Totoka River anti social social club

For @Sorina and @Screech (if you want ;D)

The pirate's words rang in his mind ever since his encounter. The man had been a strange one, unnerving in his demeanour and seemed like the type who would stab you in the back as soon as you had it turned. There had been some strange sense of familiarity within his wild, two-toned gaze, however, and the peculiar feeling kept Redshank from straying too far from the coast. While there were no large herds here, the boy had sustained himself on scraps and carrion, every tiny meal keeping death by starvation at bay for just a little while longer.

Slim legs carried the boy along a frozen river, finding that sticking by water was the safest way to travel. Not that he would be hard pressed to find water in the dead of winter. Redshank looked up from his wandering, glancing once at the darkened clouds above to the endless snowscape that he had found himself in. The river beside him gurgled quietly in a place where it had managed to break through the ice and flow once again. Shakily, he leant to dip his muzzle into the freezing waters, the shock of the temperature jolting him alive once more. He withdrew, licking away droplets, before turning towards the coast in the distance, slowly but surely making his way there.

So much had happened recently that her head was still spinning, emotions flickering back and forth between anger and sadness as she thought back to the one-eyed dick. One minute she hated him, and then the next all she wanted was to be around him. It bothered her and, as hard as it was to do, even made her regret having volunteered to leave the mountains in place of her father. Maybe she should have let her brother go on this journey of hers instead, maybe then she wouldn’t feel so… so—ugh.

Despite the threat of death that hung over her head—honestly, she doubted he would actually kill her—Sorina couldn’t leave the area. She abandoned the forest, keeping to just looking at it from afar, but the treeline was never far beyond her gaze. She didn’t know why she stuck around or what drew her to her enemy, but not knowing didn’t make it any easier to just up and leave. So she stayed and stared and stayed and stared until, finally, boredom overruled whatever else she was feeling and drove her towards the coast. She kept along the river—she’d familiarised herself with it recently, though it wasn’t all too interesting—meandering and doing her best to not look behind her.

Which became a shit ton easier after spotting a dark mass up ahead, towards whom she marched. And as she got closer, she yelled out, “Hey,” hoping for some kind of distraction—or someone to take her frustrations out on, it all depended on his response and her mood the second after.

A sudden shout caught Redshank's attention, and he casually threw a glance over his shoulder to see an equally dark mass striding towards him. The almost demanding tone of her call caused him to cast a quick, wary glance around the snow-covered area, wondering if he had mistakenly stumbled into packlands. Yet he hadn't recognised any border, and no other wolves were rabidly descending upon him save this single girl, so he assumed he was safe — relatively.

He turned fully, drawing himself up to his unimpressive height to face her. She was a slim wolf, around his age or so, with a raven-black coat that shined impressively despite the overcast sky. He quickly caught sight of her dark flashing eyes and felt his stomach drop. If she wanted to simply attack he would be done for. Even against a girl, Redshank was in no state to fight. The strike against the pale man on the coast had been a lucky hit and he was fortunate the stranger hadn't decided to retaliate.

Still, the boy couldn't contain his temper. "What?" he shot back, his scowl telling her all she needed to know. What the fuck do you want?

Sorina continued towards him, refusing to stop even after speaking. She wanted a distraction, something that would take her mind off of the one-eyed dick and give her something else to focus on. She even considered not yelling at him, maybe doing something that would entice him to hang around, if only to prolong her state of mindless antics—well, that had been the plan, anyways. But his tone threw her off, distracting her from her distraction and feeding into the rage that was always budding deep within her.

Poor, innocent titty shanker.

A scowl of her own engraved itself into the girl’s features and her pace picked up, carrying her on a path right towards the boy with no intentions of stopping. In fact, if he chose not to move, she’d ram right into him without so much as a second thought, and shouted either way, “Do not talk to me like that!” Was she overreacting? Definitely. Did she take notice of this? Possibly. Did she care? Not at all.

She continued forward at a self-assured prowl, her own features twisted into a look of ferocity that rivalled Redshank's own. Self preservation told him to back off, to submit to the substantially healthier wolf, but the boy was never one to take the smarter route. His tail waved menacingly at his legs, and he gave a flash of teeth as he scowled up at the dark girl. She spat back a retort which made him release a mocking laugh. Who did she think she was, to go around demanding others to fix their attitude like she was their mother (nevermind the fact that Redshank probably needed an attitude adjustment).

"I'll speak t'ya however I want," he scoffed, digging in his heels both physically and metaphorically as he sized up her approach. She didn't seem intent on stopping.

