Cedar Sweep I don't make amends

@Vex Cruor forward dated to April 1st, 2022! Exact location is close to the entrance to the Strath <3

Her kids were a month old now. 
Already walking, and starting to explore the immediate area outside the den. But, not yet to be left to their own devices in totality. 

This day she decided to leave her children just looking enough to begin adding her scent back into the border markers, weaving through the terrain and marking where she saw fit. 

At the mouth of the Strath, her gaze wandered to the Summit... where she recalled Sakari said another pack was claiming. 
She knew absolutely nothing yet, of the two other packs that were also within the hinterlands. In the Forest over the mountains, and the Shadewood that bordered the Coast.

All in due time. 

For now though, Fury was content to keeping to herself and not intentionally giving away the location of her home to those who would wish it and herself gone.

tags are for reference!

The mountain wolves had been at the weir, where Vex saw hunting grounds for the Dominion - even so, they were too close, and too large, for her to visit. Not yet. The Dominion needed growing... and she thought of one option. @Vivaan came to mind. She couldn't. Could she? Vex let out a low snarl as she paced further and further from the weir, entering the sweep - she needed her father's guidance! But he, as well as the rest of her old pack, were straggling behind, just as always. Vex swallowed, reminding herself that her father was getting up there in age - perhaps the rest of them catered to him and his needs? Yes... yes, that had to be. Vex continued, grinding her teeth, and by this point, she was just wandering - until a scent caught her nose. A woman. Startled, Vex gave a booming, commanding bark, demanding a response. "Who goes there?!"

The commanding bark made Fury's hackles raise.
Coolly, calmly, she responded into the trees with a voice equally poised in empress-like authority "Who goes there yourself." 
She would not be cowed by others, and she would not bend to them either. 
Especially not when she was right outside her own home, and this stranger she couldn't yet see was probably not so near to their own claim.

She could only guess, of course.

Vex gave pause - what if this wolf was with those of the mountain? She growled lowly to herself, then called out in a less aggressive, more surly tone, "I give nothing without receiving." Then, "You startled me. I wasn't expecting to find anyone." An excuse, to shift the blame. Vex huffed, then shook out her pelt to decrease her tension. She pressed on, following the sound of the other's voice.

Fury slowly smoothed her hackles, but everything else remained. 
"Then we are at an impasse." She responded, swerving the blame meant to be thrown her way in the same beat. 

Her posture remained formidable and dominant, listening for the somewhat distant and yet approaching footfalls of the other, fellow queen.

This one didn't give in as easily. Part of Vex liked that. Part of her hated it. Detested, even - but she pushed that thought away. She had located the other woman - she was uphill from Vex, and she looked massive. Even from here, she could see all the scars. Perhaps it was best she was calming down. Vex, still a comfortable distance away, growled, "Are you with the mountain wolves?"

The other woman came into view, and immediately, Fury sized her up, analyzing every bit that she could from where she was. 

The cautious rumble of a question was met with a shake of her head. 
"No. I lead my own pack, in the valley behind these mountains." Fury gestured loosely to the sentinel-like peaks that made the narrow entrance to the Strath. She would give that much to the stranger, but no more. 
Not yet, anyway. 

She too would not give without also gaining something. 
Her intense gaze stayed upon Vex, impassive and regal.

let me know if the assumption isn't okay and i can change it! <3

Vex relaxed, as best she could. She surveyed the other female, and from here, she could smell milk - she must be a new mother, then. This gave her more pause, and when the other confirmed she wasn't with those of the mountain, she nodded, frowning.

"We are neighbors, then." The forest's easternmost border was made up of tall cliffs, and she realized now that the cliffs must give way to this woman's territory. Finally, Vex said, "I am Vex Cruor, Queen of The Dominion. We make our home to the southwest, in the forest just south of the mountain."

no worries! <3

The Warchief watched the stranger take in this new information. And as expected, information was given in return. 
Fury inwardly smiled, yet outwardly she showed nothing.
"I am Fury Brunhilde, Warchief of The Saints." She gave in turn with a slight dip of her muzzle. As a queen would to another queen.
Queen was not an active title she held like that of Vex, but given the air Fury held and radiated, it might've been crystal clear that within her ranks, she was the top dog. 

