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+--- Thread: Herbalists' Cache Weep for yourself (/showthread.php?tid=66223)
Weep for yourself - Speckletooth - August 17, 2025
Speckletooth had found himself feeling rather glum. What was the fun of a new adventure when he was alone?
He hadn't seen the face of another wolf since the man at the rise, and it had left him wondering if he should have tried to stick with the stranger. Speckletooth wasn't one for the independent life, it was just too quiet. He needed community!
The sudden grumbling of his stomach left him sure that he probably needed a meal, too.
RE: Weep for yourself - Veteran - August 18, 2025
Veteran looked up into the pine trees as he walked, marveling at the stark difference between the verdant green fronds overhead, and the crunchy orange husks beneath his paws. He had been wandering the Teekons since the height of the pine pollen season, and now there wasn't a single yellow grain in sight. Perhaps that meant that saplings would be pushing up through the soil soon.
Veteran refocused on the path ahead, and his eyes landed on another. Was he seeing things? He hadn't seen the hide or hair of another wolf since he'd left the beach behind. It was as if the Teekon wolves had forgotten the Taiga even existed.
Veteran stopped in his tracks, then emitted a curious woof. He wagged his tail, signaling to the other wolf that he would welcome a conversation.
RE: Weep for yourself - Cambria - August 18, 2025
@Sophia scooted a little further from @Odessia than he liked, though his mate was too busy fussing over Victoria to do anything about it. That left Cambria to do the honors. With utmost caution and care, he pinched his teeth around little Sophia’s nape and carried her closer to her mother and sister. Holding onto her like a delicate little egg, he folded to the ground with the puppy tucked safely between his forelegs, bumping against his chest.
He let go, though his forelegs wound more tightly around her, trapping her against the thudding of his heart. Cambria snuffled the top of her head, then drew back a little to look into her sweet, tiny face. She was so cute, he just wanted to squeeze her. So he did, his forelimbs constricting even more and his head coming down so that he was effectively squashing the tiny Dragonling.
In the blink of an eye, Cambria caught himself, leaped backward, then ran out of the den. He galloped rather blindly, unaware of which direction he was going, cursing at himself with every footstep. Why had he grabbed her like that? Why had he squeezed, and so hard? Had he hurt her? The last thing on earth he wanted to do was harm his daughters and yet the urge that had overcome him had been so pervasive…
He ran until his breath ran short, then stumbled to a halt. Chest heaving, legs trembling, Cambria tried to collect himself. Instead, he reenacted his dramatic introduction to fatherhood by puking and wailing simultaneously. His spectacular ejection didn’t hit anyone this time, though the noises that came from him were an assault to any ears within a mile’s radius.
Dealer’s choice how close he is to yous guys!
RE: Weep for yourself - Speckletooth - August 18, 2025
As though willed by munmun himself, Speckletooth turned his head as a woof hit his ears, and there stood a wolf. They made Speckletooth feel small, and yet he couldn't stop his rapidly wagging tail.
Before he could get a word out he was hit with the sound of a wail quickly followed by the scent of vomit.
Jee - is yer friend sick?He asked, referring to the noise. His tail couldn't help but slow - the smell of unwanted regurgitant wasn't exactly a great conversation starter.
It crossed his mind for just a moment that he may have overstepped a boundary given there was not one, but two wolves here. He quickly dismissed it; why would wolves live where there's no swamp? That'd just be silly!
RE: Weep for yourself - Sophia - August 19, 2025
One-post cameo
Sophia was making yet another bid for freedom when she was yoinked and then squeezed, from all sides, so hard that she let out a little gasp and a mostly annoyed, partially frightened "Uh!"
The Indiana Jones moment was over before things escalated to fisticuffs. Sophia rolled onto her front and sniffed the air. ManGuy. Always ManGuy, that incompetent, boobieless fool.
Ah. Boobie. It had been at least 45 seconds aince her last meal - freedom would have to wait. The little girl vented her irritation in a single high-pitched grunt and toddled unsteadily back to the milk bar.
RE: Weep for yourself - Veteran - August 19, 2025
Veteran's friendly tail-wag was returned. He managed one step toward the other man before the disembodied wail met his ears, freezing him in place as the fur on the back of his neck stood up.
"I'm alone," he answered the other man. "Or.. I thought I was." Maybe he needed to revise his theory that this section of Teekon had been abandoned.
