Golden Glade all that he invested in goes straight to hell

The wildfire Blackthorn skulked from between the sugar maples.  The rain had been relentless and the Plateau did little to offer respite from the downpour.  She was something like her namesake; she did not care to get wet unless she felt like swimming, and the rain did little to boost her already somber mood.

Towhee's search party had left and Ceara was left more or less in solitude.  Everyone she talked to on a regular basis was gone except for Tuathal, and she'd rather he make himself useful than talk to him about her fee fees.  

She sighed and reclined onto her haunches, the sweet scent of the maple distracting her from the petrichor.  She took a quick look over her shoulder to make sure nobody was watching, and then she drew her tongue over the sap.

It was delicious.  After sparing an anxious, embarrassed look around, she continued to treat herself to dessert, featuring sugar maple sap.

It was with a quizzical contortion of her features that Ikkuma stole glances at the sun-colored female; she was hidden among the glade's foliage, but not well, although it did not seem to matter at the moment. The rain had driven her to find cover but no matter how long she waited, she was always too impatient to linger long, thus the wolf would travel in bursts regardless of the temperament of nature.

At this moment, she was merely curious (and admittedly, a little disgusted) of the female who seemed so taken with a stand of maple trees. It was a trick she had never seen before, and from her current vantage point it looked as if the girl was using her tongue in ways that poor Ikkuma could not fathom. Not to mention, it was rather exciting to watch — so much so that Ikkuma failed to notice as she leaned forwards, subtly trying to peer at the stranger through the glimmering sunlight or grey-cast shadow, until she slipped and had to readjust her footwork, which caused some commotion.

She should've clued in that she had forfeited her hiding place — but she did not, at least not until she'd glanced up from the soil and tried to find the stranger again, only to see the spot by the tree vacant.

Occasionally she would think she saw a glimmer of red somewhere in the near-distance, though her eye could never focus on it for long.  She drew her tongue across her lips as her eyes narrowed, but ultimately she would return to licking at the tree.

It was only when she heard a distinctive slip, the sound of a paw slipping through mud and brush, that her head whipped up.  She stood, brows raised as she hurried towards the sound, scenting the air.

There she was.  Embarrassed, she licked the rest of the sap from her lips before she called out, Hey, who's there?

It was surprising, and that surprise played out across her face — rarely could Ikkuma hold anything back — but it was just as swift to melt away when a voice burst through the trees, sounding too close, and spooking her. Already feeling out-of-sorts for making so much  noise, the girl side-stepped away from where she thought she heard the other wolf speaking, and found herself shoulder-checking a nearby tree, which made her spin haphazardly; Ikkuma braced herself in the next few seconds, stumbling out of cover in the process but otherwise not losing her stature.

She, more or less, had been caught red-handed by the other girl. A sheepish look painted her features next, her toffee-colored ears flipping about with uncertainty before an apologetic smile spread across her round face: Shit—I'm sorry, I didn't mean to stare. What're you doing to that tree --? Maybe she should've introduced herself as requested, but Ikkuma was far too preoccupied by her own curiosity to care about that kind of stuff; she was looking back and forth between the tree and the girl in the next second.

She wondered if this was going to be a repeat of the apple incident.  Everyone kind of thought she was weird for eating those, too, so why not the trees?  She gave the stranger — whose name she still did not know — a calculating stare before she finally answered.

Do you smell that?  The air?  She gestured with her nose towards the trees.  The trees are making that smell.  Their sap tastes.. really unlike anything else I've ever had.  She smacked her lips together and tried to describe it.  It's very sweet.  Do you.. want to try it with me?

The air? Well yeah, she was breathing so of course she — oh. Did she mean that sickly sweet smell? Ikkuma's nose lifted slowly as she investigated the airway, and there was a distinctly saccarine aroma clinging to the other girl. The prospect of licking trees didn't sound very appetizing. Ikkuma didn't have a sweet tooth either; the smell reminded her of old meat, and eventually she wrinkled her snout and said, Nah, I'm good.

With that, she did another side-step; this one was a bit more fluid and meant to place her around the other girl. It was at this point Ikkuma could get a good look at her — admiring the girl's coat and figure. You do this often? Y'know, make out with uh, trees?

