Blacktail Deer Plateau serendipity

tagging @Grayday but aw:)

She awoke in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by nothing and shrouded in shadows. She felt nothing but...confusion. Not fear, not anger, not anything. Unsure, she attempted to get up but the moment she gathered enough energy to move, pain racked through her entire being and she doubled over instantly, chest heaving as gasps slipped past parted lips. Stars flickered across her vision and her view shimmered and glittered as tears filled her brilliant amber eyes.

At first, she remembered nothing. Everything was blank. She did not know who she was or where she was, or why she was even here. But there was nothing to do about it, so she heaved herself up through the pounding headaches and began wandering. There was no destination, no purpose. She just...what was going on? 

Days passed and occasionally, bits of light and colours and voices flitted past her mind. Sometimes, she managed to catch these silvers of memories, clutching them in her sweaty grip. But even if she did, without the other lost pieces, nothing seemed to make sense. They were just random pieces of a puzzle. So, she continued on, shaking off the feeling of eternal confusion that seemed to plague her very being. Her priorities right now was to find a pack to take her in.

But as she stood a respectable distance away from the borders, she felt, for the first time, a spark of fear. What if packs didn't take in amnesiacs? But did it matter? She didn't need to tell them she lost ninety nine percent of her memories. They wouldn't figure it out..right? She knew what her name was...or at least, it was what she thought her name to be. Anxiety flitted through brilliant amber eyes and her teeth wore not-so-gently into her lip. Taking a deep breath, she planted her paws firmly down on the ground, squared her shoulders, tilted her head and politely announced her presence to the pack. 

Silently, the burning embers of fear and worry sparked to life, turning quickly into a little bonfire.

Grayday had not been back to visit the Vale wolves since delivering his warning. There didn't seem to be any point, though he'd worried for their safety as the days grew longer, colder, and meaner. He worried, but Chusi's body language had made her opinion of Morningside clear, and besides, Grayday had bigger things on his mind.

Dawn's continued absence, mainly. So when he heard the call from the borders, he was the first to arrive, winded from his run.

"Genie?" he said incredulously, surprised to see the young shewolf after having not thought of her for so long. "What are you doing down this way?" He left Morningside's borders behind and made to approach the familiar shewolf. There seemed to be something bothering her.

She didn't have to wait long. A grey male wolf approached and instinctively, the girl shrunk back, adopting a posture of deference. Fear pricked at her spine, the cold flames licking her heart and she bit back a whimper. This man was familiar...almost as if she'd seen him before which was an entirely plausible idea given that she'd lost nearly all her memories, and he seemed nice so why was she so jumpy? She licked her lips and not for the first time, wondered what exactly had happened to her. 

The man spoke with familiarity, further confirming the idea that she should know him. "I-" she glanced at him nervously, "I'm sorry, I don't...remember." A coppery metallic taste erupted on her tongue as her teeth drew blood. "I go by Raid," she provided unhelpfully after a moment of silence. Truthfully, Raid probably wasn't her name, but it was the only semblance of a name she remembered and it honestly felt more familiar than 'Genie', which was what the man called her. "Genie..." she trailed off, her anxiety levels skyrocketing. "I lost my memories. I don't know what happened. I'm sorry. I'm just here to seek a pack. I still know about medicine. I can hunt and fight too. I'll work hard." Raid gave up on spinning tales. Even though she didn't remember the man and her body was reacting strongly to his presence, she felt that she could trust him.

Thing was, that didn't mean he would let her join. Raid cursed herself instantly for letting him know she was an amnesiac - it meant weakness, and weaknesses meant being turned away. Still, she hoped he would give her a chance.

"Oh," said Grayday, his ears flicking back in worry. He'd never heard of a wolf losing their memories out of the blue before, but perhaps Genie had suffered some sort of head injury? Those could do a number on even the most sensible wolf. Hopefully it was only temporary. "Well, you had me at 'medicine'," he said with a kind smile. Genie had left a good first impression on Morningside's leader, even if she didn't remember him. "You're welcome to join Morningside for as long as you need. I feel I should tell you, though - you were part of a pack in the mountains just above us the last time I checked. Did you come from up there?"

