Swiftcurrent Creek At the ballet

Cygnet shuddered when she heard Eshe's voice ring out. 

She'd left. And while the girl knew none of the details about why she'd gone, her departure read as I don't want you anymore. She felt hurt that someone who'd once saved her life had simply left like that, regardless of the cause. And rather than becoming suspicious of Akavir, she found herself wondering- with the finest shred of empathy- if he was doing alright. 

She moped now because Arlette had been away for the night after going to check on Arric. Cygnet could read between the lines, and had been up for most of the night waiting for Arlette to return and check on her. Her ribs smarted; every breath ached, and while the poppy seed had given her some relief, time passed and the medication wore off. Now, between worry and resentment, it returned- and she made things more difficult for herself more out of spite than any other reason. 

She whimpered and whined. She wanted to scream and howl so that Arlette would leave Arric and come tend to her, but at the same time, she couldn't bear what might happen if she did- and if Arlette chose to be with Arric instead. 

Dejected, she left the den with slow, heavy steps. She felt the need to sob but when she did, she cried out in pain. Thus, she began to succumb to a vicious cycle of misery that beget more misery as she found her way to a small hidey hole that she'd found that was big enough only for her. A small den which had likely once belonged to a badger or something of that size; almost too tight for her but if she curled up, it cradled her like a cocoon. When she would not take a hug from anyone else, this was the best alternative. She shivered a bit, as the cold earth embraced her, whimpering softly, mournfully, overtired and emotionally spent.

Well more drama was coming and he knew this. But he was teying to keep a stiff upper lip. Maybe it was just a spat. Eshe may yet come bsck. Or else he'd have to make sure his best bro was alright. But today. Regardless of it all. He was worried about the demon spawn.

He found her laying and whimpering and his hesrt tightened. He dropped the small rabbit he had brought for her.

Hey there chaos. You alright?

He stayed a respectable distance away. He didn't want to have teeth or claws through an eye or something.

She quieted down when she heard pawprints approaching. Daylight filtered in through the small, oval entrance that had been just big enough for her to wiggle through. She repositioned her head so she could hear the footprints better, and could tell that they were coming closer, and that the pawsteps did not belong to Arlette. They fell far too heavily, and the stride was too long. 

Through the small window of light, she saw someone dark towering, and when she caught his scent, she didn't budge. He wouldn't be able to fit in here- she barely fit in and still had room to breathe. She heard something thump to the ground, and caught the scent of blood. 

But tangled in his scent was the scent of Arlette too, and the implication that she had indeed spent the night with him. Now what- he'd come to gloat? To offer her a rabbit as if it was a consolation prize? Clearly, he had won. She uttered a growl; he'd come to taunt her, too. She remained in the dark, pressed into the shadows. Light illuminated only the bridge of her nose and her wary eyes, but she remained out of reach, and unwilling to come an inch closer.

Arlette had heard the howl as well and just physically cringed. She swallowed thickly after. Poor Akavir. He didn't deserve that. It also showed Arlette another side of Eshe she wasn't really a fan of. It truly felt as if the didn't care about her life here. About her role and what it would mean for them. Another wolf gone. Arlette wanted to go to Akavir to check on him, but it might be too soon.

She went to search for Arric instead. However, when she found him it seemed that he wasn't alone. Cygnet was there too, frankly hidden at first. But she could tell by Arric's body language that someone else had been around. It didn't take long to figure out. Arlette looked at Arric, mostly checking if something was wrong. But it didn't seem so, or at least, they didn't seem to be in a spar or a discussion.

Arlette stepped closer to where Cygnet was hiding. "Cygnet?," she called her, not sure in what kind of mood she found her. The girl seemed to be reluctant to hide though. Arlette turned to Arric. "Hi," she greeted softly then stepped closer for a brief embrace. "If she is hiding perhaps it is better to let her?," Arlette offered, glancing at the hiding spot.

Arric backed a little further from the little den. when he heard the growl. He didn't want a repeat of his poor mangled paw. He sighed heavily. Cygnet was really starting to press his patience. She had no reason to dislike him other than spite and jealousy and it was growing old. She needed ot hvae her little world shaken up, but he wasn't sure how to do it.

A small smile for Arlette. A gentle reach of his muzzle and a brush across her head. I came to check on her and bring her something to eat. But judging from the growls i'm hearing she doesn't want it.

He settled to his haunches and shook his head. Staring at the small alcove with a pissy pants wolf in it.

She could hear the heavy sigh he uttered, but she could tell that he'd at least moved back as his shadow disappeared. She quieted, and licked her lips anxiously, curling up within the darkness and peering out with wild eyes into the small patch of light framed by the narrow entrance to the den. Being that it was underground, she couldn't see Arric, now that he'd stepped back, nor could she see Arlette.

