Swiftcurrent Creek false twilight

For @Scimitar.

After surviving what Fox thought may be the apocalypse, she had parted with Danica and Bazi. The wound across her chest was only a day or two old, and while it wasn't hurting her terribly, there were times when it itched and burned like none other. Not only that, but it remained a difficult spot to reach simply because she had to bend her neck at an awkward angle to soothe it with her own tongue. If Haunter had been here, or if Tuwawi had not just given birth to four babes, she would have asked either of them. It had occurred to her to seek out Bazi, but she couldn't be bothered to put in the effort to do so.

So instead, Fox had lain by the creek, the true twilight now twinkling around her. It was there that she attempted to lick her wounds, starting with the easiest ones around her legs. Eventually, she would work her way to the one on her chest, but that would be the last.

Scimitar had emerged from the shadows after the strange day – the sun had blackened, and for the time it had happened, the agouti wolf was convinced hell had finally come to devour him. No others were by his side, and in that moment, the Frostfur realized how truly alone in the world he was.

But the depths of hell had not grasped him, and when the light of the sun filtered down upon the lands again, a sense of foolishness and embarrassment had flooded the wolf. Not that anyone had seen, but that it was then he realized his life had been misled.. and he needed to fix it.

Yet when night came at last, the stars above lit his path now as he loped the bedside of the creek. The pale ivory of his paws were ghostly in comparison to the darker brown that stirred him to blend to the night, yet this paled in comparison to the fiery sight that met him.

Fox, resting by the namesake of her land, remained stretched along the edge of the waters, tending to what he assumed was a misplaced fur on the beauty’s paws. That was, until the tinge of metallic blood slipped to his nostrils – dried, but there. His pace quickened as he closed the distance between them, and coming to stand before her, his aqua eyes instantly found the wounds splayed upon her legs.. and the gash upon her breast. A rumble escaped him then, the growl quickening his pulse as it elicited the night air with disrupt. “Who did this?” His tone was deadpan in question, his pelt bristling at the mere idea of another harming not only his pack mate.. but the feisty nimble paws.

So focused on her task, she did not notice Scimitar until he spoke, and she whipped her hair back and forth her head around to see him in the day's last rays of sunshine. “Jace,” she replied with no hesitation. “I went to The Sunspire and pissed on their lands. I was asking for it, no doubt, but how else am I to make them understand that they are not welcome?” Fox had tested the diplomatic approach, and it had done them no good. The Sunspire did not budge, and Fox would continue to heckle them until they were far, far away from the creek.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing serious. I’ve had much worse before.” It just happened that this one was particularly itchy tonight. Glancing back to her mussed fur, she lifted her chin so he could see the one on her chest. “Say, would you mind getting that one for me? It’s in the most inconvenient place.”

Her words were seemingly nonchalant – ’Oh, this scratch? I just peed on their borders, no big.’ He studied her in that moment, bordering the line of annoyance and amusement. His eyes worried over her once more, checking to note any other damage done to the fiery female – Jace, possibly, had gone lightly on her trespass.. or, she was a true spitfire and fought him back tooth and nail. “Jace just made the shit list,” he rumbled, displeasure coursing from his body in the tenseness of his rigid shoulders and the sudden lash his tail made through the air.

Her question, while innocent, stirred his eyes to move back to her chest, noting the intimate posture it would place upon him. Unwilling to dwell on this though, his mind still forged forward with anger to The Sunspire – the idiots clearly did not care they were unwelcome and could easily move their newly blossoming pack further from the Creek lands.

Moving forward, the lowering sun glinting off his haunches, Scimitar lowered himself before her, his ears sliding back in deference to the she-wolf he had swore his loyalty to. With one limb tucked beneath his chest, he eased his rumbling growls as he made to inspect the wound, annoyance radiating him that anyone dared touch her, or any Creek wolf. Bumping his muzzle to nudge hers up more, he sniffed at the wound delicately before smoothing his tongue across it, the tangy taste of blood still infuriating him as he remained silent for a few remaining moments as the skies darkened.

Pulling back for a moment to inspect the wound once more and his ministrations, he snorted sardonically. “Perhaps next time a companion would be wise,” he suggested lightly, knowing so many others would be as enraged as he. “Though I wouldn’t recommend anyone trespass on another’s lands alone. A foolish Alpha around these lands tried to do the same once when I was in a pack west of here.” And now here he was.. angered that another had attacked his own leader when she had committed the same offense.

Omg, I can never write as much as you. *weeps*

She quirked a brow at his shit list remark, but didn't question it. As he moved forward and nudged her chin upward, she obeyed his movements, allowing him easier access to the wound. It really wasn't that bad (or so she told herself), and she would heal like she had every other time. He was silent as he worked, only the sound of tongue on fur seeping into Fox's ears. She was content with it, and allowed him to go about his business without bother. A content washed over her, Fox feeling ever so... calm in that moment.

When he withdrew to inspect his handiwork and speak, a sly smile crept over her muzzle. “Right. I’ll be sure to let you know next time I’m going to kick shit up.” What was he? Some kind of babysitter? Fox needed none of that, as she firmly believed she could take care of herself. “Besides, it doesn’t matter what rank I hold. I’ve done this kind of foolery since the day I was born.”

