Neverwinter Forest don't you dare close your eyes

open to any prospects, curious ppl, or packmates to be!

So it was decided! Neverwinter Forest, the place Scimitar had spoken of and she had once only dreamed of, was to be their home! The she wolf walked around the borders to-be with a lifted tail and a skip in her step. While she was a benevolent woman, and did not dare others to invoke her wrath, she would guard these lands viciously from intruders and outsiders. In the beginning days, however, she felt it would be acceptable if she told others this rather than outright attack. Passerby wolves would not know from the get go and as the markings were fresh (but telling), they could for a short time get away with close proximity.

At the moment, Eshe marked the territory in each way that she could. She was presently rubbing the whole of her body against the earth, and rose with a mohawk encrusted in snow upon her spine. She continued onward to next squat and mark the white with snow that would shortly turn yellow... and when this was done she only continued in the process. Eshe did so with vigor, eager for this chapter to begin.

The brute and scarred warrior, moved about quietly. His mind churning and moving about as he thought of the current circumstances and where they were. He had followed Scimitar and Bazi to where they had willed. had watched their love fall and get torn asunder, a piece of him had seized up fearful that the same would happen to him and Kaskara. But there was no tension fraught between the two.

Instead he had followed her again, to follow Scimitar and his new bride and Kieran wasn't quite sure what to say or do around the female that had stolen the males heart. He did not mind her, and he also did not know her. As always preferring to keep to himself and Kaskara.

Today though like  the loyal beast that he was, he turned out to find a place to start marking their borders. He hoped this would be the last move, because frankly he was getting weary. He was not a young male anymore.  He'd be six years old soon, that was very old for a male, and he was almost twice the age of his beloved. Not really, but he felt it. He was even beginning to gray around his muzzle if he looked close enough.

The she wolf paused as she caught a familiar scent on the wind. She knew the wolf whose scent it carried, and was glad for his companionship. While she did not know him very well, she felt he might know her better for the fact that she was an incredibly open book. There were no mysteries with her. Even her attraction to Scimitar at Everwinter might have been blatantly obvious, as the tension between the two had always been palpable. But Eshe never sought to get in the middle of he and Bazi. She ought to have left altogether, but her love blinded her to common sense. By and by she had been the thing that broke the camels back, but it was also clear that even if she had not around the end for the two seemed nigh regardless.

If she was not around, Eshe felt that both she and him would have lived their lives—near or far to one another—unhappily. No match was as good as they were for one another. She only regretted that she had taken him from his most recent batch of cubs if any were begotten from their last union... she had never asked.

Eshe never asked what others thought of her. What would she think of herself? What would Bhreac think of her? Her family? Ah, she supposed at the end of it they would accept their union. It was emotional and not physical; the two had yet to couple, though from the first there had been a close call.

Soon enough Keiran came into her sights, and her tail waved warmly. He had come with them—she felt that had to mean something! Even if he did not approve, perhaps one day he might for the happiness the two brought one another. The union was not tense or hateful, but sweet. Their love had overcome and beat the odds set against her; Scimitar, with everything to lose, thought gaining her to be worth the price. And he had paid, and yet he stood with her, by her, beside her, ready for this beginning! Eshe bore affection for Keiran for his joining them, but did not bestow it upon him in fear of his rejection of her. Still, it was obvious she was glad for his presence among them and now, his company.

But she did not push it, or her luck. Her ears pricked forward as she regarded him; the charming man was now in her sights, and she chuffed to him in greeting.

Kieran moved and scented the new young bride nearby. He sniffed and looked around trying to catch her in his sights.  Keiran had not known her that well, and as far as her attraction to Scimitar it had been a surprise to him. But most things in the matter of the heart were for the male. He was rather thick and dense about that sort of thing.  Though the union of the two leaders was different. Kieran also knew that there had not been very many happen moments with Scimitar and Bazi, so who was he to argue. And besides if he spoke ill of either one, Kaskara very well may bite his tail.

Kieran would not deny that both seemed happy in their current roles and he hoped the best for them. And he did indeed care for Scimitar as in brotherly affection. And there was a healthy dose of respect there for the male, so he also held respect for his decisions.

