Kildeer Rest i. "render these mutterings of an unspoken heart"

hunting thread #1, AW :) rolled 7 = no success hunting, attempts fishing

Refugee. Vagabond. Outcast. 

All brands of the same shame, synonyms for the same name. 

Corpse. 

Did it apply?

Perhaps. She did not feel quite alive as her misguided journeys led her to foreign lands - an alien place carpeted in green so lush it stung the eyes, speculated over by sentinels of wood and stone that loomed like the Giants of lore. 

Her paws had once been scraped, cracked and raw as they ran with putrid punishment - a testament to the spirits' wrath. Had they not proclaimed her the source of the clan's grief, the harbringer of loss? 

Elve swallowed against a knot of simmering loss that lodged suddenly in her throat, a white-hot brand of pain that burned into her heart. She forced her thoughts from the tragedy that sent her fleeing into strange realms, lest she drive herself mad with thoughts of the girl. 

As the fleshy pinkpads of her feet had calloused with weary wanderings so too did the agony threatening to render her assunder abate. For the first time, the cursed woman took survey of her surroundings - drifting to a halt as she reached a small copse of trees. 

The land, though unfamiliar, was lush with opportunity, ripe with the promise of a fresh meal. The elf had nibbled sparingly at the Pathfinders' herbs to quiet the rumblings of her irate stomach but even they could not keep hunger entirely at bay. 

With an anxious cast of her ocean eyes over slender shoulders, the Medicine Woman reluctantly took hold of the caribou hide draped over her shoulders. It held all of her wordly possessions - concealed in one lumpy moss-wrapped bundle hidden in the folds of the reindeer wrap.

It was with some fear that she parted ways with the fur for the supplies were key to her survival in the wilderness and the fae knew better than to believe herself truly alone. It was likely an unseen pair of eyes watched her even now, that another rogue or two lingered in the unclaimed territory. 

The sami tucked the wrap against the roots of the trees, leaving the emcumbering bulk behind as she slipped into the forest. Scent trails assailed her from every direction - those of animals wholly unknown. The healer could only begin to guess at the animal families such odors belonged to. 

Despite her best efforts, the prey of the land eluded the foreign woman - the scents tapered off suddenly or became confused with another trail, the spoor was lost to some natural cause. 

With a slight shake of her buttermilk crown, borne of frustration, Elve turned south; it was in this direction that she had heard the bubbling of a shallow stream. 

Following the trickle of liquid and the crisp scent of freshwater, the elf smiled unabashedly to herself as the creek came into sight. 

Elve slipped into the slightly murky, green-tinted waters, ignoring the chill that electrified her bones. The water wrapped soothingly around her limbs, a comforting embrace not unlike a mother's that was wholly familiar to the sami. 

Cerulean optics danced over the lap of the water, the pagan urging the spirit of the Caribou to aid her in the hunt as she watched intently for the silver flash of fishscale.

LunaHeart had been walking for quite a while, she had been traveling a lot these past weeks. She had been taking her time to enjoy all of the scenery around her, and she enjoyed the quiet exploration. She was sniffing around an exceptionally tall tree when she noticed another wolf, an elegant cream and gold coated girl, she looked young, and just a bit lost.

LunaHeart wondered if she could help the cream wolf in any way, but being LunaHeart, a shy and reserved introvert, she couldn't bring herself to start a conversation, she had always been bad at speaking up, and starting social interactions, so she kept to herself, watched from afar, keeping an eye out for danger, or any unsuspecting prey.

thanks for joining! Rolled 9 = failure

The elven femme could not have known that Luna was close by, an unseen vigilante, though on some level the woman recognized that she was being watched. She had come to accept such a sensation when traveling lands as prospective as these, which were surely densely populated both by her own kind and by the other beasts of nature. 

A vague awareness settled over her senses, in preparation of the event that her spy approached in hostility or aggression. Outwardly, Elve displayed no sign of awareness nor of trepidation for her sole focus was the flickering of the aquatic creatures in the waters below.

As she remained hunched in fixation over the murk, the water stilled about her and the underwater world came to ignore her invasion. A curious fish, a variation of trout perhaps, dared to glide closer - causing Elve's heart to leap excitedly though she remained frozen. 

The girl plunged forward as it nibbled at her pale toes in investigation, jaws seeking to clasp around the scaly body but alas - it slipped free and the fish scattered in her floundering commotion. 

The creamy fae straightened, thick layers dripping with creekwater as the pool churned from her burst of activity. 

