Firefly Glen They say I'm the worst

The first while in an unfamiliar place was always an incredibly taxing time for Fennec.  There was no way in hell she'd ever admit it, but mapping a place out and not knowing where the pitfalls (maybe literal) lay meant she had to go slowly wherever she went.  It also meant she had to be overly attentive, something that grated easily on her nerves.  It wasn't all that much fun to keep your senses on 110% for hours on end.

She wasn't about to just sit around and do nothing, though, and she wasn't about to ask Bronco to hold her hand through it.  Asking Meerkat would have been easier, but she knew this was practice in testing just how resilient she could be in new places.  Every time it would hopefully get easier.  It already was compared to before she'd traveled with Penn, even though she'd had him to walk her through it.

Today she had taken her fancy new pouch with her as she went.  She had chosen to make her "spot" very near the stream for the sound of the water, and had already started carving out a shallow den.  It wasn't the best, but it was hard for her to judge the stability by feel alone, so she was taking it extremely slow.  All she needed was some space to start a store for whatever she might find.  

Now she was picking her way slowly along the path of the stream, pausing every now and then to sniff at a patch of undergrowth.  Her pouch had a few clippings in it already, and she already was finding it super fucking handy to not have to take multiple trips.  This thing was genius, how the hell did a wolf like Bronco come up with it?  Smirking to herself at the silent dig, but also silently appreciative, she started biting at the mint stems she'd smelled and paused for.

There was an individual in their midst that Osiris had not yet met, and he sought to rectify their estrangement. He tarried along her scent-trail, winding through the glen until he reached the stream's well-trodden path. Fennec wasn't far from where Osiris had joined the trail. She was just off the beaten path, inspecting a bundle of herbs, and he recognized her from the description that @Bronco had given when he had told Osiris about Fennec's visit. 

"Hey, Witch!" he called from down the path, hoping to grab her attention.

Fennec had just gotten a mouthful of leaves when a strange voice rang out behind her, greeting her with witch.  Her first reaction was confused bemusement.  Did she know this wolf?  She didn't recognize their voice, and Fennec never forgot a voice.

She set the leaves down, licking the stinging freshness from her lips, before turning out of habit towards where the sound came from.  Growing up with Towhee meant she always at least attempted to face a person before speaking.

Excuse me? she asked, voice affronted, ears at full mast towards him.  What did you just call me?

Osiris had begun to slow as Fennec replied, and her tone caused his heart to prick with panic. As she turned, he felt his breath catch in his throat; he didn't know any blind wolves and had never seen eyes like hers. He didn't stare, though, as he was already concerned about insulting her—he didn't want to dig his grave any deeper. 

"I called you 'witch'," he explained with a frown. "Bronco had told me that you were joining us, and he had said that you wanted to be called witch..." or was it that she wanted to be referred to as a witch?

He sounded hesitant now.  Fennec noted his trailed off words with internal satisfaction, especially after he gave up the fact that Bronco had spoken with him about it.

That's pretty rude, isn't it?  Making fun of me, just because I'm blind?  Fennec's voice pitched up a bit in intensity, as though she could hardly believe he'd bully her like this.  She was new here, how dare he call her out like that?

How perfect would it be if she could get Bronco into hot water for this?

Oh, she's bad!

Oh no—this was bad; was this some sick trick that Bronco was playing on him? "Oh, no," he replied quickly, "I mean, yes, it is rude, but that's not what I meant at all," This wasn't how he had anticipated their introduction going, and now all he wanted to do was go into the nearest cave and hide. 

"Hey, I'm really sorry, Fennec," Osiris said with remorse, unsure of what else he could say to make this better. "This definitely isnt how I wanted to introduce myself... I didn't mean to offend you, and I'm so sorry that I did."

I am dying, she really is XD I wasn't expecting the thread title to be this accurate

He played into it too perfectly for Fennec to even consider letting him off the hook.  She knew he'd probably go at Bronco, and Bronco would probably set him straight and come at her, but she still saw no downside to this.  It was just too fun. 

