Barrow Fields Fire! Take aim! Fire! Go!

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Forthdated a bit - time is just an illusion... @Akantha :))

She had gotten terribly, terribly lost. Although she knew the layout of her own packlands, the world outside of her borders was far different. Turning and stumbling had she removed herself farther and farther from her sanctuary - unwillingly so! She strongly believed she was going back home - back where it was safe and to where her mother was, but life simply had other plans. Instead of going away from the mountains, she went towards them, eventually crossing a peculiar forest where blood seemed to drip from trees. Here, she sought cover for a while, but while biting her lip had she abandoned that place too. It might have reminded her of home, but it simply wasn't! How could she have been so stupid?!

After days of wandering, tugging her malnourished body through the fields did she give up. The tiny soldier fell to her knees, a mental gun pointed at the back of her head as the war was, for her, over. Finding her way back home? Impossible. She would be lucky to make it out of this all alive. Her bi-coloured eyes closed half as she took shaky breaths. I have fought mum... Mum... please come find me, mama... She whispered softly to the dirt. She started giggling then, laughing at how pathetic she really was.[/td][/tr][/table]

she had strayed from her home. she hadn't really meant to, simply had started walking and not been in the mood to stop. and thus she had arrived here, one measly mouse and a few hours later. she wasn't too impressed with the wide-open fields that greeted her, preferring instead the ocean or the craggy bluffs. but what made this field particularly interesting was that a dark girl was currently dragging herself through it. 

she watched for a time, only daring to approach when the girl had fallen to her knees. her gaze fell over the reed-thin form, approaching slowly and barely catching the words she uttered. by the time she was laughing, however, Anatha was certainly close enough to catch it. 

"Are you dying?" her voice broke the silence abruptly, soft and touched with morbid curiosity. she had seen a squirrel, once, thin and broken, like the girl before her. having nothing better to do, she had followed it, and been there when it had suddenly trembled, the spark of its life snuffed out and it had faded. it had not been a particularly good meal, stringy and without any flesh, and she had given up on it fairly quickly.

[table width=80%][tr][td]She had not expected other souls around in her presumed final moments - not that she had ever fantasized about dying, but still. Koume was grounded in reality, taking things as they got to her instead of wandering aimlessly in the void that was creative thinking and theorizing. Death - was she to accept it, or avoid it with the help of the approaching youth? Her giggling stopped at the other's words, quite flabbergasted at the grim subject the fire-y girl had introduced as their first words spoken to each other. Azura frowned.

I might be. She said, moving her head up, weak and weary, to look at her potential saviour. But not if you help me. You wanna... wanna be a hero? Her usual bold and loud voice was now but a mere whisper. Damn - she wished she had learned to hunt before this all had happened. B...Bring me to your h-home - your parents w...will know what to do with me...[/tr][/td][/table]

she might be. her giggling ceased, and the fire-painted girl watched her without much excitement. she felt a pang of sadness that the girl would die, but not much-panicked will to save her. things died, she supposed, she had found a body, once, of a wolf that wasn't quite a wolf. still, she felt it was her duty to ensure this girl didn't die. 

goal created, she now sought to strive towards it. step one, being, do something to make the girl not die. her gaze snapped back to the girl, noticing then her odd-coloured eyes, as she spoke again. "not really." she answered, a shrug of her shoulder's adding to her words. she had never sought the status of hero, and wasn't sure why the girl asked this at a time like now. though, she supposed, it would be rather hero-like to save her life. 

"fine. can you walk?"  came her question, adding a moment later, "it's far."  she didn't know how far the girl would get if she had collapsed moment before, and if she ran out for help and then came back, the girl might be like the squirrel and simply die.

[table width=80%][tr][td]Koume smirked. Of course, the one child she encountered was not out to find a hero-title. Strange, for sure, yet just her luck. The world did not shape to her will unfortunately - otherwise this all would've never happened. She cleared her throat, ready for whatever life would throw at her now but was pleasantly surprised by the other girl's next words. Fine? She was offered to save a life and she just found it "fine"? Hah - children and their warped understanding of the world. Being a hero meant special privileges - a true debt that Koume would never be able to repay.

