Red Fern Forest But my hand's been broken one too many times

For Andraste only please! <3 RE: Magpies have overrun the forest!

Rye chirruped gleefully to herself as she frolicked through the red-hued forest, paws squishing ferns scattered about with no restraint. It was quite a feat for a heavyset wolf such as herself to be as acrobatic, and it was a wonder she had not twisted an ankle, yet she continued with not a single worry in her mind.

Her ruckus had chased away the smaller land critters, though the birds above seemed emboldened and appeared to squawk along in tandem with her own vocalisations. She snapped her jaws up at the multitude of magpies as she danced about, though more out of fun than anger, even if their trilling was a bit grating on her ears.

Perhaps it had been too long since she saw another wolfy face and she'd gone a little mad, or maybe the inherent loneliness just brought out the crazy within her?

She rode in on waves of smoke, the birds seemed to migrate away from it as well.

In this she spotted opportunity. In their ruckus and their dashing about, she had managed to snag one by it's wing. Finished it by its neck as it hung from her jaws.

She wandered like this for some time, prepared to take it with her until she found somewhere to settle the bird chaos out. After all, there was a thickness in the air that made travel harder anyway. How anyone wished to remain in this was beyond her.

Only she heard the crashing of something heavier than birds.

A woman up ahead.

One who seemed to revel in the glory of the magpie creatures.

Andraste wished to pay her little mind and yet she could only stare for the moment. Bird limp between her teeth. She wondered if the other woman would take the chance to come away less hungry too.

A burst of giggles escaped her maw as she lifted back up on her hind legs, raising her body heavenwards to get closer to the seeming infinite amount of magpies chittering about. A few squawked and took flight, while others sang down at her from their perches above. She had yet to be swooped, though if one dared to get too close they'd meet a strong set of jaws.

Rye twirled around, landing heavily back on all fours with a thump. She was met with a pair of yellow eyes, practically identical to her own, and though similar in size, the pelt was of cream and brown.

The right side of her mouth lifted up in a half smile, body having frozen where she landed, ears pricked forward curiously. The other woman simply stared in silence, a magpie hanging limply from her jaws.

"You just gonna stand there and watch me?" Her brows raised, but Rye made no other move.

(This post was last modified: Jul 15, 2023, 03:41 AM by Ryenne.)

Why speak? She had no need to drop her meal and let it possibly be snatched.

So instead her tail waved for but a moment behind her. Neither dominance nor submission. Instead it only showed attention and intrigue. A curiosity was placed in why the woman seemed to burn energy on birds of all things, yet she did not hunt them. It seemed childish in a way that did not benefit loners.

A brow quirked to stay high and sharp above golden eyes.

Why?

A silent question as she squared her weight some, her prize still held firmly between her jaws. As if she was a toddler with a trophy nearly!

She was expecting a response of some sort, but all Rye received was a wave of the other womans' tail and a similar raising of brows. For some reason it left a prickle along her spine, and her half smile slipped away into a vague sort of frown. She scoffed under her breath as the other wolf squared her stance.

"Seems kinda rude to just stare, don'cha think?" It wasn't as if Rye had even attempted to make it seem like she wanted to swipe the magpie from the wolf, though it certainly had been a thought in the back of her mind. Why do the work herself when she could just steal from someone else, after all?

Her shoulders rolled back as she sat back on her haunches with a huff. "Usually this conversation thing goes both ways, y'know?" It would be too fair of a fight to just go for the magpie, and Rye didn't like evenly matched fights if she could help it. Plus it had been so long since she'd held a conversation with an intelligent species, so she was willing to put in just a tad bit more effort than normal at being 'nice'.

The woman pressed and she sat upon the earth.

This was a sliver of defeat in the eyes of Andraste. Why did the woman sit before the stranger? It would be easy to strike hard and fast now, but she would do no such thing. Not for now, at least.

The bird was set upon the earth, but now she rested a paw on its neck instead of her teeth.

"Do you truly want to hear me ask why you chase birds?" Again her tail flicked and twitched behind her with confusion and curiosity. Her ears turned tall upon her head as her golden gaze stayed firm upon the woman.

The magpies threatened to swoop with the stillness of the women.

There was something in the other woman's gaze that had Rye on edge, so to be honest she was glad there was some space between them. Was she scared? No. But she couldn't just throw her weight around like normal to get an upper hand in a scrap, and taking one measly magpie probably wasn't worth the effort. However, taking it for fun? That was more her style.

She would have smiled as the woman put the bird down but her words just had Rye scowling, muzzle wrinkling from the effort of it. There didn't appear to be any anger from the other wolf, in fact she seemed intrigued in a way. But Rye was a tad miffed about it all.

"Well now I almost preferred it when you didn't speak," she said childishly, ears pulling back a bit on her head and shoulders hunching forward.

A few of the magpies swirled above her, a few daring to swoop in closer before flitting away, not nearly close enough to scratch her with their claws or beaks. She snapped her teeth as a warning regardless, though the birds didn't seem to care much. As long as they didn't physically touch her then she had no desire to go lunging up at them.

The woman was too old to be a child and yet in that moment Andraste looked upon her like her own.

"Never ask what you do not truly wish for," Her tone neither scorned nor cared. It was a simple fact, a statement upon life itself. One should not demand for things they were not ready to handle.

Now her golden gaze turned slightly, drifted to the form of a magpie that seemed bold enough to taunt.

"Did you mean to only play with them?"

Her mind reeled at the thought and yet she kept herself composed outwardly. Perhaps it should not be her place to judge, but that did not stop her from silently doing so.

The words were cryptic, and in a way that had Rye squinting, trying to decipher if there was any meaning to them. What did she even wish for anyway? Usually food, but poking others buttons was fun too.

"Yea I think I'm gettin' that," she mumbled under her breath, tail flicking irritably where it lay upon the ground.

And to make matters worse the woman seemed to belittle her actions. Her composed nature was enough to keep Rye from exploding, though she could feel the fire-y feeling rising inside her.

She scowled again. "You sound like you've never had fun even once in your life." Her reaction was to jab back intentionally as the conversation was feeling a little one-sided.

Her gaze returned, studied the build and state of the woman.

They both wore various scars, some more severe than others, they both carried a mass befitting whatever power they wished for.

Yet Andraste could only see her daughter in the image of this young woman. Inexperienced and yet feeling that they knew it all. If she was to be proved wrong, she hoped she was proven wrong grandly. Instead she only merely maintained and spoke onward.

"Fun does not feed or shelter me. Fun does not give me my power."

A slightly tilt of her chin upward and a gentleness in her gaze for but a moment. Was this one like a daughter too? Born with the fire of a mother who had ruled and wished for it again? Who would topple whole kingdoms for a seat upon a throne?

"What does your fun do for you?"