((claiming))

[ocean]

Alerei was not known for her patience.

She gazed calmly at the wolf's back as he bounded ahead of her through the scrubby growth, paws kicking up thin, sandy soil. He was babbling loudly and cheerfully about the jackalope they would find just over the next ridge. He'd been singing that same song for the last six ridges, hills, and rocky piles they'd crested. When they got over this one, he'd make noises and excuses, and on they would go. Except she had resolved that this time, neither of them would be going any farther. Alerei was no fool, she knew there was no jackalope, had known it before they'd even entered this godforsaken desert. Jackalopes did not exist, they simply didn't. But Alerei had a sense of humor, and the wolf was so convincing, she had chosen to let him show her where it was, in exchange for a place in her pack. But now her amusement had guttered out, and had no more interest in seeking a mythical creature.

"Oh Balthazar," she called, bringing the black wolf to a halt. He turned and looked at her curiously. She lazily walked up to him, saying not a word, and sat down beside him. He tried to protest, saying they still hadn't found the beast. She smiled sweetly at him. "I do not think there's a beast to find, dear Bal." Her voice was poisonously sweet, and Balthazar had the good grace to look ashamed, although he did try to convince her she was wrong. She snarled at him, and he stared at her in fear. In that moment she made eye contact, and forced upon his mind; it didn't take long to prove he'd been lying. It took a little longer to addle his brains, though, and once she had finished jumbling his memories the sun was setting. Damn, she would have to stay here tonight. Along the way she had noticed deep holes in the rocks around her, holes that seemed to go on forever, and this territory was strange to her. The last thing she needed was to fall down one of those holes in the darkness.

She left Balthazar to do as he pleased, which wasn't anything intelligent, she'd seen to that. She found an outcropping of rock and crawled underneath it, tucking herself up into a ball. In the morning, she would leave this scorching hellhole to the dingos and the jackals. But that night she dreamed. She dreamed of this desert and its people, hard and wary and strong. This desert was a cesspit, a barren wasteland with no water and hardly any prey; to live here you had to be stronger, smarter, fiercer than anyone else. To live here you had to respect life, and respect death even more. The perfect people. She woke with the sun, and crawled out from beneath the rock, looking at the world around her with new eyes. The scrubby growth, the sand, the rocks and their holes. All mine, she thought.

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T A G G E D claiming post
S T A T U S complete
W O R D C O U N T 504, five-hundred and four
M U S E decent
C O M M E N T S much better than I'd expected. to the admin: I'll pm you with those descriptions when I get home, but I have to leave now.