Sun Mote Copse So meet me where the lights dim

Wildfire was nestling in to prepare for motherhood it seemed, which left Kiwi pretty much in charge.  Definitely in charge, by her estimation.

Which meant it was her responsibility to keep things running smoothly.  She'd already ridden @Maia for snoozing midday instead of doing something useful, and she had her eye on @Epic because he seemed the sort who would do that too.  They were way too short handed with both Wildfire and Finley useless - no room for messing around in her watch!

Luckily the other girl had accepted her criticism without arguing (and unfortunately cemented Kiwi's opinion of her as not only lazy, but a pushover too).

Now she ranged the borders with a new kind of intensity, ready to make short work of anything that might show up to get in.  Her head was still a dull ache, but since it had been so long, she was almost numb to it at this point.  As she went, she wondered about the hunt she was going to lead.  Should she go now, or wait until the pups came? Probably sooner was better.  She would have to wait until Clover got back, but they'd need food if they were going to have more mouths.

It'd taken some figuring, but Niamh had managed to dig out a frozen trout from the river when it had frozen so quickly overnight. With the temperature dropping so suddenly, the water had frozen so clear and calm that Niamh had been able to see the fish where its tail had first been frozen, immobilizing it, and then slowly the rest of it had become frozen as well. Fortunately for her, the ice had begun to warm in the daytime sun as she roved along the borders, and with a few crashing blows of her front feet she'd broken through the ice and had snagged the portion with the frozen fish before it had a chance to be carried under the ice downriver. 

She was quite proud of herself and carried it along with her as it slowly melted, water running down the underside of her chin toward her chest. The fish was still frozen under at least one inch of ice arund it on all ends, but it wouldn't take a wolf any effort to crack through that. She thought to bring it to Finley, because she figured by now that she'd be pregnant, or something. May as well start feeding other wolves' babies, since she wasn't allowed to have her own. 

It was still a slight point of contension for Niamh, who found herself wishing with each and every day that she and Colt would be given permission. She dreaded the day when she'd go into heat- but like a girl who wanted to get her first period so she could fit in with her friends who already had, she also wanted it to come so that at least she could know she was normal. She was silently enduring this wistfulness, but was able to keep herself plenty busy both with patrolling and hunting- as she could tell Kiwi was as well. When she saw the reddish figure in the distance coming toward her- having assumably formed a patrol in contrary motion to Niamh's patrol, she chuffed and continued toward her. 

"Lookit thish," She said, once she'd come close enough, and flicked her head, tossing the frozen fish into the air. It wasn't cube shaped, but rectabgle-shaped, as the fish itself was at least a healthy 11 inches long, fin included. Not much more than a snack, but still somewhat interesting given the fact that it'd been frozen in a block of ice that she'd managed to break free. She didn't care if Kiwi caught it, or it it fell and shattered- it'd still be edible.

She heard Niamh, but didn't look up until something landed with a crash next to her.  What is...  but she didn't have to finish because obviously it was a fish, in ice?  Well, it had been.  Now it was a fish with ice scattered about it, looking slightly worse for wear.

How'd you get it out like that?  Yep, she was sufficiently distracted.  Her patrol hadn't met up with anything anyway and she liked Niamh, so it wasn't hard to sideline it.

Fortunately- and likely because of the snow- the frozen fish didn’t shatter when it hit the ground. She’d thought Kiwi might’ve tried to catch it- but then again, why would she want to endanger her own teeth trying to catch something glinting and solid flying through the air? Niamh chuckled and gestured to the fish with a deft movement of her nose.

”The ice on the river’s really clear right now, where it thawed and then re-froze. I just did this,” She said, demonstrating how she’d reared back on her hind legs and then plunged both forefeet simultaneously at the ground with a few soft thunks ”’Til I broke through. Just in the shallow parts, so I could catch it before it went downriver, an’ I only got wet up to my elbows.” She said. ”But y’know, I think Spring’ll be coming soon. Gettin’ a bit warmer every day. Thank goodness too ‘cause I’m done with this cold garbage.” She admitted. ”How you been holding up?” She asked brightly, not necessarily meaning to insinuate that tough times were afoot so one would need to “hold up,” but more meaning a casual “what’s up,” instead.

