Wolf RPG

Following her encounter with Reyes, she headed due south. She needed to put her personal misgivings to the side for a moment and check on her siblings, particularly Caracal. After she gauged the situation at the caldera, she might sit down with Towhee and tell her everything, then decide where to go from there.

Darkness fell as she hustled through The Heartwood. She definitely didn't want to repeat her encounter with Santiago. She made it to the far side of the smoldered woodland, then reached the lake, without crossing paths with anyone. Meerkat stopped for a drink and a brief rest before continuing onward toward Bramblepoint.

She could practically smell the Redhawks as she roved through the forest. She even caught a glimpse or two of the smokestack in the distance. But then something else caught her eye and Meerkat slowed, then stopped. A flash of crimson near the ground drew her gaze downward, the color bright despite the dark summer night. Meerkat licked her lips and took a step toward the poppies...

Hours later, she cracked open one eye, then the other, and slowly sat up beneath a pale dawn sky. Meerkat squinted around, trying to place her surroundings. When she realized where she was and what she'd done the night before, she gasped.

She heard the gasp, a soft sound in the morning. Allowed herself to drift towards her. Some almost motherly worry in her gaze as she stumbled upon the young woman.

Nothing looked out of place. Save for a few disrupted plants, likely courtesy of the recently awaken look of things. She remained a few feet away. Respectful of the personal space. Especially for someone who had seemingly just rose.

Hello, dear. Hummed soft and warm. Everything okay?

She felt herself flush with shame when she remembered how she'd carelessly climbed the mountain's wreckage, singing and dancing her way upward without paying any respect whatsoever to the lives lost or ruined here. But that wasn't even the worst part. She'd found some unidentifiable remains along the way, puked all over them, then kept on frolicking like it didn't even matter. Meerkat felt dismayed disgust at the recollection.

You really need to stop, an inner voice urged right before another voice spoke nearby, startling her. "Hello, dear." Meerkat whipped her head to the side so quickly, the bones creaked. "Everything okay?" asked a stranger who bore a vague resemblance to both her Neema and her elder sister.

She opened her mouth to answer, her eyes widening a little when she suddenly remembered: she had meant to go to the caldera to check on her family. Meerkat jumped to her feet, momentarily forgetting the kindly stranger, sending a stricken look in her homeland's direction. She could see it distinctly beyond the treetops of Bramblepoint.

She took a step, hissing in pain the instant she put weight on the same foot she kept spraining time and time again. Had she really injured it again? This damn ankle was the reason she was behaving so erratically: getting high; doing silly and often stupid things; falling asleep; and then waking up feeling groggy and regretful. It was becoming a thing with her, a cycle Meerkat realized she needed to break.

Blinking, she remembered the she-wolf standing there. "Ah..." She really didn't know what to say or how to answer that question. No, everything's definitely not okay. How am I supposed to get home with a busted ankle? Then, in spite of her own revelation, she wondered, "Do you know what a poppy looks like...?"

An unusual introduction!

She wondered why the ask. Had it been the culprit of the gasp? Of waking up in such an odd place?

I do. Hummed in response as she reclined into a seated position before the girl. Why do you ask? Curiosity heavy in her voice and face!

It had been some time since she had been able to talk about the things she knew! Perhaps she should have felt some shame for it to be a discussion of poppies.

Oh, you moron, Meerkat thought unkindly, wishing she could kick herself. Although her company didn't seem particularly taken aback by the question, she felt like a heel for asking it and not bothering with a proper introduction at all. She drew in a breath, then let it out slowly.

"I'm sorry, I'm being rude. My name is Meerkat," she offered, "and the reason I asked about poppies is because... I hurt my ankle somehow last night. I know poppies are good for pain. But," the yearling added hastily, "you're under absolutely no obligation to find any or anything. I wasn't thinking straight. Anyway..." Meerkat steadied herself with another breath, "What's your name?"

Goodness gracious.

The poor dear had hurt herself and now was on the hunt for poppies. Or perhaps on the hunt for someone to find poppies for her. Only to hastily tack on the fact that Magnola didn’t have to find any for her.

Well, Meerkat, I am Magnola and I am a medic so I am under some obligation to help you. Humor in her voice with a soft look in her eyes for it too.

Any clue what happened to that ankle of yours last night?

The yearling opened her mouth to protest, then shut it again as another flush of embarrassment crept up her chest and throat, heating her face beneath her sandy fur. She supposed that if she simply admitted she'd danced up a mountainside without any further context, it didn't sound too horrible. But even if Magnola wasn't aware of the wrongness of it all, Meerkat certainly knew.