But her voice was instantly recognizeable, and Cygnet held her breath so that she could hear what was being said. For a moment, she felt a light victory, hearing Arlette telling Arric to back off. She would have preferred it if Arlette had scolded him for making Cygnet feel cornered and scared, but...She'd come too late, and hadn't seen how upset it made the dramatic girl to have her back up against the wall. 

Her wild imagination pictured a different scene- one in which Arric snapped, and tried to pull her, screaming, from the den...All in front of Arlette. She wouldn't spend any more nights with him after that, that would be for sure. Such a thing couldn't be staged now- but she thought of something else that could. 

She slunk forward at the sound of Arlette's voice, cowering as she gave Arric a wide berth and immediately pressed herself to Arlette's far side, keeping the motherly figure between the two of them. She shuddered and whimpered, casting a whale-eyed glance to Arric below Arlette's belly, before she lifted her pleading gaze to Arlette's, and gestured with her head and a small stagger sideways.

Come with me, away from him!

Cygnet was not one for begging- but she was desperate to get them apart.

Arlette smiled at Arric when he turned to her. "Perhaps not, but I am happy that you want to check up on her," Arlette spoke. It was nice of Arric and she wasn't sure why Cygnet was hiding. It seemed unlike her. Then the girl seemed to come from her little hiding spot. She shot straight to Arlette. The female watched her with a surprised expression when the girl came running towards her. No, almost hiding under her.

Arlette looked at Arric for half a second in confusion. Arlette angled her head a little to the youngster that was whimpering and ... cowering. That was very unlike her. The woman blinked, trying to study this new behavior. It seemed clear it was Arric she was afraid of. Arlette's heart melted a little at the puppy pleading eyes she got. "Cygnet. Just because you lost a fight from him, you don't need to be fearful," she spoke quietly.

Her muzzle pointed at the food her brought. "Arric came to bring you food, he didn't mean any harm," Arlette assured her. She looked from Arric to Cygnet. "Isn't it time that you and Arric make up your differences?," she suggested.

Arric didn't know what the issue was
 Cygnet was difficult for sure
 But this was beyond even her. She hadn't even acted this scared when it had all been said and done. It irked him a little.

A fight she initiated. I was minding my own business there chaos. And you went for me. You need to own up to your actions. Wheres the wolf that snarled at me even after it was all said and done, hmm.

Arric stared at her for a moment working through it all. Was she jealous? Fearful that he was taking Arlette away? Did she just hate him? He wasn't sure, but the time for coddling was over. She had turned her teeth on a packmate and though he had turned it into a spar. The simple fact was she had gone at him with the intent to harm.

His voice was firmer now, but kind. He was no longer Arric now he was beta and this needed to stop. He just hoped this wouldn't turn Arlette against him, but if it did she wasn't who he thought.

You're six months old Cygnet. Time to stop acting like a spoiled brat. You came after me. You attacked me while my eyes were closed I might add. What you got was your own fault and you need to stop acting this way. The simple fact is were I any other wolf outside of these lands you'd have been killed or seriously injured  You don't have to like me, but you do need to learn to respect all your elders. And the pack hierarchy. If you don't more severe consequences will be had. As soon as your feeling better you'll be learning to tend to the borders, spar and treat others with respect.

He looked at Arlette and dipped his head.I'm leaving now.

Then he would turn without a word. Anger and irritation in the hard lines of his face. She was being ridiculous. And he was over it.

She hoped that Arlette would see the man that only Cygnet seemed to see. A foul-mouthed man, capable of harming a child and willing to as well. She remembered him baring his teeth at her, when she'd still had just her milk teeth; the tone of tired annoyance that he used when he spoke to her, resorting to cruel nicknames. She detested even the nickname 'chaos,' as it insinuated that something was wrong with her. 

Arric moved to leave after yet another deadpan explanation that she was the problem. The problem that she saw now was that Arlette had no idea, or was willing to turn a blind eye to just how poorly Arric was treating her. 

Did she simply not hear him when he called her 'Pissy Pants'? Was that supposed to be nice?
Did she not see the darkness in his eyes, and the way he sneered at her?
Was calling her a 'Brat' even a mature way to speak to a wolf when trying to encourage them to be mature?
Cornering a wounded child in a hole after stealing their mother (and medic!) away for an entire night? Was that fair?

She looked up to Arlette, and in a quiet, hushed whisper, she shook her head slightly. 

"Llll..Lies."

Arlette hadn't expect the outburst from Arric. Clearly the young girl got on the man's nerves. She could get it but she was also young. Perhaps... She had lacked in raising Cygnet, too caught up on wanting to win over her heart instead of actually raising her. Arlette knew of the attack, and that it hadn't being according to sparring rules. She had believed Arric, but she had also seen the injuries Cygnet had. They had been severe.

Arlette felt a little torn. As if she was pulled by both of them in a different direction. Arric seemed to say what he wanted to say and then leave. Arlette frowned as it wasn't the way to communicate. He just unloaded everything and then just left. "Arric, wait..." Arlette watched him leave though. She felt her heart flutter, and it wasn't in a good way. He just... left? Her ears flopped back, disappointment laced her face.