A distraction from her distraction wasn’t exactly ideal but, hey, it worked! As she speed-walked towards her target like a mother out back-to-school shopping, not a single thought of the one-eyed wonder crossed her mi—oh fuck, no, scratch that. She’d been so close to successfully forgetting that asswipe until this new dude’s attitude dragged those memories right back up. Skidding to a stop, she stared him down whilst her tail lashed behind her, trying to figure out what she wanted her next step to be. She could always continue her planned assault, or she could do something else—literally anything else. So many options, so many things she could do—

—lmao, nah, she went with her usual.

“You will not,” she shot back, lip twitching with the rage of a thousand scorned women (because dramatics are in this season). “You’re going to shut your mouth and start again—this time, speaking nicer to me. Got it?” This will be her new and improved one-eyed wonder, with two eyes this time and, hopefully, way better behaved.

What was her problem? Why were all wolves to the north so prickly? In truth, Redshank didn't really blame her. He himself was bitter from both the winter and prolonged absence of a proper meal. Still, the sheer arrogance the girl showed grated on his nerves and Redshank felt his defences rise, unwilling to ordered around by some stranger. Suddenly, she halted in her advance and the boy felt a smirk tug at his lips from the apparent hesitance.

She of course wasn't having any of his defiance and haughtily continued to demand total compliance and respect. Was she the kid of some Alpha somewhere? "No," he snorted at her. "Give me one good reason t'be nice t'you."

Of course, he demanded a reason for being nice, at which she huffed. So far, this new one-eyed wonder was off to a pretty awful start. Couldn’t he just roll-over and listen like a good boy? Just once, she’d like for that to happen—it would save her so much time. But, sadly, he would not be the first to deliver and what a shame that was. “Because,” she began, only to realise that she didn’t have a legitimate reason ready to be fired. “Just because. You’re not supposed to be an asshole to girls, you’re supposed to listen and do as your told.” As was the mentality she was raised with; the only male she’d ever listened to without question was her father but, even with him, the women of their family still had more say in decisions.

“Besides,” she started again, only this time she actually had her words planned in advance. “If you listen to me, I won’t be forced to hurt you—who knows, maybe I’ll even feed you if you’re especially good.” Sorina hunting with or for someone other than herself? What was the world coming to!

—nothing was changing, really, because it was doubtful that she’d actually follow through. Though she would think of other, less-involved rewards to give him for his good behaviour—she was at least a little bit fair.

Her reason was shaky at best, and Redshank let his mouth hang open ever so slightly as he listened, brows falling in confusion. By her logic, she could be an asshole to him but he couldn't be to her? While he didn't believe the world to be very fair, that just didn't seem right. Not that he was about to argue this with the girl, as she had already moved on from her strange justification.

He gave a huff of laughter at her vague threat, though deep down knew she might actually be able to follow through with it. She was slim — and still a girl — but hadn't the starved look of a young loner battling through winter. Did she belong to a pack? Redshank wasn't able to give it much thought as she suddenly extended an offer, albeit one with terms he didn't even entertain the idea of accepting. The fur along his shoulders bristled again.

"What th'fu—" he began, before catching himself and giving her an obvious look up and down, snark written all over his face. He couldn't say he wasn't tempted by the chance (even if the girl was insufferable), and wondered if her pride was something that could be manipulated. "As if you could catch anythin' anyway."

The fur covering the nape of her neck bristled under his wandering gaze, eyes narrowing as she dared him to speak against her. And of course, he did, challenging her abilities. But the bait set was not something she so eagerly shot out to take, keeping away from it and, instead, fixed him with a glare and another, prissy huff. “I can catch plenty,” she retorted. Gradually, her expression shifted into a smirk as she returned the favour and looked him over, noting how they varied in terms of health. “Definitely more than you. Just look at you—how pathetic. Can’t catch enough to keep that mouth of yours stuffed shut?” And he had the nerve to question her abilities? Hah!

Swinging a single forelimb forward, she took a slow step towards him, eyes settling back into his. “You’re not being very good by questioning me,” noted the snake, her opposite limb moving forward as she inched closer to him. “Guess that means you won’t be getting fed.” She stopped, now close enough to reach out and touch him, should he have kept still throughout her approach. And without a care in the world for personal space and various other sorts of boundaries, she reached out with the intention of aiming a nip at his nose.

“Will you listen to me now?”

