Horizon Ridge Blue is the warmest color

She's looking for @Akhlut but others are more than welcome to come hang out with Pied. :)

Atka came to her in her dreams, taking the form of the simorgh again. "Is she with you?" Pied asked, then quickly added, "I'm sorry, that was rude. Hello, goddess." She shrank down, fearing rebuke, and shyly peeked up through her eyelashes. Some part of her questioned this entire scenario—did she even believe in any of this anymore?—but mostly she played along. "I was just hoping to see her..."

"She's safe," Atka said with only the slightest note of reproof. "I came here to tell you something important. Are you listening, Pied?" The lovely, mythical creature waited until the she-wolf nodded silently. "It is my will that you bring forth this babe, my incarnation. You won't remember this meeting on the surface... but deep down, in the very fiber of your being, you will realize the importance of motherhood. You've already begun to sense it. The instinct will flower and grow. It won't be just a mere personal dream any longer but a divine destiny you need to fulfill..."

In a flash, she metamorphosed, shedding her magnificent, shimmering wings and taking the shape of a great white bear. Pied flattened to the ground as light suddenly poured forth from Atka, filling Pied's eyes, ears and nose. She could feel its warmth surrounding her, then felt it seeping into her body—namely, into her belly. With it came a deep understanding and she looked up with a gasp, only for the light to flash—

—she stirred, her eyes fluttering open in the dark. Her nose touched Kisu's warm, soft fur and Pied lay there, gathering her bearings. Already, the dream faded into the back of her mind. She snorted quietly and hoisted herself onto her feet, stepping over her mate to squeeze through the lair's exit. She emerged into a world lit only dimly by the newborn sun peeking over the eastern horizon beyond the ridge's opposite face. Its light did not yet touch Pied yet; she stood in the blue shadows still.

Striding forward, she achieved the head of the towpath and began to descend, eventually reaching the beach. Pied loped onto the cold strand, racing toward the edge of the ridge's shadow. When she burst into the light, she felt its rays on her mottled backside. She dug her heels into the sand, then whirled around to look backward at her home. The sunrise made her think of Akhlut and she wondered whether the prince of light was out and about at this, his favorite time of day.

ooc: could this thread be backdated - prior her getting injuries? Because I am and will be pretty slow on posting, therefore I won't be able to catch up with the speed Pied's life is developing.

There was a good reason, why Pump never did anything that was too complicated and demanded a lot of effort and skill. It rarely ended well for her. The one and only time she had tried to hunt down and eat hedgehog - she had ended with raw mouth that had rendered her from eating properly for weeks. Then the unfortunate event with a group hunt, where she had got hit in the ribs by a well aimed kick. With such a bad experience as hers one would suggest to avoid all danger. Which she did...

... until this morning. She had stumbled upon a porcupine - a small, "needly" and tasty creature. It had seemed slow and sort of dumb, therefore an easy kill. But the small animal had something different in mind. Long story short - Pump ended up with empty belly and sore face and muzzle, where the quills were left stuck. It hurt an awful lot and she had spent most of her early morning, by pawing her face and rubbing it against snow, but this was of little help.

By now her face was burning and painful and she lay by a large tree, feeling unhappy and miserable.

Yup, it takes place before! :)

Pied wanted to see and speak with Akhlut, so she spent nearly an hour searching for the Alpha male. Yet she simply couldn't seem to hunt him down. Although frustrated, she didn't think much of it. Anyway, the smell of blood lured her to a small thicket on the edge of the beach. She found Pump lying under a tree, looking miserable. The piebald she-wolf approached, spotting the quills thrust into her pack mate's muzzle. There was only a little blood but her lip was swollen and inflamed.

"Pump," Pied said when she reached her pack mate and stood above her. "What's up with the wildlife around here always wanting a piece of your face?" she joked while frowning sympathetically at Pump. "Want me to try pulling them out...?" she suggested lightly.

Pump heard someone approaching long before she cared to open her eyes and lift her head to see, who it was. Pied was one of the few wolves here she knew a bit better than the rest. She was not a friend, but someone the wolf-dog held in regard and could try her best to be good and nice. And for such a creature as Pump this meant a lot. Therefore, despite her miserable state, she managed to wag her tail in a greeting.

But she growled a little and turned her sore muzzle away from Pied, in case she tried to touch it. "That's not funny," she murmured. "Will it hurt?" she asked, sounding very much like a little child.

The yearling didn't take her pack mate's sour temper personally. "Yes, it'll hurt," she said truthfully in response to Pump's question. "But if we don't pull them out, they'll fester and become infected. You won't be able to eat or drink..." The you will probably die needn't be said out loud; the implication was pretty clear.

Dropping to her haunches beside the darker she-wolf, Pied gazed down at her with sympathy still written plainly on her features. "A little pain now will save you from a lot more pain later, basically. And..." She leaned closer, inspecting the embedded quills. "I'm pretty sure I can get them out, no problem."

