Phoenix Maplewood not from others
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#1
All Welcome 
She didn't notice the heavy scent of the maples anymore. Oh, sometimes she still looked to the mountains (when they were visible between the boughs) and longed to set her eyes on Moonspear, to breathe in the cool, pine-scented air - but the scent of Morningside was no longer seemed so cloying or unpleasant. It was simply a part of life, and there were far more worrying things for her to dwell on.

Like her leg. She could feel it getting stronger, but it still failed every test she put it through. It seemed that time would truly be her only savior, but doing nothing was not an option, either. She put her mind to this whole repayment thing and was dissatisfied with the conclusion that she'd come to - Alya had nothing to offer Morningside's chief.

But her fishing was getting better, and she had not yet poisoned anyone by her attempts to heal the masses. That was comforting, even if it was rather boring. She would much rather have spent her time exploring, but the state of her leg was such that she did not yet dare to go far. For the most part, she rested in her little forest bed, looking up at the maple leaves during the day and by night, watching as more and more of the night sky was revealed to her. Autumn was coming, and as the leaves fell upon her bed, the branches above her grew more barren. It was beautiful in a painful, depressing sort of way.

On this day, she was back at the creek, resting her sore ankle in the cool waters as she waited for another fish to come by. It was slow, boring work, but what else could she do with her time?
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#2
Desdemona didn't know where she could take rest, and without @Sunny to escort her inside the Morningside territory, the darkened lass hovered around the outskirts. She would aimlessly wander around and mark until the call came to be for her to dutifully fill out a task. Yet, she was not yet called and only wandered with tired eyes, and heavy steps. She felt weak.

Before coming to the land she walked and wandered for a long time, getting little sleep as possible. Desdemona was too determined to find what she sought- a place she can truly be loyal to. Or else she felt worthless... And those who are worthless do not deserve the comfort of sleep. However she grew tired, and desired for a break just for a moment. A good minute will do, so she thought.

Upon strolling to a nearby creek her jade eyes immediately spotted another wolf. She did not know if this wolf saw her, but Desdemona could smell the Morningside scent upon her. As per courtesy, she smoothly bent down her upper body and placed one paw forward, and the other backwards into a bow, "Good evening, ma'am." It was better to make herself known then to creep around, that was beneath her ways.
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#3
Her shoulders tensed a tiny bit as she detected the approach of another. She turned her head at a suitably lazy pace to disguise her unease, and had to school her features from surprise back to cool indifference as the woman before her bowed"Good evening," Alya returned, inclining her head a small measure when the stranger was in a position to see the gesture. "Why do you bow to me?" she asked, not exactly saying that it was incorrect, but certainly wondering at the implications.

What she wanted to ask was do you know who I am? But no one had bowed to her at Moonspear, either, except Dash or Daddy when they were feeling silly, and not for a long time, either. So she didn't really think the girl had been sent for her. But that didn't mean Alya wasn't interested in picking up a follower, depending on the mental stability of the other girl.
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#4
The wolf before her questioned why she bowed, and it startled Desdemona. No one asked why, because it was simply... "Ma'am, it is custom to bow toward those who are above myself." The simple movement of doing so was in her very core. She remembers the days very clearly of being mauled for not doing such a simple gesture. It came to the point even when the dark dame is not at her previous pack, she cannot help but do it. She had felt that Morningside would not treat her the same harshness they had done, but it made her wish to grovel even more out of respect. Even now she still yet to get up from the position.

Even more so, she felt everyone was above her. After all, she was a litter sired out of wedlock; a bastard.
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That made sense. Or it would have, except, "You have no idea who I am," Alya pointed out, halfway between amused and disappointed. This was no envoy from Moonspear. She didn't know why she'd gotten her hopes up.

Alya waited for the girl to explain herself, wondering if this was some sort of joke. It was not, of course, that she did not agree with the other's sentiment. It was just that it seemed strange that one might divine just from looking at her that she was far superior to themselves.

The girl must be a thrall, she thought. Her place among the Morningsiders must be such that she was made to bow. Alya's estimation of Aditya fell down a peg. Not for his practice of keeping thralls, but for his attempt to seem like a wolf who would not.

And, if he did save her to make her a thrall, what did he want from her?
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#6
"You smell of Morningside, ma'am." The wolf before shared a similar scent that Aditya and Sunny carried, as well as the scent of the Maplewoods. If there was another, Desdemona could not detect that well, as she had yet to know what else Teekon Wilds held. She wasn't even sure of the other Packs were around, the first one she discovered was the Pack she currently is loyal to.

"I serve Morningside and its members, ma'am."
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"I may smell of them, but I am not," said Alya, making an impatient gesture at the woman. "Get up already. You can bow if you want, but you should speak to others face to face. Betters or not."

She looked the other woman up and down, taking in her lissome figure and bright green eyes. With a pang, she thought of her mother, and wondered what Amekaze thought of her extended absence. "I'm Alya Ostrega, from Moonspear," she introduced, forgoing her usual pseudonym. Let Aditya find out from someone other than her. She hoped it would burn him. "Who are you?"
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#8
Desdemona listened, and obediently got up. She did not comment toward 'you should speak face to face,' as she remembers doing so long ago, only to end in hardship. This woman seemed blunt, with a tint of wildness in her. She persumed they grew up differently, causing such a difference in the personalities. Though she did not mind, it was simply something different.

