Barrow Fields Giggle at the ghostly

Tagging @Vlad for visibility!  idk if he would be in the area but in case he wants to drag her butt home <3

She didn't make it as far as the Sound.  Her legs gave out three quarters of the way across the fields, and she managed to drag herself only a little closer to Monolith Forest before giving up and collapsing in a limp heap, her sides heaving with the push of having made it that far.  She knew shock was setting in when she'd started shivering, but couldn't bring herself to care or work up the energy to call for help.  All that mattered was that the damn cat hadn't followed.

Roz, you idiot.  She curled into a tighter ball, shaking.  The slashes on her sides and hip were nasty, but the worst of it was the wound left when she'd pulled her neck away.  She spared a dumb moment to regret the scars they'd leave, though she supposed that wouldn't matter if she died here.  Silver lining?  A hoarse laugh expelled from her, almost delirious, and she chuckled herself swiftly into oblivion.

Rosalyn was not a stay-at-home kind of wolf, and Vlad was not concerned when he had returned to find her missing. Nothing suggested she would not return eventually; no message on the machine, no XOXO scratched into the cave wall. She was out there somewhere, spreading sass and realness to all four corners of the wild.

In reality, the only thing Rosalyn was spreading was blood into the soil. Had a bear not been blocking his usual route out of Saltwinter, Vlad would never have found her - he was no fan of forests, and finding his friend in sliced ham form among the trees did not help one bit. "Ste-..Rose-eh-leen?" Vlad whispered anxiously, touching an uninjured patch of fur with a sandy paw.

Well, she wasn't dead yet.  In her books, that meant the day was off to a good start.  If it was even the start of the day.  How long had it been since she'd collapsed here?  Her consciousnesses dimmed in and out, and for a while she might have actually slept, but she had no energy to keep moving quite yet.  Better to stay here.  This forest was nice and, best of all, cat-less.  Which she couldn't know for sure, of course, but as she'd said - still alive.  So it had to be true.

Her next clear observation was a paw poking at her side and someone saying her name.  A voice she couldn't help but recognize, though in her jumbled state, she still jumped.  "Oh shi...." the exclamation finished with a decidedly undignified exclamation of pain as she attempted to crane her neck to see her visitor.  Immediately her head dropped back down with a disgusted "Ugh".  Great.  She was glad to see him, but to have any of her 'pack' find her in such a condition was both blessing and curse.  He could take her home, but her standing was compromised.  She didn't believe they were the type to have loyalty quite yet, and she wasn't exactly capable of pulling her own weight right now.  Physically or metaphorically speaking.  "Lovely day we're having," she finished with, eyeing him out of her periphery instead.  Like that made any sense right now.

Vlad leered down at Rosalyn, pleased that her injuries did not extend to her humour. "Gud morneeng being!" he returned, settling on his rear on the crisp forest floor. "Stenderds heving so menny new beeg hole! You gud fortuna being Rett no finding.." Vlad trailed off, brow reaching for the stars. "Rett liking hole. So! Vat vee do? You die or no?" He was no healer, but for Rosalyn he would happily chase one down. Under present conditions, Saltwinter would be worse off without her.

Trust the Russian to make even injuries into something dirty.  She smiled, fearing to laugh now that she was a bit more collected since it would undoubtedly hurt like hell.  "Maybe me and my many holes are better off staying here then," she said, waving a paw airily and trying to ignore her spinning head. Not only did she have no interest in letting Rat any sort of access to her 'holes', but she wasn't sure she could stand if she tried.

"Maybe me and my many holes are better off staying here then."

Vlad guffawed. "Thees no gud plenn," he informed her with a shake of his head - and, in case she was too out of it to work out why it was a terrible idea. "You ded so fest vit dees plenn. Vat meck hole? Ees wulf?" He narrowed his eyes at a patch of bloody fur. If Rosalyn was going to have any chance in hell, she had to be moved - but not before the damage had been assessed. "Hev you hole in stow-meck?" She could breathe, so her lungs and throat had survived the assault, but if her guts fell out there was no hope. "Hole een stow-meck ees end for wulf," Vlad clarified, lowering his head into the space behind her elbow and burrowing his nose into the fur there - nothing squelched out. This was a good sign.

