Blackfoot Forest There's an art in life's distractions

It took a bit of time to cross the tarn and find their first shelter-point among the foothills of the range. After a couple nights of rest and a day or so of Glaukos hunting for them both, the choice was made to move again. He knew the forest waited nearby and only hoped to avoid Mercedes and Djinn, if they remained there.

Djinn had been a pretty sorry sight, being as old as they were. Glaukos doubted he would've lasted long with only the girl to hunt for him; he didn't feel guilt for leaving them even with that thought locked in to his mind. Their arrangement had come to a close and Glaukos had wanted to go home.

And yet, here he was — crossing in to the darkwood with another person. He gave a cursory look around and tested the air a few times, snuffling among the leaf-litter and the snow, and found no sign of anyone. Well, that meant it was safe for them to hide out for a while.

When he returned to where he'd stashed @Javelina and her bad leg, he chuffed to her. What do you think?

While she waited in the thicket, Javelina took the time to closely inspect her wound. It still looked raw, though there was a lot of fresh scabbing. The scabs itched—she resisted the urge to pick at them—and her leg was stiff but it didn’t hurt as much. She took these as good signs. It meant she was healing.

She pricked her ears and raised her head when she heard Glaukos’s footsteps returning, his heavy plod by now familiar. He wanted to know what she thought of the place. Javelina peered around at what little she could see of the forest and shrugged a shoulder, offering up a small smile from where she lay curled on the ground.

I wasn’t expecting to be alive today, so I can’t complain, she told him. What’s that smell, though? she questioned, leaning on him slightly as she carefully pulled herself onto all fours.

Foxes, I think. He had come across traces of them during his initial visit to the forest and thought they'd be too nervous to stick around with wolves present; the fact was, the scents of Djinn and Mercedes had been replaced with stronger fox musk, and having noticed this, Glaukos wondered about them.

He aided Javelina as she walked, moving her towards a path that had been familiar to him. If they continued then they might come upon the camp built for the old man. The forest was meant as a pit stop until they'd eaten and rested enough to try for the bypass.

Might be what's for dinner. He motioned to a patch of ferns where a tangle of red fur looked to be caught. Or after some sleep I can try for something in the morning.

As soon as he said it, Javelina nodded. She’d come across this odor a few times, though never quite this concentrated. She’d thought foxes were solitary creatures, like herself, but perhaps they congregated in these woods for some reason. Well, that boded well for the pair of wolves. It meant there must be prey here.

Glaukos made an offhanded comment about eating one of the smaller carnivores, earning a speculative glance from her. Javelina wasn’t picky, especially not right now, though she wondered what a fox tasted like. Had she ever eaten one? She couldn’t remember.

Let me know if you find any waterways that aren’t frozen solid, Javelina told him as they limped along. I’m a pretty good fisher and I should be able to manage. I’ve had a hard time finding any running water, though. I would’ve fared so much better if I’d just waited until spring to be so foolhardy.

She shook her head, refusing to dwell on memories of the poor judgment calls leading up to her injury. Javelina made a point to focus on their surroundings. She neither heard nor saw any running water, though the foxes ate something. If they were in luck, perhaps the forest was equally infested with rabbits. Of course, only Glaukos would be able to hunt for them.

You mentioned sleep, she said a few minutes later. How much further do you plan to walk? I could use another break, she was forced to admit, grimacing a little at the strain in her leg.

Running water would be difficult to find, unless they abandoned the forest entirely and headed north, where Glaukos was sure they could find a large enough river that it wouldn't be fully stagnant; but he kept this to himself, not wanting to bring up the possibility of another long walk (this time even longer, if he recalled correctly) when she needed rest.

On cue with his considerations, Javelina asked if they had much further to go. He shook his head. I think making camp here is the best option right now. You can rest. I'll try and hunt something to tide us both over until morning, and then we can figure it out from there.

Glaukos had once been so accustomed to being ordered around, and it took the vanishing of Mereo and his sudden solitude to find his own control; he still wasn't so great at it, which was probably a factor in to why he was willing to help Jav right now. Having a clear goal in mind was much easier than being left to his own devices. He'd been a tool of others for so long, what else was there?

Even now he watched Javelina for an affirmative to the plan, not willing to go anywhere or begin anything until he knew for certain she was on board.

She bobbed her head in agreement. Javelina could feel her strength sapping from her, like blood draining from a fresh kill. She felt rather corpse-like, although the excruciating pain in her leg told her she was alive. And that was a good thing, despite how much it hurt.

Thank you, Glaukos, she acknowledged, even her voice weaker now.

She didn’t know if he meant this exact spot when he said “here,” though Javelina took the opportunity to halt. She sank into a sit, weight pitched to one side before she eased down to the ground. Propped up on her elbow, she glanced up at Glaukos, offering a shaky smile.

Her two-toned eyes cut to their immediate surroundings. There were a few noble firs growing a yard away. Javelina clenched her teeth and dragged herself closer to them, partially concealing herself beneath the lowest boughs of the nearest one. Its bright scent filled her nose.

She peeked up at her bear-like escort again, her tail tapping gently on the ground. For some reason—perhaps their proximity to Rivenwood—she suddenly thought of a conversation with her mother where she’d condemned all men. Javelina had long ago shed that prejudice, along with the rest of her memories, though the recollection made her lips twist.

I hope you know I’m serious about repaying your kindness when I’m back on my feet, she said presently.

Her thanks went in one ear and out the other. He'd never cared for the praise of others; not since Germanicus, which brought to mind a particular boulder and the toil it had wrought upon his body to be pushing it up a hill, endlessly.

Her promise to hunt was met with only a grunt, assenting to the agreement on her part, but not minding how long that took. She needed to recover and it wasn't as if Glaukos wasn't capable enough for the two of them, for now.

Rest. I will return. He said this as he began to march away from her, leaving her to settle however she wanted; and when he came back, it would be with a warm meal to keep her busy as he went on to patrol the area.