Heron Lake Plateau Fact or feeling

WC: 697

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Niamh listened intently as Phox explained who he’d met and what he’d seen. She smiled very faintly when he mentioned that the pack had one of the Blackthorns in it. No doubt a relative of Colt- she would have to ask him after if he knew Apple, or if she was from a different generation or strand of the family than he was. There were Blackthorns everywhere- and now she was one of them...Though obviously married-in, as she lacked the trademark dorsal stripe that Phox pointed out. She glanced to Rory and nodded- it was true, most Blackthorns seemed to bear this marking and she had no doubt that her own children, sired by Colt, would likely bear it as well. At least, she hoped they would- otherwise he might suspect that she’d been fooling around with a milkman somewhere

She was surprised to hear that they had a member named Phex, as it was oddly similar to Phox’s name. Of course, Niamh simply assumed that Phox was actually named Fox, even though he shared no resemblance with any fox Niamh had ever seen. Phex was an odd name, and she wasn’t sure if maybe he’d misheard the wolf’s name, but if he’d had a chance to speak to her, he’d likely not gotten it wrong. Apparently she was a bit of a hard-headed youth, but Niamh pegged it to just that- inexperience and youth. Something they could perhaps use as ammunition, should the leader, Cry, come to see them. Apparently Phex intended to, and Niamh would be ready- and would likely call upon Phox as backup when the day came. It wasn’t worth trying to take on any visitor alone, she’d decided. Strength came in numbers, and it would show how united their pack was if she showed up with someone beside her.

They seemed to want to settle an arrangement about hunting grounds, and Niamh snorted loftily at that thought. Until those vagabonds had moved in, the Two Rivers Isle had been theirs, and Niamh was going to make damn sure that the Shadewood wolves didn’t think they had any stakes over that particular territory- or Grouse Thicket. She wasn’t exactly the sharing-is-caring type, especially if the pack they were facing wasn’t a family pack. If they had a Blackthorn in their midst she supposed they might be granted some sort of arrangement, but she was still stubbornly possessive of the Hinterlands, and did not like the idea of sharing it with any other packs, no matter how selfish that was. They were the established pack in the area- and shouldn’t be expected to change their ways or their hunting habits simply because a bunch of other wolves had closed in. There were plenty of other lands to the South that would be closer to the Shadewood wolves than they were to the Plateau wolves, so she would give them those suggestions when the day came.

”Thanks, Phox. I hope they don’t come with demands...We have our choice hunting grounds already selected and established; they would do well to be respectful of those areas and stay out of them.” She said. ”I’ll inform them if they come.” She assured him, not wanting him to go out and start telling them that they wouldn’t be permitted in the lands that the Redhawks had preferred. It would work out best for both packs if those grounds weren’t over-hunted anyway, and she believed that as the established, resident pack of the Hinterlands, the first selections were theirs. ”I also appreciate how quickly you rose to the task; you’d make a fine ambassador,” She said, appreciating the fact that he’d been able to stay neutral with their new neighbours even when one of them had been a firecracker.

All the time, Rory had been listening intently, and her interest hadn’t gone unnoticed. Turning her head to her large-eared scout, she chuffed lightly with laughter. ”You look like you’ve been dying to say something, Rory,” She said then, prompting Rory to spit out whatever it was she’d been holding in, lest it should burst forth from her unbidden.

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