Dragoncrest Cliffs an overwhelming surplus of diggity

@Vercingetorix? Staying vague bc set after the battle

Lately, she'd been flip-flopping between Blackbear and Easy. They were so similar it would likely be difficult for others to see any difference, but for her? It made all the difference. Blackbear was a wolf who made her own name, and Easy was... she was her father's daughter. And maybe they were both her. Maybe they were the same. But it was hard to reconcile the two names in her head, and harder to try and think of the girl that she'd been in terms of who she was now.

Wolves changed, though. Dad used to talk about being young and angry, and Easy wondered - was that what she was? She knew she was young, but she couldn't figure out if this thing in her chest was anger or sadness or... or something else. Mostly it was just heavy and uncomfortable, and it made her feel as though she didn't belong in her own skin whether she was Easy or Blackbear that day. But it had stopped being something painful long before she joined Drageda, and so, she'd resigned herself to simply carrying it and hoping it would continue to bother her less and less.

Oof. Now for an actual post?

Today, she was Easy. Grayday was on her mind, as he often is because I actually miss him a lot, and so that means Easy does, too. Anyway. She was tracking a small rafter of turkeys through the ferns, hoping the group would lead her to more turkeys, since she didn't feel comfortable killing any of these if there wasn't a sustainable population. It was an exercise in stealth trying to keep close enough to track them while remaining under their radar - they would scatter if they saw her lingering so close.

The nearby gobble of turkeys drew Vercingetorix's attention, and while he didn't much like hunting--he found it tedious, most of the time--he did like eating, and that tended to outweigh any issues he had with the process. There just so happened to be another hunter tracking the turkeys: a newcomer, by her scent. Just faintly cloaked in the familiar odor of Drageda, enough to not set off alarm bells.

And he'd seen her in the battle, too. Maybe? There had been a lot going on--who really knew.

With a soft chuff, he fell in step beside her. She was younger than he but quite large, sizing up nicely to his massive frame. Verx gave her a sidelong glance, a half-smile tugging at his lips. Hopefully you're better at this than I am, he joked, giving no formal greeting just yet.

Easy's head turned only a fraction at the sound of another's approach. Her finely-tuned nose registered: Drageda, male, fit - and the rest didn't really matter. He was older than her, but not geriatric, and he was large but those sort of things didn't phase her, really - she was large, too. It was only when she caught his profile in the corner of her vision that she paused, wanting to turn and admire him but also wanting nothing of the sort.

"I'm a hunter by trade," she said under her breath, her voice low enough that he might feel the need to lean closer in order to hear her clearly. "But I don't want to hunt them if there aren't very many in the territory. Have you seen a lot of turkeys around?"

She wanted to go into the nuances of game control and animal husbandry - she had a deep appreciation for both subjects, instilled in her by her family from a very young age - but it wasn't feasible with the turkeys right there, watchful enough that they might catch on if she and her companion weren't careful. This in mind, she allowed a bit of distance to form between the two groups, more interesting in getting to know a packmate than in keeping hot on the turkey's trail.

He made a face at her, laughing slightly. I don't really pay attention to birds, he answered, not trying to be flippant but coming off extremely so. I'm not a hunter by trade. I just, you know, kill something when I'm hungry. So I have no idea. Shouldn't hurt to kill one or two though, right? he asked, tilting his head.

Verx padded on, waiting a beat for her response before beginning to speak again, albeit in a hushed voice. I'm Vercingetorix, he introduced himself, a genuine smile blooming over his muzzle. Just call me Verx. You new here? A brana?

Okay, so - Easy sort of had a chip on her shoulder. She was dealing with some things, okay? But the tone the male took with her was such that she merely gritted her teeth and stiffened for a moment or two, unable to come up with a good answer to such a flippant dismissal. Obviously, it wasn't worth fighting over, right? She'd just have to make sure and keep a close eye on the turkeys, and perhaps work harder at bringing down more abundant prey.

Either way, when he introduced himself and sought an introduction from her, her reply was a somewhat clipped, "I'm kru." Whatever that meant - Easy was still learning the ins and outs of her new family, but she knew she wasn't Brana anymore. Just barely, but still. And then, because her father had tried his very best to raise a polite and mild-mannered girl, she added: "But yes - I'm pretty new." She slanted a furtive, measuring look in his direction. Her uncertainty was palpable, but she made an effort to smooth things over.

