Swiftcurrent Creek restless

@Tuwawi / Set the morning after the cougar fight.

Fox whimpered in her sleep. Not from pain (although there was plenty of that), but from the dreams that had been troubling her all night. One moment, she would be chasing after the cougar, and the next, the cougar would be a black bear. Then a white bear. Then it would be chasing after her. It being a dream, Fox could not make any sense of it. It was like a game of cat and mouse, except nobody would behave and remain what they were supposed to. Even Fox felt she had slipped into her namesake's body more than a few times.

Groaning, Fox's eyes peeled open and she attempted to move herself upright. It was a less-than-pleasant process, and these were definitely wounds that were not going to heal like the ones Jinx had given her. They were deeper, sharper, and most importantly more painful. Even still, Fox would not allow herself to laze around all day. In fact, she was not sure she could do that even if she wanted to. The constant dreaming made her feel as though she had only just allowed herself to lay down and rest.

The early-morning sun peeked through the trees that surrounded the creek, and Fox squinted at it. Gingerly, she sat down on her haunches and began to clean her wounds yet again. Thankfully, she could reach the majority of them. The beast had not managed to grab ahold of her neck. If it had, Fox would surely be dead.

Going to try and keep this as vague as possible, haha

Tuwawi's cream colored belly dusted the ground as she slunk from tree to tree, stalking a muskrat who was waddling in a hurry towards the Northern marshlands. Pickings were still slim as winter continued to wane, but the Eta knew they would soon see a prosperous season. The creek was like a bloodline to Teekon, and it would make the land rich and fertile come Spring. For now, smaller meals would have to make due.

She rushed and pounced to kill the squealing prey with a single motion from her jaws. However, this meal was not intended for herself... or for Swiftcurrent's caches. Tuwawi's mind was still caught up on the skirmish with the cougar, and her thoughts had turned to their injured... particularly Fox. The memory of her blood soaked locks floated on the surface of the woman's psyche, and it concerned her. The cuts were deep, which meant they were prone to infection or rot. Tuwawi was not a skilled botanist — the only herb she knew of was goldenseal, and that was not yet in bloom — and so she turned her efforts to feed their ill so that their bodies may have energy to restitch flesh.

With the muskrat firmly grasped betwixt her fangs, Tuwawi made her way, somewhat slowly due to fatigue, to Fox's den at the heart of the territory. When she arrived, the young leader was perched upright, tending to the wounds herself. The Eta frowned. The air was rank with old blood. Did they not have a healer among their ranks? Silent, she gingerly placed breakfast on the floor and offered a small woof to signal her arrival. "You should be resting," Tuwawi noted in a quiet tone as her shadowy gaze slipped over the gashes on Fox's side... some of which she couldn't reach. Tuwawi nosed the muskrat forward, close enough so that Fox didn't have to move to eat.

For some reason I always mix up muskrats and voles.

Fox looked to Tuwawi when she entered the area, but her eyes were more on the food than anything else. Thankful for the fresh kill, Fox began wolfing it down, picking out the larger bones and spitting them aside for the time being. She would gnaw on them later to get the sweet marrow from the middle. Between bites, the yearling offered up a reply to Tuwa's insistence that she should be sleeping. “Too many dreams. Bears and cougars.” Having no knowledge of the religion that many of her followers abided by, Fox had no clue that the black and white bears had any meaning whatsoever. To her, they were just strange characters in her dreams.

She had not realized how hungry she was, but once she had picked apart most of the muskrat and swallowed the last gulp, she gave a quiet burp and settled with her elbows on the ground. Perhaps her hunger was the reason she'd been having a hard time sleeping.

Fox attacked the muskrat, ravenous for its supple freshwater flesh, which brought a great deal of satisfaction to the Zeta who was happy to receive her alpha's appreciation. She regarded the small woman closely as she supped, silver eyes tracing the slight tilt of her muzzle across to the wounds on her rib cage, and down the agouti browns of her back. Youth still held fast to the small wolf's exterior, although Fox had already proven herself to be an ambitious leader, and perhaps slightly overzealous confirmed by the claw marks she now wore.

'Too many dreams. Bears and cougars,' Fox explain between bites. It was not unusual to be psychologically affected after an event so violent, as Tuwawi had during her own encounter in Tartok. But now bears were added to the list? "Don't tell me a bear is about to waltz through Swiftcurrent too," she jested, "I don't think we'd want to pick a fight with one of those." A wry smile painted her muzzle, unaware of the dream's otherworldly allusions to the Kesuk's family religion. Tuwawi was a secular creature who vehemently opposed such perverse practices. She pitied the ones who thought it enriched their lives without realizing it only acted as a crutch to carry their disfigured psyche, hollowed by a pitted half-life. Of course, these sentiments were kept in secret... as she now lived amongst those, namely Jinx, who had promised their souls to the black and white ursine gods.