Had the she wolf ever asked Kieran of his thoughts on her, he honestly wouldn't know what to tell her. Not only did he not know her well enough, but it was none of his business whether or not or how they had gotten together as a couple. 


Kieran continued walking and a chuff nearby made him tilt his head and he dipped it at her sight. He gave her small smile and wag of his tail and then stood still unsure what exactly to say. Wata 'boyt ye miss Eshe?

Eshe instinctively wanted to dip her head to him; at Everwinter, she was the subordinate and he had been above her. Even if it had not been in a leadership role, his longevity with the Everwinter wolves was commendable. Eshe respected him greatly. She (felt) had been a good subordinate, too; if by nothing else she hoped that he knew that she was a good, hardworking woman who put forth every effort to be a participating pack member. Her aspirations had been geared toward being a quartermaster as well as a peacekeeper between packs. At Everwinter, there was no trouble and no need to be an ambassador; but she was prepared to fulfill that role!

His greeting was met with a wave of her tale. She was still getting used to his dialogue, and now more than ever she knew she would need to fully learn it. Eshe had not heard him speak much to her at Everwinter but then, he interacted for the most part with Scimitar and Kaskara. So translating him would be slow going, but she would do her damnedest.

Hey! Lovely afternoon, innit, she rejoined him, only hoping she had said the right thing. The Endores were each Irish and some even spoke Gaelic (she very minimally), but none had spoken in his jargon. Witticisms and common phrases were, well, common among them, but they were more a diluted brand of Irish. Surely it'd be an insult to pretend herself such a thing in front of the 'real deal' so to speak. What do you think of the forest? She asked him at length, her eyes falling back to him.

Since this is AW :D

There were two many lone wolves filling up the forest. FitzDutiful had been cautious about this area ever since he had encountered Asterr but she had moved onto other grounds. Although they now had two plentiful hunting grounds, the base of Neverwinter Forest went to Silvertip Mountain, he didn't like the idea of having another pack so close. It was too likely to encourage cache stealing and meant they had to relocate their Neverwinter based caches to another area. It wasn't a risk worth taking.

With Zaria pregnant the thought of his new pups being threatened by a neighbouring pack filled him with concern. He needed to find out who was at Neverwinter Forest and if a problem was simmering. He noted the scent markings weren't strong, the pack didn't seem to be strongly formed and so he walked straight through. As he wandered from Silvertip Mountain and straight into the forest he followed the stronger markings and came across a female marking borders and a question being raised.

"I think the forest is very close to my own borders." There was a smallest hint of a growl to his tone. His displeasure at this event apparently but his posture showed no signs of attacking. He wanted to know who was here and why they hadn't come to notify his pack they were going to set up next door. Were their noses dulled that they hadn't noted the Silvertip borders at one end of their new land-to-be?

Scimitar had already begun to mark the forest as theirs – his large form slid along the familiar trees with a sense of ease. Kaskara and Kieran were with them – Pasha. He ached for the rest of his family, but it had become apparent that life could not continue on the way it had been.
 
And now his new start had become Eshe – and she was very much a breath of fresh air to him.
 
Prowling along, he came upon a fresh scent he did not recognize, and did not hesitate a moment to follow it. The dark agouti wolf came upon the white male – a growl seeping in his tone, as he spoke to not just Kieran, a man Scimitar had come to call a brother, to to his sweet Eshe, who had never harmed another in her life.
 
“If it is the forest you wish to have claimed, you should have done so by now,” he offered, sliding smoothly between the man and his family, his own form lifting higher. The Forest was not claimed yet, and so he did not take the stance he would with a trespasser – but nor was the other welcome to show ire upon his mate. “Otherwise, there is another territory dividing ours.” He spoke of the Glacier, where the mountain pack’s borders met there, and potentially a sliver to the forest he sought to claim. It had been one thing when Ouroboros Spine had their stake – but that pack had long since gone, and as far as he was concerned, the forest was the place they would be settling.

Before Kieran had a chance to answer her, there was another male there and he was growling at them sort of. The mahoghany male, moved to stand in front of Eshe. And he growled at him. Naw nade ter be rude sir, 'tis free space 'ere He was about to say more, but Scimitar stepped between them even further. Kieran tilted his head and waited an unpleasant rumble in his chest ever so often. He studied the male and waited, if he so much as made a move Kieran would dispatch him before he had time to think twice.

