Blacktail Deer Plateau let moths consume me in the light

@Nieve - a challenger appears! (`⌒*)O-(`⌒´Q)

the trip to the beach had come to a satisfying close. the sisters came back to the territory as a unit, but quickly dispersed, each one drifting off to tend to their own business. 

ying didn't know what that meant for hua and mei, but she had a mission in mind. she hadn't forgotten the altercation with tuvak and nieve — rude boy and silly girl, as she recalled it — and intended to present her challenge once more.

trotting through the heart of rusalka, she sounded several low chuffs for the girl, hoping that one might catch her attention.

My roll (8) is here: click!

She was ordinarily a sweet thing—kind, compassionate and helpful. She'd thought by attempting to intervene on an unnecessary scuffle between packmates, she was being responsible. She thought was protecting the unity of the pack. Nieve forgot that this pack had no unity—that half its members stood in opposition to the other half, or simply didn't know them at all and didn't want to. There was no sense of camaraderie except between the smaller isolated pockets.

What she hadn't anticipated was being branded as entitled, foolish, silly and arrogant, and so she hadn't anticipated that she would be challenged. She thought she had the pack's regard for her stalwart commitment, but as she was summoned by Ying's calls, and met once again with a wolf who seemed to think she had more authority, it was confirmed for her that Rusalka was no longer the pack she knew and loved. This challenge hurt her in a way that it shouldn't have—this was natural between wolves, but it was Nieve's first, and it came from a total stranger who'd been nothing but rude to her.

Fire licked her heart and she made a full physical display of it, approaching Ying with her ears thrust sharply forward, her bright blue eyes glaring into the other female's, her teeth bared between slick black lips, and her tail flagged high above her. Ying would find that the golden girl she mistook for a fool was, in fact, the daughter of two of the strongest women in the wilds, and gentle though she may be, she was more than equal to the task of defending her rank.

nieve wins!

the child was quick to respond; she soon stepped into sight, tail held high over her back. the huntress analyzed the display and seeked to match it, her own lips curling back into a snarl. there was no need for words, as it appeared both contenders understood the purpose behind the encounter.

rank was set aside. ying was determined to prove her dominance and had little regard for possible consequence. stepping forward, she snapped at her opponent as a preliminary tactic. then, she stepped off to the right to take nieve's side, hoping to knock her onto the ground with a running start.

Nieve's inexperience with these affairs was immediately evident: she stepped back when Ying snapped at her, her whiskers drawn forward defensively, but her eyes full of sudden alarm. Was the intent to harm? For a fleeting instant, she considered turning and leaving the scene entirely—nothing was worth harming a packmate, even one she hardly knew and had no connection with.

Instead, she made the decision to stand her ground. She would not hurt Ying, but she would do everything she could to get the woman on her back. Nieve took the defensive role, allowing the other to make the first move; and when Ying sprinted for her side, Nieve turned neatly with Ying's motion and drove forceful but blunted teeth for the side of the woman's neck, aiming to grab her and shove her off balance.

the culture of the inland wolves was different from those of the coast. ying knew this, and so she often tried to avoid passing judgement. when her sisters exposed their bias, she tried to correct them; when there was an opportunity to learn, she often leapt at it.

most things came easy to ying, as far as acceptance went. however, this was one aspect of their identity that she was simply unable to understand. 

if rusalka was willing to allow their children to lead, they could at least teach them how to fight. what was a rank without security? ying did not often challenge her superiors, but when she did, she expected a fair and decent battle.

her initial attack was dodged. nieve moved out of the way before ying was able to make contact. before she could snap again, the flame had her face buried into her opponent's scruff, knocking the cloud over and onto her side. she lay there for a moment, quickly moving to settle onto her stomach and prepare to stand once more.

She didn't expect to be able to get completely out of the way, nor did she expect to be able to grab and down Ying so easily. Maybe scuffles weren't as difficult as they seemed; being young, it was hard to keep the success from going to her head, but Nieve had never been an arrogant sort. She chocked it up to luck and patience. Her opponent seemed a reckless sort. She released Ying's scruff and stepped back, giving the paler she-wolf space to stand.

Nieve still made no move to land any real blows of her own. Her strategy was simple: defend and deflect Ying's blows until the woman either relented or realized it was more work than it was worth to try to dominate her. She felt strangely calm in the moment, like this was all a choreographed dance that she'd practised a hundred times, even though this was her first challenge. She took it no less personally—it would take a while before she could handle a challenge without feeling like it was a slight against her—but things seemed to settle into place.

The girl bared her teeth again and arched her neck, adopting the most domineering posture she could possibly muster, but still gave no indication that she was going to launch any sort of attack. She wouldn't get so lucky with a dodge again and even she knew that, but she was willing to take it.

the challenge was more confusing than ying had anticipated. rather than emulating both sides of the fight — offense and defense — it seemed that each wolf had chosen only one as their focus.

ying was the perpetrator, and if anyone were to cross their path, nieve would be seen as the victim. she did not want this to be the case, but as she doubted that any member of rusalka would believe her story, she knew that it was best to play it safe. her sisters were here and she would not do anything to put their ranks at risk.

the huntress stood and glared, ocean eyes boring into those of the child. she was finished, for now; there would come a time when she would return with another challenge and if she lost again, there would be a third attempt. for now, she was finished.

ying waited for nieve to either speak or take her leave. she did not fall into full submission but she did not assume full dominance, either.

In the end, Ying relented. Nieve realized at that moment, when her subordinate glared into her eyes despite failing to secure her rank or respect, that if there was a next time it would have to come to blows. She regretted that that was the case and sorely hoped it wouldn't come to that, but she doubted it. The way Ying stood, letting up the dominance posturing a little but not submitting appropriately to someone who was technically her superior, suggested it wasn't over.

Nieve snorted once to blow off steam, then pivoted and left the seawolf behind without a word. She maintained a rigid bearing until she was well out of sight, where she released a deep sigh and allowed herself to sag under the weight of the anxiety that was beginning to bubble up in her stomach. It wasn't right to take a simple rank challenge personally, but she had a difficult time swallowing it when her opponent didn't seem to want to know her at all. She only wanted to best her, and that stung Nieve in ways it shouldn't have.