Sly Fox Sand Dunes she's perfectly misaligned

@Sari

having to leave colt's jawbone behind was a point of contention redbird would not soon forget. she wouldn't leave the lowlands without it; it was hard enough to disperse from the edge of muat-riya knowing that colt remained behind, and as she crept across the dunes she plotted a return.

how could redbird succeed in this? she'd seen the inside of muat-riya during their celebration but she had been well in to her cups at the time; plus, the entrance was guarded by that little hellcat. it shouldn't have been a problem, and yet here she was - pacing and fuming.

Phone post.

S’ari wandered the dunes, smiling to herself. She recalled a time in the spring or summer (when had she come here?) when she and another had taken turns sliding down these dunes. Now she wasn’t sure she had the energy for that.

The wind changed direction and she caught the scent of wolf, and turned her head. She squinted, eyes traveling along the tops of the dunes, then down into their little valleys. There! A red-coated wolf among the reddish sand. They blended right in.

Hello there, cousin, she called, tail wagging gently behind her. Not as enthusiastic as she might once have been, but things were different now. She grew tired more easily. It had taken a lot of energy just to get here.

her attention was singularly focused.

redbird did not see the stranger approaching until they were within shouting distance, and by then they were calling to her in a friendly way. when she looked to them it was with a sharp-eyed scowl. this stranger looked like one of the slaves of muat-riya.

bristling along her nape now, redbird stopped her pacing and stood tall. you from that palace?

she slunk closer, digging heel in to sand. if this figure was from muat-riya perhaps a bargain could be struck. this new idea bubbled in her mind.

Palace? S’ari repeated, cocking her head to the side. Coyote has never seen a palace in her life, though she had heard tale of them from traveling royalty. Is there one nearby? Perhaps she will go and visit. She lowered her voice as the wolf approached, turning her head to the side and looking at the woman out of the corner of her eye. She asked conspiratorially, Are there secrets in this palace?

the stranger doesn't know?

after that coronation, redbird would've expected all of the lowlands to have known by now. there had been so many bodies and so much noise!

they stole somethin' from me, and won't give it back. she answers, her voice rough. although she does not know this person she does not detect a lie, or any scent of the wolves within muat-riya. it isn't enough to elicit true trust out of redbird but her tension is alleviated to a point.

they're that way, motioning with a shrug of her head in the direction of the cenote.
after, she glared in the direction and spat.

Immediately, S’ari’s sense of adventure came roaring back, but she had to quell it. Still recovering from the affects of her illness, she could not go off and slink around some pack to steal something back for someone she didn’t know. She looked at the woman for a long moment, thinking.

Well. This one does not know S’ari, so S’ari will not ask what they stole or why. But… has this one tried a diplomatic approach? Trading something for it? Food? Services? It is not easy to swallow anger and ask for a trade, but… She shrugged.

there was a familiar expression upon the coyote that redbird found appealing. the kind of darkness that she had seen plenty enough within the gang, and that brought pain to her chest that she forced away. there came an edge to her voice she could not stop, though. trade? feck off! these people are dicks. if'n i offer myself, that'd make me a slave! y'know? they use your kind like that.

nah, redbird wouldn't trade shit. she'd be lucky to get anywhere near muat-riya again.

what i need is a plan. she began to pace again, and the sand began to slide. some way in an' out. i've seen the place inside. i'd be quick — maybe i could make a distraction...

she paused in her pacing to stare at the palace from the great distance, and saw only the horizon line and the broken clouds above.

They enslave coyotes? S’ari repeated, and saw red for the first time in a very long time. It took a lot for her to become angry. She made a snap decision then. S’ari will help you get back what they stole. But she has not the mind to make a plan for what you need. She is good at mischief—not real things. Heists and the like. But she will still help. She can be your distraction. This is fine.

She would tell no one of this. Not Candle. Not Zoug. Not Talisman. The first two would only try to stop her. She had no idea what Talisman would do. Where is the palace? Describe its location. S’ari has been all over this Desert. She will know it.

oh! that really got her going! redbird was thrilled to see the coyote incited. this would be easier with more and more bodies; if she had to bring war to the doorstep of muat-riya over this, redbird was crazy enough to try. but she didn't have anyone else.

the stranger had called herself s'ari.

well sari, redbird faced her with a serious expression, and then opened her mouth to say — uhhh, something inspiring. some description of this place. admittedly in that moment she regretted how much she'd had to drink because much of the specifics were fuzzy. ah, hah, lessie...

a pause, thinking, thinking, and then — its northwest'a here fer sure. i remember the inside had... water. pools? aye, pools. there was a big ol' room with no ceiling where 'erryone gathered, an' all these 'yotes runnin' around takin' orders. that wasn't the right kind of description but redbird was trying to dredge something up.

yew know it?