She allowed a glitter of interest to pass in her intense golden hues. What could come of this meeting?

Warchief - the Cruor Queen smiled. That was a title she could respect. She moved closer until she was several feet from Fury. Fiery eyes met golden ones, and the Queen smiled once again. "Is war your first objective, or is the title just for show?" Vex could take many guesses as to how this woman had collected so many scars. Then, "What are your thoughts on the mountain wolves?" Had Fury even met them?

Fury allowed the Cruor woman closer without any displays of promised violence.  
They could be civil, she mused inwardly. 

A light chuckle brushed the Warchief's lips as she answered. 
"Both. The reputation of The Saints is not benevolent. We are militaristic, but hardly heroes." She looked then towards the mountain, thinking...
"I haven't met any of them so far.  We've kept to ourselves mostly, so as long as they continue to not cause us trouble, we'll do the same." Fury swished her tail once or twice, fiery gaze returning to Vex. She hedged toward the assumption that this Queen was of a similar mindset, but what would passing time reveal?

Fury's answer made Vex snicker softly, and she offered, "The Dominion will be my army; I seek war, but only against my own siblings." This was a blood feud - as long as Vex was left to her own devices, she could live peaceably with her neighbors. Perhaps even the mountain wolves. "Have you heard of a Violante, or a Vorilye Cruor?"

Then, lashing once and tone disdained, the Queen snorted, "As for our neighbors, they've been at the weir, the Dominion's hunting grounds." Perhaps it was an old scent.

Fury smiled softly at Vex's snicker. The information offered was intriguing, and this much Fury allowed to show on her face. 
Simply, interest. 
The warmaiden's ears perked forward to help show this, especially as she began speaking after the Cruor Queen told of the mountain pack's trespass. 
"I assume they didn't know, at first, that any neighbors were nearby. One error of trespass may be all it takes for them to leave you alone, unless they are both bold and stupid enough to do so again. As for your goal, I can only relate so far as wanting to kill those who have wronged me." Fury offered in return.
"I myself have plenty of enemies across these wilds. I will, to my disbenefit, admit not all of my past actions have been smart, in that regard. It was haste that damned me the first time The Saints stood solid."
She wouldn't share the complete history of her pack. After all, it originally wasn't hers to begin with. The Saints of the Dying Light had been Kynareth's before he bailed on them all in the midst of war. And before that, his father's in lands beyond those of the Teekon.
She would not just yet exted the offer for an alliance. Perhaps it would be beneficial, but she also erred on the side of caution regarding joining the Cruor Queen in her efforts to obliterate her kin. 
"To answer your question though, no, I haven't heard of any Violante or Vorilye Cruor." 
If Fury had explored the outer lands more often when she was part of Blackwater, she might have been more helpful. But this wasn't the case so far.
All of this shared, the Warchieftain would return the verbal spotlight to Vex.

Despite their rocky start, what with Vex's paranoia and aggression, the Cruor Queen was swiftly taking a liking to the massive woman called Fury. She spoke plainly about herself, something Vex liked, and she was self-assured just as the Queen was. Perhaps it was for the better that they were neighbors. They seemed to have a fair bit in common, at least from what she'd been told. Vex smiled - really, it was more of a broad smirk - and then she said, "I did meet one of them - Atautsikut, they're called. Warned them to steer clear of my hunting grounds. I haven't seen them since." There was, of course, that idiotic loner Kevalin, but she had roughed him up good enough that she doubted she'd ever see him again.

Then, onto her siblings. "Vorilye is a handsome pale man, with icy eyes and a wretched facial scar. My doing," she snickered softly. "Violante is a freak of nature - black as pitch, right down to her skin." Vex wondered whether her heart was black as well - perhaps she'd find out when she killed her. Then, Vex probed, "I smell milk on you - do you have children? I'm hopefully expecting my first litter."

