Overture Downs the lonely last page

Buried in the middle of Overture Downs was another body.

It's fresh, no more than a few days old, and - rather unusually - has not been unearthed by scavengers. Someone has taken the time to dig a deep hole for the body, burying everything except the snout. What remains of the face (which isn't much) is caked in mud. It is very likely that the perpetrator tried to cover the head, but misjudged the depth of the grave.

There is nothing around to suggest a struggle. No blood, no fur - only the quickly fading scent of someone moving north towards Jade Fern Grove. The rain has washed away the scent markers that might make identification possible; there is just an ominous hint of something in the air. Musky, predatory - too distorted to peg. There are no other markers around the grave. No rocks or ornaments, as you might expect from someone burying their dead. Perhaps that is on purpose, to disguise the body and preserve it for as long as possible. Was this the work of a roaming pack, paying their last respects to a departed friend? The evidence certainly suggests this to be the case.

But why, then, do you feel a chin run down your spine every time you look at the body?

Anyone whose character has knowledge of the mass grave in JFG or the abandoned den in JFG is welcome to identify the scents of those bodies and this one as being distinctly similar! Plot description: http://wolf-rpg.com/showthread.php?tid=11742

Tagging LCH for visibility, since you're closest: @Mordecai @Harlyn @Luke @Ilya @Andalusia @Misty @Numa - totally optional of course, you certainly don't have to notice it! Written by @Behati (Karm) for the Corpse Gardener plot.

Reggie's face remained blank as she stared at the snout protruding from the earth like some sort of root vegetable. The scene was disquieting, especially because of the peculiar, faint odor lingering about the place. Yet the young coyote felt no pity for the dead wolf, nor did her apprehension cross over into the realm of fear. In spite of her handicap, Regipre did not fear much these days, a byproduct of being enslaved to one of the wilderness's most indomitable predators.

She did not love Shardul. She didn't even like him, necessarily. But there were undeniable perks to her new life. For one, she was alive. In hindsight, she never would have made it on her own, even with her fishing skills. She would have starved or died of exposure if a predator hadn't gotten to her first. She owed the cougar her life. Her fear of him had hardened into respect as they perfected their con artistry. She might have been nothing more than a worm on a hook, yet anything that brought pain and suffering to wolves felt to her like justice.

Presently, the big cat had wandered off to pursue his rival. By now, it was mutually understood that Regipre would not attempt an escape and so Shardul sometimes left her behind to hunt, patrol or whatever it was that pumas did to pass the time. This left Reggie time to practice walking and running—she was making marked improvements—which was what she had been doing when she had stumbled across the partially buried corpse.

After staring for a while, the youthful coyote bent forward and sniffed at the dry, leathery nose. Somewhat mindlessly, Reggie's lips peeled back to expose her teeth as she gave the dark flesh a nibble. The texture was strange. She tugged, pale gold eyes blinking when the nose suddenly tore free, dangling from a bottom tooth.

Tell me if you think I should delete it! >.<

 Corvasa had been following the scent for hours. It was strong, the scent of dead creatures. It was Corvasa's favourite. She flapped her wings harder, speeding up through the cold. She assumed that she got close, so she began to glide down. Ready to eat, she was surprised when she had found a coyote eating her food! Ignoring the fact that coyote would usually get eaten by a wolf, she gave a loud, shrill noise, getting the creatures attention. "Hey! That is my food! Get away!" She threatened the small coyote.

She stood there for several seconds before tossing her head backward. The nose flew a few feet into the air. Reggie balanced precariously on her hind legs as she tried to catch it in her jaws. She miscalculated and missed, so the little blob of flesh fell to the ground, then bounced several feet away. Regipre blinked, then made to go after it.

The arrival of a loud, squawking blackbird gave her pause. The coyote didn't understand the raven's screeching, though she could intuit what the avian wanted. Although Reggie didn't really feel possessive over the corpse or even the torn off nose, she gave in to a natural impulse and leaped toward the lustrous black bird, snapping her teeth and trying very hard not to lose her balance.

The bird had not expected the coyote to lunge at her. In panic, she fell. Luckily, the coyote had missed her. Seconds before her face touching the ground, she instinctively flapped her wings and soared up. She cawed at the creature again. Swooping in, her talons caught the piece of meat that the creature had dropped. She grinned as she landed on a high branch. A small squawk came out, similar to a laugh. The bird kept taunting the creature and pecking at the meat, enjoying her victory. "It's mine now!"

She did not expect to catch the bird, nor even come close. It was more of a warning than anything. Reggie did not notice when the raven appeared to tumble in midair because she had momentarily lost her balance. Her single foreleg bowed but she managed to shift her hips to acquire a new center of gravity. She balanced just in time to watch the raven snatch up the nose and then retreat to a branch high up in a tree.

The coyote snorted quietly. It wasn't much of a loss to her. But as she watched the raven dig into her meal, her gaze drifted back to the muzzle. Slowly, she hopped closer again. What would it taste like, the flesh of her enemies? While the raven ate noisily overhead, Reggie snagged part of the dead wolf's lip and began to nibble at it. It was not unlike the fat that marbled the flesh of other animals, a thought which prompted the coyote to suddenly and forcefully tear it away, leaving the dead wolf grinning at her.

The cougar headed toward the mountains.

Her species were not the apex predators, but among what she smelled in the present place, she was. And what was it that the wild cougar scented? A main course, and an appetizer. She had prowled to this point as quietly as an undetected mouse, and if her company was suspected, at present it was not revealed. Quietly, she loitered in the underbrush of thin branches and trees. Her furs helped her blend with the browns not capped in white, and her eyes flit on the going-ons ahead of her. And ever like a cat, she feigned her disinterest in case they had noted her, yawning mutely and behaving as though the only thing for her here was a nap.

It was when the young coyote seemed sufficiently distracted that the ambush predator lunged from her poor cover and lashed out at the others hind. Her claws were sheathed; the cougar did enjoy her snacks to be sufficiently riled up. Solitary life was more than tolerable for the solitary creature. She enjoyed very little in life but for the fear she could summon in the eyes of others. Really, the coyote was not a must-have. But the meal she could scavenge she would claim. The cougar had an appetite for whatever it was her teeth could sink into.

Sorry to skip you, @Corvasa, but I wanted to go ahead and wrap this up with Reg. Sorry she didn't play longer, @Cougar! :)

She gobbled the soft tissue of the lip, hardly chewing. No sooner had it slid down her throat then something caught her attention in the nearby underbrush. Having lived with a cougar, Regipre was particularly attuned to feline behavior. She did not for an instant mistake this one for her hoary master, however. Every muscle in her body stiffened as her instincts warned her of the danger. Her keeper was a peculiar exception to the rules; most large cats would happily slay her and Reggie was no match for one.

She was already turning to flee on three wobbly legs when the puma exposed itself—herself, by scent—and swatted at Reggie. The coyote stifled a yip, tail tucking between her legs as she made a break for it. She glanced over her shoulder and felt some relief when she saw the cat looking hungrily at the half-buried corpse. Still, she did not slow. Regipre faced forward, slithering away into the underbrush herself, hoping Shardul was nearby so he could interfere should the other cougar try to attack after all. But as the seconds ticked past, a pursuit seemed less and less likely.