Phoenix Maplewood take only what you need from it

Set on borders. Looking to put toward a warden trade. :) Or warrior, if that opportunity arises.

Her lithe form loped along the borders -- stopping every so often to take in a strange scent, or leave one of her own. The afternoon sun cast upon her pelt, glinting the sparks of silver and ivory hairs that intermingled among the black. Her green eyes gleamed, though her thoughts could not be deciphered from a glance.

Phoenix Maplewood was quiet this day -- though it was hard to make a comparison, as she had only been a member for but a few days. Vega spent her time familiarizing herself with the lands for now -- and soon, she would need to do the same with the wolves that inhabited it.

Hopefully, this time she had chosen a home that would work.

Reluctantly, she returned to the forest, her small belly pinching with hunger. When she arrived at the edge of the trees, she spotted a dark she-wolf roaming along the boundary line. Reggie stopped, studying her from afar. She had never seen this particular wolf before. Perhaps she was new. The coyote would avoid her, like the others. She began to slip into the cover of the woods when half a dozen new scents struck her all at once. She also smelled the blood of a wolf. Her fur prickled.

She began to back up a few steps, back toward the borderline. Regipre wasn't sure what she had missed, nor what to make of these changes. She hovered near the fringes, wondering if returning here had been a big mistake. She wished she could call for Sart, though she didn't want to call the nearby wolf's attention to herself. Speaking of which, her golden eyes turned to keep an eye on the slinking black figure.

Vega tentatively nosed at a small bush, the scent of blood still bitter upon the air. Snorting in disdain, the female hunkered over it, squatting down and taking  a piss -- exactly how she felt about the wolf who had attempted to steal across their pack borders to overtake a pack. Foolish idiot.
 
Pulling up, the lissome wolf was about to continue her prowling walk when another scent tickled at her, causing her to pause. She had heard of the coyote puppies that stayed within the borders of the Maplewood pack -- taking from their resources and approved by the leaders to do so. It did not settle well with the ebony she-wolf, and feeling her hackles bristle, she stole a glance around, though the wind was doing her no favors in connecting the exact location of the little pests.
 
With outsider puppies recently accepted to the pack, and coyote puppies, Vega wondered just how lax her new Alphas were.

Back to the borders! With the influx of new wolves to their number there was never any harm in making sure there weren't any extras lingering around the edges of their forest. Considering she'd spied a number of them here and there as well as picked up a few stragglers in the distance, she was persistent in her patrols and quite content to enjoy the brilliance of this crisp autumn air.

Her paws plodded along and eventually she came nearer the site where another wolf had so rudely tried to invade their lands. The reminders of her demise and invasion were still thick scents upon the ground. The scuffle was still evident. No matter. It was over and done with. That one's actions had determined her consequences.

Alas, once she filtered through those scents, she noticed a couple of others. One of the new females who reminded her of Nochtli in appearance and one of those silly coyote children. Citali sighed. Here they went again. Those children were such a bother. No one knew what to do with them, but they all wished to eat them.

"You'd best just ignore it, dear," she called out, speaking to one of their new wolves in regards to the coyote kid. "As tempting as it is to eat them, they're Reek's pet project. Perhaps they'll die with the coming winter and save us all the trouble of their presence."

She could tell when the wolf caught her scent. Her behavior changed and she began to look around herself, black fur raising like quills. Regipre silently moved out of view behind some scrub, wary eyes fastened on the stranger. Her over-sized ears flicked when another wolf arrived. Reggie caught a glimpse of Auntie through the fall foliage. Aside from Reek, she had been the kindest to her. That wasn't saying a whole lot, though, considering Reek had lied and Auntie had practically drowned her.

When Auntie's words registered with the young coyote, she felt a jolt of dismay. The woman had tended her wounds. Despite her roughness, Regipre had one day hoped to learn more about healing from her. It sounded like Auntie was just like Saena and the rest of them. They wanted her (and Sart) dead. She would have to find her sister and tell her that trying to stay here wasn't worth it. They would have to take a gamble with winter.

For the moment, however, the svelte prairie wolf did not move. She hovered like a ghost, watching the pair of she-wolves, waiting for them to forget all about her before she attempted to slink away into the wood for the last time.

Poor little 'yote babies.

She was about to place her nose to the ground and seek the little romper out, but a voice called to her, stirring Vega's gaze upward. They fell upon a chocolate she-wolf with rather attractive eyes -- and one who's body could easily punt her a good distance if she wanted to use force on her.
 
One ear flickered on consideration to her words, and dipping her muzzle slightly lower to respect the hierarchy, the ebony female allowed her tongue to swipe hesitantly over her lips. This must have been one of the sisters Saena had mentioned to her just before she had joined. "Why do they allow them to stay?" The distaste the woman before her felt was quite obvious -- and with pups in the pack now, it only stretched their resources further.

The coypup was nearby. She could smell it, but she made no move to seek after it. It could do as it pleased so long as Citali was not asked to babysit, feed it, or generally care for it other than making sure she didn't devour the child herself. Coyote would make an excellent afternoon snack, alas that wasn't an option.

