I'm just curious, is it serious?

[Phixora DiRossi]

Phixora had been off duty caring for her horse, Tempest, when the wolf had arrived. She hadn't known about it until she returned to Xahrina's house just in time to watch them ride off together. She wanted to vomit at the sight of his arms around her, but Xahrina looked so peaceful...actually, maybe that made it worse. Phixora was always a little touchy whenever people were too familiar with the chieftess, but this...she could already tell it was different. It made her nervous. She didn't do nervous. She made other people nervous.

She'd been waiting for them to return for ages, and finally gave up. She told one of the other guards she was feeling sick (not entirely a lie) and left. She needed to go for a ride of her own. 

She put on her trick saddle and took Tempest out to one of the practice rings. Of course it was only a coincidence that she could see who was coming and going from the Chieftess's home. It wasn't that she was watching to see when the wolf got off her land.

The horse's lovely caramel-red coat shone in the evening sun as Phixora pushed her into a run and let go of the reins. Tempest knew what to do, and she loved it. She ran as fast as she could, and Phixora laughed as she leaned back to lie flat on the horse's back for a moment and reveled in the movement of Tempest's muscles beneath her for a few breaths. Already she felt a little calmer. 

Phixora pushed herself through some of the old routines--as much as she could without a partner. Standing, falling, grabbing items, mounting and dismounting at dangerous speeds, all of it felt like part of the rhythm of her heart. She felt at home, here. She wished that would keep her from looking at the Chieftess's house when she passed it. 

It wasn't until after she'd given up and returned Tempest to the stables that she finally saw Xahrina Oisen returning alone. It almost made her laugh, the fact that she was going back to Xahrina covered in dust and sweat, and Xahrina still looked as regal as ever as she made her way up the front steps.

"Late night, Rina?" she called out to her as she approached, a wicked grin on her face. "You've been keeping interesting company, today."

[Xahrina Oisen]

Xahrina was well and back from her...time with a certain wolf that she had enjoyed. She was oddly smitten with him, the how and why were unknown but it didn't feel wrong. Maybe she was just meant to be with someone from another clan and not her own since all the men here didn't seem to be her type or someone who could handle how she is.

So much was on her mind, her fingers playing with the horse pendant part that she kept, her fingers playing with it as she muttered a little under her breath, just trying to piece it together when a certain small firecracker was by her side.

A warm smile rose to her lips as she waited for her to get closer, "Late night early more, what's the difference now a days?" she inquired curiously with a bit of a smile. Oh so she had seen her company? She wondered how much she had seen and if she managed the alone time that she had hoped for.

"I had an interesting guest for sure yes, why, worried about a single wolf in our lands?" she asked, a light tease in her voice to the young woman who seemed to worry more than she really should.

[Phixora DiRossi]

Phixora wanted to be angry, really she did...but how could she hold it with Xahrina? She'd figured out ages ago that there was something special about Xahrina. She didn't need to say anything about it, and she didn't know if Xahrina had even noticed that she knew. But Phixora was an angry person. It fueled her. And when something interrupted that anger...well, she couldn't not notice.

She'd just have to stay angry at that mangy wolf, instead. It was his fault for wandering in, anyway.

With a frustrated sigh, she nudged Xahrina with her shoulder. "Oh, is he a 'single' wolf? The way you treated him, I was thinking he was quickly on his way to being part of a pair." It was mainly teasing--she hadn't given serious thought to things between Xahrina and the Wynfrid man being anything other than casual. Intense, sure, but not permanent. Still, she couldn't resist poking at the thing was bothering her, like scratching a bug bite. She shot Xahrina a sidelong look before she ran ahead to open and hold the door into the house for her. Once she had passed, Phixora would close the door behind her, then follow her into the house.

She raised her eyebrow at her friend and crossed her arms. "You don't pull out all the stops like that for just anyone, Rina. He must be special."

[Xahrina Oisen]

Xahrina easily squished her anger, it was something she always did with her because little Phi was a firecracker who should have been born a redhead. She was still fond of her though, still cared for the small woman with a passion. Her nudging though had her smiling as she would walk with her to the house.

"I treated him differently because he is different, he was not some wolf invader of our lands...he was more of an envoy and I needed a change to gauge his actions and worth," she told her with a little smile.

"Thank you," she told her as she walked inside and went to pick up a kettle and dunk it into a barrel of water to fill it before taking it to place on a hook to swing into the fireplace.

That question, her eyes went to her hand to look at the matching set of horse pendants she had made and given half of to the wolf. "Something about him is..." she told her as she went and gathered things for making tea, "His clan leader wants to unify with our against the Dragons. A stronger force against them to keep them from taking our lands...A way to have our tribes work together," she told her as she was putting the items together. Maybe Phi would get the idea of where this was going, maybe she wouldn't, she didn't know.

