Wolf RPG

Being brought into the maplewood and settled to rest was hazy. Saena couldn't even really recall who'd helped her into her home. She couldn't really remember if she'd eaten anything; if she had, it had been insufficient, for hunger was still gnawing at her stomach. Maybe she had crawled in on her own and maybe she hadn't eaten anything yet. It felt like a fever dream, and it probably was. It wouldn't be a stretch to assume her body was in shock now that she'd found herself to safety and succumbed to the all-consuming pain of her broken rib.

It would be impossible to heal it properly, but the consequences of Saena's flight across the wilds wouldn't hit her until much later. Now all she could register was the babbling of a nearby creek and the clacking of branches against one another overhead. Her eyes were closed—had she slept? She wanted to stretch and hunt something and eat for days, but none of those things were possible, not when even the slightest motion made her side protest bitterly.

The alpha female sighed roughly and then let out a gruff bark that devolved into a coughing fit in hopes of catching someone's attention.

@Reek

Following his spat with Ukko, Reek was hard pressed to show any amount of weakness within his territory.  It was a matter of pragmatism and order, he needed to remain strong to keep the pack together during this period of tribulation. Despite Reek's anger with his subordinate, the words he spoke stuck with him. They echoed in his head until they drove him mad. The numbness he had previously seeked was easily found in anger, and he grew cold.

But, warmth threatened to return upon hearing word of his wife's injured return.  He dropped everything and ran as fast as his torn shoulder would allow to the nearest cache from which he dug up a rabbit that had been stowed away days prior. He took it in his jaws and would come bearing food.  

He found her scent in the depths of the territory and followed at a quick, limping pace. Then, he heard her; a bark and a sputtering wheeze.  It was a small thing, but it made his heart soar. She was here, and most of all, she was alive.  He found her beneath a maple tree, rough and in disrepair. Warm tears welled in his eyes, but they were tears of joy, much unlike grief that had afflicted him in her absence. He dropped the rabbit before her forepaws and uttered not a single word. He was much to happy to speak.

Bending down low, he laid beside her carefully as to not aggravate any of her injuries and immediately began grooming the knots of fur on the back of her neck with his teeth.

For a short while the forest didn't respond, and Saena let her head fall to her forelimbs. Only then did she detect the faint rustle of paws over snow, and when she looked up, it was to see Reek. It was unspoken and very subtle, but something felt different about him now, though that feeling was quickly put aside when he dropped the rabbit at her paws and swept to her side. Part of her expected him to not forgive her this time—how many times had Saena left home only to get waylaid by injury?—but that seemed to be a nonissue. Her mate didn't waste time blaming her for her repeated incidents, and instead went right to work pulling out the knots in her fur.

It hurt, but it was nice as well. A calming lull fell over Saena and for the first time in days, she was able to think somewhat clearly. She didn't really know how to explain to Reek what had happened, since her memories were still muddled, but eventually she settled on something and mumbled, "that idiot from Redhawk Caldera we chased away from the rise did this." She had no confirmation that Sebastian had anything to do with her injured rib, although she did know the wound on her hindquarters was his doing. The connection was made readily. It was easy to blame that man, who had shown such insistence upon violence that you'd think she'd trespassed into his territory, rather than to try to remember her fall from the cliff. She didn't even clearly remember Casmir, who had witnessed her fall.

He continued his preening and primping. While he had yet to asses the damage that had been done to his mate, he would examine her fully later. For now, he was just content to lay near by her side, to share a level of contact that he had dearly missed in her absence. Of course, he felt no blame in his heart for her absence. He was a traveler as well and he understood that the lifestyle they shared carried with it a terrible risk. He also understood that the fulfilling rewards far outweighed the possible consequences. Nevertheless, he would always try to be around to pick up the pieces.

As he groomed, she finally spoke. "Fucking Bam-Man?" he mumbled through her fur, recalling name they had given to the living disappearing act. An image of the assailant had been burned into Reek's mind that fateful day in the grotto when Sebastian made his miraculous mistake. Now more than ever did Reek realize the mistake it had been not to pursue him until he was dead.

