Haunted Wood Inside Looking Out

AW! Tagging random people who might be interested, also a bit of reference. @Valour @Serem

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It had been over a month since Cordelia had been thrown into the Nightwalkers pit by the golden titan known as @Ghidorah. He had convinced her to follow him hereafter she sustained a cut on her ankle. Instead of receiving medical attention, she had been discarded into this prison causing what felt like a sprain to her ankle.

Discarded was the perfect way to describe it. Since entering the pit she had seen few other wolves. Only one of them, @Clarence, kind enough to provide her with food directly. Here and there a piece of half-eaten meat would fall to her, but it was unaccompanied by a face or conversation. There were days that she prayed for rain as it was the only source of water. And others she wished it would cease as it filled the sunken den she had been forced to call home.

Today her ankle felt healed, at least enough where she was able to fully support herself. The first week she had tried to climb out of the pit, but her injury prevented her. Now as she tried to scale the wall again despite her newfound strengths she fell down onto her back. Her size now the determining factor keeping her from her escape, and that was something that wouldn't change. 

It only took her one failed attempt to heel exhausted with little energy to burn due to her malnutrition.

The boy was growing stronger each and every day. Serem was no longer allowing him to drink that delicious milk from her tit, but he was growing accustomed to solid food and barely finding himself missing the sweet nectar. With this strength he was wandering further away from their den, and venturing out within the pack's borders more and more, familiarizing himself with it each and every day as his own kingdom. 

But the outside world, its tug to his imagination was tempting. Some day, when he was brave enough, he will cross the border and see what lay beyond the misty forest - but with Conquest going missing, even Valium was a little hesitant about leaving. 

Well that was for another day.

What caught his little eye today was the pit. The one where a woman was in since, well, since he can remember. She always seemed to be down there. The woman lived there as far as he knew and belonged there. So when he saw her climb up, he growled. Even if she was failing her escape, he couldn't help but feel a buzz and leap onto her, trying to bite at anything he could as if his little body could tackle her back down into the pit.

The sound of growling, especially the high pitched young tone of a child brought him rushing especially when he noticed it was from the pit. Coming up with eyes widened with alarm he paused seeing Valium standing threateningly on the edge of the pit before going to stand beside him looking down at the exhausted white she wolf. You could see the panic on his face, the confusion at the sight of someone down there. He hadn't realised they'd had a captive. "Good Job Valium but she's not a threat. Go grab me some water" he said praising his protection of the pit while also trying to show the woman some concern. The request for water was not actually that, but a order which he followed by dropping a stern look and adding "Hurry, please." 

Turning back to the woman he moved toward ledge where stairs had been previously dug by a past captive and used the remnants of them (they'd been destroyed of course) to ease himself down "I won't hurt you" he warned shooting her a wary glance as he paused at the flat bottom not wanting to be attacked "How long have you been down here? Who brought you?" 

The growling and barking from a young wolf were no more than startling to Cordelia. Of all the wolves that had shown themselves during her capture, the curiosity of a group of pups was the most consistent. One even choosing to venture within the pit before being helped out. She laid on the ground and listened to the persistent cries of the young one, seeing no point in rising or yelling for it to cease.

It was only at the sound of a more grown wolf that her ears perked up and she lazily lifted her head. He requested water and asked for it urgently. She wondered if this was merely an aimless chore for the young pup to do so that he might bring about some form of punishment unsuitable for childs eyes. At the sight of him descending into the pit, her heart raised and she struggled to lift herself from the ground. His words and more so his tone of voice caused her to settle and rest on her forelimbs.

He was tall and muscular, allowing him to enter her enforced home with such ease. She looked at him and then to the floor, a natural instinct of submission, but also a response to the continued feeling of embarrassment she felt to be down here. 

The questions he had asked she had heard before from Clarence. Part of it was aggravating. If members of this pack didn't even know of her existence here what was the reason she had been placed here in the first place, and why was she still here. But more so than aggravating it was upsetting and adding to her sorrow. "My answers have not changed for a full moon now. I know not his name but he was a golden male of immense size." she said defeatedly to the ground.

While Valour - the man he assumed was now the leader of the group alongside his mother, Valium offered a confused, and mildly annoyed look with a cocked head and raised, downwardly arched brows. Water? How the hell is he supposed to bring back water! Should he drink it himself and wait a little bit to piss it out in the pit? That was the only logical way he found figure out how to bring back anything like water. He walked away but when Valour turned his attention to the woman in the pit, Valium turned around and watched instead, blatantly ignoring the request and choosing to watch the interaction and to find out what the hell is going on.

If how he was supposed to bring water Valour probably wouldn't have an answer anyway, something he was slow to realise as he stared at the top of the cliff to see the child staring down with more judgement than a pup should have. "Right" he muttered and looked back at their secret captive expression giving nothing away though he'd remember this for a long time as horrified as he was. An entire moon? Untreated? Was she even kept on stable food and water? The detail of golden fur gave it away and he knew it was the weird one he couldn't exactly figure out.  "This will be taken care of" there was nothing he could do but try to prove that this wasn't his doing. He'd have to locate Ghidorah later but he was more concerned about the woman's health "I'll help you out of this pit and get you some food and water ma'am" he said eyeing her with more of a friendly expression though it was only 'friendly' because he clearly felt like shit and was pissed off about her being down here in the first place.

"This will be taken care of" What did that mean? Was her time in the pit over? Or was her time here on earth over? If she were being honest with herself both sounded like a release from her current situation. She saw no reason to fight regardless of the outcome. Even if she were to give it to her all, her malnourished state aside from her already inexperienced in fighting would ensure her defeat.

But this would not be the end for her. The male's tone remained friendly and offered her some much-needed food, water, and rescue from the prison. Slowly she lifted her head in shock, partially in denial that any of this was happening. She had so many questions. Who was this wolf? When was she being released now? Why had she ended up here in the first place? But any question she asked would mean longer amounts of time in the pit and should be reserved from another time.

Slowly she nodded her head still in shock "Thank you" she said timidly. It took some time but eventually, she lifted herself to her feet and leaned against the dirt wall. Naturally, light and even lighter due to her unintended diet she figured the male would have no problem lifting her, and she was willing to be lifted.

As she propped herself up on the wall there was a pause where he stood behind her, awkwardly staring as he tried to figure out how to life her. He could use his head and shoulders to lift her up or crouch and let her stand but it came down to being possibly nipped or her losing balance and hurting herself more. Ears pinned back and skin burning he lowered his head and pushed himself under her hind end so she would be braced on his neck and shoulders and lifted her up quickly his eyes squinting shut as if that would fix the fact that she was sitting on his head. Once she was up he scrabbled his way out of the pit and motioned for her to follow, turning to Valium and finally realising his mistake "I'm an idiot. Of course you can't grab water. Could you bring her something from the cache? We'll be in one of the empty dens near mine" he would probably give her Clay's old den since nobody had wanted to make the effort to widen the small space out leaving it untouched since then. "You can rest somewhere more comfortable for now, you're welcome to roam and take meals but be mindful we have pups" while his tone was kind the warning added at the end was said firmly, a sideways glance her way made apologetically to soften it as he knew she must be starving before turning back around and starting to walk off. Beyond mild concern for her health and genuine guilt over not having caught her in there sooner all he wanted was to show genuine remorse so she would leave and hopefully never look back on them again.

Fade out? permission was given to skip Valium