Redhawk Caldera Fly-by-nights from Riverside

Getting back in the groove with old mr. grump! AW.

His body was healing up nicely, but he wouldn't admit that to anyone, lest of all his caretakers. Njal had grown more withdrawn as the days went by, struggling against the limits of his own body. It bothered him that he wasn't recovering as fast as another younger wolf, and often balked at the wolves that came to care for him. At first he shared some banter with them, but that had worn away now. He was sullen and quiet, almost as if he'd resigned himself to the doom of his future. The pain in his hip still plagued him; his leg had healed up almost completely now, but there was still an ache there whenever he tried to stand on it, which was often. He refused to be seen as a cripple - or that was what he wished, to erase the weakness from his body and remind the Redhawks of his abilities. Yet every chance he had, he failed.

Thus far, Njal had made several attempts to reach the borders and aside from that initial blunder wherein he met a foul old wench, he had failed miserably. He couldn't hunt for himself, he couldn't stand for long periods (which made peeing very awkward), and even laying about as a big sack of useless bones took its toll upon him. He grew lethargic. Njal's weight had fluctuated and dropped by a considerable margin since his injury, and the muscle tone in his hindquarters (at least on his injured side) had deteriorated.

He was not the same man that he once was, and that infuriated him.

Tonight, instead of sleeping, he chose to drag his sorry ass away from one of his many resting spots to watch the stars. He didn't know precisely where he was headed - only that he wanted a clear view, and the road to his destination was more difficult the further along he went. It didn't help that Njal was hiking up a slope and forcing his injured leg to take the brunt of his weight; but he wouldn't complain, he wouldn't make a sound, not until he found a good spot and slumped his silver body down against a piece of the mountain which sat exposed and raw.