[ P ] Call me an angel

you're in the dark
just you and anger

your oldest friend
your closest lover

Settling into pack life as anything but its future leader had been... a challenge, to say the least. Nylah had been raised from the beginning to give orders, to see others bend to her will, to have the respect of others. But there was none of that here. Here, she was an outsider, a nobody, nothing. Kieran certainly offered no help, on his own mission to avoid her as much as possible. Speaking of which, it had been a few hours since she had last see him, she figured she had a few more before she saw him again.

When her husbandly wasn't periodically dropping in on her, she was craving her name into this packs history. She may have arrived with no ones respect, but she was making sure no one had any other choice but to respect her. Nylah worked hard, putting her nose to the grindstone - she would get what she wanted.

Today was no different.

The summer air was hot, stiflingly so. Fall wasn't far off, but it couldn't get here fast enough. Dark jaws parted in a pant as she sat beside the river, paws submerged in the cool waters. She had stopped for a drink, the remnants of the evidence dripping from her lips. Just a few minutes is all she would allot herself, in the meantime though, she would enjoy the cool sand of the riverbank beneath her.

"speech"

code // art

This crown of his was getting awfully heavy.

Ruarc escaped, needing some time alone for the first time in what felt like months. With two young children gallivanting about and a wife that couldn't stand to look at him, let alone allow him to touch her again, frustration welled to the surface and he knew he needed to leave before he exploded - or imploded - entirely. This was accomplished by taking off for a venture down the river, though he construed it as he was simply going to mark the packs territory borders once again.

No one dared to question him.

And for what it was worth, he did mark along as he went. The only way they would stay defensive and strong was to maintain their area, even if he hadn't come across any real kind of threat yet. There was the odd chipmunk that thought it was bigger than him, but it was easy enough to squash the notion - sometimes literally, sometimes by a spontaneous mouthful of rodent. Either way, it got the point across, and he had half a mind to spit its skeleton out as a warning to other pesky critters as well. But then he had to remind himself that they did provide food to his land, and so... well, he couldn't go around chipmunk hunting, is what he had to remind himself.

He had been gone for a few hours, staying true to the zig and zagging pattern of the river when he picked up the scent of one of the newer pack members - his brothers wife, and by that his sister in law. Mild curiosity drew him closer, watching as she took her fill in refreshment from the waters. He didn't hide himself, instead making himself more than known by purposefully stepping on dry twigs and ensuring his form was obviously seen from his direction.

Coming up near her - but not too close - he too lowered his muzzle to the water and lapped it up. It was only after he was satisfied that he stood back to his full height, glancing over at her with a relatively reserved expression.

"Adjusting well enough?" he questioned, uncaring if she wanted to be alone or didn't want to speak to him. He'd make it perfectly clear, if he had to, that his presence would be acknowledged. If she wanted to climb his ranks, she would be smart to befriend him.

you're in the dark
just you and anger

your oldest friend
your closest lover

Behind her, twigs snapped. Ears swiveled back to capture the noise before she looked over her shoulder, not rising to her paws just yet. She was met with the visage of Ruarc. Her brother in law. Her Ceannaire. The idea of bowing to a man made her stomach churn. He reminded her a lot of her family, unfortunately for him. A King on his throne with the world at his finger tips and his subjects bending to his every whim.

Beside her, he drank from the river before rising to his full height, turning his sights on her. Nylah didn't shrink away from him in fear, she regarded him cooly, faintly tipping her head in silent greeting. She might be the newcomer, an outsider, but Nylah is no commoner, she's not a lowly maid being held hostage against her will. Even stripped of her crown and throne, Nylah has never abandoned the regality in which she holds herself.

Adjusting well enough? "I am." She answered. "I haven't thanked you for letting me stay here." Despite that chaos and destruction that swirls in her soul, Nylah has always been capable of playing her part. Wearing two faces is what she does better. "Thank you." She doesn't waste her breath on anymore pleasantries, partly because she is not interested and partly because she thinks manners are lost on Ruarc.

"speech"

code // art