Emberwood Battle lines, her army gathers to her side

While she left border-marking to Constantine and their comrades, Durnehviir tread deeper into the territory. She tested the area thoroughly as she loped in the direction of her mother's old den-site, nose to the ground and tail flagging over her lithe hindquarters. She trailed the length of her frame along every tree and rock she happened across, keen to leave a reliable scent trail for @Constantine to follow whenever he decided to join her.

The underground hollow she sought was as she left it the previous year, and this time it did not fill her with dread. Instead, excited anticipation roused the butterflies in her belly and she promptly set about digging the old debris out of the burrow. With the day of her pups' arrival fast approaching, she needed everything to be perfect and wasted no time in making it so.

She did not know how much time had passed, as Durnehviir slept soundly within her freshened whelping den when a voice requested the presense of those who'd newly claimed the Creek. The russet wolfess gathered herself and slipped out into the open, her muscles stiff and her mind still tired, but did not hesitate to answer a summons. First of her own pack to arrive, she hoisted her tail over her hindquarters and thrust her ears forward, pale gaze roving each unfamiliar wolf among the foliage as she paused a comfortable distance before them. "Who are you?" Durnehviir asked of them, her tone sharp as she considered the possibility that these strangers might seek to claim Swiftcurrent for themselves.