Broken Antler Fen gloria

wraen had informed the girl that @Maia could be of help with the stars. heavens, however, were the last thing upon her mind; she was stricken by the season, completely and thoroughly.
though she was determined to remain as sequestered with bridget as possible, she was forced to drag her malaise out with her in search of water. tail tucked and head down resolutely, teya drank sulkily at the water's edge.
there was a new man here, and while instinct suggested she find him at once, disgust paled that thought to nothing. she wanted none of them; she wanted diversions only at the antics of her more feminine counterparts.
and yet she did, and she thought of the man in the fog.
chin dripping, the little raven lifted her head and considered the treeline.

Even with the complications around the situation, it was hard for Maia not to walk around the fen like she was riding on air.  Tentatively hopeful, immensely content... and thristy, at the moment.  Which was why she happened to go to the creek at the same moment and cross paths with her fellow Raven, one she had yet to fully meet yet.

In fact, she'd hardly met either of the two newcomers, she realized with a start.  Thirst forgotten for the moment, Maia's tail began to wave as she approached from the side.  Oh, hey!  Uh, Teya, yeah?  She thought she recalled the name, she'd heard it a few times mentioned.  Sorry I haven't come by to officially say hey, I guess I kinda spaced on it.  She smiled a little sheepishly, rocking back on her paws.  She was still getting used to this whole 'actually someone people expect something from' thing.

it was not a man who found teya, it was bubbly beautiful maia. but the raven had not forgotten the ridiculous show upon the borders, how naively this one had guided the strange beast inside.
"yes. your face i know, maia. you are one who let dog into this place."
a testy switch of her plume; she was riddled with annoyance and longing for the wordless nameless thing she had tasted once beside a lake, and another beneath moonlight.
she moved closer, hips curved. 
a mean coquettishness in her mouth. "your smell is not only yours." jealous that the other raven might frisk beyond the borders but teya must be bound here for several days.
desire looming. the sister of wraen, whom she respected. would it demean that respect to sway maia to a better side?

Dog?  Maia wondered what she meant by that.  She'd heard of dogs, but never actually fully seen one; she'd lived her entire life isolated from anything remotely human.  

She didn't have time to unpack that much before Teya moved in even closer and said something even weirder.  What was her problem?  Oh great job, Maia, excellent first impression with a fellow leader.

Uhh, sorry?  I mean, we're all kind of a pack, so....  she took a slight step back as Teya moved into her space, suddenly feeling a little nervous.  This escaped her in a slight giggle, one that she caught quickly and stifled, but was an automatic reaction.  She didn't really know what to do with this or what was happening really.

yes. she enjoyed intimidating maia.
a swish of her tail behind her; whether or not teya realized this, she tested her fellow raven. it was only out of fondness for wraen that she dropped away, took a more affable cant to her body.
"the one who is not wolf. but you did the speaking. i did not. has she been of use?" or had maia been corrupting herself all the while with the man whose scent clung to her pelt?
jealousy spreading greencracked and heady through her veins.

Maia was a pretty easy mark for Teya's attention.  She was so consistently second-guessing herself that she did most of the work herself, and despite the fact that she backed off some, Maia was still pretty bothered with the feeling that she'd done something wrong.  Teya's entire manner gave off some level of dislike and it made her nerves edgy.

Ah, the woman she'd spoken too, the one who looked different.  Maia nodded, still flustered.  Um, yeah, I think?  I mean, I haven't really, like, talked to her.  But she seemed nice enough.   Of use?   The question made her think instantly of Kiwi, the girl in Firebirds who had been so keen on calling her useless for not having a "proper" trade.  Which really only made Teya all the more intimidating.

seemed nice enough. perhaps teya might need to seek out this one herself, though the idea forced the girl to gain control over a lip that wished to curl. maybe it was best she stay aside from the creature, for her own tangled bias against such had fully ensnared her. and teya did not wish to sort it.
instead her own coolstream eyes flicked over maia again. what did this man do for the girl that a woman could not? she smothered a smirk and smoothed some severity from her stare. "you have new lover?" teya inquired in a gentler tone, though with a brazen tilt to her hips she could not help.

Maia tried to calm down, to convince herself to play it cool. This was fine, she was just getting to know her fellow Raven, and Teya had no good reason not to like her, right? I mean, she was kind of annoying, but she hadn't been that bad here so far.

Uh, yeah? Well, umm, Eljay's my mate. Her appreciation for saying it was mixed with a flush of embarrassment at the phrasing. 'Lover'. They hadn't, and she opened her mouth to say it before she cut it off. She didn't need to know that!

