Arrow Lake In her face, the mirror of your dreams.

Another youngster arrived on the scene, striding boldly to the steel-furred male's paws where she directed a juvenile snarl in the newcomer's direction. Nyx' ears swung forward briefly, both surprised and rather impressed by such a display from a cub so young, though she was quick to take a careful stride backward and dip her muzzle again as her vivid gaze found the dark features of another adult. The last thing she needed was to be seen as what she feared she may always be: a danger to children.

There was something familiar in the hawkish yellow of the most recent arrival's eyes - could it be? - but she didn't wish to disrespect these wolves by letting her gaze linger too long. The thought had barely a chance to bloom, however, as the first of her welcoming party went on to bombard her with a number of questions and guided their initial friendly encounter toward something that took a very uncomfortable twist as he pointedly asked if they should see her as a threat.

"What?" Nyx responded at once, suddenly very aware of how delicate this situation had become. She continued with a shake of her head and some urgency to her tone: "no. Nothing like that."

She found herself holding her breath for a long moment, and encouraged herself to exhale smoothly. Stigmata's mention of a "nefarious past" brought to the forefront of her mind a most sinister memory: a frightened ivory newborn amid bloodied siblings, the echoed despair of a man she could've loved, clacking fangs of a masked coywolf at her snout.

Silence lingered, and a shiver trailed the length of the Ostrega's spine as she inhaled deeply to regain control of herself. "I have no past worth speaking of," she managed, lied to the best of her ability, for who in their right mind would allow a baby-killer into their ranks in the presence of his own offspring? "My home pack held no ambition to expand territory, nor extended breeding rights beyond Alphas." Nyx rolled a peppered shoulder to better support her best drama-free explanation as to why she chose to relocate. "I want to believe that I have a greater purpose than to sit around supporting leaders without spines."