Neverwinter Forest The Flesh Failures

Had to happen eventually!

With the cold of night had come a small sprinkling of snow just along the borders of the forest, though the ground within the forest itself was bare still, protected by the evergreens that kept their pack sheltered and safe. Shrike padded along the borders, through the thin layer of snow leaving behind a perfect set of pawprints that showed the ground. As it was, there was no way for him to see what the ground looked like, so when he mistakenly trod upon a puddle that had frozen overnight and then been covered by the snow, he'd slipped, both front legs going sideways before he could catch himself and he landed hard with his chin on the ground, biting through his lip with one sharp canine tooth. Blood droplets stained the snow, melting through to the ground. 

He groaned slightly and carefully tried to gather his legs beneath him, wincing as he put weight on his right forefoot. Still somewhat dazed, he looked down, to see that it had already begun to swell up and throb with pain. Whether it was a sprain or a break, he couldn't tell, as he was no medic. He could still move his toes faintly, so he assumed his leg wasn't broken, but his ankle had begun to swell up quickly, so it was hard to say exactly what he'd done. It frustrated him, more than anything, to know he'd somehow managed to make himself lame just as winter had begun to creep in. Carefully, he shuffled himself off the covered ice, looking at it ruefully, before he began to limp back into the packlands, moving on three feet and holding the right forepaw up off the ground.

Hahaha, h'right?!

Szabala had hoped the snow might make its way through the coniferous forest to the ground they'd claimed. She'd caught the odd snowflake that managed to drift down through the protective branches, but so few had made it through that the ground was still brown and green. She wasn't terribly desperate enough to go to the borders and pass beyond the realm of their pack just to play in the snow, but she did want to see it, so she made her way toward the border, humming a lively little tune, stopping when she saw a silver figure staggering toward her, coming in from the borders. He was well past them, and she did not recognize him, not by his face or by his scent, as she had yet to spend any time at all learning how to track. There was something familiar about him that she couldn't place, but she didn't quite know him nonetheless. 

Was she supposed to stop him? She stood still and watchign him, noting the blood that dripped from his lip and the way he avoided using one of his legs. Her ears flicked back, and she knew she probably should say something or do something, but she didn't really want to take on that responsibility.

October knew something about medicines, didn't she? He'd have to seek her out to have her look at his leg, just to make sure it would heal, and what he should do until it did. He was quite distracted by his pain, and was mostly looking straight down at the ground in front of him as he walked, and didn't notice the form of the pale grey youngster until he caught her scent. He stopped and lifted his head, accidentally setting his foot back down on the ground out of habit and winced. She was looking at him a bit strangely, and seemed a bit awkward. He bobbed his head in a greeting to her. 

"You must be one of Kaskara's daughters." He said, hoping that that tidbit of information might help her warm up to him a bit, if he said her mother's name. There weren't many youngsters in the pack, and she bore the blue eyes that ran in her family. Not quite as aqua as Allure's, but still lovely all the same. "I'm Shrike." He offered, hoping that might help her relax if she recognized the name.

He stopped, and Szabala considered running away- surely she could outrun someone who could only use three legs! But the stranger spoke with a voice that was quiet and calm, and he mentioned her mother's name. Well then- if he knew her mother, he had to be good! Her ears perked forward an suddenly she realized who he had to be- just as he introduced himself. This was the male who had joined the pack and had beemn staying with Allure. A bit of a scandal, of course, in Szabala's eyes- but a delicious one. She'd wanted to meet him after she'd heard that Allure had taken a lone male not only into the pack, but into her den as well. 

"Yew're Shraike!" She said, moving forward so that she could meet him and interrogate him without having such distance between them. Once she was close enough, she plopped her soft hindquarters down on the ground. "Ae'm Szabala, an' yes, Kaskara es mae muther." She said with a nod, and a proud smile. Her mother was the alpha, after all, and that was certainly something to be proud of. "So yew're the one levin' wit' mae cousin Allure. 'Ow'd yew meet her?" She asked, not really aware that it was inappropriate for her to be asking too many questions.

Well it seemed that news had spread fast, and the young girl had heard of him before, but at least she seemed pleased with the fact that he was who he was, as she drew closer. He didn't mind getting to know the girl, but there was something about the coquettish smile she had on her face that made Shrike slightly uncomfortable. She seemed to lack a bit of grace, and he knew right away that he was going to get grilled with questions, the first of which was fairly easy to answer. 

"We used to live together in another pack. She left to be with family, and I eventually joined her here." He said simply. He'd decided already that the finer details of why he'd joined the Forest could go without being spoken- this young girl needn't know that he'd been exiled, lest she tell her mother who might judge him poorly because of it.

Szabala hadn't been told that Shrike and Allure had lived together before, so her mouth opened and lips formed a surprised 'o'. She nodded eagerly, then, liking where this was going. They'd lived before, eh? Surely that was a good sign. Szabala was a romantic wolf, of course, and loved the idea of a budding love story within the pack- and she hoped with every fiber of her being that this would be something along those lines so she could have something to gossip about. 

"Well en't that maighty kaind 'o ye!" She crooned, tail thumping against the ground. "Yew must really like Allure, hmm?" She prodded.

The tables had been turned. Where once the girl had been backward and uncomfortable, now it was Shrike who stood in those not so nice shoes. He sat down as well, so he could gently rest his foot against the ground, as he did his best to decipher what the girl was saying- what a funny accent she had! His ears flicked back as the imaginitive girl began making assumptions about his relationship with Shrike, and he loathed to think what would happen if she went back to her mother telling her that he loved Allure. He had hoped to talk to Kaskara himself, rather than have something work its way to her through the grapevine. 

"She was kind to me." Shrike said, hoping that would please the girl. Of course he liked Allure, but he didn't really want to have his feelings broadcast through the forest, as he assumed this girl would do.

Szabala wasn't satisfied by the male's lame response. As far as she knew, her cousin was kind to everyone, it didn't mean that she liked Shrike more than any other wolf if she was just being kind to him. No, that wouldn't do. She wrinkled her nose slightly, clearly showing him that she wasn't pleased with his response. She wanted juicy information, something that was worth gossiping about. Maybe she just had to try another tactic. 

"Allure's nice to everyone." She admitted dismissively, with a nod. "Ded yew join the pack te be wit' 'er?" She asked next. "Yew gonnae ask 'er te be yewr mate?" She asked, getting right to the point. "I 'ear she laiks yew," She tempted, even though that information wasn't exactly factual- she had yet to glean Allure's opinion on the male.