Lake Rodney you're gonna know my name
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Ooc — Iris
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#1
for @Hymnal ? :D

After her trip to the Frosthawks Sphyrapicus found herself drawn back to Redhawk Caldera. She approached from the Fen's side, and headed past its borders. A moment's hesitation found her ponder if she should drop by to visit Father, but they had not been in contact for some time. Perhaps it was time for Sphyra to set out on her own now.

So she didn't head towards Brecheliant's borders and instead skirted to the east, where she ran into Lake Rodney. Sphyra glanced at Redhawk Caldera in the distance and considered whether she should visit it or not — one last time — before further exploring the world. She paused at the lake to take a sip first while she decided.
120 Posts
Ooc — Hela
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#2
The lake was the farthest she had ever been from the territory, and she couldn't help but feel exhilarated. It was all so new and interesting, even with everything being mostly dead from the cold.

The lake was huge, unlike anything she had seen before. She trotted to the edge and dipped her front paws into the cold water. It was then that she noticed a girl drinking from the same lake, a few yards down the bank. Her fur was lovely—a mixture of chocolate, grey, and black. It all blended together so nicely. She was pretty—the thought came unbidden to her mind. 

She trotted forward but stopped a respectful distance away, knowing enough not to just run up to a stranger. Hey, she said softly. I'm Hymnal. I'm from Brecheliant. She lifted her chin in the direction of home, a friendly smile spreading across her face.
149 Posts
Ooc — Iris
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#3
Fate made the choice for her. Sphyrapicus didn't instantly recognise the young wolf from Brecheliant, though she recognised her scent to be of the Fen. She introduced herself as Hymnal, from Brecheliant, and at that moment Sphyra realised she was one of the pups. She'd visited them once when she went to see her father, but they had been very small at the time. -I know,- she signed and said, and realised then that she was signing unnecessarily. My father lives at Brecheliant. I'm Sphyrapicus Redhawk. She glanced back at Redhawk Caldera, though it was no longer her home now. A weird thought.
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Ooc — Hela
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#4
The pretty girl did something weird at first, and Hymnal looked at her with open curiosity—a curiosity that was instantly forgotten once Sphyra mentioned she knew Brecheliant and that her father lived there. 

Oh really? she said, her tone full of excitement. I love it there, Hymnal added, wagging her tail and moving close to the other girl. Who is your dad? she asked. She wondered who among the Brecheliant wolves was family to Sphyra. How lucky was she to run into someone that was already so familiar with her home.
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Ooc — Iris
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#5
Hymnal seemed very excited about Brecheliant. Sphyra couldn't relate as such; Redhawk Caldera had been a fine home, but she didn't feel particularly distraught to see it abandoned now. Sure, she missed her family, but she'd never been attached to the play itself. It was just a place, anyway. Didn't matter very much. This Hymnal seemed different than her in many ways; her attachment to home one of them.

At the question about her father, Sphyra answered, a little matter-of-factly and business-like, His name is Reyes. Do you know him? It'd been a while since she had seen Reyes, honestly, and while he was her father, he didn't feel as much like a father to Sphyra anymore. When she was younger, she had believed that he had gone away because he was ill, but now she had come to realise that he had probably gone away because of other reasons. Maybe something between him and Towhee, or maybe something to do with her or her siblings.
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Ooc — Hela
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#6
Yeah, I know him, she answered. She kept the dislike from her tone, though. She had only had one interaction with Reyes and it hadn't been a positive one. She didn't want to offend Sphyra, though. I see him with Teya a lot. Her expression brightened now; she was very fond of Teya, who had always been nice to her. 

Have you ever considered coming to live with us? she asked. It seemed odd to her that she didn't already. Hymanl lived with her parents, so why didn't Sphyra?
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Ooc — Iris
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#7
Hymnal mentioned knowing Reyes, and said that she saw him with Teya a lot. Sphyra asked, with a bit of a bussy, demanding tone in her voice, Who's Teya? She'd never heard of this wolf, so she was probably not as important as Hymnal made it out to be.

Then Hymnal asked if Sphyra had considered living with them. I considered it, she admitted, As did I consider going with my mother when Redhawk Caldera split. But I want to see some of the world first. It was rather odd to Sphyra that Hymnal didn't consider this for herself. After all, pretty much everyone in her pack, of her age, had left their pack at one point or another. Sphyra was the last one, really.
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Ooc — Hela
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#8
Hymnal grinned. Teya is the best and nicest lady, she answered. She likes to teach me stuff. Her tail began to wag as she spoke. 