She grew still once more, willing the fish to lapse again into ignorance and return to her reach.

LunaHeart silently watched, as the cream wolf tried and failed to catch fish. LunaHeart once again glanced around through the trees, hoping to spot a rabbit. After a minute, she sees a rabbit, near the creek, through the trees.

She quietly stalks through the trees, nearing the water's edge, hoping that the rabbit won't notice, but quickly, the rabbit's ears perk up, and it dashes through the forest, along the water's edge. LunaHeart springs after the rabbit, quickly gaining on it, and catches it after she pushes to go faster.

LunaHeart pants, she was tired after her run, and after walking so much. She picks up the rabbit, and makes her way back to the cream wolf, contemplating whether or not she should offer to share her catch. As she gets closer, LunaHeart decides to offer sharing the meal, as it is a plump rabbit, and LunaHeart would like some company.

As LunaHeart reaches the good and cream wolf she pauses, but quickly drops the rabbit carcass, and speaks to the pretty wolf. "Uhm, hello there," Ugh I'm so awkward! "I couldn't help but notice you, struggling just a bit, trying to catch some fish, and I wondered if you would, like to share this rabbit I caught?" LunaHeart spoke to the young beauty as politely as she could manage, and her tail sways side to side, indicating relaxed friendliness.

rolled 7 = fail

Time drug its heels in protest as it slowly passed, the elf a steadfast figure in its presence as seconds lengthened into hours under the water's hypnosis. The school once more forgot its fear of the unfamiliar obstruction in their routine and drew from the shadows to flit tantalizingly out of reach as they considered. 

In the end the curious odors emitted by her submerged coat, the alluring fibers caught within, drew an unfamiliar species within her grasp. Elve shot forward a second time, the slippery bluegill evading her clutches and escaping to swim freely another day. 

Thoroughly soaked by this point, and beginning to grow cold, the sami was in the process of giving up her efforts when the uncertain timbre of a female's tones drew her attention. Long, tattered ears fluttered in response as cyan optics saught the silvery form of the woman just before she remembered her upbringing. 

Pale paw wavering in the air, halted in the process of clambering free of the wade when the stranger approached, the healer pulled herself free of the waters and gave a mighty shake of her sodden locs - careful to avoid drenching her new companion with the spray. 

Head ducked instinctively, the sami girl shifted into a vaguely submissive posture. They were both solitary women on unclaimed ground but still, politeness called for some matter of respect. 

"This woman greets you," she murmured in her native tongue, blinking sea optics sheepishly as realization washed over her. This silverquick femme was unlikely to know the language of the Sampi region. 

"I greet you," she reiterated with a small smile, piebald plume wagging in welcome. 

"That is most kind of you; please, join me," Elve answered gratefully, striding forward to touch her pink nose to the woman's shoulder kindly. 

"This woman is called Elve," she introduced with a slight incline of her golden crown for the other to follow her back to the strand of trees.

LunaHeart smiled, and wagged her tail in welcome as well, following Elve back into the woods. "You're very welcome, I didn't want to watch you go hungry. I'm LunaHeart, nice to meet you, now, what part of a rabbit is your favorite?" LunaHeart introduced herself to her new companion, and her tail swayed, LunaHeart looked over her shoulder, looking to see if there were any wolves nearby, as she was pretty paranoid about aggressive wolves sneaking up on her, but she spotted no one and continued looking forward at Elve.

The half-breed led the way as the duo returned to the particular grove, an act that was most unfamiliar for the woman if necessary. She stopped on her path only long enough to paw a few wild carrots free of the earth - having noticed the groundroots as she journeyed to the stream. 

The vegetables were noticeably different than those of the Sapmi lands but the pale orange roots were undeniably carrots. Hessía's knowledge had extended not only to medicinal herbs but to botany of an edible nature as well. Elve had no way of knowing whether Luna's palette was one that was swayed to enjoying plants but nonetheless the starchy growths would make a compatible addition to the meal - perhaps seasoned with some of the remaining sea salt that had journeyed with the wolfdog from the caves of Raikseiû's clan. 

Her argent companion seemed unnerved as they trekked but it appeared the two were alone within the boundaries of the valley. Still, the elf felt a touch of relief wash over her as the reindeer bundle came into sight once more. 

Elve padded towards it, nudging the wrap so that it fell open and spread over the ground. With an incline of her golden neck, the Medicine Woman placed the bunch of carrots upon the soft biege fur. 

With a reassuring beat of her plume upon the tail, she gestured for the other woman to join her for the makeshift pinic.