Sick? He shook his head. Sick didn't sound like that. Mercifully, the -ahem- distinctive scent had yet to waft over to him.
"It sounds like grieving to me," Veteran said, frowning. "Do you think we should check on him?"
RE: Weep for yourself - Cambria - August 21, 2025
What the hell was wrong with him? The last thing he wanted was any harm to befall his daughters… so why would he unthinkingly squash Sophia like that? Cambria didn’t understand what had compelled him to hold onto her so tightly. In hindsight, he’d actually wanted to bite her too, a thought which had him heaving again.
After the second wave of hurling—and a few coughing and ultimately unproductive aftershocks—Cambria could only lower his head and let tears, snot and drool leak from his face into the puddle of vomit at his feet. He sniffed pitifully and swung away from it, shuffling a few feet away and swiping a pale foreleg across his mismatched eyes.
He heard voices and stilled, his foreleg still suspended in the air. His ears flicked as he tried to catch what they were saying. He couldn’t make out any words, though the Dragonling registered two distinct voices, both masculine in timbre. He swallowed and put a little more distance between himself and the relics of yesterday’s supper so that he could tip his snout into the air and sift for scents.
Unfortunately for all involved, he was upwind. Cambria eventually let out a soft woof to alert the others to his presence, his stomach doing an uncomfortable roll. He didn’t think he’d be sick again, though the guilt churned deep inside him. In retrospect, he thought he’d caught himself before actually hurting Sophia… but what if he was wrong? And what if Odessia forbade him from coming back?
Probably for the best,he moaned under his breath.
I’m a shit dad.
RE: Weep for yourself - Speckletooth - August 21, 2025
Responding with a 'mmhm' Speckletooth turned to head straight to the source. He wasn't so bothered by the smell being from the smelliest of landscapes himself, but that didn't stop his concern.
Pushing through bushes and swerving around trees, he soon found the vomiter. Opposite from his new friend, this one was purely white besides the remainders of his last meal that clung to his fur.
Are you's alright?He was quick to ask.
You look my uncle after we gave away 'is favourite goat!Had this one lost his goat to Mun'mun too?
Speckletooth was no doctor, but he had been the patient. Some good ol' hos-poh-tally-teh would fix this one right up better than any ol' medicine! Probably, again he was no doctor. Were there any goats around?
RE: Weep for yourself - Veteran - August 22, 2025
For lack of any other ideas, Veteran trailed along behind his new acquaintance. His nose wrinkled when he finally caught up to the stench.
They came upon the party in question fairly quickly. The first stranger went on to say something about an uncle and a goat (a goat??) and Veteran didn't have a clue how he was supposed to add to that. So he just stood there with a sympathetic expression. The pale guy was clearly having a rough day.
RE: Weep for yourself - Cambria - August 31, 2025
Two wolves soon materialized. The first was a mid-sized male with a lanky build and an earthy palette. He spoke strangely, earning a blank look from the devastated Dragonling. His mismatched eyes then drifted to the second man standing behind the first, a hale and swarthy fellow with a faint, jagged scar between his pale eyes.
Cambria’s ears pinned backward. They were here to witness his abysmal failures as a father and they didn’t even know it. He supposed he deserved whatever judgment these two strangers dished up for him when he told them what was was the matter with him. Then he snorted, realizing he didn’t necessarily have to answer to them.
That made him wonder at himself. Who was he, out here wearing his emotions on his sleeve? His girls’ arrival had changed him so drastically, Cambria suddenly realized he didn’t recognize himself. When he’d first come to this corner of the wilderness, he had been aloof, self-sufficient and a man of few words. Now he was some weird, blubbering mess.
He breathed in sharply, raising his head a little as he regarded his fellow wolves. He couldn’t exactly hide the evidence of his emissions, though Cambria could get a hold of himself. He hadn’t meant to harm Sophia and would soon return to the den to apologize for any alarm he had caused. Then he would stiffen his upper lip. He wouldn’t be as hardhearted as the Dragonling of yore, though he would reclaim some of his dignity.
In the meantime, he evaded the questioning looks entirely and asked,
Why did you give away your uncle’s goat? Why did he have a goat? Did he have more than one, if he had a favorite?
RE: Weep for yourself - Speckletooth - September 01, 2025
The pale stranger turned the questions around onto him, and while most wolves wouldn't have bothered to answer when their own had not recieved such dignity.. Speckletooth loved to tell a good story.
