Silver Moraine So peel away the bark

All welcome! Set approximately 24 hours after this read-only!

A brilliant sun was shining down on the Silver Moraine when Saena came to, but she was incapable of noticing the good weather for the pain in her head and limbs. Her whole body felt like she'd been in a boxing match. Groaning, the yearling rolled over onto her side and coughed, and only then did she taste blood on her tongue. Panic rolled in in waves, and though she yearned to leap to her feet and orient herself, the alpha female was unable to move quickly at all without wincing in pain.

Following the panic was confusion. What the fuck had happened to her? Why was she out here on the moraine, and why did it feel like she'd had her ass kicked? She tried to remember, but it was like a veil had been cast over whatever memory she'd had just prior to waking up. The only thing she could think of were names she'd heard in stories from her childhood: Perseus. Echo. Dragoncello. Crete. As for why these wolves of the Flightless Falcons were suddenly on her mind, the yearling couldn't remember. Wracking her brain only seemed to give her a headache.

She wrinkled her snout and licked her lip, discovering that it was split and was the source of the blood in her mouth, and slowly clambered to her feet. Even her back was sore, she noticed. She tried a slow stretch to limber up, but it wasn't very effective, since she growled and winced the whole time. With a deliberate shake of her nape that made her muscles scream, Saena began to pick her way down the rubble of the moraine in search of water.

Why she was out here today, she couldn't put her paw on it, but perhaps it was her wanderlust. Whatever the reason, she was out here, recognizing the barren lands as the very ones she had stood upon wth Reek, Citali, and the other wolf (his name eluded her at the moment) going back and forth about how dreadful this place was. While the land wasn't fit to live upon, there was still some sort of pull here, something that caused her to wander amongst the cold rock instead of just moving around it. Her footing was sure, stable, even upon the slick surface, picking a patch towards the other side of the moraine.

It was only when another scent caught her attention, one familiar and pleasant that made her pause to breathe it in, smiling when she noted that it was none other than Saena herself. She hadn't seen the woman the past few days but simply figured that she was doing leader-type things. But the Amazon girl was not going to pass up the chance to meet with her alpha, now adjusting her course to follow, nose to the ground to make sure she did not lose the scent.

It wasn't long before the fruits of her labor blossomed, the familiar figure ahead of her. She barked to catch the red-tipped wolf's attention, trotting close to eliminate the distance between them. "Saena!" Her tail waved once or twice but then faltered, noting the way the younger wolf held herself as she walked, as if she were pained. This caused Nocta to pick up the pace a little more, until she was right near the leader of the Phoenix wolves. "Saena, what happened? How can I help?" The question "are you alright?" never passed her lips because, quite obviously, she was not alright.

As she traversed the precarious moraine, Saena stumbled more than once, and nearly fell on her face a handful of times. She was almost ready to give up, to fall to the ground and sleep off these mysterious aches and pains, when Nochtli found her. It was her subordinate's voice that kept her on her feet, and her brows knitted together slowly at the concern the amazonian expressed.

"Nochtli," she said slowly, noting that her tongue felt twice as large as normal and that her mouth seemed full of cotton. "Where..." but she needn't finish that question. A quick glance around them indicated their location. Saena had always been good at directions and orientation. "I... I don't know," she stammered in response to Nochtli's question, and now she frowned even deeper. She couldn't catch even a fleeting memory of what had happened, though it danced just out of reach, a scene she couldn't quite imagine yet somehow knew.

She thought for a little while longer, taking the opportunity to sit down and rest her sore muscles, and then determined, "I must've passed out or something, I don't remember anything... but... why?"

Her pronunciation was off, slurred almost, like she was vaguely delirious. A question started and stopped, before an answer was given that cleared up absolutely nothing. The frown that flickered across her leader's expression was alarming to the Amazonian shadow, if only because there were few things that would cause symptoms like transient amnesia. An alarm set off in her head, and she pushed it away; this was not the same situation as Tyrr had put them through.

"I wish I could answer but I'm not sure. We can call Cita once we get a little closer to home." She wound a tight circle around the female, examining her for any signs of attack or injury, but other than a little dirt here and there, there was nothing that stood out. "Remember the name of our home? Your mate?" The girl asked, aiming to test her memory. If the amnesia only affected what had happened, perhaps there was something that could be done to help. "Or what you were doing right before you passed out?" she didn't want to bombard her but if she asked all these questions now, she could fill Citali in as soon as they found her.

