That meeting was... entertaining. As soon as Valentine had started talking, Esti had drawn a serious face... mostly. She had a ghost smile tugging at the edge of her lips, but she listened and obeyed. As soon as he assigned her to Birna and dismissed them, Esti gave him a firm nod and began to walk away, calling out behind her, "Birnaaaa, meet me on the edge of the Orchard!" She didn't really know Birna was the whitey white she had been talking to. It didn't really matter. She had a chance to prove she wasn't the weak link. She had a chance to show how much stronger and independent she had become. That didn't mean she couldn't have fun with it. Esti made sure she was a safe distance from the meeting. She didn't want everyone hearing her conversation, though she didn't really care if she ran into them, either. Maybe it was time to get to know some of the others that lived here. For the moment, however, Esti was more concerned with where Birna was, hoping the other wouldn't slow her down on her patrol. ""

ooc: keeping it a bit vague since she was going to be tested after the meeting

Wounds treated Birna got to her feet and shook out her coat before heading to the Orchard where she was to meet Esti for their patrol. She found the other woman waiting impatiently. "My apologies Esti, I was engaged in battle. Shall we begin?" Birna took off, nostrils flaring to follow the scent of the border though she was willing to slow her pace to let Esti take the lead. It only made sense as she was still something of a stranger to the lands of Imperium but hopefully that would change quickly. Bright blue eyes tipped skyward as she eyed the clouds building in the southern horizon. Was a storm moving in? For now the breeze was absent but she made note to keep an eye on it. "Esti, are there any typical trouble spots along the border? Any particular place there have been trespassers?" speech

Birna took a while in showing. Esti waited, though after a moment it seemed that this wolf would, in fact, slow her patrol. Finally the other woman came up and Esti shot her an impatient, though not hostile glance then turned to lead the patrol. When Birna apologized, saying she was in combat, Esti's head turned slightly to look at her with widened blue eyes, "Shit, you decide to fight Rhythm?" she'd say, thinking back to the meeting's tensions. Esti turned back to the border, stopping to mark it with her scent. Birna asked about trouble spots and Esti shrugged mid-step, "Not really, I don't think many really dare to actually cross the border. We have a pack of giants, so it seems a little too risky. Or maybe they just hear we're mean." Esti would smirk as she led the other, "Did you ever hear we were mean, or did you join the first pack you ran into?" Her question was filled with humor, but it was an honest question. She had run to the first pack she found, though she had been running more to Valentine at the time. She wondered if he remembered that day and if he remembered the date before. Shaking that thought off, Esti continued on the patrol. ""

Birna shook her head as Esti asked her if she'd been fighting with Rhythm. "Nay, I am not concerned with the loins of the women in this pack nor the desire to bear children with the alpha.  I was battling Mercy to determine my future ranking.  I am a fighter and seek to be acknowledged as such." Birna paused to add her own scent along the border before catching back up with Esti as the woman began to speak of weak points, or lack there of, in the border.  She nodded.  It made sense that not many would be brazen enough to come into conflict with Imperium but the world had no shortage of fools and idiots. Birna shook her head. "Nay, I hadn't really heard to many rumors of Imperium other than the fact it was filled with skilled warriors.  That was why I joined." She fell silent for a moment as she pondered Esti's question, debating how much to divulge but then she remembered Valentine's urging for pack members to get to know one another. "No… Imperium would be my third.  I'd been traveling with my brother when he suggested we try to join a pack.  We joined Ludicael but the alphess was… lacking and later killed by a woman called Katja.  We then joined Fiori and while it was nice it was far to peaceful and quiet for my taste.  When my brother left I chose to join a new pack and start anew.  Thus here I am.  What of you Esti?" speech

