Hoshor Plains All I've got's this sunny afternoon

For @Rannoch ♡

Nara limped on through the high grasses, soft ground beneath her paws. A trail of blood painted the grass at her side, it came from a wound in her leg where an inconveniently placed branch had cut her skin. It wasn't anything life-threatening, but it stung enough to make her slow and vulnerable and hunting was hard. She stopped to lick the wound again. It already felt a little better. 
Now that the sound of her own footsteps had disappeared, Nara noticed the soft shuffling of the grass. An eerie feeling made her hairs stand on end, like something was moving close-by, silently following her. Nara tried to shake off the feeling quite literally and stumbled on, ears moving around restlessly, trying to locate the sound. It may well have been her own tail. Maybe the wound had gotten infected and she was becoming delirious because of a fever. Or maybe Nara was just imagining another creature to make the loneliness more bearable. She felt so dreadfully alone.
As if fate had heard her, a scent caught her attention. Other wolves?

Thank you again for starting!

 
The smell of blood had diverted Rannoch's intended path. Although this hadn't been the first instance where he had tracked another by the scent of their injury, Rannoch was just as intrigued as he had been when meeting Cassiopeia. 

Rannoch weaved through the frozen stalks of grass. Occasionally, a blade would strike him in a vulnerable spot, and he would shiver in response to the nip of frost. Despite the discomfort, the inconvenience did not deter Rannoch from what he had set his mind to. 

A streak of scarlet caught Rannoch attention, and he deviated to examine it. Once he stopped before the evidence of Nara's presence, Rannoch sniffed at it. The smell told him enough; whoever had bled was a younger female, and Rannoch could not locate a pack scent within the more-intricate details of the odor. Curiously, Rannoch turned in the direction where she had gone just moments before and cupped his ears forward to see if he could hear anything out of the ordinary.

Nara had walked on after smelling the scent. She couldn’t figure out if it was one wolf or more, but they must have already picked up the scent of her blood, since it was so overwhelming. Even to herself. It drowned out anything else. 
She had decided to walk on, because it hadn’t been the first time she had met wolves with malicious thoughts. She couldn’t possibly know what these wolves’ intentions where. Or this wolf’s intentions. Though, a hunting partner would be great, or even just a friend to walk with and talk to. Nara felt torn inside. 
A rustling caught her attention and she stopped, ears moving to all sides. She was certain that this time it wasn’t her own tail. Nara sniffend the air, but she only smelled blood. She looked at the wound again. If she tried to run off now, it would get torn open more and they would easily be able to track her. Nara hesitated. Maybe they’re nice, she thought. Or maybe it’s just a mouse or a rabbit . 
Nara whined softly in desperation. She wanted to know. Hello?, she almost whispered. It felt like calling out someones name when you almost know for certain you’re the only one who can hear it. Nara waited with anticipation.  

As if on cue, a whimper sounded from up the path. Although curiosity urged Rannoch to towards the injured woman, he lingered. Although her scent indicated that she was near, Rannoch did not want to stray too far from the wolves he was traveling with. 

"Hello?" Rannoch replied with concern in his voice, "Is everything okay?" He took a tentative step towards the source of the call.

Nara tensed when she heard the other wolf's voice, it was a male wolf. She couldn't see him yet, but they were very close to each other, only separated by a layer of sturdy, high grass. The way he spoke didn't sound threatening or hostile at all. If anything, it sounded worried. She relaxed her shoulders and let out a small sigh. I-I'm alright, she answered, It's just a flesh wound, that's all.
Nara stepped forward through the grass and almost careered into the other wolf. She stumbled back a bit. He had a dark and light colored pelt and was much bigger than her. She had to look up to see his face.
I'm Nara, she said and bowed down her head a little, ears back, to show that she meant no harm. 

Although Nara attempted to reduce Rannoch's anxiety, she did just the opposite. Rannoch found himself more concerned for the wolf that he had never met. "Just a flesh wound?" he echoed, unable to find solace in the statement. 

The snow-pelted woman appeared suddenly, and without thinking, Rannoch backpedaled to avoid smashing into her. Once he was distanced, and the smell of blood overcame his senses, Rannoch's attention drew to the injury on her leg. 

