Felltree Marsh vvitch

@Kasiya

The creak of the rotten log beneath her paws gave warning, and Jaguara clattered into the muddy water below before the section gave away and crumbled within itself. The muck and grim of the wetlands clung to the dark stalks of her legs, which maneuvered around the suckling of the gluttonous mud beneath her. Another wolf might detest the sensation of slick filth dripping from their figure, but Jaguara, who had been born under the sway of weeping willows and marsh grass, found this place to be familiar and inviting though she had not traversed it before.

It was, for the most part, inhabitable. The chime of crickets in the cool spring night brought a murmur of life to the broken boughs of the marsh, but other living things clung above to the trees, just out of her reach. Skilled at climbing she didn’t dare attempt to reach up too high, knowing these barks would not favor her as the log hadn’t before. Instead she gave an inquisitive sniff to her surroundings, picking apart what silent life did thrive below: a small pool of tadpoles, a marigold that blossomed vibrantly against the fresh loam.

He had made his way far from the riverside, trailing an erratic route across the moraine and through the plains. They held little interest to him, being nearly barren of valuables; the thought had crossed his mind to double back of course, to return to that icy river and the company of the gray woman. She had been kind, which he had not expected nor received well. She was behind him now, as were the many things from which he fled, so Kasiya focused on what lay  before him. The light had begun to fade as he traipsed across the plains, and the world around him became less saturated - until the evening had unfurled, leaving the boy desolate.

Before he knew it, the solidity of the ground became questionable. Whatever rooted the plains in place had somehow vanished, relinquishing whatever hold it held across the substrate; his steps were slowed by the sudden wetness of everything, but he continued - figuring it was his imagination, or perhaps the nights here happened to be chilly and damp, unlike what remained of his dry home. With one errant step, Kasiya plunged beyond a simple few inches, and was suddenly neck-deep in some kind of muck. The mire swallowed him around the same time as he heard a snapping - like a tree being pulled out roots and all - but he was distracted, and merely whined to the wind for help.

It was through experience she knew how to traipse the landscape, with all its subtle hidden dangers. But to do so correctly was not quick progress. The moon gave such little light to the dark marsh that one could be tricked to see a patch of raised land only to find their paw being plunged into a sinkhole. When the whine did break the peace of the forest, she shifted, with curiosity, at the pitiful sound. The natural drift of her ears pointed to the source, but she was slow to physically seek it.

At first she simply peeked to find the culprit, tiptoeing along large arched roots and elevated slopes of trapped logs. Her slight shadow was near silent, even more so when found the figure of the other wolf nearly swallowed by the muck. She pondered, quickly, but all the same—she weighed the options of allowing him to struggle and find relief for himself or allow herself to become part of this developing situation. Jaguara’s own habit for prying got the best of her, perched on the point of a sharp stone she rummaged around her for something of use.

Grabbing a branch between her jaws, which was short and wide (much more like a blunt stick), she aimed to jab at him from the back of his head without any previous warning.

Sorry sorry! I agreed to spree then my friend built a fire for bbq and its shiny so I got distracted. Rolling to see if Kas gets knocked on the noggin! --> 1 <-- 50/50 chance; 1 means yes, 2 means no, and rolling 1d100 to see the severity --> 83 !

Everything was abysmal. He had gone from a quaint little hike through a field to this, and this was indescribable. Never before had the youngster met with so much resistance from the land. His home had been harsh yes, it had become inhospitable by a fluke of nature, but this place was so very different. He struggled against the mire and seemed to sink deeper with every wiggle. He wined again, but out of the blue came some sort of object -- his voice was cut off by the KONK! of something hard against the back of his head, and for a moment he saw stars. His mouth dropped open and filled with silt, leaving him choking for a second or two, and still struggling. Apparently the land was hungry, and Kasiya was the main course!

lmao it's okay! omg.... jag pls do not kill this man

Fool! Had her mouth not been occupied she would have hissed through her teeth. Had Jaguara been the one who’d bashed him on the head without the faintest cautionary sound? Yes, but she refused the blame the moment the idea surged within her skull. Lacking guilt, the she-wolf sought then to correct his own mistake, and the moment his jaws parted she angled her own head in an attempt to forcibly shove the branch between his teeth. This was a difficult maneuver to accomplish given the short window of time and the current blockage of her vision, she might just simply swing at him from the front instead.

Does Kas deep-throat the stick?? 2

The boy gurgled and struggled, feeling the bloom of pain at the back of his head. He had no time to wonder what had just happened, as quickly enough, something was shoved in between his teeth. He bit down out of instinct alone, and was then drawn free of the worst of the muck -- he kicked his way out of the rest, and stood with his body crescent-shaped while he recovered. Kasiya's body was layered with grime now, and his legs quaked. It took a minute or two for him to recover, at least to the point where he could lift his head (sheepishly) and seek out whatever the crap had just tried to kill him. Or save him. Or whatever, because he couldn't figure out which was which right now.

He didn't see the dark woman at first, his vision still blurred a little from the blow to his head and spotted with darkness; then he saw her eyes, two-toned and dim in the moonlight. Uhh -- umm, h.. hi, he peeped, struggling to control his tongue, and then gave a little cough to expel a bit of the sludge that had wedged in to his mouth - if he were to smile, his teeth would be grainy and brown. It was a good thing he didn't feel like smiling, then.

Bracing her shoulders for the strength required to allow him freedom from the marsh’s hungry gullet, Jaguara was otherwise silent and without complaint. He was not overly big as some male’s boasted within their genes, but she herself was slight and her weakness lay mostly in the physicality of her slender curvature which was only marginally sewn with muscle. It was enough to see him through, and with an afterthought tenderness she gingerly pulled the stick she’d struck him with away from his jaws once his grip had loosened. Dropping it down beside her, it was quickly consumed by the burble of mud that only hinted it’d been discarded at all.

She then peered at him, watching the fatigue (or was it shock? Both?) trembling in his limbs from the short-lived ordeal. It was difficult to make out most of his features through the filth that now covered him, nonetheless she committed as much as she could to memory. Studying him carefully, the she-wolf noted how he did not at first acknowledge her, leaving her to ponder his current state in the aftermath. “Hello” Was her simple dry response. Apparently she’d hadn’t smacked him completely out of his mind, not that it mattered much to her either way. But her inquisitiveness could often be mistaken for concern and she continued, “You don’t seem to be in your element. Are you injured?”

I feel like Kas needs a muddy portrait for his profile, if only I could draw bodies x_x

That was a curious question, coming from the woman who had just tried to bludgeon him from behind. He heard it, and began to think, but his thoughts were slow and ill-conceived. I'unno, he mumbled through a mouthful of particulate, casting a lazy look over his extremities in the dark, but seeing nothing amiss. He couldn't really see anything well enough at all, but, that was beside the point. I think everything is attached... As he drawled, he looked her over again. His eyes had adjusted a bit more to the dark, and no longer boasted shadows from the head trauma (if there was any). As if spotting her for the first time, Kasiya boldly (uncharacteristically) asked, Who're you?