The Bracken Woods you could trample upon,

what was the point of having a coalition if they would not rise to arms when she called? begrudgingly, praimfaya understood thyri’s reasoning during their war counsel: without a stake in the wilds the wolves in her coalition could not fight for her. the commander tries not to take her aunt’s wise words like a slap in the face; a reminder of roangeda’s failure and what she lost as a result and yet they smart all the same. they would not fight for someone who stood above their commander, which was more or less what praimfaya was asking them to do while she remains anything less than what she was born to be in the wilds.

it was fair;

but frustrating.

a chill of winter’s icy fingers runs along her spine as she makes her way thru the bracken woods; mindful of the thorny bushes even if it meant getting pinesap clumped into her fur. on the scale of annoyance neither option rated very high. guided by the rays of the sun that filtered down thru the evergreen canopy above, praimfaya sticks to the western side of the forest; aware of the mostly familiar scents to the east. it piques her curiosity, but remembering her and mahler’s last conversation and the result of her disobedience, praimfaya turns a stone cold shoulder to them.

Whrist had left the packlands far to long ago, barely any pack scent clung to her body and even so she had gotten no further in the task given to her by Kynareth Deagon. As she traipsed through the furthest point from the pack lands she wanted to go, She was about to turn her paws toward the long journey home. ‘Home’ was such a foreign concept to her but she was being to like the idea.

Those wolves seemed to share her concept of life and death. Suddenly she froze, the black wraith lifted her head and scented the air. She had picked up a vague scent she had barely picked out from the old nearly washed away scents that had criss-crossed the saint’s old territory.

Whrist had a gift for memorizing scents and trailing them. She trotted toward the wolf she knew must near by.  She stopped a fair ways away from the female allowing her black form to be seen clearly. She looked over this wolf, she certainly fit the description of this Praimfaya she had be looking for. And she looked to be running from something though she could be wrong.

Whrist found herself inspecting the females scars, contemplating how good a fighter she must be. She decided not to let one know her intent, but she offered conversation of one wolf to another “Running from somewhere?” She smiled in a friendly manner, but thought to herself, 'You idiot that might not have been the best opening line.’ Whirst wasn’t one for conversation usually, but she did need to learn more about this wolf.

the question from the ebony pelaged stranger draws the fierce level of praimfaya’s mercurial gaze; cutting. the assumption that she is running despite having no basis — her steps were casual, careful even in the thorny tangles of the bracken woods — makes her lip curl. clearly you and i have different ideas of what running looks like. praimfaya retorts; sharply, unamused. frustration lingers beneath her skin and she is ready to take it out upon the nearest thing. it begs to question what provokes that kind of question and immediately the commander is skeptical. who are you aulana? the trig slides off her tongue with unparalleled ease; the woman’s friendly smile met with praimfaya’s unfriendly stare.

she has no wish to be bothered; only to make it thru these woods without a collection of sap and thorns all thru her fur.

Whrist saw an opportunity to correct her wayward tongue and took it in hopes to redirect this ones ire, for she didn’t need it directed at her, not right now anyway. Carefully she pulled a thorny burr from her chest through there were not too many spread throughout her pelt, since she did try to keep herself groomed.  “Well most wolves hate sap and burrs it stand to reason the only ones willing to face these annoyances are the ones trying to get away, as it were.” She offered the wolfish version of a shrug “sorry for my assumption.”

Her white blue eyes left the female and sure the surrounding foliage, she had been from one end of the teekon wilds now to this end, and she had seen many different terrains within this biome, This one had it’s own beauty if it would keep it’s presents to itself

Her pitch black ear flicked toward the other’s words not understanding the term “aulana” she decided to ignore that word. Whrist hated giving away anything that belonged to her including her name and this one had not given up her own up yet, though she hoped to confirm her other assumptions “I am Whrist,” Her gaze moved back to the wolf before her “To whom do I have the honour of meeting?” She offered a slow wag of her tail and winced as she felt some sap cling her her pelt as it brushed up against the natural foliage

and you would be an expert on what most wolves hate or do not hate? praimfaya returns; a terse flick of her ear given. the stranger’s attempt to rectify her prior assumption was …weak, as far as the commander cared to see. perhaps that held true for the ebony pelaged woman before her but praimfaya wasn’t running from anything. this was the easiest way back into these wilds from where i came from. not that she owed anyone any sort of explanation. thorns or no thorns. anything else would’ve required extra days of travel upon the days of travel that already awaited her.