They bristled at each other like two alley cats, but neither came to blows just yet. Redshank could only assume she didn't outright attack him because she couldn't bear a single strand of her precious coat being out of place. She seemed like the type. Daddy's little princess who was used to everything going her way; she almost reminded him of Titmouse somehow. At least, she had the obnoxious nature down pat.

His tail whipped behind him in contempt, matching her glowering stare with a scowl of his own as she provided her assessment of him. He almost wanted to say this was his natural state, that he was perfectly fine, ribs and all, only to quickly realise such a confession would work against him. He struggled for a comeback, the gears turning in his head creaking to a halt as all that ran through his mind was — yeah, well, shut up!

As she began to stalk closer again, the boy resisted the urge to withdraw, instead angling his head upwards while still regarding her with a wary eye. At least this one he could reason with, sort of. The other female along the coast he had encountered had basically been a feral. The prissy stranger was almost in his face now, and Redshank lifted his lip to reveal a single canine, before suddenly she reached out to plant a quick bite to his nose. "Ah! You bitch!" he cried, reeling backwards. He glared up at her while rubbing his nose with a forelimb, trying to shake off the sting.

He didn't answer her question, but the reticent silence following the query and subsequent nip was enough to reveal his passive interest in her offer, regardless of how genuine he believed it to be.

The girl’s tail lashed back and forth behind her like a cat ready to pounce, a dangerous glint in her eyes. She couldn’t keep a smirk from settling on her lips as he retreated, clearly amused. But her enjoyment of the scene didn’t last long, his words ringing through her head on repeat—bitch stood out, tearing the playful smirk from her lips and allowing a scowl to be engraved back into her features. How dare he insult her! Did he not understand that she was offering him an opportunity at a life greater than the one he’d lead on his own? That she could keep him fed and fit enough to serve as her personal guard, that she would praise and reward him for his good behaviour? Evidently not, as an apology had yet to flee his lips.

“Apologise to me. Now,” ordered the serpentine she-devil, stealing several steps closer to make up for his previous retreat. “The sooner you apologise, the easier I’ll make your life with me.” Because wow, why wouldn’t he follow her after all of that?

The boy had been spending a lot more time by the river and on the beach as of late, but he wasn't ever too far from Ravensblood and frequently returned to the haven that Constantine provided.

Today he was on the hunt once more for the Cortens, or maybe for something to eat — but what he found was something entirely different. The sound of intermittent voices along the riverside piqued his interest; Screech thought that maybe the familiarity he felt when he heard them was because his hunt was over. Maybe the Cortens were having another party! He wanted to fill the void left by his own family's absence, and didn't think as he followed the sounds to their origin point.

What he found — who he found — made him instantly elated and then just as swiftly sick to his stomach. There was his brother Redshank! There was the joy, ah, it buzzed in his skin. But then as Screech approached behind the chocolate-clad boy, he spied Sorina just over his shoulder; his excitement flipped and flopped and he lost hold of his happiness.

The fuck do you think you're doin'? He called out as he crept up to Shank's flank; he cast his friend a brief look-over with his good eye (having come upon the scene at a good enough angle to keep his ruined side hidden) and he bared his teeth at the stupid bitch. Get away from him.

I'm sorry ;_;

Apologise for what? He wanted to scream back, his nose still throbbing from where she nipped it. He once again stood his ground as she dominantly approached, however this time, he kept his head lowered and ears pinned back. He wasn't fond of bites to the nose, and if she was going to do that again he was definitely not going to take her up on her offer. "I'm..." he began with an ugly glower, meaning to say that he was not going to apologise but a certain voice caught him off-guard.

His attention was stolen completely by the newcomer, and he whipped his head around at the figure that suddenly materialised at his side. "Tit?" he exclaimed. He had yet to catch sight of his friend's fresh new look and was oblivious to the fact that these two had met before, so was filled with confidence that they could take on this bitch no problem. "Yeah, back off," he added as he drew himself up now that he had allied company.

Suddenly, there was two of them and only one of her—how terribly unfair!

Sorina stiffened where she stood, staring between them and then narrowing her gaze at Screech. “You get away from him,” she countered, hackles rising. “What are you doing here? Go away.” Of all the wolves—no, creatures—in the world, he was the last one that she wanted to see. He was awful to her, never listened, and had a bad habit of just up and leaving without her giving him permission to do so. She wanted to make the other boy, the new one, take his place but he seemed bolder now, having the support of a friend—why didn’t she have any of those?—at his side.

The world was most definitely acting against her.