Sanguine Cove feeling out of place in this place right now

Nori, a startled grouse smacks into you in panic.
@Magg

It had been a day since she'd joined the Cove again, and Nori couldn't possibly feel more out of place if she tried. Her injuries were giving her some trouble, but nothing as pressing as the discomfort she felt wandering around. There was tension laid heavy throughout the territory, and a strange silence that hadn't been there the last time Nori had lived on the mountain.

She didn't even want to physically be there. It was almost overwhelming, the desire to not be so high up, but she'd made her choice. She was done running away.

Nori padded slowly through the territory around the lake, unsure exactly where she was heading or what she was doing, when her blatant moping was brought to a sudden stop by a flurry of movement in the bushes and a brown shape fluttering out. The grouse was just as surprised to see her as she was to see it, it seemed, because the bird shot straight into her face, wings flapping rapidly.

Startled, Nori let out a sharp yelp, staggering backward and snapping her teeth aimlessly. They connected with feathers, but not much else, and the grouse, after a moment of reorienting itself, disappeared into the sky.

SHE MAY CONTAIN THE URGE TO RUNAWAY, BUT

Magg had been attempting to hunt, something she'd only very recently become comfortable with again since giving birth. So sick and tired of constantly being in recovery, without any end in sight, both physically and emotionally. What if it was always going to be like this, now? An abrupt cry and the distinct fluttering of wings told her the prey she'd been tracking had already been discovered. Magg scowled openly, rounding a few more trees before being able to see who it was. Her eyes narrowed on a markedly unfamiliar face, which was enough in itself to strongly suggest who they were. "What the hell are you doing here?" She stood fully as she spoke, lacking outright aggression but also any trace of warmth. Family or not, she couldn't believe this woman had been accepted into the Cove after what she'd obviously done to Magg's little sister.

HOLD HER DOWN WITH SOGGY CLOTHES & BREEZEBLOCKS

(This post was last modified: Jul 04, 2024, 04:44 PM by Magg.)

Shortly after the bird had taken to the air, another face appeared. A woman, smaller than Nori but oddly familiar, though she was confident she'd never seen her before in her life. Three-legged and had recently given birth, from the looks of things. How odd.

And mad. That seemed to be a theme with the wolves Nori had met recently.

"Getting hit in the face with a bird?" Nori tried, though she kind of figured what this was about. Best to let the other woman bring it up directly though, she figured, rather than risk being attacked again. "Sorry if I interrupted you." She didn't want to make any more waves than she already had, after all. Her own tone was neutral, and her body language relaxed.

If asked, she would own up to the Eclypse situation. She fucked up, and at the very least she could admit to it.

SHE MAY CONTAIN THE URGE TO RUNAWAY, BUT

Her answer was far from satisfactory, but it wasn't really antagonizing, either. Even when she could have leaned into the sarcasm, she just didn't. Magg's instinct normally would have been to change her own tune, but this perceived slight wasn't petty. Her little sister was gone, and around here especially, that could mean vanished for years or dead. "Right. Instead of finding my sister." Her lips lifted high in a wolfish, canine-filled sneer as she spoke before settling back into a more mild, but still disapproving, position. Pushing on, the poison was all conveyed through her voice, emotion building. "Why should you be here, safe, when she's missing because of you?"

HOLD HER DOWN WITH SOGGY CLOTHES & BREEZEBLOCKS

(This post was last modified: Jul 04, 2024, 04:48 PM by Magg.)

Ah. She was related to the kid. Shame prickled down Nori's back and she pressed her ears to her skull. The provoking hadn't been necessary, but she didn't know how close the kid had been to a mental breakdown - or honestly how close she had been, herself. It was a mistake, and she wasn't proud of it, but...

"I'm not planning on staying in the territory long," she muttered. Nash had given her instructions not to go too far, but with both the Eclypse and Leo situations, and given that Nori wasn't a guardian and didn't need to be inside the borders as often, she didn't know how well she'd be able to obey.