It's fine, I'm used to it.  She said with a little resignation.  One last little milk before she got down to actually sorting out who this poor soul was.  She didn't even know who she was playing with yet.  Guess you do know my name, though.  What's yours?  She wanted to see if he recovered or if he excused himself.  It tended to be a mixed bag when she actually managed to successfully embarrass someone.

Her final remark was like a dagger to his heart, adding insult to injury. "I'm very sorry," he drawled tensely, licking his chops. "It won't 
happen again." He'd never felt so abashed; she had done what she had sought to do. 

"I'm Osiris," he replied when asked, feeling apprehension as he continued, "I'm the leader here, and I wanted to make sure that we were introduced..." but, y'know how that went, his silence implied.

She could have pressed her luck but she knew enough to only take it as far as getting what she intended.  Bronco would hopefully be in some serious hot water with sorrykins here, so her work was done.  She heard the lingering awkwardness to his anxious introduction and inwardly cackled.  Were all the wolves here going to be this easy?  She forgot how much fun strangers were; they didn't know her well enough to call her bullshit.

Nice to meet you, Osiris, she answered sweetly, allowing her tail to swish behind her.  He sounded young, around her age, maybe a little older.  So you're... something, with Moonspear, then?  I know this pack is connected.  She wondered how much else Bronco had told him.  Who her parents were?  Why she was here?

"Nice to meet you, Osiris," Fennec replied sweetly, and Osiris felt comforted by both the greeting a tone; there was hope that he didn't mess everything up between himself and the wolf that Bronco had so fondly spoken about. "It's nice to meet you, too," he replied, hoping to move past his major blunder. 

"I guess I am," he replied next. "Dirge and Hydra are my parents—I was surprised when they came to me with the idea of expanding Moonspear's claim here," he supplied.

Things clicked into place a little more when he clarified that he was Hydra's kid.  Now it made sense why he was leading here, and why he was even stiffer than Bronco.  Hydra seemed pretty cool but there was no doubt she and Fig wouldn't have gotten away with half the shit they pulled here.

Yeah, you do seem pretty young.  Not that that's a bad thing, she said thoughtfully, truthfully digging for his age.  His confirmation or denial would give her the answer.  I guess that kinda makes us cousins, at least according to our moms.  As with Bronco, it was weird to think of wolves as family when she started hanging out with them closer to adulthood.  It wasn't like Fig who had been there since day one.

Osiris watched Fennec for a beat, trying to gauge her age as well; he could only assume that she was around his age. "No, it isn't," he agreed, "We're about the same age, aren't we?" For reference, he added, "I'll be two in the Spring." 

Smiling at Fennec's mention of being relatives, Osiris quickly remembered when Hydra had informed him about their extended family. "I guess that does," he said. She would be treated like family as long as she stayed at the glen. To make sure he was correct, he asked, "You're Towhee's daughter, right?" Hydra had talked at length about her kinship with the Sovigern of the Firebirds.

Fennec had to fight so hard with the temptation to respond with a cheeky 'I'm 457 actually'.  That wouldn't exactly help her 'I'm not a witch don't call me that' facade, so she had to keep a lid on her worse impulses for now.  Small talk suffered for it, though, and she could already feel herself chafing for something else.

Guess so, on both accounts.  She cocked her head, and instantly (finally) an interesting question came to her. So, how does this all work then? Fennec asked, without a note of anything but genuine curiosity in her tone.  How'd they pick you to lead this place?  Did you have to win a competition, or do you not have any brothers and sisters?  She tried to imagine if Fig ruled a place based on Towhee and Phox's say and internally cackled.  No way he could do that.  She didn't even care if she didn't want it; he'd crack under the pressure in a month without her there.

Osiris shook his head with a smile, humored by the mental-image that Fennce's reply had conjured. For whatever reason, he thought of an arduous, duel-to-the-death type of situation—and somehow, that was amusing to him. "No, nothing like that," he assured her. "I have three littermates and four younger siblings," he began, realizing how lucky he'd been for his parents to choose him to lead. 

