Honeyed Pasture die Welt vor mir is' für mich gemacht

Norah woke up to the warm spring rays of sun, greeted it with a big yawn and blinked here eyes against the dazzling, bright light. Tiredness of the journey previous evening was still felt in her limbs - a sore muscle here, a stiff joint there - and she considered staying put for the day, until the loud rumble of her stomach reminded her that it too had it's needs that the lawfully marriaged rest of the body was not providing for.

She got up, stretched her spine and neck, did some wolf yoga of good stretches and finished the brief exercise routine with a hefty shake of her coat. She scratched the back of her head with her hind paw and scared some flees, when she reached over to nibble at the area right above her tail. With this done and another yawn later she felt well enough to get down to business. Oceanside did not prove to be very interesting to her, therefore she headed a bit southwards, where a distant line of forest had more promise.

She is loathe to leave her queen, even for a moment, yet necessity demands it. @Valyri is tucked safely within the walls of the Bay for now, close enough that Nefris would hear any cry for help — and the main priority now is ensuring the safety past the mountains, too. The area they'd found is a stronghold, to be sure, and would hold well against an invasion. But Nefris has never been the sort to risk an invasion; she'd sooner strike first, eliminate the foe before they reach her home — or sweep her queen away to safer lands if she cannot stand against the threat.
So far, however, the land seems peaceful enough. Nary a soul crosses her path as she weaves through the open field, til she catches the scent of a fresh wolf-trail leading south. She follows without hesitation, tail flagging as she goes through a mental checklist of what she knows. Female, hale and young, alone. Her ears pitch forward as she spots the ashen figure, and she approaches at a steady pace. She greets the stranger with a chuff, moving into her personal space to give her a thorough sniffing regardless of the reaction it provokes.

Norah would have enjoyed a good chase after a snowshoe hare, or tracking and chasing pika across the ground, scaring a bird, she would not even had said "no" to a random rotten Kram thrown in her path. But she met an utterly inedible, but rather impolite hound that pushed in her personal space with hardly any greeting at all and began to sniff her out.

"Hau ab!" she warned through gritted teeth and her words were accompanied with a menacing growl. Just in case the translation was unknown, the meaning should be clear.

Nefris's intrusion is met with the reaction she'd expected, more or less; it hardly fazes her. Eh? She grins at the foreign words, finishing her inspection quickly and stepping back with head held high. She likes the stranger already, she decides, if only because she hadn't simply taken the disrespect. Now to find out if she can actually understand her. Apologies, m'lady. I've a queen t'protect. There is sincerity to her words, though perhaps not as much as there should be; it matters little to her if she offends some random woman, but it may matter to Valyri. Land here ain't claimed, so you're free t'pass, long as y'don't cause trouble. This area's under the protection o' Amaranthine Keep.

Norah listened the other pour honey in her ears with an openly annoyed expression. The other's rudeness was not forgiven and, since the person in question showed no remorse for her earlier actions, the she-wolf felt entitled to be just as blunt. "Not accepted," she growled under her breath.

"Just out of interest - you approach everyone this boldly? Don't you fear that your snout will be bitten clear off?" she asked venomously.

She barks a laugh, seemingly undisturbed by the woman's hostility. There is, truthfully, a prickle of unease at the back of her mind — but that's just her hard-earned sense of caution, a lingering habit born of a life spent on the run, and she knows she can ignore it for now. Valyri is safely tucked within the Bay, and this is only one woman. Been plenty o' folks who've tried, and found it a bit too full o' teeth for their tastes, She avoids answering the question; she's already explained herself, she feels, and has little patience for repeating things. Instead, she seeks control over the situation. High-strung, ain'tcha? Might be a good fight's what y'need — why don'tcha try me? No blood, no tricks — just a spar. A friendlier way for the woman to vent her apparent frustration, perhaps.

Spar, huh? Fuck off. Norah thought to herself, but in reality conjured an expression of true sincerity and good humour. Make her think that all was forgiven. And why not - she could have all the fun of calling her names from the book with "100 ways of saying "bitch" on the cover. 

"Save that energy for your Queen, Schatz," Norah replied. "Out of curiousity - is she beautiful?"

The sudden switch leaves her warier than continued rejection might have, though she's careful to hide it. She flashes another grin, seeing no harm in answering the question. Aye, quite, She says, gaze flitting briefly in the direction of the Bay. The thought of Valyri softens her mood a bit, but her wariness of the stranger's change in demeanor doesn't fade. Y'ever meet an ugly queen? No, she expects; the world is far too cruel to allow one without even a hint of sex appeal to become a successful leader, barring those relying on the charms of another. Even in those cases, it has always seemed doomed to fail; leaders must inspire their own loyalty, she knows.

"You wouldn't believe," Norah grinned knowingly. "Half the charm lies not with the person itself, but those, who strive for power and want to be in their good books," she elaborated on the subject. "A queen or a king might be the most hideous creatures in the world and yet their power softens the ugliness, their privileges quench the stench," she said. 

"In the eyes of most people - that is. I have yet to see the queen you speak of myself to find out, if you - her loyal subject - belong to the people I mentioned," she finished. "Though - why are you loyal to her and not," she cast her glance around, "to that rock, for example?"

The response surprises her, though she quickly realizes it shouldn't have; she's always known things in Minrathous were a bit different than other places. Every place is different, it seems, and the lack of stability within the world disturbs her. Seems we've had rather different experiences with kings and queens, m'lady, She continues with some humor in her tone. Where I come from, there's always vultures lurkin' about, stewin' in their own power and hatred and waitin' for any excuse to take the throne for themselves — by force, not charm. After all, a king's only a wolf; if there ain't any folk inclined t'defend him, all the titles in the world won't keep him in power. And there's always someone else hankerin' for that power.
The question proposed throws her off for a moment, though. She laughs, and decides her patience has worn out; she's still wary of the woman's sudden flip, and suddenly tired of ignoring the vague feeling of being mocked that nags at the back of her mind. Still, she'd told herself she would remain civil, so she does. Y'have my pity if y'can't tell the difference between a rock and a wolf. I've no time t'give that lesson, I'm afraid. Feel free t'visit if you're really curious — Stavanger Bay, north o' here. With that, she turns from the woman, casting a single brief glance over her shoulder as she starts to leave. Safe travels.

"And I pity you, for you clearly did not understand the question," Norah said to herself, not sorry to see Nefris go and only a bit curious about the queen that this guardian had chosen to protect so selflessly, no questions asked. 

Perhaps, she should have sparred with the other, got a bit of trust, play down her own skills, in order to infiltrate the ranks and find out, what kind of game was being played there. But that opportunity was lost for the time being, unless she met the said queen in person herself.

So, Norah continued to walk along the coast in the opposite direction.