I don't ever expect you to! ;)

While he was looking over his handy work, the impish female interrupted the silence with words that truly did not surprise him, but still stirred a sardonic snort to escape him. He was growing accustom to her nature.. Including the more immature side -- which included her believing a good way to show their neighbours they were unwelcome was to take a squat on their borders.

Silencing himself, he moved forward to clean the wound some more, his ears slid back to his skull. After a few more moments, he pulled back to regard the wound once more, his nose grazing it in a silent apology that it had happened -- someone should have been with her, and while she was more than capable of protecting herself, no one could take an entire pack if the event had unleashed a different way.

"What expectations do you have with the pack on The Sunspire?" Was she looking for a war? Or simply trying to stir shit?

Fox had known well what she was getting herself into when she had pissed on their borders. She never would have done it if she did not believe she could escape before brining the whole lot of them on. They were small, puny even, and she was not about to let them bully her around. She was the bully around here, and she wanted to make sure that they knew that. The wolves who lived on The Sunspire would leave, one way or another. She would not simply give up her mission because of a few cuts and bruises.

“I thought it was rather clear,” she replied, frowning. “I want them to go far away. No more, no less.” They were too close for comfort, and Fox knew that things were only going to get more rough when the cooler weather rolled around. “I don’t understand why they set up shop so close to begin with. They all hate me.” She said her last statement with all the indifference in the world. Whatever they felt about her, she did not care. Fox just wanted them gone.

Having completed his ‘task’, the cinnamon male became increasingly more aware of how close they were. Running his tongue against the back of his teeth within his jowls as he considered the possibilities, once more a flash of ivory came to mind – Bazi.. or Chakra? Did the Neverwinter female still haunt him so, despite their brief interlude? Pressing back now to offer the fiery Alpha more room, and because he did not want to offer the wrong impression, Scimitar shifted his weight then, pushing upward as he sat now, rather than remained nestled so close to Fox.

“No,” he stated, blinking at the female. It was these very moments he found himself curious to her decisions – how none such as Njal had challenged her authority. “Taking a squat on another’s borders doesn’t exactly inspire a serious message,” he noted, unsure of how she would take the honesty of his words. If she wanted them gone, she needed to eradicate them… and before their numbers grew from the last time he had been there. She might have been hoping to avoid violence, but lifting a leg on their borders seemed a far cry from the solution.

Especially when she came home looking like this, and only proving to them that they were the stronger forces at the moment.

Fox gave him a pointed look. “I didn’t mean the pissing,” she replied, “I meant when I sent Njal to speak with them.” She had told Njal to let The Sunspire know that they were unwelcome so close. They had refused to leave. It was only then that she resorted to squatting on their land and pissing them off (quite literally). Fox had only sent Njal because she knew the moment she got involved, there would be blood. It was her way, and it was the only way she had ever known. Diplomacy, she had decided did nothing but delay the inevitable.

“What would you have me do, Mr. Wisdom?” she asked, not really knowing if she wanted to hear an answer at all. If he offered up settling with them in some way, Fox would decline vehemently. There were countless other places the two could have settled, but instead they made it a point to stay close to her. She was beginning to think they had some kind of sick obsession. Certainly there was something wrong with the both of them.

A small smirk twitched at the corner of his lips at the look she gave him, though he did not allow it to surpass further. She still did not see his point -- Swiftcurrent Creek had given them fair warning, and to back that unheeded warning up.. Fox had gone and taken a piddle on their borders. In his eyes, it not only belittled their original message, but it also showed their new rivals that they were far from serious.

Snorting sardonically at her choice of name for him, little did the agouti male know such a trait had followed him from not only his mother, but his grandmother. "We make them move out," he stated, blinking his eyes as he rolled his shoulders back in a leisurely stretch. "Before their numbers grow to the size of ours, preferably," he rumbled darkly, his eyes then straying from her and to the direction the mountain loomed over them. Swiftcurrent Creek would live in no shadow of theirs -- and it was time they proved it.

I'm going to fade this, since it's getting outdated with all the crazy shit happening.

As time would tell, Fox would fail to heed Scimitar's (and anybody else's) advice. She snorted at him, but didn't rebuke him verbally. She did not want a full-on war. And her next trip to The Sunspire would only be meant as a tasteless joke before they scrammed. Fox would learn quickly that she could not control the actions of others (least of all during a full-on defensive attack), and she'd manage to mess things up for just about everybody in the process.

Fox allowed him to continue grooming her wounds, but she would argue with him no longer.

This makes me sad that it was likely their last thread as pack mates. :c

She made no comment to her suggestion -- perhaps, she felt it unwise to endanger the creek in such a way. It likely was -- but then again, her constant aggravations would prove of no use either. Somewhere, something would have to give..

Little did either of them know what it would be.

So he would continue to groom her -- the duty of pack mate, subordinate and even friend. She was attractive, and her offer still teased at his mind from time to time. But he had plenty of time to determine what he wanted.. and in turn, what was best for the pack. For now, his only goal was to help soothe the fiesty she-devil before him.. because for now, no more words needed to be spoken between them.