"What do you mean - infected?" Pump asked, feeling a little annoyed by the fact that, while she was in such a grave state, Pied used smart words to impress, not to mention that she scared her too. The wolf-dog remembered well, what it meant, when eating was painful, and she did not want to experience that now. And then there was something else she did not say out loud. It was bad - that much Pump understood, but, how bad - that remained hidden.

"How?" she asked, looking up at her pack-mate distrustfully. "I tried and I couldn't. Why should you?"

"Infected... you know, like the opposite of healing. It'll get worse and worse," Pied explained patiently. "And I can get at it from a totally different angle than you. They're in your face, so you're pretty limited. I'm not. I'll be gentle," the Delta reassured, "but I'll get the job done. So, are you ready?"

"So worse that my face will fall off?" Pump asked, feeling curious of the inevitable fate that awaited her, if she let the quills stay, where they were. The wolf-dog was a simple creature and therefore her view of the world was pretty much the same. One could talk their ears of, by telling about infection and small invisible particles that destroyed the tissues and the little cells that fought the invasion and died in the process and Pump would agree that this was right, but would not let anyone touch her maw. Tell her that she could die - not a good idea, because she was not familiar of the concept of what it means to die yourself (it is different from seeing others die). Tell her that the quills were evil things and she would lose her muzzle in the process - that was a good reason enough for her to let someone try.

Therefore the success of Pied depended of, how she answered to Pump's question. But then again... it hurt and it couldn't get much worse than it was now, would it? "I guess you can try..." she mumbled, thinking that she could always blame Pied, if she did not manage to do it right. With a reluctant sigh Pump gave up laid her head between her outstretched paws, closed her eyes and waited the inevitable.

"Hold still if you can," were the Delta's final words before she positioned herself above Pump, studying the area of her muzzle where the quills were embedded. There were four, with three of them thrust rather deeply into the flesh and one just barely dangling from her lip. Pied decided to go after this one first.

Trying to be gentle, she plucked the tip of the quill in her teeth and tugged. She felt resistance and paused. Realizing the pain might cause Pump to complain or even try to move away, she then pulled before she had the chance. The Delta stumbled back a step, then spat the freed quill onto the ground.

"One down, three to go. Better than starving to death, huh?" Pied said with equanimity while re-positioning herself to go after the first of the more deeply-buried barbs.

"I'll try," were Pump's last words, before Pied got in action. She clenched her teeth and dug her paws in the snow. All the time the other wolf worked around these quills, Pump let out multiple melodic growls. These were not threatening and she did not intend to attack the caretaker, but it was her way to cope with this uncomfortable situation.

"Three more?" Pump opened her eyes a little and peeked up at Pied to find out, if she was not joking. One was unbearable enough - how would she cope with three? "Okay, but be quick," she closed her eyes and prepared for the next "blow".

If you want me to edit this post, just let me know! I didn't want to destroy Pump's face. :P

"Yeah, only three," Pied said. "You'll be okay. Imagine if you'd gotten, like, twenty." She shuddered lightly at the thought. "I will," she added in response to Pump's plea, nodding to punctuate her promise.

Yet performing minor surgery on her pack mate proved to be more challenging than Pied anticipated. Although she managed to clench the tip of the next quill in her teeth and pull, she could see Pump's lip yanking along with it. She was afraid of tearing open her pack mate's face and she hesitated for a long beat, despite her promise. Then, feeling as if there was no other choice, she squeezed her eyes closed and gave a mighty tug.

When she spat the barb onto the ground, she realized with some horror that there was a small chunk of flesh and fur stuck to it. "Oh—" she muttered, her two-toned eyes flying to Pump's face. The wound didn't look too terrible, yet she fluttered like a bird, hunkering down to press her tongue to the torn flesh to stem the bleeding.

"Like that helps," Pump grumbled, wishing that this painful process was over as quick as possible. She was this "tough guy" person, who did not take lightly, if she had to depend on other people or required help from them. That way she felt indebted to them and this was totally unacceptable. Well.. Pied was a different case, because it was very likely that she would not remind about this particular event in the most inconvenient moment possible, but still...

She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, when she felt the other wolf lean down and pick at the other quill. This time the action was followed by a hefty pull and Pump could feel that something was not exactly right, even though the piercing and unbearable pain settled few moments later. "What the hell!" she bellowed, jumped to her feet and stumbled several feet backward, until she fell on her haunches. She shook her head and pawed her muzzle vigorously. "What did you just do? Tried to rip my face off?!" she whined and buried her muzzle in the snow.

Pump leaped up, spitting and indignant, like a cat whose tail had been stepped upon. Pied flinched, her ears splaying guiltily. "I'm sorry!" she gasped. "I didn't mean to hurt you... please, hold still and I'll stop the bleeding," the Delta cajoled, all the while expecting Pump to refuse.

