Blacktail Deer Plateau what doesn't kill you, right?
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Coyotes. Scrawny, flea-bitten mongrels at worst, skillful scavengers at best. They enjoyed flocking to this area it seemed, oh so bountiful in vermin and freshly slain deer carcasses alike; enjoyed tailing whatever predator came meandering along so they could swoop in and pick up the scraps it left behind. Today, it seemed Invictus was their target.

The ebony she-wolf had been lucky enough to procure a plump rabbit not too long ago, in the tall grasses of this very plain, sneaking up on the unsuspecting creature and laying claim to it with one deft bite to its midsection. However, not long after she managed to make this successful kill, she became aware of shadows stalking her from the reeds, and knew at once from having caught sight of the willy creatures earlier than they were a couple of coyotes. Only a few in number, it had seemed, nervously flitting around just out of her field of vision, their presence given away by the sound of frantic paws and softened pants. Snorting, she saw fit to merely try and evade the pests, assuming if she could just get some distance between herself and them, they might give up the chase and go look for an easier meal.

However, as the ebony woman began briskly trotting away from them, ears turned back to monitor their movements, she noted with growing irritation that they weren't leaving, and what was worse... the tan blurs darting around in the corner of her eye seemed to be growing in number...

Before long, it seemed a whole pack had set itself upon her, and the mangy mongrels—usually cowards, but turned brave by their strength in numbers—were steadily beginning to surround her, even daring to draw closer.

Once more, she picked up her pace, convinced she could still lose them... but as the mutts continued closing in and one almost got close enough to nip her heels, she decided it was time to turn around and face her assailants, for there was no way to enjoy her meal in peace unless she fended them off.

Giving one last burst of speed, she ran ahead, sharply turned around, and dropped the rabbit between her paws, then protectively tucked it underneath herself and administered a harsh warning growl to the swiftly approaching coyotes. Now that she'd turn to properly face them, her silver eyes darted from pelt to pelt, counting each canid before her, and her heart gave a sickening thud when she realized there were quite a lot of them... So many, in fact, that she alone might not be able to fight them all off, not if they had the balls to gang up on her and attack at once...

But food didn't come easy for a loner, and she wasn't going to give up her kill to a pack of lousy scavengers... so, she, apprehensively, stood her ground, tensing her slim muscles, raising her guard hairs, gnashing her fangs, and aggressively snapping whenever one of the pests got too close.
i’m not just a girl
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the woods was soothingly quiet today. the was no sound other than the light paw steps of the yearling. she wandered around mindlessly, enjoying the stillness of the world. the silence would be broken by an occasional hum or tongue click.

max was extremely bored. there was enough prey for the group, so she didn’t bother distracting herself by hunting. she killed some time by collecting herbs, but there wasn’t much of a variety here. now there was nothing left to do but hang out with her companions, so she sought them out. but something stopped her dead in her tracks. a smell that no wolf would ever be happy to run across. coyotes. and lots of em’. they em had to be dealt with before they caused some real trouble.

the girl picked up her pace and made sure to tred lightly. she’d give them the old element of surprise. new smells crossed her path. a loner, but no one she knew, and the blood of freshly-killed prey. and the coyote’s trail was right on top of it. fucking scavengers, she thought.

max lowered herself when she spotted the small creatures and wow, there were a lot more than she expected. they surrounded a beautiful stranger and drew closer with every passing moment. the yearling came flying out of her cover and grabbed one of the unwelcomed guests by its shoulder. she assumed the others would get spooked and run. some did, but others went to aid their friend by biting her rear. she released her grip to spin around and defend herself. green eyes caught onto the darker woman’s face. she needed a little help.
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Signaled by a tumultuous uproar of high pitched yelps from the tiny beasts, Invictus sharply turned her head to lay eyes on a stranger that had leaped into the fray, aggressively sinking their fangs into one of the coyote's shoulders and earning some retaliation in response. Thankfully, at the sight of another wolf (albeit a smaller wolf), a good chunk of the coyotes had the common sense to turn tail and flee... but that still left a handful of them who were not only set on nabbing Invictus's rabbit, but also avenging their bitten brother, throwing themselves at the new comer with mercilessly snapping jaws.

Green eyes frantically met silver, the other silently communicating that they couldn't fight the mongrels alone, but Invictus was slow to assist. Not only did she feel this stranger had signed themselves up for this ride (she hadn't asked them to join in, so she didn't owe them any help), but she knew if she stepped away from her rabbit for just one second, it'd be gone in a heartbeat, snatched up by one of the pesky mutts and torn to shreds. However, she knew if she intended to keep her meal (and her body in one piece), she'd have to rely on the help of the other, and right now that meant lending them some assistance of her own. Additionally, the image of having her rabbit stolen actually gave her an idea.

