Blacktail Deer Plateau broken bones

At the approach of a fiery female, the male's mate, Aktaiê's tension subdued somewhat. Men could be irrational, but she had faith that the she-wolf would be objective — the way she stood near the dark male made the siren confident he could be kept under control. She listened to his words, the embodiment of patience, though inside it was taking all her willpower to keep composed. Aktaiê was not as stoic as her namesake, but neither was she as swayed by emotions as her younger sister; she looked to Psamathe, silently willing her to remain collected.

The priestess' opinion of Junior's father was dwindling quickly (not that it had been high to begin with), but the situation they found themselves in could make or break their intended claim in the north. His speech was accusatory and, on some level, defensive — perhaps he could tell that they were judging him, though not in the way he might expect. She allowed him to finish, glad that though his tone was bitter, it did not seem they were in danger of attack... at least not yet.

"Not so young, I think," she answered quietly, patiently. "This is her decision; she shows much promise to us, it is true, and we will take care of her. We would not force her to follow if it was not her wish," Aktaiê continued. Like any interaction with males, it seemed she must explain things as if to a very young sprite. If they had wanted to kidnap her, why would they have let her come to speak to him? Why would they have come to talk at all? She paused for a moment, gathering how best to continue. "We seek to lay claim on the northern coast, near the Mother Sea. She will do well among us; a young amazon already."

She would not point out that he allowed her free reign of the Wilds, something that seemed at odds with his current disallowance, surmising that it would only serve to ignite. Instead, she diverted to flattery and appealing to his pride, though it made her sick to inflate the ego of any male. "She was raised well, as Outrider and Warrior," Aktaiê explained, "We value these things in our own daughters."