He lived in the Caldera before, but decided to move here. We've been seeing each other for a while, though. She smiled, the giddy newness of that helping to push her awkwardness back a bit. He wasn't exactly new, much as it might seem like it to everyone here!! It was strange to think she'd liked him even longer than that, months on months kind of wasted. But not, too, because they'd still all ended up here.

mate. well there it was, her suspicion confirmed. but it seemed as though the season had not yet visited maia. this intrigued her fellow raven, though this time the violet kept such brash talk to herself.
"he is wise man," she offered bluntly. teya knew nothing of this caldera, only that brecheliant had gained a skilled newcomer. she suspected he must be so, for everyone in the fen had some role or another.
maia's face blossomed with a beautiful smile, and the girl knew she could tease the other no longer. an answering beam tugged at her own lips. "you have happy face."

She probably looked ridiculous, grinning like an idiot. She tried to tone it down some, but gave up when she looked over and saw Teya with a smile too. Maybe she didn't hate her after all? The relief of it made her a little chatty, and on the subject of Eljay, a little nudge went a long way.

I just didn't think he'd actually agree to come here, and it's amazing, having him around all the time. It's like.... like every time I look over and actually see him here, or remember, someone's giving me this amazing present and I just.... she let out a little noise, high pitched excitement, then realized she'd just gone off and laughed sheepishly.

Sorry! That's... a lot. No way Teya cared about any of that and she was definitely over sharing for a first meeting. Why was she always so bad at this? Was it really so hard to just go 'hey. how are you?! That's good!!' like a normal person?

maia burbled like a brook about this eljay. teya wanted to roll her eyes. she had not yet found such a gushing pleasure in any individual, but especially did not expect it to be a man. she enjoyed their company purely for the physical, for they provided something to temper the soft warmth of a woman.
envy again, rising, but this time teya knocked it away easily.
"is fine," she assured with a single sway of her plume. "love is sweet." love, for maia did not seem riddled with the same fever. "i will hunt extra for more baby." maia now, and surely wraen would have her own this year, and she suspected that as auspex, this favour would also fall to ibis. that was a thought that soured in her belly, and she was silent, looking around them at the blooming flora.

woof XD oops

Maia felt the usual embarassment and anxiety kick in when Teya mentioned pups. She was excited, but also terrified to get her own (or anyone else's) hopes up. Oh, that's... thank you! But, I don't even know... uh, I guess we'll see? She began awkwardly, fumbling a little with the walkback. She definitely didn't want to seem ungrateful for the offer.

It is. Are you, I mean, do you have someone? Maia asked, grasping onto the second note of it instead. The way she'd said it, Maia couldn't tell if she was talking from experience or just hypothetically.

<3

"maybe," teya grinned, her expression adopting a conspiratorial glimmer. so maia was not sure. given how lovestruck her fellow raven seemed to be, the fisherwolf suspected that ibis would not be alone in motherhood this year. "i not want baby," the violet intoned, nose to the earth for a moment as she sussed the quickest way to the water.
"hungry?" she inquired after a moment, small proud head lifting to glance coolly at maia.

Maia was gratified when Teya basically responded with yes, and relaxed some. Not because of any real insecurity, but moreso because she remembered how badly it had bugged her when it felt like everyone else was pairing up and she always ended up the leftover. For a while she'd wondered if it would ever happen.

She couldn't be upset with the wait now because if it hadn't taken so long, maybe she wouldn't have found the guy she did. And now that she had him, she couldn't imagine ending up with anyone else and being this heckin happy.

Oh. That's... nothing wrong with that, Maia replied with a smile, only a little awkwardly. I didn't used to. Maybe Teya would change her mind, but maybe not! She didn't think she would have if she hadn't seen so many have kids of their own and what that was like for them.

I could definitely eat. She snatched that safe ground to talk on eagerly enough. I know this spot. It's kinda early in the year, but I'm betting there'll be plenty of birds there soon. Want to check?

teya took maia's suggestion to be a flippant one, insinuating she might eventually change her mind. yet the raven shook this off. she herself had started their meeting aggressively; perhaps maia still stumbled with that.
"i would like this," teya said softly, a genuine warmth infusing her coolwater look. "perhaps we make game? how many can be caught?" she grinned, waiting for maia to lead off into the huntingplace they would occupy for the next presumable hours.

Teya warmed up and Maia immediately began to second guess if she was mistaken about earlier. She seemed nice enough. Maybe she was just reading into things too much? Or maybe she was being too weird and Teya was awkward because of that!? Ohhh she'd made a horrible first impression, hadn't she? As usual, she couldn't do anything right.

Luckily, the prospect of a game pulled her straight out of her spiral and back on track. Because if there was one thing Maia knew, it was how to make a game out of something that was supposed to be work.

Yes!! Okay, it's this way! Cheerfully ignoring her previous worries, Maia bounded somewhat gracefully in the direction of the pond, pausing every so often to make sure Teya followed.

last from me !