Neverwinter Forest what i've done

@Rosalyn

Choices. Pantaleimon was confronted with the choices he had made as he crouched from Chimera Fields south. Home. Pantaleimon had tried to throw up, but hadn't managed to get whatever was bothering him out. He knew little of plants, and didn't know this was a plant to begin with. For all Pan knew, the strange female that had come upon him had used fermented meat -- but how had she masked the scent? -- or magic or the Gods or whatever.

Several times Pan had tried to howl, but his swollen throat refused him to try and find out if any Redhawk Caldera wolves were near enough to hear his call. And so, with pain coarsing through his body and barely able to speak any words at all, Pantaleimon started south. Eventually he reached Neverwinter Forest, but while it should've been a relief, it only served as a reminder that he was far from home.

Darkness spread over the lands as night fell upon him, and Pantaleimon lay down next to a tree at the northern frays of the forest. Pan felt incredibly vulnerable, but he had no choice. He curled up and squinted his eyes as pain seemed a constant factor now. Would this pass, like Perry's headaches? Would his eye pop out too? Or would he die here, alone in this forest, never to be found again, thought to be a deserter by Redhawk Caldera? It terrified Pan to think of the last, and he tried to get up to move on, unwilling to die here. As soon as he got up, however, he slid right down to the ground with a muffled wine escaping from puffed throat as pain shot through his legs. Just a short break, then. He'd move on soon, and he'd be by Perry's side soon, resting, surely...

Rosalyn had taken herself southward once more, preferring the balmy south to the bite of the northern winds.  She had met a couple of interesting souls, but continued her nomadic tendencies, wandering place to place with little care as to where she ended up.  Mostly the past couple of days she had followed the food, hunting down a couple birds and a few smaller creatures already.  A large kill would be nice but she wasn't about to risk her neck to get it.  Easy target or none.

She was sniffing around for a game trail to follow, hoping it would finish at an old or weak one that she could follow a while, when she caught a familiar scent instead. Her brows lifted in surprise to find him so far from where she assumed his home to be. Following the scent, she soon was able to find him resting beneath a tree. "Kitten?" She'd forgotten his name. What was it again? Paul?

i'm not entirely sure where their previous thread will end so keeping that vague :3

Sleep did not come easy, and so Pantaleimon decided after a little bit of closing his eyes to stay awake for now. It was safer that way, anyway, even though he was exhausted and wanting nothing more than to rest his eyes for a bit. But he couldn't; the risk of being attacked was too big, especially since the wolf that had done this to him had actually sat next to him. Maybe it was one of Redhawk Caldera's enemies that had done this, and not, like Pan had initially thought, someone from the nearby mountain pack that was protective. It hardly mattered now, though -- all Pan wanted was to survive this and go home to Perry and the kids.

Pantaleimon was so inverted into himself, what with the stinging pain that rippled through his body every second, that he did not notice another's approach until he heard a voice. Pan lifted his head abruptly, eyes wide with panic as he stared at her, only to realise who it was. Without thinking Pan opened his mouth, intending to say 'Roz?' in an as surprised voice as hers, but all that came out was a wheezy-sounding "Ruuuuuh..." while he stared at her with big, helpless eyes, pleading for help and hoping that she wasn't in on all of this, too, and would serve to remove him from Perry's side forever.

She didn't realize anything was wrong until she heard him try to speak, panic written plainly on his face.  Concerned, she took a step closer, now able to note the swelled look his neck held.  "Shit, what happened?! Wait... no, don't answer that."  Her ears flicked back as she amended that exclamation immediately.  Speaking looked painful, if not impossible.

Rosalyn was no healer, but she knew a reaction when she saw one. "Something you ate?" Her voice was calm, but internally she winced sympathetically. She liked this guy and seeing him struggle like this wasn't fun. He was too much a sweetheart for that. She had a slight soft spot for the underdogs and Pan struck her as one such creature. She'd help if she could, so long as doing so wasn't particularly endangering to her own well being.

"You need to get home," she stated, looking at him for confirmation. Yes or no questions seemed the way to go here. Once he was back, maybe his pack could help. Because her knowledge in this area was nil.

Relief flooded over Pantaleimon when Roz seemed to realise that something was amiss and reacted positively. Maybe he would be able to get home to Peregrine, after all, rather than die alone and in pain in this forest. When she asked if it was something he ate, Pantaleimon nodded to indicate 'yes', even if it had probably been something inside of what he had eaten, or.. something (how exactly things like these worked was unclear to Pantaleimon).

Pantaleimon showed a weak and weary smile when Roz mentioned 'home'. Pantaleimon nodded and tried to get up, his legs shaking under his weight. Tail hung low and ears to the side in defeat when Pantaleimon eventually managed to get to his feet. He tried to walk, but when he felt his legs buckling Pan crashed towards Roz, and he hoped that she'd see it coming and catch him.

Getting up was more a struggle than she anticipated - she hadn't realized he was lying down from necessity.  He finally made it only to sway dangerously on the first step, causing her to shift to his side before he hit the ground again.  Immediately she was forced to put a good amount of effort into the task, for he wasn't small and she wasn't particularly well-muscled. At all.

How she was going to get him home was beyond her, but she would try. She did not know the exact location but southwest was the way they needed to travel and she assumed he had the details. "Can you manage? Slowly?" She turned her head to catch either a nod or a shake response. If not she supposed she could run and get him help... but that would take time. Especially when she had no clear idea where she was going. Maybe the effects would wear off? But that was a risk she doubted he was up for taking.