Whether or not her pack mate settled down that instantaneously, Pied did not make a move toward her just yet. She didn't want to invade Pump's space, nor make the other female uncomfortable. In fact, she sought to do the latter: relieve Pump's pain and make her more comfortable. Her lips pinched together as she peered at her pack mate, wondering if Pump would let her finish the job and what it might mean for her if she wouldn't.

ooc: I just noticed a typo in my previous post. I wonder, how "hiding muzzle in the nose" could realistically look like. :D

Pump listened to Pied's apologies and, while still keeping her nose in the snow, she peeked up to see her expression. She seemed to feel genuinely guilty, which was a good thing. Had she laughed or looked as if nothing had happened, Pump would have proudly walked off the same instant and maybe... maybe let her be sorry for a little while longer.

She lied down in the snow again, lifted her head and shook the excess of snow, that had been on her muzzle and looked up at Pied again. "Well, ok. But be careful this time. I don't want to end with holes on my pretty face," not that she had ever cared about her looks, but her pack mate did not have to know that.

I wasn't gonna say anything, LOL. :D

Pied sighed a breath of relief when Pump told her to proceed. "Let's get this over with," she muttered almost as if to herself. More loudly, she added, "I'll do my best to be gentle and avoid tearing holes in your face. If it makes you feel any better, it's already stopped bleeding and looks like it'll heal over just fine. It might not even leave any scars."

Quickly now, Pied positioned herself to extract the third quill. Fortunately, it came out with significantly less skin attached to it, though Pied could still feel the slight tearing as she removed it. Before Pump could react again, she clenched her teeth around the exposed tip of the final quill and gave it a quick yank. At last, all four quills lay in the snow, with bits of flesh and blood sprinkled around them.

"All right, they're all out. You're bleeding and swollen again. It will sting but if we go rinse it off in the seawater, the cold will make the swelling go down and the salt will cleanse the wound." Pied stepped back to give Pump her space, then looked at her expectantly.

After Pied had finished pulling out the rest of the quills, Pump did not feel any better. Her muzzle felt painful and raw, she could feel blood oozing from the small wounds and an itchy feeling under the skin, which was not pleasant at all. Therefore she did not reply to her packmate and caretaker right away, but burried her muzzle in the nearest and deepest pile of snow to let it cool down. That was the least she could do for, what the poor body part had had to endure.

After five, maybe seven minutes, the wolf-dog raised to her feet, shook her coat and rubbed her muzzle with paw. Then she looked up at Pied, gave a little smile and said a word she did not use very often, but when she did - it was as if she had awarded that person a medal. "Thanks. It still feels badish, but I will survive," she wagged her tail a little to emphasize that she will be fine from now on.

Rather than pay a visit to the seaside, Pump buried her muzzle in the snow instead. Although it wouldn't cleanse the wound as thoroughly, it would at least cool the wound and rinse it as well. The Delta watched her concernedly but did not try to help or otherwise interfere.

When Pump stopped to thank her, she smiled. "You're welcome. I'm sure you will," she added with a laugh. "It'll probably hurt for a few days but I imagine you'll heal pretty quickly. You should get lots of rest and try to take it easy... you know, don't hunt or do anything that could aggravate the wounds," she advised in a motherly sort of voice.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" she asked after a beat. It seemed her job here was done, yet Pied would be happy to follow up with any other tending Pump might require. "Do you want me to bring you anything? Or help you get to some shelter?"

Not hunt? Huh! That was not possible. Hunting and scavenging was a great deal of who Pump was. If you let that part out, there were left only two things - a furry carcass and a nasty character. Therefore she gave Pied a thoughtful look, which told that she would think about it, but inside that fur covered thick skull her brain was mastering a plan on resuming her activities if not this evening at dusk then next morning definitely.

Little did she know that for the next week she would feel so bad and miserable that she would miss out several hunting trips and lose weight in the process. "I don't think so," Pump replied, not wanting to rely on her more than she already had. It would really be unbearable, if such a tough lass as her, would need to be escorted to her den or brought food. It was a wounded muzzle after all, not a broken leg. "I will be on my way then," she said, eager to get to doing stuff on her own again. "But if you ever need help - give a howl. I am indebted to you."

Thanks for the thread. :)

Pump's spirits seemed to be intact, if not her face. Pied smiled when she declared that she'd be on her way, after declining any further assistance. "You don't owe me a thing," the piebald yearling assured her pack mate. She dipped her head as Pump began to head away, keeping an eye on her until she disappeared from view.

The Delta's brow furrowed in the next moment. "What was I doing again...?" she wondered aloud to herself. Only then did she remember her fruitless search for Akhlut. She frowned lightly to herself, then Pied began to pad back in the direction of the den she shared with Kisu to see if her mate was up yet.