Lost Creek Hollow boring to hear of another young truth

Ibis hastened home from the fringe of Easthollow, smelling strongly like fox but having gone nose-blind to it. She was eager to get the approval of her betters — and so she was hunting for @Rannoch and for @Treason, although it did not occur to her that they might not be together.

Both had new litters to care for and as far as she knew, they were raising them together like how her mothers raised theirs; but then, the nearer she got to the rendezvous site the less sure she felt about that assumption. She couldn't find anyone at the rendezvous site except the scent of the children was pretty strong, and so Ibis hunted through the territory for wherever they were. Maybe the adults had taken them on a daytrip somewhere within the claim?

Ira would be waiting for her — and Ibis wanted to make a good impression upon the stalwart guardian, so she would hopefully get the logistics of the party sorted out as quickly as possible. With a tilt of her snout she called for her uncle and her step-mother, then impatiently roamed among the ferns as she waited for a response - or the appearance of an adult with kids in tow, like a hoard of hungry, toothy ducklings.

Rannoch and Liffey were off across the map.  So unfortunately for Ibis, she was gonna be stuck with just Treason.  Probably not what she wanted, oops.  Ibis had probably been gone when the announcement had been made if timelines are a thing.

However the local puppy party went, she basically wasn't comfortable until she was sure that her pups would beat up any of the others, to put it simply.  Maybe another few weeks and they'd be good to go.  That milestone would probably mean that they'd have enough sense in their goofy little skulls to not try to run off all the time, and thus could be taken on trips.  Right now she was outnumbered -- or they were, even if her mate was around, they'd still be down one head.  Soon.

She'd just traded shifts with Terance and had been starting to the borders when Ibis called.  So, detour.  It didn't take her long to prowl onto the scene.  Why was she pacing?  Was that fox?  It set her a little on edge and she scanned the place looking for a sign.  Then, with a tip of her head after apparently deciding that must be the reason, Is it denned here?  She'd have no problem ending the creature if it was caught, but the scent seemed oddly faint, but maybe it was stronger where Ibis was.

She had hoped to see Rannoch — they had a rapport — but instead it was Treason that answered the call and while her presence did not diminish her good cheer at all, Ibis felt suddenly put on the spot. Her step-mother was a unique creature in her life; she was one of the few women that made her feel intimidated and awkward (more-so than natural) and the girl felt she would flounder if she tried to explain what she wanted.

Treason ws looking at the surroundings, maybe surprised that Ibis had called for her or maybe because she didn't really want to be there. Either way it made the girl nervous — until she spoke, and all she could do was frown and be confused for a few seconds. What--? Is what denning-- oh. The fox. No, sorry, I -- I saw the fox somewhere else, I guess I forgot about it.

I was exploring the glade next to Easthollow and ran in to one of their wolves. We came up with an idea though — Oh gosh was she rambling again? Maybe, probably, yeah. I wanted to ask if it'd be okay to organize something -- like a play date, or a party, or -- some kind of celebration between the packs. We're allies right, but we don't know much about one-another and -- she took a loooong breath and murmured, Well, what do you think? It could be fun, and kids could always use more friends.

From what little Ibis knew of her step-mother though, fun wasn't exactly a top priority. Her trio of half-siblings were more likely to be raised as warriors and soldiers.

She relaxed a little, nodding once.  Exhale, refocus.  One last visual sweep of the area and her focus locked hawkishly back onto the yearling.  Treason thought about it a moment.  It wasn't an awful idea or anything, but at the same time it wasn't the highest of Treason's priorities.  Trying to educate the three hellions so they weren't dangerous to leave with others was probably at the top.  

Perhaps.  Did they tell you how old their pups were?  I know when mine met Rannoch's first, it was probably at the edge of what would be comfortable since it seems like we have quite a few brawly pups. If theirs are still small it might be wiser to wait, either until the small ones are larger or the larger learn how to behave, whichever comes first, she said shrewdly.  Anyway, shrug.  But even if that's the case, the planning could be started.  It's not like they'll all be adults next week.

Treason silently wondered why Ibis was even bothering.  She was leaving, and it didn't seem like she'd be leaving her father on good terms, which rankled Treason in turn.  She hadn't exactly been pleased about Ibis showing up -- mostly because she'd been expecting Ibis was going to stick her nose in everywhere, as opposed to what happened, the opposite -- so her leaving wasn't a big deal, but did she really have to wound Terance for no reason?  She'd hold off on commenting about that for now.

How old the pups... oh. That would've been a good thing to ask, but Ibis had been too enthusiastic about the very idea of a party and hadn't inquired that far. Her face darkened a bit as her step-mom spoke, taking the suggestions more as small jabs meant to poke holes in Ibis' plan. It had seemed so simple when she'd thought of it - and Ira had been interested in making it happen too. The girl frowned for a second and upon realizing how grim she probably looked, she tried to take a deep breath and control her features - look impassive. It was a skill her real mom was quite good at. Ibis, not so much.

I didn't ask, she murmured — but then remembered what Korei had said when the messenger had stopped by. When I first stopped at Easthollow to ask about our neighbors, my friend Korei said they were very young. I guess they're still small - probably smaller than yours, but literally everything would be smaller than those burly babies.

If its alright then I'll head over to Easthollow and confirm with them that I have permission. If it takes time to happen that's okay too, although that would mean missing out on the puppy party because - as she remembered suddenly - Okeanos wasn't going to be sticking around that long. If the Easthollow kids were really really really young, it wouldn't be worth it at all. Ibis' little brain came to this conclusion and the frown returned to her features, but she didn't try to hide it the second time.

