Northstar Vale warrior, with fire in her veins

for @Lainie

though part of praimfaya feels excited that she's slunk out of diaspora's borders on little more than a sudden whim and the feeling that if she can say she's safely made her first scouting trip by herself it might fast-track her to adulthood; another part of her feels decidedly guilty. she had been specifically instructed by blodreina prior to her mother's departure with the golden woman on a scouting mission for mahler to listen to her father and to not step near or over the borders. but youth and the pedestal her mother's placed her upon as wanheda grants praimfaya false immortality. she feels as if she has diplomatic immunity and none can touch her ( a foolish and childish thing to think! ).

just to be on the 'safe' side praimfaya doesn't tread from paths she has already walked before. she keeps to the path that blodreina and her have taken several times to northstar vale, recalling the familiar direction with ease. victory blossoms beneath her breast, spreading down to her toes which curl in the pliable earth underfoot as she steps into the vale and draws in the scents eagerly as the afternoon sun bears down from the cloudless sky.

Each step she took made her hurt in a way she had never felt before. She had gotten into her first ever fight, she had stuck up for herself against a bully and while she hadn't done a great job on the fighting end she felt she had made enough of a point. She had a few scraps, a few bruises and the walk home was going to suck. She groaned as she reached the vale, paws sinking into the soft ground as she strode forward unaware someone else was there until she smelled her. The only thing recognisable was the stench of the pack that mean boy had come from and she bristled "leave me alone! Beating me up once wasn't enough?" she shouted and whirled around, eyes wide and fur bristling as she looked around finally spotting the face of an unfamiliar pup. She faltered and her ears flattened back as she gave the female a wary look, looking ready to turn and run in a second.

never, in praimfaya's near four months of life has anyone ever raised their voices at her. she's been corrected when need be by a chiding blodreina or ingram but neither of her parents have ever shouted at her. so, when a stranger — another girl and around praimfaya's own age, a quick intake of breath tells the wanheda — raises her voice at her, all praimfaya can do is pause in her steps, draw her head back with unfettered indignation and puff her chest in a very excuse me?! fashion. praimfaya knows her recent ambassador lessons have led her to meet many but she knows she has never met this loud girl before.

let alone beat her up.

chit yu gaf? the wanheda sputters and then in her puzzlement, praimfaya realizes she's spoken in trig and ( with a small huff ) translates what do you mean?. undeniably, it would be super helpful if more wolves spoke trigedasleng, she thinks selfishly. by now, however, praimfaya's begun to realize that this was a case of mistaken identity. you've got me confused with someone else and i assure you i've never 'beaten you up'. i've never even met you before now.

The girl spoke in some other language and her face drew tight with confusion for a moment before what was said was translated. She had already realised her mistake but the girl continued onward, speaking...like an adult. It was weird to hear a kid so well spoken and proper and she had to fight hard not to snort at how nerdy it sounded. "it was your pack scent that confused me. I just got beat up for sniffing at your borders" she explained her tail giving a nervous wag as she wondered if that would piss off this pup too. Hoping to change the topic she moved closer and then sat down, a few friendly taps of her tail against the ground being given "What language was that? I speak french but I know that wasn't french" she asked, genuinely interested.

unsurprising, praimfaya remarks coolly. was it worth reiterating what the girl had already come to learn? it wasn't wise to go sniffing around another pack's borders. what, pray tell, had the other girl thought was going to happen? a warm welcome? if she was looking for that then she had came knocking on the wrong pack's door, praimfaya thought; and everything felt more touchy and on edge since the basilisk's death despite the gargoyle's smooth and uncontested ascension ...but she wasn't about to go around admitting there had recently been a leader death and resulting from that: a power shift.

so, in lieu of protecting diaskru, praimfaya lets the conversation shift to the language that she's spoken in. i speak french and that wasn't french the girl tells her. it's called trigedasleng. but praimfaya doubts this stranger'll know about it as much as praimfaya knows about french: which is nothing. until today, she's never even heard the word before. i'm praimfaya. she offers her name after a few beats, awaiting the girl's own name in return.

The one thing that was said in response to her getting beaten up put her mood back off. Her ears went flat against her head and she looked away, heart sinking into the pits of her stomach. Was every other kid outside Swiftcurrent this mean? She shifted uncomfortably unsure what else to say until the girl answered her inquiry about the odd language and introduced herself. She gave Praimfaya a wary glance "trigedaslang...wow that even sounds cooler than french. I'm Lainie....I live nearby" she spoke in a more reserved way than her normal gush of energetic enthusiasm, clearly feeling out of her element. She perked up as an idea came to her and offered a tentative smile "Hey....um....maybe I could teach you some french if you could teach me some Trigedaslang?" she offered the trade hopefully, as some sort of Olive Branch for a more friendly conversation. She had come out in the hopes of making some friends and she was determined not to go back home without at least one.

edited a conclusion on this for archival.

where's nearby? praimfaya asks, zeroing in on her words. i know you're not from diaspora. was there any pack near to diaspora? there was the pack that, that girl minnow was from ( tori is vague because that thread is still on-going ) but their scents do not coincide with one another. she knows, abstractly, that the wilds are much larger than the sunspires but blodreina has thus far kept her in this general area. perhaps, upon her mother's return from her mission for mahler, she will have to ask to see verx and then ask if they can begin exploring further.

an offer to exchange languages is presented and praimfaya considers it. she doubts french will be of any use to her but it sounds fair enough. sure, praimfaya accepts, settling casually upon her haunches.

the two girls exchanged a bit more information and their favored languages before praimfaya decides she has tested lady luck's patience too much and with an amiable word of departure turns and heads back to diaspora.