Arrow Lake I don't know what I'm doing half the time

Meant for @Mesa. Note that she is NOT trespassing

She had taken herself a bit farther than usual, wandering from the borders and into areas that were completely new. As soon as the realisation hit, she took off and didn't stop until the scent of a pack smacked her in the face. The borders reeked like a lot of different wolves and she sniffed at them, tail going a mile a minute as she peeked inside pacing with the excitement of finding out other packs existed. Did Papa know about this pack? Were they friendly? Or even more exciting, what if they were mean? She began to walk along their borders, careful of how close she got because she remembered her lesson on what borders meant.

Reference tag & small pp of mom! If it isn't OK let me know pls!!

He took his deteriorating attitude and spiteful behavior far away from his siblings when they came for him; not that they often did these days, with all the changes happening to Diaspora. The rise of his uncle as the new general was still something he couldn't quite comprehend, but he chewed on the thought often. Knowing that Ego was off on an adventure didn't help matters, and the boy found it difficult to be around most of his remaining kin. It wasn't their fault that Stigmata was gone - just as it wasn't his own, or Mahler's, or really anyone's - but Mesa was still having a hard time with it all. He would probably never get over the premature death of his biggest idol.

So, he kept away from his brothers and sisters if he could help it; spending time with them only made him hurt more, inside. He was spiteful and aggressive, lashing out when they came near, or trying his best to overpower them and take their toys (then break them, or cast them aside within minutes). He was, in a word: inconsolable. The boy was too much to handle these days, and @Takiyok had given him a command to watch the borders as a means to work him down and tire him out. He hadn't wanted to go at first, but then, he thought of what his father would do - and away he went.

Thus, when the dark shape of a rival wolf came creeping towards the claim, Mesa was there. He watched her approach and wished she'd hurry up and cross that outer limit; he could barely contain his excitement (nor that bad attitude) as she made her way, becoming larger as she crept along. He studied her with a stoicism and chill that would've made his father proud; she looked young, like him. Dark, like Mahler. She seemed excited, and not at all repentant for creeping so close, but... Her route did not pass over the strong markers left by Diaspora.

Growing impatient, Mesa plunged along the mossy hillside until he was almost atop the stranger, and with his teeth bared he lunged for her - snapping his teeth at air and bristling with all his might, trying to show off, and to intimidate. When he growled he sounded less sure of himself, but at least he was putting on a good show!

She hadn't been paying attention at all to her surroundings which was the first thing Panther had ever taught her. She would learn that lesson today, the lesson of paying attention to what was around you in case you were being followed or someone was rushing toward you aggresively. As she was bent over to sniff at a flower there was suddenly a rushing of pawsteps and a clicking of jaws coming together and she instantly turned, baring her own fangs and giving the best snarl that she could the sound still coming out unsure and nervous though it got the point across. Her eyes widened when she saw it was another pup and she blinked, lowering her lips and sniffing curiously at him while her tail wagged in nervous spurts. He smelled like the borders making her wonder if she had done something wrong by just sniffing around them. It was the fact that she wasn't exactly sure why he was trying to intimidate her that caused the instinct to defend herself and be mean right back to be stifled and instead she gave a nervous "Hi...I didn't mean anything. I live close by, I never knew there were more packs" she explained voice faltering as she prayed he would calm down. She didn't want to fight, not at the borders of some strange pack and somewhere far enough from home that if she got hurt she could be in trouble. Her ears went back and she considered running off for a moment, sizing the boy up and frowning "I didn't do anything wrong did I?" She asked. She wanted to make sure, just so she could get a better understanding as to why in the heck this boy had come at her like that.

The two children were about a month apart and there wasn't much of a size difference; maybe Mesa was larger because his parents were large warrior-types, and he'd inherited some height, but in the long run it wouldn't make a difference. One month didn't translate to much. The boy was all posture, trying to mimic what he'd witnessed of his fellow wolves, or what he'd been taught. For a split second he wondered, what would Stigmata do? He raised his head, puffed up a bit, and stalked around the stranger with his teeth bared - and then she spoke, her voice soft and incomplete, faltering from nerves. There was that feeling again: a swell of power, and he chased that feeling, letting himself act out the role of defender as his father would've wanted.

This is Diaspora, the biggest, strongest pack of the biggest, strongest wolves! You can't be here, you are too small. He sneered at her through his teeth, and paced around her like a vulture looking for an easily accessible chunk to grab at. What are you doin' here? Where's your mommy? Boy, it felt so good, so empowering, to have all the control and the power in that moment. He could've attacked her outright if he'd thought of it - but she was tiny and scared, and there were limits to the child's imagination.

Where she had been nice and wanted to make sure she hadn't done anything wrong, he was mean and said things so nasty that she was honestly a bit hurt. She had never encountered someone so blatantly mean before and her brow furrowed, tail sinking between her legs. It was when he asked her where her mother was, suggesting she was weak and needed protection that she started becoming angry. Her lips twitched and she growled softly, ears pinning back against her skull as she lifted her bright green eyes to stare him down "You talk a lot for someone who's a kid too" her words were sharp and to the point as she watched him circle her, backing away slowly just to keep an eye on him. Her fur began to bristle and she flashed her fangs beginning to wonder if maybe this time running off would be the smarter option. After watching him posture and show up she realised this boy wasn't patrolling and defending like Papa was, he was picking on her and being a bully, flaunting his power without a single thought as to what she could do in return. "Why don't you leave me alone, I didn't do anything!" she said this seriously, her tone laced with a warning. If he didn't stop she would go for him and despite the tiny difference in size, she was certain she could whoop his ass if he tried to hurt her.

