A Midday Meeting Beneath the Morning Sun

~ Duchess ~

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It was unusual for Duchess to stray into the mountains. Especially in this weather, when she would rather be seeking out shade. However, that was all she had been doing, and it wasn't working. She was a little bit hungry, but that was not unusual these days. The real problem was her terrible thirst, and the complete lack of water. In the stories she had heard, mountains were always portrayed as cold, so she had hoped that she might receive some relief from the heat whilst she searched for something to drink. However, she was only met with disappointment. The sun was high, and the lack of shelter only made things worse. Yet, as ignorant as she could be, she had noticed the pack borders and knew that the locals were probably aware of a few nearby water sources. If she couldn't find the water herself, she would try her luck with the pack wolves.

With the heat showing no signs of relenting, it seemed no one was wandering around more than necessary at this time of day, because she didn't run into anyone as she made her way further into the mountains. It felt so desolate, as if she had been trudging through a rocky desert for days on end. Of course, this was quite the exaggeration; Duchess never had been one to brush off difficult situations lightly. Still, the harsh conditions did make it feel like the day was going slower than usual, the sun seemingly unmoving as she felt herself growing weaker with each step. She had never felt quite like this before. Fearing she may collapse if she went on for much longer, she decided to prioritise finding shelter so that she could rest for a while and wait until evening. This was far from ideal, but she saw no other choice.

Noticing what appeared to be a somewhat secluded area nearby, Duchess turned to make her way there. She was panting heavily at this point, perhaps more than she needed, being the total drama queen she was. Little did she know, she would save more energy if she didn't exaggerate her suffering so much. If anything, it just dried her throat out even more. Yet somehow, things began to work out for her as she finally laid eyes on the very thing she had been seeking: water. There wasn't much, but there was enough. She perked up almost immediately as she was met with a sudden wave of relief, her symptoms of exhaustion seemingly now gone as she eagerly ran towards the pool, quickly lapping up as much as she could. At last, her thirst would be quenched.

...Though, she remained completely oblivious to the fact that she was not actually alone.

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Cheshire

~ Duchess ~

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The way the water soothed the dryness of her throat as she continued to lap at the surface of the pool was so refreshing; even if the water itself was warm due to the harshness of the day's sunlight, this was the best she had felt in days. However, it wasn't long before her moment of happiness was interrupted by the voice of a stranger, suddenly calling out from nearby. She lifted her head to see what the fuss was about, water dripping from her muzzle as she frowned at the disturbance.

"Do you mind? Can't you see I'm-" Her sentence was cut short as the wolf called out once more, saying the water was not for her. She blinked for a moment before giving a somewhat chaotic laugh. In her eyes, it was hers, otherwise her journey into the mountains would have been all for nothing. She was about to make the unknowingly false comment that she had found the pool first, but before she could speak a single word, the stranger lost his footing and came tumbling down the slope towards her. At first, she found it amusing, until a cloud of dust came hurtling her way. Panicked, she leapt back in an attempt to dodge it.

"Ew, dirt! Just what do you think you're doing, you clumsy oaf!?" She quickly turned to groom some of her fur before returning her attention to the other wolf. "Just look at this mess! It's going to take forever to clean up..." her voice trailed off into a whine as she continued to lick at her solid white coat. It hardly looked any different, but she was insistent on making sure she couldn't see a single speck of dirt. For a moment, she even forgot the whole reason the stranger had come after her.

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Cheshire

~ Duchess ~

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The stranger appeared to be confused by her reaction. Duchess gave the wolf a sideways glance, now noticing that his fur was speckled with dirt. She could never understand why anyone would want to let the beauty of their fur be tarnished by such impurities. 'Maybe he came out here for bath,' she thought to herself, hoping that the wolves of these lands also valued such things, even just a little. It wasn't long before the stranger offered an apology for kicking up the cloud of dust, though it ended up sounding a little more unsure than it did sincere. Yet, in Duchess's eyes, this was the perfect opportunity to try and get something more out of the trip.

"Hmph. If you're truly sorry, you can make it up to me by catching something for me to eat." She quickly licked between the pads of one of her paws before adding to her unreasonable suggestion. "Some fresh deer meat will do just fine." It didn't seem to cross her mind that a deer wasn't the sort of thing the average lone wolf could simply catch on demand. Not that she cared. She was so used to getting her own way that such details rarely even crossed her mind. When the stranger leapt to his paws to inform her once more that the water did not belong to her, she quickly leapt up as well, attempting to hop backwards in case his sudden movements kicked up yet more dust. It was probably an overreaction, but she wasn't about to take any chances.

