Velox was recovering, but not at the rate she would have most liked. She left her den daily now, and could go farther and farther each day, but it was never far enough to do any good for herself. Dawa and Zombie were still very much needed to feed her from the caches, and she was quite frankly tired of drinking from the stagnant, frost-melt that formed in small pools and kept the ground wet in most places at the back of her dank densite. Today, she decided though, would be different...
It wasn't, however, and she wound up reopening a gash on her shoulder by trying to exercise her now-constantly stiff muscles. She was back in her den for several hours, craning painfully to lick her own wound before falling into a fitful, unhappy sleep.
When she woke again, it was nearing midnight, and the moon was nigh on another descent before she thought to move again. Dawa was presumably somewhere else for the night, so Velox picked herself up and began hopping gingerly forward on three legs, ignoring the less-painful sting at her shoulder as the wounded flesh flexed. She emerged into the moonlit Vale, but did not stop in the clearing to rest as she usually did—she pressed on, slowly and cautious of her other, healing wounds, as she made her way on her own.
The uselessness she felt threatened to consume her, so Velox eagerly pressed on, wanting to prove something, anything to herself. She followed her keen nose to fresh water, soon able to hear the constant gurgling of a winding stream when she was close enough. She attempted to pick up her pace but only ended up stumbling several times before slowing again. By the time she reached the thin creek, she was winded and sore, but immensely proud of her trip. She crouched—mindful of her hind leg—and took a long, refreshing drink with the moon's pale face smiling on her glowing-silver back.
It had become somewhat of a habit now to sneak out into the night, at least ‘sneaking’ was what she thought considering Raheerah had not stopped her (or spoken of his notice). Rather than cross borders into open lands or scale the mountains in the night to bring her ease, she walked at her leisure through the pines of the Vale, at times leaving tuffs of molting fur on the trunks as a trail. It seemed quick the odd ritual to assume, but for one reason or another (that her mind again could not grasp), she took a mild pleasure to it as if she were doing something meaningful, surely to be noticed. She would not have thought that such behavior was motivated by an instinctual drive, the most basic that plagued all adults once the spring began its rise.
Almost dreamlike, she wandered feeling the rich earth underpaw until her nostrils wafted a contesting scent above the natural fragrance. One of herbs and stale blood, the scent of ‘healing’ as she knew it. And is if dispelled, her eyes came to focus on the pale lit world around her. The fine light of the silvery moon a beacon to guide her from the darkened depths into its brilliant light. And with it was the scent trail to follow towards the small creek. And as her sense had declared, she would not find it without another at its waters.
“Is it not late?” she uttered, concern thickly laid in her croaking chords. Quietly she walked forward til she was near the side of the pale woman, taking care not to shift too close to her wounded leg.
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She picked her head up at the hushed voice, her muzzle dripping and her eyes wide as she sought the familiar face of Xi'nuata, who she did not remember from the day of her rescue, but rather the days after when she had visited to offer her assistance in any way. "Ah, Xi'nuata," Velox purled pleasantly, her long tail swaying slowly back and forth as she took a moment to lick her chops and watch as the large, red-caped woman came to stand at her side.
"Yes, it's quite late," she answered with a following sigh that suddenly displayed her weariness. It shone in her eyes too, but she looked out over the creek instead, refusing to let her expressions betray her. "I'm not usually such a night-owl, but tonight I found myself as restless as a whelp with fresh eyes," the pale female admitted with a quiet, gentle laugh.
"Are you usually out this late?"
There was a quality to Velox that the woman could not readily place, yet she found it pleasant much the same as she did with Tenzin. It was an aged quality commanding only kind regard- well deserved, she imagined, considering how the white female presented herself almost modestly. Another might have called this intangible attribute ‘maternal’, but as her own experiences with her dame were lacking in such warmth, she had no real connection to go by. None the less, she had a natural respond of ease as she neared the moonlit woman.
“Only recently,” she admitted in but a whisper. “Slowly winter in ending, but already it feels like summer in the den.” Her shoulder sunk somewhat at the miserable thought. “It does not help that Raheerah tends to cling as if he freezes…”
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She looked over at the Gamma as she answered, observing her incredibly thick pelt, that was already shedding much of its winter thickness. With the temperatures no longer nearer to zero, the she-wolf with the mountain-born coat would not find comfort in the coming months. Velox smiled humorously, though was not jeering at her misfortune. There was understanding in the curve of her lips, and she didn't feel the need to say that she did. Rather, she concentrated on another thing Xi'nuata had said... something that interested her.
"Is Raheerah your mate?" she asked in polite curiousness at the inference that they shared a den. She had not yet met the wolf, but Dawa had explained to her that he was the pack's Beta and to beware of his ire; though Velox wasn't really a wolf that evoked anger in many, so she wasn't worried about this.
Since she didn't know much about the female at her side, she figured it wouldn't hurt to ask—though belatedly she wondered if she had asked if she was related to Raheerah instead, as this was also a possibility.
“…mate?!”
There were only a handful of names she could have thought to give the demon male. Companion, friend, confidant… savior. And though she had not tested the limit aloud, there were more she could fathom, but hearing one from the mouth of another, she realized just the kind of impact it entailed. It was like a fire had been sparked in the pit of her stomach, and its flames and heat surged through her body to reach her cheeks. Had she felt warm in her winter pelt now, she felt completely ablaze in that instance.
“I-I… he…he…” her tongue felt heavy due to the foreign heat, not to mention the surge of thoughts that clambered over the other to take to the forefront of her mind. Her shoulders rounded uncomfortably as she sunk down into herself, as if attempting to hide from the question itself… or perhaps the reality of the truth and how it made her feel.
“N-no…” she mumbled finally, looking anywhere but to the white female sat next to her. “We share a den, is all. We… enjoy each other’s company… and… I hadn’t yet made a den for myself.” Though the likelihood of her doing so was far from thought, let alone mind. “And I,” her quiet voice turned meeker still as she paws awkwardly at her muzzle as if suddenly taken by an itch. None would have guessed this was a sign of uncertainty. “…I do not believe he favors me in that manner. He has not asked… or implied- but your restlessness!” Her head perked up quickly and let her bi-colored eyes rest on the serene visage of the woman. There was an opportunity for a change in topic, and she would have it before she was reminded of her own quiet thoughts further. “It is your healing that is making you restless?” she inquired almost desperately. “The strangeness of the land? Is it quite different from your own?”
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