Oh, the huge manatee!

Set a few days before the BWP.

The north had left its cruel mark on the priestess, ensuring that she would not return to the cold taiga again. When she was let go by the three that cornered her, she made a quick escape south, leaving a blood trail as her only mark on the peat-covered ground. Days had passed, and the priestess grew delirious, her wound festering despite her attempts of cleaning and healing it.
 
She could not hunt, feeding only on whatever scraps she could find in the slowly warming lands, but finding them was growing hard, as delirium took over. The once stoic, mystical priestess looked like a madwoman: haggard, deranged, a fevered look to her eyes. Whatever sane part of her was left laughed at the comparison as she saw her reflection in the marsh she found herself in. She truly looked the hag now. The irony would have been greater if she knew the name of the marsh she bunkered down in.

The priestess curled in a rotting log, barely noticing the mosquitos and flies that buzzed around her body as she succumbed to unconsciousness for...just...a bit...

<3

Scarlett wanted to hunt for herself for once instead of letting the other's hunt for her. She was an undefended girl, or at least she liked to think she was, because secretly she wasn't. Not really. The pale Beta trotted outside of Bearclaw in search for a meal. As a gamekeeper she realised that her fellow packmates didn't look at the populations of their prey and they were lowering in the valley. In Wapun Meadow were no deer and even in duck lake all the ducks seemed to be gone. Weird. she reached down further into the Witch's marsh. She could stock up on frogs, and maybe some rats. She wouldn't mind the easy snacks for now. Her nose moved low to the ground as she searched for her prey. Scarlett's mind calmed down from the mindless task of looking for prey.

She was a few frogs into her walking buffet when she came across a feint scent of ... Meldresi? It wasn't a Black Feather Wood scent, it was Meldresi specifically. She knew the scent because she was her friend! Scarlett trailed the scent without even looking. The recent mother came upon a rotten log and noticed a stronger scent, there inside of the log she saw a curled up ball of dark fur. "Meldresi?," she called out and then pushed her head inside. Scarlett was a tiny female, so she pushed herself further inside of the log, nosing her butt and nudging it. "Mel. Wake up!," she let out.

Meldresi blinked drowsily, half recognizing the voice in a fog of fever and delirium. Her eyes opened halfway, glazed with sickness. This was not entirely the proud and wise priestess Scarlett once knew. She had not gotten home quick enough to tend her wounds, paying the price for her indignance towards the northern wolves. It was a mistake she would not be making again, certainly.

"Potema, dear...?" She asked, slurring her words, her mind thinking that it was her daughter that came to save her. The size nearly fit, of course; Potema would grow to be larger than the petite albino, but not just yet. But the eyes threw her off, redirecting her to a different white-pelted wolf. "No...Scarlett, then?"

Scarlett looked at her dark queen friend when she was mistaking her for Potema. She met the girl when they were staying in BCV. Scarlett frowned and then wiggled out of the rotten log. It was probably filled with insects! Scarlett moved to the other side and then grabbed Meldresi's scruff. Oh forgive me!, She thought. Scarlett then pulled the dark female out of the log to look at her better. Meldresi looks horrible and by the looks of it her mind wasn't too well either. Scarlett started to lick over her wounds, they tasted foul, but that wouldn't stop her from taking care of her friend.

"Can you get up? Lets get you to that clear lake of water right there," she offered and started to nudge the dark queen. Did Burke know this was happening? Probably not. He was not the type of mate that would let this happen. Her red eyes looked with pity at Meldresi. "What happened? Where are you hurting?,"

She was lucky that Scarlett found her when she did. Had the Night Queen been left there, she would have succumbed to the shadows that danced at the edge of her vision within hours, her mind corrupted by the infection of her wounds. At least now, she had a chance of returning back to her dark forest, safe and sound never to go north again...

Meldresi staggered after being pulled out of the log, blinking slowly as her vision began to return. The Night Queen was gaunt, covered in dirt and gods know what else, her skin burning slightly. She shook her head, clearing her mind slightly. "I was attacked by wolves from the north." She began, making her way to the lake Scarlett mentioned. "My wounds festered...." She stumbled, her weakened state evident now more than ever.

Scarlett watched over Meldresi's mangled body. It was a horrible sight and she didn't smell nice either... Scarlett nudged her as she got to her feet. "Oh Mel," she whispered. "Don't worry okay?!" Scarlett took her to the clear water just up ahead. She made sure to support her friend in need. She would need some fresh water to drink and get her wounds cleaned, luckily they were in the marsh, close to the wetlands. The plants would keep the water clean, Scarlett knew that.

She made Meldresi lay down again in the shallows so she could tend to her wounds, lick them somewhat clean. Her ear was ripped and it looked horrible on top of being painful. "We will get you back on your feet, okay? Back to your pack, and to your babies, oh and back to Burke! Bet he is missing you lots," Scarlett spoke softly. Though she wasn't sure if the brute could even feel miserable. Oh well.. She needed to focus on Meldresi and getting her to a safe place.

Meldresi laid by the clear water, lapping at its surface halfhearted as she felt Scarlett tend to her own wounds. Had she stayed in the log, maggots might have started to eat at the dead skin, and soon the living tissue. Again, it was a godsend that Scarlett had come and found her so quickly.

"I bet he is..." She trusted Burke to keep the pack together while she was gone, but her absence must have an effect on both him and the pack. They would be distraught, especially her children. She drank as much water as she could before she felt ready to clean herself. "That storm...you can feel it, can't you?"

Scarlett sat in the water with Meldresi. Poor Poor Meldresi. Scarlett felt bad for her. "Why did the wolves in the north attack you?," she asked with a frown. She knew the North could be tough, but they weren't that aggressive right? Scarlett hoped not, she would have to warn Raziel about that. Crap. Raziel. He hated BFW wolves. She was then distracted by Meldresi's words.

"The storm? Yes. There is something hanging in the air," she agreed. But Scarlett wasn't convinced that it would do too much damage. She was only a novice naturalist. She would learn soon enough that the storm would do more damage than she imagined. "Well, lets get you close to the BCV borders. I will make sure you have food and herbs."

Last post?

She huffed, her mouth dripping with water as she pulled away. The priestess staggered to her feet, walking into the water as far as she could, submerging the wound on her side. She hissed slightly as it began to sting, whatever microbes that floated in the water working their magic on the dead tissue. She dunked her head halfway into the water, submerging her ear, then backed away from the water, shaking her head as she did. When she returned to land, the dark woman looked at Scarlett with half-lidded story. "I came across an old enemy, surrounded by his allies," was all she would say. She was tired, and that storm was coming close. She could feel it in her bones, see it in the sky. "Let us go then."

Yes! I will wrap it up and archive! <3

Scarlett watched in worry but there was no doubt she would help her best friend. Meldresi had been her most loyal friend. "Yes let us go. You focus on walking," she spoke and offered Meldresi a small smile and an encouraging lick on her cheek. Scarlett walked next to her on her good side. In times of fun she was there, remembering their girl talk, and even in times of need Scarlett was always loyal to her friends. She made sure that Meldresi had a comfortable and most of all safe spot to rest before getting her a meal. Making sure that Meldresi would at least have energy to heal herself.

-Fade end-