Her lip quivered as the other girl circled her almost like a predator, before asking her if she made out with trees.  No, I don't make out with anything, was her first response, and then she realized how fucking stupid that sounded and she just kind of let her mouth fall open in indignation.  

Her second rebuttal wasn't much better.  Butum, I could, I mean, fuck fuck fuck Who are you?!  Her tail lashed behind her but she was obviously more annoyed with herself than this pretty stranger.

She was flustered and that was entertaining, at least. Her rebuttal was met with the tilt of her ears, first back, then forwards, but Ikkuma wasn't offended or anything — she was charmed. She was also not mindful enough to realize she was being a bit of a creep, so there was that.

The girl's question was met with a smirk. Nobody special, she evaded as she did further inspections — the stranger's pelt carried many scents and they were all very interesting. There was a soft aroma that reminded her of her mother from years ago, and to her that meant puppies, but the girl before her didn't appear old enough for that. There was also a smell like blood, but from Ikkuma's quick glances, it couldn't have been her's.

Who died? She piped up next, without missing a beat. I mean—aside from that weird sweet smell, you smell like blood. You get in a fight or something? Now that she'd like to see. Her tail puffed a bit behind her as she thought of this, looking expectantly at the firebrand girl.

This girl was everything she wanted to be.  Cool, collected, intimidating.  Beautiful and confident.  A little overbearing.  Ceara was just a stuttering mess.  Her brow furrowed as the inkstained line of her lip tightened and her ears drew forth atop her crown.  

Something like that, she buffered coolly, picking up the shatterend remnants of her pried and piecing them back together.  Her argent gaze settled on the bristling of the girl's tail before her lip curled reflexively.  You lookin' for one?

A laugh huffed out of her then, finding the thought quite appealing but not letting on that she was always after a fight; rather, Ikkuma rolled her shoulders and assumed a bored expression. Cool and collected? She'd be flattered if she knew what the other girl was thinking.

With you? Nah, you wouldn't  be able to handle me, she goaded, still stalking around as if she owned the space they were sharing, still watching her for a response (or maybe she had a thing for red-heads; is that narcissistic?). She quickly added to that, her tone a touch more playful: But if you want some pointers, I could probably be convinced.

She didn't like being teased, and it showed in the way her fur bristled in response to the stranger's pressure.  She swallowed her shame and tilted her chin up instead in a poor attempt at a haughty, holier-than-thou stance.  I dunno, she replied before making a quick, daring dart towards the girl to test the waters, could you?

The corners of her lips perked as she remained crouched and ready for retaliation, a playful glimmer dancing in her argent weapon-eyes.

Rolls are all here, feel free to reference as needed! I've referenced up to round 5.

Maybe it was cockiness that prevented her from backing down, or maybe it was the chance to finally work her muscles — something she missed since leaving the company of her brothers — but she didn't need much of a response to get her fight on. It wasn't a real fight, at least Ikkuma wasn't taking it seriously at first. 

She dove in without hesitation, but the other girl anticipated this action and both were met with nothing but air. Ikkuma thought herself to be a pretty decent warrior and yet in the next few moments, the game took on a more serious note: first when Ceara managed to get a good hit in, briefly startling her. This characterized her retaliation; but the first attempt was met with fleet footwork and, growing irritated by Ceara's speed, Ikkuma took the game a touch too far.

When she did land a hit, it was a weighty one. Something she usually would've reserved for her siblings. She threw her weight around a little more than was necessary, but afterwards was all smiles — You're quick, she huffed softly as a wolfish grin played out on her features. She dodges an incoming grab from the other girl and lets out a small laugh, goading her with: Maybe not quick enou—Ooph!

She should've spent more time paying attention and less time talking, apparently. Ceara sent her reeling, off-kilter and vying for stability as she bumbled about the glade.

This girl was good and each of her hits packed a heavy punch, but Ceara was fleetfooted and spry.  If I win, she panted, renewed in confidence as she barreled the stranger over, You gonna tell me your name?