All that the young alpha wanted to do was lie down and groan, but Nochtli wouldn't allow that to happen even if she tried it. The female sensed that somehow and knew better than to make any attempt, even though she was verging on panic and needed to ground herself, physically and emotionally. Her subordinate's voice sounded far away and underwater, yet her words were clear. Maybe all she needed was a good nap. With that thought, her eyelids began to drift earthward...

...only to snap open again. She shook her head roughly, winced at the pain that lanced threw her skull, and forced herself to focus on the tracker. "Phoenix Maplewood," she regurgitated, somewhat woodenly, "and Reek. I remember everything, but I don't know how I ended up here. I remember leaving the borders for some reason, and then..." She shook her head, indicating her memory ended there. Whatever she'd experienced prior to collapsing, it was locked into her memory for now. "Poof," she said lamely, twisting her ears toward her skull. Though she tried to make a joke of it, the tremor in her voice gave away the fact that she was terrified. Nothing like this had ever happened before.

She was drifting, quite obviously taxed from whatever experience she'd had. Saena's explanation left a lot to be wished for, too. Damn. "Poof," She repeated, jaws tightening for a moment as she attempted to figure out what could have happened. The dark Amazon wanted to get her home as soon as possible but there were other things that Saena might need at the moment. Something in her stomach, if she didn't feel nauseous, might be able to keep her going for a little bit until they got close enough to call for the pack. "Alright. Can you stomach a small snack? Water?"

Nochtli's head swung, peering around them to make sure they were alone, hoping that perhaps this was just a crazy circumstance and not an attempt to injure their leader by another wolf. Nothing and no one was around them and she mentally cursed; she didn't even see any kind of prey. Her attention focused on the red-mottled female again, her concern still quite evident. She locked her nerves down though, intent on staying calm for her Alpha. If they both panicked, things might go downhill very, very fast.

"Just remember to stay awake," She advised evenly, slipping a poor excuse for humor into the situation. It seemed that the leaders of the Phoenix wolves had a tendency to try for humor at odd times and she recognized it as a method of coping. If that would help, she'd try it. "I sing pretty badly, so don't make me have to scare everything away to help you keep your eyes open."

The mention of food did two things simultaneously. First, it made Saena's stomach rumble wantingly. Then it made her mouth feel wet and sour with nausea, so although she probably was hungry, the light-haired bitch shook her head. "Maybe water," she agreed, but the moraine was pretty much dry. They'd need to make their way down to the stream.

While ordinarily easily done, Saena felt unsteady even standing. She slowly got to her feet and swayed unevenly, but managed to stay on them for now. She would have to proceed very carefully under Nochtli's watchful eye or she'd have more than a headache and disorientation to worry about. Twisting or breaking an ankle would be the worst possible outcome.

She licked her dry lips and squinted as her head pounded. Her ears swiveled to lock on the tracker and only then did she manage a short laugh, followed by a wince. "Are you sure you don't wanna sing?" the alpha asked, and then broke into an impromptu round of, "oooh give me a hooome where the buffalo roaaaam," in spite of the throbbing in her temples that came with it. It kept her awake and probably mortified Nochtli, because Saena was a pretty awful singer herself. The humour in it was well worth the consequential pain.

Water. She could do that, though not here on the moraine. Her gaze stayed glued to Saena as she slowly rose to her feet, her own mouth tightening into a thin line of concern. Whatever had happened, it had left her alpha in poor shape and this left for an unhappy Amazon, if only because she could not eliminate the threat, which may not have even been there anymore. With Saena's amnesia, temporary or not, there was no way to know what had put her in this state.

Stepping closer, the dark female steadied the other with her body, wanting to make sure she did not lose her balance. A wan smile took her features for a brief moment as she listened to the tune the pale Alpha let out. "If it comes to it, I promise I'll sing for you. Even if I have to do a jig too." Whatever was needed of her, she would make her best efforts, as she did not in assisting Saena down to the stream.

Their progress was slow, pausing whenever it was needed, the inky wolf never rushing or becoming impatient. She also did not press for more information; keeping Saena on her feet and tending to her as best she could without Cita's guidance was far more important right now.

"You should definitely do a jig," Saena said with a grin that faltered when her foot slipped on the stone. She managed to keep her balance, barely, but her heart fluttered nervously and all at once the gravity of the situation came down on her.

"Shit," she mumbled, "this is so messed up. Why can't I remember?" What am I even doing out here, she almost asked, but she'd already given voice to that concern. Her patrol must've ended in the sighting of something unusual for her to wander away from the borders. It wasn't like her to do it without any notice or planning. No doubt she would wrack her brain fruitlessly for months before giving up on ever knowing.

