Grizzly Hollow as i dove into the waterfall

Tomen's surprising defense of her gave Ophelia a grounding sense of rightness. See?! Even Tomen thought she was right! Of course, her big brother had hardly seen all that had happened, but it mattered little to the pampered princess who had grown far too used to getting her own way. She pressed against him as he touched cheeks with her and even managed a few indignant tears while anger curdled in her belly, festering like a gaping wound.

Stuck in close quarters without the room to just walk away as she usually had when she needed to cool off or think away from the source of her frustration, Ophelia ground her teeth together furiously. Pip's presence, Deacon's snapping, and now Mama. Mama, who said she would be gone for only a few weeks and then not return for far, far longer. Mama, who thought she could come right back and not even say she was sorry! Mama, who thought she could come back and pick things up where they left off as if no hurt existed in her heart! Mama, who had more care for some stupid mute who wasn't even hers by blood!

Peridot eyes snapped over to the smaller female as she began pawing again at the snow. Stupid, stupid, stupid mute! She started all of this.

Something within the pup broke in that moment. Any control, any rules that demanded she behave were no longer in her mind. Without even a growl of warning, Ophelia descended upon the crouching omega with sharp teeth and a fury the likes of which even Pip had never experienced before. Blood peppered the white snow around them as Ophelia grabbed her packmate's shoulder and bit hard, pairing the action with a vicious shake that tore through skin. Her growls were dulled by the snow piling around them, though it sounded far from a fight any of the wolves had ever heard before. The plaintive whines and yelps of the defending party were absent, leaving only Ophelia's snarls as Pip struggled to get away in terror. Trapped against the wall of snow, the little wolf could only curl upon the ground as the pup let loose her pent-up anger and frustration.

(This post was last modified: Jan 07, 2017, 04:42 PM by Ophelia.)

His lip curled at Deacon's righteous reply, hackles bristling, resenting the tone of voice and implication and everything behind it. Tomen had only just arrived, so he didn't know what she needed scolding over, and if he thought about it rationally, it was hardly unlikely that Ophelia had done something to deserve it, even if it was so easy to forgive her when she pressed against him with moist eyes like that.

But that didn't make it any easier to just accept, and besides - If it had been anyone else, Tomen would not have complained, but he hated how self-important Deacon clearly thought he was. Still in prince-mode, the dark boy thought bitterly, sneering at the Archer-Lyall's back as the other wolf promptly chose to ignore him because clearly Tomen wasn't worth the effort.

Just wait until I'm a bit older, he thought, and I'll show you where you stand.

But any desire to be antagonistic was washed away as Oula arrived, clearly unimpressed, and Tomen couldn't help the stab of vindictive glee as she pointed out his pointless behaviour. Thinking that maybe normalcy and order had returned to the situation, and already feeling himself calm, he didn't expect what came next.

Before he knew what was happening, Ophelia had descended upon Pip with a ferocity that seemed so alien and out-of-place that the older brother was stunned into immobility, his heart crying out to protect Pip but also Ophelia but this was so pointless and maybe Deacon had been right Fenrir damn it - "Ophelia what the-"

Staring at Oula, because she was the girl's mother and so she had to know what to do, Tomen was rendered momentarily useless, and every second he hesitated was another second for someone else to be the one to swoop in and stop it.

The growls and loud whines and yelps were what woke finally Amaryllis from her hazy slumber. She had heard Pip’s call earlier and felt the movements of others as they slowly moved out of the den. But presumed since it seemed like a few had already moved towards the call, that Amaryllis could sleep for a few more moments.

The noises that caught her attention now however, she could not ignore those so she was up on her feet and out the den’s entrance in a matter of seconds. And the scene she came across did not make her happy.    

“Ophelia! Get off of Pip right now!” Leaping towards the fight with intent to break it up, because no matter the excuse, Pip did not deserve the beating she was getting from the younger girl, Amaryllis managed to grab Ophelia by the scruff. She hauled the smaller wolf off Pip, who was curled up in the snow and covered in what Amaryllis assumed was her own blood, since it was the young wolf’s shoulder that was torn up.

Letting go of Ophelia once she was dragged a few feet away, a scowl was tossed at the young girl, though glancing over her quickly to make sure she wasn’t injured in anyway. Amaryllis then turned to give Pip a look over and to see what Ophelia managed to do to the mute girl. Blood dripped from the wound on Pip’s shoulder as she lay still curled up in the snow, shivering from fright.

“It’s okay Pip, are you able uncurl for me so I can check your shoulder properly?” Trying to assure her friend by keeping a calm and soothing voice, Amaryllis gently nudged the girl to prompt her to move. Though even if Pip didn’t move, she still had a decent view of the wound and thus could still check it over.

“Can someone go to the medical cache and grab some herbs for me please? Quickly now, if you don’t mind.” Lifting her head up once she determined the wound would be an easy fix and knew that Pip wouldn't bleed out, Amaryllis glanced around the group and unconsciously settling on a posture matched her rank as second of the pack. Of course, she had spotted Deacon in the crowd but even with his rank matching hers on the male’s side of things, she had been around much longer than him so it mattered little to her right now. Though a question was asked to the group, the tone it was spoken with made it come off as more of an order than an actual question.  “Not Ophelia though, you can stay here.”  