I guess it doesn't matter either way. Nevermind. I've wasted your time. She felt so defeated - and turned to leave, not thinking about her manners or the proper etiquette of excusing herself properly as her moms would've taught her. Just leaping to conclusions, as was her way.

Or she was following along, perfectly fine with the way Ibis was working through things and understanding it wasn't something you just chuck together... And then she just gave up.  Blink.  Uh.  She called after, I'm confused.  Is this something you want to have happen or not?  It wasn't like it was a bad idea.  Just not easy.  Hell, if she gave up that'd end up being more stuff Treason was going to have to go clean up herself.  It wasn't like Treason was going to chase after Ibis, but if she could stop running away from everything, that'd probably be good for everyone involved.

Honestly, Treason still didn't know why she'd run off the first time they'd met.  It didn't make any sense.

Ibis stopped. She glanced back, ears twisting to listen to Treason call out, and then slunk back a few steps so she wouldn't have to shout. Yes. I thought it would be good for pack-to-pack relations. But you just said that having young kids around older kids was a bad idea, so -- her face twisted in to a frown. Ibis was trying very hard to be a good scout and ambassador (whether she was fully realized as one or not), but the roadblock of Treason's negativity didn't help matters.

Easthollow has a new litter and when I was there, they were too small for the Alpha to leave alone to even talk to me. Its probably not the right time to have a party. What else could she say? Hadn't they just concluded everything - and what did it matter what Ibis wanted if the kids were too little? Treason was the one not making sense.

Maybe it had just been the way she rambled and dismissed things that had confused Treason.  But honestly, she wasn't good when it came to shades of grey -- things were either clear or they weren't and if it was the latter then she wanted it fixed.  It probably also meant she didn't always connect easily to others, but eh.  It's Treason.  If her name wasn't a sign to a possibly difficult personality, then what would be?  Then someone still needs to speak to them .  It's probably been long enough that one of them would be able to do so by now.  Even if the party wouldn't be tomorrow or even next week, it could still be planned for when Valette, she assumed, not knowing if there were more, would be comfortable with it.  Maybe Pike will even be gnawing on people less by then.  Which was tiring, but Treason was probably far too tolerant of teeth.

But if none of us know for sure now, and nobody asks, how would we know for the future?  It was just a giant pile of shrugs, honestly.  I guess there was always the option of just waiting to see if Easthollow ever checks back but that wasn't necessarily the greatest option. It's just unclear if you're going to do that or not.  And that was the real issue.  Did Ibis have any follow-through at all?  It'd probably be just as awkward to go follow up after Ibis already did as it would to not do so at all and get hit by the giant questionmark from someone from Easthollow wondering what happened with it.

Did she think Ibis was utterly mindless? Too stupid to concoct a plan of action? The more Treason explained herself the more sense dawned on Ibis but she found herself feeling more bothered by the minute. The way her step-mother jumped to the assumption that she was just going to drop everything - even going so far as to condescend to the girl - made Ibis feel a spark of something new; something like the frustration she felt when dealing with her father but different, too. Indignation, maybe. A flare-up of attitude she had never displayed before.

I was going to find Ira and tell her the plan. You said to wait, so I'll tell her that. Why did Treason have to be so brusk, so -- so Treason about everything? Ibis' frown faded but her features melted to a blank expression. She didn't know it, but it was the same expression that Terance held when he'd given up during the last conversation he and Ibis shared.

Ibis hung around for a few more moments even though she felt like zipping off; presuming that Treason would only harp at her more if she did that, or judge her, or whatever, she stayed where she stood and watched the woman. I'm a new scout but I'm not an idiot, I can do a simple message delivery. The edge to her words was new too, but it seemed like Ibis had found a limit to her patience and good cheer.

Treason seemed vaguely amused by this, probably something to do with the fact that she saw it as Ibis' failing instead of her own.  Whether or not that was the truth probably depends on perspective.  Seriously, conversations wouldn't be that hard if people would actually just say what they meant instead of fumbling and making her guess.  It was one thing if you were trying to pointedly avoid saying something, but this was just ordinary business -- no reason for shenanigans.  Another shrug, continuing in her normal unflappable way, Then go do it.  Saying 'nevermind' and that you wasted my time sounded like you weren't going to try and chucked the whole thing.  It still didn't seem like they were entirely communicating the finer details, but eh.  Start with the broad strokes.

Note to self, make sure the pups were well trained in clarity.  It certainly made things easier than trying to pick apart rambles for the truth.  If they wanted to fuss around with words and be silly about it, they could do it on their own time.

The way Treason spoke to her made Ibis' short, dense fur begin to bristle. She looked like she was going to snap back at her, but didn't. Instead she breathed a sharp exhalation from her nose as she turned and left Treason to her own devices; Ibis really didn't want to deal with the horrible woman's judgement.

Treason watched her go.  Ibis was far too easily bent out of shape if simply miscommunication irritated her.  Whatever.  She probably took after her mother in that aspect -- Terance at least seemed to actually listen, and even when the pair of them didn't agree, nobody stomped off in the end.  Speaking of, Treason had been meaning to tell the girl that she should consider apologizing to her father, but now?  Somehow she was pretty sure that'd go over like a ton of bricks.  Treason's mild interference would probably just make it worse, and despite the fact Ibis would be leaving, there was no point complicating the issue.  Nah.  Time to go back to whatever it was she was doing.