Dragoncrest Cliffs borderline with my atoms

Just a few questions! Wilson is a few yards from the border.

The stroll down the coast had lasted no longer than Wilson had planned. It had taken her a month or so to find active land, but she didn't mind. If she'd had to travel inland, away from the water, then her journey might have seemed more tedious, but moving along like this was easy.

She'd already assumed that the coast would be heavily inhabited; how could anyone resist? Settling by the water had countless benefits, from bountiful prey to protection from outside attacks. The only thing that coastal wolves had to concern themselves with was the tide, but during a summer like this, that was negligible.

The first pack that she came across was clearly marked, so Wilson thought that it was safe to assume that they didn't take lightly to strangers. She was curious to learn more, but she knew to play it safe; instead of approaching the border directly, she wandered a few yards off and observed, sniffing around and turning stones to see if there was anything she could figure out on her own.

one thing blixen is good at is compartmentalizing. her heart can race every time she thinks of four very free girls all it wants, but she's got home and loyalty and drageda, and that's that. right?

the shilkru takes back to patrolling with a vengeance, having nothing else to distract herself with. she visits the kiddos now and again and she makes plans to tend to the garden she keeps forgetting to keep up with. but mantaining the borders is like... almost a ritual, if not, you know, slightly self-flagellating. 

thankfully today there is something to do: blixen spies a stranger sniffing around the borders and straightens up, picking up her pace to intercept them. they -- she doesn't seem to be trying to cross the borders, which begs the question, "what are you doing?"

Upon hearing the other's inquisitive (and possibly defensive) tone, Wilson lifted her head and respectfully halted with her investigation. There wasn't much need for her to sniff around aimlessly with a pack member right in front of her anyway, so she didn't mind. Well, this is just the first border I've come across in a while, Wilson cooed with a gentle grin, There's a pack here?

It was very much like her to get ahead of herself, so in hopes of seeming less intrusive, she decided to introduce herself. I'm Wilson, she announced with a dip of her head, You don't have to tell me your name if you don't want.

squint.

wilson seems harmless enough but if she's not from another pack and she's not trying to join, blixen has no idea what she's on about. she'll indulge it for now but only because she's nicer to women. ahem. "it's fine, i'm blixen," the shilkru says, giving her an odd look, "and yeah -- drageda. you're at the borders. do you .. need something?"

Pleased, Wilson dipped her head and took a silent second to take in the information. Drageda, she repeated in a low whisper, Does it mean something? It had to, didn't it? Even if it didn't, it was still a pretty cool name, and Wilson was sure that there was some sort of interesting backstory to be heard. I just got here, you see. I like to learn things about new places. It's all I do, really.

Since she'd been a pup, Wilson had been plagued with an incessant curiousity for the world around her. Always asking questions, always wanting to know more. I don't mean to be a bother.

hm. again, harmless enough, but definitely beyond blixen's (admittedly limited) scope of understanding. what's the point of just like.. walking around and asking things? learning things? she's not one of those jock types that thinks any work except her kind of work is bad, dont get it twisted, but still. "o-kay," she says, taking a seat -- clear she'll play along for now even if the doubtful look lingers on her face. "yes, it's a word in our native tongue," the shilkru explains, scrunching up her face as she thinks about how to translate it. after a moment she decides she can't and moves on. "our culture goes back to before we lived here," she tells wilson instead, "and we have other branches elsewhere, other gedas." satisfied with her own answer, she tilts her head and asks, "so you just like, go around asking questions? you don't want to settle anywhere?"

It intimidated Wilson to think of how well established Drageda was, and she wasn't afraid to make this stance known. Wondering if she might be talking to one of the leaders of a powerhouse, she folded in quite visibly and averted her gaze respectfully. For a moment, she even thought about fully submitting to Blixen, but she decided against it (for the time being).

I-well, she began, now quite tongue-tied, I just like to explore, I guess. And I don't want to settle down. Not now, at least. Wilson had only just left home, and what was the fun in leaving one subordinate rank just to go and find another?

this is maybe another one of those moments where blix is being a bit closed minded (she's working on it, honest), so she drops the remaining judgemental look in her eyes and nods, accepting wilson's answer as genuine. "i don't go very far from here," she admits, "but that sounds kinda cool, i guess. like being a scout or whatever." okay well -- it's a start. it's not like being a scout, since scouting usually has a productive purpose in her opinion, but furi had been the same way, so maybe she should be a little more accomodating about the whole thing. "if you learn anything cool, come back and tell me," she says, the request unplanned and impulsive and frankly kind of silly. surely wilson won't come all the way back to a pack she has no loyalty to just for blixen's sake. still in the seconds that pass she finds she actually means it, and watches her a touch hopefully for a response.

It was a curious thing, the way that Wilson wove her way through emotions. Upon hearing the indirect invitation to return, she immediately perked up, her tail resuming its enthusiastic beat behind her. It was rare that anyone ever requested she revisit their borders, so she figured that Blixen must have liked her at least somewhat. Of course! she beamed, then standing as she figured all had been said, Expect to see me sooner or later. Promise! And with that, the young Wilson was off.

"bye," blixen calls after her retreating form, watching for a few moments with a strange envy she can't quite place. eventually she shakes her head and rises back to her feet, returning to her patrol, her thoughts every so often turning to wilson and wondering what new things she'll see (if she'll run into furi and her friends.)