[Phixora DiRossi]

Phixora automatically moved to help, grabbing teacups from another part of the room while Xahrina worked on the actual drink. She would have done that work, as well, if she thought Xahrina would let her. But she knew better than to get between the chieftess and a task. Those were some of the things she liked about the woman--she wasn't afraid of work, and she didn't let anything get in her way.

She was setting out the cups as Xahrina spoke and thinking of grabbing some kind of snack as well when she slowed to a stop to listen more closely. She narrowed her kohl-rimmed eyes inquisitively at Xahrina, suddenly getting the feeling she was missing something.

"That sounds quite generous, for a more warlike clan to offer to help us protect our own," she began slowly, the skepticism in her voice making it clear that she thought it was too generous to come without strings attached. "And what did our canine friend want in exchange? Surely he didn't come seeking out superior warriors, so there must be something else."

She'd heard the saying 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth,' but she wasn't one to take anything at face value. In fact, it was her job to be suspicious. The frustration of being left out of this meeting rankled again.

"Perhaps you should have had someone else in your...negotiations… to make sure you were getting a fair deal," she commented pointedly, setting the next cup down with a bit more force than she'd intended.



Don't look a gift horse in the mouth: Don't question the value of a gift. The proverb refers to the practice of evaluating the age of a horse by looking at its teeth.

[Xahrina Oisen]

Xahrina wouldn't protest to the help, she would pull out the sugar and honey while placing them on the table. A small hum leaving her as she listened to her musings of what they wanted.

"We provide them with better horses, in turn they help with with keeping our lands safe. I need to speak with their Chief in the coming weeks so we can figure out things better but it is the basis. They are more of a warring clan than our own," she told her as she would pick up a cloth to lift the hot kettle from the fireplace.

Pouring hot water into the cups, she would add the tea leaf pouches and then go to set the kettle back into the fireplace, not at all bothered by the force of the cup.

"Also a marriage alliance is being offered to help secure things more pointedly so that both sides have a reason to want to aid one another," she told her as she would make her tea and hand Phi the cup.

"You need to sit or you will break something Phi," she told her gently, already knowing this would anger her to no end. Xahrina did not yet want to say how she was feeling over Lycus, that she kissed him and tried to encourage other...activities between them but they already felt like two flames dancing together and with him being away it made her want to go to him all the more.

[Phixora DiRossi]

Better horses? Was that all? That wasn't bad at all, really. They could more than handle training extra horses for sale or trade to the wolves, especially if it meant that the Dragons stayed outside their borders.

Marriage too? Hm. Ok now the wolves were treading on dangerous territory. Maybe Xahrina's sister could find a decent wolf among them. It would be strange to have one among them, but they could make it work. Or perhaps she would go there. They'd have to work out visitation… She relaxed slightly and was pulling out her chair when Xahrina spoke again.

Oh, she'd been starting to sit down--but hearing Xahrina tell her to do it abruptly made her change her mind. Being told to sit, with that warning in Xahrina's voice, the pieces had fallen into place. Phixora had misunderstood. The marriage wasn't for just anyone, and the chieftess had been right to guess that it would upset her. 

"You didn't. You wouldn't!" she accused, backing away from the table with horror on her face. She'd arranged the marriage for herself, hadn't she? That was why she'd been so cozy with the wolf-man. She was going to marry him, and leave her them all behind. Was it because she was attracted to him? He'd done something to turn her head, make her betray them. Had she forgotten what she was, here, where they needed her?

"Rina, you're our leader! What is this clan without you? Are you seriously planning to leave us for those wolves? Or try and force us to be one big happy family? Predators don't roam freely among horses, Xahrina." Her voice turned cold, and the hurt was clear in her wide eyes.

[Xahrina Oisen]

Leave it to Phixora to get this mad and Xahrina would give a small sigh as she would place her hands on the table to look at her, her gaze calm and relaxed, "Phi. Stop." she asked her gently. Her tone still calm as ever as she would sit down and fix up her own tea while she let Phi vent out her anger towards her.

"Alright, first, I am not leaving. I would never- ever, leave you or our people. Let me state that right now," she told her, "No but wolves don't attack horses. Dragons do. Dragons destroy everything in their path and rend the ground to ash," she told her as she stirred her tea slowly. "Wolves are protective just as the leader of the herd is and both have worked together in the wild," she explained to her as well. She had seen a wolf leave a foal along, even when the mother wasn't too close. It's all on respect and if it's equal there is little to worry about.

"He would be coming here. What I expect is us to be able to coexist together, do I imagine it would be an easy thing? No. It will take time but there will be no talk of weddings until I speak with their Chief and learn what he truly wants as well...I do feel like Lycus didn't tell me everything as he might not have known." she explain as she took a sip.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to come with me when I go into their lands but only if you can promise to not yell at them Phi," Xahrina asked her gently. She would sigh a little, "Phi...would I ever do anything that wasn't for our people? Would I ever do something for our people if I wasn't willing to do it first?" she asked her gently, trying to help her see the reason in why she was doing what she was doing.