Wolf RPG

Magpie grew restless as the days went on, as her mind came back to clarity, her headaches coming further and further apart. Her cuts and bruises were healing, but her ribs and ankle still caused her pain. She could even catch hints of light in her wounded eye, the swelling finally beginning to go down. The yearling was by no means fully recovered— that would take quite some time— but she was clearly out of the woods. She was lucky that her head injury hadn't been worse, or she might have been too far gone to be of value to this caldera; or even this world.

As much as she needed to remain still and allow her body to heal, she was loathe to be still for long. Fox's litter would be coming any day now, and that knowledge brought Magpie an endless supply of anxiety. She was unable to hunt in her current state, the duties Peregrine had demanded of her forced to wait— at the worst possible time, it seemed. At least she had brought a goat home (or so she'd been told, for the details surrounding the event were hazy). Besides, she told herself, moving her body would be good for it.

En route the the caldera's lake, Magpie keyed in on a commotion near the part of the territory claimed by the Alphas for their den— the tell-tale cries, whines, growls, and voices filled with intensity. She altered her course, moving quickly as she was able, until she was along the shore closest to their den. It was a generous berth, but near enough that she would be able to provide them with (relatively) quick aid should it be necessary.

She whined her anxiety, limping back and forth along the shoreline, ears directed toward the sound of the birthing den. It was a momentous day; a beautiful day, but the violence of nature meant things could go frightfully wrong even in the most awe-striking moments.

Since the pack meeting - the bonding experience or whatever you'd like to call it - Dove had withdrawn from interaction more so than usual. Her previous knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, saying the worst thing possible, and overall being a huge bitch to the strangers around her, had ebbed away. Now she busied herself with menial tasks. Checking caches (despite not really knowing what to look for, nor having anything put in them should they be low), patrolling the pack's border (which she strayed from as soon as she heard something rustling in the bushes), and eventually just wandering around. Aside from basking at the lake's edge or pissing someone off, it seemed like Dove had a limited skill set.

She thought, briefly, of finding the dark rogue - the boy named Jaws who she had seen at the meeting - either to suss out where he'd come from, or to... Entertain herself. But the thought of intimacy with him made her nervous; her face grew heated with the memory of their union, and thus the thought was shoved to the back of her mind. Dove was checking out some thickly growing roots (potentially for a den site of her own) when she heard a call upon the air. It was Fox.

That could only mean —

Reacting was easy, it was quick and painless. Dove was flying through the trees in the direction of the Alpha's den site - Peregrine be damned, she would be there, as she'd promised. But by the time Dove stumbled in to view of the burrow, she saw Peregrine at the door - and others. These strangers made the fur of her spine prickle, and a sudden apprehension overtake the pale girl. So she slowed her pace, weaving closer, but not getting in anyone's way.

She heard a keen whining coming from nearby, and chose to investigate - at least it would be a distraction from all of this. She trailed along the shoreline until a black figure came in to view, and Dove recognized the petite girl after a few more seconds. Briefly a scowl flitted across her face, but this vanished before she arrived at her half-sister's side. Without saying anything (mostly because she couldn't trust her tongue to speak kindly) Dove tried to reassure Magpie, bopping her shoulder with her nose. There there.

It seemed that whatever had transpired between the two half-sisters in the face of Peregrine's admonishment was forgotten— at least in this moment, when Fox was bringing life into the world. Magpie knew little of birth, but she knew it could be dangerous... there were all sorts of herbs to aid the process, none of which she had thought to bring the fiery woman. This realization caused a fresh whine to escape the yearling, to which Dove bumped her shoulder with the intention of comfort.

That surprised the anxiety right out of Magpie, at least temporarily. She had anticipated sharp words, even a fight, the next time she ran into Dove alone. It was a good sign that the white female was attempting to comfort, right? She wouldn't do such a thing if she still harbored enough resentment to actually hate Magpie— at least that's what the yearling told herself.

No words passed between them, only anxious pacing and the occasional comforting touch. They remained this way, stuck in the awkward dance of resenting one another, but also sharing concern and worry for their sister. When the sounds from the Alphas' den began to settle, and a signal of everything's fine filtered throughout the pack, the pair went their separate ways in silence.

Magpie could only wonder at what the odd interaction meant.