Her muddled brain had a harder time following what he was saying than usual, though she got the gist.  Right.  Unappealing as moving was, she couldn't very well stay here forever.  "Cat."  She winced as he nosed under her, the movement slightly pulling at the skin on her sides. Ok. What now. Focus, Roz, focus.

"Water, to clean them?" she asked suddenly, looking at Vlad hopefully and completely forgetting his stomach question. Hurts needed cleaned right? And water cleaned. Maybe submerging herself in ice cold water in the dead of winter was a bad call, but for right now, she could only process so much.

"Hmrngh.." Grumbled Dr. Vlad, completing his layman inspection and stepping back, squinting at her prone form as he though. Water might not be such a bad idea, but.. wouldn't frogs and fish take up residence in all the holes? "I teck to beach," he declared, intending to coax, drag, and roll Rosalyn as close to the Saltwinter claim as possible. If she could not make it to the grotto, he would dig her a nice hole on the outskirts of the Monolith Forest. "I going esk Beeg Wurd Wulf helping. Thees gud plenn. Rose-ar-leen  meck no moving efter put on beach," he warned, canting his head and giving Rosalyn serious Stern Doctor Face.

She highly doubted that would be a problem.  "Rosalyn isn't even sure she can 'mek moving' now," she grumbled softly, attempting a couple of pained deep breaths.  Ok.  She had this.

Slowly she attempted to stand, hoping Vlad wouldn't leave her hanging, as already her head was spinning and there might've been three of him at one point. Well shit, wouldn't that be nice.  She'd lost a lot of blood and it hadn't fully stopped yet - she could feel the crusted warmth on her neck in particular. Horrifying. She pointed her muzzle at the ground and closed her eyes to stop the world from whirling, swaying. There. Walking now. Not even trying until she had a Vlad crutch to lean on. She wasn't about to lose this progress, because if she fell, she thought (rather melodramatically), that was where she'd stay.

Vlad did his best to support Rosalyn on what turned out to be the slowest walk in the history of all movement. They were lapped by tectonic plates on their way to the edge of Monolith Forest, which was where Vlad decided to give up - there was no way in hell that Rosalyn was making it across sand, and even less chance that she would be able to clamber into a cave. Plus, if she died in there, it would stink the place up.

For all of these reasons, the Russian called halt to proceedings at the first sign of flowing water, half-dragging his pack-mate to the place where she would lay in wait for Blue Willow. "You seet!" Or slump, whatever. Vlad stepped back, eyeing his patient with a school-teacher's eye and a lunatic's smile. "No meck climb on tree, raan eend send, meck sveem.. I ees being vatching you. Ees deal?" The second one she would make with Vlad to date.

Their progress might have been excruciatingly slow to her escort, but Rosalyn was right pleased with herself by the time Vlad gave up.  It was the longest walk in history for her as well, but she made it, and as soon as they stopped she slid off his shoulder into a shaking heap.  Goody.

No swimming after being eaten, she thought somewhat hysterically, or was that eating?  Either way, there was no chance she'd be doing any of those things. Even her scatterbrain knew that. If she had more energy, she might've gone for a witty comment, but as it was, she could feel the edges fading as sleep threatened. "Deal," she managed, more grateful to him in that moment than she had ever been this far. Her life was literally his, and if she did live, it would be 100% because he had made it happen.

The quivering heap agreed without protest or jest - which might not have raised alarms for anyone else, but Vlad became immediately concerned. Though her guts were intact, the wounds were deep, and Vlad had no idea whether dunking her in the ocean was the cure or the final nail in her coffin. They needed help, quickly, and Vlad was nothing if not excellent at making deals.

But first, she needed shelter. A hole in the ground would do for now, and Vlad set about making that happen - but not before he had dribbled the tiniest of kisses onto his half-conscious pack-mate's head.

Conclude? >:}