Kiwi watched Niamh demonstrate and wondered how she didn't break through, at least until she explained it had been in the shallows.  Oh! That makes sense.  File that way as techniques she'd need to try sometime.  

Spring would be coming soon, and with it, siblings.  She felt a flutter of anticipation along with something else - nerves? That wouldn't do.  I'm fine, she replied casually, and it wasn't a total lie.  She'd been freaked and not feeling one hundred percent since Artaax but 80 percent was definitely fine worthy.  The cold isn't awful but I'm ready too.  It's hard to remember what summer is like.  She'd been so young, but that little comment also reminded how young she still was, so her ears tipped back slightly.  I mean, it's been a long winter, right?

Kiwi seemed to be getting along fine- though her tone was somewhat tentative, she seemed more comfortable talking about how garbage the winter had been, and Niamh didn't feel terribly pressed to push her for details of her personal life. The way she saw it, there were likely other wolves who were set about doing that- so she could be the chill friend who was there to receive a confession if Kiwi wanted to spill her guts, but she wouldn't push her. Everyone needed someone that reminded them that life could be normal. 

Odd for Niamh to take that role, in anyone's life, really, but she'd changed- hopefully. 

Niamh, like Kiwi, hadn't had enough winters to properly be able to complain about them- but like others her age or younger, she was very quick to volunteer her complaints. "Way too long," She drawled, as though she'd seen so many winters, and this one had been the worst. "Apparently if you go far enough South, you'll get to a place where it never snows. But the shitty deal is that there's also not a lot of water. But there's gotta be a sort of happy medium in the middle, right?" She asked as she blithely dug a small cache and nosed the fish into the hole, burying it deftly and squatting to mark the area. She gestured, so that they could continue along the borders together, and without the fish to carry, she could talk.

Niamh didn't seem to catch her slip up and instead agreed.  More points.  She was hitting mondo good books status here, so far a place occupied only by Wildfire, Clover, and Sequoia.

No snow or water?  Does anyone actually live there? It sounded awful - she'd take winter over being thirsty any day.  Besides that, less water meant less food too.  Certainly no one with any clever thinking would want that kind of home.

Niamh chuckled and shrugged. "Beats me," She said. She recalled, though, that it had been Ceara who had told her this information, so she playfully bumped her shoulder against Kiwi's, as a mark of their friendship. "But the wolf who told me this stuff? She was batshit crazy." She said. It felt nice, being able to trash-talk Ceara again, for some reason. She hadn't thought about her sister-in-law in quite some time, but she liked Kiwi enough that she figured it was safe to talk about her, and that she might enjoy hearing a bit of dirt about the wolf she had butted heads with so much back at the Plateau. 

"Prolly living in the desert might've made her that way, who knows. But she was nuts. Drove me absolutely in-sane." She said. Man, did it ever feel good to be able to discuss Ceara without worrying about losing her rank because of it. "Bitch tried to challenge me for my rank," Not true, but that was how Niamh remembered it, "Hooked up with my older brother, and used to suck up to the alphas, then cry whenever she got in trouble." She said, characterizing Ceara incredibly poorly. It was a bit immature of Niamh to say these things- but even she wasn't immune to the lures of gossiping and bitching. "You know anyone that just makes you feel...Guhhh," She said, and shuddered, hoping that was enough of an indication of how Ceara had- at one point- made her feel.

Oh god.  If there was anything Kiwi loved more than hunting, it was dissing.  As Niamh spoke, the mean little seed that took pleasure in others' shortcomings curled skyward, basking in the glow of her words.

No way.  What a bitch move! She replied when she explained about her rank.  She might be higher here, but she liked Niamh a lot, and anyone (who wasn't her) definitely didn't deserve a rank more than she did.  That's so gross.

She shuddered, then nodded.  Did she know anyone? Hell yeah she did!!  My sister, though I'm done calling her that.  She ran away without telling anyone when we were little, then when we come here and find her, she wants nothing to do with us!! Didn't even bother apologizing or anything.  Not that I care.  She gave a little snort/huff, to illustrate what she thought of that.  Clover and Sequoia are way better to hang with anyway.  She isn't even a Firebird so it doesn't matter.  Niamh was way cooler too, but too much older to compare.  Her replacement would be for Blixen, an older and cool sister who she definitely looked up to.

