Dainty paws carried her lightly across the ash strewn ground while she looked curiously around her at the young trees that were growing everywhere here. Everything felt so fresh and new and it was clear that a different forest entirely had stood here once upon a time. The spotted young woman had no where in particular to go, but that wasn't any different than every other day of her life. She was as aimless and drifting as a fluff from a dandelion, but she had no qualms with that. Perhaps she would settle somewhere eventually, but for now she was continent to get reacquainted with the lands that she had been born in. The more she wandered these lands though, the more she realized how little she knew or remembered them. The only area that she really knew much about was the Mangroves, but even the areas immediately bordering them felt foreign. As soon as she had been old enough she had run off on her own, but had spent very little time actually experiencing the lands close to her.

Her sapphire eyes scanned the empty world and a sigh passed her lips. She was enjoying the freedom, but being alone was so incredibly boring. She hadn't come across anyone in the last few days and it had begun to make her reconsider her choice to not seek out a pack to live with. At least then she wouldn't be so lonely. The day was slowly creeping away from her, the afternoon beginning to shift into evening as she reached the center of the woods and paused there to look at the area surrounding her again. It was so still and quiet that she was starting to wonder if everyone in Boreas had suddenly disappeared, but as if the world wanted to prove her wrong a noise from behind her caught her attention.

The willowy woman turned, her eyes landing on a larger, solid white female a little ways off. The trees were spaced fairly far apart so it had been easy to spot her so she wouldn't be surprised if the stranger had seen her as well. After all, the deep red that half of her coat held certainly didn't blend in. She watched the other wolf curiously for a few moments, her gaze taking in everything from the spiked collar around the woman's neck to the scar that was clearly visible along her back. For someone with such a simple coat she was still incredibly interesting. Just as she was about to look away and go about her business, the woman's eyes connected with hers and her face immediately flushed when she realized she had been staring. Elise's gaze darted to the ground while she tried to pretend she had been doing anything else and started to walk away, though not rushing away as she tried to play it off and act casual.

The day had been full of aimless wandering, skeptical eyes on the lands around her. She wasn't so sure what was so special about this area, but apparently it had been a burnt up pile of ash years and years ago, the forest catching like kindling and burning to the ground. Her purple eyes sparkled at the thought, a mischievous grin twisting on her inky lips at the thought. That would have been quite the sight to see, better so than the splashes of pink that dotted her vision now. Mercy had a feeling that it was seen as a romantic place, soft petals drifting slowly to the plus ground below. Barf. Pink wasn't a wonderful colour anyways, she much preferred red. A huff filtered out of her maw as she kicked at the earth below, grumbling to herself. Shoulders rolled forward, pulling at the collar that nestled with a familiar pressure against her. It was strange, being alone in this place, but she had to see what all the hype was about. She had heard all about these lands by her mother, who heard it from her adopted mother before her. Even though they weren't related by blood, apparently Mercy looked quite like her namesake, right down to the scar that she had gotten as a pup. She couldn't help but roll her eyes constantly at her mother when she said that, it was all too obvious that she worshiped the Mercy before her. Seemed a little fucked up, if you asked her, it came off as way more than an adopted daughter and mother kind of relationship, but she really didn't care to press further about it. Maybe that's why her dam had stuck her with this name, and raised her the way that she did. In some ways, it was almost like she wanted her to be just like her. Whatever, she was gone now, and there was no looking back. She needed to make a name for herself now, all on her lonesome. As she wove around the sparse trees, the massive wolf saw movement ahead of her. Her head snapped upwards, purple eyes locking onto the half red girl that skirted the area before her. Mercy was not bashful at all, and kept her eyes trained on her as she took a few steps forward, large pads slapping the ground. At last the other heard her, turning and staring at her. A single black marked brow rose as she watched the other openly inspect her, a cocky grin twisting her lips upwards. She did nothing to stop it, just watching the other stare. Unlike herself though, it would seem that the other female was embarrassed when their eyes locked, looking away quickly. Mercy let out a chuckle as she move forward, tail swirling behind her. "No shame in liking what you see," Came her sweet words, nearly sounding like a purr as she closed the distance between them. There was no complaining on her end, she rather liked to be admired anyways. Her nostrils flared as she drank in the scent of the stranger, picking up nothing that told her of a pack. It wasn't like she would care too much about crossing borders, but getting into a fight in her first few days in the East would be, well... rather like herself, actually. She snorted at her own inner thoughts, refocusing her attention to the girl in front of her. She seemed to be around the same age as herself, body cloaked in reds and whites. Pretty, there was no doubt about that. The other was pretty tall, she guessed, but it was hard to compare to herself. There was no one as tall as her that she had had the pleasure of meeting, just yet anyways. "Name's Mercy, and what does my pretty little admirer go by?" Flirting in her first interaction, classy. Good thing that Mercy bore no shame whatsoever.