are you? the commander asks, another curl of her lip given.

a name was given, filed and tucked away. whrist. a strange name, to praimfaya. then again, her own name and any other variations were strange to plenty of others. she could go thru plenty of meetings not giving her own name and isn’t sure why this woman was so hellbent on making ‘friends’ with her when praimfaya, clearly, wasn’t in the mood. there was something upon the woman’s scent that nags at the back of praimfaya’s brain; something that strikes her as familiar but washed out enough that praimfaya could not immediately place it.

blodreina, her mother’s name rolls off her tongue without a bat of an eye; figuring that her mother wouldn’t mind her borrowing it. it was nothing more than a needling nag that bid her give her mother's name; nothing solid or concrete to back the smallest, whispering suspicion. nevertheless, something felt off about this strange interaction whether there was basis of truth in the feeling or not. blodreina eyjolfur. a soft sigh of exasperation given; travel weary.

Whrist was either oblivious to or just wasn’t reading the body language of the female
“Not running then, returning, that makes sense.” Whrist sighed wistfully and moved her gaze to the foliage again her gaze drifting westward into the distance “I think I was... I have a feeling I’m about to head back too”

In all her years it had never occurred to Whrist to give a false name, and so she took this wolf at her word though her heart sunk to her paws, this one was not the wolf she sought. Then perchance a spar would not be such a bad idea, she had been told not to engage the ones she searched for, not yet at least. She’d wait until they were out of the thickest part of these woods before asking for that, should the opportunity arise.

“I’ll keep you company part of the way, where are you heading to?” Whrist shifted her body and made to move along side Blodreina, not to close but not far enough away that she might lose the female either.

praimfaya makes a noncommittal noise in the back of her throat, not exactly sure what to do with the other woman's admittance that she thought she was running from something. it wasn't the wanheda's business and in truth, she couldn't care less. she had her own heaps of issues without taking on the issues of others', especially pushy strangers who didn't seem to get the un-subtle hints that her company wasn't really wanted.

when the woman slides up to her side, praimfaya moves, frostbound gaze cutting into her. listen, praimfaya levels. i don't need or want company. my family's left me annoyed and frankly, i'm not in the mood. since being 'nice' about it ( or her version of nice anyway ) wasn't apparently getting thru. she needed to sort thru her exchanges with thryi and she needed to do it alone. the fact that the woman hadn't even asked and had just said sits unwell with the commander.

unless your wolf attacks, consider this a fade to black for Whrist

Whrist couldn’t help the snide breathy chuckle that escaped her at the mention of family. “Family can be a pain,” then she added quietly “for some.” Whrist lifted her head and pointedly ignored the stare she was being given, pretending to be interested in the sunset as it sank below the horizon, bathing the earth slowly with darkness. “I’ll pace your path until mine leads me toward” she paused speaking the next word wryly before continuing her normal feminine lilt “‘home’, but I’ll do so quietly, I just want to be near enough to others right now” Whrist was not about to lie to this wolf but she was not about to stick around so close as to get her muzzle ripped off either.

Whrist drew a deep breath and exhaled, offered her unwilling companion a sharp nod then she silently ghosted a path through the trees allowing her dark pelt to help camouflage her in the waning light, soon she was out of blodreina’s sight. Practicing walking so quietly that neither leaves nor snow shifted under her paw, she’d get left far behind while moving so quietly but then she only needed to trail the femme so far before she’d give up and head back to hers.

despite praimfaya being blunt about the fact that she didn't want company, the woman still didn't appear to get it. determined, or thick headed, perhaps; to 'pace her path but quietly'. what don't you get about the fact that i don't want company? i don't care if you'll be quiet. i want to be by myself. praimfaya snaps with a total and complete lack of welcome. find someone else to be near. the warning is clear in praimfaya's voice; tail lashing behind her.

i'm going this way. she gestures sharply to the north. i advice you not to follow me. and with her peace spoken ( again ) she storms off; though keeps a keen eye cast over her shoulder, ready to chase the woman off should she follow her despite praimfaya's second warning of not wanting her to hang around.