[private] she said a war ain't a war before both sides bleed; wilt

[sochi]

SOCHI

Her life has settled into an easy rhythm—which she finds both relaxing and distasteful all at once.

She has never particularly loved things that are easy. She has never enjoyed letting the rest of her life fall away, leaving her with nothing but the outlines of it, the steps for which she is to follow. It leaves her feeling strangely empty, all of the fight having bled out of her day to day. There is still the pack, and she knows that it is growing. There is her children, and Risk, and she takes enjoyment in them all.

But the peace is disquieting.

Sochi leaves the Cove in the evening, slipping away in her tigress form. She wonders if perhaps she will be able to quench her thirst with the hunt. It has never failed her before, and she feels something like the tendrils of excitement stir in her belly as she pads further and further from the place she rests her head.

When she is near the forest, she almost feels like herself again,

She picks up on the scent of nearby prey and nearly twists to begin following it when she catches sight of something else—something new entirely. It is enough to cause her to pause, enough for her to lift her leg and instead turn to the other side. She moves slowly, cautiously, toward it, her feline eyes narrowing.

“What are you?” she growls into the darkness, trying to figure it out for herself.

she said a war ain't a war before both sides bleed

@[wilt]