Deepwood Weald and now we're still again so I set it on fire

forward dated for tomorrow. any tags are references to recent threads in the area.

so this is how she'd gone about finding her way here. after finally getting a needed break from the woods- a sentence she wished wasn't as true as it was, she had set off to have a go at ramsay's request at a brisk and eager trot. she went straight for the great bear wilderness based on her hunch of them residing there /which she'd mentioned a number of times in various threads/ in a north west kind of direction which landed her near the firefly glen- the last place she'd seen aries those moons ago..not that that had anything to do with this of course. stopping for a quick refresher at the streams heading towards the big salmon lake she'd stopped to ponder where she ought to go from there. this was a big chunk of land to cover after all.

in an effort to discover their location she tried to think as if she were damien and looking for somewhere to stay, his obvious wanting to return to blackfeather woods had to mean he'd want to reside somewhere at least somewhat similar right? so it was likely a forest. since she'd already been travelling in a north west direction to bring her as far as the firefly glen she decided to stick to that and just hope that their forest wasn't located somewhere south of her own standing point. for now she just had to hope she'd be right and deal with what she'd do next if she wasn't when the time came, if the time came. had to stay positive. so she walked, skipping past the heartwood because well, that couldn't even be considered as a real forest anymore and it evidently would not sustain a single loner let alone a full pack. 

it took a while but she finally reached her first forest /the neverwinter forest/ here it took a while to circle around the bondary and it was tedious work but eventually she could conclude it was uninhabited much to her disappointment. sitting at the edge of a meadow /the chimera fields/ she would allow herself to hunt, catching herself a rabbit and nap briefly at the forest's edge. after that she'd set off once more until finally reaching where she now stood, the deepwood weald. upon her first brief inspection she was ready to angrily label it also a dead end but after a more thorough sniffing she began to catch scents as stale as anything but still lingering nevertheless. it took a lot to wipe out the scent of an entire pack especially in the summer where weather wasn't quite so dramatic. 

a much closer inspection definitely confirmed that the melonii had been living here but had not in a while, why? she was no seasoned scout so tracking wasn't her best skill meaning she couldn't confirm quite how old the scents were but they were at least a couple moons. what if they hadn't come back after their invasion on their pack, but why? if they'd set up nearer to attack again why wait this long? she'd lean back on her haunches, frowning as her tail lashed in frustration. she had to focus, had anyone been here more recently? inhaling deeply she'd wrinkle her nose and shut her eyes- quite a comical appearance but her mood was anything but as she struggled to differentiate the scents mingling in the air already lush with life and vegetation. the most recent smells were one of a bear which was quite concerning but it didn't seem to be still around, not here anyway, and a wolf bearing a scent similar to dirge meaning it must be from moonspear. these scents were pretty recent indeed, it seemed like they'd been here only days ago. 

yet working even harder she came across something a lot more rewarding- faintish yes but still a whole lot stronger than the faint pack smell was that of @Aries. he must have come back, why, why, why? he hadn't been alone she realised and was surprised to recognise the other smell as @Malcanthet, the wolf who'd hunted with the pack a little while back. her eyes would narrow with suspicion, had he been a melonii spy? but no, there'd definitely been no pack smell on him when he'd joined them. a frustrated huff would escape her as she lifted her gaze to the thick canopy above, well what the fuck did she do now?

Flicker thought she could pay a quick visit back to those woods the Melonii called home for a short time. Just to see if there was any game to catch before Damien and Nyx decided on what to do, where to go. It was a day trip, stress relief.
She'd hoped.

Aries had certainly been prowling back here, his scent coated the woods in a vague pattern. Others had been here too, mostly those Moonspear mutts. She detested them. Stuck up on their high mountain.
She roamed the forest, catching a few birds before gathering their heads the best she could and carried them off to store in a cache. Though.
A white stain on the treeline caught her eye and made her stop dead.
At first, she thought it was Maegi, sitting there like a lost dog at a doorstep (she'd be very lost if it were the case.) Flicker put down her quarry and approached with huntress stealth. Her eyes made the figure out to be Tundra.
Tundra?

She watched the woman for a moment longer before stepping out fully, her tail high and gaze accusing, though she kept the question off her face. 
"Whacha doin' 'ere?" Her voice was as flat as it could be. Flicker didn't necessarily hate Tundra, just disapproved because Blackfeather was enemy to The Melonii. Besides, Nyx was pretty clear about not starting wars. Again.

