Jade Fern Grove nevermore

There was something distinctly off about the den. It looked to have been abandoned in a hurry - and recently. Cached meat had gone rancid in the back, and there were still distinct footsteps leading in and out of the entrance. It was well sheltered from the elements, tucked into the south-reaching foot of rock that extended from the northern bypass range. Unless you were looking, you wouldn't have known it was there.

Something was moving beneath the down and straw that someone had so carefully sourced and piled at the center of the den. The little grotto was longer than it was wide, and the movement was just out of light's reach. Sniffing would do no good - the smell of gone-off meat was complemented by the stench of days' and days' worth of piss and faeces. 

Main account: @Bazi

Perhaps @Haven wants to join? :D I assumed you opted for OOC joining? If not II can edit this!

Bazi happened upon the abandoned den by chance. She was rooting around in the bushes for interesting-smelling plants when the other scents made themselves known, and the potent mixture set her teeth on edge. She did not go in alone - the family would not be taking any more risks after the loss of Swift's sight. Bazi wondered if age would ever leave the Grove again, period.

She debated calling upon Scimitar, but sent a howl or fit their latest recruit instead. Bazi had not exchanged more than pleasantries with the girl, and this was a good a time as any to see what she was made of.

Bazi Thanks! So happy to start role playing C:

Haven heard the call from her packmate. Being the newest, she figured this would be the best time to show off what she could do. The grey wolf got to her paws and ran swiftly through the vegetation and came to find Bazi standing by a small den. She panted for a moment, only a bit tired from the run, then bowed down submissively to the Gamma of the pack. She came back up and looked around at the den, smelling the stench of scat surrounding the den. "Ugh!" Haven grunted in disgust, her hackles raising slightly. Suddenly she heard a scuffling and turned her head to look down further into the den.

Something was moving down in it, covered in straw and bracken. "Bazi look!" She whispered with a flick of her short plushy tail, indicating for the other wolf to come see. "What do you think it is?"

Wohoo! :D Feel free to do whatever you want with our lil' NPC here.

Haven greeted her pleasantly. Bazi assumd alpha posture out of habit, forgetting that she had stepped down and wondering how long that decision would last. Leadership was like an old pair of shoes now, and she missed it in moments like this.

Haven took the lead in investigating the smelly den without having to be asked. Bazi followed, moving like a cat on its first outing in a new garden. "It smells like someone's been using it as their toilet," she commented, wrinkling her nose. As a new mother, Bazi had spent an enormous amount of time cleaning up after her tiny children's bowels. Whoever owned this den had not done the same.

"Bazi, look!" The Gamma crept forward, straining her eyes in the direction the new recruit was indicating. The tip of Haven's short tail tickled her cheek, and she moved forward until the two females were level, both staring at the moving bundle.

Just then, a tiny little paw extended up from the straw, catching a ribbon of light between its grubby little toes. It was the last thing the tiny, malnourished scrap of a wolf tot would accomplish - its final breath was loud enough for everyone in the cave to hear.

Haven felt as Bazi scooted in closer to look at what the grey wolf had found. The two she-wolves watched as a small paw reached out of its surrounding nettles, and squealed its last breath. Haven's eyes widened, immediately recognizing that this must've been an abandoned den. Someone had abandoned their own pup. Anger began to boil up in Haven. No matter how hard the times, I can't imagine leaving my own pup. I wonder what happened here. 

A frustrated growl emitted from her throat and she looked back down to the mass of straw. She sniffed the little paw, hoping she might be able to detect some signs of life. Unfortunately it was in vain. She sifted through the pile of straw, and pulled out the lifeless body. She carefully laid it at her feet, then continued to look through the pile to see if there was any more pups. The dead one seemed to be the only one. She looked at the little creature kindly, and placed her nose on its head. It was still warm.

Haven stepped back, and took in a big whiff to see if she could smell any more clues about the den and its previous owner. Her nose screwed up at the rancid odor of the den. How was she supposed to smell clues about anything with the awful scent of feces filling her nostrils? The golden eyed wolf turned back to Bazi. What should we do? Search for the one who abandoned this den? I'd like to give them a piece of my mind. But of course, its your call. The Theta wolf almost forgot that this wasn't her old pack. When she was younger, before the fire in her old pack's territory, she had been a Beta. She was the daughter of the Alpha's and the oldest of their children. But the young wolf wasn't a cub anymore, and she wasn't Beta either.

