Moonspear Dreamland, I need you

very sorry for the wait

She refused to let her searing gaze falter or her muscles relax as the shadow spoke again. He declined to call the leaders and requested for them to just deliver their message to him; it angered her further, something that she found irritating. Why did he get under her skin so much? She thought she had her temper under control, had even silently coached herself on the way here to try and remain calm but at the first sign of potential conflict, she had forgotten everything. Now she stood there, strung as tight as a bow, her fiery gaze only moving with the arrival of another. This one said nothing as well, just came to stand next to the female and observe quietly, although Simmik could feel the subtle power he gave off. She realized quickly that if things went badly, they were already outnumbered and would probably be even more so withing minutes. She drew in a deep breath, focusing on each tense muscle and willing it to relax some—just enough to allow her to adequately assess the situation without the haze of anger potentially distorting things. She tapped into Mal's energy, trying to follow his lead and not let them ruffle her any more than they already had. Eventually, she was able to quiet her temper and relax just enough. She still didn't trust any of these wolves, here or hidden somewhere within the mountain territory, but she was capable of remaining alert and assertive without stirring things up more—for now, anyway.

She listened quietly as Mal began to speak, eyes moving from wolf to wolf, reading their reactions and and body language. She wondered if they had been dealing with anything similar. Would they tell her and Mal if they had? She hoped at least that they could leave here knowing that there were more eyes on the situation, even if those eyes didn't belong to anyone they could really call an ally.