Dropping it to the ground with a thud, the tiny woman huffed like she was a champion; like she needed her brothers to hunt for her. She was doing fine on her own! Her own ego bested her, however, as she was rather underweight and hungry. So, without wasting another second, she set to work on wolfing down the hare. With a satisfied huff, Artemis sat down and licked her bloodied lips, smacking them now and then as if she were dining in a five star restaurant. She peered down at what remained of the carcass before edging it around with her paw. She took a delight in seeing dead things, ever since she was a child, and this little critter was no different. It fascinated how the body stuffed so much into it. Heart, lungs, guts and all the other stuff.

Lifting her paw from the hare’s remains she scoffed. Now, look what she’d gone and done! Her paw was all covered in blood. Shrugging internally, she lapped at her pads hungrily. Every little bit counted, right? She wasn’t going to waste a little bit of blood. Finishing up, she stood again and stepped away from the remains of supper. Let some scavenger deal with it. So off she trotted, content and happy before she found out a snippet of information that caused a sly little smile to cross her weasel-y face. Pack borders. Careless as always, she strode along the seam where pack met wilderness. A game or two with some sucker might be fun …

And so, whilst minding her own business and harbouring a strong desire to cause some sort of trouble, Artemis’ ears twitched at the sound of a woman and a tiny smile creep onto her face when she gazed upon the black woman. She couldn’t help but be curious about one thing: this black lady did not smell like this territory. Why the hell should she care where Artemis went peeping? Not like she was on whatever land this woman patrolled. Still, with the smile on her face and adopting a voice so sweet it might make you feel sick, Artemis spoke up. “I’m new to these parts, ma’am!” She beamed at the black lady, taking a step away from the border so she didn’t come across as too suspicious. “My name’s Vesta,” her mother’s name rolled smoothly and guiltlessly off of her liar’s tongue. “I smelt a pack so I figured I should check it out. Father always told me you’ll never get nothin’ done without gettin’ into a pack.” She paused before a question clicked in her head.

“I’m sorry to be so demanding of your time, ma’am, but would you happen to know any other packs around? I’d like to check all my options first before I settle.” Of course she cared nothing of the sort. She wanted to know because knowing meant more opportunities to have a little fun. Glancing the area over, Artemis spotted another female not too far away and wagged her tail. My my, they certainly weren’t short of wolves here, were they? “Looks like we’ve got some company! Another peeper, at that.” She tossed the last sentence in, playfully, hoping to gauge some reaction.

And then, suddenly, the dark coated woman was leaving with a brief ‘good luck’. Artemis would’ve scowled and called her a nasty old hag if she hadn’t wanted to keep her cheery façade for potential use at some later time, should she run into her again. The other stranger who’d crept forward barely bid her own version of a farewell. Nice to see you. Really? Saying good bye like that, as if they were old chums who’d bumped into each other before setting off on their separate ways. Artemis watched as she ran after the black lady like a puppy nipping at the ankles of adults. How very rude! She almost snorted at the image, half expecting the smaller lady to start playing with the larger one’s tail. It looked really … really stupid.

“I’m here! I’m here! No more waiting!” The voice made her jump, snapping back to reality after watching the two women disappear. Turning her head quickly, as if she were about to shout the woman down, Artemis huffed internally. Narimé … Lah-de-blah Something-or-another. Who cared? One word shot out and shone brighter than the others: alpha. Immediately sinking back into the role of happy-go-lucky sugar coated cutesy wutesy, Artemis lowered herself to the ground and curled her tail beneath her, though it still wagged. “Hello, miss Narimé. I’m Vesta.” Glancing up to catch Narime inspecting her like a hunk of meat (how very, very rude!) though she looked down immediately and showed no outward sign of irritation.

“Uh, well, you see, I’m new to the parts,” that was no lie, “and I was wondering what you could tell me about your pack.” What was it again? Hush Caverns? Whisper Caves? Whatever. “I’m trying to learn what I can before picking.”

‘Vesta’ nodded, keeping low to the ground. “I’d certainly like to know what you know, miss.” The more she pondered, the more her tail wagged. Why not stay a while, hm? This woman seemed like the overly friendly type, easy to gain the trust of. Artemis would get what she needed to know and food! And warmth to sleep with! Then, when she tired of this boring little meadow, she’d move on. Oh yes. This would be so perfect. She resisted the urge to let a cruel grin sweep over her face and instead remained pleasant as cherry pie. “But, please, could you start with your pack? Such a quaint little meadow.” Yeah right.