She had never really thought about running a pack herself before she had come to Blossom Forest, but after Dante had left the Bright Moon wolves alone, she had considered it. After all, if she ran her own pack she would not be turned out just because of the loss of a leader. And as an Alpha, she would be able to protect the loners, the vargs different from the majority. Those who were lost as she had been would have a place to call home, where they were celebrated for their individuality. That was why she had claimed Andere Seite, a dead land, or so it seemed. It was a place where the surface could never fully show the truth of its substance. And she ran there now to find safety - both of her body and her heart. Cynbel had been the only wolf to ever hurt her heart - many had injured her flesh, especially when they had learned of her disabilities. Or after she had not provided them with the results that they wanted.

She could hear him running, but the sound grew fainted as she bolted away from the lake, but suddenly he was in front of her, his sides frantically moving in and out as he gulped down breath after breath. Nimueh’s shades fell to half-mast as she glared at him, her tail flickering from side to side to show her irritation as she dug her paws in and put all of her weight onto her haunches in order to halt her forward motions. The wind sweeping over the lake’s surface pulled at her hairs, whipping them to and fro, but her eyes were unblinking. For even in the blink of an eye she knew that Cynbel could decide upon terrifying actions. Her stare was returned in kind, but her hackles raised as a growl grew in his chest. Though she managed to hide her exhaustion well, her lungs were screaming for air just as his were now… only he would be able to recuperate swifter than she could. Nimueh was fast.. But only over short distances. She stood no chance against him if he chose to attack her - despite his current claims - and if he chose to chase after her he would eventually catch her.

‘Nimueh! Wait. First of all, you've no right to tell me to leave. This place, this is not your land. This is free for all wolves, as I can scent many who've wandered about here.’

Her peripherals noted that his dominant tail, curled over his dorsum like an Alpha on a rampage was slowly unfurling, its weight carrying it closer and closer to the ground. He was relaxing - perhaps because of his cockiness. Perhaps he was trying to lull her into a false sense of security - after all, they used to be best friends… why could they not be once again? Nimueh shook her head - and these betraying thoughts - from her mind as he continued his monologue. Instead, she focused on formulating a plan - something to get her out of his presence and into the sanctity of her own land as swiftly as possible. After all, he was right about one thing - here, she had no say. In anything.

‘I may be an ass. That may be what you think of me. I was once your king. That is no longer, but that night was out of rags. Mourning. I sound like a broken record, but I've not a care in the world for that. Your words, they sting. But they do not kill me. What are you doing now? Traveling? Or maybe you're flirting? You always had the tendency.’

Nimueh snorted and sat - he apparently had no plan of attacking her, or else he would have already. She wrapped her plume protectively around her paws and allowed her body to relax in the hopes that it would recuperate faster this way than it would if she continued to be on edge; tense. “I always had the tendency? Oh, my, Cynbel, do not dare judge me and my actions when you have your own to answer for. I travelled so often when I was younger for two-fold reasons. The first was because no one accepted me, and if I let any know of where my truest of dens was they were storm it and try to murder me in the night. The second reason I travelled so often was on your command, if you do remember. Always asking me for advice on this or that, but what type of advisor would I have been if I had been ill-informed myself? You sent me to get information, to make alliances… and you never seemed to have an issue with my travelling or my flirting then. Or perhaps you are jealous now? Holding on the distant memory of something that never was since you have lost everything real in your life? Perhaps you finally understand how I once felt.” She sneered at him and tilted her head, his words piercing her audettes once again.

‘There are things back then of what I didn't tell you. What I didn't trust with anyone but myself. Ygraine didn't even know half of me. I haven't forgotten the love that was torn away from me. The love I had for her. But it is gone now, as she is gone too.’

Cynbel stepped toward her and Nimueh rose her haunches and growled, her paws quickly dancing so that the distance between them did not get shortened. If he wanted to converse with her in a meaningless way so be it, but he would not be allowed near to her ever again, in any sense of the word.

‘Tell me one thing, dear. Why keep running? You just ran from me. I don't want distance between us. You, obviously, do.’

Nimueh took another step backward, her eyes darting toward the trees. She knew the woods, the paths, the trails… she could lose him in there even if she had to go at a slower pace. The glance lasted but a moment, before she returned her gaze to Cynbel. “I will tell you nothing of the sort, and I am not your ‘dear’, not am a ‘deer’ for you to prey upon. I run from you because you were a threat to my life and I am too wise to so easily trust you again just because of the thick viscous words that drip from your maw. They are poisonous, so far as I know, and all I can trust now is the actions you used against me. I do want distance between us, for there has been distance between us for over a year now and I prefer it that way. I am safer far from you, I am happier far from you, and I aim to be far from you. That is all there is to it.” Nimueh darted to the left, away from the shore, away from Cynbel, and towards the woods that littered the sand. She would end up risking running close to… or perhaps over.. The border of Aurora Borealis, but she would rather incur their wrath than be caught by Cynbel.