"Yeah!" Their ridiculous name for Sebastian had faded from her memory, but Reek's reminder brought with it the imagery of his miraculous escape from the dead-end grotto. She'd thrown a punch or two at him as well, she recalled... but the circumstances had been different. She hadn't gone after him in a murderous rage until the third time he refused to leave. His actions at the ravine very well could've been out of revenge for the way he was treated then, but that would be imbecilic, Saena thought. The Redtail wolves hadn't acted out of a personal grudge, though her reasons for calling them there that day certainly had been personal. Had he acted out of revenge, he only proved his volatility to Saena, who now felt further justified in removing him from the north back then.

"I don't know why he was there but he found me, said something, I didn't hear... then just charged. I tried to run when I saw him. I dunno how he caught up to me." By all logic he shouldn't have caught her. Judging by his size and physique, the male weighed twice as much and that weight was far from lean sinew, whereas she was primarily lean sinew and should have had the upper hand. The details were muddled in her mind, but by talking about it, she began to remember the cliff... and built up the false memory of Sebastian shoving her off it when he caught up to her. She didn't clearly remember being injured up to that point, primarily because she'd been in a panicked trance almost the whole way to the ravine, and her belief in this newest (albeit false) account easily made it true to her.

The more she thought about it and filled in the gaps with false recollection, the less sense it made how Sebastian had caught her. She'd been careless, that must've been it... or maybe he truly was magical, as they jested.

His teeth made quick, yet gentle work of the matted fur at the base of her neck as she spoke, but there was only so much he could do without causing her any more pain. She would need a proper wash to help break away the more clingy clumps of dirt and mess.  The creek was but a small distance away, but Reek didn't know the full extent of her injuries.  He didn't want to exacerbate any condition by making her move if she didn't want to. The choice would be completely up to her, although he would advise of how necessary a good wash was.

"Thmall world," he mumbled in near-disbeleif.  Running into a southerner like that in the north was a strange thing indeed.  If a wolf from the Caldera was pushing this far north for the sake of revenge, this was an act of war.  However, in the pack's current injured state, there was little they could do in retaliation. The only thing they could do was sit and tend their wounds.  "I'm just glad you're ok," he sighed with relief. "I looked everywhere for you— I wath really worried."

His preening ceased and Reek slowly rose to his feet. He looked down at his prone mate with a concerned expression. "Can you walk? I need to clean you up before I can treat you fully."

No kidding, she thought in response, but didn't give voice to the venomous words that hung from her tongue. Sebastian would get what was coming to him, of that she was certain. Whether it was at her jaws or someone else's didn't matter, and dwelling on it now would do nothing but add stress. She let the thought drift away and focused on the pull of his teeth. She winced occasionally whenever he snagged a particularly knotted clump of fur, but mostly his touch was comforting after so long being afraid.

Saena's ears wilted when he admitted his worry, though. She'd only intended to be gone a little while, a short trip to check out Redtail Rise, and she'd been missing much longer than that. She did this to him a lot. It would never quell her wanderer's spirit, for getting away was a necessity for Saena, but perhaps for a time she would linger close to home. It was for the best for both of them, anyway.

"I've been walking," she pointed out, "I think my side's broken." Was there one rib or many ribs? She didn't really know. She'd shown no interest in being a healer in her early life and she still had almost no interest in the trade now. "But my legs work fine." As if to demonstrate, she pulled herself to her feet, though not without a strangled cry behind tightly gritted teeth. If she could sweat, she would've been drenched just from the pain pulsing through her side and back and the effort of remaining on her feet in spite of it. Still, she proved herself stronger than she looked by keeping upright, and with a gentle pant, told him, "I don't think I can go too far yet."

As an afterthought, she reached down and gingerly plucked the rabbit off the forest floor. Even the effort of that was a strain. She was so used to hurting, though, that it was leaps and bounds better than what she'd been dealing with so far.

