can you hear that noise, it's a rebel sound

Summer was winding down, but it seemed it wasn't out of power just yet. It was warmer than it had been in several days, and Irin had found shelter beneath one of the pitiful few trees that Glaciem's territory boasted, her head resting easily on her paws and her eyes half-lidded and sleepy as she lay in wait, allowing the day time to wind down and cool off. Her low heat tolerance had her entirely uninterested in moving, and only the occasional halfhearted twitch of her tail against the earth gave any sign that she was still alive. Other than that, she was perfectly still, her body trying to expend as little energy as possible.

Perhaps it was a little melodramatic of her, but Irin had never liked heat, and when she had found herself setting up shop in the North, she had expected it to be a lot cooler, even in the heart of summer. And it wasn't even the heart of summer anymore. Summer would be over soon, and her favorite season would soon be beginning; autumn. Until then, however, Irin was just going to have to wait, ears twitching pitifully with every noise that reached them. Surely something would happen, right? The universe wouldn't be so cruel as to leave her this bored and this hot for a whole day?

She was trespassing, flirting with the territory lines of a kingdom unknown to her knowledge. The pack boundaries had unintelligible fragrances, reminiscent of coniferous trees and something faintly sweet, almost sugary, although the name of it evaded her mind. She delicately pined her way through warm grasses, her body moving in a serpentine sashay towards an unidentified destination. The sun was high in the pale sky, colourless and drab in the heat of mid-day. But Karmen wasn't bothered by the sweltered temperatures, in fact, she thrived. The golden nymph paused as a passerby caught her attention: the girl was dressed in chalky fur, and carried a slick face with honest, baby blue eyes - but they were nothing special, in fact, she was rather plain, and Karmen pitied her and her harmless looks. Average, mundane, mediocre. Pathetic. Karmen's lips curled into a subtle sneer before fading into a look of genuine interest. She appeared to be comfortable in these settings; it could only be rightfully assume that she belonged to the harem of wolves who called this forest their permanent home. With the posture that would suggest royalty, she approached the commoner and cleared her throat - what followed was a sultry voice, rich, something like dark chocolate, and something like amaretto on the rocks. "Excuse me, but could you tell me where I am?" A saccharine smile touched her lips: curious, chic, charming. Everything this stranger could wish she could be all wrapped up in a convenient golden parcel. ----------------------------------------------------------------- talking to you

you can be the hero, you can get the gold

Irin stirred when another approach, lifting her head to focus on a strange brown wolf. Her eyes took in the form of the other carefully, and Irin sniffed daintily, trying to figure out if this wolfess smelled of Glaciem, as she hadn't exactly seen the other around. "You're in Glaciem territory, miss." Irin blinked as she spoke, twitching her ears slightly as she rose carefully to her paws, not wishing to appear impolite before a stranger.

If the stranger didn't know where she was, why was she on a pack's territory? Irin would have brought a voice to that question, but she was a nervous creature, not exactly inclined to question the motives of strangers. She was only comfortable in her own skin when she was pretending to be someone else; a majestic huntress, perhaps, who tracked down monsters to keep her home safe. At the very least, she felt better when she was pretending to be in a different place than this oh so bland world.

Spicing things up was just so much more fun. After all, she could believe this wolfess to be a simple loner or a princess from a strange land, abandoned here by her parents to escape a murderous wolf who wanted to destroy her entire family. Which story was more interesting? Why, the second one, of course, and it was that one that Irin assumed was true.

Karmen learned very quickly what property she was flirting with: Glaciem. This expanse was naked and lackluster, pale and barren in the most unwelcoming of ways. There was nothing genuine about this flat of dull grass, and it smelt faintly of filthy estrogen; was this home to a mingling cluster of girls? Karmen's lip curled into small snarl of disgust before turning her venomous eyes back on the pet in front of her. She watched the young female blink her big wet eyes at Karmen, like a dumbfounded child, with a look that screamed for injuries. Why was she looking at Karmen like that? Like she was the one who was all discombobulated in the head and didn't know her lefts from rights. As the stranger rose to her feet, Karmen ate the distance between them, and even though they were practically the same height, Karmen felt like she had a presence that could effortlessly dwarf the opposite. Not a trace of violence lingered in her body language - of course not, Karmen wasn't one who resulted to malevolence, not sweet, sugar-cookie Karmen Roe. All emotion drained from Karmen's usually lovely face. Her voice soft, trying to disguise the underlying threat."I can't tell if you're looking at me like I'm stupid, or just too naive to know better." ------------------------------------------------------------ talking to you

the boys, the girls, they all like carmen

Irin tilted her head a little as the other female drew closer, closing the distance between them, and Irin tucked her tail down a little, lowering her gaze as she focused on the ground at her paws. The other female didn't seem angry, and she was in fact entirely lovely, Irin had to admit, but Irin felt like a pebble next to a gemstone in that moment. She was a simple, lackluster thing compared to this brown beauty. It was a sensation that Irin wasn't too familiar with; so few of the other females that Irin had ever meant had been so absolutely, imperiously confident in themselves.

The female was startled by the sharpness of the words that spilled from Karmen's words, and only sheer force of will kept her from cringing. "What . . . what do you mean?" Irin asked blankly, gazing curiously at the other female. She was confused by what the female meant, and couldn't figure how something so pretty could have such poisonous words.

She missed the simplicity of her family sometimes. At least then, none of the wolves had been as confusing as the wolves that Irin was meeting across Alacritia. Especially this female.