"My parents came to me with the idea, to lead the pack, and I accepted immediately. I had just come back from a month-long journey around the wilderness to check in on our allies—my willingness to help with such a task swayed their decision, I think," at least, that was how he had interpreted it. "I had thought that I might want to lead someday, especially after my trip, but I never imagined... this," he marveled, humbled by it all. 

"What about you?" he prompted then, wanting to know more about her. "You're here to train with Kukutux, right?"

Wow.  She hadn't noticed it before, but as she spoke, she realized what was being put forth was her best approximation of @Sugar Glider's manner.  It was a good presence to nab if she was going for friendly airhead.  (This is why Fennec doesn't have friends).  

You must deserve it way more than them, then, to be put in charge like that.  I bet they look up to you.  She couldn't quite tell if he was confident or not, but from the way he'd backpedaled on her earlier, she had a theory.  So she decided to poke at it and see what manifested.  Sibling relationships and comparisons were a hornets nest that she knew pretty damn well.  ESPECIALLY after growing up right next door to the Blackthorn bunch.  She could just imagine Penn's face if Crow had gotten something like this.... the fallout would have been amazing.

Yeah.  I had a mentor, but I thought it would be good to swap knowledge.  She's shown me a few things.  The woman was busy, so Fennec hadn't bothered her much, but they'd met and discussed methods once or twice.  Enough for Fennec to get a sense of her at least.

Fennec was a different kind of smart. She honed a social-intellect that Osiris was ill-prepared to handle, and he floundered for a moment as he considered her remark. "I'd like to think that they do," he offered through a forced smile, unable to admit that he was more deserving than his littermates. "But, really, this territory belongs to my entire family—especially my parents. I'm just helping them out." 

When Fennec spoke about Kukutux, Osiris smiled. "She's very helpful," he remarked, unable to hide his fondness towards his brother's wife. "My aunt Lyra is also a skilled medic—I can introduce you to her, if you want," he offered.

Discomfort again.  Fennec made a mental note to see about these family members and maybe find out just how they felt about it.  She had a nose for drama and a delight for anything unseemly.  There had to be something here.  She wasn't dumb enough to think she'd get more out of Osiris right this moment, not without extending beyond reason, so she let the seeds rest there.  

More family.  It suddenly struck Fennec that she'd never been in this situation before, where her family wasn't the dominant presence.  She'd known coming in that would change, but it hadn't really hit her until right now.  Here, Osiris's family called the shots, and they were the 'unit' that the Firebirds were back home.  It was kind of cool to be the outsider for once.  Maybe that was the free feeling she'd had since showing up here.

Sure.  Bronco didn't say anything about another healer.  She paused, as if hesitating.  Look, if you talk to him, don't go too hard okay?  He's always been pretty mean, but I'm sure he's just uncomfortable with... you know.

That was it, the final thing.  A little too far, honestly, because she was a complete bitch for even insinuating Bronco couldn't handle her blindness.  She'd own up to it pretty easily if Osiris came back and ripped into her for the lies, laughing while she did so, but for now she just wanted to neatly wrap up this little charade.

Osiris was about to respond to Fennec, but he was cut off as she mentioned Brocno's mean-spiritedness. He hesitated again, taking in the information with uneasiness; something was off, he began to suspect. As far as Osiris was aware, there wasn't a mean bone in Bronco's body. "I won't," he promised her, despite his doubt. 

"If you're free now, I could take you to see Lyra?" he offered, more than willing to change the conversation.

He hadn't meant now before?. Impatience again.  She'd assumed, so having to affirm it again felt redundant.  WWSGD was the theme of this conversation, though, so she smiled cheerily.  Sure!

Fennec couldn't read any of the doubt in the brief words he spoke, so in her mind, this exchange had gone rather swimmingly.  It then occurred to her that she'd have to meet this other healer while in the guise of a personality that wasn't really hers... and she realized she'd backed herself into a corner here.

Nothing for it.  Internally resigned, she followed him to where Lyra might be found.