Permafrost Hollows She's nobody's fool

This thread can be set for whenever it gets a reply :)

A forest was a welcome sight after the valley, but it looked almost as though the forest had been frozen, many, many years ago. In the early morning light, the sun began to shine down upon the area, revealing that what Lilia had seen in the distance wasn't a forest- but a cluster of stacks of ice, rising up from the ground toward the craggy peak. As she approached from the base, she got a surprising view. Between the ice stacks, it looked like there was just enough space for a wolf to go in- and in several spots. 

When she stuck her head inside, she breathed the cool, dry scent of ice. All around her was ice; and she found that the ice cavern wasn't a cavern at all- but a tunnel. 

She was reminded of the Tangle, which was a maze in its own right- but where it had been a hedgemaze, this one was a labyrinth. She uttered a soft sound, and heard her voice echo off the walls inside. Licking her chops, she decided she should explore- at least for a little while. The temperature outside was cold enough she did not fear the giant, ancient structure would collapse on her. 

So in she went.

pulling this into march, whenever suits ya <3

ossuaries beneath the glacier - les catacombes de feu au crépuscule - invoked a chill that reached in deeper than skin. one could mistake the fine ice mist, the occasional rise of cold wind, for the passing of a haunting soul - but the noble and educated knew not to fear little devils of winter. in the end, the Sun melts away all wicked.

so it was she'd entered the catacombs with no fear, the raton laveur's winter coat filling out her mouth, and the blood only beginning to drip in the dark parts of the tunnels, leaving fat, warm dots.

deep in, where light was a toy played with by mischievous ice, she'd seated herself, and placed the raton between her silver utensils - five brilliant, polished knives.

she sliced under the dense underfur, and enjoyed tasteful bites of something recently living - l'aperitif suited for the tastes of a queen.

A scent, clear in the cold, drew her attention. Barely visible against the icy ground was the mark of the feline’s paw pads, here or there, much larger and rounder than a canine’s would have been. Lilia had only met only one creature of this kind and recognized the scent not only as belonging to the species but to the individual. 

Spring had come; it was time, anyway, for her to fulfill the panther’s request.

She’d been a scraggly child the last time she’d seen the panther. Lilia approached with steady footsteps, though she kept her muzzle lowered as she rounded a corner in the icy, underground labyrinth, and breathed in the scent of blood. Perhaps with her hunger satisfied, the panther might still be as amenable as she had been the last time Lilia had seen her. 

Unlike the cougar, Lilia had changed a great deal since their last meeting. Grown sleek and tough, with scars tracing down her shoulders like epaulettes. She looked upon the panther with a mix of wariness and familiarity.

”Mountain Queen,” She greeted, in the best wolf equivalent of a purr that she could muster.

ten bloodied blades, stabbed into cooling meat.

her lips carmine.

she felt the acrid tang of a loup long before its little claws clicked against ice. head lowered, tail slithered over fine crystal dust - when it came from the iridescent dark, she had yet to decide between scream or strike.

and when it spoke her title, the queen's pupils swallowed her eyes whole.

the name returned like a word read in a dream.

"...petite princesse. lilia." the lazy smirk spread over her muzzle as rising vapor. she purred smoothly to the enfant's growl. eyes resumed their shine.

no longer an enfant, this one, nor as petite - but a mouse in heels was no more a courtier.

she removed her hands from the kill, little wet sounds accompanying it. she rested her chin on a wrist.

"or ies eet, fai-na-lee - queen?"

While the cougar was familiar, her sheer size and unpredictable nature made her fearsome to Lilia still. A shiver was sent up her spine at the sound of her own name, causing the fur around her nape and shoulders to bristle. She dipped her head into a gracious bow, a light, pleased smile on her features to have been addressed in such a way.

The panther pulled her claws from the meat, sheathing them in such a way that made Lilia jealous to see such a weapon that could also be concealed. 

”Not yet,” She said, with a light sigh. ”The queen thrill reignth in the pack I’m in…” She said, though there was no regret in her voice. She’d come to appreciate Avicus in that time. ”But I am making a plathe for mythelf there…I have at leatht two thuitorth.” She boasted.

she did not move, yet she swallowed the room, until princesse lilia stood to her as if under stage lights, every move followed, every look traced, the crowd quiet yet hungry in its wait for more. more. more.

manquante. manquante.

the corner's of the queen's smile numbed. 

est-ce tout? disappointment in her eyes. con-tant whiz a plase for yourself? beneath zhe throne? non. the gemstones shone.

don't you zee, petite princesse? and the queen put her soft palm on a wall of ice, sweeping away the crystalline dust, 

blood left a long mark

revealing the warped shapes trapped within them, made clearer with each step taken nearer. 

the queen leaned in - chilling mirror showing her a rich red coat, a pair of bright eyes - i knew moment i zeen you, we were of zame make.

her gaze travelled downward, to the jeune fille at her side. 

et pourtant, what am ee,

to whisper. the scepter. the crown.

and what are yoo?

She could sense the panther's disappointment, but it seemed unfair to Lilia that the cougar was expecting more from her. She didn't know what Manquant was, exactly, but she assumed it was Sa Majesté's way of telling her that she hadn't done enough. The young wolf bristled. The panther seemed to assume that being beneath the leadership wasn't the place for her, and Lilia struggled with that. She was faithful to Avicus; she trusted her Wealda but...Was that enough? Thus far, Avicus had led them well- but Lilia knew that she would be subject to the leader's wishes and desires, so long as she held power. 

Her eyes flickered. 