Eshe watched Keiran, and then, in the blink of an eye, a man came blundering into their lands. Eshe was prepared to give a gentle-but-firm reprimand when the other went so far as to answer her question for her. She blinked at him, confused for all of a minute, her very expression saying: What are you talking about? After all, as they had only just arrived, this being only their second morning here—and not coming from the direction his mountain was in—she herself had not the chance to make it to that neck of the woods, knowing that if not her someone else would. The most activity seemed centralized where she lurked in any case, and she knew her mate, Kaskara, and Pasha (young though he was) were more than capable of taking care of that. She had planned to go in that direction to get to know the territory more...

She smelled her mate, and then heard him approaching, before she saw him. She regained her composure by the time he was beside her, and Eshe noted then that Keiran had taken a protective step in front of her. She was endeared by this, and knew she had to interpret what the hell was going on. Keiran seemed to understand well enough—he had been coming from that direction, hadn't he?—and her mate, too...

It clicked in a moment. And in that moment her demeanor changed from defensive and confused to alert, aware, and angry for it. Her furs pricked upward like her moniker, and she looked to the man whose tone she certainly did not appreciate with building contempt. It was rare she ever felt so... so negative, but she felt affronted. Her neighbors had neglected to bring baked cranberry pie to their proverbial white picket fence home, and had selected rotten eggs instead to welcome them. Keiran spoke of rudeness, but Eshe felt she and hers were the victim of the others abrupt and passively-aggressive behavior... she wouldn't stand for it.

And you're well within ours, when we never so much as touched yours—nor do we intend to. Eshe said pointedly, and then, Get out. Her ears were erect and forward. They would not continue this conversation within her living room, her bedroom, her kitchen; they'd do so at the doorstep, if he had anything to say. Her plume was lifted squarely over her hindquarters and her tone was stony and cool. She meant business. For the time being, they had settled here, and it was he who had cast the first stone with, and in, his literal trespass. That he was not attacked from the get-go spoke of the nature of them all, but Eshe's mercy would be quite short lived. Patient and warmhearted though she was, Eshe was no pushover in matters such as these.

Her thoughts on the matter were this: her mate knew what he was talking about, experienced as he was. Her mate would never piss on another's claim. Eshe did not even need to question him then, for he had answered, and her trust in him was implicit.

Things escalated quickly but FitzDutiful knew the right to Eshe's challenge as his own hackles raised and he turned his attention past the two males to the weak female. They had not formed a pack yet, they were not pack and were not family and therefore he had not trespassed. Borders from the mountainside were weak, pitiful, they could have belonged to a pack months ago for all the good they did. He knew not where this "pack" had come from but here borders that weak were punished, severely.

Let's backtrack for a moment to cover the events leading to this event.

The male with the female, the brown one, had begun to speak and FitzDutiful had started to relax when another male entered. It seemed as though this new one - multicoloured in brown and white - was the alpha to be as he mentioned another territory dividing theirs. True, up to a point. His guard had raised once again when the newcomer had entered, but one the conversation began he was relaxing. Slightly. He had been about to reply to both of them when the female piped up. From behind the two males no less. Her words, her actions made out she was to be the alpha but she was a weak pitiful thing whom Zaria would easily dispatch, pregnant as she was. She was no alpha.

However, now was the current time. His hackled had just raised and he made a visible effort to reduce them. "Your borders are weak; anyone would think they were months old not current." he said through gritted teeth, obviously restraining himself from adding any further menace into his tone. It was barely there, just skulking around the edges. They were three but he was a trained mercenary and he knew how to fight. He was pretty sure he could hold out long enough to retreat to the mountain. Did that female not realise he had to only howl and his pack of 12 strong would be here to slaughter them all?

His attention turned away from her to the two males - all of this had been a matter of seconds and there was no pause in his words from what he addressed to wanna-be-alpha to what he ceded to the male he knew was definitely alpha. He lowered himself ever so slightly, more than he had need to do as he addressed the darker male, Scimitar.

