Noctisardor Bypass Relax - what you see is what you see

Back home again. Her thoughts had shifted to the few men the pack had collected -- whether Kaertok or Valdemar might end up being a good choice or if she should keep looking. But where would she find the sort of man that might appeal? The same thing had happened last year, hadn't it? The time when it became important, they all fled the scene. But now? She knew it couldn't be too long -- she'd have to make a decision or find some way for them to make it for her. That might be entertaining.

It kept her mind busy as she wound her way around the borders, marking here and there to reinforce the claim. She was still happy with the choice of territory, even if the composition of the pack had shifted to something slightly unfamiliar. But things always changed, didn't they? She stopped to leave her mark again, then continued on. Same routine as normal.

>>

merrick did not stray far from the valley, gathering his forces and binding them through blood. and now, it seemed, ursus would go the way of every other pack and bring forth young ones. still discomfitted by the idea, the boy ranged out from the pawmarked claim, into his meadow, and beyond that.
he paused at the edge of the elk-field to catch the thick scent of wolves. several of them. but one aroma among the crowd provoked a devilish grin to curl merrick's lips, and he drew forward until the heavy figure of his one-time leader emerged to view.
"treason," the boy called, ironically what had driven him from the hollow the year before.

And occasionally ghosts reappeared. It took her a moment to recognize him -- Merrick, one of the children that had been dumped upon the pack in ages ago. He had been so eager to become an adult -- for others that had been left alone, she had in her own vague way offered to stand in for what they had lost, but none had taken it. And this one? Had she spoken up would it have helped him? Probably not. There had been no instruction and it wasn't like he'd been an infant -- even if when Laurel returned she still seemed to think of him as one. She was one who would certainly get a more irritated greeting.

It looked like he'd had tough times with things -- chewed on in more than a few ways, an eye being a hole... Bad choices? Perhaps he'd be so kind as to give a clue if that was the case. Arbiter probably looked the same as she had when they last crossed paths. Her nostrils flared -- others had been with him -- and she walked forward, stopped, watched. Arbiter, she corrected him. What brings you here, Merrick? A slight tilt of her head. She was just as stoic as ever -- one who abandoned the pack so long ago wasn't exactly one to greet with open arms.

unsure if he had ever respected the woman, merrick smirked in response to her correction. "bearclaw valley has returned. i'm its leader." he cast a meandering glance over the world stained with her scent, then flicked his gaze back to the aloof creature 
"i don't like neighbors, treason," merrick chirped gaily thereafter, yet the hard bite of his eye suggested anything but.
"the valley and the meadow are mine." he cocked his head. "i doubt you'd want to stay for what happens next."

It didn't take much for Arbiter to judge someone as illogical. So that was the reason he left -- he was lacking the ability to reason and function in society. He wouldn't be one that she missed, not that he was on that list to begin with. As she hadn't greeted him with anything even resembling cheer, there was none to have fade in the first place.

And now here he was thinking he owned the world or something? If he managed to dredge up enough numbers that he'd have half a chance of holding as much land as he wanted to devour, she doubted the quality of them. Between that and his decision to ignore her correction, she was very sure of her quick analysis. He was not one for her to trust and certainly meant trouble -- truly unstable perhaps, rather than just a fool. 

Her words continued to be cool as she kept her cards covered, We aren't near Bearclaw nor the meadows, and we are not neighbors. Easthollow is more than a day trek, the valley is farther. It seems an odd choice to settle next to them if somehow my pack's presence troubles you at this distance. A statement, yes, but one that came with a question attached. Why make the same poor choice that Rannoch did, and why make it worse if for some reason he wanted to kick out those who had obviously been here longer -- longer than he'd been alive, in Easthollow's case.

his rawbit ears cupped forward with amusement as she spoke, detailing what she felt to be logical. merrick nodded along, sighing once and stepping back as he appeared to relent.
then tongue caressed lips, and his cyclops expression grew jaunty. "you know, i just don't like you, i think," merrick rejoined. "you had a kid that was abandoned with you —" two if she counted nunataq, whom the boy refused to remember "— and that's how i stayed. just a forgotten kid. back when things were booming, and you weren't, i don't know," he breathed, scenting the air with a visible slowness, "alone."
of course she was not, but merrick enjoyed denying her reality, forcing her to live in his.
"and so i'll right the wrong," he finished simply, his mouth curving in a boyish smile.

Unstable. Anything could come from this one -- so she would give him little but words and see how he tried to corrupt them. But what was he doing going on about abandoned children? Was he not near full grown by the time his mother had left? A tilt of her head. It was not the way she remembered him, Were you not the youth who wanted to be recognized as a man? I had applauded your ambition, celebrated your success. I had looked forward to you working alongside me. Is that now a regret? He had never seemed one to have needed an adult to guide him -- so why this sudden change? Even the weaker-willed ones she'd gathered from the past year had never really come to her for mothering.

The time that had passed colored Arbiter's view a little, but was it not something that became more clear in retrospect anyway? They were undoubtedly tailored for the situation, but none were lies, They never trusted me with the children, Merrick. Being a soldier just meant I was just a tool to them -- one who was willing to get my paws dirty so they could stay innocent. I made sure you and your sister were safe. And then when I had power I gave you opportunity, but I cannot change the past. Perhaps she would have done things differently if she knew what she did now, but that was a lifetime ago.

