Dead Empress Backwater you can hold me like he held her

For @Rosemary
Late morning, overcast, 12F/-11C

if karma's real, hope it's your turn

There was just a single day left in the blonde child’s punishment and it truly felt like time had completely frozen. It was late morning but Hera could have sworn that this day was as long as a full moon already. She was bored of being locked up in the pack territory, and even her sparring lessons with Torianna couldn’t truly resolve the restlessness that she felt. It wasn’t even like she enjoyed exploring and scouting - she just really hated being told that she wasn’t allowed to.

So, it was safe to say that her mood today was sour. The territory suddenly was stifling, the sound of the creek burbling grating on her ears, the broken logs that she had once loved playing on just a few months ago seemed like they were for babies. The only saving grace was that she was getting off of being grounded and her sister Kalysta would still be locked down and that did soothe her nerves a little.

She gnawed her teeth against the antler she had fished out of the cache, just hoping for something - anything - that would make her feel just a little bit better. She wanted a punching bag.

There were many other pups in the Backwater that Rosemary had yet to be brave enough to approach. The pack had grown a lot bigger since she'd joined up with her sad little rabbit offering several weeks ago, and Rose had been avoidant at best, too overwhelmed by the idea of meeting multiple wolves at once to really talk much to anyone. For the most part, she'd been polite in passing, but had mainly kept to herself.

It wasn't that she thought they'd be mean, exactly, but for a kid who had been raised mostly alone for the first several, formative months of her life, approaching strangers was frightening to say the least.

But the cowardice ended today, she decided! Atlas had sisters, and she knew they were bound to the territory right now, and probably very bored, and maybe she could help with that. Atlas had been nice, after all, so why should the other two be any different?

It was that thought that gave her the confidence necessary to approach Hera that day, still a little cautious, but body language undeniably friendly as she came up to the other girl. Her tail wagged hesitantly at her haunches, and she stopped a few feet away. She had a treat, after all, and Rose didn't want to seem like she was trying to take it away.

"Hi," she said simply, and her voice only wobbled a tiny bit. And, since it was polite to introduce yourself, she added, "I'm Rosemary - what's your name?"

if karma's real, hope it's your turn

The Valle girl heard the approach of pawsteps but didn’t bother looking up from her antler at first. She expected whoever it was to grab something from the cache and continue on their merry way and she could continue moping about. Instead the paws stilled and Hera glanced up dismissively towards the girl who stood there before her and then returned to her chewing.

Nose wrinkled slightly at the hi, and then a full sigh escaped her at the introduction, dropping the antler clatteringly to the ground. Furrowing her brow in disbelief she drawled, ”I’m Hera.” Was Rosemary some kind of idiot? Who doesn’t know the name of the leader’s children? As far as she knew that was supposed to be some kind of big deal or something. Eyeing the scrawny girl over judgingly she asked, ”Can I help you?” Maybe she needed directions or something and then would leave her alone. Then again…

Pushing herself upwards, the demeanor changed to be slightly more neutral, ”Are you staying with us like, forever?” That could change things, swing the pendulum further in the way of girl cubs, which would help her with her quest of fulfilling Torianna’s request. Though Rosemary didn’t look like she could much hold her own if it came to a fight.