"This is fair land, but you live here for 12 cycles of the moon and tell me you wouldn't question a pack moving in to the land next door. I assume you are in the process of it's claim and I came to address the matter of the area where forest meets mountain. Any pups from either side of our borders deserve safety without the threat of a misstep meaning life. I come with a proposal that we both move our borders back from the meeting by the length of that wolf." His head motioned at Kieran, a medium sized wolf but on the larger side. "Then we neither fear the paw of the other overstepping their bounds." He looked to see how this news was taken before swiftly adding, "Once your pack has completely claimed these lands."

They hadn't yet. Ideally they wouldn't. There were plenty other forests in this world. They had no need to sit on his doorstep but he knew he could not stop them. The former counsellor within him had hoped for an agreeable visit but his guardian side cared nothing for that. He wanted them gone, he wanted a fight, he wanted to run them off while they were only three. But his best warrior was out of action for now, this pack had picked the perfect time.

None of these thoughts, the thoughts of death and destruction, were visible in his actions or his words. He would seem like an alpha ceding that the male before him was to be an alpha; but they both knew the forest wasn't theirs yet.

Kieran was quick to also protect Eshe -- who, despite having two hulking males set between her and the white wolf, piped up angrily, almost stirring the barest hint of a smile from Scimitar. He dare not though -- as enthusiastic as she was for life, he certainly didn't want to be the one to also anger her -- hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and all of that.
 
She was also perfectly within her right, and as the stranger made a scornful comment, Scimitar felt a snort of amusement press past his lips. "If your nose can't decipher a fresh piss scent then one months old, we're going to have a problem," he rumbled, pointing out how absolutely ridiculous their visitor was. It was also the scent markers of four adult wolves and a yearling -- if that wasn't enough of an indication of what would be happening, the Frostfur didn't know what else would be.
 
Perhaps the wolf had come to reason -- his growling seemed subsided, and his posture relaxed before the Forest wolf. Perhaps logic came to pass -- for this stranger might have had a pack back on the mountain that he could call, but he would surely be dead before they could reach him. Three to one was not a favorable option. And even then, Scimitar had been in enough battles and wars within Teekon Wilds to not quake at the thought.
 
"First, I don't believe I would go upon the land they are to claim, snarling at them," he noted, his voice calm. He shifted his weight, his own form remained relaxed for now. "If it is peace you seek, you're introduction could use some work. Saying that, we have no thirst for blood or war. We've come here to settle our own family in a land we already know is resourceful." He paused then, his muzzle tipping only slightly. "So if it is a wolf length's each from our current borders you wish to press back, then we will abide by this -- we're not your enemy, unless you make us so. And that includes disrespecting my mate in her home."

Kieran's eyes went wide at the other male's audacity and the rumble grew deeper in his throat.  Kieran watched as the other man's eyes focused further on Eshe, and he stepped further in front of her lowering his eyes. Keiran spoke out in a grumble after Scimitar irritation clear in his gaze. The fool in front of him, he just wanted to rip him apart.

De borders 'av jist been started, but their fresh, 'onestly if yer canny tell de difference as he said thar's somethin' wrong witcha.

Kieran shifted and measured the distance that the other male wanted and he quieted his growl as Scimitar continued to speak, but he watched the other. Honestly it was laughable that this male would think he had half a chance against two seasoned warriors. Kieran wore his own seasons on his pelt, including the jagged scar that traced his face.

The others presumptions could certainly be the death of him. And she had an inkling of them, if only by his treatment of her, which she bristled at. She seemed not to be the only one who noticed, either. This moon will be the second one we are here for, she began, but the intent is no less clear for that, and borders are borders, she pointed out, her tone cool. Eshe would not go so far as to say she disliked this man, but her opinion of him was significantly lowered. She thought their neighbor to be a delusional man who thought himself above anything else bar what he wanted. He certainly did not listen to her when she told him to leave, and such a thing soured her mood greatly. Her ears pricked forward as she calmed herself, but her blood boiled.

It was hard to listen to him, the self-righteous man. But as he spoke, she saw why he was so hostile... or, at least, assumed it. Still, she did not want to make him feel vulnerable particularly with the assumption that there were pups on the other side.

