Stavanger Bay i.vii : who was fitted with collar and chain

{dogs}{part one, episode seven}

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Sneaky. Euron had been so sneaky. Had he been part of the Brotherhood, he would have been a spy, for sure. He had that combination of lithe body and silent steps. An assassin, a snake, ready to strike at any time. She often thought of Euron, when she wanted to remain hidden.

She had not been blessed with that gift. Her stunted paw had ruled out any future espionage opportunities. But Maegi was faced now with a challenge: work around the scent markers by the bay, and risk getting lost inland, or somehow get through the territory without being spotted. If she got lost inland, she wasn't altogether confident that she could put herself back on course.

Maegi had always been such a dreadful navigator. Strike two against being a spy.

The Melonii slipped through the shadows, trying to stay out of the light. The moon was setting, slowly, and there was a pale line over the horizon that heralded the arrival of dawn soon to come. She had to get out of here before the sun made its entrance. Her life could depend on it.

Holding her breath, Maegi slipped in and out between rocks and beach brush, like a pale, sleek eel.

where there were scent markers, there was bound to be one who made them. the shores had grown colder, ice riming the sands in places when night fell, but velen bushed his coat against it and persevered all the same. the somber weather did not deter ford, nor rannveig — it did not turn the third brother away either, and for his vigilance he was rewarded with the beholding of a slinking, pale form.
moonset, and a wolf disregarding the scent of the clan. but velen was not moved to wrath; he stalked after the interloper, and when he had drawn close enough, cleared his throat loudly in an attempt to startle the stranger. she had wended well, but the boy knew this stretch of beach like the back of his own paw, and that would perhaps be her misfortune.

She jumped, startled, back arching and fur bristling at the sudden sound. Damn it. Not sneaky enough.

Maegi turned to fix her mismatched gaze on the big brown man, who reminded her of Komodo, in a way. Don't worry, I'm just passing through, she said, affecting a casual tone. In reality, her heart hammered in her throat. She knew what packs did to trespassers; moreover, she agreed with the concept of retribution.

If this wolf was out for blood, she would surely shed it. This whole trip had been a huge mistake.

she was pretty, velen decided, in a rough, 'the world has fucked me' sort of way. however, his curiosity was tempered with a brief annoyance that the wolfess thought she would just be able to saunter through stormrift. "bad idea," the boy rumbled, tsk tsking teasingly.
she hadn't been hunting; there was no way she could stand against their combined might. "i'm going to escort you," velen decided, approaching with a casual curl to his earthen plume. it was not like she had a choice — she could take her chances alone, but the boy had no doubt in his mind that ford would shred her alive.

Fine, she answered, a small sigh slipping through her nares. Lead the way, then. She wasn't going to try to escape or anything--that would be foolery. Unless he tried to lead her into some sort of prison. Then she would bolt. But for now, he promised her relatively safe--albeit annoying--passage through the territory.

Sorry, Maegi said, once they got moving. I must have missed the borders. I'm not used to all the salt around here. She sniffed in illustration, surprised to find that the sound was, in fact, slightly watery. Well, it was winter, after all. Maegi didn't really know about colds yet, but she would in time.

she agreed, which softened the meeting a bit, at least for velen. skirting past the girl, he began a comfortable gait that would carry them across the bay. to her apology, velen swept back his ears. "ah. inlander?" the boy inquired, not insultingly. it was as good an excuse as any, though he wasn't sure how any creature could miss the reek of masculine piss over every edge of the bay.
"name's velen," he went on conversationally. not needing her to return her own title, as he did not suspect he would see her again, the stormrift creature paused to check the air, assuring himself that rannveig was off on patrol, and not close.

fading out here

She noted the name dispassionately, knowing she may or may not forget about it, if the coming days were as crazy as she expected them to be. Peryite, she answered, the name slipping lazily from her tongue. No use giving her actual name when she was deep within their territory. It could very well come back to haunt Blackfeather.

Once they'd reached the border, and it was all clear, she slipped off again. Now she knew, on the return trip, to steer clear of the bay. She didn't want to have to do that again, for sure.