The words she received in reply to her unintentional staring made that blush that had started on her cheeks feel like it had spread to the rest of her body. Her ears folded back and she looked back up at the larger woman with startled eyes. For once the energetic girl was out of words as she tipped her head so that her blue gaze could meet the other's purple eyes. She had never been spoken to in such a way and it just felt so unexpectedly... scandalous. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out so she just shut it again. Her heart was beating rapidly against her ribcage, but she couldn't quite figure out why. There was still the embarrassment of being found out from her lapse in social norms, but there was some mix of worry or fear that crept in there too. She was just a speck of a wolf in comparison with the solid white woman in front of her and it was easy to feel dwarfed by her in comparison. There was also... excitement? That was the only word Elise could think of to describe the nerves that twisted in her stomach at the obvious flirting that was being thrown her way.

"I-I'm Elise," he replied, her ears flicking again when she heard the stamper in her own voice. She started trying to pull herself up to meet the confidence that this other woman seemed to radiate, but she wasn't sure if it actually showed on the surface. It was probably ridiculous for her to get so flustered just by someone just calling her pretty, but she had never had anyone be so brash in their approach and it had shaken her. She cleared her throat and tried to pull back her shoulders as she stood a little taller, doing her best to ignore the damn race her heart was running in her chest. "Um... Sorry for staring like that, I just... Um..." So incredibly smooth. "I just didn't realize anyone else was out here, that's all," she insisted as she began to regain some form of composure, trying her best to play off what was already a hopeless case of nerves. She didn't know if there was any coming back from how this interaction had begun, but her brain seemed to be insistent on her trying.

It was cute, the way that the other stammered and grew more flustered as Mercy spoke. She couldn't help but let out a sly chuckle, her nose bending lower to get an even better look at the blushing babe below her. It made her seem oh so innocent, making her purple eyes narrow slightly. This was going to be fun, perhaps too much. She found pleasure in many things, but turning others into a pile of mush was up there on the list. "Elise," she breathed, uttering her name so softly, rolling it off her lips in an almost tender whisper. She may be laying it on thick, but it was hard not to after seeing her initial reaction to her opening line. A single black marked brow rose as she watched the red marked woman stand taller, trying to match the confidence that flowed off of Mercy in waves. How darling. The grin on her lips only grew, tail swaying at her hocks in a joyful manner. Each movement made her eyes crinkle more, before a full blown laugh left her inky lips. How adorable this Elise was, rolling her shoulders and clearing her throat. Mercy was being quite mild in her words, it would be fun to see just how far she could push this girl before she exploded. It had been quite some time since she had played a game like this... Sashaying closer, Mercy wiggled closer so that her chest just about brushed up against Elise's red one, that wicked look reflecting in her purple eyes. As she started to talk, she lowered her head, exhaling softly near one of Elise's ears. "Tell yourself that all you want, darling, I don't mind a few looks," she said softly, daring to brush her nose against the other's ear before she rocked back on her heels, giving her a chance to breath. She wasn't that cruel... maybe. Salmon pink tongue ran quickly over her lips as Mercy inspected the other closer, noticing that she had no scent of a pack or anything like that. Roaming alone, and scared by Mercy's brash words. Seemed like trouble, if you asked her. While Mercy wasn't usually one to not react to reason, she knew that there were some out there who cared little for others reactions. While she tried not to, there was a small part of her that was logical. Anger was quick to erase that, but this harmless flirting wasn't anything too dangerous for Elise. Well, save for her heart, probably. Snorting to herself, the pale female looked towards the two-toned girl again, rolling her shoulders against her collar mindlessly. "What brings you out here anyways? There doesn't seem to be too much to do here, alone at least. With someone else... maybe," she teased, eyes drifting to the pretty pink petals that were slowly drifting to the earth around them. "Maybe it was fate, that we met here..." Mercy whispered, leaning forward to lean in closer to Elise, breathing against her features. "Don't you think?" Eyelids fluttered in an innocent manner, though her grin spoke of anything but. Oh no, this was far too easy...

