I'm free.
Finally, he was free. Free from the hunger. Free from the tension. Free from the Blackfeather. He still looked beat up, and he had grown quite small from not eating. But who the hell cared? At least he could see the light of day again!
He looked down at his reflection in the lake, a small smile on his face. His amber eyes glanced at the swirling mark Crescendo had made on his side. "
I'm not yours any longer..." He scraped his own claw against the mark, making a big 'X' over the swirl. The wound started to bleed, but he didn't care. Now this was
his mark to say he didn't belong to anyone nor anything. He was his own boss.
His paws dipped into the shallows, letting the water wash away the blood and dirt on his body. Letting out a relieved sigh, he started to paddle around, then started to play in the river.
More wandering. He'd covered quite a bit of ground in the past few days and, if he didn't say so himself, he was quiet proud of it. He was starting to get a hang of these parts and felt as though he was starting to get a feel for the lay of the land. His little venture up the mountains had helped with that. It'd given him a nice vantage point of the surrounding area. He had a decent sort of visual within his head of what the immediate area looked like. Plains on one side. Plains on another. The range spanned northwest and southeast. Hmm. Seemed like the appropriate time to explore another valley.
He traveled, following a stream down the side of a mountain. Snowmelt provided a healthy amount of runoff and he knew from experience that water tended to host a rich kind of wildlife that would be the key to his survival. As a lone wolf he needed all the advantages he could get to keep food in his belly. If the water attracted a nice meal? Perfect. He'd catch a little fast food on the way and continue on his little adventure.
The morning wore into the rest of the day. Kerosene followed the river until it fed into a lake. His hunch had been correct, it seemed, and with this newfound discovery, he decided to put his wandering to a halt and enjoy his good fortune. Stepping towards the water, the red wolf lowered his maw towards the lake and lapped at its surface. Delicious. Refreshing. Just what he needed to stay hydrated.
When he'd finished with his drink, he decided to trace the lake's perimeter. One step after the other, he followed the water's edge until the peculiar scent of blood mixed with water floated across the air. A glance closer told him another wolf was nearby. From the looks of it, a young male was playing in the water, splashing through the shadows. Kero wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but with the scent of copper on the air, it was a curious thing. He approached somewhat cautiously. He'd already run into one crazy. He didn't need to risk another.
"Celebrating, it seems?" he spoke, tossing his voice into the air. "What's the occasion?"
His ears flicked over to the voice. It was a red wolf, kinda reminded him of himself even. It was nice to see someone that most likely wouldn't use him as a punching bag. "Hell yeah! I just got away from being trapped in a hole for weeks!" It still scent shivers down his spine. It was so dark and awful down there. He'll think twice about going into another's lands, because apparently they like to keep you starving for weeks.
He swam up to the bank, stepping away and shaking himself off. "It was this crazy Pack. Really dark there. BlackFeather I think it was." His eyes narrowed at the bright wolf. "I wouldn't go there if I were you." His mind went back to when he had stepped foot there. How Crescendo had stomped his head in the ground, leaving him with a blurred vision and terrible nausea. His head still pounded from time to time, making him grumpy as hell.
Trapped in a hole for weeks. A pair of wolven brows lifted upon his head at this statement, measuring the words for truth as a number of images flitted through Kero's mind. Had this one fallen into some sort of pit and had to dig his way to the top? Had the ground given way beneath him? It seemed like an interesting sort of situation. "How does one manage to get trapped in a hole?" he asked, curious.
The wolf continued as he stepped towards the lake's edge and shook out his fur. Kerosene turned his eyes against the spray, chancing a look back once he thought the boy was done. He appeared to have some sort of nasty mark upon his side and from the looks of it the edges were raw. It seemed to have mostly stopped bleeding for now, but there was no doubt in Kero's mind that this was same copper he'd smelt upon the air earlier.
He couldn't help it. At the mention of Blackfeather Kerosene snorted. Yup. He'd met a wolf from that place. Crazy bitch who thought she was some kind of sly demon warrior who'd learned from birds who were constantly at war. If you were to ask him, he'd claim the story seemed a little far fetched. "Heard of 'em. Have no intentions of venturing that direction. They seem to have a few loose screws."
Dark or not, he didn't care to cross paths with wolves who didn't see the world for what it was.
How does one manage to get trapped in a hole?
Redwood chuckles slightly at the question. "I was forced to be there. They kept me locked inside with a giant boulder. Usually I would just push it out the way, but they made my limbs all weak." And it had pained to know that at anytime he could have just escaped, but every time he tried, it pained his body way to much. Maybe if it wasn't for all the abuse and food shortage he could have ran the day after he was trapped.
He nodded at his next words. "They're crazy. I'm never venturing over there again!" His body had suddenly started to sting, which made turn round and lick his swirl. He was quite proud of it actually. Made him look all tough.
