Bad girls do it well

 What in all that was holy was Cirilla doing? She rushed out in front and started trying to appeal to their better natures --Gyrfalcon was convinced they had none-- and then she was spinning. By themselves or with other Shiroshikans this might have been endearing but here and now? While they had threats and insults on their home turf? It only served to irritate Gyrfalcon, the princess as well, it seemed. At least they were on the same page here. Hotaru was quick to try to rebuke the wayward pup while Gyrfalcon's eyes slipped to the tiger and wolf to make sure they didn't make any moves. As it would seem, the tiger was mollified. Such a thing shocked Gyrfalcon to the core. Maybe she had appealed to their better natures... but then there was the wolf. Gyrfalcon couldn't see anything that would be concerning but who's to say that there wasn't? She figured she would have lost her mind if either of them had made fun of Cirilla.

 Her kind words still went ignored however, and it was the other wolf that was finally able to break through to them. She spoke sense and smoked the beehive of agitation that was this meeting. It seemed to smooth everything out and it ended their meeting without bloodshed. Still, Gyrfalcon would watch the red wolf as she kicked the rabbit that she'd dug up and walk away with her pet tiger. The woman would narrow her eyes at them as as they walked away, glaring at their backs as they went. Under her breath she would mutter, "Fucking bitch." As she turned to look at her companion. The tiger she might be able to forgive because different species and different customs but that she-wolf? No. Absolutely not. She'd done it on purpose and Cirilla couldn't see that. She'd made a fool of herself and that bitch was probably laughing about it! Or probably would laugh about it. They probably looked like jokes and it pissed her off.

 Gyrfalcon felt a growl bubbling up in her throat and there was nothing she could do about it. Her ears were pinned as she glared out into space. FUCK! She was useless! If they had attacked she wouldn't have been anything but a FUCKING MEATSHIELD! Everyone knew it! Especially that rat-faced fucking BITCH!

 "The fucking NERVE She knew exactly what she was doing!" Gyrfalcon fumed as she tossed her head in agitation and began pacing back and forth in the snow. "Who are they? They've been here before? Doing what and why?!" She was so angry she wasn't thinking straight and just spouted off the questions to Hotaru, who had seemed to be aware of them before today. Fucking tact be DAMNED!

 So much for a fabulous vacation. Now it all felt like it had been WORTHLESS!

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Cirilla-san, stop.

There it was again; the name or nickname that she’d heard Reiko use, though she didn’t know what it meant. Cirilla-san. It sounded like a calling of endearment; like something someone close to her would say to calm her down, or something, but she was the only one who’s nerves weren’t wound tight.

Cirilla stopped alright, but her attention was now on the princess. “With all due respect, Hotaru… No.” Cirilla barked, brows arched. “You’re all makin’ this worse by being so… well, so mean! They did bad. You’re upset. Cool, I get it; doesn’t mean they deserved your mean words! You threatened them, and that striped fellow could have killed us all. What type of heir puts the lives of her comrades in danger?” Cirilla huffed, probably out of line, but someone needed to say it. Hotaru could have gotten them all hurt, or worse! “If this is what the future for Shiroshika looks like, with you as the heir, I want no part of it. W-which really sucks, because I.. I really loved it here.. ”

Her eyes welled with tears and her curled tail deflated, staring at all of them with a defeated whimper as she turned and ran off.

exit cirilla

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Whatever gods were out there she better start praying to. Both would leave with little fight, even if they sought to sting her with their words. Her crown did not fit, that much had been clear since day one. It belonged to her brother, and even then both were too young. A role they were supposed to grow into, one she thought she might have finally started to find her footing in, but today would just prove how wrong she was.

Hotaru tried not to let it show, her eyes trailing them as they turned with stares before leaving. It was only once they had become blobs on the horizon that she let out a shaky breath, the emotions she had been holding back crashing down in waves. She dared not move, afraid of the weight of it all as those around her soon found their voices too. Gyrfalcon was the first she picked out, her rage evident as questions were quickly flung her way.