Thank you... - I can. She said, lifting her thin body off the ground and nearly-crawling a short distance to indicate she was also "fine". Surely if the young girl could simply walk all the way here without adult supervision it wouldn't be SO far, right?[/td][/tr][/table]

her gaze watched the younger girl carefully, wondering at her and how far from home she seemed. "Why are you here?"  she questioned, voice more open than it first had been when she had first come across the skeletal girl. she moved alongside the girl as she lifted herself, then decided she ought to walk nearer to stop the girl from collapsing. surely she came from somewhere, and something - either cause or mere stupidity, had driven her ought here. 

unlike what the dark girl seemed to think about debts, Anatha had no want nor need of them. independent as she was, she had no want of others to do her bidding. another sidelong glance was spared the dark girl, curious, for she had never met another girl of her age.

[table width=80%][tr][td]It was normal for the other to be curious. Koume was quite curious as to why anyone would have wanted her in this situation too. Still, she would say nothing about her home - the blackfeather wolves kept themselves hidden and Azura was not one to tell on others if it brought her nothing. God - she just wanted to get home! She would give anything for one of Potema's hugs right now... Still, live went on and she had to be strong. Maybe not for herself, but for her home and family. I got lost - I think I hit my head on something... I can't remember a thing of where I came from... She answered with a sad frown. Lies they were, but not if she believed them herself. Convincing she would always stay she had realised.

She nearly had to drag herself over the ground to follow the other, but she knew she was in good hands for now. Surely no one would choose to let an innocent, well-mannered, weak and malnourished girl die on their watch - especially not in this time of year. Food was plenty she had noticed and everything was bright and pretty. If she kept this act up, she could get her life back together in no time.[/tr][/td][/table]

she was lost- so stupidity was the culprit, she supposed. the knowledge of this did not put any malice in her thoughts towards the girl, for she too at times found herself a little lost along the coast. she found her way back eventually, though, always. otherwise, she'd hardly still be with her family. the girl's next words gave her pause; for she had never heard of such a thing happening; placing more of the suspicion she felt naturally towards strangers to the girl. it was certainly a valid reason to be in this state, yet she had never heard of such a thing occurring to a wolf, and thus it was not too her. 

she was silent, not offering an answer, but instead another glance. there was no immediate sign of injury, and yet still she said nothing. she would take the girl to Heda, and she would know what to do; it was not of her to let this girl simply die because she was suspicious. it was with a silent gesture that she motioned the way home, and lapsed into a silence that would not be broken during the journey unless that other breached it first.

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Fade here?

Perhaps mere stupidity was her greatest mask; many did not expect complex thoughts to be inside such a tiny mind of a child. Perhaps she was an older soul that had somehow crawled its way inside her mother's womb. She had been the first outside. Motivated and calculating did she promise herself that this façade of stupid and youthful tendencies would never waver outside of her home's borders - she needed to act childlike.

In silence did she follow the other, unknowing as to what was awaiting her yet somewhat grateful for the other's help. She would've died out there had it not been for the burning ember and she supposed she should bring a gift of appreciation to her whenever she had gained back her strength - if only to not burn holes in her façade.[/td][/tr][/table]

While, outwardly, she seemed rather calloused toward's the girl's state, the suspicion could not help the worry she felt for the girl, and the desire to make things right with her. She had taken it upon herself to make sure that the girl would come back into health, and hoped that she did not wrong by bringing her home; though these worries were not expressed, as were most of her feelings of this nature. 

Realising that perhaps she ought to be kinder, externally, towards the girl, Anatha offered a small smile, that danced a moment upon her muzzle before disappearing. The girl then focused on the horizon, deciding quickly the fastest route to take and leading the girl along it.