Mudminnow River i'm coming down fast but i'm miles above you

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The woman hadn't been dead for long. Her body was still warm, even within the chill of the river shallows. She'd closed her eyes against the horrors inflicted upon her; they remained clenched shut even now. Rigor mortis had set in, stiffening a once supple, curvaceous figure.

Dark pelt, and a pretty, pointed face. She had done everything right and nothing to deserve this fate.

Her assailant's scent had washed away during the struggle in the water. His musk might still be found along the insides of her thighs, but even then, the primal pungency of angry arousal overwhelmed anything unique. He'd had his cake and eaten it, too. He'd slipped away as her trembling ceased.

A coyote approached and began the laborious process of dragging the woman out of the water, tugging it toward the shore. She was much larger than the lanky young man, but that didn't stop him. He was hungry, and this was fresh meat.

Still warm.

Written by Miryam

the evening prior, bhediya asked @Lolita to accompany her on a scouting trip. she'd assured her that they would be back in two day's time, venturing only within the valley. after a quick rest the following morning, they continued on their trail.

by sunset, they'd made it to mudminnow. the scout dipped down for a drink, noticing the faint metallic flavoring of the water. she chalked it up to melting frost and continued to quench her thirst.

do you want to stop for a while or keep moving? bhediya was growing fatigued; she was not opposed to a quick nap. they would be making their journey home after sunset, so she figured that they would need to be well-rested.

a series of grunts pulled her attention downstream. there was a woman, obviously injured, with a coyote's jaws snapped around her leg. hey! she called out, turning back to lolita for back up. bhediya motioned for them to charge together, hopefully scaring the assailant away in the process.

She'd followed Bhediya eagerly. The girl was turning out to be sweet and easy to get along with- she could see why her big brother liked the girl so much. They had set out together, and as they traveled Lita was getting a better feel for Bhe's personality. 

Lita stopped for a drink beside Bhediya, but she too noticed something off about the flavor. She didn't mention it, but removed her muzzle from the stream. Wolves didn't mind the taste of blood, as hunters- but unexpectedly tasting it in water was a bit strange. Her nose wrinkled slightly. 

Bhe asked about taking a rest, and Lita replied: "Yeah, we ken stop fer a while." She'd be ready to rest her legs too; already they had come a long way. 

She was almost beginning to lay down and close her eyes when Bhe shouted something that snapped her back to attention. She was second to notice as she had already started to drift off, but... god, what was that? A painfully bloodied girl, being dragged away by some coyote. Why wasn't she fighting back? As Bhediya called for her, she charged at the coyote, hoping that two wolves- well, one wolf, one wolfdog- would be enough to frighten it off. As they got closer, cold dread shimmied down her spine as she noticed the painfully limp body of the girl.

though lolita might have noticed, bhediya was none the wiser. she continued barking her curses until the coyote scurried off, likely waiting in the shadows for the pair to leave. chodu, she whispered, then turning back to the woman.

are you okay? she whispered. the scout nosed gently at the stranger's side, wet fur clinging to her nose. she didn't move, she didn't respond; her body was warm, but her muscles were stiff.

bhediya scurried back, tripping over her own paws in the process. she'd ventured close enough to pick up the pungent scent of death, the foul stench of a bloodied corpse.

she doubled over, lurching forward with each heave. what was once alive was now dead. her gaze flickered frantically between the ground and lolita to fight the urge to look back.

The little thing scurried off. Bhe shouted something at it and although Lita didn't know its meaning, the tone was enough to get a general sense. She adds her own shout of "Awa' n bile your head, ye scrote bastard!", spittle flying as she curses. 

Lita cringed as Bhe approached the corpse, hesitating to warn her away out of sheer discomfort. It didn't take long though. Bhediya fell backwards with a stumble, and Lita attempted to nose her back to her feet. All the while, the girl shuddered as her blue blue eyes stayed fixated on the dark body. It had not frozen yet- there was no familiarity about the girl. Still, it was disturbing.