“I-I haven't met them. My— mother has. The tiger stole food. The woman... defaced our borders.” She found herself staring blankly, gaze fixed on nothing in particular though aimed below the stares of her peers. Frankly, she wasn't sure how she had gotten through the encounter without wavering, but now she struggled for simple answers. There was a slight shake to her body she prayed none of them could see. Prayed that they too wouldn't see the slip in her mask.

And then Cirilla spoke.

The denial was what had snapped her gaze up. She was upset, that she could understand, but the rest she never expected from such a bubbly woman. Little did she know, whatever intention she had behind her words had only turned to daggers as Hotaru's thoughts and fears came to life. Something had gone numb, the pounding of her still rapid heart spread through her body and blurred her vision. Each stab brought a sting to her eyes, though remarkably they somehow still remained dry. “I-I—”

"If this is what the future for Shiroshika looks like, with you as the heir, I want no part of it."

She had no words. Nothing that would fix this, nothing that would excuse it, she had nothing. Hotaru only stared, mouth agape almost as if she had been frozen by time. Cirilla would run off, and once more that wave would crash. “C-Cirilla—” It was all crumbling down around her. First her mother, then their borders, now even their members. It felt hard to breathe, then again had she been breathing from the start? She needed to stop her, she knew that though the moment she moved whatever walls she had came crashing down from the flood.

She only made it a step, maybe two on shaky legs before her body betrayed her. The tunnel vision she hadn't truly acknowledged swarmed her sights as pale legs crumpled beneath her. Hotaru sucked another breath in though it felt trapped, her throat denying the air her lungs desperately sought. Her only saving grace would be that she had lost consciousness before her body hit the ground.

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She'll be fine just stress anxiety attack thing she'll only be out for a few hours max so do whatever with her. Obviously, she is now skippable if this thread continues. I didn't proofread this so lmk if something needs clarity afdsfsd

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The mood around the ladies was all very different from one another. Every one of them dealing with the high-stress situation in their own way… Sachiko remained quiet, mulling it over, trying to keep herself from going completely mental by breaking down and melting into a puddle of babbling goo. Watching the two strangers finally walk away was enough to almost make her dizzy after all that weight was lifted, a large sigh flooding her veins with the oxygen they felt so starved of.
 
The three-legged woman took the words straight out of her mouth. Though she wouldn’t vocalize it herself, Sachiko was definitely feeling the same way her lips straightened out and offered a nod in approval to that outburst. Her questions however were for Hotaru to answer, she was ready to cast a glance to the Princess for her to take the stage, shakily sharing a small tale of the troubles the female had already brought to their borders before… what a cowardly woman, doing all these just because she had such a large and imposing body guard to protect her.
 
What happened next brought a frown to her lips. The girl was bright and bubbly, but as far as Sachiko was concerned… none too bright either. Gritting her teeth, she wanted to speak up against the girl who pointed fingers at Hotaru for being irresponsible. Wanting to tell her that her little stunt was not very helpful either by making a fool of them all, that they would just roll over to anyone who posed as a threat on their borders by speaking love and peace without thinking of what problems it would bring later on.

Her desire to keep things peaceful was admirable… but this outburst, well, was unacceptable. Before Sachiko could say anything, however, the girl ran off.
 
Not long after it was Hotaru’s turn to fall! “Hotaru!” The sound of her body hitting the snow was alarming, and Sachiko immediately went over to look the girl over… checking for signs, a heart, a breath - it all came down to stress. Overbearing and crushing, the princess must have just not been able to handle it anymore… Until Hotaru was ready, Sachiko would just remain at her side, glancing over to the three-legged woman. “I… I don’t know what to do. Cirilla was her name? She… really shouldn’t be alone out there right now.” Not after what had happened to the Empress. “It’s dangerous.”

