She wandered through the muddy knolls, her purple eyes on the horizon as she tried to spy the perfect vantage point. She knew that there was a super tall hill around here somewhere, one that allowed her to look over all the rest. Mercy let out a huff as she tried to remember, her gaze narrowing slightly. It was around here somewhere... Ah! She smirked, picking up her pace to a lope as she made her way to the peak of the hill. As soon as she reached the top she sat on the very top of the knoll, her elongated tail curling around her form. It was nice to be able to see all around her, and the girl let out a heavy sigh. It was nice to be alone for a bit, she had been growing so bored that she had been forcing herself to find things to do, otherwise she grew far to irritable. She generally liked her alone time, but as she ran out of things to think of, she longed for the company of others. Maybe that's why she had found herself surrounded by pups recently... Generally Mercy didn't care for the little gremlins, in fact she usually tried her hardest to avoid them. But as of late, she actually started to like the smallish wolves. Lykos was pretty cool, he was like a mini adult, and Dagger, well, she was really funny. That girl had such a strong imagination, it made her long for the days when she had thought like that. Even Illie... While she was a snotty little brat, at least she was trying to learn how to fight. Mercy slowly shook her head back and forth, flopping to her belly and resting her black marked face on her forelimbs. Perhaps she was growing soft...

"Speech"

Birna trudged through the mud and huffed. Water was great and all but she was wishing the sky would ease up a bit on the rainstorms. Oh well, no rain, wind, sleet or snow was going to stop her from finishing her patrol and as she arrived at the closing of her circuit she left a scent marker. There. It had been a quiet season so far, not many trespassers and that was certainly good. Maybe Imperium's reputation was getting around or perhaps there was a shortage of idiots in the population now. Either way it made her job easier. Birna was about to head back to her den when she caught the scent of one of her fellow packmates. Mercy. She traced the scent to find the other resting on a tall knoll. Hmm… apart from battle Birna really didn't know much of her packmates, perhaps this would be a good chance to talk with her fellow warrior. Birna strode up the hill and dipped her head in greeting. "Hello Mercy, how are you doing to day? Keeping relatively clean?" She smiled lightly, lifting one of her mud-stained legs in jest. ""

Mercy was about to drift off and take a nap when the sound of paw steps caught her attention. The woman's head rose as she looked over her shoulder, seeing Birna coming up to her. She offered the older woman a smile, watching her approach. She had a lot of respect for Birna after their first fight, but they really hadn't interacted much outside of meetings and training. Dipping her head in a greeting as the taller woman advanced, she pulled herself up to a seated position, mud clinging to her belly. She chuckled at the others words, looking down at her now brown stomach. "It's rather hard with all this rain, there is mud everywhere," Mercy said, a touch of bitterness in her vocals. It was hard to get anywhere without painting her white legs brown. It would seem that Birna was having the same issues, raising one of her own dirty legs. "But I was just up here thinking about how soft I've gotten. I've actually started to like puppies," She said in jest, making herself shiver as if she was in horror at her own words. "They are actually kind of cool, and I never thought I would open up to caring about them. I used to avoid them at all costs."

"Speech"

Birna would choose to remain standing as Mercy move to a sitting position. She had no desire to get more covered in mud than she already was. "Well, sure enough summer will be here to dry everything out and then we'll be wishing it would rain." If there was one certainty it was that things changed and the seasons often stood testament to this. Mercy would continue to speak and Birna would blink lightly in surprise. Partly because she hadn't been expecting the other to share her inner thoughts so freely and partly because Birna had come to a similar realization not long ago. "It's funny you should say that Mercy, I've found I feel the same. I want to do everything I can to protect them and it's made me aware of my own inadequacies. I have goals now that I must strive for though whether or not I can meet them is difficult to say." She shrugged lightly. "What of yourself? Have you any goals you desire to meet?" ""

Mmm, Birna had a good point. She found herself longing for the cold in the heat of the summer, and the heat in the cold of the winter. Nodding her head to the older woman's statement, she found herself pondering over it more, until the taller woman spoke again. Ears flickered as she looked up to her, a grin on her features. "We are both growing soft, aren't we? Maybe we should go beat the snot of out each other just to prove that we are still tough bitches," she said with a laugh. Turning her head to look out across the horizon, she grew silent when Birna brought up goals. She used to be so driven by her own goals, but now she just... well she got bored. A heavy sigh left her maw, her body sliding down until her belly was on the ground again. "I used to. I feel like I kind of lost my drive, although the need to fight is still there I just feel like... I'm not sure. I had wanted to rise in the ranks and prove myself, but lately its all I can do to not snap at other members." Mercy shrugged her shoulders, glancing over at Birna slightly. It was pretty rare for her to open up to someone like this, but she just felt like she could talk to her. It came out so easily, where with others she really had to push it. Or she just... clammed up. "I've honestly always been a little jealous of you, Birna. You always seem so driven and... well, tough." The dame said softly, a small smile on her lips.