Although the Vale wolves were not on the best terms with Morningside at the moment, Grayday still hoped they were doing well. It was still Rannoch's pack, in his mind, and even if they weren't behaving very well without him, they were probably still important to him.

He looked at Genie - Raid - and tried to find signs of malnutrition or sickness. "Are you hungry?" asked the leader, deeply concerned about the young woman's well-being. What had caused her memories to disappear?

Worried? Strangely enough, Raid found that she could read him quite easily, or at least, the emotions he'd chosen to portray. She hadn't expected him to be worried, however, and it sparked a little flame of curiousity. Why would he care about her? Yes, she deduced that the two of them knew one another from before, but to be worried? Why would anyone be worried about her? Or, maybe he was just soft. That would make sense. Raid gave a little shake of her head, suddenly unwilling to dwell in those thoughts.

"Thank you," she smiled softly and lowered her head in gratitude. Truthfully, Raid had not expected to be accepted so quickly but right now, she'd rather not dwell on why she'd been so rapidly offered a place in his pack and instead, appreciate the fact that she now had a pack to live with for the winter to come. "I don't know where I came from. I woke up somewhere, I don't know where, and the first pack I came across was yours." 

Instinctively, Raid replied, "No, I'm fine," the words slipping out of her lips as if it was some sort of reflex answer. On a second thought, however, she shuffled her paws sheepishly and dipped her head in an almost imperceptible nod. "Well..kind of, actually, but it's fine, I don't wanna take your food when I'm new and all that," she added hastily. 

Grayday made a soft sound under his breath, making a mental note to check up on the Vale the next chance he got. Something about the situation seemed odd to him, and he was sure they were worried about their packmate. As disappointed with the group as he was, he didn't see any reason to let them worry.

Raid, despite her total loss of memories, was still the well-mannered young woman that Grayday rememebered. He offered a genial wag of his tail at her words and beckoned her along behind him.

"You might as well eat. I want the whole pack fat before winter - you're no use to us hungry."

With an air of finality, he began to lead her toward their latest kill.

For the first time in days, the matter of her lost memories was far from the centre of her mind. Instead, a genuine smile graced the girl's lips and instinctively her tail began wagging as she followed the leader into the packlands. Her new pack. And food. Don't forget food. Things seemed to be going where she needed them to go, for the first time in ages. 

"Sorry - I don't remember your name," she spoke suddenly, a sheepish expression crossing her features. It would not do to not know her Alpha's name, would it?

Her question startled the leader - had he forgotten to give his name again? He had a bad habit of failing to introduce himself when he met other wolves. "Grayday," he replied, remembering that he had, in fact, introduced himself to Genie. But not to Raid. "Or Day, if you prefer. I'm not too fussed about it. Just don't call me 'late for supper.' Ha."

What a dumb joke, he thought to himself, remembering how exasperated he used to get when his own father had said such things. He was turning into a comedian in his old age.

Their latest kill was up ahead. Grayday stopped where he was and motioned Raid toward it, wanting to give her some space while she ate. "I'll mark you, now, and when you've had your fill, you can find us at the rendezvous site. That's where most of us sleep and spend our together time. Don't be a stranger, alright?"

He brushed past her, giving her an ample coating of his scent as he went.

"Don't be afraid to call for someone, if you're feeling a little lost," he said, pausing a few yards away.

Grayday. 
The name, like the wolf, sparked a sense of familiarity within the chocolate furred medic and she felt both relieved and uneasy at the sametime. Still, Raid did not have time to dwell on such emotions so she simply nodded and forced a smile onto her face. Suffice to say, she was both too nervous and too tired to even acknowledge Grayday's joke. 
"Okay," Raid swallowed back a strange sort of embarrassment as she stared at the kill, shame coating her ears and weighing down her tongue. "Yeah, um, thanks..Grayday." She would wait for him to vanish from sight before digging into the kill. Something about this felt wrong - whether it was the pack or her situation or eating someone else's kill, she had no clue, but she shrugged it off.
Quietly, she nosed at the carcass and allowed a soft breath to slip from between her lips.