set immediately after devres birthing thread.

It is the presence of tension that baits her from her family?s confines, the looming threat of retaliation evident within the hostility of the dappled queen?s stance and metallic gaze--and ah, but the phantom is impervious to the silent promise of violence. She is sworn to a life of combat and enticed by the prospect of bloodshed; she is undeterred by mortals who believe themselves competent, and her crusade is to prove them otherwise. And to those whose desire it is to command her like a common pawn are those who unknowingly plead for a certain demise, and to those deficient dregs she must c r u s h with a ruthless fist -- especially those who attempt to shun her from her own kin?s proximities. With an indifferent guise the wraith emerges from her brother?s crypt, abstract gaze engaged upon the dainty physique conveniently placed ahead of her -- presumably oblivious to the sinister intentions swarming beneath her stoic exterior. She has adhered to the sovereign?s demand without protest, though the reluctance is present in her lackadaisical stride as she writhes through the underbrush of the woman?s domain, consumed by cryptic silence -- an enigma to potential bystanders. She makes the journey with an aura of equivocation, and it is only once they breach the borders of the dappled wraith?s keep that the phantom seeks to halt in her saunter, purposefully lingering within the woman?s territory in hopes that the woman does not take immediate notice. Mismatched eyes narrow as her gaze hardens upon the sovereign, defenses settling into place as her brows knit together in feigned contemplation, briefly. ?Do queens b l e e d; I wonder,? she muses aloud, vocals lavished in poisonous intent as she attempts to fuel the flame of her adversary?s wrath.

The pale intruder seemed to obey rather docilely as Katja accompanied her to the border - disconcertingly docile considering her taunting words in the den. Katja, who rarely let her guard down anyway, doubled it. They came to the border she knew so well, and rather than leave as had been the obvious plan, the trespasser stopped short of crossing it. It may have been accidental, but the white female's venomous words made that far unlikely. Silver eyes narrowed on the stranger's mismatched gaze as Katja's hackles slowly rose, mentally sizing up the wolf before her. Only two inches taller than the darker alpha, but far heavier. Her scars spoke of battles fought - she would be no easy opponent. But her trespass, and her disrespect, and her threats to an Ebony wolf, those things could not go unpunished. Perhaps the gods were testing her resolve. Katja's anger did not rise to the bait. The woman's words were deliberately chosen, most likely meant to blind her with fury, but the viking woman's anger was a rare thing. It was calculatingly that Katja made her decisions, coldly that she slipped into a defensive stance, silently that she bared her fangs in invitation. Let's find out then, woman.

sucky 2 am posts ftw, pm for questions <3 hope two rounds is alright?

It is the bedeviled croon that wafts from slackened jaws that ensnares the dappled queen?s attention, provoking her accordingly -- and yet, the Elysius deity does not receive the response she had anticipated. Displeasure shrouds her twisted mind as her pupils consume the apathetic guise her adversary portrays, unwavering from her own defiant stance within the woman?s domain as she awaits imminent physical retaliation for her blatant display of disrespect. Alas, the sovereign does not yield to whatever savage desire plagues her quite yet; but rather, baits the phantom with the prospect of violence by the momentary exposure of ravenous incisors-----a daring challenge. The carnage enthusiast can do nothing but o b l i g e to her adversary?s unspoken invitation for combat, offering her the faintest flicker of wry emotion upon frayed lips as sinewy muscles tense beneath her pallid flesh. if it is BLOOD you want, it is blood you will get. Skull lowers over her breast, drawing back ever so slightly while her shoulders roll forward to form a protective halo of bunched flesh and fat that surrounds and safeguards her vulnerable neck, hackles bristling along the base of her neck and spine while her tail streamlines with the remainder of her spinal column, ready to act as a rudder to aid her in her potential motions. Limbs spread equidistant apart beneath her, each appendage bent slightly at the joints to lower her center of gravity while she distributes her weight evenly among them, allowing for her toes to splay and her nails to lightly bite into the soil to retain a sense of balance and traction. Abdomen tightens and chin tucks against the curvature of her neck, slavering jaws falling slack while her lips unfurl from gluttonous teeth with vehement intent, ears sewing against the contours of her crown while her mismatched gaze narrows with contempt. Her adversary is an obstacle she must eradicate -- an ego she must destroy. Even queens are not u n t o u c h a b l e, and it is the Elysius? self-imposed duty to prove this theory even if it means she must bleed for it, and especially so. With her defensive stance on lockdown, the phantom attempts to devour the distance lingering between she and her opponent with a graceless sprint, intending to position herself and approach the dappled queen at a forty-five degree angle from the dark woman?s right shoulder. Jutting left shoulder blade seeks to ruthlessly slam into the outer muscular portion of Katja?s right shoulder, hoping that the combined force of her forward momentum and brutish weight of one hundred and thirty pounds might successfully endeavor in knocking her adversary off-balance and onto her left side. Simultaneously, the tyrant?s left forepaw elevates from the earth, and as the wraith shifts her balance between her three grounded limbs, she attempts to forcefully bring the paw down upon Katja?s own right forepaw, hoping that the potential exertion of her attempted assault might successfully break the feeble toe bones with ease. Gaping jaws, similarly, seek to inflict injury upon her opponent, attempting to outstretch towards the upper portion of Katja?s right-sided neck where sinful incisors will hope to clamp down with applied pressure -- intending to deeply penetrate beneath the queen?s flesh with the hopes of puncturing the veins, muscle, and tendons located there. As a diligent warrior and merciless tyrant, she craves b l o o d s h e d, and one way or another, she will extract it from those who choose to oppose her -- starting with this dappled queen. Artemis vs katja for dominance round one of two attacks intending to approach katja from a forty-five degree angle from kat's right shoulder, hoping to shunt her own left shoulder blade into kat's right shoulder with the intentions of knocking kat onto her left side. simultaneously attempting to slam her left forepaw down onto kat's right forepaw, intending to break the toes. jaws seeking to grasp the upper right portion of katja's neck, hoping to pierce veins, muscle, tendons, etc. defenses listed in second actual paragraph ; too lazy to list em all lol sorry. injuries none, first round. notes i've taken it upon myself to make a shitty diagram for the sake of positioning: here

DEFAULT TO ARTEMIS

Due to KATJA not posting in the allotted time, ARTEMIS is the winner.

KATJA must give up by either passing out, submitting, or running away.