Fury too was beginning to take a liking to Vex, and she allowed her features to relax some as the Cruor Queen told of her interaction with the mountain pack, called Atautsikut, it seemed. 

Then, a description of her siblings,  one pale with icy eyes and a nasty facial scar, the other black as pitch down to the skin.  

Fury recalled a similarly colored female, Whrist, but Whrist hadn't seemed the type that Vex might have implied Violante to be.

Then onto the subject of Children.
Fury gave a grin of her own and nodded once in response. "Yes, they are a month old today." Her gaze quickly flicked over Vex's form. She couldn't see any signs of pregnancy, but perhaps she had coupled with someone rather recently?
"When your pups are born, I anticipate they'll be as regal as yourself." She extended as a congratulatory comment. She would have said formidable, but they hadn't yet sparred together, so she couldn't yet gauge Vex's combat ability to say as such appropriately.
Perhaps they could do so, soon.

sorry for the delay!

Vex smiled slightly at Fury's words — she would intend to raise her children as royalty, the entirety of the Dominion would be at their beck and call... though, right now their numbers weren't looking too good. She let this thought go for now, and refocused on Fury.

"Perhaps our children will be friends," Vex said, chuckling softly. Then, the thought of an arranged marriage came to mind — and she hadn't even birthed her children yet! But, Vex was forever working some angle — perhaps, an alliance? She met Fury's gaze. "Have you any allies?" The suggestion behind her question was plain.

all good <3

Fury mirrored Vex's soft smile with her own, especially as Vex commented perhaps their children would become friends. 

She saw some sort of thought glint across the Cruor Queen's eyes, but the thought seemed to then be voiced in a vaguely yet so plainly suggestive question.
Fury's interest was clear, with a perk of her auds.

"None yet. Yourself?" She would see if Vex offered first, or if the honor was all hers to extend.

"None." The Queen's answer was simple. "I think perhaps you and I are of similar minds... We can benefit the other," she breathed, fiery eyes glinting. Then, she would give her first true bow — one Queen recognizing another. It was not something she did lightly.

None. 
Fury's muzzle curled with a pleased smile as Vex spoke the obvious. 
They could both benefit from one another. 
Then, a bow from the Cruor Queen. 
Unmistakably a gesture of power recognizing power. 
Fury offered a bow of her own in turn, a silent acceptance before she confirmed. 

"We are agreed then?" She purled, her own fiery gaze glinting.
She felt there would be more, specifics perhaps, but time would only keep revealing.

A toothy grin was given, and her tail waved gently behind her. "We are agreed," she confirmed, "You and yours may call upon the Dominion, and you are welcome in our territory and our hunting grounds." She assumed that Fury would offer the same, and wondered whether she might have anything else to offer, or discuss. Then, a query. "Perhaps our groups could meet for a hunt one of these days."

Fury offered her own toothy grin in tandem.
"I think that would be splendid. The same is extended to you, you may call upon The Saints and are welcome in our territories." She responded.
There was much to gain for them both with one another, and she smiled inwardly at this thought.

"Perhaps we could all hunt together soon." She wondered aloud.

This feels like a great place to end?? <3 also i'd LOVE a new thread!

Finally, true relief. The Queen relaxed, her shoulders free of burden now. The Dominion had allies — and Vex would be stupid to say this did not benefit her the most. She assumed the woman before her had several wolves at her beck and call, and Vex... Vex just did not have the same. Inwardly, she cursed her father. That must be why — he was the reason. Whatever was holding him up was also keeping the rest of their pack from joining Vex. It had to be. She pushed these thoughts from her mind, she could dwell on those later.

"I can't wait for my own children to be born, so that they can see what the Dominion and the Saints might make together." Her words held promise of something great.

Yes! I'll get started on one rn <3

Fury saw the relief flood over Vex, and she smiled with the same feeling. 
They had allies.
Truth was, Fury didn't have very many wolves right now. Too few, in her opinion. 
But she wouldn't say so, as Vex hadn't.

"Agreed." She purred, offering a dip of her head as a farewell, before starting to melt back into the land of The Saints.