She couldn't remember which of the sisters was actually his mother, but in the end it didn't matter. The wolves who you should be after are no longer here, and no longer welcome here. Rannoch, Liffey, Laurel, Indra, Terance -- they all showed their true colors. Perhaps she was being a bit too hard on Terance, but that was the only one that was even in question. If he ever returned, they'd figure out the answer.

she said her piece, and merrick was unmoved until your sister spiraled out from arbiter's 
yeah he was already gonna call her that whatever 
mouth in a string of syllables that slowed down and contorted almost comically, so that he was reading her lips while her voice droned on and on and on
"she wasn't my fucking sister," merrick snapped through whatever she was blabbering about now. "she was some brat no one wanted." 
"like me. so you can stand there and say whatever you want, but first my dad left, then my mom abandoned me, and then you never seemed to give a fuck."
merrick rolled his shoulders, cracked his neck, sized her up. "i took care of indra."

Snappy. Impatient. Lack of reason. So stuck on his supposed abandonment. Probably not too eager to be proven wrong either, hm? Something along those lines. Probably something like dealing with a more warped version of her father. And as before, cooler heads would likely prevail.

But it was Merrick, not Devil that faced Arbiter, and she was one who watched. She might not have had needed to kill anyone, but she had the chance a few times and had the training to do so. Her reaction was mostly just a thoughtful blink as she reorganized her thoughts. So he had killed his mother? Again, not that she was entirely sure which, but making a guess...  Making the decision to set aside the first part of what he said, she peered at him, not necessarily curious but one of its kin. But certainly it was Laurel who made the decision for them to leave you at the creek. From what I was told, Indra was the one who asked about you on their return, Laurel did not, and she was always the one to lead. Arbiter did bear a grudge against the woman, but not one she'd needed to act on. If she'd shown up at the borders in the future, perhaps then she would have killed someone: Arbiter did not take threats to her children lightly, even if they were likely just full of hot air. Indra, though, had always seemed meek, Laurel was trouble, so in a world where it was important to punish the right victim, it left her questioning his target selection -- or if it was just the start of more.

It also probably helped that Arbiter didn't know the pair had settled at Easthollow -- the times she'd been by they'd been staying far from the borders or occupied enough otherwise that she didn't notice. She didn't want to cause the pack trouble, but hard to do so when she wasn't aware of it. She assumed Easthollow was aware of the Bearclaw wolves as an unrelated note.

merrick scoffed. what rock had she turned up from under? he was growing tired of her droning and took himself into a more inviting headspace where blood overlay her ripped throat.
"laurel," he went on when she had finished, "is at easthollow." to merrick, it looked clearly like they had never intended to come back. certainly not for the boy he had been.
the single eye grew more cryptic, cunning. "so terance ran out on you?" he scuffed a paw over the ground, trying to remember what little of the darkfurred man he could recall. "i'm pretty sure he was into my mom," merrick revealed, seeking deep into his enemy's gaze. it had been only a moment, their trek from bearclaw to the hollow, but he would run with it.

Curious. Apparently despite staying there, she had kept off to herself. She can stay there. Arbiter didn't want her, that's for sure. She could stay not Arbiter's problem unless she made herself her problem. She wouldn't stop counting Laruel as a possible danger to her children unless she showed up and groveled, and that was still questionable.

As he continued, she let expression be obvious -- a curious look, wondering what he was trying to do. Make her jealous or something? The more he searched, the less she wanted to give him anything, even if she might be curious what Merrick was reaching for. There had to be some reason for it, but maybe she was giving him too much credit, too much rationality. She only had eyes for Laurel. She let it hang in the air a moment, They're both history, so you say. Arbiter probably had had more to worry about from from Seabreeze -- was she even around any more? Honestly, the player can't remember if Arbiter knows Elysium is gone. Terance had his own history, his own wants, and now he was gone too. So it goes.

She just wanted to get this particular wolf off her doorstep. Go trouble someone else while she figured out what needed to be done about him.

merrick chose not to respond to the barb, finding it weak in comparison to all that he had said, and could say. a twist of his lips in answer was all he gave alongside the declaration "but you're not, and neither am i." his true violence was inspired by the thought of laurel continuing to live her sainted life. had she even grieved for indra? merrick had 
done it
and even he remembered the desperate rush of salt along his face.
did laurel
merrick hoped he would get another opportunity to teach her the lesson he had learned.
"stay over here," he ordered, backing some steps and eyeing the woman with a dominance he had not earned in her land. "can't say what will happen if you don't."
the boy snickered and began to turn, preparing to jog back toward the meadow if treason had nothing more to add.
and within his gur there began to blow a great wrath.

Had it been anyone else, she would have said something about how they were survivors or the determined or something else along those lines. But he was certainly not someone she'd honor that way. 

His "order" was met with a relatively blank stare broken with just a flicker of change that asked 'Really?' He had to realize it meant nothing, and that even if somehow he had the weight behind it, Arbiter wasn't interested in giving him any sort of response. If they were closer, she'd be tempted to wander to spite him -- not that Arbiter typically went more than a day's travel from home. Merrick was the one who had gone well out of his way to pester her. And he thought so highly of himself. Arbiter didn't. She found him to be the sort of fool which was going to end up with his head buried separately from his body. She hoped it'd be sooner rather than later just so she wouldn't have to waste any of her time wondering what he was up to.

And so, Arbiter watched him go, hoping he'd trip and end up down a cougar's gullet along the way. Once he was a speck, she turned and went along her way, continuing on her patrol for now. Later she'd make sure @Brouhaha and @Warlock knew to avoid the Bearclaw wolves -- and would be as bluntly honest as needed with her daughter to make it clear that no, this was not a joke, that guy was literally insane. Should they come across them, it was best just to politely leave, and if she had to chew that into Brou's hide, she would. Whether or not his packmates also were was questionable but not unlikely. She was a realist -- the ones who stuck by Merrick long-term were going to be equally detached from reality.