"whacha doin' 'ere?"

that voice, that fucking voice. no. fucking. way. her eyes shift from the rustling canopy to the red toned bitch that had oh so kindly graced her with her presence. flicker. the gaze that fixes itself on the woman is as dark and unreadable as ever, although perhaps a little colder than usual even for her and maybe they had narrowed a bit too but besides that she left little to go on. despite this, what she feels at that moment really does little to compare to the impassive expression shown to her ex packmate. there's a strange desire to burst out laughing and an ever stronger desire to launch herself at the lying wretch and tear her limb from limb. and that was not her being over dramatic in the slightest. there's even a small part of her that's not overcome by instinctive rage that wants to just ask; 'why?' but god knows her chances of getting an answer bearing even a little truth were slim as anything.

her hackles had risen slightly at the mere thought of letting her jump the girl and she has to take a moment to steady herself, inhaling deeply and forcing her body to calm the hell down. there was a task at paw here and for that she'd have to forgo her own wants. the melonii stench still clung to her fur so clearly she hadn't betrayed them yet which meant if she was careful, she could play this to her favour. shifting her position slightly she regards the wolf for only a few more icy moments before letting her shoulders lift in an almost comically casual manner considering the lovely imagery of making her bleed that kept liking to play across her mind in quite the taunting manner. "could ask you the same thing because...clearly these woods aren't inhabited" she allows herself to take a couple of steps closer, tail swaying almost lazily at her haunches.

all the while she can't help but recall their last proper conversation, how she'd told her of her loyalty to blackfeather because they'd taken her in after no one else would and how she prayed for maegi's safe return because she was her friend. that would then fast forward to when her new buddies had taken a try at their home and the way she'd spoken to maegi then. there was so much she wanted to question because frankly, she just didn't get it. but no, now was definitely not the time to let emotions get in the way. this was her area, locking everything away and playing whoever she needed to be to help her situation. "i know i could say the same for myself but quite a way from home, huh?" now she could be completely wrong here or maybe she was right but the hope was that flicker would subconciously either correct her or simply not, either could give her some sort of hint. and if it didn't work that was okay, that was only the beginning. there was definitely time for a lot more fun.

Her tail curled up, her hackles bristling. She stared impassively at Tundra. Her enemy. 
She wouldn't have been if she hadn't left and Flicker was left to clean up the scraps. Looking after Relmyna's children, no matter how passively, until the learned for themselves and went to search for a new place for them. She did what she could because she owed it to the deceased priestess. 
If they cared about Blackfeather, they both would've stayed. 

"The art of deceit is beyond you." Flicker had to keep the image true. The question of the weald. Tundra was here for a reason and she wasn't about to give it up because, whatever it was, Flicker wouldn't tell her. She felt like making an example of her but that would only incite war and end her own pathetic life. She let a low rumble of warning churn from her throat. 
"Go home, Tundra." A warning and advice. If Aries was still prowling around here, doing whatever he was doing with the borders, he'd not take kindly to the woman. "You won't find what you're looking for." 
Flicker backed up. To turn your back on one that meant you harm would be to cause harm. She delved back into the bushes, picking up her quarry and starting away with a lope. Not running away but avoiding conflict. If they were to battle and one were to die, a war would surely ensue. It would be at the life of one of them.

she'd simply arch a brow at the response given, little smile gracing her features. "but i did nothing to deceive" tundra really didn't smile much but at times like this she felt the undeniable tug at the corners of her mouth. in fact she'd appear more animated than ever when faced with some sort of threat or promise of action, maybe not a good thing to get giddy over but alas, this was better than any christmas present. now that she'd managed to push past the anger triggered by her own personal qualms and emotions she could embrace the cold hearted soldier she truly was, this was the tundra from her past and despite everything she claimed she did to escape it- she relished in it now.

once more she'd simply shrug at the next string of words, eyes alight with mocking innocence. she knew well the wolf wouldn't believe she was up to nothing but that didn't mean she had to admit it, being as annoying as possible was fun enough to her. "i sought nothing but a nice walk, jeez but your clear anxiety at my presence must mean there's reason you wouldn't want me snooping" with that she'd regard the bitch coolly, little smile never once leaving her black lips as flicker began to back up. she'd do nothing at the movement, in fact she'd actually lean back on her haunches- gaze dark and unreadable despite the lingering smirk. finally when flicker disappeared she'd let her jaws widen in a yawn despite her eyes flashing with the strong desire to give chase as if she were a measly piece of prey. well at least prey were worth something, couldn't say the same for her. "how mature of you" is finally all she'd whisper to the still air and after a long wait to make sure the girl was definitely some distance she'd stand.

it was her best bet right now so with the grace of the phantoms she so resembled, she'd follow after the trail without a flicker of hesitation.