"It's my job to pay attention," she said. Oh, oops, that's not smoothing things over. Easy looked ahead, mortified with herself for having voiced this sullen defense of her trade. "... sir," she added under her breath, only to cringe a little more at how much worse that made it sound. And, of course, there was the fact that no one had asked her to do this - it was simply hard-ingrained from her childhood. She couldn't imagine it being seen as a bad thing, but it seemed that things were different at Drageda. She still had a lot to learn.

His eyes cut sharply over to her as she answered in clipped tones, but she softened up soon enough, and he was placated. Well, somewhat. She got a dig in at him and seemed embarrassed about it; he let out a bawdy laugh--sorry, turkeys--at her tacked-on 'sir,' face stretching wide in a grin.

Please, god, don't call me sir, Verx chortled, shaking his head. It automatically makes me feel old as fuck, and like--I'm not ready for that. Finally aware of how loud he was being, he fell quiet with a mortified look of his own, teeth gritting tight in a grimace. Shit. Sorry, he hissed. Told you I'm terrible at this.

He glanced toward the girl again, expression softening again. You got a name, kru? Welcome aboard, by the way.

Easy's ears flicked back as the male let loose a ringing laugh. Her head half-turned toward the rafter of turkeys as they startled, but she was mainly focused on her new packmate. He seemed... nice enough, she supposed. And handsome. But she was a sensetive creature (as much as she tried not to be) and his inital dismissal of her trade left her feeling wary in his presence.

So she stopped being Easy. "You are," she agreed, tail wagging cautiously. "Terrible at this and old as fuck." After a pause to allow this to sink in, she gave a slightly more enthusiastic wag of her tail and offered her name. A name. "Blackbear. Nice to meet you, uh - Verx."

Daaaamn, Verx responded in a whisper, eyes creasing as his grin grew even wider. Nice comeback, Blackbear. If your teeth are as sharp as your words, I like having you on my team. He fell quiet, then, giving the turkeys a chance to settle and regroup. It would be a real shame if he'd spoiled the hunt by being the loud dumbass that he was.

We're like, the same age, he mumbled sotto voce, speaking from the corner of his mouth after a minute of silence. I stopped counting birthdays after the first one.

The scents in the distance began to come together once more, the turkeys obviously deciding the threat had passed. Ha--served them right. Maybe that was why wolves could talk and they couldn't, because they were stupid. Because that's how it worked, right?

Blackbear had turned her attention back to the birds, one ear swiveled toward the strange male. She wasn't sure why being snappy made others like her more, but it had worked with both Tegan and Vercingetorix thus far, and probably a few others offscreen that I'm not going to worry about. I have very nice teeth, she informed him, somewhat mollified by his words.

Her aattention turned more fully to the birds as additionally clicking reached her ears. The rafter had met up with another, larger group, and was currently facing off with the rival turkeys. Blackbear stopped counting after she reached eighteen and decided taking one or two down definitely wouldn't hurt. Let's go. Females only, she said to her hunting partner, ignoring his comment on their ages. She wasn't sure it was true, but she didnt care enough to find out.

Silently, Blackbear slunk forward, the raw, fluid motion of her limbs more akin to that of a panther than to her namesake. The turkeys, preoccupied with their squabbling, didn't notice her until she was practically on top of them. One was swiftly caught between her jaws, and she gave it a firm shake to snap its neck before sinking sphinx-like onto her belly to lord over her meal. The other turkeys were still scrambling away all around her as she instinctively guarded her kill from the commotion.

He grinned at her remark, and then fell into business mode, eyeing the birds. He barely comprehended what she had said before they were upon the turkeys. They exploded in a mad scramble, going every which-way. It was by sheer luck, really, and not by skill that he grabbed one of the hens by its scrawny neck, his jaws instantly severing the spine.

Limp turkey in his jaws, he dragged it over to where Easy sat, guarding her own kill. Nice work, kru, Verx said, voice muffled. He dropped the bird and began to pick away the feathers, spitting them out in intervals with quiet, half-annoyed pah!s.