Instead of physically rushing to the other's aid, she picked up her rabbit, hopped a few steps back, and tore in open, releasing the tantalizing scent of fresh meat wafting into the air, which quickly drew the pack's attention and had a good number of them turning away from the smaller wolf and once more setting themselves upon Invictus. Growling, she was quick to rear up and begin aggressively snapping at them once more, then tossed a quick glance to the other, hopping this distraction would give them a chance to strike from behind; a sort of tag team effort. Between the two of them tossing turns back and forth, it shouldn't be long before the battered mutts grew too tired and confused to bother them any further.
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max was immediately regretting her decision. a couple of coyotes were easy to handle, but a whole gang of them? that was tougher to deal with. every time she flung one off her back, there were a few more biting at her heels. it was hard to keep up with and the stranger wasn’t providing any assistance either. but the yearling fought back with all she got. no way in hell she was gonna get taken down by a bunch of theives, that’s just embarrassing.

she saw the woman start to back away with her kill and assumed she was about ready to flee. now she was extremely fucked. but the stranger didn’t leave. instead, she tore the rabbit open and lured the coyotes away. max scrambled to her feet. her whole body ached and stung, but pure adrenaline masked the pain for now. she wasted no time jumping back into action. she sprinted forward and knocked the coyotes off their feet. they awkwardly tripped over themselves before running off in a panicked frenzy. “and don’t come back!” she barked.

max turned around to face the damsel in distress. “thanks. are you o-OOW!” a sharp pain pulsated through her back paw when she put weight on it. she lifted it to see the problem. one of those mangy things tore through the delicate padding. they had also left some marks on her flank, but that was nothing compared to the pain in her paw.
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As Invictus had hopped, the other wolf was quick to take advantage of the distraction, setting themselves upon the coyotes from behind and knocking the mongrels off their feet. Somehow utterly surpirsed by thie development, as if the scent of rabbit meat had made them forget all about the smaller she-wolf's existance, they yelped in fear, awkwardly scrambled back to their paws, and fled without a second thought, having finally decided it just wasn't worth it.

A sigh of relief escaped Invictus's jaws, her muzzle falling down to point at the rabbit beneath her, and now she was starting to wonder whether or not it was even worth it, seeing how the little creature would only stave off starvation, not actually fill her stomach... Although... it was kind of satisfying to watch the cowards turn tail and run, as they should have from the beginning. Eh. All's well that ends well, right?

Er, except... it hadn't ended, not yet.

Ebony ears flicked as her companion angrily barked, "and don't come back!", addressing the fleeing coyotes, of course. She then turned back to face Invictus, and just as she opened her mouth to speak, the yearling was abruptly cut off by a searing pain in her paw, painfully yelping "OOOW!" and lifting it from the ground. Though Invictus had been prepared to treat this wolf with suspicion before—not being sure as to whether or not they might try to take her rabbit—all thought of being aloof and standoffish instantly vanished from her mind when the call of the healer came knocking, her brain instantly shifting to business mode. The wolf was clearly hurt, she observed, lowering her head and squinting at the other's injured paw, and she said as much out loud.

"You're hurt."

Just a cut, nothing too major, but it was in a pretty bad place, considering wolves were animals of longevity and needed their paws for traveling... and it could get even worse without treatment.
Currently in western Snowforest Taiga and traveling to northern Rising Sun Valley
If your wolf is nearby and has a boo boo, feel free to tag her.
Additionally, her raven companion Caius frequently travels and checks in with her.
He is free to appear in any of her threads unless specifically made private.
i’m not just a girl
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ok this was pretty bad. maybe taking on a group of coyotes without backup from her comrades wasn’t the greatest idea. now the injury would hinder her from walking or hunting for a few days at best. she’d have to put those herbs to good use before infection sets in.

max lifted her paw to help the woman inspect the injury better. “yeah, they did a number on me,” she chuckled softly. “gotta fix it before it gets worse. maybe you can help? i gotta stash of herbs nearby.” she was capable of helping herself, but saw an opportunity to chat up damsel a bit. and who wouldn’t want help from a pretty lady right?

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Ears perked attentively to this information, the ebony she-wolf perking up ever so slightly. A stash of herbs? Well that'd certainly help, wouldn't it? Of course, there was no guarantee the herbs were fresh enough to be of great use, or that they'd be the right herbs... However, then again, if this female carried them on her, perhaps it was safe to assume she must be knowledgable about how to properly keep them, and on the kinds that were helpful enough to travel with. Maybe she was also a healer, or trying to become one?

