"Yes - preparing," the dame eventually responded to the brute. She was uneased by the whole thing, and she knew she shouldn't be in this near of a vicinity of Bayne. She knew there'd be dire consequences if there was so much as a sighting of them. The sudden movements of her tail slowed for a second, and her auris flickered back to her skull as she thought about it. "Not training, mind," she then added.

Amera had been made use of in other, more... trivial ways. Medical attention, caring for younger pack members and moving prey around. Making sure everyone was where they were meant to be, or even just being taught to keep an eye on their territory, to ensure they were safe from intruders... she wasn't meant to be a warrior, no matter how much she begged for it. But she could still romp a part.

The young fae cocked her head to her friend, moving off her rump and she moved towards him. He must have been enervated. Perhaps, she was lucky to be in such work as she was. Early dawns were... uneasy, but perhaps being lucky enough to have days away was what she should have gratitude for. She abhorred seeing her beloved friend seeming so dim about his current duties, so when he perked up once more, her tail started swinging happily.

Lobes twitched when his shoulder pressed against hers, her head cocking ever so slightly to the brute. She perked up when he suggested a brawl and jumped to her paws, her whole body elating with anticipation for their games. "I take it you're not too exhausted then," she snickered, her sly grin splitting her face once more.

The fae crouched into a playful bow, looking like a rather docile-looking dog as her tail wagged excitedly. "Well, I suppose you'll have to draw up to be vistus," she snarled in a playful tone.

She watched him sit for a moment, her tail swinging faster before crawling forwards, eyes bright as they readied to play, though soon enough moved to caper on the back to her friend, getting more and more excitable as she tumbled with him, their wrestle getting more and more excitable their movements increased.

Bayne's eyes glinted with glee as he saw Amera approaching him. When he noticed his companion's plumage flicker enthusiastically, he was overcome with a wave of euphoria. Bayne had been feeling discouraged and antsy in recent times the weight of their clan's responsibilities began to take its toll on him. But witnessing Amera's excitement and amusement reinvigorated him.

Bayne was unable to resist but chortle as Amera knelt into a coltish bow. He appreciated her ability to consistently manage to draw out his nefarious side. "Not too worn out, my friend," he stated, his plumage flitting behind him. "I could wrestle with you for a whole day if I were given the time."

He observed as Amera swung effortlessly and fluidly on his back. Bayne understood Amera was a natural at this, and he couldn't assist but be resentful of her quickness. But he also became cognizant of his own assets, specifically his imposing physique and mandibles.

Bayne felt his worries and uncertainties go aside whilst they proceeded to wrestle. For a brief period of time, he was just a liberated youngster, embracing his friend's presence and the happiness of the moment. It was an enjoyable respite from their clan's responsibilities and the ongoing battle amongst each other.

Perhaps it was the ebbing play that her friend was panegyrically accepting or that she was obliged to just... relax with her friend. The training was one thing... that was dubious and boring, but she could really just laze and treasure her time with her adored friend.

In stature, they had a large contrast. Although lively and well cared for, for now, Amera was minute compared to her companion. Sly, petite, and quick to top it off. Bayne towered over her, even at their young ages, and was built comparably to a brick house, which gave him an advantage of strength she could only dream for.

She could only desire his ability to make every aspect of their wrestling and play fun, even when he knew he had such an advantage over them. She couldn't cause him harm if he tried, and yet he was always tender with his blows, assuring that he shouldn't maim her.

He might not be so merciful, one day, a day she could only dread that it might happen, even if far in the future.

A gleeful reverberate arose from her throat as they rumbled on the leaflet-carpeted ground, rolling about as they wrestled one another, though seemed to still when he threw a question at her.

She froze between his front paws, plumage slowly coming to a halt, her head cocking the way a lost puppy might. Must they do this now? While they were having fun?

"No, I have not," the dame whispered after a few thoughtful moments. Why would he think such a thing? Starting their own clan? Imagine how much havoc that'd call for. And how on earth was she meant to get away with telling him they'd have to stop seeing each other?

"Why would you even suggest it? We'd die before we even got a mile out of our territories. And who on earth would want to join a clan run by... you and I?" She reasoned after a few moments, her voice low and suddenly ever so sombre at the new tone of the conversation.

Amera's response astonished Bayne a little bit. He imagined her to be pleased with the prospect of establishing their own clan and striking away from the routine of their present clan existence. He leaned up parallel, his focus riveted on her.