Poultry wasn't his favorite thing ever, but it would do for now.

Although turkey meat wasn't something she particularly enjoyed, turkeys were one of her favorite things to hunt. They reminded her of her father, and even though she didn't get a full serving of his obsession with feathers, she still liked the scent and usually indulged in the urge to roll around in them, even though she didn't feel she had to the way Daddy always had.

This time was no different. After she'd removed enough feathers to make a nice bed (she appropriated some of Verx's feathers to this end as well), Easy abandoned her kill, rolling to the side and wiggling ecstatically in the soft flurry. Her legs wheeled comically above her, but for once, she did not really think about how this must make her look. Rolling in feathers was just something you did, right? If she'd known it wasn't actually all that common a practice, she would've been mortified.

He was cleaning the rest of the meat from his chops when she began to roll, looking like some sort of bug flipped over, feathers flying. He abandoned what was left of his carcass and stared at her, his brows rising impossibly high. Finally, he snorted, a soft burst of laughter exiting his nostrils before he spoke.

What are you doing? he asked, chuckling. You tryna make yourself a new pelt or something? Her pelt was interesting enough as it was--patches of gray and black--but now it just seemed like she was wanting some extra flair for it. You do you, I guess?

Easy continued to roll, missing the judgement in his tone simply because she hadn't been looking for it. She assumed he meant, What are you doing with MY feathers? because she'd stolen them just to get that reaction.

"Finders keepers, losers weepers," she sing-songed, rolling to her paws to go around scritch-scratching the ground to pull them into a nice pile once more. It was only at his next question that she realized he thought the action itself was strange, and she turned to him in disbelief, brows climbing high upon her face and - indeed - wreathed in feathers stiff and downy alike. "You don't roll in them?" she asked, clearly aghast. And then, seeing that the answer was no, she went on, "Well, my family always does. I like the smell. Not as much as my dad did, but it's nice."

He narrowed his eyes in confusion at her first retort, but said nothing. At her question, he shook his head. Different strokes for different folks, Verx concluded, shrugging. Maybe I'll give it a try, though. See what I'm missing.

He didn't have quite the pile that Blackbear did, seeing that she had stolen some of his feathers, but he began to roll around in it, legs churning like an infant desperate for a diaper change. He was incredibly aware of the fact that he looked ridiculous, and laughed because of it, a deep, throaty giggle rising in his throat.

It does smell nice, he chortled, glancing over at her. And it's soft. You might be on to something, girl.

Settled on her bed of feathers, Easy grabbed for her meal and began eating once more, keeping an eye on Verx as she did. He seemed to be enjoying himself, but still seemed somewhat skeptical when he was done. She just thought it was odd that he'd never tried it before.

"It's the best part of a turkey," she replied, licking blood off her muzzle and regarding him with an air of bemusement, as though he was the weird one for never having rolled in his dinner. "Or maybe shaking it." Easy rather liked that part as well, because it was the thrill of the hunt combined with a flurry of feathers and a nice smell.

He blew a small cloud of feathers at her face, snickering. You're weird, but I like you, Blackbear, Verx said, rolling onto his belly. They looked like a couple of pre-teen girls at a slumber party, laying on feather pillows and giggling over boys. Very dignified, Vercingetorix. Very manly of you.

The brute licked his lips again, his stomach rumbling. I could go for another. You think they're too freaked out to try for Round 2? he asked, raising his brows at her. Give me your expert advice, hunter.

Easy gave a tiny shrug. "Turkeys are dumb. I'm sure you could get another one." She was still picking at the bones of her own, allowing the food to settle before she got back to business. She still wanted to see what else was around before she tried to hunt any more.

Reluctantly, she picked herself up from the ground and shook out her thick, mottled pelt. More feathers were dislodged from her coat and swirled around them, but there were still some stuck in her pelt as well. "Just give them, like, ten more minutes to forget about it."

Another grumble. Ugh, fine, Vercingetorix said, rolling over on his side again. He wasn't renowned for his patience. He toyed idly with the feathers on the ground instead, watching some drift slowly, picked up by the slight breeze. In the background, he could still hear the turkeys gobbling, still sounding slightly agitated. Perhaps it would be a while, yet.

last post from me!