Her children were learning how to eat solid meat, and that meant (surprisingly enough) that Harlyn needed solid meat to feed to them. That was what inspired that morning's venture away from her den and into the Hollow. The pack had plenty of meat stored that would have sufficed, but Harlyn's children deserved something fresh and delicious, not old and covered in dirt. And though Harlyn had never been the greatest at hunting, her pack members had been dwindling as of late leaving her with little choice but to hunt for herself.
She skipped lightly across one of the many creeks that stretched through the Hollow towards the falls at their southernmost border. She had yet to actually catch a trail, but it seemed to her that staying near the water was a good enough place to start. Harlyn lowered her nose to the ground as she trotted along, seeking a scent trail that she could follow. Though no luck had come to her yet, the druid was perfectly content to continue along. Soemthing would surely come up eventually.
Do we want to do a dice roll to see if Shikoba escapes? If so, I did a dice roll
here! If not, we can always play it out!
Her time healing grew slow, but her mind wasn't at ease. She could not just sit and wait for the white one to come crawling home. No, she needed to go and find him. The hell cat could kill her for all she cared, but not someone apart of her family.
Slowly, she made her way out of her den. As much as she wanted to escape during the night, it was best to get out as quick as possible. She wobbled around for a bit, her small whines of pain evident, but almost inaudible. Her teeth fiercely dug into her tongue, trying to prevent any noise from being made.
Her pace was not very quick, her pace was unsteady and lame. Limping with her front, each step ached. But, she would make herself keep going.
Not seeing nor smelling the leaders, Shikoba continued her pace towards the border. She tried her best to stay hidden in the brush and hiding against the trees.
How about we play it out a little and see where it goes, and if it comes to Harlyn having to try and physically stop her, then she'll get away? That way we can get a little interaction in and still leave it up to chance in the end? :)
Harlyn didn't seem to be having much luck in her hunt, which was not enormously surprising. Hunting had never been a great skill of hers. She was far better at scavenging, and even better at making bonds with others that could help her catch a meal. Knowing how low their numbers were, Harlyn had little hope that someone would be around to assist her, and so she allowed the task of hunting to drift from her intentions. Instead, she began to look for plants and herbs - a far better use for her time considering the current situation and the fact that where she was not so good at finding prey, she was very skilled at finding flora.
Her nose brought her towards the borders and unwittingly towards Shikoba's trajectory. She hadn't spotted the woman yet as she too intent upon finding more medicines to help heal her. Her discussions with Mordecai were obviously leading them towards a big change, but nothing could really be put into motion until her Gamma was healed enough for it, and each day, Harlyn grew more and more uncomfortable with the fact that they had not made a move yet.
So Ishi is now home, I will probably have Shikoba run into that one. For now, she can be caught and scolded by Harlyn :)
It was no surprise that Shikoba saw Harlyn. She wasn't too far away, and it looked like she was searching for someone or something. She paused in her walk, staying low was possible as she could before continuing to make her way.
Her paws made little noise, she was careful with every paw. Swinging wide, she hoped to avoid Harlyn.
Sounds good!
Harlyn paused along the landscape as she came to a tree whose trunk was covered in bits of lichen. She ran her nose along it, sniffing intently to determine its species and glean whatever else she could of its properties. It was something she hadn't encountered before, but it held traces of familiarity in comparison to other kinds she had used before. Her tongue flicked across it and she leaned back to put her attention to discerning its taste, pondering the possibilities as her taste buds buzzed with the flavor.
A sound caused her to pause, and she turned abruptly to face the source. She was on full alert; ears perked, tail held high and eyes narrowed as she scanned each corner of her shaded hold. There was nothing on the wind that suggested danger, but Harlyn would not be convinced until she knew for sure. Quietly, she crouched, and proceeded forward - her senses attentive to every aspect of her surroundings.
Again, Shikoba was forced to stop. The noise of her paws had alerted Harlyn, and she had to curse herself in her mind. The native was frozen in place, wary of moving. She felt as if she was glued to the floor, afarid of being caught out of her den when she was deliberately told to stay and heal.
If she was found out, she would be in some deep trouble. Looking around hastily, Shikoba kept moving, though her belly almost dragged against the floor. She was in a slinking position
near the ground, slowly moving forward. She again swung wide, fear clinging to her bones like nasty fleas. Her aroma of blood seemed to lessen, but her nose was all jacked up from Shardul's claws.
The native held her breath.
Harlyn's heart pounded a bit as she moved. Whatever it was she sensed in the woods, it was hiding from her. This simple fact put her on edge. A prey animal would hide from her for obvious reasons, but there was something heavy about the sound that suggested it was not prey, but a fellow predator. There was no reason for a predator to hide, unless it was stalking prey of its own.