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 Ah-ha! So she did know exactly what she was doing! Gyrfalcon was right! And damn it felt good to be vindicated. It still didn't improve her mood though, and it especially didn't when Cirilla decided to gain a burst of courage and spout off at Hotaru. The princess, who was doing her best with two assholes who thought they owned the place. Gyrfalcon turned her head sharply, glaring at Cirilla as she couldn't believe the verbal tongue-lashing that the bubbly canine gave. It was shocking, to say the least. "Cirilla! That's out of line" She had no right to talk to the princess that way! Hotaru was doing her best and had done better than she would have done, for damn sure.

 But then, she was staring at Cirilla's back as the woman ran away into the snow and ice. She barked, trying to stop her but it was too late. Was she mad?! Vera could still be out there! The tiger and wolf could still be out there! "Are you fucking insane!" She yelled but knew her voice would not carry at the wolf who was already gone. This was ridiculous! She was livid with her girlfriend! Was she still her girlfriend? Or was that all null and void with all this shit going on?

 The worst was still yet to come.

 She heard the sounds of distress behind her and looked... to see Hotaru on the ground. Great! The stress of all this was too much! Angry and annoyed at everything, she walked over to their side and placed herself on Hotaru's other side. Cirilla was a problem, they needed to go after her, but Hotaru was also a problem as she was in charge right now since Reiko was down. God, this was all giving her such a fucking headache.

 She had to think. She was the oldest here, she had to be calm... ish. About this.

 "Okay... okay," She took a streaming breath in and let a breath out. "I can't go after Cirilla, I'm dead if I try." It made her angry even just saying that. Why couldn't she just fucking stay HERE?! DIDN'T SHE KNOW IT WAS TOO DA-- Okay, calm, calm down. Another breath and she continued, "We should try to get Hotaru back to camp. We can get on either side and walk her back. She's very, very important and it's not safe with Vera around. Once we get back, we can send Tiberius or someone else after Cirilla. Alright?" There were a few choice words she could say about Cirilla right now but she kept them in for the yearling's sake. That was a sensible plan, right? She'd never really been the one to make plans. there were always other more sensible wolves around to do that... it felt weird now.

 God she hoped Cirilla would be okay out there.

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[sfont=Abhaya Libre]^^

Gyrfalcon was not wrong in her outburst against her companion - although her words were lost as the curly-tailed woman was already running off into the wilderness away from Tsukiishi. It was a frustrating time, to be toyed with by strangers upon their own lands and having very little to use against them other than some words and luck on their side that they did eventually wander away without anyone being injured.

The three-legged woman wasn't wrong in her assessment of not being able to chase after Cirilla either. It was hard to avoid looking at the reason why, and not wanting to pour water on this already blazing oil fire - she chose to remain silent on the matter as well. She must be so frustrated as well over all this. “”

“If... You can help stable her, I can try carrying her on my back?” Sachiko wasn't the strongest girl out there, and she would certainly be sore after this but it was worth a shot. It would be worth just taking it slow and easy to get Hotaru somewhere safer, more comfortable than out here in the elements as well. Maybe Tiberius or someone stronger would meet them along the way too and take the Princess from her back. “Either Tiberius or someone she is close to.” She'd say with a nod before trying to worm her way under her childhood friend's arm, seeing if she could push through her dead weight and just sling Hotaru over her back.

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 Brilliant! That would work perfectly. Gyrfalcon nodded her head, eyeing the comatose yearling. It was a good thing she was so tiny, else this might not work at all. She could be useful enough to help keep the princess stable and make sure that they didn't run into anymore problems.

 Sachiko began to ease her way under Hotaru and Gyrfalcon would give aid by helping to wiggle the princess onto Sachiko's back. Easy did it and soon they were ready to go. Just for good measure, Gyrfalcon's voice would lift in a howl to try to alert someone to their whereabouts and where they were going. Maybe one of the stronger wolves of the pack would hear and they would be given aid. That done, she would keep pace alongside Sachiko so that they could hopefully get back without any incidents.

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end thread here?

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