And whispered in the sounds of silence.

Rea was on the prowl, lurking along the lower reaches of Vanderfell's claim. She deliberately moved along the edge that bordered Elysium's, curious to see if they too had increased their guard. The girl lingered only briefly, for she was unable to locate anybody positioned to stand watch, though it was possible that they were well camouflaged against the rocky backdrop. Ashen pelts were common in such rugged terrain, after all.

She moved on, trailing the length of her frame along trees to deposit her mark. With a non-existent sense of smell, it was impossible to tell if Vanderfell's neighbours had refreshed their own borders. Always eager to be involved in some manner, Rea often mimicked what she'd observed as a cub in pursuit of her parents' patrols, even if they didn't approve.

The mottled yearling found herself trailing toward the run, and lifted her ears to the sound of a loud clack. She rose her head, keen to find the source, and her interest was piqued as she stared at two bucks with antlers locked. Curious, Rea settled on her haunches to watch from her vantage point, trying to decipher which of the two was likely to win.


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^^They were under strict orders not to cross some sort of visible, smelly border that separated their land from the land of their neighbor’s. It was dangerous, because the other wolves wanted to do them harm, his auntie had said.

It was not hard to see that they had increased their patrol, and Orel wondered if it was because they longed to actually have some excitement in their lives, or if it was the doing of their evil queen.

Today, though, Orel was near the borders, playing with a stick. Throwing it into the air, and catching it (and sometimes failing to catch it) and just having a grand ol’ time for himself. The neighbors couldn’t touch him if he didn’t stray to their yard, so Orel kept a good distance into Elysium’s side, paying no mind to anything else aside from that border, when he heard it.

The clack; the grunting of two bucks, and the scuffling of their feet. He blinked, looking up - not realizing they were so close to him until now and instead of moving out of their way, Orel marveled at how large (and how pretty) they were.

^^
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The deer pushed hard against one another, muscles rippling beneath their hide, and Rea marvelled at their strength. She saw one's hind limb slip out in a muddy, slushy patch of thawed snow but managed to collect himself, remaining upright despite having been thrust back a few steps. The mottled yearling found herself rooting for that one in particular, and carried on observing as they groaned and snorted through the battle.

They came apart again, placing distance between one another. Rea lifted her chin, eager to see the crash of horns, but as she did so she caught sight of a flash of crimson on ivory. She blinked, quick to make out the shape of a young cub, and huffed a frustrated sigh to hear the collision of antlers that she'd missed yet again due to this distraction. “Ugh,” she rumbled to herself, moving off further into the lowlands. Why were kids so dumb? Where was this one's mom, anyway?

Rea knew it would be foolish to place herself in the way of two rutting stags, and so she would not - not even for a little kid. She crept low and carefully, maintaining distance so that she could get the hell out of there should either of the bucks choose to turn their anger on her, and barked: “hey, you!” Rea lashed her blue-grey tail, “get back or they'll stomp on ya!”


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^^This was the most interesting thing he had ever seen and it made him think of their deer sibling, who Orel just now realized that he hadn’t seen in awhile. His mother explained that he liked to travel between Elysium, Duskguard, and his home down south.

These rutting stags were like two magnets that were constantly being pulled apart. They slammed into each other with such force, and being that both his mother and his sister were so in tune with Mother Earth, Orel wanted to watch up close.

A bark came in a rare moment of silence, and a girl that he’d never seen before, and knew to be among their neighbors, was advising him to get back. Some part of him wanted to rush over to watch from her point of view, but knew that it was likely not on their side of the border.

“Oh! Y-yeah!” Orel quickly exclaimed, taking a moment to look at the older girl, before taking a few paces back, to sit on a large rock nearby, and within viewing range.

“What’s your name??” Orel would call over the rutting stags, though he couldn’t wait to tell his sister about this, she’d either be mad that he got so close, or jealous with rage that he witnessed two stags goin’ at it.

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The little kid acknowledged her existence, and heeded her warning. Rea observed quietly, flitting her seaglass gaze between the young stranger and the two stags who ceased their rutting behaviour at the nearby call of a predator. They rose their proud heads to gaze her way, flanks heaving as they tried to regain breath, then quickly veered away to disappear among the trees that littered Vanderfell's hunting grounds. She huffed a breath and sagged, disappointed to have had to disrupt the show.

The boy had perched himself atop a rock and Rea glanced his way again, tough her expression was cool. He piped up and asked for her name, but the mottled yearling didn't feel much like making small talk with him. She let her stare linger for a few moments longer before she withdrew, turning away and carrying on deeper into the run to pursue the trail of a buck who'd picked his way South.


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