The boy wanted to get a rise out of her, and he did. She retaliated with some pouting and some not-so-strong sounding words, trying to lance back at him with commentary about how close they were in age. It didn't matter so much to Mesa; what he noticed, though, was how easy it was to make her turn around and run like a little mouse, and he felt his ego swell. However, he wouldn't let her leave so quickly.

I am not just a kid, he stated as he followed her, I'm a soldier! If anything could bring pride to Mesa's posture, it was this thought made manifest by his voice. He didn't care if he was a bully - he was supposed to protect his family, and his father would be proud of him for doing it. Still, he wanted to enforce that same understanding within the girl, so as he followed her he snapped at her haunches - clipping at the fur of her hips with his teeth, like he was herding her.

Move it! Faster! Or I'll -- I'll bite your tail off! Yeah! That sounded like a good threat, that should get her moving! If it didn't then he'd have to act on the threat - which was a little out of his wheel house to be honest - but as long as she believed him capable, that was fine.

She could hear the sound of his paws as he followed her and she didn't turn around, instead she kept on slowly walking away. She didn't respond either, rolling her eyes at his declaration that he was a soldier. She laughed, the sound loud enough to be heard by him and anyone else around but even then she didn't pay him enough mind to say anything more. Outwardly she'd seem like she didn't give a shit about his attitude, inside her head she was seething with rage and as she felt his fangs brush against her heels she snapped. With a snarl that was as rageful and serious as a pup could muster, she whirled around intending to plant her fangs directly into the soft flesh of his nose. "Soldiers don't pick on little girls! Wanna act all tough?lets go!" she shouted at him, tail rising as she bared her fangs straightening up and really squaring up to him as much as she could.

I'm gonna do a hit/miss roll and tag you. I think that's a thing in these scenarios lol

She didn't like being controlled, which he could've understood if he'd really paused to consider his behavior. Mesa being a rowdy young thing, he didn't let his brain get in the way of a good time - and so when the little soot sprite turned and faced him as if she could actually fight him, he felt a sense of elation. For a few seconds he'd forgotten all about the worries back home (a missing sibling, a deceased father, and living up to all the expectations of his blood); in this moment he was a warrior, a soldier, doing his duty.

The girl bared her teeth and lunged for him but she missed, her footwork obviously being a major issue. Mesa didn't think about how vastly superior his own training was by comparison; he would ruminate on that later as he stroked his swelling ego. When he saw an opening (in this case, the staggering little limbs of the girl) he took his chance and did what he had warned: bulldozed in to her and then made a grab for her tail.

In all his time on the earth, with all of his training, it had been hard but it had always been a game. Something about this particular exchange felt similar, but when he felt his teeth close upon the girl's blunt tail something shifted. He crunched down hard on the tail's end and felt the instinctive need to thrash his head.

Having never been in a fight she had no idea what to expect. She had some idea that there would be biting and pain and growling and anger but she still had no idea what that really meant. As the boy lunged her mind flashed to images of those scars that had ruined Panther's throat and she shrieked, whirling around and failing to get him in time. His jaws latched onto her tail and she gasped, his jaws crunching down and a fiery pain shooting from the injury up her spine. She shrieked and a wave of rage flooded her being and she whirled around, teeth seeking out the flesh along the side of his face wherever she could reach. If she scored she would bite down hard and shake violently, a desperate act meant to make him let go of her tail. The tail that she couldn't seem to feel, the tail that in the future would slowly cease to function and without care, fall off. "get off! Get off of me! This isn't protecting, this is mean!" The words came out shrill and panicked, gone was the determination to never be ruled by fear, she just wanted to leave and never come back here again.

Her reaction spurred more aggression from the boy. He tugged a few more times before she finally managed to whip around and strike at him - but he was fast, easily much more accustomed to sparring with his own siblings. There was no time to wonder if this girl ever had any sparring experience; she tried to go for his face and he parried with a flash of his open teeth, their jaws clicking as he thrust his face at her's at a slanting angle.

Then he tried to retaliate with another blow, but this time his teeth clicked uselessly over her head and the force of the motion dislodged something in his own mouth - a baby tooth maybe - which smarted, and made him wince, recoiling with a stagger to one side. If she wanted to escape without further harm, there was her chance.

There was a cringe of pain as their jaws collided, her tongue being caught between her teeth and blood beginning to drip into her mouth. She panted softly and backed away, stumbling as she saw that he was distracted by his own pain. The chance to escape was taken and she turned around, bolting in the direction of home. As she ran she found that her determination to one day be strong and able to protect herself and her family was even stronger than it had been before. She was tired of being weak and vulnerable to everyone else.

It felt like there was a piece of gravel stuck in his molars, which made no sense. For a few seconds the fight was forgotten as he rooted around with his tongue, grimacing at the dirt. When he finally dislodged the shape and spat it on the ground, Mesa saw that it was a tooth; a small bloody mass of enamel. He stared down at it for a heartbeat longer, and then turned to face his opponent again, only to find that she was running off in despair.

As much as he wanted to keep up with the game, Mesa was now transfixed by his first battle wound; his pride swelled, ego too, and he stood proudly on the spot with his head raised. He wanted to shout obsceneties at the retreating girl but he didn't know any, so instead he just barked sharply after her and began to laugh - one of those obnoxious, forced laughs that grated on one's ears.

The girl would think twice before coming near Diaspora again, all because of him! As Mesa turned back to where the tiny tooth sat cooling on the soil, he tongued at the gap inside of his mouth, and retreated down one of the nearby slopes so he could find a sibling (or a parent) and boast about his accomplishment.