“Now, can someone tell me why on earth Ophelia felt it was necessary to attack Pip like that?”  

(This post was last modified: Jan 07, 2017, 03:41 PM by Amaryllis.)

There was an order from a returning member. Oula. He would've barked, hissed, and cursed but he didn't need the whole pack thinking he was some aggressive madman. Without a look at anyone he stopped. Body paused and he stood looking down at what very little damage he had done. Only a few scratches from his claws to show for all the effort he had tried to put in.

But then everything grew so ugly. He had been so godly right that he wanted to act like a child and rub it in Tomen's pompous little face. He had every right of scolding Ophelia but oh no, Tomen wanted to play some righteous big brother act and defend her. Now it was blowing up in his face. While Deacon wasn't usually one to feel so ill towards one creature it was truly a pure pleasure to see this situation escalate before their eyes. Yet Tomen did nothing but watch. Deacon knew that the younger male wouldn't be able to discipline Ophelia.

Deacon was ready to lunge in and stop the scene himself but Amaryllis beat him to it with ease and grace. He stood defensively in case she needed any help. Her question was shot out and he was quick to grab ahold of the order. She hadn't stated what exactly she wanted, though. Just said herbs. Looking around the group he waited to see if anyone would snag the offer before speaking out. "Someone who knows herbs better than myself go with me. We can get things faster and carry more supplies if it's needed." Without a word, he took off. He had been there with Ama before and knew where he was heading.

On his way there he couldn't help but wonder a few things. If this was how their children acted in the face of a small issue the future looked dark for Grizzly Hollow. He should have felt bad about saying this but, he didn't want to be here for the uprising of some boorish wolves.

have you checked out my player preferences?

When Deacon had left, she hadn't woken, instead snuggling closer to Tomen to make up for the lost warmth. Then he too left, and sleep fled from her body. She wasn't ready to be up, her mind still groggy and eyelids heavy, so she curled up more tightly into herself and tried to will herself back into slumber. But the noises outside grew louder, voices raising with inflections that jolted the tiredness from her bones. Something was wrong, and every instinct in her demanded that she see (and fix) what.

Just arriving on the scene didn't give her many answers, however. Pip was injured and from the blood on Ophelia's coat, the child was the perpetrator. Nineva's jaw slackened with momentary shock. What on earth would have prompted violence, from a pup no less? She wanted to ask questions, but the gathering adults were throwing out ideas and demands and she latched onto what was needed: medical care for Pip.

"I'll go," she responded to Deacon, eyes hardening before her mouth settled into a tight, thin line and she joined him at a brisk pace. She'd had plenty of training, and while it wasn't something she dealt much with anymore, the information was still all there in her head.

The water was apparently the least of their problems. Oula wasn't even sure what had lead up to it, before the snow seemed to explode with pale and tawny fur rolling about, sharp growls and squeaks ringing out from the melee. It was short and brutal, and Oula was shocked to see her daughter tearing into Pip like she was a cornered hare. Oula was running before they stopped, and her eyes swept between Pip and Ophelia. With fresh blood on the ground, Pip's status was the more urgent of the two, but she was quickly being tended to. 

Oula had practically no rank or status here, but the one thing she did have was that she had had the privilege of birthing this unruly child from her loins. It was her right, no, duty, to raise this girl into a wolf that was if not an upstanding model citizen, at least did not brutalize a perfectly harmless wolf. Oula inwardly cringed at the after affects her leaving had apparently had. How long had Ophelia been running wild like this? Had others just stood by and let it happen, or was this a new problem that had just emerged?

Oula's tail swayed an authoritative banner over her back as she strode right up to Ophelia, fixing the girl in a direct stare. "Ophelia Maceio, I don't know what made you think that was okay, but that is not how you treat your packmates." She said, moving to try to firmly grab her daughter by the muzzle. 

(This post was last modified: Jan 07, 2017, 05:02 PM by Oula.)

The air would have been filled with terrified yelps and whines had Pip the voice for it. Instead, her mouth could only gape open like a fish out of water when her packmate grabbed hold of her so viciously. Though Ophelia was only a pup, she was already larger than Pip and coming in to her size with a vengeance. The omega did nothing to fan the flames further, laying limply in a vain attempt to appeal to Ophelia's better nature. But the sea wolf saw her eyes. Saw in them a blood haze she'd not readily break through. There was no pleading her way out of this one with soft eyes.

She trembled violently even as Amaryllis broke in and pulled the pup off her. Though she knew she should obey and do as she was asked, the mute could only lay curled tightly on the ground, tail tucked firmly against her belly. When the Second nudged near the wound, the small female flinched and pressed her eyes closed tightly.

