Lover’s Mangrove.

What a place to end up for a lone rogue like Esmee. She did not know when or why she had gotten to the place, but she did somehow. Her paws and something inside her brought her here, so she had no choice but to follow them. If she had an internal odometer, the she-wolf would have racked up several miles in the process. Her home, her family, and the life she once knew were all only memories then. But she did not mind, she had arrived, and that was all that counted. Hopefully it would all be worth it in the end. All of this just had to be worth it in the end, for nothing was futile, everything had a purpose.

The chocolate and brown female padded through the adjoining land at a brisk pace, and her paws propelled her forward into the lands belonging solely to the Fiori wolves. The more and more she delved deeper, the thicker the trees around her got and the waterways grew more numerous. Esmee’s face betrayed no real emotion meanwhile, though her eyes surveyed the essence of the environment. Her eyes said all that needed to be said. There were no reserves about coming here, and it clearly showed. The woman’s posture and carriage were splendid. As always, she did not miss a single beat, and the word queen was written all over her.  

Esmee did stop at the very edge of the border though, no more than the tiniest millimeter from crossing into the territory. If she so much as twitched her front toe the right way, she would have been over the line. Instead though, Esmee’s sensitive, leathery nostrils touched the dividing line, inhaling the scents that rubbed the earth first. Everything seemed normal and up to par from initial inspection. This land was aesthetically lacking somewhat perhaps, but still to par. For a brief moment, Esmee just stopped and she listened. Her rounded ears picked up on the subtle signs of a living territory. A soft breeze also ruffled her thick, dark fur and she reveled in it. The very faintest touch of a smile dared to grace the canine’s features in appreciation, but disappeared almost as quickly as it came. Only the most astute creatures would have been able to detect it, and it did not seem like any were around at the time, which was good. Smiles were sacred to Esmee.

And with that, the female took one sophisticated step into the lands, just waiting to see what would happen next. She would not howl to announce her presence as others had done before her. No, that was what every wolf did. That was beginning to be cliché. Esmee would pace herself and personally find the one responsible for overseeing these lands. There was no need to rush; time would still move forward whether she willed it to or not. And at that current point in time, Esmee had all her time to give.

Actions
"Speech"
'Thoughts'

He had already finished his full patrol for the morning, but with nothing else to occupy his time he found himself wandering near the edges of the mangroves to pass the time. He new every rock, puddle, and root in his place after his countless hours of patrols and trips through it. He was almost as familiar with the hot springs and the falls that were part of or had once been part of his pack's influence, but the mangroves had been a steady home for him for years now so he knew it as well as he knew himself. That's why he was able to notice a scent that was out of place immediately as soon as it crossed his nose. His head turned to follow the scent with a crease of his brow. By the time a scent would normally get to him he would have heard a howl from the border, but that didn't seem to be the case this time. He trotted forward and followed the scent, mentally preparing himself to fight off intruders and considering if he should call Lionel as some backup. He held off for now though. He always liked to think the best of any situation until proven otherwise. It didn't take him long to find the smaller woman that was a good bit past the scent markers at this point and his ear twitched with a mild bit of irritation. He picked up the pace a bit to catch up with her so he could stop in her path. "Excuse me," he said firmly. He didn't want to underestimate her of course, but it did make him feel a little better to see it was just her and not a whole siege. "What are you doing?" "Talk" "You" Think

Esmee was exploring the landscape on her own time, and was enjoying every bit of it. She thought that the place was a little ordinary looking, but still had its own charm anyways. All of the other lands that she had visited before this did not quite suit her like this one did. Everything was fine and dandy when the russet male appeared essentially out of nowhere. Esmee stopped in her tracks when he got in front of her, cutting her off from moving forward. The cavalry had arrived on the scene, and he then asked about her motives. That was a strange question that she had never gotten before really. What was she doing? There could be several answers to that, depending on the situation. But the she wolf did not want to come off as a sassy smart aleck. That was not her personality at all. She would be her usual respectful self like always and see where it got her in the end.

“Oh, hello there. I was simply looking for the leader of this territory and exploring a bit is all,” Esmee responded in turn. She obviously could smell the trademark pack smell on him; the land was riddled with it indeed. However, she did not know that this male was the one that she was actually looking for in the first place. Esmee saw the way that he carried himself with surefire authority; that was obvious. But who could tell for sure what rank someone was these days without asking? Often times wolves in any high position walked around like they owned the place. And, on top of that, most subordinates to the alpha wolves used intimidation methods to threaten outsiders. That was not the case here; the two wolves seemed to have a civil enough conversation thankfully. But that all could change at a moment’s notice.

The she wolf knew that her answer would be less than satisfactory if she left it with only a few words. Expounding on her reasons for trespassing might be beneficial to her. She decided to give it a try. “I offer you my sincerest apologies for crossing into the lands without calling upon someone first. But it seemed like a more suitable option to find someone face to face instead of just summoning them.” Esmee never understood the logic of wandering into someone’s lands, and singing for someone she did not know. For all she knew, their motives were not pure and they could ambush her out of the blue. At least she knew what she was up against if she found someone straight off herself. Aside from that, Esmee did not sing her heart out for just anyone. It had been months since she had howled at all, why do it then?  

As the woman spoke it did indeed seem like her intentions were innocent ones which put Leo a bit more at ease. He could understand her logic as she explained that she had come looking for someone to speak to, but he worried that she could have gotten herself into more trouble than she was if it had been a pack not quite as kind hearted as his own. "Well, I do accept your apology, but you should be more careful in the future. Some packs will attack on sight without asking questions if they find a trespasser. I wouldn't have a way of knowing if you were just exploring or if you were part of an attack on my pack!" he explained, offering the woman a soft smile. He didn't sense any lie in her words and he was simply too friendly for his own good. He couldn't have kept up the tough alpha routine if he tried. "On the note of trying to find the leader of this territory, you've run into the right guy. I'm Leo, the King here in Fiori." He gave her a polite dip of his head as he introduced himself. Even when speaking to a woman who was still technically trespassing he couldn't help but be a gentleman. "Was there something I could help you with?" he added with a curious tilt of his head. "Talk" "You" Think