This did not mean Tuwawi lived without her own beliefs. Most of her adolescence had been spent appreciating the Sun and Earth as druid deities in Kindred, and she still found comfort in those thoughts. Once called Proudheart, Tuwawi had been blessed with the title of Earthwalker in that pack, and every now and then she would look to the soft ground to bathe in its benign energy. It was unfortunate that Windrunner Plains had been destroyed in a flood. If it had not, she might have lived there forever.

Tuwawi moved closer to her leader, hovering besides the laying fox-wolf as she digested her meal. The fur closest to the cougar's marks had been stained, and it spurred her to offer small look for permission to inspect or tend to the injuries. "What happened anyway?" she asked about the mountain lion. The fight had already started by the time the Sveijarn had arrived, and her mind turned to wonder if others owned wounds as bad as Fox's. Swiftcurrent's members were stoic, and there was doubt if any would openly admit to having received such crippling blows.

Tuwa's such a nice gal. *squishes*

“I certainly hope not,” Fox replied with a heavy sigh. Perhaps Tuwawi only meant it as a joke, but Fox could not imagine having to fight one of those things off. In fact, she doubted she would do anything at all if one came wandering in and stealing from their food stores. Creatures that big were better left alone. Perhaps some would have said the same about the cougar, but Fox, having never encountered one before, had not been entirely aware of what she'd been getting herself (and her pack mates) into. Thankfully, they had all made it out alive and without any horrendous injuries.

Fox knew nothing of religion, having stuck in the "real world" for the entirety of her life. Even if she'd been having bear dreams her whole life, she never would have suspected that it was some kind of higher power. Perhaps it would be different if somebody had come along and tried to convince her such things were the truth. As it was, nobody had done any such thing, so Fox was left a secular creature just like Tuwawi.

“How do you mean?” Fox asked when Tuwawi asked what had happened. Considering the older lass had been there, Tuwawi knew that there had been a fight.

When no objection came from Fox, Tuwawi eased closer to check on the oozing wounds plastered upon her leader's side. She had done a decent job to clean them herself, although it had clearly been an effort to reach around completely to attend to the ones that sat the farthest. Beneath the tattered fur would be quite a bit of bruising as well, and the Sveijarn couldn't imagine that it was comfortable to move at all. She worked efficiently as she could, trying to cause little pain for Fox, although it was a given that a white, hot stinging sensation would accompany her motions.

First, her tongue slowly rolled over the open gashes to clean them of debris, fur, and fluids. Next, she nibbled away the necrotic tissues that sloughed off unwillingly. It would interfere with the scabbing process. She paused only when Fox couldn't sit still, an apologetic look cast to her tawny alpha before resuming her task. Though she lacked the roots, salves, or ointments of more experienced healers and shamans, Swiftcurrent's Zeta was willing to fill the role since it required attention.

As she finished, Tuwawi laid down across from Fox, perched on her elbows with her sooty legs folded to one side. She licked her chops, mostly to rid her mouth of the foul taste of old wolf blood, before grooming her paws casually. "I mean, how did it start? Did he attack you?" she asked, curious as to why their clash with the feline began in the first place. If he had dared to trifle with the likes of Swiftcurrent, then he deserved his fate.

This was the first time, since her initiation, that Tuwawi had been alone with Fox, although the alpha did not seem to dwell on their rocky encounter. Once done with cleaning her feet, the red caped stretched out her neck, black nostrils sniffing to inspect the smaller cuts around Fox's face.

Fox winced, but remained where she was while Tuwawi worked her way around the various wounds. She noted that there were certainly some she was not able to reach before, and her teeth clamped together tightly as Tuwawi cleaned these. But even Fox was not devoid of feeling pain, and at one point she shifted her weight and cast Tuwawi a glance to give her a moment. She took a deep breath, and then allowed the Zeta to go back to work. Once Tuwawi laid down, Fox was thankful for the other fireball to be helping her. It was not an easy task to take care of herself in this state, and she would remember the gesture well.

“He came into Swiftcurrent,” Fox replied, “I didn’t like that. I went after him.” Tuwawi licked her face now, and Fox's eyes closed for a moment and she fell silent. When the girl backed away, Fox spoke again. “I won’t have such threats lingering in our home.” Considering she knew that Njal and Tuwawi wished to have children, she hoped that the other woman would understand her desire to keep all things evil away.

Satisfied that the smaller scrapes on Fox's muzzle didn't facilitate concern, Tuwawi lounged back easily, happy to keep the alpha as company. Her ruddy tail patted the ground with a soft beat before finding a home around her hocks, as if to keep her feet toasty warm. If a stranger happened upon them at this time, they might think the two women sisters; both vastly different but familiar in other ways. Tuwawi took to preening the hair on her own shoulder, appreciating the down time. Between all that had happened within the past weeks, that had been only a few moments that had offered the Sveijarn respite, and so she savored the serene air between herself and Fox.