Once, she'd claimed to be a princess- and that she would be queen. She felt no shame in having set her sights on Berserkr, and with training, she'd realized that she would almost rather be the axe than the executioner. Swinging sharp and heavy when wielded. 

But that didn't mean she couldn't be a warrior queen, someday. 

"Yuh a queen," She said. "But it'th eathier fuh you. You could take out like...Five wolveth in one go, an' you don't have a pack. I can't uthurp my leader; an' I don't want to, I don't think." She said. "The pack ith loyal to huh, an' I think motht of them alwayth will be." She said. Thoughtfully, she paused. "If I wanted thomethin' of my own, I'd hafta thart it from thcratch." She said. But the word scratch made her think. "Unleth....I had clawth like yourth."

mmm, purred the queen, pleased by compliments. iet ees true. 

bend of back and turn of head, with a soft grasp she lifted a foreleg of lilia's, gliding her regal palm downward until it held emberlike fingers, dull, lupine nails under scrutiny. insufficient blades.

buet queen ies more than 'er kneevs. she let go of the girlish hand. and ies never bo'n, she... an elegant gesture. ascension.

yoo 'ave makin's ouf ae roy-al, zhis ee confirm. une petite princesse. ne fait pas meen yoo must... act. ies good enough to, hm, awa't. patience.

smile warm as candleflame beneath parchment. she slid down to lay, brilliant crystals of the princesse level with hers.

when old queen ies no more, when throne ies empt-ee, yoo 'ave right to crown... words drift, unfinished. thoughtful pause, her gaze up to the arched ceiling. she set her delicate chin on a painted hand.

she looked again to lilia.

...à moins que vous... 'ave ambitions for conseil du reine? advisor? dauphine? whisper in crown's ear?

She tried not to stiffen when her paw was lifted, gently flexing her toes as her claws were examined. They were dark and hard, but blunted from travel and from struggling time and time again during spars to hold her ground. She feared they would never sharpen at this rate. They grew so slowly, she didn't ever seem to notice any added length. Broken claws were a painful nuisance and took a long time to heal. 

She still envied the panther for her ammunition, regardless of whether they were useful to a queen or not. She didn't understand how she could ascend if not by force, given the fact that she wasn't related by blood to the Wealda. Even through marriage, she knew she might never be seen as truly worthy, until she bore children that could one day step up to take the title...Still- she would possibly be overlooked. 

"I'm not blood." She sighed woefully. "I have no right to the crown, not in thith pack," She said, erstwhile thinking not in any pack, given the fact that her true origins were unknown. Avicus had stepped down once, but Lilia assumed it would be a temporary occurrence. With new children, she'd given herself new heirs. Even one of the young ones might be chosen over her older children, if the Wealda chose. "The only way I get to be the leaduh ith if I challenge foh it, an' nobody counterth me, or if...There'th thome thort of coup." She said with a slight shrug. Both would be risky, but she knew she would be up against a riptide of conflict no matter what way she tried to go in order to establish herself as a leader.

Still- she regarded the cougar with calm sincerity when she made an offer. She wasn't sure that a cougar might have deep knowledge of the inner workings of a wolf's pack structure, but she wasn't in a position to turn down the offer, either. She felt it was best when she kept the wild and fearsome creature engaged and pleased. So she nodded. 

"Yeth. Pleathe."

in idleness, the queen flexed the fingers of the hand her chin rested upon. a slight squint of the eyes, pout of the lips, revealed a budding distaste for the princesse.

so obviously unwilling to claim that title.

please? pah! the queen freed her hands in a grand gesture of exasperation, then put them to the frigid ground.

she drew them back toward herself. folded them beneath her chest.

the mountain queen leaned forward. her whisper a hiss.

it ies beneath un royale to 'ope for zta-tion, to rely on mer-cee, admit ze-feat. vhere ies flamme? vhere ies fire i zeen first time i zee yoo? mon dieu, 'as life with barbares dulled yoo? 

she leaned back. long tail thudded. her chin produly lifted and turned to bestow the sight of a proper royal profile.

hm, non! no more from moi. zisperse, young lee-lee-ah, her one arm untucked to shoo away at the child. ee won't 'ear one word from toi unzil you can boast 'igher po-zition... whazhever it might be among your kind... pah!

taking the by now chilled meal under one arm, she haughtily turned her front away from the cub.

go on, zhen. she dismissively waved over her shoulder. i 'ope to enjoy zhis hors d'oeuvre. by mee-zelf.

and then a punctuating hmph.

For a regal creature, she certainly didn't respond to politeness well enough. Lilia'd spoken the word as a courtesy, but it seemed that the mountain queen expected more fire from her- more demands, more spitfire responses. When she put her dangerous, beautiful paws back on the ground, she leaned forward and spoke, and Lilia held her ground, still. Her eyes gathered the light reflecting off the blue ice of the walls. 

"It hathn't!" She barked back, bristling. She did not appreciate being judged by a creature who seemed to think that living with a pack, and spending time becoming a part of a family was worthless compared to seizing the crown. It might work that way for mountain lions, but it did not work for wolves. Now, she wasn't even certain she wanted the panther's advice at all- and wouldn't receive it, anyway, until she'd reached a higher rank. 

She turned, stiffly, and paused. 

"Careful what you wish foh," She cautioned lightly.  "One day, I will lead. An' when I do, I'll be more powerful than you are." 

She left the cave, and its shimmering walls, though the icy cool air would remain in her fur some time as she travelled, prickling goosebumps along her skin.