Sphyra explained that she had considered joining Brecheliant as well as joining her mom when her pack left the caldera; she had chosen to explore on her own. Hymnal was in awe of this girl. Woooow, she exclaimed, her eyes widening in wonder. So you just left and now you travel by yourself? Hymnal couldn't believe it. You're so brave, she told her. I would love to explore like that, but— her face fell a little. But, I think I would miss my family too much. She knew it didn't sound very brave at all. Do you miss your mom?
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Ooc — Iris
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#9
Teya seemed like someone that Hymnal liked a lot, but the information meant very little to Sphyra, because she didn't know Teya at all. It mattered little to her that she and her father hung out much. Perhaps because Sphyra did not really connect the dots of what that meant precisely herself. Her view on relations was a little eschewed anyway, because she had never had a normal life. Father had gone away when she was young because he was sick, and then he'd never returned. For all Sphyra knew, separated parents were a totally normal thing of life, and so were relatives leaving all the time. If anything, Hymnal's steady family situation was a little weird to Sphyra.

The praise that Hymnal gave — being brave, saying 'wow', wishing she was like that — did not go unnoticed, though. Sphyra wasn't particularly vain and she certainly was not dependent on praise, but when she was given it by this girl, she could not help but grin and feel pretty cool. Tierra was normally the one hogging all of the attention, after all, and Sphyra always let her because she didn't care as much. It was nice to be in the spotlight for once.

Hymnal then admitted that she would miss her family too much. Sphyra did not entirely understand that. She said, Might as well leave yourself before they do, right? She didn't understand that her situation growing up, with all of her relatives going missing at some point or another, wasn't entirely normal. To the question about missing her mom, Sphyra said, Not really. I think about her sometimes and wonder what she's doing, but I don't really miss her. She was used to missing her relatives, after all.
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Ooc — Hela
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#10
She was stunned with confusion at the pretty girl's words. Leave before they left her? She didn't quite understand what was meant by that. But—but they won't leave, she said with a frown. Mama and Papa wouldn't do that. They would always be there with Hymnal.

Sphyra's words only continued to confuse the blackthorn girl. I'm sorry, she said without really thinking about it. I mean—I'm sorry you had to leave before your family left you. That was why she had said that, right? It seemed that way to Hymnal, but she hoped she didn't offend the other girl.
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Ooc — Iris
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#11
Sphyra looked a little confused herself when Hymnal said that her 'papa and mama' wouldn't leave. Pretty weird, if you asked Sphyra, that parents — or siblings, for that matter — would simply not leave at all. A little suffocating, even.

Before she could react though, Hymnal said she was 'sorry'. Sphyra narrowed her eyes and her hackles bristled as she took a somewhat threatening step towards Hymnal. What's that supposed to mean?! She'd been nice so far, but Sphyra wasn't about to let herself get insulted. Her tail rose in threat as she snapped out her next words. I should whoop your ass for that! Not everyone's a sissy little mama's nerd like you.
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Ooc — Hela
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#12
The other girls anger was such a surprise to the blackthorn girl that she stumbled back a little. Her ears slid back, and she hunched a little. Wide, teary eyes stared up at the bristled girl. 

I—I didn't mean—I Tears finally wet her cheeks then. She was so upset that she hurt Sphyra and she was also a little scared that she might harm her in return. I'm sorry, she squeaked out, terrified gaze lowering to the ground as she tensed for whatever was next.
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Ooc — Iris
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#13
It annoyed Sphyra even more to see Hymnal cower and cry; if there was one thing she hated more than being seen as weak, it was when others were weak. It made Sphyra want to whoop her ass anyway, until she finally stuck up for herself. Of course, she didn't know Hymnal at all, so on the surface, Sphyra seemed satisfied with the reaction that she got. At least she gained back her respect from this girl by showing she could stick up for herself.

Didn't mean what? Sphyra said, her brows still narrowed in anger. Then as the apology came, she leaned back a little, her hackles smoothing, her stance a bit less intimidating — though her gaze warning away a repeat. Good. I'll accept your apology. After that, things got awkward. Hymnal was still tear-stained and stammering, Sphyra had regained her composure, and there was no subject between them after they closed this one. Sphyra didn't make to leave just yet, though clearly didn't really know what to say now.
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Ooc — Hela
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#14
Her apology seemed to appease the other girl, much to Hymnal's relief. There was still some tension to her posture, but the threat of getting her ass whooped wasn't so imminent for now.

Hymnal straightened up a little and lifted her gaze to look at the other girl. It was clear neither of them knew what to say. 

Um...I should probably go home, she said softly. It—it was nice to meet you, she offered because it had been until the end, and she was trying to make sure she didn't upset Sphyra again. 

She stood up. Maybe you can come by Brecheliant sometime, she offered with a shaky smile. She would turn and leave unless the other girl stopped her.
149 Posts
Ooc — Iris
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#15
Sphyra quietly thought to herself Yeah, you should but she didn't say it out loud. Hymnal said it was 'nice' to meet Sphyra, but Sphyra knew better; she was just saying it to be nice. Maybe to feel better about the insults she'd done Sphyra earlier.

Either way, Sphyra nodded and said, Yeah, catch you later. She wasn't sure she'd head to Brecheliant some day. Things were always awkward when she saw her father. Probably because she just didn't know him very well. Sphyra turned around and left, forgetting easily about the encounter and being on her way.