Blackfoot Forest light and vibration

since the death of her husband hosannah had been hidden away among the trees. she was still afraid of their darkness. of the twisting, claw-ended branches. without the dense canopies to shroud the area in darkness she felt a little safer among them, and had sequestered herself among a hollow grove, although the purpose remained hidden. at her paws sat a pile of dried leaves. some things she had squared away before the locust invasion — before the death of her new husband, too — and she had her head bent in silent prayer over them. many thoughts filled her mind but she had hidden herself so as to avoid speaking; there was nothing to root her to this forest now. no husband, and barely even a pack. the famine left her hungry and she yearned to venture far afield to seek sustenance, yet kept herself here, hoping that raas had a plan for her.

Despite the forests lacking green, prey, and members, Aaron refused to feel defeated. He walks proudly through his forest still, his tail waving highly behind him. He worries heavily for Amara, who has been shaken by the locusts despite her strong demeanor-- he knows her too well by now. He is worried for his beloved Rosings as well, but nothing would ever be as important to him as his beautiful wife was.

He soon comes across the red form of Hosannah, a female who he'd saved from his own territory not long ago. He'd paired her with Gotham, who had recently passed. She was doing something-- praying it seemed-- and he did not bother her immediately, instead pausing somewhere behind her and waiting for her to finish, his tail wagging slowly behind him. 

whatever words fell from her lips, there were muted. perhaps they were whispered or, better yet, merely implied by the curve of her lips and the occasional flick of her tongue. she dared not speak the words aloud out of fear of being discovered. hosannah was so absorbed in her ritual that she did not know she was being watched. had she known however, she would have promptly stopped and potentially let the spotlighting guide her. her faith was not something she was willing to share with these wolves just yet. she felt weak here, weakened further by the onslaught of bugs and ensuing barrenness of the world — but with her prayers she hoped to incite some form of growth. the forest had to be restored so that the wolves may survive, and only then would she pursue her original mission.

with her prayer ending, she mouthed the final words and raised her head. the onlooker was behind her, and the wind was in his favor. she did not know of him even as she stood up, gathered her herbs, and headed off a few feet in search of something. she busies herself with the soil, worrying at it with her toes, and before long the collection of herbs is gone, and she is returning. doubling back towards her prayer point, she spots the halted figure of another wolf - and her short fur bristles slightly, feeling exposed.

the closer she got, the easier it was to determine which wolf this was. aaron, she hums softly, and takes a slow breath to steady herself. she has not seen him since the locusts arrived, and those moments were hectic, easily forgotten among the craze of activity. oh - but she remembers gotham next, and her nervousness turns in to sorrow. do you... fare well? hosannah asks as level as she can, but it is hard for the gaunt woman to avoid sounding tired.

yikes, sorry- misread your first post. i'll pretend he didn't actually hear her. (:

He waits for her to finish, and realizes that she was perhaps scavenging for herbs-- or something. He watches as she buries them, but does not think twice about it. He had never asked the woman what she had planned on persuing as a trade-- he could only assume that she had saved some herbs from the locust swarm, and was keeping them safe for the time beind.

"Hosannah," he replies in kind greeting, his head dipping. The man is still large and muscular, but it is clear that he is weakening from the lack of food and reasources. "I am well, I came to ask the same of yourself," he tells her, sitting and lowering his head slightly to see her clearer. "When I discovered you in my territory you were weak and injured, it would ease some of my stress to find that you have at least healed. As well as you can, anyway, with the swarm and all."

nah! she was praying over the herbs and then she buried them. all good. :D

my body has recovered, she confirmed with a small nod, following his questions. he had indeed saved her from a horrid fate, and she was grateful for everything he had provided. still, the locusts had come and gone, leaving emptiness and hunger for the rest of the world; hosannah had been thin before but was worse off now. at least they had not swept the lands as she arrived, or she would never have survived her wounds.

to show him, she did a little pirouette on the spot. the bites and tears to her hindquarters had become thin scars and her short fur had finally grown back in to place where it had been torn asunder; her tail had not grown back overnight though, and was a blunted stub that she absently wiggled. as hosannah turned again to face him, she felt a heavy sweep of vertigo and staggered, almost losing balance entirely — her paws planted and she lowered her head as if she were bowing to aaron as her new god, but truly was just experiencing such a wave of unease that her system could not handle it. once the vertigo passed (or rather the bulk of it) she squinted her eyes at the ground.

oomph, she murmured, and sank to her willow-thin haunch. i moved too quickly i suppose.

He smiles, watching as she spins to show him her healed scars. "This is wonderful," he says, but as he does she suddenly drops-- falling forward as she is unbalanced. He jerks his head towards her to stop her from toppling over, but it seems she had gathered herself enough. He nods slowly as she speaks, posture straightening again as he viewed her.

