She'd left the pack before her son had even opened his eyes. He'd moved slightly when she left him behind, but hadn't complained or awakened. When he'd been small, it had been easy enough for her to simply pick him up and place him close to the side of another wolf within the communal den, but that was when he'd weight a trifle and had been able to sleep through such an interruption. Nowadays, he was too large for her to simply pick him up and move him by the scruff- her boy was growing fast, a tribute to the man only she knew to be his father. But no one else could know those thoughts- instead, she'd simply verbalized the fact that his 'mother' had been small, but for him to grow so quickly, his father must have been a large wolf. With @Naira, she'd made the speculation that perhaps his father had been the alpha of a pack somewhere- and that his mother had been exiled due to her unwanted pregnancy. The two women had seemed to agree that something along those lines seemed like the back story for Mercy's parents...Wolves which had been completely fabricated by Sagacity, but with such an art that even she believed it, sometimes.

When the sun rose she had already traversed terrain well beyond her pack's borders. She shook out her coat small droplets of dew flew from it. She'd already begun to notice that her pelt had begun to thicken in preparation for the oncoming winter. With it would come the cold and hardship of snow and ice, and she found herself thankful that Mercy was her only responsibility, and that she had a small but strong pack to rely on. Naira's girls were growing as well, though she doubted that either of them would get anywhere near as large as Mercy...And she intended for her boy to grow up big and strong, so that one day she might see a bit of Rhysis in him. But for now, the boy had only his father's eyes and the promise of growth, and that was enough for Sagacity.

Having caught the scent of water, she followed it but slowed when she found the scent of another female wolf mingling with it. Her approach was slow and cautious and she found herself peering through golden-leafed bushes to see who she was up against- a petite female, with a dark pelt speckled with light fur which gave her a the look of a dark sky brightened by scattered stars. She was in the water, focusing on its surface- fishing, Sagacity deduced. So she pulled back and moved away, walking through the shadows further downstream in order to give the woman the space she'd need to go fishing. Once she felt comfortable with the distance between the two, she quietly emerged from the copse and sought to make eye contact with the woman so as to give her a polite nod of greeting before she wordlessly slipped to the edge of the water and began to drink.

Out of the corner of her eye, Sagacity watched as the darker woman kept her focus on the task at hand, having noted her quiet nod of response. She continued to drink as a flurry of movement and spray of water announced the wolf's attack and the slap of the fish's tail against her cheek signaled her success. By this point, Sagacity's thirst had been quenched so she lifted her head to look over and notice, then, that she hadn't only caught a fish, but quite a fine one. The undershot look of its jaw and wrinkles wreathing its gaping mouth told her that it was a bass, one of her preferred choices for fish. As the dark woman made her way to the shore, so did she, and she used that time to close the distance between them.

She shook herself lightly, lifting each paw to flick the water off her toes and at the same time, blithely taking one step at a time closer to the female, though the absent look in her features made it seem unintentional. The woman had already killed the fish, ending the possibility that it could flop back into the water, and had just turned her head when Sagacity's own head had lowered and she'd shifted into a swift trot, closing the gap between them swiftly.

This wasn't the first time she'd decided to rob another wolf of their meal. She'd measured the woman up and had seen that though she looked strong, she was a similar size. She was not a pack wolf and had not had that luxury and security. Sagacity was a pack wolf and a hungry one, an opportunistic one. There'd been something about the female's gait as well, when she'd left the water- something which made her gait uneven. This was a wolf, then, that would never be a contender for her pack. And therefore, she had no interest in befriending her. She intended to use her.

Her jaws snapped as a warning as the gap closed, and the decision would have to be made swiftly- either she could fight over the fish she'd caught, or surrender it.

You should stop there.

The direction fell upon deaf ears and the silver female continued forward, undeterred from her goal of stealing that fish. There was a thrill from travelling the continent that she was lacking- but this certainly helped to supply that rush of adrenaline, and with each step she took her conviction grew. The woman lowered herself protectively over the fish, but Sagacity did not care- if she wouldn't simply step away and surrender her catch, she'd have to surrender a good amount of fur and flesh as well.

The other warnings and insults had no effect on Sagacity, who didn't want to talk about her pack or why this was or wasn't right. She wanted the fish. Simple as that.

So the silver bullet stalked forth, pace becoming slightly quicker as the gap closed until with a fierce growl, she opened her jaws, eyes flashing with a feral light. Her hackles stood on end, like a wreath of quills about the nape of her neck leading down her spine in a stiff row. Her tail flew up and the hairs parted, making her tail look all the more banner-like. Her muscles flexed and bunched with each movement, the circulation of blood sending energy and adrenaline rushing to every part of her body which was now called upon for a battle. It had been too long since she had felt anything remotely close to this- and she relished the feeling, that rush of emotion as she rushed into something, headlong, without completely knowing why.

But it felt good.

Her jaws snapped, and the silver dagger aimed to bite at the woman's face and shoulders and bully her into submission.

The female didn't move away from her, but fortunately for the woman, she tucked herself closer to the ground, avoiding a much more serious blow by doing so. Sage gripped the fur of the woman's shoulders as soon as she came in contact with her and shook her head viciously from side to side- if nothing else, then simply to make a point. She was the dominant wolf out of the two of them and she wouldn't lose a fight to a lone wolf. She'd chosen a life with a pack and over the course of nearly a year- this still surprised her whenever she thought about it- she'd enjoyed the luxuries it had afforded her.

The darker woman submitted and when she tried to pull away she was allowed to do so. Sagacity took that moment to snatch the fish from beneath the female and walk stiff-leggedly a few paces away. Feeling fairly confident that the woman wouldn't think to pose a counter-attack, she rested herself on the ground, the fur lining her spine still standing on edge, and faced the woman. If she did try to steal the fish back, she'd at least see it coming and have a chance to rise to her legs to meet the attack.

This had worked. Sagacity was both pleased and surprised that the woman hadn't made an effort to fight back- but in her pride and victory, she stupidly assumed that she would have won the fight anyway. Her ego inflated, she began to tear into the fish's still-wet flesh and consume her plundered meal.

The fish tasted good-possibly because it was a nice, healthy bass, but Sage believed that part of the reason she relished it so much was the fact that she'd fought for it and had one it so easily. She'd used her wiles to steal a fish from Lachesis, but force had given her much more adrenaline. Part of her, some part of her character that demanded she listen to her morals, felt bad for having stolen this fish from a lone wolf. Sage was healthy and capable enough of hunting for herself, and she enjoyed doing so- but if she could save the energy by stealing a meal, then she would.

The female looked quite dejected as she began to walk away and for some reason, Sage felt the need to call out to her, in a voice which was neither taunting nor patronizing. Instead, she spoke with the tone that indicated she'd been there before, and could understand the female's plight. But she felt no sympathy; she'd shed those rags already. "Life is hard." She said. "Rise from it." She allowed the words of advice to hang on the air for a moment as she watched the female to see what the reception of them might be. She didn't mean to further insult the woman, but rather, to instruct her, as she'd instructed herself to do so when she'd been on her own. The female was lucky, in Sagacity's opinion, that she hadn't received a more dire injury; but the sting of defeat would ring with her for some time, she knew, but that tiny, good-natured part in Sagacity hoped that she'd rebound quickly.