Mabel didn’t like how things were at home but she mostly did her best to ignore them. To do this she just avoided the problem which was a skill she had gotten very good at during her near constant groundings. The girl spent most of her days out of the territory now that they were allowed, she practiced hunting with Corsair and she hung out occasionally with Cham and she was even spending more time with Ayla. But, perhaps by her own will she had also been ignoring how the tension had been affecting everybody else.

Lounging just outside the territory and enjoying a break from the rain Mabel had taken up shop on a fallen tree - not that far from the matching tree infested with mice inside the markers. Seeing the mechanical movements of her russet sister pulled her relaxed expression downwards into a grimace. The Donata loved to pick on her sibling but there would be hell to pay if anyone but her or Corsair ever upset her, that was a right reserved for them only. Jumping down from her position the cream coloured wolf padded forward, ”Ayla? Ayla what happened?” Whose ass was she going to kick?

Ayla didn’t even seem to realize that she was talking and the grimace deepend on her own expression. Maybe this wouldn’t be such an easy fix after all, especially when she started rambling about whether something had happened or not. Opening her mouth to tell her sister to cut it out and just tell her what the hell she was talking about she never got the chance. Could trees feel sad? She didn’t think so, they didn’t ever talk or move except with the wind but they also went to sleep all winter so she wasn’t sure.

Corsair on the other paw seemed to be more resolved in his opinion on the matter. Mabel turned her attention to him in relief, he was always better at helping Ayla when she was upset than the other girl was. He was more sensitive to her feelings when the Donata was more likely to just tell her to suck it up and try to distract her. His tone was conceited but it was clearly playful, still the brown eyes shot him a look of exasperation, even she knew now wasn’t the time to make fun of her.

Mabel circled around to press her flank against Ayla’s side while Corsair nudged her ears, silently pressing her forward back into a walking motion. The farther they got from the borders the easier things would be, she knew that from experience. The air wasn’t as heavy out here, Ayla would be able to breath. Her own expression was guarded as Mabel stared straight ahead, ”It’s just those things inside Mom, they’re the reason they fight all the time.” The idea had been forming in her subconscious but now that it was said out loud it made so much sense, ”Think about it, they were weird in the winter yeah, but they only started fighting when Mom got pregnant. They’re the reason everything has gone to shit.” Finally she glanced sideways at her littermates, ”I hate them already.” They would have her back surely, it would always be the three of them against everyone else, no matter what.

Mabel shook her head firmly to her sister’s words and her mouth hardened into a line when her brother added his two cents. She had expected Ayla to be soft, but thought that Corsair would have backed up her theory and agreed to hate them. Shaking her head again one more time she sighed, ”No. Lila told me once she was happy when we were coming because before us she was alone.” Which, she wasn’t sure exactly how all of that worked because there was also Kyna who they had met that one time, where had she been?

Glancing pointedly sideways at her siblings she tried to further drive her point home, ”And do either of you feel particularly happy?” Clearly this wasn’t the same as last year, and they definitely weren’t all alone. It had been just a theory forming in her subconscious before but now it was cemented in the foreground of her thoughts. She hated her siblings to be - they were to blame for everything that was happening.

Speeding up her paws she broke away from her siblings, turning to head a different direction. Corsair could take care of Ayla, her ego was bruised they hadn’t immediately accepted what she had to say and also she needed time to think. She needed to be alone.