Lost Creek Hollow Long live us

If it wasn't obvious by now, Treason was pretty into gamification, so the fact that there were rules and uncertainty in play for something as potentially as mundane as pups thrilled her the more she thought ahead at the many ways things could unfold.  Surely it would be entertaining, no matter how many contestants.  Honestly, why would anyone do it any other way?  Especially since it was a game that was set up for her to win (like almost every one she created), and it was so potentially drawn out that she'd be kept amused for ages!  Though her player should probably think of an end date for this nonsense, whoops.

Previously she'd given up on tracking @Terance to see if he'd do anything impulsive once it became clear that, well, he wouldn't, but she'd renewed the practice out of interest of keeping track of her currently sole participant, though she wasn't following him nearly as closely this time.  Just keeping tabs.  She was, however, quite curious if he'd had any regrets about agreeing, not that she was going to ask out of risk of giving him not-as-fun ideas.  Nah, she was just nosy.

The most likely place to find him would probably be at the borders, wouldn't it?  Probably.  At the very least she could do a bit of patrolling for the day.  Her paws carried her through the lightly falling snow to the edge of the territory at a pretty good clip, trotting along with purpose, though her nose was looking for a (particular) target to intercept or anything else interesting today.  Honestly she still probably seemed like the cat that ate the canary, but at least she was having a good time.

you minx, treason! how smart you are, of course terance was patrolling. it was a wednesday afternoon and the man had nothing better to do than tend to the borders of his claim. of course he was patrolling. if he wasn't doing this he was checking up on the wolves of his pack, and in that case treason would've already spoken to him that day. 

he had just finished marking the base of a rather thicc tree trunk when he spotted the deputy, his ears flicking and nose twitching as her regarded her quietly for a moment. he then chuffed and began towards her, wondering specifically how she might react to his presence-- if it'd be any different now than it was before their little deal. "hey, treason," he greeted with a sweeping wave of his white-tipped plume, green eyes settled curiously upon her, "patrolling?"

She was probably watching him about the same way he was watching her, both curious how the other would act now that a little time had passed.  Treason normally was pretty chill about  everything, calm and about as visually emotional as a rock.  The epitome of calm.  There was no denying she was brighter-eyed and curious, and there was a certain amount of intensity. But this was also Treason.  It was more like a dull glow.

Treason  slowed to a stop near him with a few catlike flicks of her tail.  She dipped her head in a greeting, then canted it towards him, curious again, Mmhm.  Well, going to be.  Suppose I can tag along with yours?  Not really much of a question, though.  Unless he suddenly started wanting to be solo, she'd tagged along on enough patrols that it seemed like just a formality.  He could always surprise her, but that would make for a short thread.

Even though his agreement  to her plans meant that she was probably allowed some more freedom to be a little annoying, that didn't mean she was keen to make the first move to do so.  What would he do?  For a wolf really not afraid of much, she certainly was pretty hesitant about some things.  Whether it was the inexperience of youth or just the fact she was socially cautious, she wasn't exceptionally sure of what she wanted to do.  Well, other than game.   That part was obvious.

could you imagine if terance said no? that would be ridiculous. the world's biggest character arc. terance saying no... to literally anything. hah! of course he said yes, with a small grin and a few bobs of his head. "your company is always welcomed, treason," he said, which was no different than something he might've said before their deal... but treason could choose to look into it however she wanted.

they'd walk quietly for a few beats before terance, unfortunately, remembered he had something to tell her. "ah, indra and laurel left," he said with his ears flicked back lightly, only for a moment, as they pressed forwards again. "they're looking for laurel's children," he added, plume flicking at his hocks. if marten went, terance would mention that too-- but i'm not sure if he's gonna be allowed yet. 

"i told them they had a place at the hollow when they returned," he added, knowing treason might not have done the same thing.

Hey, if he wanted to keep saying yes to stuff, Treason wasn't gonna complain as long as she was included in all the yeses.  Though yeah, what he said did amuse her.  It could certainly be taken into a different context, and though there was a momentary grin at it, she didn't comment.  Mostly because making jokes about it really wasn't in her wheelhouse and she hadn't had exactly hung out with many who would have.  Either way, she'd be happy to follow along.  This time out, though, the patrol itself was a secondary thing -- she was in Keen Observation Mode if Terence happened to notice.

Oh, so maybe Laurel actually did care about her children.  The way she'd spoken before, it sounded like they were kind of an afterthought, but maybe Treason had just misinterpreted her behavior.  We'll see if they return.  I met Stigmata outside the territory a ways before he wandered off.  He seemed hellbent on pointing out how awful they were, but not in any way that made them sound any worse than the others who have traipsed through without a goodbye.  He'd probably be gloating now -- not that I was nearly as impressed by him as he seemed to be of himself.  She snorted, bemused at the thought.  All things considered, they hadn't even been here all that long -- not putting a large enough dent in the resources, the pups (if some were left behind) would be able to contribute in their stead...  But people come and go.  There's what?  Six of us left of the original group?  That's not bad I guess. Even if Nara and Witchbaby weren't the most social these days.  And the pups didn't count, duh.  Treason was reliable, at least... wasn't she?  As far as the two sisters went, she wasn't too sure about either of them.  She didn't know them well.