She flared her nostrils with hopes of picking up their scent, then glanced around. "Where are they, and what do you have?"
Currently in western Snowforest Taiga and traveling to northern Rising Sun Valley
If your wolf is nearby and has a boo boo, feel free to tag her.
Additionally, her raven companion Caius frequently travels and checks in with her.
He is free to appear in any of her threads unless specifically made private.
i’m not just a girl
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they’re in my den,” she replied before lifting herself up. pain rippled through her body, causing her to wince. “i don’t got much. just chervile root and cobwebs, but that should be enough right?” max began to hobble over to the herbs, expecting the woman to follow.

it wasn’t long before they arrived to her den. it wasn’t much of a sight: just an abandoned badger hole she had dug into so she could fit inside. max disappeared into the entrance and came out with the root in her jaws. she dropped it at her company’s feet. “so, what’s your name?


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The moment her companion stood up, Invictus opened her mouth to speak, instinctively ready to chide her for putting weight on the wound and to assure that 'no no, I'll get the herbs, you stay put'... but it seemed the other was careful to not actually put her foot down, coaxing the ebony woman to bite her tongue and close her maw whilst she silently followed after. There was no need to be so fretful anyway, she begrudgingly reminded herself; such behavior could easily be mistook for compassion, and that was certainly not the impression she wanted to leave on people...

Chervil root and cobwebs? Well that really wasn't much at all... but the other was right in assuming it'd be enough. Those were... exactly what she needed, actually, and she felt relieved to know she wouldn't have to go looking for them.

"Yes, that'll do just fine," she promised in her usual monotone voice, eyes downcast to keep watch of the other's injury.

Once they arrived at the den (a renovated badger burrow by the looks of it; Invictus knew because she'd slept in her fair share of them before), her patient swiftly disappeared into the concealed chamber of her home, then soon reappeared and dropped the needed root at the medic's feet. After taking a brief moment to inspect the herb, sniffing it and turning it over with her nose, she was satisfied with the accommodation and gladly picked it up, proceeding to turn around and walk a few steps away so the other could had enough room to exit the burrow. Ebony ears flicked back when a question was presented to her, which she answered shortly after dropping the root back to the ground.

"Invictus Nightshade, though Invictus works just fine... and I don't like nicknames." Partially because they reminded her of past relations, and partially because they alluded to a sense of kinship that she wasn't interested in having with complete strangers... or anyone, really. Honestly, the only reason she'd even given her name to begin with was so this wolf could refer her to others, should they need a healer.

"Now, have a seat and clean the wound for me while I prepare this."

Truly, the only preparing that needed to be done was chewing the root into a poultice, which the medic proceeded to do without hesitation, but it would still take some time and the other might as well keep herself busy. It was only then, with a sizable portion of the root already being chewed in her mouth, that she realized she didn't have the cobwebs, but she'd tend to that when they got there.
Currently in western Snowforest Taiga and traveling to northern Rising Sun Valley
If your wolf is nearby and has a boo boo, feel free to tag her.
Additionally, her raven companion Caius frequently travels and checks in with her.
He is free to appear in any of her threads unless specifically made private.
i’m not just a girl
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invictus. she repeated the name to herself over and over before she wiggled out the den. she sat and watched as the healer went to work. every movement seemed so articulate and planned.

there were a few moments of silence before max cleared her throat. “i’m max.” things fell quiet again. the only sounds that could be heard were bird songs and the gentle rustle of leaves. “uh, thank you. for this.


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slight pp of max turning her paw up for invie
The silence that fell between them was no bother to Invictus at all, if not because she wasn't much for conversation anyway then because her mind was roaring with thoughts on what she was doing, how she was doing it, and what she would do next; she hardly had the focus to care about something as insignificant as an awkward pause, not when there was a job to be done. Poultice made and firmly chewed enough to place, she made way for the patient and perked her ears to the girl's comment, but chose not to answer until her maw was empty, instead lowering her muzzle to the other's injury, gesturing to the other that she wanted the paw upturned, and unceremoniously spewing out the root-mush once the wound was exposed to her.

"No need," she assured nonchalantly as she began pressing the mush in with her nose. "I'm simply doing my job."

Suppose she could also mention how the girl helping her to fight off those coyotes was thanks enough, but the healer was a bit allergic to gratitude. Besides, they both knew in their hearts this was a mutual exchange, so what need was there to put it into words?

Medicine now firmly secured, she mumbled for the girl not to move her paw, then cast a glance back in the den's direction. "You said you had cobwebs as well?" She asked, already moving towards the burrow.
Currently in western Snowforest Taiga and traveling to northern Rising Sun Valley
If your wolf is nearby and has a boo boo, feel free to tag her.
Additionally, her raven companion Caius frequently travels and checks in with her.
He is free to appear in any of her threads unless specifically made private.