Brown eyes flicked back over to the younger woman before she glanced off again. "I didn't know she was gonna run off. I'm sorry." The words felt like ash on her tongue - she'd apologized more in the past couple of weeks than she had in her entire life. "I wasn't trying to cause any problems."

SHE MAY CONTAIN THE URGE TO RUNAWAY, BUT

That was a little better, but not by nearly enough. Truly, there was likely nothing the other woman could do right other than actually bringing @Eclypse back home. Even then, Magg would likely be best satisfied never seeing her again, especially if her sister wanted the same. Which was probable, wasn't it? For the umpteenth time she felt bitterness toward her father for giving Nori a place amongst them at all. What had he been thinking? Just because she had a relative in common, that didn't make her family and certainly not more important than any of his own daughters. Yet here she was in E's place. "What the fuck does that matter?" she shot back, honing in on the 'I didn't know she was gonna run off' part of the wolf's defense. 'Wasn't trying to cause problems,' then how did it happen? "Do share," she took a step forward, tail bristling as it raised, "what possible benefit was there to starting shit with her in her own home?"

HOLD HER DOWN WITH SOGGY CLOTHES & BREEZEBLOCKS

"I didn't start anything!" Nori burst out, closer to desperate rather than angry, and immediately recoiled, biting her tongue. She hated making herself into something submissive, but she lowered her head and ears, turning her gaze to the side, movements jerky and robotic, in response to the other girl's more dominant posture.

There was no way to make her understand what had happened without sharing everything that had led up to that moment, and Nori didn't know how to even begin to do that, much less if she even wanted to. Blaming Eclypse wouldn't help either, she was sure of it, and it wasn't the girl's fault Nori reacted the way she did. It was her responsibility to do better.

She almost felt like she might cry again, but she'd had enough of that with Eros the other day. "Nash said this was my home, too," she pointed out, more quietly this time. "He invited me back. I didn't... just show up outta nowhere and start shit."

Welcome home, Nori.

"I'm trying to find her. I don't know what else to do," she said, body still held low.

SHE MAY CONTAIN THE URGE TO RUNAWAY, BUT

Plenty of wolves would have cared about Nori's perspective, would have wanted actual details and would have stood a chance at being swayed. There was little chance of these things with Magg, certainly not at this point in her life, and not over family. Her immediate family. So, she ignored any points in which Nori might have been given some ground, and focused solely on that which kept her off the defensive. "Plenty of game to hunt out there, where you might stand a fat chance," she bit without letting up an inch. "I know my sister," a veritable lie, "you had to have done something or she'd still be here."

HOLD HER DOWN WITH SOGGY CLOTHES & BREEZEBLOCKS

It was clear that this girl wasn't going to listen, and Nori had no energy remaining to try and explain herself. It was a losing battle, anyway, and Nori felt she'd had far too many of those lately. This, at least, was one she could escape from, if she truly wanted to.

There was no point in trying. This, like Eclypse, was likely one of the many unsalvageable connections in Nori's life. Just another one to add to the bridges burned.

"Yeah," was all she said in response. Both statements were correct - there was other prey to hunt beyond the borders, and she definitely hadn't made the Eclypse situation any better. In fact, she probably couldn't have handled it worse. But there was nothing more she could think to say, so instead of digging the hole she was already in deeper, Nori turned to head out of the territory once again. At least out there she could feel productive - hunt things, try and find the kid, maybe take supplies down the mountain.

Any of it was better than standing here with someone spitting venom at her. Even if it was well deserved, Nori didn't want to hold still and let herself be a punching bag for someone she didn't even know.

Nori's exit unless stopped

SHE MAY CONTAIN THE URGE TO RUNAWAY, BUT

Magg hadn't really expected the win, at least not without more of a fight. Yet the other woman not only agreed - she promptly turned and left. The younger woman couldn't help but let out a deep breath of relief. At least something had gone her way, and who knew? Maybe the estranged cousin would actually come back with Eclypse, or at least word of her.

HOLD HER DOWN WITH SOGGY CLOTHES & BREEZEBLOCKS