Those hunger pains

Hey there! Don't mind Turq, she's a bit of a butthole. :)

Much had happened in the last few weeks of summer. Turquoise now held the Epsilon rank, making her the highest member of the pack outside of the leadership. Not long after this announcement, other packs began to spring up out of the woodwork around them, depleting Neverwinter of some of its members. Keeping both these developments in mind, Turq began to take more seriously her role as Gunner. She did more patrols than usual, making sure to keep would-be intruders away from the borders.

On one such circuit, she caught herself contemplating her relationship with Rivet. In the weeks since their emotional blowout, Turq had often considered the new dimension of their open relationship. At first, it had seemed exciting, even freeing, yet once Turquoise had realized that Rivet might also want to pursue other lovers, everything about the arrangement had lost its appeal entirely. She had stopped thinking about potential extramarital affairs. Presently, Rivet's face drifted around in her mind and she smiled wanly.

"Maybe it's not that you're polyamorous," she thought out loud, "but the exact opposite: you're not cut out for relationships at all." She swung around a copse of trees in her path. "Maybe you're a career woman." She pondered that in silence for a few beats, then nodded her tawny head. "Yeah, that's it! You don't have time for petty nonsense like love. It's all about hard work and moving up the chain." Turq didn't actually know if there was any truth to this declaration, yet when did she ever really know what she wanted out of life?

A deep-throated howl cut through the cool, crisp air suddenly, scattering the Epsilon's thoughts and causing her black paws to come to a grinding halt. She tipped her smudged muzzle into the air and flicked her tail thoughtfully. The voice was not familiar. Yet, just as they'd lost some members recently, they had gained others. "Must be a newbie trying to prove himself," she said with a little smirk. She planned to ignore his summons—she really didn't have the time for some strange male today—but then Turquoise thought of two things which compelled her to change her mind: firstly, she was trying to show her worth and, secondly, this would be a good opportunity to lord it over a subordinate.

"You rang?" she said when she tracked him down through the wood and made her approach. Turquoise walked with her neck curved upward, her tail arched stiffly over her back and her entire demeanor screaming, I'm your superior! Her eyes flashed as she scrutinized the unfamiliar and decidedly large Sigma. "Planning on arranging a hunt, huh? How ambitious of you." A lopsided smirk appeared on her muzzle and she paused a few feet from him, licking her lips and maintaining her haughty posture.