Their new home was… alright, Rivin supposed. Maybe she was just being sentimental, missing the black sand beach and the gulley in the neighboring land. But it was good they had left, too. Truthfully it probably would have been better if they had left it behind ages ago, buried the bad memories that lingered there. But there were good ones too, Rivin supposed. Like learning how to swim thanks to Jack, and playing with her brothers and Ajax on the beach. Hell, despite her grumpiness at the time, she had a good time at her yearling party too! That had been one hell of a “fight”. Rivin allowed a small smile to linger on her lips as she walked the beach. She thought of Pyralis too. She wouldn’t give up. She’d become a better raider, and a healer, in honor of those she did value. Whether they were still part of the world of the living or not. From the beach she would make her way into the gulley; the place that was the purpose of her visit today. There were herbs here that she wanted to collect and with her new bag she would be able to carry them back. She had heard about an interesting herb, a spiky leafed plant that was meant to help aid with depression, anxiety, and sleep issues. The latter part was what Rivin hoped to collect it for. The bags under her eyes told the story of restless nights, and more and more that voice within would grow louder. There were brief moments where she seemed to fall asleep suddenly, even during the day, and wake up elsewhere. It was odd, never too far… but… Rivin shook her head. There was no point in focusing on that; she had come here with a purpose. Her green gaze swept around the area, hoping to pinpoint the plant she had been told about; Cannabis. "Talk," 'Think.'

As the weeks passed and the seasons changed, Sephiran found himself to be alone more often than not. Aurelia was more reclusive than ever, having changed her den location several times to avoid him. That didn’t stop him from persistently trying to hunt her down, but here and there other interests rose and pulled him away from the North. In fact, this was the farthest South he had been in some time. He wasn’t out searching for his little witch. He was looking for someone he nearly considered to be a friend.

The last time he spoke to Aresenn, he informed Sephiran of the shift in the pirate pack. It wasn’t surprising to the boy, given that he thought the concept of a woman leading a pack was asinine to begin with. What had surprised him, was that the pirate boy no longer wanted to be a pirate. Aresenn was going to leave the pack, and tie up some loose ends before deciding what his future would be. Which meant Sephiran was left alone.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t go looking for the boy. So, as he entered the Gully, he was already scanning the area for that identifiable heap of crimson fur. Something, or rather, someone in the area was swathed in that familiar pirate smell. The wind carried it to him, and he inhaled the scent greedily, rolling it across his pallet in an attempt to identify the source. He doubted it was Aresenn, but he may be able to find information if he confronted whoever it was.

Loping across the terrain, Sephiran pursued the scent, following the trail until he came around a final bed that revealed a clearing cloaked in an array of foliage. It was a herbalist's dreamland, which may have enticed him if his motives were different at this moment. But instead, he was drawn to the silhouette off in the distance, as he strode towards it without missing a beat. As he came closer, the image before him became more familiar. The pelt color, size difference, and antlers weren’t attributes he would easily forget. This girl, which caused a whole different level of enticement, was one of the wolves he had tussled with the night of the pirate party.

Whether she noticed him by now didn’t matter to the boy. He chose to stride up to her, wanting to approach her from the side to make any means of escape more difficult. "Well now… who do we have here?” He crooned, lips twitching into a contorted, nearly perverse sneer. Surely she would remember him from that night, even if she had been drunk off the booze.

"Sephiran Saxe"

Even as she worked on harvesting the cannabis, Rivin kept aware of her surroundings. She was not fool enough to believe that she was unapproachable. Her ears swiveled, and green eyes flicked up at the approach of a familiar purple figure. Decorated in darkness and gold, with eyes of vivid green and purple, his appearance would be hard to forget. She had gotten drunk the night of their meeting. Still, before the booze had fully taken away most of what happened after, she had memories of seeing him on the beach with the pirates. Sephiran. She knew his name from her brother, who had come to her with his farewells. The yearling paused her digging momentarily, noticing how he was trying to block her in. A lesser female might have panicked, but not Rivin. She was not afraid of any wolf, and even if she lost, she would fight anyone who dared try to take what wasn’t theirs from her.

“You know good and well who you see,” Rivin spoke, her voice calm. However, her green gaze was mindful of him, and her lips lifted in amusement. “Although it is a surprise to see you here. I thought you would be running around with Aresenn by now.” The direction her brother had spoken of lay with this other yearling. Drawing in his scent told her that her brother hadn’t met up with him yet. Rivin let out a soft ah. “So he hasn’t met back up with you yet, then. I am sure he will be looking for you.” Her gaze flicked to the plant and then back to the purple man.

“Tell me, Sephiran, is it? What do you know of this plant?” Her tail flicked thoughtfully at her heels, and she could feel something under the surface stirring as she stood there. That whisper within, a sweet, tempting call. Go on. It seemed to tell her. Dance with him, see where it gets you.

"Speech," 'Thought.'

