Redtail Rise cordovan

Just in the interest of keeping things moving <3 if any assumptions need updated, let me know!

Her way back to the Rise was slow.  Riley's claws had gouged runnels into her sides and stomach as he'd struggled to get free, and his teeth had taken root in a few places near her throat.  Fortunately her own will to survive had won, though she felt little joy in the victory.  She had not known Riley, but still he had been kin.  It was only fortunate he had not also been pack.

@Mulherin had given pursuit.  Wealda had wished to join him, but there was one who remained.  And so instead she ushered her newfound shadow @Ruckus towards the Rise.  She would carry him if he began to fall behind.

They were a strong child.  She did not even think to consider it strange, how willingly they followed the one who had slain their father.  For the same reason she had not hesitated to do the slaying in the first place.  Her only thought was to protect. 

She did not enter far before slowing, then lingering on the fringes of the territory.  She had been near sickness; she could not carry it into their midst.  Wealda sank to her haunches, then turned to once more to inspect her sister's son.  It was strange to see that familiar mask on something so small.

In the end, Moon Runner heeded Father and decided to hold down the fort at the Rise. She had been entrusted as Trēow and had a promise to fulfill. Yet she waited, ready to receive Wealda and Berserker when they returned. However, the young wolf never expected their alpha to appear in such a state.

Moon Runner could smell blood before she laid eyes on them. Her leader was in bad shape. Fresh wounds glimmered with wetness and her gait was lame. But there – with her! A young infant… maybe a month old.

Moon Runner was shocked… and this was displayed when the white fur of her body stood on end as if she had touched a plasma ball. Even she, a feral woman, could put the pieces of the puzzle together. This was the get of the breeding pair of Nova Peak… and its parents… Blood Spot and Rolling Thunder…

A great tragedy has happened, Moon Runner’s spirit instinctively knew. But how?Why?

Animals don't ask questions. They don't wonder. And so Moon Runner could only accept the outcome.

Her furs smoothed. She approached the pair with a soft and gentle posture. Her tail wagged low, as if asking Wealda for permission to come close. She wished to inspect the child and her leader’s injuries.

something had happened.
the dawn boy knew not what specifically was wrong, and even if someone tried to explain it to him, it would have gone over his innocent head. all he knew was that the stench of blood and sickness was thick and pungent, and that it made him feel nauseated. he trundles after moon runner with the same sense of determination, pale eyes shrouded in a cloud of darkness that such a young child should never wear.
but he is child no more.
especially not as he lays his eyes upon the grungy infant which came in tow with wealda — and when he notices that the godawful smell is coming from her.
guard hairs bristled; where moon runner halts herself, the dawn boy drops to his knees and crawls closer, tail hooked between his hind limbs. his tongue flicks out from between his lips as he emits a low whine, eye contact with his leader unbreaking.
what have you brought home?

mountain boulder's jaws closed around the boy as he approached blood star. there was no chastisement in him, only the answer of instinct.

the pup should not have been so far. he had followed his own internal voice, wolf rejoining to wolf. moon runner's soft tone elicited that of ulfhedinn.

but wealda had remained here for a reason. he could smell it, the hanging illness, the blood. 

nudging his son back, not yet forbidding the boy the scene unless tuesday pressed, the huntlead turned back to the grave wounds in the hide of their leader, the child that he recognized at once as belonging to thorn caller. 

his own chuff was for blood star. the pack would rally here unless she bid them go, and he was experienced enough to know that the illness was passed through fangs.

but how long until it took wealda? his eyes held an uncommon pain as he waited for her to direct them in this.

Ruckus glued themself to Redd's side. The reason for which was unknown even to them, but they felt a strong sense of attachment to the woman. Redd stopped, and Ruckus stopped with her, still-blue eyes curious as to why they stopped. Ever since Riley had gone lifeless, the two had moved.

Three(!) others approached, and Ruckus looked at them as much as they could through their blurry lenses. They were lighter in color, not dark like all the wolves they had known up to this point. They seemed to know Redd, though they did not talk. Ruckus thought this odd. Dead! Bur'd! they chirped, those being two of the few words they knew well.

She did not know enough to fear for herself.  The instincts that kept her away went no further, and despite seeing their affliction, Wealda did not know the cause.  Her only worry was the discomfort in the wounds and the knowledge of Mulherin’s pursuit.  The Berserker was without the pack.

She allowed Moon Shadow to approach without question, but emitted a soft warning growl when a younger one came forward too.  Ruckus was now pack, claimed by her, but this did not mean caution could be lost.  They would learn to treat those unfamiliar with care.

Fortunately Ulfhedinn arrived.  Wealda relaxed as he collected Tuesdays Dawn and kept them back.  

Her ears twisted at the words, but they held no context for her.  The child spoke of their parents maybe.  Dead, she confirmed, her voice quiet and roughened by exhaustion.  Pack is here, now.  She hoped this was understood.  To have him wander would risk losing him to those who stole his siblings.  Yet this was his own choice to make; a pack was chosen, not forced.