"Speech"

Birna chuckled at the mention of growing soft followed swiftly by the suggestion of a fight.  She wouldn't mind battling the other woman again.  While some of her tactics were a bit… unconventional her fight style did keep Birna on her toes.  Birna followed Mercy's gaze to the horizon. "To be honest though I don't think we are growing soft, not exactly.  We're growing bonds with young lives that might not have meant anything to us.  Perhaps we are softer toward them, and I don't know about you, but I feel myself wanting to protect them.  I find love growing in me but beside it a  stronger desire for cruel, brutal acts against all that might harm them." If anyone wished to test her desire to protect those three they would meet ferocity of which the likes they'd never seen.  Of course… this was all assuming the parents left Birna anything to chew on. Mercy would sigh heavily as she talked of her loss of drive.  Birna let silence fall after the words, unsure of what she wanted to say.  She turned her head to gaze at Mercy. "Mercy, who are you fighting?  You say you have a need to fight and I wonder why this is?  Why do you fight?  If you can answer these questions perhaps you can rekindle your drive." Her gaze shifted back to the horizon.  She was careful about opening up to others but relationships were a two way street.  She could not hope to learn about others without first sharing about herself. "I fight those that stand against Imperium, I need to fight because my whole life has been a constant struggle, a constant battle, and it is through fighting that I feel like I have power and worth.  I fight because I want to protect my newfound home, and in particular Valentine's youngest pups.  This is what spurs me to my goal of gaining a higher rank.  I want to be able to better serve my pack and protect what is precious to me." ""

She found her respect for the woman growing by the minute, her words were wise and answered all the questions that Mercy had. They were around the same age, but she felt like Birna was a lot smarter than her, and worlds more mature. There were a lot on lingering feelings that Mercy had not dealt with yet, things that probably held her back. It didn't help that she still acted like a child at times. She found herself nodding along to her words, really taking in what she was saying. "I never thought of it that way. I guess when we get older we start to care for others more than we do ourselves," Not that she was that selfish, but... okay yeah maybe she was. But if anyone came at Rhys or Lykos, she wouldn't hesitate to put herself in harms way for them. She would jump right into action and tear them limb from limb, maybe shove their own leg down their throat. Smirking in amusement at the thought, she focused again on the slightly darker hued woman. "You seem to have an answer for everything, Birna," she teased, tossing the other woman a wink, "and I want to thank you for that. I don't usually find it this easy to talk to someone else, but you just make me feel... comfortable." Mercy said, shrugging at her sappy words.

When they switched to the topic of motivation and drive, she listened intently as she spoke. "I fight to get stronger, to be able to best any wolf who tries to harm a pack member. I guess I fight to prove myself, having felt like I was shoved in the shadows all my life..." she said slowly, everything dawning on her as she spoke the words out loud. She hadn't really thought too much on it, but now that she did it all made so much sense. And it was for a selfish reason. She wanted to matter, to feel special. How stupid was that? Her upper lip twitched, but she didn't say anything else on it. But then Birna looked to the sky, and spoke about some of the same reasons she felt. Oh, so it wasn't foolish to try and better herself? Birna was a tough fighter, she knew this first hand, so it was amazing to her that she admitted that. It also interested her that she had been struggling her whole life, something that Mercy felt like she was dealing with as well. She spoke about getting to a higher rank, and Mercy slowly rose herself to her paws. "Not unless I beat you," she teased, stomping some of the mud off her form. "But for real, you are a tough opponent Birna. If you beat me to a higher rank, I would be honored to serve under you. I don't normally like other woman, and most seem to have an issue with me. But you're different, stronger. To be honest, I am a bit jealous of you," Mercy admitted, studying Birna's body language to take in her reaction.

"Speech"

Moisture lay nearly hidden in the warm breeze that suddenly whisked through the terra. Was the breeze just passing through or would it bring with it more rain? Her attention shifted back to Mercy as the pale woman spoke. She would nod softly but found herself wondering about Mercy's history for she had always cared for others more than she did herself. Of course when she was young that had only really been Björn. Now that she was in a pack that felt like a community things were different. You seem to have an answer for everything, Birna Birna chuckled. "Well, not everything, but I have experienced much of life. I am glad that I am not off-putting. It is good to talk with someone. I have a tendency to keep to myself, I take it you're much the same?" She was getting better about seeking out her packmates and making conversation. Mercy answered her questions, stating that she fought to get stronger, to be able to protect her pack members as well as to prove herself. She mentioned briefly of feeling as if she were in the shadows much of her life. Birna nodded, she knew something of being shoved into shadows. Having to hide from the new regime, to monitor and control every movement, every motion to prevent raising suspicion. Though she wondered if Mercy meant from a more familial perspective. "Not unless I beat you" Birna's head tilted slightly to her left, an amused grin on her face. "Oh? Are we after the same prize?" She didn't mind a little competition and had a feeling that the position of Praetor might be hotly contested. She wouldn't be surprised if there were several others in Imperium with their eyes on that rank. "Skills and ranks can shift as often as the sun rises and falls. If I achieve my goal I've no idea how long my season might last, luck can be as great an aide as skill." Birna smiled and shook some of the mud from her own coat. "You do not give yourself enough credit Mercy." Her gaze shifted to the sky once more and she frowned at the gathering storm clouds. "Seems we'll be in for another wet night. I'm going to fortify my den. I wish you well Mercy, and if you ever wish to talk feel free seek me out." -exit Birna- ""