that's not cheating if I wasn't with your ass

^^

for @m'jakuna <3

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In the new world, Vixen had found an abandoned den to squirrel away @Yaara for when the maiden would need to venture out and scope their new lands. It was unlikely that they would remain here, for Vixen didn't fancy the loner life for long. She had a thirst for safety, for a home, for the attention of someone who would seek her (and by assocation, Yaara's) safety and lavish her with the attention she so deserved. Vixen had left one Kingdom in the desire of another, one better, with excitement and a refreshing touch.

The King was unlikely to be able to extend a search party here, given the way that mother and daughter hadn't any control of arriving here in the first place. Excitement thrummed in her veins and she knew she would do what she must to secure a future for herself (she reminded herself that she was no longer for Vixen only, that being a mother meant she must look out for Yaara's future, too), she knew who she was and what she was capable of; it only made her wonder what was here.

Who was here.

Vixen stood amongst the shallow water, the sparkling pond glistening against the setting sun. She let it warm her delicate features as she felt the blossom of excitement touch against her again and she knew soon she would need to return to her daughter. It was an adjustment, having to look out for more than herself. One she was likely to fail with as she learned, trying to grow whilst being who she was, too... but she supposed it was just another adventure she would conquer.

There was a scent nearby that told her this place wasnt particularly void of other wolves, scents that were strong but not yet strong enough to confirm a claim. The maiden ensured she didnt get too close but she wasn't particularly far either; sometimes you have to play with some danger to get results. ^^

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He'd never been the sort to branch claim far from the specific confines that he resided within, thinking unofficial claim was unbecoming gluttony for any pack, let alone its leader to think fine to propose... but there was a small stretch near the border that he took attention to, littered with long grass and kissed with a pond he often drank from if he sought to stray from the lake longer than initially intended. Every so often, he'd see prey that nursed the waters, growing reassured day by day by the otherwise calm and unsuspecting behavior of the wolves that now had claim here—M'Jakuna didn't hunt for the sport, he didn't attempt to, either, rarely hunting the larger prey, as well, when larger hares and fatter creatures coming through would be just fine.

So, expecting deer or elk, he'd be surprised to find a wildfire wolf situated pondside.

He quirked a brow and made to move forward, tail swaying behind him like a flag. "Hello there," he said. "Are you alright over there?"

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^^

She supposed it was only a matter of time before one of them came to her, given the way there was a tentative claim -- not an official but certainly an intent and she was near whatever attempts at a border they held. Vixen glanced over her shoulder to see a man decorated in blacks, browns and touches of tan approaching her. Far larger than she, that she could tell from even here (but then who wasn't, she mused) and a question on his tongue. She smiled softly, warmly, as she observed him for but a moment to try and figure out what she would need to be here to ensure that this didn't go badly for her.

Vixen arched round in a curve to half face him, tucking her tail neatly against her flank as she stood with a touch of nerves. "Oh, forgive me," the maiden hummed, "I am quite alright," Vixen confirmed easily, her voice soft as she tilted her head. "I find myself in complete awe in the beauty here, my daughter and I have arrived not too long ago and it is... quite strange," she tittered, the shallow water lapping at her ankles. Perhaps mentioning the child would prove to work in her favour, if he was a family man. If he was not, she had taken a risk.

Risks were part of the game, she knew, but it was less with how she had left Yaara squirreled away in the den. "Strange but beautiful, I think. Have you seen anything that compares?" Vixen inquired as she ducked her chin, the setting sun glistening against the shallow pond and casting her back in it's warm glow. She could smell the few scents he carried with him on his pelt but she couldn't spy them at his flank or the distance. For the moment, she had a chance at controlling how the interaction would go.

^^

the staff team luvs u

With no claim to this land, he proceeded without the air of any particular goal of spurring her away immediately, curiosity solely guiding his movements to the opposite side of the pond, looking in on her with the slightest tilt of his head. M'Jakuna listened intently for a moment, he flicked an ear. He wondered if by arrive she meant manifested on these lands from nothing as he did or if some wandering brought her... The mention of a daughter sparked a bit of concern, never one to doubt a mother's tenacity but aware of the toll it took to rear a child all on one's own—he felt lucky that Meresankh and his mother had been here with him when he found Ozai or else he didn't doubt that he'd be wrung out from feeding himself and a growing child.

"Back in my homeland," he said to her, settling down on his haunches. A display meant to reassure her of his non-threatening presence, small as she was—so shockingly, shockingly small—he wished to not bring any unnecessary concern. "The valley I lived alongside, it certainly compared—but a memory now, I suppose, though... little else here stands to beat it." M'Jakuna shifted his broad shoulders some, voice rough with the sleep he abandoned. "You mentioned a daughter, are you traveling with another wolf or do you claim a pack?" He made sure his tone lacked any judgment, a bit of worry threading it fine.

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^^

He came to stand across the slip of water, not at all carrying the form of a man intent to intimidate. It was an interesting development but not an unwelcome one, it made her job easier. Still did she keep up the way she seemed bashful and nervous all at once, knowing that even if he now posed himself as a non-threat, things could change. Vixen's silver tongue was known to get her far but when one harboured a beast within their chest, even the most skilled charm would stance no chance against the onslaught of violence. 

The man told her of a time he had seen something that could compare, seating himself down and she shifted in the shallow water as she retreated until her paws were on dry land. For a moment, she thought of a valley of her past, too, and she was quick to shoo it away. It wasn't needed here. "I am sorry for your loss," the maiden murmured, tilting her pale gaze to his dark brown depths. To lose a home was something that she knew hit deep for some rooted wolves and well, there was a large possibility that he missed it so. Even if he did have a beautiful place to start marking as his own.

Vixen would tuck her chin only slightly as he asked after status, finding that he fell into a snare that she had set. "We travel alone," Vixen revealed softly as she would lower her own rump to the ground. "We... we were quick to leave our home," she wouldn't elaborate but she wouldn't be sorry for what her words might imply to the broad-shouldered man. Perhaps his heart was soft to the idea of possible fear from a young mother and child. "Arriving here hadn't been intentional, I assure you," the delicate woman would be quick to cover their steps, cuffing her ears down as she offered him a light smile; one riddled with nerves.

"I seek only to give my daughter safety, sir," her voice was laden with some type of young sorrow as she coiled her short tail around her haunches. "Whatever these lands might hold, I desire only to shield her from it. As a mother should," sometimes, she knew she wasn't a good mother. A good mother didn't use their child as a way to manipulate a situation yet she was unable to stop; her habits too strong. It wasn't to say she didn't truly care for her girl, because she did -- it was simply... in a way not so common and entirely her own. Vixen was as self-serving as they come and it was quite the adjustment to find that an entire being relied on her for survival.

The decision to drag Yaara along with her when she had fled from the Kingdom wasn't one she had made with the knowledge of why but only that she had. Still did she desire power in any form that it might come, she desired luxury, comfort and favouritism once more yet this time, she also desired to secure something strong for Yaara, too.

It was all very strange to acknowledge. ^^

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