Two Rivers Isle <|°_°|>

Trying to keep thread count minimal, and the sweeper's comin' for me! Skipping @Crow with permission!

She was merely posturing over the boy at this point, but before either of them had time to react to the escalated situation, an unexpected snarl broke over them. Startled — feeling the noise in her body before she could correctly process its source and direction — Treepie pulled her lips back once more, tensing and showing teeth with raised hackles. As a low growl rumbled from deep within her chest, green eyes narrowing their focus upon the boy, the messages firing on her synapses were finally received by the appropriate parts of her brain... and all at once, Treepie realized it hadn't been this unruly adolescent after all.

Though less than a second had passed since she had heard the disembodied snarl, it had felt like an eternity — her eyes snapped in its direction to now assess the new threat, and if there was anything she could do to defend herself. "Step away from the boy," came a command, then, from a golden female that moved toward them both with an air of superiority and a stern gaze fixed upon Treepie.

Ain't nobody got time for this.

The dark yearling had no intention of fighting a child, and thus far her interaction with him had been pretty normal in canine behavior. To an extent, so was this new female's behavior — but Treepie had no intention of submitting to some random wolf on neutral territory just because she had enforced a boundary with an idiotic puppy. She shook herself, allowing her posture and tension to release, then made a point of taking a large step away from both strangers. Though she kept a suspicious gaze on the pair, there was no challenge in it — she only wished to make sure they wouldn't pursue or attempt to make any unwarranted attacks.

Well, she said casually, beginning a slow retreat. Now that mom's here to take care of you, I'm out. Relief was palpable in this final statement; she had no real desire to be responsible for the boy, but instinct had demanded that she not abandon him. Now she was absolved and could continue on her way, unburdened.