swing low

For @Kaskara and @Scimitar and anyone else that's nearby.

Bazi made it as far as Hogbelly Hills before she collapsed into a sobbing, bloody heap.

After vomiting no less than three times, she had deluded herself into thinking that Danica wasn't that hurt - despite knowing full well that it was impossible to survive without 80% of your innards. She had nudged the sightless wolf's face and ears, touching the parts of her that weren't broken, curled up in a tight ball next to her friend's broken ruff and cried until her lungs burned.

Above them, the sun blazed on and birds went about their business as if nothing had happened. For the majority of creatures, nothing had.

There was no use carting the body back to Nova Peak. Bazi didn't even try. If she moved the body, what remained of its innards would spill out, and she would defile Danica more than her killers already had.

So she kissed her, quaking with grief, and went home.

The journey home was slow. By the time she reached the hills, Bazi was ravenous and thirsty, but the very idea of sipping water when Danica never would again made her sick. The Nova Peak Alpha took a few stumbling steps before she had to sit, leaning forward with her head between her legs. It wasn't fair. They had been doing so well. They were friends again - good friends, despite everything that had happened.

Bazi gathered her wits as best she could and threw a short, broken howl into the air. There weren't many left who could answer.

The short howl that rose up, broken, in the sky, brought Kaskara out of her reverie. She had been playing with the pups again, enjoying their company, fantasizing about possibly having some of her own one day, when the howl arose. Kaskara looked toward the sound, and wondered what was wrong. She shuttled the pups into the den and barricaded it with a log, since the howl was for both her and Scimitar. She didn't want the pups to get out without supervision. Kas reassured them that she'd be back, then she raced off to find out what was wrong with Bazi.

When she arrived, the tiny white dove was seated in a strange position, and the white fur around her mouth and forelegs was stained with something resembling vomit. Kaskara's gut heaved, but she caught it down quickly. She needed to be strong for her sister now. "Baz, what's wrong?" she asked softly, approaching her friend and sister cautiously, touching her nose t the woman's head gently. What had caused her such grief and obvious sickness? There was no indication anything was wrong nearby, so Kas assumed that she had left the place in question and traveled home.

Scimitar would derail Danica's death.

Scimitar’s first instinct was to fly to his mate’s side as her broken howl resounded across the land – instead, his paws carried him to the den, having thought she had been with their children. He was not sure what Bazi was upset about, and he felt a tug of discomfort at the recollection of one of their more recent spats – that the world was about to crumble down around them once more.
 
It was a shocking sight, then, to the cinnamon male, when he found his children barricaded with a log. His surprise drifted to confusion.. and then to fury. Someone had locked his pups in a den with a log – as if the thought that they could not get out was enough.. without even considering that they may need more of a tactic to keep something from getting within.
 
A snarl escaped him then, and flying forward, his mate was now forgotten, whatever her ailment. A rough shove of his shoulder and a cut from the bark scraping along his side would indeed move the log, and stepping in, his panic only subsided when he counted four heads – safe, and untouched.
 
He pulled back out, pacing before the den now.. his ears slick upon his skull and rage emanating from him like never before – not even Shadow had ignited such anger in him. God help the soul who came back to collect his pups after they had so fitfully enclosed them to an area without supervision.

By the time Kaskara reached her, shock had settled in Bazi's every vein. She shook where she sat, dragging shallow breaths into ragged lungs. The nudge to her head barely registered, but for some reason it made her hyper-aware of the mingling scents of metal and acid that cloaked her. The Alpha's breaths quickened. She turned staring eyes on her sister, struggling to focus. "I-I threw up," she stammered, "She.. scavengers.." The pressure was building. The last few words were a squeak. "Danica is dead."

Bazi was shaking, shivering almost, with the memories of what she had seen. What that might have been was unknown to Kas, but she was sure that Bazi would tell her eventually. The alpha admitted to throwing up, which was obvious to Kas: there was vomit on the fur along her chin and chest, and her legs had gotten some of the back splash. Kaskara nudged her sister's cheek gently, wanting her to know it was okay, that everything would be okay. Then the bomb dropped: Danica was dead. What happened? Who killed her? There was talk of scavengers, but what did that mean? "Oh, Bazi. I'm so sorry.." that was the only thing Kaskara could think of to say. Where was her damn brother when Bazi needed him?

Bazi was dimly aware of how she must smell - sun-baked vomit and crusty blood. It tickled the part of her brain that cared about appearances, but it was too stunned to react. Kaskara nudged a spot on her cheek, and Bazi was reminded that she needed to blink. Her eyes stung. "What do we do?" she asked. Danica was in pieces. There was hardly enough of her left to bury, and moving her would break up those parts that were still intact.

Skipping Rachel with permission! <3

"Let's get you home first." Kaskara nudged her sister again and sighed. They'd need to get her cleaned up before the pups saw her and got scared. "There's a stream along the way. We should wash you off.." She let the suggestion hang there. Bazi smelled like vomit and old blood, neither of which was becoming of her. She was certain Bazi didn't want to go home smelling like that.

So they moved toward the stream that was nearby, and Kaskara gently guided her sister toward it, but not into it. That would be up to Bazi. "After I get you settled at home, I can go back and bury her. We were never friendly, but I owe you that much." Kas grinned softly, sadly, and waited for Bazi to take a dip in the cool water.

Kaskara made it sound so part and parcel - home, shower, rest, bury. And really, what else was there to do? Go on some grand quest in Danica's honour? Bazi stared blankly at her sister-in-law, lit by pleasant, everyday sunshine on this very ordinary day. Eventually, she nodded, allowing herself to be escorted in the direction of water. She was thirsty. Parched, really.

Kaskara didn't know what else to do. Offering to help her bathe and settle down into her home was the least she could do, and then to bury the woman who had all but sneered at her? It was probably above her honor, but she would do it for Bazi. Anything for her sister.

The pair moved toward the shallow bitcurrent, and Kaskara carefully guided her sister into the water, helping to splash some on her and rub the blood and vomit from her fur. Then she escorted her home, hoping the pups were safe, and hoping her brother hadn't blown a gasket in the process.

Kaskara bathed her and guided her home. Bazi would not remember the journey or the next few days, which she spent in the safety of her den, covered in pups and reluctant to accept visitors. After all that - the drama, the reunion, the unfathomable strings of coincidences and chance that had brought them full circle - Danica was just... gone. Returned to the earth. Just like that. 

The finality of it weighed heavily on the young Alpha, doing just that little bit more to harden her heart.