Blowin' in the wind [Brushfire, Nava]

[Akante]

Nava said:

The wind blew softly.

This was, however, no peaceful breeze or wind of change. This air was dead, it carried the aroma of corpses and anger, it was a damp wind and it hung as heavy as it was soft. Soft like fur decaying beneath the weight of a swollen body.

But Nava's mind didn't create this imagery. She was used to the stench, it was normal. Instead she was concerned about one thing. There was something in the air that smelled familiar when it shouldn't have. It smelled like another female. It smelled like what was on Talon's coat the night he had rushed into their home and hid their children. She didn't know it, but it was Brushfire.

Curiosity got the better of her. Even as a slave, she'd always been a daring one, she'd always broken rules. In her mind, she still only answered to an authority much higher than Rapier. She only hid to stay alive. But here...here was something she had to know. Who was this female? And why did Talon smell of her? Nava had always been a scout and spy, it was her born purpose. Every lithe muscle in her leggy frame was meant to track and avoid being tracked, and so it was simple enough to follow the smell.

A single orange hair betrayed Ru early, and Nava looked past the bushes it rested in. There was the source of the scent. The source of the mystery. Something in Nava growled. Pinning back her ears, she peered around the bush again, cautiously.

What did this wolf want with her family?

[Akante]

Brushfire said:

Thoughts were running around in her head when she first saw her. Normally she would turn around and just leave her alone. She wasn't sure though, if it was her scent or the fact she was a slave that made her stay. Wonder and pull the trail of scents into her nose. Thousands of tastes and scents running through her nose trails and her mouth opened, tasting it. All running through her nerve system, up to her brain going through her system and recognizing. A scent of pain and horror. It was a scent animals could have on them. But it wasn't her own. She was staying, getting closer and moving forward because of one single scent in the nose telling her that something was goood to stay for. Talon.

Someone she cared about. A friend. Where were he? Her eyes narrowed and she sneaked forward. The girl turned and snarled. She had one blind eye. A slave for Alteron, Raiper and life itself as it was. Her orange fur and silver markings were probably the give away. Ru could no longer hide and it seemed that the slave was thinking the same. No more hidding, no more running. Brushfire watched her for a moment. Then stepped forward watching her in the eyes as she came closer, not hiding or bending back, straight out from her hidding to see her directly. She stopped one foot away and breath slowly in and out.

"Hello. Nava."

The mate of Talon. Oh yes she knew of her and their little secret. Not that she planned to tell anyone or or ruin their love. Yes love. Whatever kind it was, Talon had said she meant most, more and everything. He loved her, he just hadn't realized it yet, true? She would be the last one to ruin their love, she wanted to see them happy, why ruin it just because she couldn't have it? A heart beat skipped as she reminded herself that she couldn't have love, that was. Gone, ruined. Her stomach turned and she felt sick. But her expression remained and she smiled friendly and sighed.

"You can trust me. Talon trusts me enough to tell me about you. And your juvels."

Her children. Her juvels of life and, Ridge's kids. It turned again and she had to keep it within with all strength she could and take a deep breath when she reminded herself that she had no children and probably never would have so. She looked closely at her face, for some reason she couldn't ignore her blind eye. Was it the fact that it felt like everybody else around them were having a blind eye to the life of Alteron as well? And maybe Nava was the one really seeing? Watching the life going on? She smiled to Nava.

She still felt fake.

[Akante]

Nava said:

"Hello. Nava."

She was immediately on her guard. Was this a trap? Would this stranger punish her? She apparently knew her name already - was this Talon's doing? She was devoted to her mate, but she knew that his judgement was not always the best. He was rash.

She was glad that her children no longer shared their den. Their children were assimilated into the packs, had ranks, had a future. Right? They couldn't track the children if Nava's crime was discovered. She hoped.

The expression on Brushfire's face had been friendly enough, but Nava knew Alteron, she knew that it could all be a facade, a front, something to lure her in and make her feel safe. "You can trust me. Talon trusts me enough to tell me about you. And your juvels."

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said simply. She would never admit anything until she was sure it was safe. This could be a fast talking investigator, someone to book and cuff her, drag her to the queen to be tossed over the acropolis to her death. And then they'd find her children.

No, it was better to be safe.

Just because Talon had trusted her didn't mean that Nava had too. For all of Talon's suffering, Nava had suffered more - and she was a quicker learner.

Still, a curling stalk of worry quivered in her chest, about something not quite as essential as life and death. She wondered why Talon had grown close to this female. Wondered if his eyes were wandering, if his heart were wandering. Wondering if he had been wooed into admitting the crimes. The thought was unbearable.

"Azuhel took it." She said. "My eye, I mean. You're staring at it."

[Akante]

Brushfire said:

[[sorry, for some reason i never actually saw this. o.o]]

There was a tense atmosphere, and the Sentry didn't like it. She never liked these kind of situations. It made her be on her guard, on alert, more suspicious. But why was she? Nava wasn't a threat... not that much, she hoped. But her eyes remained glued on the female in front of her, captivated by her appearence. Still alive - surprising for a slave who did nothing, as far as others were concerned. And that eye... and its... absence. For some reason the Sentry was mesmorized, as if still trying to see through to the soul. Her eyes held that friendly gaze, hoping that perhaps she would seem different. As different as she felt. Talon knew what she meant, about how she wasn't like the rest of Alteron. And neither was he. They both sought a purpose, and it seemed to be hidden beyond all hopes of discovery in this damned forest. Perhaps even Nava was different, perhaps she had the same desire and strive for change that the Sentry and black male had shared. But, for her own safety, Brushfire kept still. Although she knew of Nava's secret, there was still so much more to the slave that she hadn't a clue. Risks were not her best friend.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Curt words slid out from brown female's mouth, and the defensive wall seem to shoot up inbetween to two wolves. A small sigh pushed itself out of Brushfire's lungs, and she looked down. Nava had grown cold, just as she had once done. Alteron did that to its captives, the ones who came here by mistake or force, or were simply tired of its cold, slow-beating heart. Ru had overcome once, and once again, but it appeared that Nava was still trapped. Still struggling. Still distrusting. Looking from side to side, gazing out into the vegetation, she made it clear that they were alone. She knew that they were, but the gesture was one that allowed a sense of reassurement creep into the cold tension.
She then looked up at Nava, her eyes opening to her heart. She held that stare, whether or not Nava connected the eye contact. A minute passed, and then she sat down, curling her tail around her forepaws. She wanted to ease the tension in the humid air. It was uncomfortable, and rather awkward. She wanted to make herself more trustworthy, as apparently Talon had seen her as. Right now, it was obvious that Nava felt differently; she seemed to view the Sentry as any other Alteronian. It was this thought that pierced Ru's heart, and her auds lowered. It was saddening...

"Azuhel took it." What? "My eye, I mean. You're staring at it." Her copper eyes widened. She hadn't realized that, this entire time, she'd been keeping a steady and curious gaze. Ashamed and embarassed, the she-wolf quickly averted her eyes to the ground near Nava's forepaws. She held it there for a few seconds, a breath or two escaping her maw. "Sorry... She didn't know what else to say, at the moment. What could she say to even have a chance of breaking the slave's cold hard barrier. This wall had to be circled before it could be torn down. And it was the manner in which the timber she-wolf had to circle it that she questioned. How could she? A minute passed, the seconds seeming to have weight... its heavy presence pushing down on Brushfire's shoulders. Tension.
"Who do you think I am..?
An honest question.