Welcome to Gaia! ::

As the shadowy grey female took a long drink from the river, she considered her next course of action. By the scent of it, she was either right at the border of Antianeira or already trespassing in it. Not that she was particularly bothered by this. No. She was right where she wanted to be. In fact, she even had a safe passage of sorts, if the question arose, though she had little doubt that she would have been able to enter their territory even without outside interference.

But that was not her main concern.

No. Right now, she was wondering where to begin her research. Who first should she approach? A warrior? One of these slaves who she had heard loved their lot in life? Hmm... perhaps it would be best to review her options before planning her strategy. After all, information learned from one source could be used to throw off another, make them unbalanced and reveal more than they had intended. In a pack such as this, she had little doubt that the extra help could prove useful.

She lifted her head, licking her maw clean, and continued up the river.

The female did not get very far, however, before her nose told her a fresh scent was near and her eyes caught a strange combination of colors.

Oh? Perhaps her decision had just been taken from her. Who was it that fate had thrown in her path?

Ooh. The grumpy one. She thought he had smelled familiar. Senka grinned at his less than friendly greeting, not at all put off.

"Good day to you, too," she replied. "Why yes, I am quite well, how kind of you to ask. It is sweet of you to remember me. Always nice to make an impression."

Somehow, Senka had a feeling that this male would be the most fun she had at teasing anyone since Kamiya all those moons ago. Ah, such sweet memories. At least her first experience in the territory would be an entertaining one. Of course, the journey here had been eventful as well. Such fun! How the gods of fire blessed her these days.

Oh-ho, be bit. Or at least, he tried to. Not what one would expect from a slave. Then again, perhaps it was. Senka knew she would not be happy in his position.

'My dear boy," she drawled. "I do believe you are under the wrong impression. Your brother is sweet, but I would hardly consider him suitable for a proper romance." She paused and considered him. "Though if you were trying to insult me, I can assure you: I find you equally unattractive."

Really, he was such a prickly male. She was sure to get a good laugh.

"As to why I am here, it is really quite simple," she continued as though nothing untoward had just occurred. "I am a storyteller, you see. So, as the title suggests, I am here to both collect and tell stories."

She eyed him doubtfully. "Surely even someone like you has something interesting to say."

Was it wise to antagonize him so? Probably not. Did she particularly care? Definitely not. Still, it might benefit her to be at least a little less blatant about it all. Then again, given their meeting so far, it would probably not make any real difference. Besides, what difference would one antagonistic relationship in this pack make, when there were so many others to make nice with? Especially since she felt that, regardless of the level of friendliness they had toward one another, neither one of them was hiding behind the masks that they showed to the world. It was...oddly refreshing. A mutual, genuine antagonism, somehow tempered with honesty.

Senka laughed aloud at the thought, then shook out her fur and looked at the male again.

"Just a thought," she said before he could begin to question her sanity too thoroughly. "Ah, my stories. I collect all kinds. War, romance, tragedy, things to make you laugh or cry or give you nightmares. It does not matter, so long as it is worth telling, and I find that most stories are. Do you have a story, Chimera?"

A slow smile spread across her maw.

"Of course you do." She had little doubt that this quarrelsome male had all kinds of interesting ways around the rules. If it were so, she was most curious to learn about them. Or rather, just what he did with them. A slave who is not quite so obedient as he ought to be? Quite interesting. Perhaps they were more alike than she had given him credit for.

"Wouldn't want you to get caught," she said as she followed him.

What manner of tale would he tell? Something about the pack, perhaps? Some sordid little story? Something from his own past? Well, she would soon find out.

Aha. Here it was. Placed right in front of her, there was a fount of information, hers for the taking. How delicious. What would he tell her first? All of it would surely give her insight into this strange pack. The bit about the queen was the most tempting, certainly, but would that story be easier to acquire from anyone? Could she convince the consort to tell her himself?

And what of the cruel aunt? She did not yet know if such a thing would make a fine tale, but it would certainly give her a closer look at the daily lives of these warrior females and their slaves.

"Oh? The queen's consort sounds like quite a unique male, and your aunt sounds rather vicious." She would let him decide.

My, but that female sounded unpleasant. Were they all like that? No. He had said his mother was different. And that other female. The one with the lover. So. which was more common? Did the pack condone such behavior as this Varia exhibited?

"She does sound like a nasty bit of work," Senka agreed. Of course, the fact that she meant it did not mean that she was not fishing for more information.

"Yet the pack lets her get away with it. Are all of the warriors like that?"

Better to know what she was getting herself into, if such a dangerous female resided there. Senka might be confident in her abilities, but she was no fool. These wolves have seen much active combat, while she had been idle in that department for months already. Doubtless, the storyteller was out of practice. She really ought to fix that. Even her silver tongue surely had its limits...though she had yet to find them. Well, there was Kaeerah, but that was different.

She shook the thoughts away and returned her focus to Chimera.