Since being an alpha and all that, Sparrow hadn't gotten the chance to bother all of the other packs in case it was to raid. She did intend to raid everyone one day, even if they lost them all. Since the challenge, she hadn't seen some of her favorites, and that made her a little cross. She was the victor, damn it, and she looked cool doing it- surviving a stab wound and all that. Where were her admirers and accolades?  Well, after all this time, they surely weren't searching her out, and she didn't really want the next time they met to be on opposing sides of the battlefield as sexy as that would be. So she came to the border like a good little alpha and even called out for Recluse like the double good alpha she was known to be. Yup, miss goody sparrow shoes.

Recluse could have come up for any number of reasons as to why she hadn't visited the pirate King since her victory but almost all of them would have just been excuses, maybe she could make the argument of having her own nuptials to look after but Sparrow had won her crown seasons before that. Recluse certainly held no ill-will towards the speckled woman, was fond of her even, but yeah she'd just had other things on her mind, even if diplomacy maybe should have been higher on her list. Still the call went up for her and Recluse smiled. She wouldn't make Sparrow wait too long but she wasn't about to rush off either, instead sauntering towards the call, an easy grin on her lips.

"What brings the king to my humble volcano?" She asked as she approached, clearly her guard was down, physically. Above them Galho circled, his eyes scanning for any threats on the horizon, but frankly, Recluse was probably a little more cavalier about her safety with the speckled woman. There was a thrill of danger to her that Recluse found so... Tantalizing.

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Recluse didn't keep Sparrow waiting long, but she did wait, if only just a little. It was enough for Sparrow to roll the knots out of her shoulder and neck, but not enough for her to get her muscles all loose entirely. When Recluse did show, she greeted her warmly, as sensual as ever and Sparrow rumbled lightly. High above, Pongolo would circle with Galho, making all sorts of kissy noises in his direction. Sparrow smirked, "Seems we're in good company." Why DID she visit the humble volcano? Sparrow wondered if she should just be out with it, and before she even gave it much thought, the words toppled out of her maw. "Well, I just was wondering if things were awkward between us after you didn't come crooning to me after my magnificent victory- and getting stabbed- at the challenge. I mean, you got history with Miss Stabby? Don't worry, I like you too much to hold it against you." She tacked on the last part with a wink. Really, there weren't any hurt feelings, she was mostly curious. She had no idea who the woman was, nor where she and her comrades had fled to after the battle. "Mostly, I wanted to make sure we were cool before I one day inevitably raid for your cool lava rocks."

Recluse paid no heed to the low growling sound of Galho as he grumbled in response to the much more flamboyant bird's teasing. Sparrow would explain herself and Recluse sighed dramatically, swooning slightly to really sell the affectation. "You were often on my mind dear King, but as they say, 'time makes the heart grow fonder' and I am so very fond of you." Recluse shot the woman a wink. Honestly if Sparrow wished to push the issue Recluse would probably just admit that she'd had a lot on her paws and it wasn't meant to be a slight but she had no real desire to bring the mood down, not when Sparrow was so much fun to talk with.

It would be the next thing that the king said that would get an eyebrow raise from the pale alpha. She cocked her head to the side and regarded the other woman through half-lidded gaze. "Do you often make it a habit to make friendly with those you're planning to raid? Or am I just that special?"



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The pale woman mentioned that Sparrow was often on her mind, and that distance made the heart grow fonder and all. Sparrow gave her a very dramatic eye roll in return. It was a non-answer, but that was fine. She took it to mean that things weren't bad or awkward between them probably, and that was good enough, even if Recluse was bedding with Miss Shanks, it didn't seem to shade their meetings in a bad light, so it didn't really matter. The mention of raiding got Recluse's attention as the ghost woman asked if she made it habit to be friendly with the raidees. "Maybe a little of both," Sparrow cooed, leaning in just slightly. "If I like you enough, then think of it as nothing more than when your littermates would fight over a favored toy- it's a way to pass bragging rights and a good item back and forth, it's only as serious as you make it, and besides, I look good as a bad guy." With that she shot Recluse a toothy smile, "I can't lose my reputation, you know." Sparrow's eyes flicked over the ghastly woman's body, "We can always bet something else if your lava rocks are really that precious and limited." She teased, she really wanted some cool rocks, but what was a conversation without the threat of a fight or fuck lingering just above their heads?

Oh? Well a potential attack she had some idea of forewarning for was absolutely preferred over nothing and if Sparrow was being serious about only doing so for less than serious reasons she certainly couldn't really complain. It would function about as well as a training raid, in spirit if not in name. She put on a little bit of a pout. "I can't help but be a little hurt to know we're not that special." It was all a tease, her voice hitching dramatically. She caught the woman's insinuation, a smile of her own flashing for a moment before she returned to mock dramatics. "They're quite precious in fact, they don't just fall from the sky you know!" Then she winked. "Well they do, but only when there's an eruption, and who knows when that'll be."