It might’ve been immature to talk like that about someone- but Niamh hadn’t lost that streak completely yet, and fortunately for her, Kiwi seemed game and was also on her side. She liked this girl- she was much cooler than Ceara, though Niamh hadn’t even given Ceara much of a chance. ”She off and left for some stupid reason for another. Good effing riddance,” She said, and was actually fairly hopeful now that Ceara didn’t return. Truth be told, the two had been on decent grounds when Ceara had left- and if she came back now and bumped into Kiwi, who would already have pre-conceived notions about her, it’d likely just mess things up again. She couldn’t see Ceara joining the Firebirds anyway. There wasn’t enough drama to keep her entertained- and Niamh would’ve likely advised against admitting her simply because she’d grown to really enjoy how calm and peaceful things were in the copse in comparison to the plateau.

Kiwi mentioned her sister, and Niamh had to take a couple minutes to figure out who she was talking about. As far as Niamh could remember (with her poor memory for detail), Sequoia was Kiwi’s sister, wasn’t she? But then she remembered Bat, and made the proper connection. Niamh liked Bat- they hadn’t been terribly close, but then again, she could understand where Kiwi was coming from. Bat had lied about being sent to the Plateau- Niamh assumed she’d formulated that lie because she simply wanted to be everywhere Tegan was- and that had likely rubbed Kiwi the wrong way, on top of everything else. 

”Yeh, she seems kind of like the impulsive type,” said the pot, calling the kettle black. ”I think she had a thing for Tegan so she made up something to us about being sent to I dunno, apprentice with him, when I guess that wasn’t the truth at all. I always had my doubts about that whole situation,” She admitted. As much as she thought Tegan was a fun hang, she did find him to be a bit of a knob when it came to talking respectfully to others. 

What felt almost better than bitching about someone, though, was agreeing about how cool someone was. ”Oh, Clover’s mint.” She agreed vehemently. She chuckled. ”We totally haaaaated each other when we met, but to be fair, I’d been a total tool. I think the sort of Blackthorn trait is being kind of hard to like at first- Finley and Colt were both kinda jerks when I met them. But I kind of love them all now. Dunno Sequoia much- but I’ll take your word on it.” She said, bumping her shoulder against Kiwi’s. ”I need to get to know Maia, Wraen and Epic more too.” She said, glancing to Kiwi to see what kind of opinion she had on them.

Well good riddance.  They didn't need anyone else around making trouble and messing things up, and she definitely didn't need anyone taking her place.  Not that anyone would be able to.

Oh, wow, that was pathetic.  She left them for a guy?  Well, now the truth comes out.  Kiwi snorted out a quick, unkind laugh.  Looks like we both are better off, she said, smirking.

Yeah she is! Kiwi agreed enthusiastically, feeling those familiar butterflies that always came when she thought about her best friend.  We were good right off! I was going to help her mess with Tegan, but then the whole Bat thing happened, and... well.  We ended up with better things to do here.  She'd been thrilled when Clover decided to live here instead of back with the RedHawks.  Colt and Finley both seemed okay from her experience, if a little nosy.  Both seemed to like offering advice when it wasn't exactly welcome or needed (yeah right).

Wraen's Okay. She wasn't as cool as Niamh but she had her upsides. Maia's nice but I don't think there's a lot goin on.  Same with Epic. She added, her voice dropping a bit.  Ok so maybe bad talking wasn't the best idea as a member of leadership but wasn't a part of her job also making sure everyone was on the same page?

Niamh sort of had to wonder when it was that Kiwi had met Clover- as it was her opinion that Clover...While she hadn't exactly softened, she had definitely come around a bit with her attitude. Maybe it was being separated from Fiadh, as the two had been fairly exclusive and had often teamed up to be brutal to the others their age...Particularly, her and Screech. But Niamh wasn't jealous that Kiwi and Clover had hit it off- it simply meant that the three of them, put together, would all get on fine. She needed and wanted more friendships like that, where it wasn't simply two wolves relying completely on one another...Though she did miss her sister-ship with Towhee. 

"Clover's a great hunting partner. She's also pretty good when it comes to chasing off coyotes. I frickin' love chasing coyotes." She said with a smal click of her teeth to make her point. While Niamh had given up a fair amount of drama and wrecklessness, she did still have a penchant for chasing other canines as far away from their borders as possible. She froze as she moved along, when coincidentally, a scent crossed her path. Kiwi mentioned names and made a comment about Maia that should've made Niamh laugh, but instead she bristled. 