"I wish I could offer you something to eat," he tells her, lips pursing. "I would be lying if I said I had not fallen dizzy recently either." He watches her lower herself and looks off for a moment. "The forest will heal, Rosings will prosper," he says, but more to himself.

she was thankful for him. thankful that he was present to catch her, to try and ease her worries. his words drifted to her through a fog of confusion, and as that confusion faded, she smiled. it was a tiny thing which did not quite make it to her eyes, but she was trying. i hope so, she stated, punctuating her words with a small sigh as she leaned upon aaron. perhaps it was not proper of her to do so, but he was here, and he was stronger than her in this moment; her cheek eventually rested upon his shoulder, possibly too close for comfort, but it was satisfying for the red woman. perhaps we should send out pairs of hunters? or explorers. maybe there is somewhere that is better suited for us - or hasn't been touched by the plague? but even as she spoke this, murmured almost conspiratorially towards him, she felt doubt. hosannah realized she did not want to leave these dark woods, as much as she had initially feared them.

He does not remove the woman from him, and instead allows her to use him as support. Aaron is not one to shy away from touch, especially that of a woman-- no matter her appearance. As she speaks, he lets out a soft sigh and shakes his head. "That is not a bad idea, Hosannah," he begins slowly. "But it would seem that these bugs would have devestated everything. I would not doubt that they have destroyed most of the Teekon Wilds. You saw the swarm-- there must have been billions." He stares forward for a moment, thinking about the topic with much concern.

"I suppose you would want to go out and search though-- those who ask often seek," he adds, his blue eyes glancing to the crown of her red head before focusing back into their dirt covered home.

he was right in his assumptions, to a point. and she thought perhaps that her words had been misconstrued, at least when he made his final comment, and she let loose a small peal of laughter against his shoulder. i do not wish for us to leave the blackwood, she murmured to him, although her confidence in the statement was a bit lacking. hosannah wasn't sure what steps to take at this point. they had lost so much, and she merely feared the loss of all as opposed to what was already gone. but aaron, she paused after saying his name, sighing softly again as if to utter it gave her some sort of dull pleasure, what are we supposed to do?

"It is not up to us, Hosannah," he tells her quietly, sharing her concern and confusion. He had searched the territory for prey and herbs and found nothing-- not even the stinking foxes lingered in their home. The few places he'd wandered outside the territory had held few promises, and the small peak he'd climbed had shown him no hope. He did not bother to send others on missions for fear of losing members of his beloved pack to hunger and fatigue. It was selfish, but he truly believed that there was nothing within reach for them. 

His head falls back, and he looks up to the sky with a perplexed face. "I do not believe in one specific God-- I assume you are aquainted with that term-- but I believe there is someone higher than us out there," he begins, his crown tipping back down. "If we were meant to leave, we would have found reason to-- I have found no reason to leave." And, in few days time, Emily's return would only further motivate him to stay in Rosings to defend the land they'd originally claimed.

"I believe we are to protect one another at all costs-- and there is no need to venture from Blackfoot in order to do that."

yes... it was not up to them. she felt the truth in that statement acutely, and smiled. yet the more he spoke, the less she felt comfortable; the mention of god should have felt better than it did, but she couldn't shake the oddness of hearing someone else speak of such powerful things. hosannah's head lifted from its place upon his shoulder as she listened, and gradually it bowed. i... agree, she finally admitted. however.. i do see many reasons for us to depart this place. the lack of food, the... the loss in number, her voice briefly caught in her throat at that point, and hosannah wasn't sure if it was because she now referenced the loss of gotham or something greater — but i follow your lead. if you stay, so do we. she could only hope that raas was guiding this young man's actions, or else she was falling prey to the wrong path. damnation could soon follow.

She raises her head from his shoulder, bowing it forward. He watches her for a moment before shrugging gently. "There is a lack of food everywhere," he tells her quietly before sighing. "As for numbers-- that I cannot help, I only pray that the pack holds together as it is now." His ears then perk, and he looks to the woman with much appreciation. "I am grateful," he tells her honestly, a smile resting on his features again. 

"I will not stop you if you wish to venture forward, Hosannah," he then says, falling back into her previous topic. "Not that you do or do not-- but if you wish to find green lands or foods, I only ask you be safe."

exit hosannah!

safety could not be guaranteed, but she would do her best. the woman nods sagely, and once her head raises and sets level with her shoulders, she takes a step away from him. of course, she murmurs, and with his blessing she begins to step away - moving on to other parts of the territory, perhaps to liri, perhaps to others, to see if they also have the same desires. before she vanishes among the dark of the trees she calls to him, stay safe, aaron. i hope our good fortune survives this.

"Mm," is all the man replies. He watches her disappear into the forest, and is dissappointed when he realizes that it takes longer than it usually would. The overgrowing vegetation usually takes hold of a wolf after a few feet, but now he sees that she is in well within view for quite some time. He watches her thin hips as she ducks through branches and shrubs before standing and letting out a soft sigh. He turns and leaves, hoping to find the thin figure of his wife somewhere in the territory.

thanks for the wonderful thread <3