"Mm," she told Fox, agreeing with her words and understanding them to be true, "no... a cat in Swiftcurrent is unacceptable. They are dangerous creatures." She mulled on that thought, but still found reason to voice her opinion, "but perhaps next time, you will consider hailing the pack before taking it upon yourself to fight one alone. It is lucky Haunter was close by. That lion could have killed you." She offered the warning to Fox in a calm and quiet voice — it wasn't her intention to chide the leader, but instead provide some insight as a wolf who was two years her senior. "You didn't think I got this mark from another wolf, did you?" she chuffed with a laugh as her tongue rolled over the notch in her lip and up the blistered flesh. Fresh memories from Tartok burned in her mind, as she remembered the bachelor cougar smothering her in darkness, the whole of her skull clean in its grasp.

Fox took Tuwawi's words and turned them over in her mind. The fireball rarely thought things through when dealing with a situation like that. Once she'd caught scent of the cougar, her adrenaline had amped up and she'd gone speeding after the creature. The mere thought of it caused her heart to pound a little bit faster than it had before, though the only indication of this was a widening of her eyes. The girl blinked, washing away the memory for the time being.

Tuwawi spoke again, this time to reference one of her own battle scars. Truth be told, Fox had not even noticed the garish mark on her twin. “You never know,” Fox replied with a grin. “Was it from a cougar?” she asked, curious to know if Tuwawi had run in to one as well.

"Oh, yes," Tuwawi told Fox as she thought about the story. Her narrow chin dipped against her chest to inspect her own shallow scratches that had already crusted over. They would heal well and be hidden beneath her fur... unlike Fox's more severe injuries. "It was more than a year ago... in the Fall. I lived amongst a mountain pack, then. They were a strong tribe and I believe their members still exist and continue its legacy," she told the Alpha, careful to leave facts about Tartok purposely vague. She didn't know what information would trickle down to the Kesuks. "But this cougar was a beast. A large male who thought the mountainside his own. Our alpha led the charge with many at her side, but even then we still received a hefty blow. At one point the beast rushed me. My heads was in his jaws. My body completely pinned by his weight. I was lucky our beta pulled him off me, tearing a paw from my face. Others were badly wounded as well," she thought to herself for a moment, remembering her good friend Miyako whose chest had been shred to ribbons. "The creature was disposed, of course. But, I think we all left a little wiser from that encounter. Cougars should not be taken lightly." Fox had a fiery spirit, but even Tuwawi thought she trifled a bit too close to the edge for a wolf of her position.

Often the ego was at fault for impulsive recklessness, but there was no shame to admit that anything but caution should precede an encounter of such violence. Swiftcurrent would do well to remember and place hefty value behind the style by which they attacked. A pack united was the best offensive... and this applied to all confrontations — even between those with rival wolves. Perhaps after they rested Swiftcurrent could sing together. A howl would do their group some good.

Yet, as Tuwawi finished, she couldn't help but turn her mind to her mate, who had also been wounded in the fray. His presence had evaded her so far, and they hadn't really talked since the woman of Northstar Vale had been at their borders. Her thought mingled for a moment, a pall cast over her expression. She would have to find him soon.

Fox listened with rapt attention. Hearing "war" stories was probably her favorite pastime next to pissing off her neighbors. At least this activity caused her a little bit less harm (even if it spurred her into trying out whatever she heard in said stories). Before yesterday, Fox had never seen a cougar up close and personal. She had seen them from a distance, and she had heard of them in stories, but seeing it up close and personal was a whole different ballgame. The claws on the thing had been something fierce. It was like having a set of teeth on each paw, except they were far sharper.

In telling her story, Tuwawi had reminded Fox of Njal's role in yesterday's events. “Is Njal okay?” she asked, concern lacing her voice. As much as they'd had their rocky road, she still respected him a great deal. “You should tend to him.” Now that Fox's wounds had been cleaned thoroughly, it was just a matter of keeping them free of debris and occasionally getting help from one of her crew for the places she could not reach. Njal's injuries had seemed more severe, considering his own face had practically been in the cougar's mouth, from what Fox recalled.

Fox appeared totally engrossed in the story, her eyes wide with wonder and flowing with imagination. However, reality slowly reclaimed its grasp and the alpha's grey eyes refocused, troubled now. 'Is Njal okay?' the vulpine woman queried, which made Tuwawi's jaw clench. Only after the cougar had been incapacitated had she been able to inspect her spouse's wounds, but Njal had ushered her away selflessly with the order to care for the others. She had hunted for him, but Njal covered his tracks well, and the Sveijarn could only assume that he had hidden himself away from sight.

The memory of the peppered man's wounds became more gruesome with each passing minute — had she so overtly neglected him without realizing it? The image of blood flowering from his skull turned more vivid, and before Fox had even uttered you should tend to him Tuwawi was on her feet. "He is not well," she told Fox. Even though they had been parted, there was no way he could call himself okay after he endured such a mauling. "I was looking for him earlier... but he eluded me." It was like the mountain wolf to seek refuge and deal with his problems alone... but something didn't sit quite right with the crimson woman. Tuwawi nodded belatedly, turning her slight face to the wood, preoccupied gaze clouded with thought. "Excuse me," she said, releasing herself from their small powwow as urgency blossomed anew. With only a sideways glace aimed at Fox's wounds, Tuwawi departed, bereft without her other half.

exit Tuwa.