And- what was that? Alongside the stench of death, another scent, a little less strong but there all the same. Yeah, she would know that scent anywhere. She'd had her way with some men over the past year and smelling it brought back memories. But never had she smelled it in the same place as death. That stench of sex. Floating off the girl's back end. God, what had happened here? Her eyes turn away as she fights the urge to vomit.

a moment of silence.

we just found a fucking body.

the words felt unnatural falling from bhediya's lips. who- no, there must have been a story here. the girl just starved the death like the other half of the teekon, right? the intermingling of scents made it clear this unlikely to be the case, but if that weren't it, then what else?

we just found...a fucking body, ohmygod.

bhediya stood up then, beginning to pace frantically as she continued to avoid the corpse's gaze. she's still warm! she cried out. obviously, she hadn't frozen to death. no; this was a woman who was once very much so alive, and now...

she looked to lolita then, if she's still warm, does that mean... bhediya looked frantically around them, is the killer still here? the adrenaline rush was beginning, as was the familiar flush of panic.

"Fuck." The sound leaves her lips barely a whisper, in a horrified awe. Only Bhe had nosed at the corpse, and though Lita had noticed it hadn't frozen yet, the words she's still warm sent another wave of sickness through her. 

"H-he might be," She stumbles, "what shall we do? Do ye want to look for the bastard?" And, before she could answer that- she considered that Bhe was the only one who had directly touched the body, and asked- "Did ye find a wolf's scent anywhere on 'er?" Any scents beside the two most obvious, of course.

they were two women (rather, one-and-a-half with bhediya's size) alone at the river. it didn't seem smart to seek out the culprit, especially without proper experience on the offense. she had no mercenary training, and unless lolita was hiding something, this was presumably true for them both.

she shook her head, sighing as she took a quick glimpse as the body. we'd better not, bhediya sighed. it would have been easier were pygmalion there. the scout looked around to ensure that he wasn't before turning back to her companion. i don't know. i don't think so.

after catching the stench of death, she'd been quick to break away. should we...should we go see?

Bhediya's logic was solid. She nodded, and noticed the girl look around the landscape. Of course she thought the girl seeked the killer- not Pygmalion, still unaware what a creep her brother had been to the little woman. 

Bhediya also said she hadn't found a scent on the corpse in the moment she had sniffed it- figures, given the stumble backward she had frantically taken. Then how would they get a lead on whoever the killer was? 

At Bhe's question, Lolita nods. "Fine, let's." She mutters uncomfortably.

it was unfortunate agreement, but one that they'd reached nonetheless. bhediya gulped as she looked once more toward the body. what are we... she began, are we just checking for scents? anyone's scent? a group of scents? sniffing around a crime scene felt strange without a real reason for doing so.

she waited to see if lolita would make the first move before standing and creeping over to the riverbank. she was hesitant to bend down and hoped that at the very least, her companion would be doing the same. 

are you ready? bhediya asked, before slowly lowering her snout to the dead woman's fur.

"Yeah," she muttered i response to Bhe's question. It was incredibly uncomfortable, sniffing around the freshly dead body. But what else could they do? Of course they had the option to leave it there and let it rot. Or even just bury it. But somehow this felt like a crime and Lita felt that there was someone very cruel behind this. She was a girl neither good nor bad but seeing a gruesome scene like this fired up a desire for justice within her. 

Blue eyes glance at Bhe before the two of them both move in on the girl. She lowers her nose to the fur, cloaked in the scent of death. Hoping to find a trace of something...

any discernible scents had been washed away by the lake. bhediya looked up at lolita with a disappointed gaze. there's nothing else to do here, she sighed. there was no killer to detain, no scent trail to follow; it became clear that all they were doing was disturbing the woman's grave.

she walked away and took a seat some feet away. maybe..., bhe began, we should go tell easthollow, i think. even if they didn't know who was guilty, it was apparent that someone had been here. if he'd done it once, she knew that he would do it again.

lost creek hollow, too. bhediya's voice was soft, almost silent. do you think so?

She nodded at Bhe's words. Lita, not particularly eager to spend more time with the corpse, opted to follow Bhe to sit by her. Then the elder girl offers some good advice on the next step in their plan. Informing the nearby packs. It was only necessary, she figured- especially for women to keep on the lookout, to be wary of strange men. With spring coming up, people would get eager to follow their instincts. But if they weren't careful... they could end up like that. 

"I think so." Agreed Lolita, nodding solemnly. "I'll take care o' Easthollow if ye take care o' Lost Creek? I think I know the way there better since I visited before." She offers.

i'm gonna archive this.

bhediya did not voice her agreeance, rather offering a curt nod of her head. she would wait for lolita to head off in her direction before turning the opposite way and starting toward the creek.