Soon, his mate joined Reek on her feet as she rose in an ungraceful manner from the dirt. Reek could see the pain wrought across her face and wished to take it away, to bear it as his own if he could to spare her from the struggle. "Oh, babe..." he mumbled sorrowfully. He took note of where she said the pain came from, her side, and though she proved she could walk, stand, and move about to some degree of difficulty, he wanted to give her a quick, yet thorough examination.

He first trailed across her side with his gaze. The swelling along her ribcage was evident, suggesting a break.  However, he couldn't tell the extent of the breakage without feeling it for himself. Gently, he pressed into her swollen side with his muzzle and could feel the twist of bone; the individual fractures and how they splintered. The break wasn't clean and Reek was sure her injuries were aggravated by activity.

"It'th bad," he whispered. "I can't set you ribths back... I don't know if they'll ever heal right, but I'll do what I can."  She would receive the finest care he could offer. But, for him to begin, she needed to be cleaned.  He offered his shoulder to bear her weight so he could lead her down to the creek situated nearby.

Reek had the best intentions, of course, but as soon as he pressed his nose to her side, she whipped around with a vicious snap that just barely missed him. She pressed back her ears and rumbled discontentedly—even though she loved Reek, she was a wild animal first and foremost and pain was met immediately with retaliation. Her eyes burned with a fevered glare that bores into the side of his head, but it wasn't truly directed at him, and after a beat she whispered, "I'm sorry. It hurts."

His assessment complete, Reek informed her of the outcome. Even though Saena was expecting to hear bad news, her heart sank in her chest all the same. "Guess Wardening is out of the question for me for a while," she said bitterly. She tried to swallow her acerbic thoughts, but they followed her all the way to the creek and by the time she eased into the frigid water, her brow was sore from frowning. The rush of water over her damaged ribs felt nice, but beneath it all there was a constant aching throb that would take many, many days to heal, and would never truly disappear.

Before she could sink further into despair over this, Saena tried to focus on something else: "Did I miss much?"

Together, they made their way into the shallows of the water and Reek resumed the meticulous act of grooming.  Once again, he pulled through mottled tangles with his teeth, but with the water working in his aid, they pulled away with ease.  The rough patina of dirt and dried blood on her fur was washed away, staining the water around her in a murky brown, and then this foul concoction to be carried away by the gentle current.  From there, he pondered the implications of her condition.

"Yeah, wardening'ths out for a while," spoke Reek between mouthfuls of fur. "I don't want you aggravating your side any more than it already ith."  He paused, his preenings stopped, and a sudden realization smacked him dead in the face. "Fuck," he whispered. "We're probably not gonna be able to, uh— to do the thing for a while... Thath gonna hurt like hell."  He shook his in almost joking manner and went back to grooming. "Well who knowth, you may be into that sort of thing," he chuckled with a mouthful of fur.  It had been so long since he had joked around. It felt nice.

Her inquiry about events around the maplewood brought back the bitter taste of Ukko's insubordination.  "While you were gone, Ukko thought it would be a good idea to belittle me as a leader... I handled it— We have a new member, and Scarlett, she'th still healing. Other than that, you haven't mithed much."

She chuckled as her husband went on a tiny rant about how difficult sex would be, but beneath her attempted lightheartedness, there was a miserable pang of guilt. What if she went into season before she was fully healed? Though what had transpired was an accident, she suddenly felt stupid and selfish for going so far and allowing it to happen, and the fear of losing their opportunity to begin a family began creeping up into her breast. Her heart fluttered and her ears pressed slowly back. There would never be a Milo or an Indra if she didn't heal, and so her resolve was set. If it took leaving border duty to others and not traveling far for a while, Saena would do whatever was necessary to heal before it was too late.

