She turns back to Rachav, speaking back in her normal voice.
Rachav-chan, Would you do me the honor of sparing with me tonight?
perhaps Swiftpaw-san would like to join in as well?
Rachav paused, but a certain fire could be seen glittering in her eye.
"I accept your invitation, Lady Kikyo," she said, expression unchanging,
"And this time I will be prepared." A fierce, sharp-toothed grin threatened to break her icy exterior. Rachav stifled it, breathing deeply. She barely gave Swiftpaw a second glance, but that was all in due course. Swiftpaw still had to prove herself, in Rachav's eyes. Griffon might accept pups and weaklings, but until they proved their merit, especially when it came to their ability to protect the camp, they were hardly worth considering. And speaking of which...
"I don't care what your 'Lord' said. Just give me a job and I'll get it done." North repositioned his feet so he was standing on them straight, with equal weight on both. It hurt, but he wanted to show the other dog that he could, as the other dog said "pull his weight" and then some. He softened his stare and gave a brief nod to show he wasn't being challenging, but just showing he could handle anything she gave him.
Rachav nearly growled when she heard the sarcasm in this GSD's voice, directed at Griffon. Disrespecting the camp leader? In earshot of all the other members, and in front of Swiftpaw? It was a good thing this GSD wasn't staying. He would not have many friends in the camp if he kept bad-mouthing Griffon. Even if he did so a subtle manner. Rachav had no tolerance for such actions. However, she did have control. She maintained eye contact, and didn't let him see how he had ruffled her feathers (well, her
fur). He did not know all that Griffon had done for this camp. Without Griffon, there wouldn't
be a camp. And Rachav would be alone.
She simply nodded back to the GSD, her silence cool. She understood intuitively that he wasn't
trying to present a challenge. But he had better watch his step. Rachav had better control than most, but that didn't mean that she didn't have a short fuse. She was simply more successful at disguising her emotions.
"Lady Kikyo, if you wish to join us in our task you may." She made no mention of Swiftpaw, looking to North.
"If we are ready... Let's go." She started briskly off, winding her way through the many tents of the camp, ducking around corners, nodding at some members, completely ignoring others. One particular tent she let her gaze linger on, though it looked no different from the rest. A low murmuring could be heard from inside it. Then she swiftly slid her gaze away and continued on, walking with definite purpose. Most who were working did not get in her way. She headed directly for a large pile of supplies and rolled tents near the boundary of the camp, which a trickle of workers (five in all) was helping to demolish. Rachav herself grabbed a rolled tent, hoisting it over and up, onto one strong shoulder. She squatted and scooped up a woven basket loaded with surplus medical supplies (there were no typical boxes or artificial cloths in evidence) and lifted it so that she held it close to her body with one arm. She turned to look at North, careful of upsetting her balance and of the tent that stuck out, threatening to *wump* someone if they got too near as she moved.
"Here are the supplies we must help to haul. Carry as much as you can, and I will show you the way. Do not think of stealing, or returning to this place after you leave the camp. You will not be treated kindly if you do."
Meanwhile...
Pavelle breathed out a sigh as Conker agreed to take the baskets to the wolf. She idly noted that the rabbit, Jack, seemed to plan his actions in order to be contrary to his sister's desires. Childish, but then again. He was practically a child. She purposefully ignored the fact that, if she estimated correctly, she herself was probably around the same age as he...
Pavelle snapped to as Felix began the short walk to his den. Well. Short by
his standards. Back home, you could get to anywhere you wanted to go within five minutes, and usually less than that. But then again, this was not back home. She was painfully aware of that fact as she tried to keep up. By the time they all finally got to Felix's home, Pavelle was busy hiding the fact that she had started to breathe hard. ((End 3)) Though if she was being honest with herself, there was another reason her heartbeat had elevated. It had become apparent to her during their little walk that Felix was choosing a rather... strange route. ((Per 7, Int 9)) Now, she didn't know this forest. She didn't know what natural dangers there were, or where they would present themselves. So Felix could, possibly, just be leading them all about, avoiding unconsciously the dangers that he knew of and automatically correcting his own position in relation to them. Simple as that. An unconscious defense mechanism, learnt through experience.
However, Pavelle
did know that despite the fact that he seemed like a nice guy, and despite the fact that he
had given her a knife, and
had chosen to offer himself to teach her, she didn't really know Felix all that well. They had only met today, after all. He was as good as a stranger, as were all the others, the rabbits and wolf and squirrel. She was also aware of the fact that she had told this Felix about her own Felix, had told him that he would come looking for her. And if this lynx wanted to lure her somewhere, to his den or otherwise, it would be a wise choice for him to lead her about, confuse her, frighten her (intentionally or not)... And it would be a wise choice for him to try to shake her own Felix off their trail, or at least slow him down. Which he had just done.
She hesitated for a moment before following him down into the ground, into his den.
If this Felix had mal intent, she was in trouble. Even with the knife. And Jack could be in as much trouble as she was.
She hoped for both their sake that they could trust Felix. And she hoped especially that he'd told the truth about not liking raccoon meat...
"So, have you ever cooked before?"
The look on Pavelle's face would probably seem comical to an outside viewer. For a second her heart stuttered to a halt. Then it picked up, beating twice as fast as before. She swallowed. His asking that... well, it was an innocent enough question. But in conjunction with her own thoughts... and thinking, too, of those dumb Bugs Bunny TV shows Mag used to watch so religiously back home and especially of Wile E. Coyote and his taste for rabbit stew...
She managed to stammer out,
"N-Not much a-a-at home." And also managed to keep from bolting. She didn't attempt to approach Felix.