Ravensblood Forest Foolish Protector

@Arturo @Isley @Olive Sorry Guys, but it is time for Pali <3

Palisander was not really a guardian or a fighter. He never was, but when the fresh scent of a cougar crossed their borders the male instantly wanted to protect his family. The male would not allow another predator on their lands. The male rushed forward bravely, not even thinking of calling for back up in the heat of the moment. All he could think about was that cougar getting to Isley and hurting her.

The hunter tracked down the cat and instantly rushed forward, taunting the cat. He knew his skills weren't good but if he could chase the cat away then he would have done well in protecting his family. He barked and yowled, which might catch the attention of some pack members close by. However it seemed to agitate the cat more and it charge at him. Palisander had not expected the cat to fight back and jumped away from the cat's charge.

This was not going to work how he wanted it to go. One paw raked his side. Palisander let out a loud yelp that echoed through the forest. Now he had to fight. Palisander's trick hadn't worked. The male opened his jaws to bite the creature's neck but his inexperience caused him to be grabbed and pushed down by the cat himself. The cat effectively closed his powerful jaw around his neck. Palisander let out yelps and howls for help from his pack members, though any help would be too late. His blood was staining the earth coming from his neck and gashes on his side.

The young male was left unceremoniously by the cat. It meant the end of his young life. The male died protecting his family, not only that but he died in love with the most wonderful female ever. Isley was the last thing he thought about before everything went dark.

Isley heard the cries and yowls and without thinking ran towards them. It wasn't just that their family had lost one of their own so recently - it was that it was Palisader. He had worked so hard to gain her trust and in turn earned her affections. She could later reflect on the moments they shared, the hopes she had, the things she wanted - there was so much more they had to share together. When she came upon the scene it was with snarls and roars the likes of which that cat would never be able to make. 

She'd track it, and she'd kill it, eventually she would bring its head back.

Isley could look upon Palisander with a clinical eye, see the blood that pooled and stained the ground. She could see the look in his eyes, they would remain open, she could see the terror mixed with determination that only comes when death does. She could feel so much more though. Loss and sorrow, love and fear - how could she go back to life as it was before, when she had only now come to feel like she was truly living? She owed a great deal to the wolf laying at her feet. 

She owed him more than she would ever get the chance to offer him. She lifted her head and cried out, howling desperately, singing her sorrows to the wind and letting it carry through the trees. She curled around him, feeling his body grow cold, and in turn, her heart did too. 

Dakarai ran toward the sounds of pain, his heart racing with panic and fear. He rushed into the scene his flanks heaving and eyes wide as he looked at the male's body, and the female who sat still with grief. "God..." he breathed and howled for Arturo, his cry filled with mourning for the Male who he had never met. First Furiosa and now this. Was his arrival bringing some sort of death? was this a sign from the gods? Should he leave?..


he sat down and ducked his head, a low keening rising in his throat. He had arrived too late to help this male, and once again he felt guilt tearing at his soul. It was his one fault, he wanted to save everyone and when he couldn't he blamed himself. He lifted his eyes and sniffed around the ground nearby, allowing the disgusting scent of the feline to fill his senses. "I can track it." he said out loud, not to the woman, not to the gods but to himself. It was a solid promise that he would try to fulfill if Arturo would allow him.

;___; 

The howls and cries summoned Olive from her lair. It had been a gloriously languid afternoon and Olive felt the need to do no more than lay amongst the stone of her den; their small haven of warmth amongst the flurries that puffed gently between the trees. She watched the snowfall with her head cradled delicately upon two paws, peridot gaze tracking individual snowflakes as they floated and swayed to the ground. She pondered the infiniteness of nature for a little bit. Then she nosed around her Rose Quartz, trying to keep it free from frost. Then, screams.

She wasn’t truly concerned, at first. Her muscles ached to move and quickly loosened in the throes of her sprint, carrying her lightly and swiftly to the sounds’ epicenter. She did not expect a horrible scene….not after Ceannasach deemed the family safe. He had lifted the family’s lockdown and as such, Olive felt herself able to relax once again and sidled back into her pleasurable habits. As such, the woman had imagined the noises to be Chusi or Dakarai or another hunter had taken down prey or perhaps there was a spar going on… but when the two pained howls were loosed into the air’s frequency, haste and concern overtook her.

The waif stepped quietly on the scene. The blood that stained the snow so beautifully was not that of a forest creature, but a wolf. Family. Palisander.

Olive’s breath stopped for a moment. How could this be? One of her closest friend, slain at the hands of another. But these wounds… no, they were not from a wolf. The scent that lingered [difficult to distinguish from the metallic overtones of the murderous scene] was more feline than canine. Palisander had been torn from the existence by the fangs of a different forested predator, a cougar…. and perhaps suffered a more painful death because of it.

Olive shut her eyes tightly, unwilling to look at the scene any longer. Melancholy emotions were quickly rising, taking place of her initial shock. Blindly she moved towards where her shadowed protector stood. Olive hid her visage amongst the thick pelt of his shoulder, finding the crook of his collarbone. Was the world out to get them, to teach her some lesson about the futility of spirit and the arbitrations of nature? At least, amongst the sadness, she had Dakarai. Perhaps the god had sent Dakarai to her because they knew about the dark times to come. But Isley… Isley had no one. She had the family, yes, but her mate was deceased and Olive could never imagine the pain she felt. The grey woman moved from Dakarai towards Isley but did not touch the grieving wife. Instead, Olive summoned her song and from her lips spilled the third iterations of the same, sad, haunting howl.

i feel like this post sucks and i'm so sorry. ;-; pali will be missed mar. <3

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The howls rose for him, one by one, though none sounded as distressed as the first, as Isley’s. It set the gangster’s hackles to bristle against his nape and spine and his pace increased the closer he drew, his heartbeat loud in his ears, so loud that when he did stop and took a frantic look upon the scene, of Dakarai and Olive and then to Isley curled around a body — Palisander’s he did not for a second doubt — and the putrid scent of blood mixed heavily with cat upon the air. His breath was quick, shallow, gasping for the cold air that would not come to his lungs as if, suddenly, he could no longer find them. Palisander’s death struck him hard, as Furiosa’s had and he moved forward on numb legs, towards Isley, his fiery gaze dark with his sorrow and grief and pain for her.

“Isley,” The deep, smoky timbre of his voice was low, a quiet rumble, but made to be soft. Her pain was their pain and as her Ceannasach he wanted to aid her with the burden of her grief. Palisander was a good man, and Isley was his most trusted, before even Furiosa. “We are here.” He rasped out, including The Family as a whole instead of just himself. You are not alone, implied behind his words. He wanted to place a comforting touch upon her but hesitated not sure if she would appreciate it. He knew they needed to bury Palisander’s body, both out of respect for the man who had been apart of their core foundation and to ward off any further temptation for the cat that had taken his life but he did not deign to bring it up. For now, he was content to let her grieve over her mate's body.

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