Birds chirped to and fro from branches high up in the trees while sunlight streamed through leaves and branches until it filtered downwards onto the grass, dirt, and leaf litter of the forest. Vale hummed lightly to herself with a small smile, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her skirt and fingering the small fraying string in the left one.
There was an occasional rustling among the bushes every so often, but she mostly ignored it. It wouldn't be anything too exciting, just prey. The pack had pretty distinct boundaries, and they never ran into any big predators. The pup paused, putting her hands on her hips, and then inhaled a deep breath through her nostrils, her lips somewhat parted to help for scenting and breathing. With another pause, she blinked, gave herself a reassuring nod, and then turned to the north-east down a small path that was overgrown with grass and small weeds. She continued her humming, though gave half of her attention to the chattering of the birds around her.
I wonder how big the territory actually is. The small girl blinked, gazing up at the treetops and allowing her eyes to trail along as she kept up her casual pace. "Dute de dute de duu...."
What's everyone doing that's so important anyhow? A yawn suddenly came over her, and she paused once again in order to rub an eye before continuing on her path.
The red-headed gamma's ear twitched, and her eyes narrowed as she listened intently to the conversation below and to the north of her. It was obvious that the pride's leader had some flaws to her excuse and apology, especially considering that they did mark their territory on a regular basis, and it wouldn't have been too hard to cross the river and attempt to scope it out. And then she simply backtracked and said that they hunted outside of the borders, meaning they must have realized that there were borders in the first place, thus making the previous excuse completely void and meaningless. But hey, these were
cats they were talking about. So it wasn't much of a surprise, not to mention they might just be flustered from Brandin's show.
With a small blink, she leaned forward just a bit, her eyes darting across the clearing.
Speaking of which, what is he occupying himself- However, Renmy didn't get to finish her line of thought as the alpha's scent quickly struck her nostrils, her eyes immediately darting to its strongest point. What she didn't expect was him to be holding his precious gun to one of his own member's heads. Without thinking, one of her three remaining knives was up in her fingers and poised to strike. Though sense froze her hand from moving.
Not only would it be showing insubordination, but it would probably take a chip at Brandin's ego. He really didn't need her to intervene on that, and she'd only get in some massive trouble. But she expected Anvar to take into consideration what it would flaunt to the cats. If the pride knew that those two had a shaky relationship,
to say the least..., it would present a question of Anvar's hold over the rest of the pack and his abilities at leadership, not to mention that there was obvious turbulence within the pack itself. If a pack wasn't together, then they were nothing. And numbers were their strength, and such a display meant they were weak.
But maybe I'm just thinking into this too much. It's not like it's that serious anyway. Just don't want them getting the wrong idea and trying to harm one of us. The fem quickly shook her head, refocusing on the voices below as Anvar apologized for the pack's rightful behavior.
"And think nothing of trespassing and hunting, most of these wolves forget they had once been in similar dispositions you lot are in." That wasn't
supposed to sting the way it did, but nonetheless it was there. Renmy stared blankly down at the alpha, her features revealing nothing.
So now we're nothing more than strangers to you? No better than the cats? We're trying to do what we've always known and always done. The pack comes first; Always. So you're trying to tell us 'oh, it's no big deal, it doesn't matter. Heck, seriously, why are you guys even trying, y'know? Let's just let everyone and anything come into the territory.' I thought you held us in better standings. Really, Anvar, if you wanted things done like that, you should have just told us to do so. Her head was tilted down now, her bangs casting a shadow across her facial features. She clenched her left hand, her fingernails digging into the bark viciously but quietly. It'd hardly be noticeable as an abnormal noise.
Then he invited them to live among them for a small while. Her face visibly paled, and her body tensed.
Bloody brilliant idea. It doesn't matter though, he is the alpha. J-just so long as they stay away from me.... She sighed, running her thumb lightly along her shin to calm herself down. She blinked, rubbing her forehead mellowly. This was just a horrible day altogether. It was enough to have to be aware of the pack members she already had, but to have to constantly watch her back among the cats and to try to keep her injury rate the same with all the new challenges posed by them staying with the pack was a lot of work and stress.
It was amazing how
generous Anvar could be sometimes. And how thoughtless he could be of the pack's safety. But that was Anvar, and she really wasn't complaining. She was pretty solitary anyway, and always so unsure of herself. She couldn't really ask for anyone else, she'd known his ways so long, and she couldn't really live on her own.
Red fur suddenly caught in her range of vision, and her eyes immediately jumped to the source. A solemn expression rapidly filled her expression as she saw him moving towards the alpha, and was thrown off a bit when he completely skirted to the side and towards the fox. And then it hit her what he had planned. Obviously she couldn't really jump in and intervene, she didn't fight that way and it wouldn't be of any help regardless. She had no idea what to do, the fox was part of their pack too, and she really did value every member, but Brandin was also really frightening, and she'd rather not get any further on his bad side. This was why she usually presumed a neutral position in most matters, and stayed towards the back.
Anvar would probably do something about it, he'd take care of it. Most likely.... But he wouldn't even have to step in, but rather, stand up, as the poor fox's form was flung straight into him, blood splattering the grass and terra. Renmy winced, but quickly resumed her full scale vision on the scene. She growled softly, her gaze locking onto the large white tiger sprinting towards the two, her right hand clenching another knife in aggravation that he'd dare try to hurt either one. It wasn't his place, and she'd already warned him, and had set to be less stingy on her ranging if any of the cats decided to repeat the mistake.
Without allowing another second to be taken leisurely, another knife was sailing through the air, easily catching the rays of the sun and bouncing them back off, causing a nice couple of eye attracting glints. The weapon embedded itself into the earth a small ways in front of the tiger. Through her actions it was apparent that she didn't intend on hitting him, as it was impossible not to do so while he was in such motion unless to miss and then defeat the whole purpose of impeding his motion anyway. Though Renmy hardly needed to intervene, as he stopped on his own out of recognition to Brandin's current state.
She remained silent as Brandin turned from every person in the area, excluding herself as she was below him, and her eyes trailed after his form. Two small objects were dropped near her tree, and the second she saw them she recognized them both as her knives. It was a relief really, she hardly wanted to reveal herself to retrieve the two weapons, and she also didn't want them being picked up and used against anyone from her pack. Though she remained where she was, it was foolish to climb down when all their attention was probably focused on the direction he had just gone. Though only a few would probably linger with that thought before turning their attention to the wounded fox and alphas.
The red-headed gamma let out a sigh, picking up the two knives remaining on her lap and re-securing them into their places between bandages. This was obviously over, and whether or not anyone agreed with what the alpha had decided, it was pretty much final. The felines would be staying with them. She made sure that everything was tight and secure before slowly working her way downwards, trying not to make too much motion within the tree, and kept to the leafiest portions in order to keep her presence mostly hidden. Either they'd assume someone was hiding in this tree, or just think that Brandin had left the knives there so they'd be away from everyone else for the person they belonged to for collection later.
Renmy paused momentarily, both hands on the branch for support as a sudden realization dawned on her.
If everyone's here.... Where's Vale?