"Speak of the devil," She said, gesturing for Kiwi to come investigate the coyote's scent. She lifted her head and cast her gaze around, her exposed lower canine catching on her lip as she scanned the area for any sign of the felon. She licked her lips, wetting her nose so she could smell a bit better, and blinked. No sign of the coyote in the area, but the scent was relatively fresh. "Hate coyotes." She muttered quietly.

Niamh didn't really respond, probably because she'd apparently been distracted. Kiwi smelled it a moment later and it caused her to wrinkle her nose.

Then lets show it who's boss? she answered with an impish and eager grin.  She enjoyed chasing anything that was here and didn't belong, coyotes included.  The stinkin things had no business setting foot on her (or her mom's) claim.

We can track it I bet. She set to sorting out where the trail led, and moved a ways.  They stink bad enough it should be easy.

Niamh shuddered with excitement when Kiwi expressed her interest in tracking down the coyote who had passed too close to their borders. Her hackled raised slightly and she licked her lips, moistening them as though she was hungry. Though she'd savagely eaten coyotes before, and had used their body parts to serve as a warning along the plateau's border, she'd more or less refrained from doing so lately. Instead, just scaring one off seemed to be a bit more civilized. She nodded. "Le's do it," She said, lowering her muzzle slightly so she could inhale the scent as they moved, and picked up a slow jog. Coyotes were, indeed, easy to track- especially when the trail was so fresh. 

"You ever fought anything bigger'n a wolf?" She asked casually, figuring that Kiwi might have experienced something along those lines, even if she'd tag-teamed it with another wolf. She wouldn't have judged Kiwi poorly, had she not had an answer to that question- she was simply interested, to see exactly how much Kiwi had been able to flex her natural badassery.

Kiwi sensed Niamh's eagerness and it helped to jump start her own.  Oh yes, she was ready.  Honestly the idea of chasing wasn't nearly as appealing as the idea of tearing something apart.... she'd not done it before, and for some reason, it seemed like it would be extremely satisfying.  If the coyote was trespassing, then it was asking for it.

No, she answered, then thought of Artaax.  But I've fought some big wolves.  She knew how to handle herself definitely.  She kept one part of her attention on the trail as they went, jogging alongside.  With any luck they'd catch it before it left.

Niamh nodded when Kiwi specified what kind of creature she'd fought. Kiwi wasn't a terribly large wolf on her own- and while Niamh was tall for a wolf, Kiwi was still noticably smaller than an averag wolf in terms of height, and she was slender as well. Fighting a large wolf, for her, would be something like Niamh fighting off a wolf the size of a black bear. "There're some brutes out there, that's for sure." She said, though when she reflected for a moment, she couldn't recall ever fighting a wolf who was too much bigger than she was...She'd handled (and lost) a couple fights to two wolves, which was still a sore point for her, but had yet to come up against someone who outweighed her by a significant amount. 

"I wouldn't recommend going after anything non-wolf on your own. Or at all; some things're just not supposed to be messed with I guess," She said. "I chased off a black bear with my brother once- them things can slap really hard, and if they got you in their teeth, you'd basically be screwed." She said. "And cougars are just plain freaks. I've gone three-on-one with one of those things and we still got brutalized." She said. Niamh wasn't being boastful- there was a tone of warning in her voice as she spoke of bears and cougars, so that her companion would know that if she ever came up against one of them, and a fight was the only way out, that any sane wolf would need help. "That's what I like about coyotes. Maybe it's not so fair, picking on something smaller- but they can put up a good 'nough fight to be entertaining, without worrying about getting killed."

There definitely were.  Yeah well just because I'm small doesn't mean I can't take them, she answered with a confident smile.  Just let them try it.  Even cougars and bears.  Hearing that Niamh had had issues brought up the competitive scholar in the girl.  Was there a way to fight them that made it easier to win?  And if she learned it, would she win against wolves easier too?

Yeah, probably, she said, though she was clearly lost in thought now.  First thing first, catch this coyote.  But... When you fought the cougar, were you all on one side or did you split? She asked, enjoying this new thread of thought.

