[set during Beltane]

There's a festival afoot. All are invited, it seems. The borders open. A perfect chance to slip in and gain some intelligence. She can't do fucking much about conquering this.... not-pack (the borders aren't quite secure, what weakness this is!), not without an army, but she can get her bearings. And she can do so without seeming like she's a lost kitten. She won't settle for being a newcomer, after all.

She slips among the conversation, finding her target: a slender boy, his silver fur looking quite dashing. She could possibly fold this one in half, she's certain. He's tall. Probably not good breeding stock, but good for her; she does like her pretty boys. Her lips part in a soft grin. "Well well well. All alone without a dance partner?"

Fiadh should be back with those berries any moment, Dimitri knows. They're not taking too many. It's going to be fine. They're going to stay mostly sober and have a good time. A few wouldn't hurt, right? Actually, should lactating mothers be drinking? Hm. Well--

Oh.

Dimitri's not stupid. She knows when people look at her like that, they want one thing. And had this been a few months ago, she might have said yes. Might have played along, even, been quite happy to. Older women are hot, and this one, with her battlescars and her vicious look, looks like a fun time. But what she and Fiadh have... it's not, like, serious, but. It would be wrong to do something like this without speaking to Fiadh first.

And so, Dimitri takes a step back and speaks as blandly as possible. "Ah, I already have a dance partner. She just went to grab us something." At the woman's sharp disappointment, Dimitri's eyes shift. There. Heading right back. "And here she is! I hope you find someone, though."

Surprisingly the flower crown and braids have stayed in her fur throughout the first dance, she has half a mind to find herself a raccoon friend so she could have them more often. There was something about Beltane that made her feel...light. But maybe it was more than just the festival, it was a moment to relax, be surrounded by other bodies. This was how things should be.

Fiadh was on her way back with a leaf of berries when she saw the pale wolf with a dark saddle approach Dimitri, her steps turning into a trot to close the distance faster before her date was stolen. She has a claim on this one, thank you very much, though if the potential third was cute....wait.

Wait a fucking minute.

That....couldn't be.

Fiadh broke into a run, tail up and wagging furiously as she was suddenly There, berries dropped as she bounced Right into Steller with pup like glee. Auntie! It was childish, of course it was childish, the last time she'd seen anyone from her family she had been a child watching their raid. Fiadh didn't give time for the older soldier to reprimand her, bouncing back and practically prancing around the pair. 'itri, 'itri this is Steller This was her kin, and it's been so long.

Somehow, the flower crown was sticking on, thank you raccoon boy.

And like that, the dead walk.

Steller bristles, not out of anger, but out of sheer terror. That's-- it couldn't be. Ramming into her is Golden's greatest, the only one she'd bothered to cultivate a relationship with. And the last time she'd seen that child, the girl had been splattered across parts of the bluff.

"You?" It's rare to see fear across the general's face. "How are you here?!"

She laughs, ears swiveling back. "This... This isn't what we were promised." And though this eaglet was one of Steller's favorites, the eaglet hadn't earned the right to enter the afterlife, had she? "By the blood, you're here. And talking. And moving." And remarkably put-together, truth be told.