"Watch it!" Duchess bared her teeth in a snarl. The other wolf had requested that she find somewhere else to drink, and although she didn't need anymore, she hated the way he walked around like he owned the place. Maybe he did, in a sense, but still... she wasn't about to let some stranger tell her what to do. Besides, with her limited knowledge of these lands and their inhabitants, she couldn't even tell whether he actually was a pack wolf or just some cocky loner. "Why don't you find somewhere else? You have no idea how long it took me to find this place." Her tone was displeased; she didn't want to give up the water now that someone else wanted it. She decided to leave out the part about how she was no longer desperately thirsty, hoping that she could 'win the rights' to it just for the sake of having something that others envied.

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Cheshire

~ Duchess ~

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Duchess raised an eyebrow when the wolf told her he could not hunt for her. "Well, if you can't hunt, then... then you'd better find some other way to make it up to me." She glanced at the pool of water, trying to find a quick solution. "How about you just leave right now, and we'll pretend this never happened?" She was feeling unusually gracious today; by her standards, at least. Or perhaps it was more so that she simply couldn't be bothered to deal with company right now. However, this wolf seemed quite persistent, and it was unlikely she would get her own way so easily.

She couldn't help but feel a slight sense of satisfaction when the stranger cowered at her snarl. It made her feel powerful, and she liked it. Ironically, if she ever did escalate anything as far as a fight, there was no way she would be any good at it. She was all bark and no bite.

When she tried again to get the stranger to leave, she was met with the same response as before. The wolf mentioned that the water belonged to a pack, the name of which was unfamiliar to her. He then proceeded to introduce himself before asking her to do the same. His name was also unfamiliar to her, but this was one request she was happy to entertain.

"Duchess. My name is Duchess," she began. "Why don't you go and tell your 'bird-dock' pack that this pond belongs to me now?" It was clear from her failed attempt at pronouncing the name 'Vertok' that she hadn't been listening properly. She was beginning to lose her patience - which really didn't take a lot - but she still didn't want to give up the water. Not when someone else wanted it. "You know what they say... 'sharing is caring', or however it goes." She only ever acknowledged the phrase when she wanted something, but she hoped Ramir would agree. Though, what she hoped for and what she got were not always one and the same these days.

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Cheshire

~ Duchess ~

---

At the mention of a king and queen, Duchess tilted her head in curiosity. There was a queen around here? She couldn't help but wonder how hard it would be to reach such a position. For a moment, it was almost like she entered some kind of trance-like state, giving a light smile as she fantasised about the many pack wolves all scrambling to offer her their latest catches. Now that was something she was interested in. She was curious to learn more, though perhaps she spent a little bit too long thinking about it, because it wasn't long before the topic of conversation was changed.

When Ramir said that it was nice to meet her, she quickly responded. "Of course it is. I don't usually give so much of my time to just anyone, y'know..." As she spoke, she lifted a paw, inspecting it for any dirt that may have gotten trapped between the toes. For a moment, it felt like all was going well, but the wolf soon refused to give up the water once more. He sounded a bit more confident than usual at first, but it didn't last long. 'This guy is all over the place,' Duchess thought to herself, observing his constant change in demeanour. She wondered how easy it would be chase him away, but decided to give him a bit longer. The tour of the territory idea didn't sound all that bad, so she was willing to give him a chance.

Ramir's comment about sharing the water, however, was not at all to her liking. It was a whole lot better than what he was willing to give earlier, but it just wasn't special to her if everyone else could have it too. As much as she wanted to keep arguing with him, she wasn't sure it was worth the effort. Instead, she simply responded with a frown.

"Why don't we go on that tour you mentioned earlier? I'm getting rather bored of all these rocks..." She glanced at the rugged terrain, wondering just how much of the Vertok territory was mountainous. "Where does the pack stay?" she asked curiously, assuming that anywhere the pack slept would be far more comfortable. "Is it somewhere with lots of grass and flowers? Are there lots of sheltered places where you can hide from the sun?" She wasn't looking forward to stepping out into the harsh sunlight again, but it would be worth it if she found somewhere cosy to rest. So long as the journey wasn't too long, that is. She just had to trust that Ramir was familiar with the territory and would know the best ways to traverse it.