Niamh's mood lightened when Kiwi, resilient as ever, gave her retort to the size difference between herself and larger wolves, the brutes that Niamh had called them. "That's right. Just remember what we'd worked on- fight dirrrty," She said, rolling the R in a slightly Christina Aguilera kind of way. And it was a good point- a wolf who couldn't possibly sling weight around had to use other tactics- aside from just being speedy. A small wolf pinned was a small wolf dead- unless they employed different self-defence tactics, some of which Niamh had taught Kiwi. 

She seemed interested in the cougar fight, and Niamh's features grew a bit more grim. "Hard to say. It wasn't really three-versus-one," She admitted. "'Cause at any point, it'd have one of us pinned or compromised, leaving the other two to try and distract it so the third could get up or get away." She said. "There was no glory in that- the damn cat surprised one wolf, so I went to help out- as did Caiaphas (an old packmate of mine). Eventually, the cat turned and left, but we all kinda got savaged regardless." She said.

There was no such thing as fighting dirty by Kiwi's estimation... a trick was a trick, and the only ones to call it that were just angry because they were stupid enough to fall for it.  So she smiled and nodded.

That was interesting.  So it was the weakest link who had ruined their chances at the cougar, it sounded like.  If they hadn't worried so much about the one caught, maybe they would have been able to beat it while it was distracted.  Kiwi wondered if when she ever tried it, she should let the "surprised" wolf be the bait.

Sounds hard, she responded, because she was surprised to hear three on one with anything could be vested.  She at least knew how Niamh fought.  Not at all like this.  Who was the one who got surprised?

There was something about the expression on Kiwi's face, and the tone of her voice, that hinted that Kiwi wasn't deterred by her story about the cougar; half of her expected that this would now put 'attack a cougar' on Kiwi's bucket list. While she found that idea charming, part of her also felt guilty...She wouldn't want to be the reason that Kiwi went out to do something so foolish. It wouldn't prove anything. Nevertheless, she hoped that giving details might help deter some of Kiwi's interest. 

"I forget her name now," Niamh admitted; the wolf had later joined their pack and then had bailed. Useless. "But there's a wolf who lives along the coastline- her name is Caiaphas- she's a total badass, and she, myself and the other one tried to kind of...Keep it at bay..." She said, and shook her head. "That's how I got these marks," She said, canting her head to indicate the clawmark scars that raked the side of her face. "And bruised ribs, but I got off with my life and I'm pretty lucky for that." She said. "Both my brothers were killed by cougars." She admitted softly.

For now none of the names Niamh said meant anything to Kiwi.  Eventually she and Caiaphas would meet and Kiwi would mark her an enemy, but at the moment it held no significance.  She didn't have a lot of sympathy for Niamh's brothers either.... they shouldn't have been fighting things they obviously couldn't handle.  But she knew better than to voice that.

Sorry.  There wasn't a lot of emotion behind the word but she attempted to sound sincere.  She liked Niamh.  If I ever see one I'll remember.  She'd likely fight it, but maybe not.  Maybe it would be better to follow it, wait for it to attack someone else, and watch.

Then she paused and her eyes lit up.  It's getting close, she said, lips curling up, and she began to jog a little quicker.

Niamh didn't want to talk about her brothers much, so it was a bit of a relief that Kiwi's sympathy was as abrupt as it was. And besides, she brought Niamh's attention back to the coyote, which she now wanted to chase even more. Her gaze narrowed, and she pushed forward, following the scent which was definitely stronger. Kiwi quickened her pace too, and a smile spread across Niamh's features; this girl was a lot like her, and she liked that. She was also super happy that one of her higher ranking members wouldn't penalize her for her habit of chasing coyotes.

"There!" She hissed, as she caught sight of the coyote in the distance, through the trees. She lowered her posture and continued forward, hoping they could speedily catch up a bit before it saw them and took off.

im gonna wrap this <3

As soon as Niamh exclaimed, Kiwi was on it as well, darting in the direction with singleminded purpose.  Niamh was a tidge faster with her longer legs, but Kiwi was eager to zig, and together they managed to corner it.

It was easy enough between the two of them to either chase it off or finish it.  Kiwi would lean the latter, and if Niamh felt the same, there was one less coyote to pester them at the close of the day.