Just when she thought she might be able to get her reactions and emotions in check, the ivory woman breathed her name in such an intimate way that just helped to flare up her embarrassment and uncertainty again. She wanted to back away when Mercy stepped closer till their chests were nearly touching, but Elise could only stand there frozen with her feet seemingly unable to move. She tensed up in response to the feeling of breath against her ear and it wasn't until her lungs began to ache with the need to breathe that she realized how the air had gotten caught in her throat. Her ear flicked from the unexpected touch and her poor lungs finally got a little relief when Mercy leaned back and allowed her to let out an unsteady sigh. Her heart was still going crazy from the rush of adrenaline that hit her system from the uninvited contact.

She just couldn't figure out why this stranger was doing all this and a lot of her wanted her to stop, but at the same time she couldn't convince her body to move so she could run away. Mercy's laugh made her pout and diminished a bit of the confidence that she had been trying to build in herself. She knew that she could just turn and run and would probably be able to get away if she really wanted to... but did she want to? Logic obviously told her yet and begged her to make her legs move, but she also kind of liked the attention she was getting and the scandalous excitement that Mercy made her feel. She could never be as forward as Mercy was being and something about that kept the innocent girl planted in place.

The implications of what Mercy meant by being where with someone else went over Elise's head as she answered the questions of what she was doing out here on her own. "I-I was just at the mangroves near here... That's where I was raised so I was just seeing if any of my family was still around." It had been so long since she had seen any of her family and thinking that she might find any of them here now after so much time was probably a ridiculous idea, but she felt compelled to check for them anyway. She tensed again when Mercy began to lean closer, completely at a loss for what to do about the larger woman being so within her personal space. It made her so incredibly flustered and nervous, but she also couldn't bring herself to tell her to stop. "Um... M-maybe," was all she could manage to reply to Mercy's suggestion that fate had brought them here. By now Elise had completely lost any sense of if this was real flirting or just teasing - not that she would have much frame of reference either way.

The girl seemed to grow more and more flustered as their interactions went on, and the pale woman couldn't help but laugh. Poor innocent soul, this was nothing at all. She was being rather tame, she had to say, and could get far worse. It was hard to tell if she was frozen or just plain uncomfortable, not that she cared too much for others feelings. However, it wasn't quite as fun as time wore on, and she found herself getting bored at the lack of reciprocation. It had been fun at first, but this Elise was unwavering in her almost fearful state. Mercy's grin started to fade, a sigh leaving her inky lips as she rolled her purple eyes at the other's answer. "Well you're no fun, are you?" she asked, pouting out her lower lip as she dramatically dropped to her rump, curling her tail around her side as she sat. Her head tilted to the side as her flirting air dropped, eyes narrowing slightly as she inspected Elise further. She wasn't a baby, but she had mentioned growing up in the Mangroves nearby. Was she just a hole in and didn't know anything about the world around her? At two years old, if her guess was correct, there should be many things that the wolf had experienced thus far. Or was she just that much of a prude? So many questions, so little answers. Mercy sat in silence for awhile, tilting her head back and forth. Finally she let out an airy laugh, shrugging her shoulders up and down. "So do you just not know how to flirt, or are you against that sort of shit?" It really wasn't spoken in any ill manner, Mercy just spoke her mind and said what she wanted. It was blunt, but not an accusation of any kind. In all honesty, she just didn't get it. Usually when she flirted with others, they either told her to fuck off or they gave her some kind of bone... if one catches her drift. Now that the heat of the moment had passed, she actually felt a little bad. While she had no problem corrupting an innocent soul, it wasn't fun if the other wasn't into it. That was just gross. If she had been cute and shy, it would have been different, but Elise had seemed overly tense and... afraid. She rolled her shoulders again at her own thoughts, looking down to absentmindedly check her paw out. Usually she would be insulted at attention not being returned, but there were just something... off about Elise. Despite all of that, she wanted to figure it out. Hell, she was down to teach her a thing or two if she wanted. That grin split her lips again, revealing her teeth as she leaned just a little closer to Elise. She couldn't help herself, clearly, even after all those thoughts of feeling bad. Who was she kidding, she wasn't made of that sunshine and rainbow type of shit. "You're not a baby anymore, Elise, welcome to the real world. It fucking sucks, make light of it when you can," Wow, it even came with advice, apparently. "A pretty thing like you is bound to get attention," Mercy added with a wink, a boisterous laugh bubbling up in her throat.