Arlette's ear instantly caught the whisper. The word. She looked at Cygnet who had only been mute so far. Arlette almost startled a little. She turned to face her, her blood red eyes on the female staring down. Arlette remembered the wounds on both of them. "Injuries don't lie," she returned quietly. She lifted her chin a little. Cygnet's behavior always seemed possessive of her around Arric. She wasn't a fool.

"You are both at fault," she spoke to Cygnet. "You shouldn't have attacked Arric in the way you did. But Arric also shouldn't have injured you as much either," she spoke. She did dislike that Arric just left. Now they couldn't talk about it. He was giving the wrong example. She was thinking how best to resolve this conflict between them. If it was ever going to be resolved. "Cygnet. Can I ask... Do you consider me as yours?," she asked, voice calm. "Yes or no is fine."

The man left; Cygnet watched with tired, hawkish eyes, nostrils flaring lightly as she watched him go. Throughout his departing speech she had remained silent, ears turned back and expression lightly bewildered, betrayed. 

She didn’t consider how deadly she could have been, if only she’d been full grown. She didn’t consider the fact that such actions could potentially have repercussions that would strip her of the few comforts she had; she had no idea what was truly at stake. 

She snorted lightly in agreement with Arlette, and winced appropriately afterwards. Her ribs would dog her for some time. 

Arlette’s question earned her a glistening gaze. She did not deign to smile- she wouldn’t have known how to do so in a friendly way- but she chuffed softly, and nodded. 

Arlette was the closest thing to a family she’d ever known.

Arlette looked at the child and then sat down. She got the confirmation pretty soon afterwards when she chuffed and nodded at her. So the girl thought she was his. "Thank you for telling me," she returned to the child. "However, I am my own wolf own person. I am not yours to claim like a piece of meat or your favorite toy," Arlette explained without venom or anger in her tone.

"I like Arric. I know you don't like that but I do. I like both of you and you cannot keep me from Arric just because you don't like him," she tried to explain. "I am not saying that you should like him. But just so you know, I won't stop seeing Arric. He is a packmate and -- A good friend to me," she spoke. She decided to not touch romantic interest yet, perhaps later but now, a good friend would work. "I know sharing his difficult but just know that I care for you, like you care for me? I know you want to protect me from Arric but he is our packmate. I'd rather you protect me from strangers like you want to protect me from Arric," she tried to redirect. "Arric is family. Swiftcurrent is family."

Cygnet hoped that the olive branch might be enough for her to win Arlette for herself; enough to convince her that she was more worthy of the woman’s attention than the ornery, foul-mouthed beta. 

It had taken a lot for her to admit that she considered Arlette family- some part of her still felt bound to something much more dark and sinister- something she didn’t fully understand. She wouldn’t realize it yet, but she felt as tied to death, as she was to life. A mucky, clawed paw had reached for her as she lay in the swamp barely free of her birth sack, hoping to push her under, but that paw had fallen and she had been pulled from death’s grasp. 

It lingered there, as though a debt was owed. Arlette may have become a mother to her, but she remained a sacrificial lamb that had somehow escaped the slaughter. She was bound only to a fate that she had somehow managed to avoid.

So when Arlette began to explain that she would not cut her ties with Arric, the girl silently fumed. Her nostrils flared and she denied Arlette eye contact, as tears burned at the brim of her eyelids. Her heart raced, and she gritted her teeth together as firmly as she could, hearing them creak as they grated against one another. A pulse beat in her brow, and she had no means to express the frustration she felt.

She wanted Arlette to choose- she wanted to force her hand, but Arlette was too reasonable, rational and strong of a wolf to bend to a fickle child’s demands. 

She whipped her head to and fro so fast that the tears were flung from her eyes. She uttered a small, strangled sound and stomped off, ears flattened. She felt a sob rise in her throat, and not wanting for Arlette to see her cry, she bolted- so she might find somewhere private so that she could pitch a full-fledged tantrum and somehow rid herself of this pain.

Arlette watched as Cygnet responded to her words. The flared nostrils and the denied eye contact. She believed she even saw some tears lining her eyes. It ran that deep for her apparently. Arlette hated that the young girl felt that way, but she could not solve this for her. She had to give her boundary and it was okay for Cygnet to feel her feelings about it. It was actually good that she learned to feel those feelings.

She felt her heart break a little when the girl shook her head before stomping off. She knew the girl had her emotions running high. Arlette walked after her though, calmly as the girl was running from her. Just because she showed a boundary for Cygnet didn't mean she shouldn't or couldn't show empathy. The pale woman followed the girl, mostly tracking her down. She didn't want to invade her hiding space but when she had the feeling she was close. "Cygnet. I know you are upset. I know you would want me all to yourself but I cannot give you all of me. But I will be there for you when you need me." She let the girl be in her hiding spot, she couldn't even see the girl but her scent was close.