It was getting late. Nigh was coming, falling around her shoulders quicker than she anticipated. Cyanide was usually long gone by now, exploring somewhere new. Somewhere foreign. Somewhere she could fade into oblivion, away from the less than pleasant thoughts in her own head. Somewhere she'd be completely and entirely alone. Cy was doing everything she could to stay away from the awkward position she felt she'd landed in-- the one she created for herself. Really, her head was so far up her own ass it was a wonder she could see anything. Her usual patrol had taken longer than usual, the wraith stopping to dispatch a trio of coyotes that wouldn't take the hint and fuck off. Sharp as ever, but three against one wasn't necessarily fair. A few cuts, scrapes, a puncture in her dark hide that took longer to stop bleeding than the rest-- nothing to be concerned with. Nothing out of the ordinary, though her gait was a bit hitched over her left hind leg. A brilliant sunset, all pinks and purples, painted the sky. Cyanide took a moment to gaze at it, looking at the stars as they flickered to life. It would take a few more minutes to have quite enough of those stars to orient herself, to use as a map. If she hurried, maybe she could find somewhere halfway decent to sleep before it was too dark. cyanide he said to be cool but i'm already coolest

Celeste often found herself scouting along the territory before going to bed. The chill of the settling night over the horizon always helped unwind her seemingly tireless mind. Now that she was legitimately in charge of a pack, she couldn't help but think all of the damn time. Worrying about her members, worrying about getting new members, worrying about this and that, and all of the above. She knew she had to get out to visit other pack leaders at some point as well, but that would come with time. Things were still new for her and the rest of her dutiful members, she needed to give them time to settle in. Lost in thought about her next steps and not really paying attention to her surroundings, she almost missed the shadowy figure of her very bestest friend ever Cyanide. Her eyes brightened slightly as she spotted the larger female before picking up a brisk pace to catch up to the girl. "Oi, you know there's plenty of space in the warrens for you to bed down in, right?" Cel was one for no-nonsense, liked to cut to the chase, and get down to business. She really was curious why Cy never seemed to make it back to the oasis for more than an afternoon at a time. "I appreciate all the stuff you do for Ethyria, girl, but damn, could you maybe stay for a while longer sometime?" She tried to be a bit nicer this time as her head lilted to the side and drew quiet to listen to Cy's response.

Shit, she caught Cel's scent on the breeze before actually setting eyes on her. Maybe if Cy just pretended she hadn't, she'd be gone before the girl caught up with her. Cyanide tried not to visibly bristle as her head swung, gaze landing on Celeste as she caught up. Right, she was an alpha, the wraith was supposed to greet her with respect. Well, she'd always had a problem with authority. This was something else, though. Something different. Something she couldn't really rationalize or explain, so instead she looked upon the smaller woman with carefully composed neutrality. Celeste's words put her on the defensive. "Charitable offer for one of your subordinates." The wraith tossed her head and drew to her full height, but winced-- the injury from the statue pulled uncomfortably on her front legs. She'd taken the broken bracers off, and it seemed that her body wasn't used to the lack of support. Her shoulders sagged, relieving the pressure around the wound. While the venom would typically continue from Cyanide, she didn't have the energy to keep it up. As the words faded from her lips, she took a moment to listen to the alpha's actual request. Cyanide sighed. Her gaze was careful, watching for some sort of reaction as she did. "Why?" She wanted to know. She needed to know. There had to be some sort of motive here, and the wraith needed to find it. cyanide he said to be cool but i'm already coolest