Pantaleimon felt her weight stumble under his and he wanted to apologise, but when he opened his mouth barely a grunt managed to get through. This would pass, wouldn't it? Maybe he just needed to rest, since he was not sure if they would get home this way at all; how would Roz manage to support him constantly when they moved? Pan tried to stand, but it was hard and he could not stand up without the support of Roz.

When she asked if he could manage, Pan nodded, though he wasn't sure if they would. But he wanted nothing than to get home, and he hoped that it would get better as they went along.

I should be testing but I am so frustrated so posts instead!

It was slow going, but she did her best to manage with his weight.  C'mon Roz, bout time you shaped up anyway, she thought with a touch of humor.  Something that would likely be in short supply as the way got harder.  She was curious what had happened, what he'd gotten into to cause this. She loved information and was inexplicably denied by his inability to speak. Not to mention silence was a sure way to make a rough trip even tougher.

Her own breath was shortened after a time, but their pace was slow enough that she wasn't too badly off. Likely he'd need a rest before she. Pretty pathetic if otherwise, right? She was a hard edged loner, damn it. Right.

"Your packmates should be looking for you, right?" She asked after silence passed a while, the words only slightly sparsened by exertion. Her tone was clearly hopeful... Any who found them could take on some of the work at least of holding him up.

aw <3 i'll open this up in case anyone else wants to join or whatnot.

Pantaleimon and Roz stumbled on, and her question hit Pan hard. Would they? Of course they would be. But then, he had no clue how long had passed. He'd told them he was going out of the lands, so it made sense that they might not know anything was wrong yet. He had more often departed for short periods of time, after all, to visit Reek and the sorts.

And so Pan shook his head, because he was not sure if they would know he was missing at all. He had no idea how much time had passed so far, nor how much more needed to pass before they went looking.

While they walked, Pantaleimon suddenly stopped, stumbling on a couple of short paces before coming to a halt. He heaved and then threw up. It was gross and uncomfortable, even moreso because it had a hard time getting through his swollen throat, but eventually bits and pieces of it came out. Pan didn't know if that would actually make the pain and the swelling better, but his limited knowledge of medicine did tell him that throwing up was a start when you needed to get bad things out of your system.

Wasn't that supposed to be one of the perks of packs?  The whole kumbayah no-wolf-left-behind philosophy that made everyone responsible for everyone else?  If Pan's pack didn't perscribe to that maybe she's fit in better than she thought, though in this instance it was simply irritating. She'd been hoping help would come.

When he stopped and staggered, she remained beside, but did take a step back when she saw what his body intended. Eesh. Vomiting was hardly the worst she'd dealt with, but she had no desire to touch anything that came out of him in the state he was in.

Hopefully that would help. "Progress," she quipped with a wry smile. She would wait until he was ready to start again and lead them to step carefully around the expelled poisons. No sense in taking chances.

Pantaleimon's legs turned even shakier after throwing up, since he felt weak and off balance. He looked at it a moment, as if hoping to find what it was that had made him sick, then at Roz. He forced a weak smile to his face while he contemplated his gratitude towards Roz; she acted like she was all tough, and a loner who needed no one and wanted to fend for herself, but this confirmed to Pantaleimon that she had the heart of a pack wolf. Pan hoped that Perry was out there looking for him, but the truth of the matter was that it was very unlikely that he really was. After all, Peregrine himself had got hurt not long ago -- one of the reasons Pan had been so far out of Redhawk Caldera's way -- and he was probably not running around all over the place again, if ever.

It would probably be at least another day or so before Pantaleimon's throat would be comfortable enough to speak, and for now he didn't even dare to take the risk. Pan struggled onwards when he felt good enough to start moving again, fully depending on Roz and feeling eternally grateful for what she was doing for him, since she had no obligations to do anything if she preferred to stay wild and free and not get lured into the solidarity of pack life.

wanna wrap this and have another when they get back/further on? Since they will just be kinda walking along in silence XD.  This can end or you can post again, whatever you wish!

Rosalyn willingly waited until he felt well enough before proceeding.  She reasoned this surprising patience as the fact she had nothing better to do, but in reality she knew what this was.  She already counted Pan a friend for some unfathomable reason and wanted to see him safely home. Though she would curse hereelf inwardly many times over the next leg of the journey, she would see it through, getting him as close to his pack as he wished her to accompany him.

She'd done the pack thing - hell, she'd led one. She knew loyalty, and she knew what it felt like to get that loyalty shit on and tossed out the door. She had an internal compass that chose it's own course as a result. Luckily for Pan, in this instance north had actually been the best path.

Hell, maybe they'd be grateful enough in receiving their lost comrade to throw a little snack her way. She imagined she wouldn't have the energy to stop and hunt often on the way and Pan didn't look in much shape to want food anyway.

yeah, that's fine! i'll wrap this up? can you start an AW one at / near RHC borders or wherever you want to pick things up, since Pan's just gonna trundle along to wherever Rosalyn takes him anyway? :)

Pantaleimon just moved along, walking along in silence. He was not able to speak for at least another day, and after that he started to look at least a little bit better, although it was evident that he looked positively miserable. He preferred not to speak even when his throat was no longer so constricting he couldn't, often keeping his mouth shut or answering shortly if things were asked of him, and just moving along by Roz' side, his gratitude towards her growing by the moment.