"I'm not sure..." she mused. As far as she was aware, Saena was still upset about them and Reek wanted to keep them both. "Something about not wanting them to die..." Which, was something of an odd twist of fate considering they were often the source of chatter when it came to conversations about food.

Although they were talking about her, neither wolf seemed interested in locating her. Reggie tuned out their words, her eyes fixating on them even as the tawny coyote pup turned to melt into the brush. She didn't tear her eyes away until the shrubbery blocked them from view. Finding comfort and security in the screen of foliage, she slunk silently away, disappearing into the undergrowth and leaving the pair of she-wolves to their mordant conversation.

The she-wolf mused about the reasoning – stirring Vega’s brows to arch upward as she considered the possibilities. Her gaze veered from her companion for the moment, studying the foliage where she suspected the coyote could be, but making no movement to seek it out any further. As far as she was concerned, the thing could stay away from her.
 
“I see,” she offered in return, withholding her true opinion on the matter. She did not know the she-wolf before her, and needn’t begin to spout off how she truly felt about protecting wild fauna babies – especially ones that were likely to raid their caches when they were older. “I’m Vega – one of the newer members here. You must be one of the sisters Saena told me about?” With a pause, the ebony she-wolf gave a gentle nod to the direction she had been heading along the borders -- a silent invitation for the woman to walk with her as she continued to patrol them.

The coyote child went ignored which was Citali's personal preference on the matter. Pretend they weren't there and pretend there wasn't an issue. So much easier for her in the long run despite how rude it might have felt to the child. A shrug touched her shoulders as she cast the subject aside. It appeared as though this wolf was of a similar mindset as she quickly changed the topic of conversation.

"A pleasure, Vega," she greeted as the wolf introduced herself. "I am indeed. I'm afraid my sister has returned home, so I'm the only one of us left. I'm Citali. I warden frequently, but I am also quite an adept healer." A master in her own right, but she felt no need to boast further. Her talent spoke for itself.

A subtle gesture and they both resumed their walk around the borders. Paw over paw, there was something to be said for walking and talking. "You must have a lot of questions for someone so new. Is there anything you're curious about?"

An ear flickered in uncertainty at the mention of her sister leaving, though Vega made no comment to it. The brown she-wolf did not seem too put off from such matters – but Vega also knew very little of her.
 
With the two leaving behind the coyote child, the swarthy female’s tension eased. Her pace would slow only every so often to investigate a scent further in attempt to familiarize herself, though Vega’s attention was placed upon her companion. “I’ll know who to go to then for medical attention,” she murmured, finding such a skill to be useful.. and feeling quite envious of it. “I’ve never had the mind for it, myself,” she offered quietly, her tail giving an idle flick.
 
At the mention of any questions she might have had, Vega did swing her muzzle down a notch, her bright green eyes drifting to her companion in thought. “I haven’t had much luck with packs,” she noted, a wry smile pulling at her lips. “What is the culture of this one like?”

Citali excused herself, padded off a bit, and squatted over a rock before returning. Marked and drying, she resumed her walk with the female who looked much like Nochtli. She said nothing as the female mused over her skill set. She could decide what she wished to pursue in due time. Her journey of profession was very much her own.

It was the next question that gave Citali pause. "Truthfully, I'm not certain." The admittance made her realize that this pack was loosely based on the mutual agreement that they all wished to inhabit this space. There were days when she questioned the leadership and their mind. There were other days where she didn't care because she was allowed to freely operate within this space and let them call all the shots. Except there hadn't been many to call. Until the few wolves of late had been added to their number, there were hardly enough of them to consider this pack a true pack.

"There are no secrets here. Everything is exactly as you see it. If there's a vision, I'm not privy to it. If there's a goal, I haven't the slightest idea what it might be. It is whatever you decide to make of it." She paused in talking as she stepped forward and continued along the borders. "I hope you have your own direction for life. You'll not be finding any guidance here."

Her ear would give a gentle flicker at the honesty of the other she-wolf – a rush of gratitude sweeping forward in her chest, though she did not allow it to overwhelm her. Vega had been a nomad for too long now – her first home away from home had placed her in the realm of Northstar Vale, and an avalanche had taken the lands before she could truly settle. Whatever survivors there had been had not sought her injured self out, and so once healed to a point of walking, the ebony female had vanished.
 
Next had been Bearclaw Valley, when her paws had found their way back to Teekon Wilds. This too had proven to be a mistake – disaster had struck after the female had been promised a welcoming home, and she had been harassed and threatened by two members when helping to aide the pack’s puppies.. members who had showed up later in their rescue than herself.
 
She could only hope she had not made a third mistake.. but thus far, she was cautiously optimistic. “I just seek companionship of a pack that calls their own family,” she noted, casting a sideways glance to her newfound companion as they loped quietly along the borders. “Can I ask what direction you’d like your life to be?”