Wealda’s return drew the attention and curiosity of others. On Moon Runner’s heels was little brother Pebble. Each day, he looked less and less like the small, round stone for which he was named… though Moon Runner thought he still had a puppy face despite his long, reedy legs.

Though he approached submissively, Wealda asked for space with her voice. Then, Father came between them and scooped Pebble up. As a three-month-old, Moon Runner could tell Little Brother’s puppy privileges were ending… but that wasn’t the only reason Father kept Pebble away.

With Wealda’s permission, Moon Runner came near. First, she inspected the child. He was bright-eyed and fluffy – an innocent spark of fresh, new life. Her cold wet nose hovered above the pup’s nape where she could detect the fading scent of Blood Spot and Rolling Thunder. Then, she kissed his face. Chipmunk, Moon Runner's spirit thought when she accepted him as kin.

The yearling’s eyes glanced over to Wealda’s wounded hide. She stretched out her neck and took scent, not daring to touch the tender flesh. There was no smell of infection… but the unforgettable, noxious bile was smeared among her red hair.

Moon Runner recoiled. Though she did not know if the sick-smell caused the downfall of Dagonspine’s leaders, it remained a common thread between the latest tragedies. She glanced at Father and saw hurt in his eyes… but didn’t quite understand it.

Moon Runner stepped to the side, as if ready to accompany Wealda and Chipmunk to a den where they could rest and recover.

as if wealda's point had not been made clear enough, father came barrelling in with a low note and a shove of his steely forelimb that drove the message home — stay back. and to say the least, the dawn boy was offended. hurt, even, that he could not know what was happening in his own pack!
his disapproval is clear in the way he grumble-whines at his father, glancing curtly toward his elder sister in search of back-up. when this was not given, he decided to crouch down between the strong pale legs which now formed a safe cage around him, rump defiantly hitting the ground with a thud. he was going to stay here whether the grown-ups liked it or not.
especially as he heard wealda speak, possibly the first time he had ever truly heard her voice: dead. pack here now.
someone was dead? and now this — little orange lump was going to stay here? the dawn boy eyes the child with an uncertain lift of his lip as it squawks at his family members, but decides he will ultimately keep his opinions to himself. for now.

the boy heeded.

death, spoken, and this the huntlead did know. eyes narrowed in sorrow, he looked out to where thorn caller had once gone, and sighed deeply.

moon runner inspected the little red pup. mountain boulder watched his daughter for any reaction that might indicate the pup was sick. when her posture changed to one of support, his yellow eyes found her brother, sulking but mindful of the happenings, a hard glow in his eyes.

the great man removed his large paw as last obstacle between the son he would now know as greylight and the child silently titled chipmunk by the acceptant yearling.

he too looked over the leader's wound, then glanced between moon runner and blood star, angling his muzzle in the direction of the rise's streamwater. wash. then lick to cleanse. he knew new snow would welcome chipmunk whenever wealda wished to commit them into the care of moon runner. watching to see that the curiosity of greylight did not take him again, he shook out his nape to convey that it was good to have blood star back among them.

'Ack now, they repeated, pinning themself to Redd. Ruckus pulled away from the touch of the white one, leaning further into their guardian. This was not the one who they had attached themselves to. They would not be removed from Redd's side. If any attempt was made, they would wail and howl and carry on until their demands were met.

last one from me here.

Wealda did not entirely comprehend the reason behind the Ulfhedinn’s urging but did not have the wherewithal to argue.  The water was soothing to the burn of her wounds and she trusted, in that moment, the wisdom of an older wolf.

For the moment she did not correct Ruckus’ withdrawal, understanding the mistrust that would surely fade with time.  They would learn what pack was.  As the scent of the rise claimed them all within would become family to them, a new source of safety and comfort.

Things that Wealda relied on now.  The weariness she’d battled on returning was winning now that she was home, and as soon as she’d left the water and settled near it she allowed it to overtake her.  She trusted Mountain Boulder and Moon Dancer to do the things they felt they must, though the sleep she found was not an easy one.  It was a small comfort, then, that Ruckus remained near; one less worry to plague her.

this can be my last if we want to wrap this!

Chipmunk shrunk away from Moon Runner’s touch and stuck to Wealda’s side. The Treow was not surprised or offended by this, but she did lick her nose to show the child a calming signal to encourage peace.

Maybe it was kismet, the spirit pondered within its vessel. Their mate-less and childless Wealda had been granted a new gift. Though the wilds had been cruel and had taken much, perhaps Chipmunk heralded a new era for the Rise.

~

Moon Runner accompanied the group to the water. Only when Wealda and Chipmunk were asleep did she depart, but not before nipping Pebble’s ear.

Let’s go exploring, she suggested to her sibling and then loped away to hunt.

mountain boulder remained behind as moon runner led greylight away.

his yellow eyes moved curiously over chipmunk, seeing what features of theirs belonged to thorn caller and which belonged to sun stone.

a heavy sigh filtered through the waving trees as the great man settled to rest. he would not sleep, however, content to watch over wealda and the slumbering pup.

they could not put everything to rights again. but the rise persevered and had now become a beacon of safety for a child returned.