But it seemed as if Ceara would succumb to the same fate as Ikkuma — her playful and vaguely flirtatious banter caused the Tartok woman to be able to grab her and the pair went sprawling through the glade.

They each quickly found their feet again but the longer the match went on, the more Ceara's lead grew and although by the end of it they were both exhausted, the young Blackthorn was the clear winner.

She haughtily thrust her nose up in the air, tail swaying behind her as she made to bump Ikkuma with her hip — So?

It hurt to lose but not enough to prevent her grin from popping back in to place as she rolls breathlessly to her feet. Both girls were out of breath and pacing a bit, and it was the stranger who broke the quiet - Ikkuma hadn't missed the added caveat, but she was tired and spacing out a little bit, so it took further prompting from the fiery girl before she finally took a breath and said, I'm -- I'm Ikkuma.

Catching her breath eventually, she gave the girl another once-over before stating, You're fast. Who taught you to move like that? She could see a bright future for this stranger as a warrior - maybe a similarly bright future for herself if they became training buddies, but Ikkuma would not present the suggestion immediately. Maybe it was a fluke; maybe someone had taught this girl but was no longer around, which would mean the ex-Tartok girl would be out of luck.

She smiled as she shuffled away Ikkuma's name somewhere in her mind.  She was obviously not a Blackthorn or a Redhawk with a name like that (which was what everyone around here ended up being, it seemed) and she was kind of honestly relieved.  

I used to live with a group of boys.  All boys.  With those kinds of hormones, they don't really like to do anything but spar.  Got quite a few wolves where I'm from now that I think could pack a punch too, but I'm not sure 'cause I haven't fought 'em myself.

She sniffed the air, tail waving behind her.  You planning on sticking around?

Brothers. She got that — the same was pretty close to true for herself as well, which is probably why she hadn't left the girl on her own yet. The spar was done, and usually that meant she'd go off to nurse her wounds or perhaps gloat a little bit, but instead she found the easy friendship - well, easy. Which was saying a lot considering Ikkuma never really got along with girls that well.

I might, she responded to the question with a small shrug of her shoulder. It wouldn't be so bad to hang out in this space - especially if there were a bunch of warriors roaming the area. If they were half as good as this girl, that'd at least keep Ikkuma entertained for a while. I could be convinced to stick around if it means I get to practice more against people like you, was that a compliment? Sort of. I'm the same though — the brothers thing, I've got some family of my own who like to kick ass but fighting the same people over and over, especially when you're related, gets really boring really fast.

Ah, how casual.  But then wait, was she flirting?  Was that what was happening?  I dunno.  I think our pack's lookin' pretty full right now.  But if you stay in the area, I'd be down to spar with you.  And I'll let you know as soon as we have room.  It was about as honest as she could get, anyway.  Yeah, you're sure right.  It got boring for me, too.

Joining the pack? Heck, if she didn't fit in with Tartok then she wouldn't fit in anywhere, so so she thought. Jumping straight from a good bit of rough-housing to please join my family was a little much, even for her. She gawked at the fire-haired girl for a split second but managed to hold her tongue.

For a minute or so, at least until the other girl was finished with her proposal. And at that point Ikkuma tried to be pragmatic rather then let her tongue get tied: Okay, I'll be around. What - uh, what do I call you? That wasn't the most graceful way to say what's your name babe but whatever, I mean, if I do show up again and wanna practice more — I don't wanna piss anyone off.

down for another any time!

Ummmmmmyeah maybe she had been a little forward, but to be fair literally everyone she'd run into had been just so enamored by her that they wanted to join up.  Winknudge.  Cool.  I'm Ceara.  Most of us are either Redhawks or Blackthorns.  I'm the latter.  Just let 'em know I told you it was okay.  I've got your back.  

Haha okay what now.  Did she leave?  Was that suave?  See you around? 

Redhawk - Blackthorn - ? She blinked but nodded after a moment, taking in the information but not entirely certain about it. They were odd names to the northern girl, not that she could really comment on names. With a slight adjustment she began to leave, but called out, Yeah, see you around - maybe kick your pretty little ass next time, swish went her tail, and she was striding off as if it were totally cool to mention's someone's fine behind in casual conversation.