Wolf RPG

Full Version: all the world you roam turns you into stone
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On her first day of freedom, she makes a mistake; she stays out too long. Typically she's able to find shelter before darkness falls, but as the sun sets, she finds herself among a vast grey emptiness. There's no place to hide — nowhere safe. And as the sun sets, she begins to panic.
Predictably, horribly, night brings danger with it. Darkness settles over the land, and she hears distant keening calls — then not so distant. Coyotes, emboldened by the cloak of night and seeking blood from the lone wolf they've caught alone. It's difficult to make sense of what happens next — bristling and snarling, fangs through fur and the taste and scent of blood, pain and confusion and pitch black all around. It's a horrified haze until suddenly it's over — until the latter of two falls writhing, dying, and the yearling collapses beside it, wounded but not sharing the coyotes' fate.
Exhausted but still conscious, she doesn't move — even as the sun starts to rise and flies start to gather around the dead coyotes, nagging at her by extension.
i couldn't resist

the plains had cooled, but the ghosts that roamed the charred hills kept aditya at bay. he could swear he heard voices in the wreckage, unsure of whether he imagined them or if it truly was hallowed, haunted ground. nevertheless, he was too attuned to the spiritual to dare disturb that kind of energy, so he kept to the moraine in the early morning, wandering the rocks with restless paws.

the smell of blood lingered close by, heavy in the air, and he wondered if there was a free meal to take back to the maplewood, at least enough to feed the children. the hope died in his chest as he saw the girl, lying near motionless, the only sign of life the barest rise and fall of her ribs.

adi let out a small cry and rushed toward her, sinking down to his belly by her side. "myrren," he pleaded in a ragged whisper, nudging her cheek with his nose. she was quite badly injured; he presumed the dead coyotes nearby were her vanquished foes. they clearly hadn't let her off easy. "hey, myrren, stay with me--it's aditya, i'm here."

he'd have to drag her back to the maplewood. how on earth would he do that with any sort of finesse? perhaps he should call for help before it was too late, and the bleeding girl expired beside him.
<3 !
Distantly, she registers the approach of another, and manages to drag herself bit by bit back to full consciousness by the time the figure nears her side. She inhales instinctively, knowing the other to be Aditya even before he speaks; it's a good thing, else the gentle touch to her cheek might have been met with snapping jaws. Her hackles prickle slightly nonetheless, but she only sighs softly at the contact.
That's not my name, she wants to say, wincing just slightly at hearing her moniker. Aditya, She murmurs instead, shifting to better look at him. A weary, affectionate smile tugs faintly at her lips. You have flawless timing. The yearling takes a deep breath, resisting the urge to wince at the way expanding her chest shifts the wounds littering her chest, shoulders, and neck; the worst of the damage is there, in the form of a myriad of bite marks still weeping blood into her dark fur.
How bad is it? She asks him, voice soft but largely unaffected; she's been through far worse, and she's beyond panicking now. The only thing left to do is assess the damage and deal with it — she will live, she's certain.
well, maybe not on death's door, if she spoke so strongly. that could be due to a lack of pain, though; if that was the case, then the situation was more dire than he thought. he smiled at her cheeky remark, pulling slightly away and examining her wounds. "well, it's not good," he responded, his voice a murmured rumble in his throat.

if he could just get her back to the maplewood. . . the moraine was barren, devoid of any useful herbs or plants. moss, he knew he needed, and other herbs to dull the pain, if it was--he hoped--there. but moss first and foremost, and he didn't want to know how many rocks he needed to turn over here to find the stuff.

"stay here," he commanded, his golden eyes flashing to her face for an instant before rushing back to the edge of the forest, claws unsheathed and ready to tear clumps of greenery from the bases of trees. once the bleeding stopped, they'd be able to go to morningside's rendezvous. until then, it was a waiting game.
take my 100th post :0
He's calmer when he responds again, even offering one of those suspiciously charming smiles. She resists the urge to snort. Has anyone ever told you how helpful you are? She teases, laughing softly. The yearling's pain tolerance has always been high, but she's exhausted from the fight and surely from blood loss; still, she feels oddly detached from the situation.
She laughs again at his next words, but he's gone before she can say something sarcastic — a shame, really. His absence, however brief, gives her time to grow restless. After a few moments she starts to shift again, then forces herself up to a sitting position, dizzy and swaying just slightly. It takes a couple beats for her head to stop spinning, and she knows she's being a stubborn idiot — but no one's here to stop her for the moment, and few could anyway.
it took some time, but he was finally able to retrieve moss from the maplewood, digging frantically at the bases of trees. adi rushed back to myrren's side, panting slightly through the wad of greenery in his mouth. he set it down and began to apply it, albeit clumsily, to her wounds.