Oh. So Blackfeather was filled with slave drivers now were they? That filled Kero's mind with a shit ton of "NOPE" and he decided to give that area a wide berth from now on. A pity the territory was surrounded with nice things. Nice lakes. Nice rivers. Nice hot springs. Damn. Why was it... that the crazies... always set up shop in the middle of everything wonderful and good? Curses. Maybe he'd have to join the cult after all just to get free access to all the goodies. Was that cheating? It was probably cheating.
"Um. That sounds like it sucked," he said, being blunt about it. He wasn't the type of wolf who often offered a shoulder to cry on. He just kind of told it like it was and fully believed on moving up and moving on. This one was free now. That meant he'd escaped somehow. That also meant, despite the mental abuse and withdrawals, this one was a free wolf who could do whatever the hell he wanted. He also had pretty rad battle scars that he could make up better stories for.
Kero nodded. "I think that would be wise," he agreed, stepping into the shallows of the lake to cool off his feet. "So what are you going to do now. Wait for that thing to heal? Go be a badass somewhere else?"
The red wolf walked past and went into the shallows of the lake. His words made him laugh. He never thought of himself being to much of a badass. Dumbass was more like it. But being a guy who gets into fights anytime he could was badass right? "I don't like to wait for things. So yeah, probably go stir up trouble." It seemed that he hadn't learned his lesson entirely. "I was thinking of finding a Pack, but I don't want to just yet." The flamed colored wolf was more of an adventurer rather than a defender. He had barley seen half of the Teekon Wilds. "My name's Redwood by the way."
Kero smirked. This guy had spunk, he'd give him that. Trapped in a hole by a bunch of crazies, discovered sweet, sweet freedom, and he was already looking to live again. Good for you kid. Good for you. His tail flicked behind him, amused by this one's energy and pep. He seemed like a good kid. Lucky him, his spirit hadn't been crushed.
"Cause trouble with the ladies?" Kero asked with a suggestive tone to his voice. Boy was a bachelor and if he wanted to roam for a while without the weight of a pack, just about every door was open to him as long as he could tend to his basic needs. Food. Shelter. Staying healthy. Kid might want to see to that gash in his side before he got a little too adventurous. "Definitely with the ladies. Come up with a good story for that thing and you'll have a scar to keep them falling at your feet."
Kero stepped a little deeper into the water and flopped down into it. He ducked his head beneath its surface, submerging himself for a moment before reappearing on top. This was the life. Living live. Living free. "Say, homeslice. Your eyes know what they wanna see yet or are you just winging it?" Truth be told, Kero felt much the same way. He didn't want the promise of a pack quite yet. He was enjoying not having any ties. "Name's Kero."
Cameo!
"Flight 193 with service from Sleepy Fox Hollow to Porcupine Ridge. We'll be experiencing a slight diversion today due to local weather, putting us at an overall flight time of eleventy-hundred hours. Sit back, relax, and enjoy some in-flight entertainment in the form of 'everything-is-broken-so-entertain-yourself'. Enjoy!"
Asbestos winged through the lower flatlands, moving around a flux of clouds and winds to make for far smoother travels as he put distance between where he was and where he'd come from. He flitted, diverting over the lake when he encountered a bit of turbulence in the form of more strong winds over the water.
"The captain has illuminated the seat belt sign as we foresee some turbulence in our future. Please remain seated until the pilot deems it safe to move about the cabin."
He winged. He ended up caught between an updraft and a downdraft and was unable to manage it.
"Mayday! Mayday!" He squeaked he crashed, falling from the sky.
"LOOK OUT MINION!" He landed in the soft, plush, cushiony fur of a red wolf. Asbestos clung, holding onto the wolf's fur for a moment until he realized where he was. At that point, he suffered a minor freakout and winged away through the cover of trees to dodge the wind.
-Asbestos exits-
The wind picked up. He glanced towards the sky for a moment, looking out of the lake and the horizon as he noticed the weather brewing in the distance. That certainly explained the wind. Looking back towards the wolf, he found the guy had disappeared, leaving Kero alone on the shore. He took a few steps in the direction the other had been sitting and searched for a bit.
Then it hit him.
Literally. A screaming bundle of fur and what not flying into his pelt with squeaks and hollers, which would have been fine if the thing had bounced off of him, but it clung. Kero's eyes widened as he lifted a hind foot to try to brush him off. His efforts couldn't quite reach, but it didn't matter as it soon figured itself out and flew away.
The fuck?
What was it with these lands? Angry squirrels. Now crazy flying things? The wildlife here was definitely out to get him. Or not. Either way, it served as a decent warning and Kerosene moved, seeking shelter from the approaching storm.
/thread end!