'I'm alya Ostrega, from Moonspear.' She was taken back at this introduction, but kept on her emotionless pokerface of seriousness. The wolf introduced herself not of Morningside, but of another place; Moonspear. She of course, never heard of such a place nor' know of it's wolves. Though, why was this wolf in the maplewoods then? "Apologizes for not introducing myself earlier, ma'am. I am Desdemona." Unlike Alya, she held no surname, and did not feel worthy enough to say 'from Morningside..' Yet. She was too new, after all.
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#9
Alya wasn't surprised by the lack of surname. Many wolves did not have a family name, and Alya looked down on every one of them. Of course, it was only marginally more than she would look down on anyone who did not share her blood or carry the proud name of Ostrega, so she didn't think too poorly of Desdemona. At least her first name was pretty. Alya had always secretly liked longer names. "Nice to meet you," said Alya, although whether or not that was true remained to be seen.

It was odd that the other felt the need to apologize. The bow had been nice, but overt politeness was a bit grating. Alya herself did not have a deep reserve of politeness, although she could pretend to be if the occasion called for it. Sometimes.

"Why are you talking so weird?" 

Not today, apparently.

"And stop calling me ma'am. Call me Alya. I'm not an old lady."
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#10
"A pleasure," Desdemona gave a tip of a head instead of a complete bow. She couldn't bare to simply not do something formal- which seemed to be weird to Alya. Though she could say the same, that she found it odd someone was questioning her actions, "I'm sorry," she hesitated on using ma'am, as it seemed the wolf before he did not enjoy it. That was fine though, there was plenty of different titles, "miss. I hope that is okay."

"My apologies, it was how I was brought up." It was a mixture of mocking and brutality that forced her into a more polite and serious nature. First and foremost they made absolutely sure she would call everyone by not their names, but with 'my liege' toward leaders, and various of miss, ma'am, madam, and sir.' Then there was the fact if she did not speak with the upmost respect! They'd beat her up. Quite simple- but then it escalated to the silliest of reasons. She expressed joy for something? When another can't have the same? Crying? They'll show her what she really needs to cry for. If she said something wrong, they'd laugh at her, because it was due to her dirty-blood that she talked so filthy.

It was best to comply.
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#11
Alya resisted the urge to say that Desdemona had definitely been borught up wrong if that was the case, figuring that the Morningsiders probably wouldn't appreciate her sneering at their thrall. The girl didn't smell as though she'd been around for very long, but that didn't mean she wasn't under their protection. Still, the Moonspear girl expressed her thoughts on the matter with a disdainful sniff, and then turned her attention back to the creek.

"Someone needs to teach you to speak properly," she said mildly, deciding that Desdemona's urge to apologize for everything definitely needed to be quashed. "No one's going to want to hang around you if you're always sorry about something. You should be more assertive. People like that."
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#12
Desdemona widened her eyes for a moment, before simply staring at Alya rather calmly. She never had, anyone want to hang out with her. She never found it an issue simply because the lass never had 'friends.' She didn't know her speech seemed to be a problem in that department, but a more pressing issue was that she never thought of the possibility of having 'friends.' Such a foreign word felt uncomfortable, but also a strange excitment.

Though she had absolutely no idea how to make 'friends.' Was... Was there somesort of conversation? Did she have to set a planned day? Were there formalities to be pressed once you are friends? What exactly is a friend, actually? "I do not know how, miss." Desdemona flat-out admitted that, as she gave a serious gaze toward the female before her.
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#13
Alya let out a huff of laughter. "Trust me - that much is very clear," she said, extracting herself from the waters and getting all four paws underneath her. She limped toward Desdemona, thinking about how exactly to do this. "Okay - I'll show you. For one thing, normal wolves don't greet each other by bowing. It's okay if you wanna bow to me - I am a princess, after all - but at Morningside? I don't think they work that way. You just walk up to them and say - " Alya adopted a perky, earnest expression and wagged her tail, "Hey! I'm Alya! Let's go kill something for our army of puppies!" 

The expression fell away at once. "Like that. Now, try introducing yourself again," she instructed.
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#14
She of course, immedietly stepped back once the damsel- no Princess, started coming toward her. One that said a few shocking words, that she did not understand. Kill for... An army of puppies? With who? They're both females, she simply didn't get it. Desdemona showed confusion by tilting her head toward the side, but dare not question out loud. She even grew more reluctant to voice, really anything after finding out more about the wolf before her.

"Your majesty," the title has changed, and so was the previous moments, "I cannot do that with royalty such as yourself." It did not matter if she was from another Pack, because that meant there were wolves behind the Princess. Wolves that can harm others if she did something wrong, and in no way could Desdemona bare the consequences of it if Moonspear came to Morningside. And as so, slowly bent downwards and went back to the previous bowing position out of respect for someone of royal blood.
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Okay - the bowing thing. It was starting to weird her out. "When you greet me, you dork," said Alya, helplessly amused by the theatrics, but honestly, getting a little annoyed. "This is a little excessive, don't you think?"