"I was being an idiot," she blurted. "I've hurt it a couple times before, so I should be more careful..." Meerkat shook her head at herself. "I'm an idiot," she repeated under her breath. "You're really not obligated to help me," she went on to say a moment later. Meerkat didn't deserve the stranger's aid. What she did deserve was the pain in her foot. "Although I do appreciate your offer."

In the next breath, she couldn't help but ask, "Do you live somewhere close by?" What had brought Magnola to the ruins of Moonspear, particularly at this early hour?

A soft frown etched into her features. Concern settled heavily in the close knit of her brows.

Then let's not call it obligation. I would like to help you. If you'll let me. Magnola would not push it further, if Meerkat decline. Although she would wish the girl would not label herself as an idiot for an injury. Everyone got hurt sometimes.

I've made a makeshift den down in the Valley. She gestured with her head towards the Altar of Twilight.

Magnola rephrased and Meerkat realized she would be even more of a jerk if she continued to argue. She kept her aching paw hitched slightly off the ground as she rolled her shoulders, ears flicking when Magnola mentioned a den somewhere in the valley. What valley?

"Okay," she acquiesced, shifting a little closer to Magnola. "I appreciate it." She wasn't entirely sure if the woman intended to lead her to the aforementioned den, so she paused a little awkwardly to see what Magnola wanted to do.

Before she could think of moving them to somewhere more comfortable, there were details to sort out. Magnola was not about to further damage Meerkat in the quest to help her.

How bad is the pain? You mentioned poppies earlier...? Perhaps this girl was a medic's apprentice — or someone just well equipped to handle painful situations.

Magnola didn't budge. Instead, she posed some questions to Meerkat. Well, she wasn't entirely sure the latter was a question, more of an observation. The yearling cocked her head, giving the first bit a couple seconds' thought.

"Maybe a five out of ten, if that makes sense...? I don't want to put weight on it but that's more about not wanting to do damage. It does hurt, but I could walk pretty normally if I had to." Was that too much detail? She shrugged inwardly.

As for the second part, "Ah, yeah. The first time I hurt it, a friend of mine offered me poppies. They really helped, so I..." I've been using ever since, Meerkat finished in her head. Or more like misusing, honestly. Her lips twitched, pulling into a slight frown, though she didn't say anything further.

I understand completely. She answered warmly with a smile. Perhaps poppies would be best here. Maybe celandine, if she could find any. She supposed, in a place like this, that it truly was a matter of whatever she could find — no time to be picky!

Then the light of her knowledge came forth. A friend had offered such! Kindness. She might have worried about dosages, but here Meerkat stood — well, sat.

Helpful, when used right. All of this said in good tones! Do you have a home nearby? I could find something for the pain and help transfer you somewhere safe.

She grimaced inwardly at Magnola's phrasing, though the immediately subsequent question at least distracted her. Although she had doubts whether she should remain part of Redhawk Caldera, it was home right now. And she did intend to go back there to speak with her mother, even if she ended up leaving again. She needed to be sure Caracal, the twins and Towhee were all okay, especially with Reyes out of the picture.

"Define 'nearby,'" she quipped dryly. "Something for the pain would be great," Meerkat added, trying not to think greedily of poppy seeds. Perhaps Magnola would give her something else, and maybe that was for the best. "I think I can manage after that. The caldera isn't too far from here."

She would have whisked off after that, had Meerkat not said something...specifically interesting!

Redhawk Caldera? I met a kind man there, was thinking of returning to see if they might have use for me... She trailed off with a small smile. Although, as much as she would have loved to discuss more with the young woman, she was hurt! In pain!

Before I squawk on too much, I'll go find you something.

Her lips parted to ask Magnola more about this man and the possibility of finding a home at the caldera. But they pressed together again when the woman shortly excused herself. Meerkat nodded mutely, using her good paw to motion for Magnola to go ahead.

She sat there, waiting, for about ten minutes before she realized something. Yes, she would feel like a jerk if she just left but, honestly, that ship had sailed; she already felt bad that Magnola was wasting time on her. And as the minutes ticked past, she found herself stuck on poppies, despite herself. She probably shouldn't... but they sounded so good, particularly right now... and her foot legitimately hurt...

In the end, the yearling couldn't resist the impulse. Well aware that Magnola might catch up to her, maybe even scold her, Meerkat began moving down the opposite side of the ruined mountain. She cradled her paw carefully against her chest and went slowly, her world narrowing down to getting to her next fix.

When she returned, it would seemingly not matter what she had found.

Meerkat was nowhere to be found. A sharp frown cut through Magnola's typically soft features. Worry mounted within her first. Although she did not seek out the trail the girl had left or the mountain side she had cut down.

Perhaps they might meet again, should Magnola make it to the caldera herself.