Before he could voice his concern, she introduced herself. "Nara," Rannoch repeated, his voice warm as he committed the name to memory, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Rannoch." Without missing a beat, he asked, "Need help cleaning up that leg?" 

The wolf introduced himself as Rannoch. He sounded concerned about her leg, which made Nara - who wasn't concerned at first - also concerned about her leg. She looked at the wound again. It didn't seem so bad...right? Then a flash of horror passed across her face when she imagined herself on three legs, the fourth gnawed off by maggots. 
Uh, maybe, she answered quickly, with a little smile to show she appreciated his kindness. Nara actually felt quite ashamed to accept the help of this stranger, she didn't want to trouble him. Do you know a lot about taking care of wounds? She asked.

Rannoch shook his head. "I don't know that much about the herbs used to treat wounds," he admitted, "But I'm pretty knowledgeable about cleaning 'em up." Raven had taught Rannoch about wound care, and although he couldn't remember the particular herbs she had used, he knew how important it was to keep an injury clean. 

"And I'm more than happy to help you out," he added with a smile; she wasn't an inconvenience to him.

Thank you, that's very kind of you, Nara answered. A small pool of blood had now formed at her paw, darkening the dusty ground. Although she had kept the wound as clean as possible, it was at the back of her leg and she hadn't been able to reach it properly. Therefore help would come in handy. 
Nara walked past Rannoch and went and lay down somewhere there was less grass. Her leg felt stiff and heavy. When she passed Rannoch, she could smell that he haden't been traveling alone, there where at least one or two other scents in his pelt. Curiosity took over. Are you a pack wolf? she asked and was barely able to contain the excitement in her tone. 

In the short time that they had conversed, the back of Nara's leg had become coated in scarlet. When Rannoch realized just how much she had bled, he grimaced. Although the sight wasn't one for sore eyes, Rannoch found comfort in the fact that he was now able to assist her. 

When she spoke again, Rannoch didn't miss the chime in her voice; he smiled. "You could say that," he answered, "I'm traveling with some friends and looking to claim a place of our own. We're heading east." Rannoch had smelled Nara, and her lack of company had been evident. 

Rannoch then leaned forward and groomed her leg gently; he wondered what she would make of the information she had been given.

A place of our own, Nara echoed in her mind. She'd never really had such a place. A home. Nara's mother was ripped from her life before she could ever mean anything to her. I'm sure that if there hadn't been a storm that day, she would have loved me and cared for me, always, Nara thought. She needed to believe it, because the truth might shatter her heart in an unmendable amount of pieces. But deep down, she knew it was a lie. Her pack had left her behind to die when the winter had made them weak and desperate. And then it happened again with her surrogate mother. Maybe it was time to leave the past behind and find a new home. A kinder one.
Nara tensed when the wound started to sting. That was a good sign if she remembered right. She watched the dark wolf before her. He was kind and compassionate and she could see him become a great leader. Maybe he already was. 
Suddenly feeling brave - let's say it was because of the blood loss - she asked: Could I come with you, to this place you speak of? She held her breath, waiting for his answer.

Although Rannoch had a good feeling about Nara, he didn't accept her proposal right away. Instead, Rannoch sought the information he needed to make the best judgment of whether or not he'd allow her to come along. 

"What skills do you have that could help provide to the group?" he asked and delayed his work on the back of her limb.

Skills... Nara thought. She had never really reflected on her own talents. She wasn't a particularly good fighter because of her small build, but she was quick and light-footed. Well, she started, I guess I'm good at hunting small game, like rabbits, because I'm fast and agile enough to catch them. And most of the time they won't even hear me coming. Nara told Rannoch proudly, hoping to impress him at least a little bit.

Rannoch nodded; Nara's answer was sufficient enough to convince him. "Well then, welcome to the group," He said with a wag of his tail. "Lemme get this cleaned up, and then we can go back, and I can introduce you to the others." Rannoch then returned to his work and cleaned away the stranger's blood. 

When his task was complete, Rannoch got onto his paws and looked at the recruit with a smile. "It should be good for now, and we can have somebody take a better look at it and properly treat it when we return to the others."

"You ready to go?" he asked the pale woman with a tilt of his head.

When she agreed, Rannoch escorted Nara to where his friends where. Once she had been introduced, the wolves worked together to ensure that the back of her leg was patched up.