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Cheshire

~ Duchess ~

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As Ramir began to lead to way, Duchess hesitated for a moment before rising to her paws. She followed him until he started to climb up the steep incline, at which point she took a few steps back, trying to avoid the dust as it was kicked up into the air. This seemed to be a common occurrence in these mountains, and she hated it. The sooner she got out of here, the better. Her gaze followed the dust as it began to settle, watching as it either drifted away or fell to the rocky ground. Her golden eyes glanced up at Ramir, the frown on her face saying all that had to be said.

For a moment, Duchess was so distracted that she had forgotten about the question she had asked until it was answered. The tawny-furred wolf explained that there wasn't much greenery around the den, which only caused her frown to deepen. She couldn't imagine why anyone would want to settle in such a place. The bare ground always seemed so... uncomfortable. It was like everything was made of rock... but perhaps it wasn't all that bad. To her relief, Ramir soon added that the den was nicely sheltered.

"At least that's something, I suppose..," she responded with a quick roll of her eyes. Although it seemed like it would be far from ideal, she had to admit that resting in the shade did sound a lot more appealing than standing around beneath the blazing sun. As her new travel companion seemed to be making decent progress up the slope, Duchess decided to take a few steps closer, delicately placing a paw at the foot of the incline to test for the most stable ground. The sooner she followed, the sooner they could get there. She began to slowly make her way up, taking care not to get her fur dirty along the way. She couldn't resist glancing up to see if Ramir was watching. "See? It is possible to do things carefully, you know... If you had just taking a moment to-" Suddenly, her words were cut short with a gasp as a rock gave way beneath one of her paws, causing her to slip, sending dust flying into the air once more as she scrambled to regain her balance. Panicked, she didn't dare stop; she just kept going until she reached the top of the slope, panting a little as she reached the solid ground, her eyes wide with shock.

"That... That was unexpected," she said, trying to catch her breath. After pausing for a few seconds, Duchess shook out her fur and cast a quick glance at the mess she had made before continuing. "We never speak of this again, okay?" She was too tired and embarrassed to worry about her fur right now. Besides, it would probably just happen again, anyway. The only thing that mattered to her right now was getting to that den so that she could lay down and relax at last; then she could finally give her coat the attention it deserved. She had never been inside a cave before, but at least she would be able to meet the pack and hopefully rest until the heat of the day began to subside.

Noticing the wag of Ramir's tail as he continued to lead the way, Duchess couldn't help but give a faint smile. As different as she and her tour guide were, she knew she wouldn't have a clue how to navigate the mountains without him. Perhaps having him around wasn't so bad, after all.

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Cheshire

~ Duchess ~

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It surprised her when Ramir asked if she was okay. Duchess simply nodded, wanting to move on from the topic. In truth, she was frustrated from the heat and just wanted to find somewhere cosy to relax, but she knew there was little that could be done about it until they reached this cave the wolf had mentioned.

Her tour guide seemed to be looking on the bright side of things, but she couldn't find it in her to share his optimism. "How do you even tolerate this kind of terrain? It's so dry, and... and scratchy." As she spoke, Duchess paused, lifting up a paw and giving her pads a few swift licks. Thankfully her company had paused not far up ahead, but he seemed to be more focused on observing the landscape than waiting for her. She couldn't help but wonder if he was lost, until he smiled at her and explained which way they would be going next. Duchess carefully put her paw back down, wincing slightly as she padded after him; the desperate scrabble on the slope had damaged more than just her ego, but she told herself she would deal with it when they got to the cave so that she could at least rest afterwards.

Duchess didn't understand why Ramir was telling her to be careful if the path they were taking was supposedly so safe. She couldn't help glaring at him slightly, aware that he probably wouldn't make such a comment if she hadn't slipped earlier. "I can handle myself just fine," she retorted, but then it suddenly occurred to her that he might have a point. She wasn't used to the territory, and the summer heat had dried everything so much that even the less rocky slopes felt rough and liable to give way underpaw. Not wanting to argue with him, she shook her as if disregarding the conversation. "Let's just be quick."

She swiftly walked in the direction Ramir had gone, letting herself overtake him if he failed to keep up. He could call out to her if she started going the wrong way, after all. Her paws stung, but that was all the more reason to get the journey over with; perhaps she would be able to stay with the Vertok for a while.

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Cheshire