Verdant Basin as ye sow, so shall ye reep

Queenie needs more (friendly or not) spars for her mercenary trade!

There was something off. Wolves were disappearing, others were dying, while Queenie remained stagnant. It reminded her somewhat of her time spent as a child, watching people come in and out of her life with little to no hesitation, whether they had been there for years or for days.

The frustration that was building in Queenie needed to be released and another round of border patrol wouldn't cut it. Each step that she took away from the territory increased the ache in her bones — she needed to experience something new, something exciting. There was a certain bloodthirst that Queenie had always possessed but had been minimized with age. Now, it was making a steady return; she didn't care whose flesh it was, but she needed to tear into something.

am rusty, sorry

Cold and hungry. Both were a constant companion to the young girl over the winter. As if having to survive on scraps, scavenging from others and otherwise being a nuisance wasn't bad enough, the consistent snowfall was nothing if not a grim reminder of her poor choices in life so far. 

This time she found herself wandering back into a vaguely familiar territory, one she knew to be often filled with others of her species. Having nowhere particular to go, the young girl found herself merely travelling the path of least resistance, a small downhill stream that led to, what she hoped, was a source of water, if not food. Whilst approaching the basin, she managed to spy another, seemingly wandering in the cold. Confident she hadn't accidentally trespassed a border, the young girl continued her slow walk. Should she need to defend herself she could, and besides, she wasn't about to let the mere existence of some stranger prevent her free travel.

BYE you're fine

The other she-wolf didn't go undetected for long; with both the faint footsteps and strange new odor, Queenie could tell that she was no longer alone. There was a moment where she did nothing but examine the girl, checking for any obvious strength or weakness, but this soon passed. She didn't move from where she stood, but she did offer a chuff of greeting and a slight wag of her tail.

As the space between them grew steadily smaller, Queenie licked her chops and allowed her ears to swivel atop her head, following the chirps of distant birds. I haven't seen you before, she said, though it sounded more like a question: Who are you?

Despite the slow drudgery of her walk, Feint managed to find herself within talking distance of the mottled wolf rather hastily. Of course the tone of this strangers words brought the grey girls eye's up. She paused her walk, golden eyes taking a moment to observe the creature before her. The unfamiliar scent she picked up on, the multiple splotches of colour adorning her. The harsh, somewhat demanding tone of her observation all came together in this moment. 

If her obvious discomfort wasn't evident to this creature a moment before it would be as Feint let out a small scoff "How unfortunate for you." A statement of both sarcasm and annoyance, She began to move onward, though she made sure to stay aware of this unidentified girl.

The attitude of the loner was taken in with open embrace; Queenie enjoyed, or rather, preferred a challenge. The hackles along her spine began to raise slowly, row by row, as if waking from a drawn-out slumber. It had been quite some time since she'd gotten an opportunity like this, and Queenie didn't want to waste it. Try again, she commanded with a laugh. 

As mercenary, she had the duty of protecting her home. This she-wolf had managed to wander this close undetected, but now that she'd been caught, Queenie wanted some sort of identification. Her appearance was slowly becoming locked into her mind, but those memories faded; a name was something that she never forgot. Who are you?

As much as she wanted to continue on her own way without interruption, the other girl had a different idea. Stopping again she let out an annoyed huff at the demand to try again. The bristling of fur on the stranger was not lost on her, the dark hackles along her own spine instinctively found themselves rising in retaliation, gold eyes narrowing at her interrogator.

With a slight upturn of her lips, she resigned to the easier option, being too cold and not wanting to waste any unnecessary energy on a pointless argument, "Feint."she let out with a growl. "Now that you're introduced can I keep going or do you have more pointless questions?" she managed with a snap, wanting little more than to continue her slow trek without having to make irritating conversation with strangers.

Feint. It was a nice name, Queenie would give her that. Not the way that you're going, no, she said, feeling as though the stranger was too hostile to remain so close to home, You're awfully close to my borders. They were a fair enough distance to where the threat of an actual attack or trespassing was minimal, but one could never be too careful. 

For now, she remained defensive with her tail curled and swaying over her back. There was a clear shift between them, one that could be easily moved either for better or worse, but Queenie didn't mind either way. If anything, she was hoping things turned bloody.