Her nervous, anxious energy took a turn when Mercy's overwhelmingly flirty nature turned more toward annoyance. Elise blinked with confusion when she heard the larger woman tell her that she was no fun and flop down onto her haunches. It left the confused, innocent woman even more taken aback than before and oddly offended at how Mercy seemed to get irritated at her for not flirting back. All that tense uncertainty got converted into exasperated confusion. How was she supposed to know what the larger woman wanted from her?! Mercy made it out to be like just because she was an "adult" now she was supposed to be able to flirt and stuff and it made her feel like she had been left out of some kind of club or that she missed some kind of lesson along the way. Was this something that other females just naturally understood and she was the outlier?

She sputtered a bit after Mercy leaned closer once again to tell her how the world sucked and how of course she would get attention since she was pretty, her laughter making her blush. Part of her wanted to be able to quip back and forth with the woman that was clearly more comfortable with this than she was, but now she was just flustered and embarrassed. "Well, I've never gotten attention like that before and I don't know how to flirt or whatever, so..." she replied with a grumble while sat back on her haunches with a pout, turning her gaze away grumpily. "I'm not like... against it or anything, I just wasn't expecting it..." She didn't want Mercy to think she was completely oblivious to it all, but she didn't know how else to explain her reaction to Mercy suddenly coming on so strong. She couldn't promise that she would have handled it any better if there had been more of a gradual build up or something along those lines, but she liked to think that would have been the case. Now she just felt like a pup that was pretending to be an adult.

It was odd, just how quickly the mood had changed with the pale woman. It wasn't unusual though, she went through emotions quickly, moving from one to the next with little warning. She had been known to give others whiplash, but that was also part of the fun, was it not? She could tell that Elise was offended by her words, but that only made her laugh harder. Poor little innocent girl, not knowing how to handle the first stranger that she came across. Or so she thought, given her baffled interactions with her thus far. A single brow rose though when she stated that she had had no interest in her yet, disbelief clear in her purple gaze. "I find that hard to believe," she said bluntly, letting her eyes slowly trail over her red hued body once again. "Unless you've only met blind wolves, I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that no one but myself finds you beautiful. Plus that whole innocent thing can be quite... delicious..." Her tone flip flopped again, growing deeper as that hungry tone took over once more. Some liked the whole "corrupt the innocent girl" thing, she had to admit that it was something that she had enjoyed a time or two herself. That pout that took over Elise's lips made her smirk, leaning down to get close to her white marked features again. "Well then, you better expect it more. With a pretty face like you and your curvy body..." Mercy's voice dropped off into an appreciative hum, trailing her nose across the girl's jawline, if she allowed it. She was probably making the poor things head spin with her back and forth, but this banter was getting her more and more excited. It was just a game before, until she felt like her opponent wasn't playing along, but now? It was getting interesting again. She could get something out of this Elise, even if it was those pouting lips and gentle sighs. Mercy drew her face back with a low chuckle, studying Elise's face. "Some might take advantage of that, you know. It would be all too easy, with how quickly you froze and sputtered. Far too easy..." A soft growl rumbled in her throat as she stood, looping her taller body around Elise in a circle tight enough to brush up against her flanks. She made one round around her before pausing behind her, leaning down to bury her face into her scruff. "You're so delicious, after all, that anyone could come and take what they wanted..." She didn't know if she was trying to warn her, scare her, or... what? Just have some fun? It wasn't like she was going to hurt her, but she could, and that was her point. Mercy remembered her first interactions like this, how the gentle touches made her shiver with hunger. But that seemed to be missing from Elise, if not just hidden deep down. It seemed like she was helping the innocent one, knowing that there were others out there that would be too quick to take what they wanted. Her purple gaze glanced at the bite mark scar on her foreleg, a reminder of just that. Hiding her flinch, she pulled herself back before dancing to the front of the two-toned wolf, tossing a wink her way. "See?" Proving that she was right was always fun as well. With another giggle, she flopped down gracefully onto her belly, stretching out her front legs so that her massive paws just teased Elise's own paws, black claws clicking together. This was pretty fun, she had to admit, her interest recaptured.