Once Sephiran had lingered into striking distance, swaying ever so close to the pirate girl whom he deemed untouchable, he ceased in his advance. She may have been Aresenn’s sister, and in some sense, Sephiran was hesitant in exploiting her so soon… and yet he couldn’t help but crave the closeness, because it opened the possibility of an assault. The energy between them was already intensifying, creating the threat of ignition but for now, Sephiran would subdue his desires to avoid the combustion. Unless….

Pausing her digging, the girl provided a rather snarky retort, before mentioning the very man Sephiran was searching for. His upper lip twitched ever so slightly, tongue sliding across his saber fangs, both innate physical responses that represented dissatisfaction. “Aresenn’s little sister… mmm, still a pirate I see.”  While she was completing her assessment of him, Sephiran had been doing the same - greedily inhaling her scent, rolling the flavors across his tongue. “As for your brother, well,” His mind wandered for a moment, recalling their last conversation. “He had to tie up some loose ends…”  What was their dad's name again? He had already forgotten. “… with your father.” He omitted the fact that Aresenn and he had trained for the upcoming confrontation, with the insinuation that Aresenn was out for his father’s blood.

She wasn’t too keen on continuing the fatherly love conversation, it seemed. Perhaps it was a sore subject for her, just as Aresenn. She shifted back to the herbs she had been digging up, asking if he knew what they were. His smirk widened. "I do.” Moving to encircle her hind end, he attempted to place himself on her opposite side, to better study the cannibas. Makes you feel good… real good.” His thoughts were wandering again, trickling down into the psychotic labyrinth the was his mind. “Goes well with plenty of things.” His statement was rather suggestive, yet cryptic, leaving it up to her interpretation. Of course, Sephiran was referring to being high while ripping something to shreds and fucking after. Would she get the gist?


"Sephiran Saxe"

His comment earned an arched brow, the twitch of her upper lip as he made the comment that she was still a pirate. She saw no need to correct him that they were Raiders now. In the end it made little difference to who she was and who she had become. The little comment, however, was what earned a scoff. It was almost as if he considered her delicate… and perhaps he had, considering she now messed with plants. The comment about Aresenn tying up loose ends with their father earned a shrug. She could not blame Aresenn for being angry. Something had happened that night, the night her father spoke to them. A fight had occurred between them… she had come back injured, and she had noticed the injuries on her father’s body later as well. Had… had they fought? She paused, a frown on her face as she furrowed her brow and stared at the plant. She couldn’t remember… and yet… it felt like her body seemed to recall what her mind did not. It made that feeling under her skin more uncomfortable. Something she should have known… that started the domino effect for her emotions... a time bomb ticking down the seconds...

He came around her side and she flicked her gaze back to him, scanning his features as he spoke of the cannibas. The suggestive statement causing the fur on her back to bristle. Yet... there was something else too. Intrigue. “I’ve heard of the calming effects it has... Perhaps I was wrong...” That sweet whisper, that voice… So confident, so daring, she was clawing at Rivin’s mind, pushing for control. ‘You should play with him.’ The thought, seemingly hers and not, caused Rivin to growl in frustration. Her gaze swept away from him, her focus was broken. She was letting her emotions shift, and like a raging fire, they swiftly began to consume her. Maybe it was because he was here. Maybe it was because she felt hopeless at trying to control whatever was wrong with her. Her father knew what it was. He hadn't told them. She had experienced this black outs and was grasping at the word of passing healers in hope she might be able to keep it from happening again. How the fuck was she supposed to do that if she didn't even know why it happened? Why she couldn't remember? What was she hoping to accomplish with this? Taking a plant without really knowing about it... was she that desperate? Wasn't nearly drowning enough? Why not risk her life in other ways too, right!?

“I should have known there was no fucking point in trying to subdue it…” Angry muttering to herself. Her tail began to lash back and forth like an angry cat, her mind shifting, fighting within itself as the two beings within her body contested to be at the front of the vessel’s consciousness. The desire to tear into something burned at her. It made her skin crawl, made her fangs yearn for blood. Rivin flicked her gaze back to Sephiran, a different look in them now. Her gaze twisted, the cold look of her demon, the frustrated gaze of the femme who wanted control of herself… and there is jealousy too. Jealousy that this man would have earned the favor of her brother, of the wolf she had related to most easily with in her childhood. Yet... She doesn’t want to fight him. Doesn’t want to hurt Aresenn by doing so. But her emotions spiral. Her breathing quickens and her claws bite into the soil. Her gaze again strays from him, lips twisting up as she snarls at herself.

…and then… she would suddenly relax. When she lifted her head her green gaze had shifted in look completely and an amused smirk crossed her features.

“...So much protest… and for what?” Much like her posture, the woman’s tone had shifted as well. Deeper, seductive, confident. She chuckled, leaning closer to the purple beast at her side.“Now, I believe you said that this plant goes well with plenty of things… care to elaborate, love?” There is hunger in that gaze now. Expectation. She does not want to be disappointed.

"Speech," 'Thought.'