The band had had some time to settle in, and Ara had made her own little den near a small hot pool. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a good start. And where had Manea gotten to? Her cousin had been looking a little down of late. After losing the fight, and bringing the pack away from the Island she loved, she knew the other woman wasn’t having an easy time of it.

Well, enough mopping! Ara had procured a bottle of boozle, some dried snacks and an idea or two about the entertainment for the evening. The sun had returned to the earth, sickness had lifted, and she knew Manea would win them a pack before they knew it. It was time to have a little fun.

She appeared at the den Manea and co had claimed, letting out a soft chuff at the entrance. “Alastor, you're on babysitting duty, Manea and I are having a girls night” she warned the man as she waited for Manea to emerge.



"Naráca Mendacium"

It was easy for her to keep her nose to the grind, so to speak, and not leave much time for relaxation or enjoyment. The loss she suffered made her feel as if she hadn’t worked hard enough and hadn’t done enough to prepare and she wasn’t going to be caught in that position again. The only times she really allowed herself to not be working on something was the time she put aside to be with her children, too afraid of missing their childhoods to give that up, but otherwise she was working on something for the band, training, doing patrols, planning their journey.

That was precisely what she was doing now. She was in the den she shared with her family, mending a portion of her armor that had come loose and discussing how long they should linger in this part of Boreas with Alastor when she heard her cousin’s voice from the entrance. She cast a curious glance out toward Ara and smirked when Alastor was informed that he was going ot be on babysitting duty. Manea chuckled and shrugged to her husband as she got to her paws. “Well… you heard the lady.” She already knew there was no denying Ara once her fiery cousin set her mind on something so it would probably be best for her to go along willingly.

She gave herself a quick shake and then walked out to greet Ara, giving her a little grin. “And just what do you have up your sleeve, hm?” she asked curiously.

Manea | Temno | Ciemny

She heard a murmur inside, and chuckled at her cousin's words, waiting only a moment longer for the other woman to appear. She gave her an affectionate nudge and showed her a peek into the bag she had thrown over her shoulder - a hint of the booze and scent of sweet dried meats drifting up.

She grinned, letting the bag speak for her, and started off at a light trott, leading her cousin away from the den, and away from the stronger scents of the heated springs. “Here, take a sip of this, some liquid fire to loosen you up” she teased, offering Manea the bottle. “Now… I know I caught the scent of a big cat around here somewhere…” she mused out loud, taking the bottle back to take a deep swallow of her own. “Do you think Alastor would let us mount the head on your dens door?” she teased lightly, determined for this evening to be nothing but fun for the pair of them

"Naráca Mendacium"

Ara wasted no time leading her away with a peek into the bag she was carrying, showing off the bottle that no doubt contained something alcoholic and some dried meats along with it. She immediately picked up on the fact that this wasn’t going to be some quick outing and when she returned she was going to be a fair bit more intoxicated than she was now. She grinned and chuckled, giving a little shake of her head as she followed her free spirited cousin.
Manea took the bottle she was offered, taking a small, experimental sip of the liquid that hit her pallet with an acidic, slightly sweet punch and lightly burned her throat. She took a longer drink before passing it off to Ara for her to join in as well. She raised a brow at her cousin with a smirk at the mention of a big cat. The mention of Alastor letting them mount the head of the big cat over their den got her laughing and she took back the bottle to take another drink as well. “Let us? Hell, I think he’d mount it himself!”

Manea’s laugh was exactly what Ara wished to hear. She shot her cousin a cheeky grin as the other wolf obligingly took a small sip - and then a bigger one - of the offered alcohol. Ara took it back and took another sip of her own, a nice, deep gulp. No holding back, hoping Manea would take from her example. She offered it back to the other woman, and laughed softly at her reply. “good! I can’t wait to see it” she teased.

More determined than ever to return with such a prize, she began to look about her for clues on the creature's whereabouts. No doubt Manea would also be interested in ensuring a threat close to her little ones was neutralised. But, this wasn’t about work, this was about play. She offered a nibble to Manea, rooting around in her bag for it, her claws clinging against the unopened bottle of alcohol still resting in the bag. “Here” she said, pulling her muzzle free of the bag as her eyes alighted on the claw marks on a tree to their right. She paused, sniffing at the markings. “He’s close, drink up. I want to see how you fight shit-faced” she snickered, offering the bottle to her cousin again.

"Naráca Mendacium"

It was hard to not just laugh and shake her head at her younger cousin’s antics. Manea had only very rarely allowed herself to act so freely and recklessly. She had taken on the mantle of leadership within their family at a pretty early age, taking on the title of their matriarch after her mother was exiled. Even before that she had always known that she would take her mother’s place one day so responsibility was woven into her core in many regards. Because of that she had always been very conscious of her actions and more careful with her choices. However, the few times that she did let herself to be a bit more loose and free Ara had always been involved so now was no exception.

She glanced up at the claw marks that Ara pointed out and smirked. Well, at least her and Ara’s idea of a good time lined up. She snickered as the bottle of booze was handed back to her with the insistence that she get “shit-faced” for the fight. She feigned reluctance before tipping back the bottle and taking several long drinks. The burn warmed her from the inside out and seemed to tingle down her limbs. There was no way she wouldn’t at least be tipsy by the time they found their opponent. She swiped her tongue over her muzzle while she continued to follow Ara’s lead, passing the bottle back to her cousin with a shake of her head. “You’re always getting me into some kind of trouble, aren’t you?” Manea asked with a chuckle.

Manea | Temno | Ciemny

She watched as Manea took a long gulp of the alcohol. Grinning at her cousin. It was good to see Manea let loose a little. The tension of leadership had been sitting heavily upon her brow of late. She needed to learn to kick back and enjoy life a little. The little details would work themselves out.

Manea passed it back, and Ara took another good sip, before storing it in the bag she carried so it wouldn’t get broken. “Trouble!?” she gasped at the accusation, feigning offence. “You have the [i] best [/u] times with me, and you know it” she smirked. Pausing as she caught wind of the big cat's scent. They were close now, close enough for the hunt to really begin. She snickered softly, clearly a little tipsy herself, and raised a paw in an exaggerated gesture. “What's the battle plan, boss?”


"Naráca Mendacium"