Pools... S'ari repeated. Well, there were two places that had pools, but the red one had mentioned a "room," as well, and all those many shallow pools to the south did not have "rooms." It was wide open. Besides, she'd said "northwest."

The Cenote, S'ari said. Yes. This one has been there. So, a pack of slavers has taken it over? S'ari glanced in the direction the Cenote, invisible from this far away, and saw red again, her nostrils flaring. She remembered the adventures she'd had there with Towhee. Or had it been Meerkat? Both? It mattered not. She'd had fun there exploring the pools and now there were slavers living there.

No one in the Tribe condoned slavery. And the fact that it was wolves enslaving coyotes... S'ari liked to believe the best of people--of wolves, especially, because coyotes gave them such a bad rap. But this... This was why most coyotes hated wolves in the first place.

What kind of distraction does this one need? If we are caught, there will be hell, and S'ari cannot drag these slavers back here to find her family. And she cannot involve them. They will not trust you, being a wolf and all. She smiled at the red woman apologetically.

cenote? hopefully it was the same place as what redbird envisioned.

somethin' to draw their guard away. they've got big men all over. methinks they keep watch of the 'yotes so nobody runs. it was a lie but it could've been the truth too, and redbird counted on that. the palace of muat-riya did have wolves on patrol and the sight of them would confirm as much when sari got there.

or maybe they'd take interest to you 'cause-a yer 'yote looks? bet they'd chase ya. the girl snickered at the thought but the tone was something dark, and she sneered, then realized how awful that might be to experience and the expression faded.

if yew can get 'em away long enough i can get in, get what they took, and get out a'fore they catch ya.

S'ari took a deep, deep breath. Before her illness, the thought of running away from a group of big, male wolves would've sounded fun. Now... S'ari was sick just a little while ago, she told the red woman. She almost died. Her family kept her alive. And now... Now she does not have the same energy as before. She is not sure how far she can run before she has to stop. But... she will try. And if she is overtaken, she will snap and bark and bite and fight. And keep them away from this one. Hopefully, it will be enough.

This would be very, very dangerous. She could die. S'ari was not yet ready to die. She was so young. She had not yet had pups. But if it was time for her to return to the Desert, then so be it. The sands would carry her back to her Home Tribe, far away, and they would know what had happened, and someone else from her home would come and make sure that Candle and Zoug were all right. That was the way of things.

When does this one wish to go and take back what was stolen?

had she been a kinder person, perhaps redbird would have cared for the danger and how it might affect her new ally. she was not a kind person. she was far, far from it; and her desires were all that mattered to her. the desire to have colt at her side was her only goal — and she would eagerly throw people in to danger if she could coerce them, provided she got what she wanted.

but, when.

when? now. now, if'n we can do it. but she knew better than to return now. their guards would be on high-alert, given she had recently assailed their little pet. maybe better at night though. it'll be dark early. she was still plotting aloud, but had stopped pacing again and faced the horizon in the direction of the cenote.

might be best to take a few days'n do it. really get their attention. she thought of how to weaken the guards now, and was struck with another tactic. we could harass'em in the night. scream and cry, keep 'em from sleep. few nights'a that would make 'em tear across the desert after yew, aye? a flash of her eyes to sari, studying them.

S'ari took one step in the direction of the Cenote at the red woman's Now. And then the woman spoke again, and S'ari put her paw down. She grinned at the wolf's suggestion. Harassing like this was more her style. Naughty, naughty, she said, her fangs gleaming in the desert sun. If it is up to S'ari, they will never sleep again, no? And then, when they come to hunt S'ari down, she will run them ragged through the Desert.

But not back to the Ravine. Never there. Far away from there.

We should make our way to the Cenote, yes? Stop nearby? Wait for nightfall?

aye! now was the best time to get shit done.
by the time they reached the outer limits of the place, it'd probably be dark. night fell so early these days; it was too bad for them that redbird was so superstitious. she thought it was proof the Bear was on her side with this! lets git! betcha the dark'll follow us, an' we can cause a helluva lot'a fright!
this was going to be fun!

S'ari nodded determinedly, oddly quiet, and followed the red woman to the Cenote, pondering her next moves. Was this wise? No, probably not. But when were any Tribe members necessarily wise? She just hoped she lived through til next morning and hoped she wasn't captured by these wolves who enslaved coyotes. However, if she died, or was captured, so be it. She'd chosen this path. She'd see it through.

Last from me. Wanna start the next one at the Cenote?