Well, I didn't have nothin' to do with it. My uncle had this goat he would watch up on the mountain, it had real big horns and he said it could beat all the other goats in them goat fights.He began, his tail absent-mindedly thumping into his scarred friend.
But my pa' said that the swamp needed it more. My uncle said to me 'Speckletooth! Tell your pa' not to take my goat!' But pa' never listens to me, so he gave the goat to the swamp.He finished his story with a firm nod and a 'mmhm.'
Freezing for a short moment, he then turned his head to look at his dark-furred friend.
What were we talkin' about?Cambria's questions had swiftly side-tracked him, leaving Speckletooth struggling to recall why they had come over here in the first place.
Did someone take his goat?
RE: Weep for yourself - Veteran - September 03, 2025
Veteran listened, trying his best to be polite and not stare at the muddy-coated man like he'd grown another head. He was unphased by the storyteller's tail whacking against him.
The uncle sounded like a kindred spirit, truth be told. Veteran often found himself watching groups of animals for days or even weeks on end-- and not to hunt them either. Just to watch them. Because he was a weirdo. Just maybe not as weird as this "Speckletooth" guy.
"The swamp needed it more... so he gave the goat to the swamp."
..Was "the swamp" like.. a metaphor? Was it someone's name or rank? What did it mean?! Veteran made a mental note to ask more about this "swamp" thing later, assuming that Speckletooth didn't reveal himself as a completely deranged lunatic. The jury was still out for the moment.
"Umm.." Veteran piped up when he was addressed, "No. He's worked up about something, but.. but not, uh, that." He cleared his throat and turned to the Pale Puker. "I'm Veteran. This is uh, Speckletooth, I guess. We just wanted to make sure you were okay."
RE: Weep for yourself - Cambria - September 08, 2025
The story was even more unexpectedly ridiculous than the original comment. Cambria stared, effectively diverted by this stranger’s prattlings about uncles, goats and swamps. It was exactly the kind of distraction he needed to pull his head out of his own ass.
Soon after the other two shared an exchange as if he wasn’t right there, Cambria cleared his throat and said,
Yes, I’m fine. And I don’t mean to be rude but I need to get back to my family. I’ll,he said this part slowly, eyes lingering on Veteran as if not entirely sure his next words would be welcomed,
leave you two to it. Thanks for checking on me.
With nary another word, the Dragonling pivoted on a heel suddenly braced with the same steel that ridged his spine and his upper lip. Deep down, he still quavered over what he would find back at the den—an upset wife at best, an injured child at worst—and as soon as the two strangers disappeared behind him, Cambria tucked his tail between his legs.
He would accept his punishment without complaint. And then he would do better.
RE: Weep for yourself - Speckletooth - September 09, 2025
Speckletooth's expression of pure confusion lingered as yin and yang exchanged their words. The stranger took his leave, and worst of all he had never even given them his name! He felt pretty disappointed, that was for sure.
But, his pouting soon passed. He had managed to learn the name of his new best friend; Veteran. His head turned to smile up at him in all of his chipped-tooth glory.
I think that went real well!After all, the stranger was returning to whaterever family he had left. Most dads just left and didn't come back.
I gotta get back to swamp searchin' now, but it was real good to meet you Veteran.He was already trotting away before he finished, tripping on what seemed to be nothing on the way.
RE: Weep for yourself - Veteran - September 11, 2025
He needed to get back to his family? ..There was a whole family somewhere around here? How had Veteran missed it?!
"Wh-" he started to speak a question that was only half-formed, but the Puker was already dismissing himself. Veteran swallowed his question and simply nodded. "Hope you feel better soon," he murmured after the retreating wolf.
He made a mental note of the direction the Puker took, thinking he might follow up later.
Speckletooth thought it all went well, and Veteran couldn't disagree. He returned the snaggle-toothed smile, although his own expression was more of the smile-and-back-away-slowly variety. His ears perked up to catch the parting words that Speckletooth tossed over his shoulder.
Swamp.. searching..?
What could that possibly mean? Surely Speckletooth did not sincerely expect to find a swamp in the taiga..?
Veteran shook out his coat in an attempt to quiet his mind, because he clearly wasn't going to get any of his questions answered today. Apparently, he was the only man in the taiga that didn't have somewhere to be right now. With a heavy exhale, he set off on his own, choosing a random direction that neither of the other men had taken.