Eshe let the others speak first, and when she trusted herself to, she responded as well. Scimitar eloquently and succinctly put her thoughts on his introduction, his being FitzDutiful, to them. I can empathize with your concern. Your longevity here would of course require that you see that your neighbors are fit ones, she nodded to him, understanding that much. But still, he had trespassed, and came to them bemoaning of his fear of cubs being ripe for their slaughter! She supposed she understood where the fear stemmed from, him being as simple as a child and doing the very same.

She paused, and looked to her mate. The terms were acceptable to her, and so she nodded, and then looked back to the male who had visited. Her anger had subsided, but she would not forget his insult to her, and so she stonily stared onward at him. Only her empathizing with his worries caused her to remain still, rather than chasing him from their home as she certainly ought to have done.

Thanks for the drama XD

The female spoke again and FitzDutiful listened though he didn't look towards her. Her words were lies, absolutely lies and he had to use all of his self control to avoid bristling at the lies she spoke. The second moon, no - he watched these woods often and Ravensblood less often. If they had been here for two moon cycles then he would have known. It never occurred to him that she maybe meant two nights for his referred to days as suns and months as moons.

Still he had a chance to leave and he took it. He didn't have the self control to remain any longer but he trusted them no more. No, he was going to head home and talk to his pack about this disaster. Out of respect he dipped his head, it almost hurt him to do so, and he left out of the border he was closest to rather than walking back to the mountain through the forest as he wished to. The pack was young, they had at least two strong fighters - but so did he and he had more in numbers than they. And if they could hold off a month then they had three skilled fighters. The female was laughable, not worth counting, but as he walked home along their borders he tried to pick up the distinct scents and figure out how many wolves they had in their pack.

The wolf had no comment to any of their words – he offered nothing but a bow of his head, and in that moment, Scimitar distrusted him even more. His own muzzle dipped cordially enough, and watching the other disappear from view, he refrained for a moment from stalking after the wolf to ensure he saw himself out of their home swiftly.
 
Drawing his eyes to Eshe and Kieran, he gave a nod to the brutish male, the hint of a smile gracing his broad muzzle. “I’m glad you and Kaskara are joining us here, Kieran,” he murmured – words he had spoken time again whenever they moved. He did not wish to bring war to them, but nor was it in his nature to lay down and allow another to walkover him – especially one with such low intellect. “All of you.” He began, his gaze fondly shifting between the two. “You’re the world to me.”
 
With that, the dark agouti man swept off, tailing the other wolf at a respectable distance, his lope leisurely.

Kieran watched the other wolf go and he growled loudly. If our neighbors are al' dat friendly we ain't gonna 'av a gran' go av it.

Kieran listened to Scimitar and he tilted his ears back and gave one soft nod. Kaskara had warned him to watch his tongue, to keep it in check. He wouldn't lie, he didn't mind Eshe and he was glad Scimitar was happy, but the whole thing left a bad taste in his mouth. There were a lot of hurt feelings. He wagged his tail once and Kieran watched him go. he turned towards the new queen and dipped his head.

Miss Eshe. I'll walk yer back if you'll let me. Don't nu if dat male 'ill cum back. yer man didn't seem ter loike weemen al' dat well.

Eshe watched her mate, and listened to him. When he began to walk off, Eshe felt the desire to walk with him, knowing the reason he escorted him and accepting it. She also mulled over the words of Kieran. While it took a moment for her to decipher, she translated and felt that she agreed. It was not in her to be defiant to others, but she felt the approach of the pale leader and the way he went about things made her wish to make good on this claim of theirs even still. Silvertip claimed the entirety of a mountain which surely had more than enough of its own forests and prey within it. And if they were worried about trespassers, they ought to practice what they preached.

When Kieran spoke again, she looked to him and then looked back to the direction her mate had gone. Not wanting to undermine her mates strength, but also fretting at the nature of the other man given his first impression, she felt herself between a rock and a hard place. She grit her teeth at how much she already did not trust the trespasser, but the nature of what they agreed to required that trust.

Yes, she accepted at last, exhaling a heavy breath, Thank you. Things were certainly off to a rocky start; but perhaps, after today, things would get better.