"Nochtli, thank you for finding me," she murmured, aware of how silly it sounded but also eternally grateful to the darker amazon. If Nochtli hadn't found her, some predator or ill-meaning wolf might've, and she might never have returned to the forest. It was a terrifying thought.

Her ears pressed against her skull in momentary distress as she moved to support Saena further. Her eyes searched the ground for a moment, considering their options. "Here, hold on..." Her joking demeanor had quickly disappeared in light of their current situation. Carefully, and only after making sure Saena was on (mostly) sure footing for the moment, Nochtli stepped away from her and forward, testing the path they were forging to find the not-so-slippery spots and pick their way down safely. "Step where I step, okay? And just let me know if you need to rest."

"Don't force it. Tyrr used to get headaches when he tried to force himself to remember something." Her words were gentle, tone as calm as she could possibly make it so that she didn't make matters worse. She also did not want Saena to think she was taking this opportunity to boss her around, since she certainly wasn't. She glanced at the female though, a faint smile curving the corners of her mouth as she shook her head, not finding it silly at all. "Any time."

She thought for a few moments, silent as she tested her footing here and there, stepping forward a few feet before she glanced over her shoulder at the female. "I know the circumstances weren't great but... I'm glad we found you all that night." Despite Citali's initial misgivings about joining a new pack, they were both flourishing wonderfully under the reign of the female behind her. Things had definitely turned around for the pair of Amazons.

For a brief second, Saena felt a pull toward the amazon as Nochtli stepped away. Like a young child she very nearly followed, keen on keeping close contact for the time being while her heart pounded fear through her bloodstream. But when Nochtli only went a couple steps ahead and then led the way, the alpha forced herself to calm down. Such a bout of separation anxiety was unusual for her, but perhaps it was the largest effect of fear on her.

She stepped carefully in the dark-haired tracker's wake, and only lifted her head when the woman mentioned Tyrr. "Whatever happened to him?" she wondered. She'd know the amazons had left their previous pack willingly, but the details of it were foggy to her. In fact, she wasn't sure she'd ever asked, nor did she think Citali or Nochtli would freely speak of it. But what became of that leader, well, they might be willing to elaborate on that a little. It was certainly better than focusing on her splitting headache, the unsteady feel of her gait or the hole in her memory.

"Thanks," Saena said quietly in response to Nochtli's last words. She was shocked to hear it, if only because their pack was so small that at times she doubted herself. Still, "I hope I can do well by you two," was perhaps one of her greatest wishes at present.

Want to wrap this up soon?

"I'm not sure. At first, he had abandoned us and we took months to find him and bring him back home. He didn't remember us at all though, said he had been in a battle and thumped his head. He tried to start a pack but... didn't go about it the right way, you could say." She frowned, pausing for the fraction of a second on their way down before turning to make sure Saena was alright. Offering a small but encouraging smile, the Amazon continued talking as she watched the Alpha take the path she had picked out. "We got into an argument about how he was acting and treating everyone, even those who wanted to help. We both told him several times, or attempted to. Seeing a lost cause... I left. I haven't seen him since, though Cita tells me the pack disbanded. He refused to listen to any sort of reason, and I believe that was his downfall." It was much shorter than if she had included ever single detail but Nochtli also didn't want to rehash everything.

She did laugh a bit at Saena's gratitude but it was good-natured. "You are. I promise you that." As a counselor, Nochtli did not spin webs of lies or half-truths. Though young, the pale yearling behind her was a strong, fair leader and Nochtli would stay with her now and support her and her pack. That was something she did not see changing for quite a long time, if ever. "I think we all make a great team, anyway."

They neared the bottom now, the land leveling out enough that Nocta paused again and waited for her, ears perked to catch the sounds of the babbling stream near by. "How are you feeling?"

Nochtli's story didn't paint Tyrr in a good light at all. She couldn't imagine every leaving behind her pack mates and then forgetting them, but this episode on the moraine shed some light on how it could happen. She didn't remember her arrival, and she didn't remember what caused her to pass out. Was it then possible for a wolf to black out for much longer than a day? For a week, or months? She refused to think about it out of fear it would happen to her.

I hope we continue to, she said with a smile. She lifted her head, squinting past the light that lanced through her head. The headache she nursed would get worse before it got better, but the maplewood wasn't far now. She'd be able to sleep it off then. Sore, she said truthfully, but we can make it. I think I'm gonna need a nap, though. Nochtli seemed to agree with that, so the alpha female eagerly followed the amazon home. They weren't far past the outer trees when the woman found a log to settle under, and though the tracker expressed concern, the yearling brushed it off and insisted on sleep, which is exactly what she did.