"Why not?" he inquired, a disgruntled tone in his voice. "We could make our own regulations and do matters the way we want."

''And who is to claim we wouldn't be successful in our endeavors? Amera, we're resilient and competent. We have the potential to form something remarkable."

He took the time to examine her facial characteristics. He could see her skepticism and fret in her expressions, but he wasn't able to figure out why she was so adamantly opposed to the notion. Wasn't she sick of serving the same old clan leaders? Didn't she want to be autonomous and mold her own destiny?

"I know it's risky," he declared.

"But what else is there? Were we to remain here and never discover our full potential? We have an opportunity to be so much more than pawns in someone else's game. Do you not desire that for us?"

"We could make an excellent team, Amera."

''I can feel it in my bones. We simply need to have trust in ourselves and one another."

He wanted her to put her trust in his ambition, to see the possibilities he saw. He couldn't, however, make her feel the same way. All he could do was wait for her to rethink her thoughts.

Amera was admittedly taken aback by her friend's ambition to flee. With her, of all people. How was she to tell him that she couldn't bear to see him anymore when he was fighting to run away with her? She studied his features, searching for any kind of communication to tell her that he was just being a tease, that this childish idea of his was just to catch her off guard.

No, there was nothing. He was serious. He was seeking to depart with her.

How did he wish for that to go? Perhaps, he was right. Perhaps, they'd make a good team. Amera, though, was too wimpish to agree. She was safe here. She felt her insides churn at so much as the idea of leaving her beloved pack mates.

"I said no, Bayne," the dame grumbled, lobes flattening against her skull after a few moments.

"We will flourish in our respective packs. We do not need to flee to do such a thing, especially not with one another." Amera promised him.

Was he getting riled up about all of this? She felt a shift in the ozone, forcing herself to slip out from under him and shaking the wet dust from her sandy coat, a bit of a huff escaping her.

The soft breeze seemed to sharpen, the wind hitting her coat, flattening the sides of her, splitting the double coat and revealing the dark undercoat.

"We may be a wonderful team, but Bayne, we wouldn't get too far, especially not with a war arising. How would you convince anyone to join a clan run by two youngsters like us?" She searched his bright orbs for a moment before sighing. "I trust you. But I do not trust anyone else."

"I do not trust that we will not be hunted if we flee."

Bayne was aghast of what he heard. Amera's response made his heart plummet. He had imagined that they had a particular kinship that transcended beyond their clan loyalties. And now she's saying she doesn't want to go anywhere with him? That she was pleased with her humdrum existence?

He had been wounded as well as incensed. How could she fail to comprehend that they were destined for more? That if they worked in tandem, they could do so much more?

"Thrive in our individual clan's?" Bayne murmured, his voice tinged with disdain. "Is that what you're looking for, Amera? To spend a mediocre existence, blending in with the audience never differentiating out or accomplishing anything great?"

He cocked his cranium, with an air of gloom on his face. "I thought you were special, Amera. I felt you had a flare in you, an impulse to see the world outside the confines of our clan. But I suppose I was misled."

He burst to his feet, loomed above Amera, his gaze torching with an equal share of fury and hopelessness. "Do you know what? Fine. If you're inclined to stay here, you should. But I'm going to flee. I'm going to find a clan that sees the potential in me and stands for my abilities and expertise. And I'll forever rue the way you held me back when I become their ruler."

He drew his lips back and flattened his lobes to his skull, overdrawn with frustration.

Amera felt her plumage tuck between her legs as she stared up at her friend, who seemed to grow a foot in a couple of seconds. Her heart thumped in a way so, completely and utterly different from the way she'd had it thump on the way in. This wasn't excitement or thrill... this was agitation, and complete and utter dread from her friend. Fear of this confrontation.

An easy life. Orders and rules... that was what she was waiting for. She wanted to prove herself to her clan, to be more than what they expected from her. That would never happen if she decided to leave with this young brute.

"Yes, that is exactly what I want." She hissed, her upper lip curled slightly as she listened to him dissing her. "We are barely puppies, Bayne!" She then added eyes stretched wide as her ears tugged on the soft skin of her face.

A low tone of a growl escaped her, her face darkening, though her body slowly lowered to the ground in a kind of submission. Still, she barely seemed to realise she was doing such a thing. She looked full of anxiety towards her friend, who seemed to be relishing his intimidating her. This was no longer play, and she felt her talons start to grip the leaved carpet, as though searching for some form of stability of her wearing body.