"i think laurel guilted indra into going," said terance idly, after treason said all that stuff about stigmata, "i'd blame all the awfulness on her, if you cared to hear my take on them." i mean, she probably did, but its not like it changed anything that had happened. he asked then. "does that mean that guy is hanging around? or were you far enough away it wasn't weird?" he asked then. he wasn't sure if he was concerned but... it was certainly something worth noting.

terance did some mental math, counting out everyone. "unless they leave later, mona and xan are still here," he said to the deputy, tail flicking, "we're doing alright." terance wondered again if it had something to do with him. he'd already gone out and done his pouting about indra leaving-- but if the packs numbers dwindled again he wasn't sure what he'd do. go into hardcore recruitment mode? maybe. terance didn't always come across the most welcoming-- going off of appearance alone.

I think he actually left. His scent isn't lingering around any more. Don't think we're missing much without him. But by all means, if you want to share, go ahead.  Treason was pretty sure that Terance's perspective would be a lot more reasonable in comparison. It was interesting that Laurel might be the one to blame, though.  Of the pair, Treason had been most unsure about Laurel just due to her not really reacting the way that she interpreted the average wolf would. But then again, maybe Treason just didn't know people that well and it actually made sense.  Eh. Whatever.

"i just think she's... controlling. i dunno. hardheaded but she's pulling indra down with her," he said with a shrug, choosing his words terribly but... it was terance, after all. "i mean, from what i can tell indra does everything that laurel does. and she just goes along with it. i'm not sure what she actually wants." did it matter? terance was only bothered by it now because it involved indra leaving but... before he didn't seem to have a problem with it.

hm. 

"i dunno," terance reiterated, because he never knew, "maybe we should start recruitment up again." he was thinking about it. maybe. i mean, it was probably good to always do that anyway... terance just lacked the social motivation nowadays. he had rannoch and treason. and that's all that mattered. he didn't care to go out and be friendly and inviting but... ah, well. that's how it goes.

If Indra is unhappy with it, I'd assume it'll come to a head at some point.  Maybe even from this if she would've rather stayed with her children.  I don't know why both of them went -- it was only Indra's kids, not hers.  Shrug.  But then again, she didn't expect too much from them.  If they'd been around in the pack for longer maybe she'd have been more concerned about it, but currently they were like any other wolf who showed up, stuck around for a short period, then disappeared off into the wilderness again.  We'll see if and when they come back.

I don't think that would be a bad idea, she mused.  I haven't really done any since they joined. If they'd stuck around it wouldn't have seemed as necessary.  But now maybe it was again.  And there was the fact that she was kind of slacking on finding other options for guys.  But then again, she hadn't had much luck with that overall, so maybe on that side of things it wouldn't make much of a difference.  Sure.  There were more pups planned, but they weren't exactly going to be useful for like a year. 

As they walked along, she thought of something, and she bumped him with her shoulder, Just no fair turning away candidates that would be your competition, hm?  I know I'm obviously that amazing...  He hadn't seemed that thrilled about the whole thing.  It as supposed to be kind of fun, or at least it seemed that way from her perspective.

"yeah," terance said for the sake of agreeing, but who knows if he actually did or not. he gave a gentle shrug to mirror hers, but didn't really have much to say in regards to it again. "we'll see," he added with a small smile. he wasn't sure how he felt about the whole thing, though, laurel definitely wasn't his favorite, and he'd probably hold this against her for the rest of time.

he nodded again, interested -- generally speaking -- in the idea of recruitment. "yeah, no me either," he said with a furrowed brow, which only deepened with treason's next comment. however, a broad smirk replaced it, leaving terance to shoot her a look. "well why not?" he questioned with a flick of his tail, "i'm sure you'll be pulling studs left and right, i'll have to compensate." but terance probably didn't have it in him to turn attractive men away.

The sisters would just be a bit off a mystery until they came back.  If they even did.  One would think that abandoning some kids here would mean they'd definitely be back, but Treason wouldn't count on anything until it happened.

Okay at least her kind of silly statement got his attention a little.  Still, she'd been hoping for more enthusiasm and she wasn't quite sure what'd make him act the way she wanted him to.  It wasn't like she was asking for much, just a little interest.  Again, she wanted fun, and if he was not going to provide fun, then what was she gonna do?  She'd just have to find it elsewhere, probably.  But that would also require effort and things to actually cooperate for once, and things didn't always enjoy doing that.  Meet you in the middle and you can boot them when I decide they're not worth it?  It'll be more entertaining that way, I promise.  Though if all the even vaguely potential dudes were all in packs already and not interested in following her home...  Well.  Yeah.  It'd be about as exciting as this patrol was otherwise.

aw, terance thought he was being fun. look at him and his little quip! oh well, he couldn't read minds, he'd never know. 

"tsk," he responded, a brow quirked as he gave her a quick once over, "deal... but only 'cause it'll be more obvious they're not worth it when you size 'em up beside me." he wasn't sure what compelled him to say that but... it felt right. if anything, terance felt he had stature over most wolves, and his dad's face -- his mom always told him that. whatever, it was another attempt at banter.

Just getting that one little quip was a little bit like pulling teeth.  So yeah, not rating too high on the fun scale yet, Terance! Maybe a cute little baby step, but she wanted more than that.  Especially since he'd totally acted like he'd be a great competitor to begin with.  His follow-up was a little better, but he still had quite a way to go before he'd be on the levels Treason wanted.

Well, at least he wasn't talking business or moping around.  She did notice the once-over, which was perfectly fine because she reciprocated with a definitely not shy one of him.  After all, it was Treason -- she wasn't exactly shy at looking at people like they were hunks of meat.  Treason took a few almost-jaunty steps as she replied, Ooh. You better be ready then.  I'll be having a great time.  But honestly, conversation was probably turn more boring from there.  It was a patrol, they were wandering, and Treason didn't have too much ammo for more specific snark.  Some other time, but kind of back to business for now.  Maybe later he'd surprise her.