Esti would let out a small "ahh" as Birna explained herself. Good, good, don't get involved. Even Esti had drawn away from Valentine, or maybe he had drawn away from her. She didn't feel good enough when she was around him, so maybe she'd just have to stop trying to be good. Apparently to be good enough for him, you had to be a one-night stand, purple, or completely fucking useless. Thinking back, Esti was two of those when he slept with her. Maybe it wasn't far from the truth. She'd have to dye herself purple one day to test the other theory. The large woman snorted quietly to herself and turned her attention back to Birna as they continued on. So someone told her Imperium was full of warriors? They weren't wrong, everyone just seemed to lazy lately. Birna went on to explain that Imperium was her third pack. She mentioned a weak leader and Esti smiled a toothy smile at her hesitant, "lacking" description. Wait... Katja? The woman from the border, the woman she sparred, and the alpha of Yfir? "Damn." Esti would mutter under her breath. That was impressive. Birna continues talking about other packs and Esti made small mental notes, still thinking about Katja the whole time. "What of you, Esti?" The question brought Esti back to the real world. She stopped her trot to sniff around and mark the border again. She found herself shrugging again, "Loner pup living on the outskirts of Valhalla. Stayed alive by the charity of wolves too good for their own good. Got the plague, got over the plague. Decided to be the princess of the Weeping Willows across the river. Had a few followers and panicked, ran away. I was still pretty young." She shot a glance at Birna, waiting for her to mark the spot then turned and trotted off, "I guess after I came back I found Valen." To herself she thought of the charming man who teased gaters and called her baby girl and teased her for trying to be a princess. In brief, though she didn't say to Birna, "I found Valen, we flirted, we banged, I thought I was dying, but I was really just pregnant." She decided not to say that though, and instead went on to say, "Eventually I bore his son and decided to raise him in the pack rather than as a loner like I was. I think that about covers it. I'm here now with Ashmedai and I supposed it'll be that way for a while. Esti the wanna-be warrior." Esti snickered as she ended her story. That was really all of it then, wasn't it? Her life had been a mess- still was a mess. She wasn't upset she ended up here, she just didn't know what to think about this being her pack as an individual and not just a mother. It seemed okay, but she wanted more. She wanted to be known. She could at least relate to Birna in that manner. Esti the ex-princess and wanna-be warrior. ""

Birna listened, taking mental notes, as Esti gave a summary of her life story. It seemed like the other woman had been through a fair bit and what was this about the plague? Goodness! It seemed they'd both seen their fair share of trouble. She nodded as Esti spoke of her goal to become a warrior. "Aye, that is my goal as well. To be a renowned warrior." Birna let herself fall silent, unsure what to really say. Socialization was not really her strong suit and she was by far a better listener than she was a conversationalist. She paused a moment to remark a weakly-scented area. They were making good progress on the patrol and she found it helpful to become familiar again with the process of border patrol. As a loner she'd let that knowledge slide a little. "Perhaps we can train together sometime, both of us working toward the same goal. We can't remain Libertus forever." speech

Birna mentioned that she too wanted to be a renown warrior. Esti held a lofty smile, hoping the woman would be more of a warrior than the other warriors in Imperium. If she had some good competition, there was no way she would get bored or lazy. As if trailing her thoughts, the other woman spoke up, saying they could train together and that they couldn't both remain Libertus forever. Esti would nod an hum in approval, brushing past a few trees heavily, half to mark them and half to scratch her back. They had made decent progress. Their scents would be heavy on this section of the border for some time. After walking and marking some along the way, Esti turned back to Birna, "You know, we could always make it a bet. First one to the highest tier wins... I dunno, a deer or something." She shrugged, eyeing the border, "How much farther, do you think?" Her eyes turned back to Birna, "Or do you think we should make this an over-nighter?" Esti waited for a reply, not fully stopping, but slowing down to a very leisurely pace. She felt like if she peed any more, she would shrivel up dry. ""

The patrolling pair had about finished their round and Birna paused next to a sapling to raise her leg for the last time. She was running empty. Thankfully though they were not the only pairs and any sparse patches would quickly be covered in the scent of other Imperium wolves. She paused to rub her left check against a low hanging branch, almost like a cat as tufts of her snow white fur clung to the bark. She felt like she'd been shedding all summer! Birna paused as she mulled over Esti's words. It was definitely a thought. A little friendly competition to help foster their motivation. However…. Birna hesitated. "That is a thought… however, it depends how high a rank you wish to get. I have not given though to where I should like to end up." Birna walked up next to Esti and gazed out across the terra. "We've finished our segment, we may as well turn in for the night. After all there are other pairs that will need to lay their scents. We don't want to spoil them. It was a pleasure talking to you Esti, I look forward to training with you." Shaking out her fur the bear woman turned to head back to the den site. She still had to finish her den and debated about sleeping out under the stars tonight. -exit Birna- speech