Sex: Female@Florence & @Vera (?)
Two times before in the last week, Nayeli had noticed the pungent scent of fox lingering about the Bend's territory. On the first occasion, she had other matters to attend to before she could be bothered with the creature, and on the second, the scent trail had seemed to wander well away from the borders. This time though, she had happened upon the small red canine face-to-face, while it was trying to raid one of the pack's food stores. She was certain it was the same beast - it had the same musky stench to it. She'd had managed to land a glancing strike, her teeth marking its tail as it tried to make off with a piece of the leftovers. The thief had dropped his prize in his desperation to escape, but Nayeli was determined to either catch the nuisance, or drive it off so far away that it would not return to their forest. Chasing after the conniving little blur of gingery fur, she sent up a short howl as she left the borders, letting anyone who might be listening know that she planned to be back before too long. Truthfully, she was almost glad for an excuse to go a little further afield this morning - it would have made a pleasant trip, if she were not so irritated by the thievery.
At first it had made for a merry chase, with the dark she-wolf following her quarry like a hound and driving it out, chasing it onward each time it tried to hole itself up somewhere safe. Now, though, the scent had begun to blend in with the aroma of dankness that hung over this part of the Lore, becoming harder to follow. She had long grown used to the dark, foreboding nature that sometimes permeated these forests, but she had not ventured to this particular place before, and more than anything it was the mud that finally brought Nayeli's chase to an end. Her paws squelched as she wove from one sickly lichen-draped tree to the next, avoiding the more treacherous deeper patches of mud and water between them - despite the summer's heat, this place was still marsh-like and oozing. Though Nayeli was nimble and light-footed for her species, the fox was even more so, and in this terrain it had the advantage. She wondered if this might be a long enough chase for even the most intrepid fox - surely after a day like today, the little vagabond would want nothing more to do with the Bend or it's wolves -- or their food. Still, she wanted to make sure it wouldn't be worth the trouble for the vermin to come around again. And so she sent a last, angry snarl over her shoulder as she turned to leave this mire of shadows and cat-tails. If you wish to live, do NOT return!
Her shout rang with the threat as it floated through muddy trunks and grasses. Perhaps the fox could not exactly understand the wolf, but surely it could appreciate the sentiment. Flicking her tail, Nayeli began to pick her way back towards the edge of the swamp, more than eager to have dry land underfoot once more. Something brought her to a halt, though - a hint of another scent, nearly lost among the smells of the fen. Another wolf? On alert once more, she tipped her nose into the humid, still air, trying to find it again. Once again, all she could only detect the mud and pines and sphagnum, and a hint of fox musk. This might not be the Bend's territory, but she knew of no other packs that ought to be around here either - their neighbors resided further north. Most logically, it ought to be a loner, or else someone she would recognize. Lifting her head, she gave a short, sharp call: a warning to whoever else might be lurking about. Either show yourself, or become quite scarce, and quickly. Whatever the case, she was not inclined to skulking about one another in this murky backwater of a place.