Before she could be consumed by misery, Reek filled her in on what she'd missed, and though she was glad to hear that Scarlett was healing and that someone else had come to call the maplewood home, her focus was on what he'd initially said. "He what?" Saena asked, aghast. She knew very little about Ukko except that he liked to patrol the borders and was freakishly good at intercepting newcomers—in fact, he'd been present for every single one, unbeknownst to her—but she'd never thought him capable of any sort of supreme arrogance. "What'd he do? What'd you do?" Chances were, Reek was at fault somehow. Saena simply couldn't believe that a member of her pack who seemed so keen on proving himself would denounce her hard-working mate unless he'd done something stupid. And yet... she really didn't know much about Ukko after all, so it wasn't entirely impossible that he was a weasel with his eye on Reek's rank. She'd turned Antar away on the belief that he was such a wolf, thought she was good at seeing through their disguises, but perhaps Ukko was very clever. Perhaps it was just a misunderstanding.

She needed to know the details before making that judgment, though an uncomfortable knot formed in her stomach at the mere thought that such a wolf could be hiding right under their noses, waiting to take everything they'd worked for away from them.

"Yeah, I know right? Nutso shit."  It was obvious that the news of Ukko attempting something so brash came as a shock to Saena.  In fact, it had come as a shock to Reek as well. He had been such a mild-mannered subordinate in the time prior to the incident; Reek would even say he was polite and helpful. So seeing an angry outburst come from Ukko took him completely aghast.  Unlike Arion, Ukko did not seem the hotheaded type prone for conflict. Whereas Reek half-expected their Grecian Warrior to rise up against them at some point, Ukko was the furthest thing from a possible threat in Reek's mind.  Needless to say, Reek had been completely and utterly flabbergasted, and even now, days after, Reek barely had a grasp on Ukko's intent.

"While you were gone, I broke down.  With Pant'ths dying, Scarlett on deaths door, and you missing... I could barely pull mythelf together," said Reek after tugging at a particularly unruly not at the base of Saena's neck.  "He thaw me at my lowetht point.  You know, a man can only take so much until he breakths... I don't think Ukko understands that."  It was all a matter of perspective.  Ukko may have saw him as weak for cracking under the pressure, but he did not fully understand the weight Reek had endured.

"He called me weak,"  he spat bitterly at the memory. "So, I showed him he wath wrong.  I chewed him out, puffed mythelf up, and he submitted to me."  While he was still angry,  Reek didn't believe his subordinate would be a lingering problem. The kid just needed guidance. "I don't think he'll be doing anything like thith again," he stated with finality and pride.  In the grand scheme of things, Reek had won and he knew Ukko knew it.

She listened as patiently as possible, wincing now and again when his teeth caught a tangle in her fur, but the anger rising in her caused her to quiver before long. Had she been in good health, she would've risen and marched right to Ukko and kicked his sorry ass right that instant, but she was hardly able to keep her feet for more than a few minutes without sagging. Soon. Within a few days, maybe. Until then, Reek would have to bear the brunt of her anger as she vented to him.

"That son of a bitch," she swore. "He better not. I'll fuckin' kill him if he so much as tries it." Ordinarily it would've been a joke, but Saena's ordeal had changed her, and she was dead serious this time. If Ukko sought to disturb what she and Reek had made here in the maplewood, she would attempt to put him down. She hadn't survived the blaze at Redtail Rise, hadn't endured seeing her beloved home burn to the ground and hadn't worked her ass, and Reek his, for some pompous little upstart to take away everything she and her mate had worked for.

"What of him now?" she asked, half hoping Reek had refused to allow him to remain in the good graces of the pack. She would've seen Ukko at the bottom of the ranks for his behaviour, especially now that she was so jaded, but her mate had always been a bit of a softer individual.

With the aid of the water, the knots Saena bore slowly worked away. Reek could feel every twitch and tremble of the flesh as she quaked with pain, and Reek himself tried not to flinch as she expressed her discomfort. After all, her pain was his own in a general sense. Treating his mate was different than treating any other patient, like Scarlett. Reek struggled to connect on an empathetic level with most, but with Saena, his feelings flowed naturally uninhibited by the usual emotional jumble that typically caused him to get lost in translation. They were two kindred souls, drawn into eachother's orbit by the gravity of their own selfish desires.

