Reyna should not be going out (in her condition especially) without at least one guard on each side while Paloma covered the rear. However, they were lacking on subjects just yet. Creating an empire her own would not be easy, yet Paloma would follow Reyna through every hardship. 

Every so often, as Reyna paused to investigate something, Paloma would dig at the ground, tearing out some herbs at the root. Those which she had yet to find in the Boar mountains that she could then cultivate their. Upon seeing the other large woman, Paloma drops her bundle in sudden alarm of another with them. She did not speak, for it was her Mistresses place to do so.

Through the natural arches, a wolf appeared. She was tall and pale, reminding Towhee of a crane. A second, smaller figure appeared behind her. The coloration immediately made her think of Caracal and Dinah. Towhee let out a breath, eyes drifting back and forth between the pair. It was hard to tell from a distance, though there was a telling curve in the larger woman’s hips.

I don’t know if you’re the ones who’ve been trying to cut between the sweep and the copse, Towhee called out to them, but the sweep is no longer occupied, so you don’t have to come so close to the copse anymore. Where are you coming and going from, anyway?

Would they answer her? They both kept their distance, looking at her warily despite the odds of two against one. She wasn’t entirely sure she’d be able to catch their responses from back here, though she refused to step into the strath. Maybe she could get them to move closer, if necessary. She wasn’t looking to make friends. But she wasn’t here to make enemies either.

immediately, the stranger accuses her. the rats had scurried to speak ill of her kingdom.
if only reyna had more soldiers. then, she could've gotten her hands dirty.

hello to you too. her head tilts upwards ever so slightly as she addresses the stranger from the distance. we are part of the settlement that lies in the heights, yes. our crossing was necessary, since the sweep's claim blocked off our entrance and our exit. but if you know of us, i'm sure you know of that already.

something drops besides her, and a quick glance shows her paloma, terror rising even beyond her body. anymore, and the maid would risk fainting. but reyna pays it no mind. if this stranger were to attack a pregnant woman, they would have hell to pay for it. 

we never meant harm, i'm sorry that that was your first impression of us. but none of my people ever intentionally stepped foot into either claim if it wasn't to return home, as far as i am aware.
the vampiress withholds knowing of klara's intrustion.

The large woman speaks, yet she does not draw nearer, informing them of the little family band of wolves that had lived here- they were now gone. Good. 

Now, Reyna speaks. Paloma listens keenly. The other woman had not been agressive, yet did not entirely speak friendly, either. No greeting, no introduction. Down to business, then.

The maiden is quiet, listening only and watching Towhee's movements carefully, ready to take the punch should this stranger due her Mistress harm.

She couldn’t detect tone, though Towhee sensed some sarcasm in that initial “hello,” particularly since it was paired with an indignant tilt of the woman’s head. The Redhawk cocked her own, though she thought little of it as she focused on reading the woman’s lips from across the way. It was pretty difficult, though not impossible. As far as she could tell, from a brief glance, the other wolf didn’t speak at all, which made things easier for her.

The heights? she repeated in her head, eyes wandering past the pair of she-wolves to the mountains in the distance. Towhee let out an airy laugh of relief. Now that those wannabes next door were gone, the residents of the copse need never cross paths with these wolves. In a sense, Napa Valley—or whatever the hell they’d called it—had taken one for the team.

Now that they’re out of the way, we probably won’t ever see one another, Towhee voiced her thoughts aloud, so it sounds like a win/win situation for both. Good riddance, she tacked on in her head.

she speaks idly, more mumbling out her thoughts than anything else. it seems we had the same idea to see what's left. but the vampiress is quick to shift gears.
but of course. they were the only reason why we would inch so closely to your claim in the first place. reyna fights with all her might a scoff, though a tiny chuff does manage to roll out in defiance of her. it would've been better if it never happened in the first place.

but i'm sure we're spoken of as villains regardless. there's no need to show respect to a clan that no longer exists. and the wolf before her is of no threat, clearly, if the pair could speak so casually.

the queen lets slip a slight chuckle as a smile replaces the near scowl. a twig that got in the way is swatted across like a bothersome fly as she began to turn back to the strath. unless you have something more to say, i will be out of your mane.. hopefully for good.
with a flick of her tail, she signals quietly to paloma to gather up what she'd dropped.

Paloma's pale, pastel gaze remained fixed one the stranger. Both parties agreeing that they were pleased with the dissolving neighbors of theirs. When Reyna turns to dismiss herself, the handmaiden is grabbing her bundle of herds off the ground, her vibrant ginger tail up with a flick, a 'humph' on her lips as she found place at her Mistresses flank.

The pale woman mumbled something Towhee didn’t catch. Her lips parted, wondering if it was worth asking her to repeat herself. They pressed together again when the other she-wolf continued talking, a little more clearly now. She essentially reiterated Towhee’s own words before making a comment abut villainy.

She laughed a little to herself. Towhee didn’t give a rat’s ass about these strangers or their reputation. She just didn’t want them skulking so near the copse. She did think they were a little bit idiotic for choosing their territory with a literal obstacle in their path but it was moot now that those other idiots had vacated.

Her orange eyes watched momentarily as the pair prepared to disembark. She didn’t catch the remark the white one made as she’d turned away. But Towhee had no further business with them, so she flicked her tail and turned away too. She was always glad to leave this particular area and did so with haste, trotting back in the direction of the copse.