"look, i'm not a medic," he told her, voice rueful. "but i've seen moss used before. i know it stops bleeding. we have to get the bleeding to stop before i can take you anywhere."

while he worked, adi nodded toward the coyotes, eyes alight in question. "an ambush in the night?" he asked, frowning slightly. "should i send word to ikkanattuk?" any pack worth their salt would want to know if one of their own was missing, straight away. aditya had been handed too much trouble over the past moons to discount that kind of worry.
tiny pp, lmk if it's not okayy
In time, he returns; by now she's slightly zoned out, and it takes her a moment to register his presence again. As he speaks, a realization strikes her — her usual wit has been dulled, much as she's trying to pretend otherwise. So she nods slightly, letting him apply the moss to her. If her wounds sting a bit more from his clumsy work, she hardly notices, and she doesn't mind anyway.
She knows what herbs she needs, but before she can force the words from her lips she's distracted by Aditya's questions. To the first, she nods, a dark expression briefly passing over her features — to the second, she shakes her head slowly. I left. They won't be looking for me, She tells him, voice soft, and leaves it there; he's done nothing to offend her, but she doesn't owe any explanation. And if he's perceptive (though men never are) he'll know regardless.
She pauses, fully registering her situation — she's badly wounded. Aditya is — taking her somewhere? Helping her. Why can't I think clearly? He touches a particularly sore place, then, and she winces slightly, suddenly brought back to reality. It seems I owe you now, She says without thinking; this is far more than he'd ever owed her. The thought grips her like icy talons, but she keeps the emotion from her expression. She wants to tell him to leave, to let her fend for herself or die trying. Instead, she sucks in a breath and says, Thank you.
so soon? he wanted to ask, but he knew it was none of his business. whatever had driven her to leave ikkanattuk was her concern alone, and if she ever divulged it to him, it would be on her terms. for now, the main focus was getting her healed. everything else was secondary.

the moss was doing a fine job at soaking up all the blood, but there was still a ways to go down that route. aditya shook his head at her remark; he kept a smile on his face, but his eyes were serious as he responded. "absolutely not," adi said, thinking of how alya had brought this up, too. damn, he was really getting into the whole rescuing wolves in trouble thing, wasn't he? "you don't owe me anything. i couldn't just leave you here, could i?"

well--he supposed some wolves could. but he wasn't them, and he never would be. like it or not--and sometimes he really did not--his heart would always outweigh everything else; his sense of compassion had no bounds. it would really do him in, sometime.
She shakes her head slightly at his words, snorting softly. You're too kind, you know, She tells him, tone teasing again but not unkind. Must bring you quite a bit of grief. The yearling pauses, studying Aditya for a moment. There's still that lingering, nagging suspicion — but he hasn't killed her yet.
I doubt I'm worth your kindness anyway, She adds a little wryly; it's easy to forget, sometimes, that she's worth less than the dirt beneath their paws. For a thief and a murderer, she holds herself confidently — even her self-deprecation oozes assurance. I'm not complaining, of course. By all means, rescue me — I do enjoy attention.
it was as if she could read his mind. "you're telling me," he said wryly, his tone not altogether humorous. how many times had he been kind to someone, only to have it thrown back in his face? it was beginning to be a habit--and a bad one, at that. he turned away, checking on her wounds and hiding the frown that had crept over his maw.

the bleeding was slowing. not stopped completely, but it had slowed significantly from when he'd first arrived. better now than never, he thought. adi looked back at her, having mastered his expression once more into something more akin to pleasantry.

"nonsense," adi said brusquely, addressing the last few comments that had almost--but not quite--escaped him. he jerked his head over toward the maplewood, looking back at her with a question in his eyes. "i think you're set to travel, at least a little ways. lean on me, and we'll get you back to my pack's territory?"
She quiets at his reaction to her words, only nodding as she rises and takes a tentative step closer to him. The inkstain is still for only a breath, watching his face — she's not sure she'll say anything at all until the words come tumbling from her. It is admirable, She says softly. And — I won't forget this. I won't add to your grief.
But she's tired, and he's offered her a safe place to sleep — to heal. To Morningside, then? She offers a smile, attempting lightheartedness. It will have to be a slow journey, but she's never been the type to complain. She is alive, even after the terror of the night, and she's grateful for it.