The alpha swallowed hard and allowed her gaze to prowl across the terrain. She breathed in the tales on the wind but found nothing out of the ordinary. Harlyn had never been the greatest hunter, but she was not oblivious to the basics. If she could not smell her stalker, then it could smell her. Quietly, Harlyn changed her trajectory and stalked into the woods, trying to reposition herself so that she was upwind instead of down.
Please excuse my poor memory :( Today appears to be catch up day with all my threads
She couldn't see too well, but could sense movement. Harlyn was moving, and Shikoba had to stay still. She was moving, most likely in fear of seeing shikoba as another predator out to kill. Seeing her chance, the native quickly made her way around and kept going wide to avoid Harlyn.
However, she failed. Shikoba wasn't watching where each of her paws were going, for her paws snapped a loud twig. She would probably be noticed, and fear pushed her to flee. She followed her instinct, trying to go as fast as she could. The pain was nearly killing her, and she wasn't able to run far. Her paw snagged onto a protruding root. Shikoba stumbled, falling to the ground with a loud 'thud'.
The stinging in her shoulder was like a thousand wasps were stinging in the same spot over and over again. She felt weak, but had to keep going. For Ishi. Her body wouldn't cooperate, for standing was an impossible task. She tried to heave herself up several times, but each time the fall was worse and worse.
She gave up, settling onto the ground with her paw still snagged. She gulped dryly, feeling that Harlyn wasn't going to be too happy with finding Shikoba out of her den when told not to leave. Consequences would be brutal.
Harlyn heard movement as she walked, and so she slowed. There was something unsteady about the steps she heard, but before she could ponder it too much she heard the stumble. Her head lifted as curiosity took her. What sort of predator tripped during the hunt? Her suspicion rose as she heard the steps quicken and move away, as though now Harlyn had taken the role as the hunter and it the prey. What was going on?
The answer came as the wind changed, and suddenly Harlyn was running without fear towards her fellow Hollow-wanderer. It was with mixed emotions that she came upon Shikoba who she lying upon the forest floor in obvious pain. Concern won out as she gazed at her gamma, all edge that had been building when first she realized what was going on dulled. She frowned softly, but came to stand before the woman without aggravation.
"Why are you out of the den?" she asked softly, thinking already that she knew the answer.
Shikoba could feel her cheeks grow heat with embarassment as Harlyn approached. Her frown was soft, along with her voice as she questioned the gamma. The native wolf looked down in shame, feeling it was not right for her to look at Harlyn in any way. She disrespected the rules set by the alpha, and probably was going to face consequences.
Her voice was quiet, almost dead silent when she decided to answer the question that felt to be the bane of her existence. "Shikoba-" she started off, looking towards Harlyn's paws. "Want to find Ishi." The native could feel the consequences weigh down her body, finally letting off a whine of submission and sadness. "Sorry" she whispered, setting her head on the ground, weakly lifting her paws to cover her head, as if she was afraid Harlyn was going to attack or at least hit her.
Harlyn had expected the answer that was given, so she was not surprised to hear it when the words escaped Shikoba's lips. She shut her eyes for a moment as the weight of their situation pressed down upon her. The druid did not want to lose Ishi to the cougar. She did not want to abandon him to his fate. But what choice did they have?
"I'm sorry, Shikoba," Harlyn said softly, "I can't let you go. I won't lose you for the sake of one who may be lost already." It pained her to say the words, but her soft heart receded from the hurt and the druid stepped forward; calm, cool and steady in her regard of the hard truths of their situation. "We can pray that the gods will return him to us, but I will not sacrifice any more of mine to the beast," Harlyn said with a certain sense of finality. Shikoba would not know the real meaning of her comment, but Harlyn knew, and so did the gods. They had Luke's spirit, they had Ilya's life, and now they had Ishi's freedom. She would give them no more.
Harlyn's words stung Shikoba like poison, and she could only look away in defeat. The alpha was right in the sense that Shikoba couldn't just go and venture out after she had just been attacked and mauled. It was a suicide mission, and she would die even if she did make the distance.
She didn't fully understand Harlyn's words, but knew she would be forced to obey her. Slowly, she nodded her head and tried to stand. Her paws came close from releasing her from the air, but were at least able to catch her. Bones popped into place while muscles felt as if they were tearing. The native wolf hobbled close to Harlyn and nudged her head softly against her shoulder. "Sorry" she whispered, soon pulling herself away to go and try to limp to her den.
It broke Harlyn's heart to see the despondent resignation pulling down her gamma's frame. She stilled as the woman brought herself up again, nervous for the pain it would undoubtedly cause. But it wasn't until Shikoba murmured a sullen apology that her breath caught and she gave a whine of sympathy. She took a pet look at the land beyond her borders where some the demon cat preyed upon their Ishi before finally She turned and fell into step at her friend's side, lending her body as support as they made their way slowly back to the den.