Finally clean, his ministrations continued— but rather than tug like before, Reek's preening motions became soft and gentle.  The anger in her voice was evident in her retort.  It seemed she harbored the same level of anger toward the unruly subordinate, perhaps even more than Reek himself.  Reek aimed to calm her down through his gentle touch.

He had a plan. He always did. "I'm going to keep him clothe... as clothe as possible,"  he answered. Like Saena, Reek had changed himself after Ukko's outburst. He grew far more cold and unforgiving in Ukko's wake, and was even more unwilling to give up his postion than he was before.  "I'm going to snap him back in line with rethponsibility... I'm going to force him to understand the things he can't begin to comprehend by taking him under my wing tho to thpeak."  Reek viewed this as more of a punishment than a gift in the long run. "—And if he fucks up, I'll kill him."  While not extremly straightforward, Reek saw the basis of his plan to be simple enough. Ukko would recive one final chance, it was now up to him as to what he would do with it.

Reek's plan seemed a solid one. Unlike when he'd brought a pair of coyote pups home with plans to utilize them for some purpose—which had failed miserably, in part due to the actions of Saena herself—he seemed to have thought this devious plan through. What she took away from it was break his spirit, essentially. She had no idea that Reek literally meant taking Ukko under his wing as a Beta; had she been aware that was the extent he was willing to go to, she might've argued him now, but she agreed wholly with what she knew.

"At the very least, send him packing," she affirmed, then added, "I need to know he's not going to be a problem when spring comes." Reek would likely know why, but if he wasn't sure of the point, she turned her lips up in a slight smile. Spring would signal the time to begin their family, and a time when Saena would need to be completely sure that her pack, and her claim on the Alpha female rank, was solid.

Her meantion of the coming Spring brought a rare smile to Reeks face, much like his shit-eating grins from the old days. Possesing a self-proclamed sense of being clever, Reek caught the implication behind Saena's words without much trouble. When the Spring finally came, he would be a father. His dreams of having a family of his own would be fulfilled and the claim of the Redtail family would be solidified over the Maplewood.

No matter what it took, Reek wouldn't let anything get in his way. No chances would be taken as the seasons turned. If it took killing Ukko, or any other threat to the stability of his family, so be it. His grooming stopped and Reek whispered, "No one will get in our way babe. I won't let it happen."

Reek lightly nudged Saena's neck with his muzzle. "Come on, leths get you to the den. You're going to need some rethst." Once again, he offered his shoulder for support before leading her out of the stream.

Reek's promise to not let anything happen to their plans eased Saena's mind, and she gingerly stepped from the stream. Where ordinarily she would have shaken her coat free of water, she let it cling to her, knowing the effort would be too jarring for her to handle. It streamed off her in rivulets and as she leaned against her mate, it was to the sound of droplets pattering the ground underfoot.

"Rest," she murmured, acknowledging the need for relaxation and rest. In time her mind would erase the events leading up to her broken rib, leaving only a smudgy memory of Sebastian and two strangers whose names she didn't remember, and no recollection of the journey itself.

With his mate pressed firmly against his side, Reek began to move in the slowest of fashions, eager to be her crutch to lean on. This eagerness carried over into both a physical and emotional level. He needed to be needed... the constant reasurance that he was useful kept Reek's nagging insecurities at bay. It had been to prime example of why he became a healer himself in the first place; he was a fixer who didn't quite know how to fix himself.

But, she gave him calm. Calm like no other. And with her sopping wet fur pressing against his side, Reek felt his heart slow from it's staggering rhythm.

He led her back to the den and laid her down to rest beside Scarlett. It was a tight squeeze with so many occupants and the scent of blood still permiated the air, but Reek settled in beside his mate and made himself comfortable before drifting away into much needed rest beside his patients.