The very moment Lily's eyes were away, instinct drove Pip to open her eyes and find an escape. The den would leave her trapped. But she was just as trapped out here against the wall of snow. Not for the first time, orange eyes tracked along the snow to find a worthwhile escape route. She could see one place near where Deacon had been scrambling where the snowdrift wasn't quite so high. Maybe she could get up it and away for a while until the tension cooled?

Worth a shot.

Pip scrambled gracelessly towards her escape route, limping and stumbling from her injury in her effort to flee. Bright red blossoms were left behind from where she'd fallen against her wounds, contrasting starkly with the snow. But Pip made it over the drift and fled as best she could over the crusted snow. Of all the Hollow wolves, she was light enough to not break through the layer of ice on top with each step, though she did do so quite a few times in her mad dash to get away.

She wished she knew where Kjell was for she would go to him in an instant and hide away from the animosity within the pack until she was recovered. Instead, she found a half-fallen snow-laden cedar to hide under and curled there, though the obvious path she left behind could be followed with ease.

She should be cowering. Should have her tail tucked so tightly and her ears pinned back against her neck. Should feel all kinds of shame as she was pulled away from the mute. Instead, Ophelia was smiling. It was toothy and mean, her packmate's blood staining her teeth. She was smiling because she, a pup, had won against an adult. She'd submitted. Good. Pip should submit. She couldn't even talk. She was barely a wolf at all. Just her Daddy's sympathy case. That was why she was still in the pack. Everyone felt sorry for her. Not because she was useful at all. No. She was useless. A burden. She should just leave.

The pale princess was panting from exertion, heady with success as everyone began demanding everything at once. Why, why, why? Ophelia watched with hungry eyes as Pip fled, longing to race forward and give her another bite on the rump to remember her by. But she stayed in place and lifted her head proudly. Yeah. You better run.

It wasn't until Mama turned on her that Ophelia began to feel the first inkling of regret. Not for what she'd done, of course. She felt she was completely in the right for that. Regret for getting caught.

Ophelia dropped her gaze with bitterness as her mother stared her down. When Oula firmly grabbed her muzzle, Ophelia curled her lips and pulled painfully away. The reprimand alone brought tears to her eyes, but did little to quell her anger. "She shouldn't even be in the pack! She can't even talk! She's weak! She won't defend herself! She doesn't deserve a place here!"

It was all wrong - it took Amaryllis to break it up, though Oula had not been far off getting between them herself. Struck by the horrible notion that he'd defended entirely the wrong girl, Tomen watched as the female Second practically scolded everybody present for what had happened, his tail drooping and ears flattening as he still raced to process it. What was he supposed to do? Why had this even happened? His heart ached for Pip, who he did not believed deserved even one fraction of that kind of aggression, but then he looked at Ophelia and knew she was hurting too, knew she was angry, but it didn't excuse this -

And his eyes went to Deacon as the holier-than-thou jerkwad started to prance away in eager obedience of Amaryllis' command, his throat tightening as if he wanted to growl, but then he spotted a bewildered Nineva and no sooner had she appeared than she went to follow Deacon, and that was it, Tomen had had enough.

Even as Oula's harsh tones rang in his ears, the boy's focus had gone to the mute, shivering and terrified and he saw what was going to happen before it did, everything about her body language screaming her need to escape. Finally he was able to stop hesitating and bounded forwards after her. Where she was able to navigate the frozen water without falling through, Tomen was larger and heavier and rather less graceful, and by the time he reached the other side, the little sea wolf was out of sight and his rear end was soaked from where he'd half-fallen in before catching himself.

But the snow made it hard to hide one's tracks, and Pip had not run with that in mind. Trotting after her fresh and rushed pawprints, he spotted her shape curled up underneath the fallen cedar, and his ears went straight against his skull again.

"Pip," he whispered, frozen again to the spot, because he couldn't help but feel like this was his fault. The smell of blood made his jaws clench. He wanted so badly to go to her, but he wouldn't have blamed her for wanting nothing to do with any of them right now.

Ophelia pulled away, and Oula let her but stayed standing firm. But the words that came from the youngest Macieo made her jaw drop. "Ophelia!!" Oula barked, disgusted with what she heard spilling from her daughter's mouth. Where had she even gotten those notions from! It was even more disturbing to think the girl might have come up with all of that on her own. Oula's sage eyes burned, her fur bristled, her whiskers twitched. She was angry, but she wasn't about to show her daughter that violence was the answer to inter-pack squabbles. She had to take the high road. 

"That is not your decision to make. It is the leader's choice who stays or goes. Each wolf has their own strengths and weaknesses, and so does Pip. A leader's strength is in seeing these things, and as she is still here, Yvly has deemed her place here appropriate." Oula explained with feeling, getting worked up, her tail lashing high. "So far, I am seeing your strength is in picking on those weaker than yourself. It is not an impressive strength." The Whitebark said with a distasteful look. The high road was quickly taking a dip. "You may not remember, but you were the smallest of the litter. You should be glad that I did not proscribe to the idea that those that are weak and defenseless are to be tossed out as we deem fit."