"And what would you wish for instead?" She swung her gaze to meet Sparrow's, a sort of hungry look on her face. Recluse certainly wouldn't turn down something more fun than a few hole filled lava rocks, besides in her estimation nothing was hotter than a fight and a fuck.


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Recluse feigned hurt over not being that special, and Sparrow couldn't help but feel a little giddy. She mentioned the rocks don't fall from the sky except when there's an eruption, and that she didn't know when that would be again. Sparrow made a terse face, "Don't tempt it, you know what happened last time."  

Recluse then insinuated back of what Sparrow would wish for. Sparrow didn't hide her roaming eyes, "Oh well... just you'll have to guess maybe. If you get it right, I'll give you a reward- just a tiny one, and I still plan to raid you later even if you do get it right."

Recluse couldn't help but laugh at the way the pirate king responded to her mention of an eruption. It wasn't that she wasn't aware of the danger living in the shadow of the fire mountain offered, it was simply that as far as she was concerned she'd prefer the devil she knew over the one she didn't. It had been a choice, one she did not regret. Recluse had no doubts that the volcano would kill her one day, but it was a death she chose for herself, even if she couldn't chose when she could still chose how.

Recluse pretended to think for a moment about her guess. "Well certainly the only other thing of value is..." She gasped and lifted a forepaw to her own chest, both as an answer to the question and in mock shock.


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Sparrow couldn't understand not living somewhere comfortable. The north? Volcanoes? Far away islands filled with bugs? None of that made any wolf cooler than another and really it probably just caused them to die a lot sooner. There was no reward in living a harder life than someone else the way Sparrow saw it, but Recluse had chosen her lands for her own reasons and her rewards were in rocks, not harder lives. the north, however, Sparrow would never get. They didn't even have cool rocks, just ice which was kinda like a rock but then it melted back into stupid water. There was also that one pirate ship in the north, but- Sparrow was getting distracted.

"... only other thing of value is..."

Recluse motioned to herself and drew Sparrow's attention back to the present. Sparrow attempted to close the gap between them almost entirely and though Recluse was no small wolf, Sparrow still dwarfed her to an extent, "Ah, well there is that, ghost queen," Sparrow muttered in softer tones than the loud and confident ones she had used earlier. "And if we lose, then what is it you want of me?" Sparrow paused for a moment. "And what if I took one thing of value now and raided for the other later?"

Recluse was certainly no prude, but despite a few crushes on other women who certainly showed no interest she had never danced like this with another woman. Men? Well she knew how to get them to do exactly as she wished but here... Right now this felt like a dance with an equal, there was an intoxicating feeling to their back and forth. Sparrow stepped forth and Recluse felt her heart hammering in her chest, tipping her head back to look up at the bigger woman, a toothy grin pulling at her lips.

"Well I knew pirates were greedy but really miss..." She teased, then she lifted herself onto her hindlegs to reach up and steal a kiss. "How is that for the road?" She dropped back down and winked up at her. "Winner gets the girl."


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Recluse didn't shy away from Sparrow, instead tilting her head back to meet her gaze. Sparrow held it, her own baited breath stinging in her chest. She missed this feeling. What would you call it? Not a crush? Not even something particularly serious. Lust, perhaps? But it felt somewhat deeper than that. Somehow this strings-attached agreement had no strings attached. A harmless bet, a win-win gamble, all aces in your pocket. Recluse said how she knew pirates were greedy and Sparrow simply hummed. They were, and they were allowed- no- encouraged to push that further. That said, Sparrow wasn't totally ready when Recluse leaned up to steal a kiss and if Recluse was being real perceptive, she'd see Sparrow's heat skip a beat as her expression faltered. As fast as she was stunned, however, she recovered with a coy chuckle that didn't give away just how warm and fluttery she really felt. "Fine," Sparrow said with a dramatic sigh. "It'll buy you some time. Winner gets the girl." With another sigh, this one more full of regret than the last, Sparrow turned from the border, "Well, I'll consider my friendly warning received. Next time, we meet in a raid." A smile slipped back onto her maw, "I look forward to clashing with you, in a few different ways," she said as her eyes finally set back onto the horizon ready to head home. -exit-

Recluse couldn't have been sure she knew what a serious relationship would have been like, not before her husband at least but now she knew at least something of the sort. But this didn't feel nearly as frivolous as her previous one-night stands either. Recluse certainly had enjoyed those, but the pirate king was something more than that but maybe still less comitted than a marriage? Recluse would make a point not to think about it. Thinking about it was a good way to ruin the fun, which is what they were both looking for.

Perhaps luckily for the king Recluse was taking the moment to enjoy the kiss and so would not notice Sparrow's brief surprise, instead she would have her eyes closed, before pulling back to give Sparrow a very suggestive grin. She hoped that would be good enough to hold the woman for now. Their little meeting was over, when next they were face to face they would be as "enemies" though Recluse doubted either of them would really see it that way. She would not respond beyond giving Sparrow another wink, and watching her dissapear over the horizon before the pale woman would herself turn back into her own pack. She hoped their next meeting would come soon.

-End-


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