Her curious, but hesitant gaze lifted back to Mercy's when she was told that it didn't seem believable that there hadn't been anyone that had found her beautiful. It was enough of a compliment to make a slight, involuntary smile tug at the corners of her lips, but the shift in Mercy's tone made her ears flick uncertainly. She couldn't deny that this kind of attention was thrilling in its own way, she was just at such a loss of how to respond. The comments about her looks and body made the hopelessly innocent girl blush, but before she could respond Mercy closed the short distance between them. She held still with her breath caught in her throat as Mercy's nose brushed her jaw. The touch made her freeze up, but in a different way than before. There was far less of that anxiety driven worry and much more of some other emotion that Elise couldn't quite explain.

Her confused gaze found Mercy's again when the pale woman leaned back and spoke again. "Take advantage...?" she questioned quietly, not realizing how breathless she was until she heard the airy waver in her own voice. The growl Mercy gave her made her ears pin back against her skull and she couldn't even hope to describe what she felt when Mercy suddenly began to made a loop around her, brushing every inch of her sides with her body. It sent her heart rate through the roof and she couldn't figure out if it was from excitement or fear, but even as Mercy pressed her face into her scruff, she began to believe it was leaning more toward excitement. It was all so thrilling and exciting and overwhelming and she... liked it?

She finally decided that she really did like it when she realized how disappointed she was when Mercy's side suddenly left hers. Her eyes blinked with surprise and the pout returned to her features, but from a much different place than it had before. This was less from embarrassment and more from disappointment as she shot Mercy a playful glare at the smug response she received now that Mercy had proven her point that she was basically helpless and hopeless in this kind of situation. Elise watched the ivory woman settle down on her stomach across from her, making the scar across her back much more visible - her sapphire gaze shifting down Mercy's form till her eyes landed on their paws that were just barely touching.

Even though she was generally pretty good about giving someone her full attention when they were talking to her or something of that sort, it was pretty rare that someone could fully capture her attention and keep her mind from wandering entirely. Her mind was still reeling, but now she was more intrigued and less concerned. With a 'humph', Elise settled down onto her stomach as well while she tired to sort out how she could possibly respond. She could of course see the point that Mercy was trying to make, but it just made her more confused if anything. "Well... What if... I wanted something like that..." she said, lifting her eyes shyly to find Mercy's much more bold violet gaze. "I mean, I wouldn't want someone to... take advantage of me, I guess, but you know..." She was blushing so strongly she was starting to wonder if it was possible to see though her deep, red fur. She wasn't completely ignorant when it came to things like having a mate and sex and all of those things, but her only frame of reference was what her father and mother had - just the two of them together in love. She had never considered someone coming on so strongly to her out of the blue as an almost complete stranger.