"You were wrong then, weren't you?" She glared at him, brows furrowed her hackles ever so slightly raised. "There is nothing special about me. And there is certainly nothing special about you, Bayne. Are you really too childish to understand that this idea of yours will never concoct?"

She felt regret run through her almost instantly, though stayed put on the ground, suddenly looking much like a skittish feline more than the wolf she was meant to be.

Bayne's heart rate accelerated with frustration, his muscles stretching as he noticed Amera cower on the ground in front of him. How could she denigrate him like that? He had been nothing but an excellent companion to her, and now she was opposing his ideas and demeaning him.

"Incorrect?" Bayne grumbled his voice harsh and hazardous. "Do you think I'm incorrect? You consider we're simply average wolflings, condemned to embark on the same monotonous route as every other canine in this clan?"

Bayne drew an inch nearer his outraged irises charring as he jutted over Amera. "I'm driven Amera. I've had an apparition. And you're too frightened to even consider it." Adrenaline circulated through his bloodstream, prompting him to venture out and battle. His instincts urged him to conquer this fragile canine in front of him, to demonstrate his strength and dominance.

"You know nothing about me, Amera," he exclaimed intensifying his voice. "With your ideal compliance and mundane existence, you think you're so special. But you're just like the remainder of the clan. Intimidated to take opportunities, apprehensive to pursue your ambitions."

Bayne was able to sense his muscles coiling in readiness for a battle. He was prepared to make his point, to demonstrate to Amera that he was not to be trifled with.

"Are you really going to back down now, Amera?" He taunted, his teeth bared in an unsettling grimace. "Or are you going to stand up and wrestle for what you believe in?"

Amera felt her body drop closer, her chin very much resting on the ground, the damp coldness of the leaflets seeping through to her coat. Had what she'd insinuated really been so serious? The petrifying idea of leaving her clan had been suggested, so perhaps he was correct. She was too wimpy to even consider it.

She risked a glance towards him, only to deplore that decision as he loomed above her, only to go back to staring at his talons. She had been a good confidante, had she not? Been here every morning since she was but a pup? She did not say a word to her pack about a possible intruder or refuse anything he'd suggested.

Why now? Why was he so completely and utterly perturbed about all of this?

She should say something - counteract his hurtful spats - though, doing such a thing seemed awfully terrifying as he loomed closer.

"Yes, that is exactly what I'm insinuating," she mumbled before forcing herself to look up at the brutish wolfling. Her chest burned, her breath hitching as she saw her friend like this. Anger and anxiety made her heart pump faster, and she could already feel her body shake in complete and utter fear.

This was her friend... her ally, her confidant, familiar, and he looked about ready to rip her to shreds. "You, however, are more than correct. I'm absolutely petrified of the idea of leaving," she hissed, eyes widening as he told her to brawl. She didn't want that. She had no desire to fight with him, to wrestle him, because she'd only come out unvictorious.

Yet, she was still terrified to stand up. To move and get herself to more... friendly surroundings.

As he beheld Amera diminish in front of him, Bayne's eyes dilated and his tendons clenched. He was dumbfounded that she had become so foolish and feeble. He had reconsidered her. They had been acquaintances for decades, sprinting and frolicking in the lush greenery often. He used to think of her as brave and courageous, but she suddenly began illustrating to be anything more than a hesitant little pup.

"You're pathetic," Bayne gnashed as he meandered closer to Amera. "Do you have the fortitude to flee?" he questioned, his voice intimidating and resonant.

''You're reluctant to do any besides what your clan dictates." he spat, poison trickling from his tongue.

Bayne heeded a few inches nearer, his gaze fixated on Amera's. His heart was pumping blood in the center of his chest as he shuddered with hatred. He was willing to engage in battle, to illustrate that he was the tougher canine, the one that had the courage of attempting afresh.

"I am speechless that I ever thought you were my close companion," he scowled as he edged forward one more time. "You're terrified of anything unusual or unresolved just like everyone else is." he continued.

''Amera, you're fragile, and I don't intend on wasting any extra time with you." was his last comment.

Before he soared on, mandibles clamped down, heading for Amera's jugular. He wasn't concerned about compromising her or introducing her to her knees any longer. All he required was to prove that he was correct, that he was prepared for confronting anything in his path.