A wry smile dashed across Celeste's features. The defensive tone portrayed by Cyanide was not missed. Shrugging nonchalantly, Celeste would retort with her own bit of sass. "Difficult to give someone a better title if they're never present," the snarkiness laces her tones with venom as she stares daringly at Cy. Would the woman argue more? Stand her ground? Give her some petty excuse? "Why? Cy, I enjoy your company. You're smart, sharp, and talented. Don't think I don't see that," Celeste's tone is clipped as she holds firm on her request. "If you want to be more then I need to see more effort, Subordinate," her lips turn up in a smirk as her elongated tail swishes against the sand. Whether Cy was larger than her, stronger than her, smarter than her, it didn't matter. She was putting in work where Cy was not. "Plus, whether the dummy will admit it, I'm sure Oki misses your company as well," another shrug lifts her shoulders as she tilts her head curiously now, the sass fading from her. "We moved out to this desert so that we could have something of our own. The three of us. I brought you along with me because I wanted you to feel at home somewhere with someone. If not me, with Oki. He is happy sharing us, I really don't care, I'll get my attention where I can, but if that's your issue, speak now or get with the poly fun," there is a daring glint in her aquamarine gaze as it lingers on the obsidian woman. Waiting patiently, she wasn't going to let Cy get out of this.

There was a smile from the alpha, but Cy's eyes narrowed. Her hackles crept up around her back, her shoulders, making her look a bit larger than she already did. "God forbid I'm trying to sort out this fucking desert, and all the weird shit that came with it." She wouldn't back down, even if she was in the wrong. Cyanide would continue to exist in a state of self-imposed bitterness, at least for now. There was the flash of stark teeth under her dark lips. It's as much menacing as the wraith can muster, mostly because when Celeste has something nice to say... she falters. Confusion first, which the wraith quickly masks. Effort, a notion that Cyanide scoffs at. Okay, so she'd been scouting primarily as a means of running from her problems. But there was also the idea that she was getting more information for the pack, and trying to sort out the cause of the weird weather. The wraith suppressed the urge to protest, to say it wasn't about Kuroki, but that wouldn't be entirely true. The distance, along with her own bitterness, had been self-imposed. Where there had been sass, bordering on venom, it was replaced with some kind of sincerity. Cyanide would hold her tongue, for now. A rather rare occurrence, Cy isn't quite sure what to say or how to react. She bites her tongue for a moment before speaking, considering for a long moment. Celeste bringing her here, starting something new, including her... it had been a gesture, one given in good faith. The wraith considered for a beat, then spoke. "We're better off together than... not, together, I guess." Eloquent? No, but was she ever? Her head tossed, gaze flickering to their lengthening shadows and then back to Celeste. "You really don't care?" If she didn't, then maybe Cy could not care, too. cyanide he said to be cool but i'm already coolest

The goings-on of someone else's mind was trivial at best for Celeste. She cared not for underlying feelings and masks of hidden behaviors. Perhaps she was too straightforward or maybe not enough. It was true that she had her own qualms about her feelings for Kuroki, but the man hadn't left yet and his loyalty was all she needed to push those feelings down. Even if Cyanide was going to be bristly toward her, Celeste was going to continue to pretend like Cy actually enjoyed her company. Ignorance was bliss, right? "And did you by chance figure anything out or is that another excuse?" She questions, her lips pursing tightly before shrugging it off with a lift of her shoulders. They could get to the official pack business later. Right now, as her aquamarine gaze eyed the obsidian woman with curiosity, she almost smiled. Of course, they were better off together than alone. Alone was... boring, tiresome, and frankly dangerous. Who knew what strange wolves or beasts were out there waiting to take someone as attractive as them. Releasing a huff of air from her nostrils, she nodded a couple of times before letting her eyes roll back in her head. "Cy, if I actually cared to make Kuroki mine and only mine, you of all wolves would know about it by now," Cel retorted quickly, her head tilting as if she were lifting an eyebrow. "As much as I want someone to myself, I also don't mind sharing. If he wants to have multiples, fine with me as long as he comes back at the end of the day or he shares," her eyes linger for a moment as she contemplates how nice being with a female might be. "Either way, whether we want him or not is really up to him," she added with a sigh. It would be the closest she would come to admitting that she wished he would be just a tad more open to them about what he wanted.