Broken Boulder from the edge

@Ketzia Just... not mentioning Kiwi since who the heck knows how that thread is gonna end up. Takes place 11/23!

It was early morning when Sequoia finally returned to her new home. She was tired, but alive. She would spend a day here resting, then she would venture out again. It felt like a good routine for now. She thought of Crow even though she didn't want to think of him. It was harder to keep him out when she was tired like this.

Her thoughts drifted to the few good times. Great times, really. When they would laugh and enjoy each other's company. The way he'd nibble on her cheek when she had food stuck there, or the way he'd nestle his nose in the crook of her armpit when they fell asleep together. The memories burned brighter the more exhausted she got, and when she finally crossed the faint scent markers that Mahler had left, she had to shake herself out of it.

Not just mentally, but physically too.

She faced outward for a moment, scanning until she spotted movement. Sequoia was really too tired for much of anything, but she knew that she should make sure nobody followed her right in.

Hello? Who's there?

She would have stayed away—she should have stayed away. Diaspora was of the past, and Ketzia had vowed to move on to the future. Yet returning to the Wilds had all but thrown that out the window as it was—and so she knew she was due to see her friend.

@River came and went as she pleased—it was possible the girl had even went back to the Grove to report their whereabouts to her brothers who maintained their pack. They were older now—no longer could the exotic woman coddle them, and so she allowed them reign as leaders. It was a position that was surprisingly well suited to Trench in particular, given his rough start in life.

Thriving, thanks to the dark man she now sought.

Her own thoughts were swept aside as a voice called out—her sharp green eyes glancing up to catch view of white. Uttering a low rumble in her throat to announce her presence, Ketzia glided forward—age not having yet taken the grace of her very nature.

A low rumble, and Sequoia caught sight of the creamy wolf who graced her with their presence. A quick sniff of the air told her that this stranger was of no real use to her, being female, but that didn't stop Sequoia from approaching her. The mottled girl's tail was raised higher than the older wolf, and she looked her up and down. She appeared healthy enough, and Sequoia thought at least this trip might bring back a worthy recruit for Mahler, even if female wasn't exactly her first preference. But hey, if it would gain her some brownie points with Mahler, maybe it was worth it, even if it did mean more competition.

You skulking around here for any particular reason? she asked. 'Cause we're claiming this place.

The stranger had two options: scram or join. Either one would be acceptable to Sequoia, so long as she did not have to deal with any drama. She was very, very tired of that right about now. The reunion with Kiwi was still fresh in her mind, as was the hurt that her old best friend had caused her.

It was not the gargoyle's presence but one that held his scent upon her pelt-- the posture of the rather pretty girl catching her attention. She offered a casual sweep of her tail, muzzle canting lower in acknowledgement to the she-wolf's stake in these lands. Interesting. Was this Mahler's doing, moving from the mountains, or had the dynamics of the pack she had once run with segregated from anything familiar?

"To the point," she practically purred in her smoky voice. "I can appreciate that. My name is Ketzia." She allowed the slip of her tongue to graze along her lips in quiet thought to the woman's statement. "My intentions depend solely upon a wolf who I believe runs with you. Does Mahler still lead?"

Seq squinted at the other girl when she mentioned Mahler.

He does, she said.

If you are planning on joining, you should know that I have first rights to childbearing next year.

Sequoia would do everything in her power to make that happen. If this woman wanted to try to take that from her, Sequoia would have no qualms chasing her off. The last thing she wanted was more competition from wolves that already knew Mahler. "Old friends," as the phrase goes.

I'm Sequoia.

The faintest tick of her lip gave way the unfurling amusement in her breast—the forward words appreciated in so many ways—and a brief glance to the past as her mind roamed to Takiyok. The world seemed an entirely different beast from then to now—Stigmata’s absence making it seem all the more cruel.

In some ways, though, it remained freeing.

She swallowed the thought, allowing her smile to curve at the corners of her mouth, her gaze appraising as the woman introduced herself. “You feel threatened by me.” She could have played nicely—acquiescence to the she-wolf’s demands, but instead she found herself rather bored that the same scene was unfolding before her.

A flick of her tail, her muzzle tilted up, her smoky song crying for @Mahler—inviting his presence, for it was he alone she truly wished to deal with for now. Not the brazen mouth of a she-wolf desperate to bear young.

Once her cry faded, she chuffed softly, her eyes rounding once more on the pretty dove. “I was left a widow and a single mother on the mountains. You’ll find no disagreement from me for breeding rights.”

One more pause, and the sylph tipped her muzzle only slightly. “Your tact is lacking greatly, by the way. I’m Ketzia.”

How the fuck dare she. Sequoia had only mentioned it because she did not want this woman to think she would step in ahead of her. Her tail lashed, and next think she knew, she was calling for Mahler. Sequoia curled her lip, her tail now arching over her back as she ignored the sob story (which could have been a lie, for all she knew).

True or not, the insult was just icing on the cake.

You are not welcome here, she said. Sequoia had the upper hand, as she was a pack wolf, and Ketzia had thought it smart to offend her.

Leave. Now.

Many might have felt ruffled by the she-wolfs sharp command, yet the white sylph merely tipped her muzzle lightly, acknowledging that she clearly had hit a nerve. 

There was potential here--lunge at the woman and impart some of her frustrations into her with the sting of her teeth. Perhaps have the frustration beaten out of her by the pretty girl before her--either were tempting. 

Instead, she chose not to step on the toes of Mahler's comrade any further. Despite the venom of her tongue, she wasn't hear to cause grief for the swarthy gargoyle. 

Maybe I'll see you around, she murmured in a soft-smoke voice. With that, the exotic woman turned, her eyes pressing past the other for only a moment before she made her way from the brink of the borders--her reunion with her friend would simply need to wait.

She may have been rude, but at least she wasn't outright stupid. Sequoia did not respond to the comment about seeing her around. Sequoia hoped not. In fact, she hoped that she never saw this sob-story woman again. Her life would be better for it.

Perhaps she would warn Mahler of her behavior on the off chance she decided to roam near here again. Sequoia knew that he preferred manners over tail (or so she told herself). Perhaps he would reject her on that alone. Then again, if she was an old fling of his, maybe he would be more forgiving. Sequoia certainly hoped not.