Glittering foresty eyes were alight with her inner fire. She jumped and leapt around, rolled in the grass, and darted through the reeds. In no time at all she was covered in the mud and muck of her home. It was glorious. Her pink tongue rolled from her mouth as she took a moment to pause and catch her breath. The drying cattails around her swayed gently in a breeze, offering a soft rattling sound that was strangely calming to a wild soul. Tilting her head, she wondered if the reeds would make a comfortable flooring to her newly claimed den, or if they would just get in the way and be annoying. Still unsure, she leapt forward and began pulling at one, trying to disengage it from the ground to attempt the decorating of her home.

His voice broke through the rattling reeds. In an instant her attention snapped to the newcomer. All foolishness she had displayed vanished in that flash. For an instant she was the ferocity Aithne and Maverick had encouraged in her. The Elite Guard turned Alphess, stared Curiass down with an efficient and calculating intensity that made it clear no feature was left unchecked. As soon as she recognized him as a new member of the pack, having spoken with her very briefly, she relaxed, smiled, and gave him a friendly wag of her tail.

He had been open with her from the beginning. With facts that had been sensitive in nature no less. She could not help but appreciate and admire him for being forthcoming. It wasn’t his eating habits that were most concerning to her, she felt they could discuss them openly now. No, what concerned Pine most was that he had come into Iromar under the reign of Aranck, and she was uncertain of where his loyalties were placed. Many of the wolves who had been in, or come to, Iromar under Aranck had made their intentions clear to her, or had been pledged to others within Pine’s circle. Cuirass was the anomaly. She looked over him now, figuring she would have to earn his trust just as much as he would have to earn her’s. With a grin and a wag of her tail, she accepted this silent challenge and approached him cheerfully.

Not at all! Just...rolling around. Her smile spread wide across her face and she mirrored his posture, sitting pleasantly in front of him. Only differences were that she was tiny in comparison to him, and her tail never stopped tapping the grass. Cuirass, right? What can I do for you today? Her face still friendly and open, she did not hide anything from her pack, but her eyes continued to flick over him to take in everything. Trained by soldiers and warriors before she could even truly walk, her instinct to forever be on guard was equally as powerful as her bone deep personality that drove her to play.