Haunted Wood un abismo de tristeza y lagrimas

after the morning patrol, abeja decided to seek out another spar. with a pack as numerous as this, she was sure that there was someone out there with some pent up frustration.

she strolled toward the territory's heart, releasing a series of barks and chuffs as she went. if there were anyone nearby, they would undoubtedly hear her request, hopefully deciding to answer.

She was still settling in, but Chip liked this place alright. It was still spooky in some ways, and occasionally she had to remind herself that real life wasn't a horror movie, but maybe if she hung out with some of the locals, it would feel less like she was in a slasher film. Shaking her coat free of the snow that had stuck to it after her nap, she headed toward the ruckus that somebody was causing near the heart of the territory.

You see, Chip wasn't all that smart, so she didn't pick up on the tone of the sounds. Instead, she approached the other female with her own tail wagging and her tongue lolling from her mouth. Hey! she called out cheerily, I'm new here; who're you?

the woman appeared seemingly out of nowhere. abeja stopped in her tracks, hackles bristling while she calmed her nerves. eventually, a strained smile managed to break across her maw. i'm new, too, she whispered, as if to keep the secret from curious ears.

abeja. who are you? once introductions were out of the way, she figured that they could get down to business. otherwise, what was the point of this conversation?

Not exactly the warmest welcome, especially considering how easy Vengeance had been to talk to. Sure he tried to come across as a hard ass, but Chip felt like it was all a front for some class clown. Ven was all sneaky and tricksy, but in no way evil, as far as she could tell. Maybe she was wrong about that, but the whole name thing and spooky forest just made it seem like he was trying way to hard to be Mr. Tough Man.

Nice t'meet you, Abeja. I'm Chipmunk, but everybody calls me Chip. How new are you? I literally just got here four days ago. So far, her stay had been pretty nice. She slept, ate, wandered around, occasionally caught glimpses of her other pack mates, but that was about it. She wasn't chummy with anybody yet, but she figured she would be in no time. Chip never had trouble making friends.

chipmunk, abeja parroted, like the animal? aside from outward appearance, she noted one other similarity: both creatures were fucking annoying. still, she would play along, not wanting to burn a bridge so soon after having built it.

she rolled her shoulders back, sighing as she put on a smile. my name means eh, honeybee. do you think a chipmunk could beat a honeybee? she took a few steps to the side, testing to see if chip would mimick the motion. we should spar, don't you think?

Chip nodded. You got it! As if Abeja had answered some mysterious riddle only the smartest could ever hope to decode. She was surprised to learn that the other female was named after an animal, too. A honeybee. She looked nothing like a honeybee, causing Chip to wonder why she'd been named that. Everybody in Chip's family had been named for exactly what they looked like. Curious.

Why would a chipmunk and a honeybee fight? she asked, watching as Abeja criss-crossed her legs to the side. This chipmunk is a lover, not a fighter, Honeybee. She gave the other grunt an apologetic shrug.

the quip was unexpected but appreciated all the same. not quite the response that she was hoping for, but abeja had to give chip her credit. these animals, she said, nodding between the two of them, are in a pack of fighters, and i don't want to lose. she didn't have to know that dulce kinda sucked at fighting and could actually use the practice. no, the scout thought, es irrelevante.

how can you be in this pack and not fight? it's like, ehm... abeja took a moment to search for the words, it's like a squirrel trying to live in water. the squirrel drowns, yeah? ha, skwerel.

Right. Fighters. Vengeance had said something about that, but apparently she'd glossed over it when he'd said she could stay. As to the question, she gave another shrug. I don't have to fight, do I? I feel like I only have to fight if I wanna get more respect, but that's not really my deal, Honeybee. Sorry, Abeja, you're Honeybee now. It was easier for Chip to pronounce, and she was so used to giving folks nicknames.

Unlike so many wolves in the world, Chipmunk didn't have any grand aspirations of climbing the ranks, being a leader, or even besting anybody in a fight. She just enjoyed getting down and dirty. Anything else was secondary.

what if somebody challenges you? abeja questioned. it was clear that this encounter had reached its peak. there would be no spar, a realization that she was growing more comfortable with. 

she thought to clarify. not for rank, but your place in the pack. would chip be okay surviving on her own during the winter, the famine?

Another question, another noncommittal shrug. There are other packs out there. The SPOOKY FOREST just happened to be the first one Chip had come across, and Vengeance had offered her a place here, so here she had ended up. Most of Chipmunk's life had been this way, and everything had worked out, hadn't it? She wasn't dead (yet), and it didn't seem like wolves were dying to join up with this weird pack, anyway.

Who would want to join a pack where some loner could kick you out just because they beat you in a fight? Or where you had to fight your way to the top? It certainly wasn't Chip's cup of tea, but she also wasn't trying to make her way to the top. Nor would she fight for her place here if somebody decided they wanted to take it from her.

abeja understood chip's position, though only to an extent. a commitment to a pack was meant to last longer than one's own attention span. when things got old and boring, it meant that it was time for a change, not the time to leave. 

well, their disagreement didn't matter. she nodded her salutations as she began to walk away. i'll see you around then, chipmunk.

So long, Honeybee! Chip replied, tail wagging and happy as could be. Thank goodness things hadn't gotten ugly. Chip couldn't fight if her life depended on it, let alone win a fight. Maybe she would just hang out here and see how long it took before somebody kicked her out for being a wimp.