Silver Creek Silvermoon

Around midnight - some called it the witching hour - Mag moved along the edge of the plateau and south, finding an eventual route along the side of a sleepy river.

The frogs were quiet. There were no birds calling except the empty hoot of a distant owl. The river whispered as it moved along. It was peaceful.

She stopped along its edge to drink and to inspect the jade moss woven between (and across) stones, nosing between tall reed shafts in the process.

Mag was stunned to find that the river wasn't just a river. She had followed it to where the water emptied upon a sprawling lake! With the bare light of the transitional moon overhead, the surface was like a silver mirror, filled with starlight.

It took her breath away.

Hello again! <3

Fury had listened to Sovereign cry about the brazen woman in the northern parts of the Hinterlands.
And the Warchief had laid into her daughter while she was still butt-hurt, emphasizing the pack's desire to not make more enemies than they already had.

And so, Fury dragged Sovereign through the Hinterlands to try and track down Magnolia, until on a pure luck, the giant and her daughter saw the dark lady near the magnificent stream.

"That's her?" Fury muttered to Sovereign. 
The girl nodded with a bitter expression. 

"My daughter has something to say to you!" Fury called to the dark woman, promptly grabbing Sovereign by the nape and dragging her closer with a displeased scowl.

As they got within better talking distance a few lengths away, Fury thrust her daughter forward, sending her stumbling a few steps toward Magnolia as Fury demanded of her daughter "Apologize, Sovereign. Now." 

---

Sovereign looked back at her mother with the expression of 'but-!' to which Fury's gaze darkened.
With a heavy sigh, the Private flattened her ears and looked at Magnolia.
"I'm sorry for being rude, and trying to attack you." The child wasn't too pleased with having to apologize for her actions, but her mother was her hero, her idol, and she didn't want to be on the recieving end of her mother's wrath.

The creek was perfection. Mag had never seen something as still and serene as this, given that she grew up where riptides were prevalent and stormy weather prolific. Even with the rest of the swampland surrounding the creek there was nothing but beauty here

Then the illusion was shattered.

The booming voice of a stranger carried to where the oil-spill woman lurked. Mag turned to regard them, whoever they were, and saw a pair of pale wolves that looked nearly identical.

She shifted her weight uncomfortably and turned so that the creek was alongside her ( almost as if protecting the secret majesty of it from foreign eyes ) and as she slunk from cover, watched as one pulled the other forward.

Mag was silent. She did not know what to expect - but she also recognized the girl, and saw how roughly she was treated, which made her hold her tongue all the firmer.

With a name like Sovereign how did this mother expect to breed humility within her daughter? It was neither Mags place to say this, nor really her concern, given that she wasn't a mother herself. Something in the pit of her belly twisted with brief, explosive pain at that thought.

She cleared her throat softly as she listened to the girl make her announcement. Her attention fought to divide between the girl and the potential threat of the mother but Mag smiled a thin, strained smile for both.

Apology accepted. Mag answered.

You the ma, then? her head lifted so she could peer around the girl to the scarred giant. In the moonlight she looked surreal.

Fury noted the strained, thin smile of Magnolia as she accepted her daughter's apology. 

---

Sovereign moved to stand aside as the dark woman peered around her to her mother, allowing the true adults to converse. 

---

Fury motioned for Sovereign with a jerk of her muzzle, that the girl was now free to scout the area or do as she wished while she spoke to the Pirate.
"Yes, I am her mother. My name is Fury, Warchief and leader of The Saints, as we are currently called. I apologize as well, for my daughter's lack of diplomacy and self control." She extended, ears on a constant swivel as the women stood within the ex-kingdom of Vex Cruor, who seems to have departed the Wilds. 

The Domain's scent was so stale now that it almost took a full concentrated effort to catch their remanants.

Did she just call her daughter a saint? The saint of what? That's a little pompous, don'tcha think? Mag wasn't trying to offend, and there was a current of humor within her words as she gauged the woman's reaction. Last thing Mag wanted was to piss off some giant.

Gotta wonder where'n that attitude comes from. Claimin' this side ah the Wilds entire, that one! Though, suppose if'n ye all are so. . . tall here, I could believe it. Her brow raised and she whistled a small sound, one of appraisal, presuming she was impressed.

No harm no foul. Plenny of frogs in this bog, n' all that. I'll keep clear ah yer crew from now on.

Fury let out an amused chuckle "The current name of my pack is remnant of an old friend. I've been considering a rebrand, something more fitting of myself instead of the past." She mused. 
No harm no foul, indeed. 
"My daughter has much to learn, especially about sharing these Wilds with others. We did have neighbors, but it seems they have moved on." The Warqueen sighed softly at this, a bit disappointed that Vex would leave, just like that.

Fury hovered over the idea of offering a place to Magnolia in her ranks, but after Sovereign's stunt, she wasn't so sure it would be the best idea...

"Anyway, if you find yourself in need of a home for the winter, my pack claims the valley on the other side of those mountains." She gestured over the trees to the peaks in the eastern distance, enclosing the Strath from the outside. 
"The offer is open, no need to decide on the spot. " She added after a moment. 
Fury, despite her past with recklessness, could play the patient game, on the chance Magnolia might decide to join up in the future.

In her mind, Fury was trying to gauge what Sovereign might be able to learn from a rogue such as the dark woman. 
She had half a mind to ask of the other's skills, but decided against it for now.

What Magnolia learned from the woman's next words felt important. She admitted that the family was tied to something in the past, an old friend or perhaps a dead ruler, which was curious. She did not ask for more details but she did pocket that bit of information to mull over later.

When the offer came Mag was surprised, to say the least. The bog-lady knew herself to be young, hale of health, and cunning, but none of those aspects resonated when she looked at the giant or the giant's daughter; what was the point of joining up with beasts like this? They probably ate triple that of her average-sized self merely to function, given their size. It sounded like too much work to keep such people fed.

No need to decide on the spot, the woman added.

Good. Issa nice offer, but I ain't desperate enough yet to pledge ta any crew. Mag didn't want to offend the woman still, although by now she'd spotted a few routes of egress that would take her to safety if the need were to arise. Ah, I'm more offa free spirit, hennyway.

Fury was slightly disappointed by Magnolia's words, but she did not show this.
Instead she offered a smile and nodded with acknowledgement. 

"I understand." And she would not linger further, if there was no need to here any longer...
Turning to look at her daughter, Fury hummed lowly and looked back to the Pirate;
"We will take our leave now then, and give you peace." Fury deemed, turning partially before she looked back at Mags again.
"Farewell." She said, before turning her head forward and trotting away, chuffing for Sovereign to follow, even though the Princess was already moving to follow by the time Fury's rumble came out.

And the two would depart then, as Fury said they would.