Alya was surprised to find she wasn't enjoying the grovelling. Normally grovelling was nice, but Alya got the feeling that Desdemona did this for just about everyone, and that took away a lot of the shine. "Look, I'm giving you permission - no, I'm insisting that you learn this, because you're going to get on everyone's nerves if you keep going the way you are. So give it a try, and if you really can't do it..." Alya tried to think of a follow-up. If she really couldn't do it, Alya would just avoid her, honestly. "Well, I guess that's that."
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#16
The Princess before her spoke quite unusual words. She didn't know what a dork was, and wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not. Desdemona had a feeling it was some sort of way to mock another. She didn't ask and simply left herself to be confused by the new vocab word while listening to the rest. She was a little troubled how straight-forward Alya is, because she simply never talked to someone like this. Learning a lot of new moments and it felt a little much.

"Your majesty.." she paused, "miss..." Desdemona slowly spoke to the female, "it feels disrespectful to say words like those." She honestly wasn't trying to be difficult, but she felt she couldn't talk as casual as Alya could. It was hard to bring herself to even admit her own opinion. Especially of someone of her position, who is only a lowly new member, and of bastard blood. She felt she couldn't- and wouldn't say something without formalities. It simply felt too wrong. If she had to be honest, the dark wolf had a slight tint of fear in the back of her mind if she did. She dare not admit of her fears, finding it to be a weakness. Though the wolves of her past will always haunt her, and will always be at the back of her mind whenever she speaks. She had no choice to speak of respect toward them, it was hard not to without thinking of the consequences on what they would do.

Desdemona didn't didn't expect others to have such an issue with her tone.
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#17
Ugh. Why did the Morningsiders have to be such a sorry lot? She pitied them at every turn, and it was turning her normally very firm resolve into mush. "Fine," Alya relented, her voice sounding much less harsh than she had meant it to. "Far be it from me to let the low wolf feel uncomfortable," she added, trying again for nastiness. Mostly, she sounded a bit tired.

Alya limped back to the stream to soak her leg once more, keeping one ear cupped toward Desdemona. "Will you say something to me, though? Tell a story or talk about the weather. I don't care. I'm tired of hearing nothing but the trees rattling their branches."
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#18
She could only stare at the Princess, unsure on what to really do. Desdemona waited in silence, watching her with the upmost serious expression, "Miss," she started after Alya finished, "I am not talented toward the fine arts." She admitted to the faulty, only adding to tension toward this difficult situation. 

Desdemona was a hunter, or a warrior, she knew of the fine arts but never participated in such acts, "I do not know of stories nor' songs." Hell, she never sung in her life. And stories? Out of the picture as her mind was focused on real world events, not fantasies that could not happen.


She was a difficult companion to talk to. Desdemona was a dull wolf.
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#19
Alya stared at the woman, breathing sharply through her nose and counting slowly to ten. When she finished, she still had to held back from saying, "What the fuck ARE you good for, then?" That just wouldn't be helpful.

Might make her feel better, though.

"Well, don't let me keep you, then," she said, turning away from the other to hide the dejection that didn't actually show on her face. Even feeling it was something she wanted to hide from. Why did she want these wolves to befriend her, anyway? Friends always deserted you in the end, and it wasn't as though she was planning to stick around for them.

It was just - she was so bored and lonely, and she missed her family and her sisters and her mountain home... nothing, it seemed, would be alleviating that today.
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#20
Communication has never been... This difficult. Desdemona never needed to communicate, she was only given orders, thus finding just normal conversations difficult. She looked at the wolf with a jaden gaze, and stood in silent with thought before speaking up, "Miss... I could, help you move around the territory?" Her eyes slowly trailed to the injured leg Alya had. Maybe if the dark wolf used her own body as support, the two could move inside or outside the territory for a bit.
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#21
Her first instinct was to snarl at the stranger for daring to notice her temporary deficiency. Her second was to be obstinate because she was in a bad mood. Her third was to be obstinate just because that was the kind of wolf she was, and the only good idea was one that came from her, right?

Luckily for them both, Alya had learned to think before acting. Mostly.

"That would be helpful," she admitted, privately thinking that it might be helpful for Desdemona to have someone with an actual personality as well. Perhaps it was catching. "I would appreciate that," she said after a moment of careful contemplation. It had been awful to have to limp around everywhere - someone to balance against would help with that.
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#22
think it'd be a good end?? 0:

She nodded, feeling relieved that the Princess wasn't too irritated by their previous conversation now that she spoke up with an offer of help. She felt more satisfied to be able to do this, rather then sing or share tales, even simple chatter was an unusual moment for Desdemona. Now having use then simply being baggage to the Pack, she walked toward Alya, ready to be leaned upon and help her fellow Morningsider around the territory. She didn't mind if they left a bit out as well, "wherever you would like Miss."