Honeyed Pasture that's [m]y body, it's a device

Switched to Private on 06/18 to avoid timeline issues

The girls kept inland after parting ways with Etienne; a storm was brewing on the horizon, and they agreed that it would be better to weather it here than on the coast. There was little cover to be had here, but a forest on the horizon promised safety from the coming rain, and they were making good time.

Though this land might be known for its bear population, those scents evaded Vixen and @Raelle as their bodies parted the tall grasses that surrounded them. Only one scent was pervasive — Mercy's.

Her heat had come overnight. Her fur stood on end, and every touch made her bristle. She was grateful when the pair broke from the grasses into a vast, open field... until she realized the wind would carry her presence abroad. They would need to make their way to the forest quickly.

Raelle's own season was an elusive thing, perhaps delayed by the scarcity which had defined her earliest months. In many ways she felt still caught in the body of a girl — so perhaps there was some jealousy in it when she woke to find Mercy's heat upon them. Just a little.

Mostly she felt — stabby. Yes, that was a good word for it. Rae's own pace was quicker than Mercy's as they traveled, but rather than trailing ahead, she circled the red-furred girl. Back and forth she drifted, growling softly each time a foreign wolf-scent carried to them on the breeze. Her gaze darted across the field every few moments, scanning for figures, but it always returned to Mercy before long. If she was honest, Rae didn't like this. Not one bit.

She had a nagging feeling that it would come to a fight before Mercy's season had passed.