Bazi watched the rise and fall of the sad liitle creature's paw without a word, ears flicking back to dampen the sound of its breath. She played grim spectator whilst Haven unearthed its body, and shook her head in response to the words that floated back to her. "There was a bear. She might have killed the mother. No-one takes care to find and line a den like this if they don't care."  But Bazi didn't sound certain. Morran had been busy stalking the Frostfur family - and this pup wouldn't have survived more than a couple of days on its own. So if not the bear, then who? "Come on - let's see if we can can sift out who's been in here and around the area. "

There'll be 5 scents nearby - Haven, Bazi, Morran the bear (not in the den), unknown male, unknown female! Feel free to find any number. :D

Haven nodded to Bazi, then gently picked up the dead pup and placed it back on its bed of straw. She then turned and slowly trotted back outside of the den. Sunlight streamed down onto her silver and grey flank, and her golden eyes glittered like the sun. She stood up straight, ears perked and tail up. She stayed completely still, taking in her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was the scents. Overall she could smell the scent of Jade Fern Grove and its markings. However with closer inspection, the Theta wolf could smell more wolf scents, not those of her pack. She decided that they belonged to a male and female wolf. The scents were slowly fading, but if she concentrated, Haven could follow them.

Haven turned back to Bazi and barked, I think I found something. Two wolves, a male and female. The scent leads off this way, wait no, this way! The she wolf paused in her tracks, frustrated that she was having such a hard time tracking. She was normally a pretty good tracker. However something was throwing off the scent trails, must've been the distant scent of bear. She walked further into the thicket, after the two wolves fading trails.

Haven took it upon herself to clear away the body. Bazi grimaced at it, turned away, and scratched at the loose dirt with her rear paws. There as a brief hiss as a cloud of particles and grit fell on the nest and disappeared into the straw. She followed Haven out.

The younger wolf set to work immediately. Instead of putting her nose to the ground, she tapped into some kind of trance-like state that earned her a confused look from Bazi. The Gamma's face hovered near the ground, nostrils twitching and flaring as she sampled the thick layer of intermingling scents there. Even though it had faded considerably, the rank smell of bear was all she could concentrate on.

Before she could succumb to PTSD, Haven signalled her. Bazi raised her head and ambled over, moving slowly and with great caution. They did not know these woods as well as they had Nova Peak and Swiftcurrent Creek, and she trusted the Grove about as far as she could throw it. With a crinkled brow and fear in her eyes, Bazi confirmed what the yearling was telling her. Someone had been here - two someones, in fact, and they had left their baby behind.

Bazi indicated that she would follow with a brisk nod, touching her nose to Haven's shoulder in a show of appreciation. Leaving the new recruit to orient them, the Gamma raised her head and howled a long, low warning to the pack.

Would you like to do a roll with a 1D2 dice before your next post to steer the story? :D We have a table here that you can use. You type / roll 1d2 (without the space after the /) and submit the post

Roll a 1: The scent leads nowhere - dead end
Roll a 2: You find signs of a struggle - grey and white fur everywhere

Ok cool! Thanks for explaining the dice rolls, I think I got it now. Rolled a two c:

Haven almost beamed with pride when Bazi tapped her nose to the young wolf's shoulder showing appreciation. You did good Haven. She thought in approval before bounding forwards through the brush. The young Theta wolf was clumsy at times, but when she wanted or needed to be, she was very agile and quick. She was a thin and fluffy wolf, making her light. With every step of her big white paws she felt more and more in tune with the forest. It felt good to be part of a pack again.

Haven followed the two unknown wolf scents to a small clearing in the forest. There were a few rocky outcroppings in the middle of the clearing, the sun streaming through the opening in the trees and onto the smooth grey surfaces. She walked forwards through the fallen leaves and grass, the scent trail had gotten more fresh and strong once she had found the clearing. She walked cautiously, every paw step was careful not to make too much noise. She paused and barked, If there's anyone there, you'd better come out now! There was no answer. She couldn't see or smell any other wolves around the clearing, which meant the two visitors must've left already. Must be safe then. Haven slowly walked forwards to around the rocks. Behind the big stones was scraps of grey and white fur scattered across the ground.

Clearly there had been some sort of struggle in the grassy clearing. Haven bent down to sniff the scraps of fur. They definitely smelled similar to the stench of the den they had found. Thus she assumed the fur must belong to the same wolves. Haven turned back to Bazi and barked, There must've been a fight here. I wonder what happened. Many thoughts wandered through Haven's mind at the time. Had the bear killed the pair of wolves and taken their bodies? Had the two wolves gotten into a fight? There were so many possibilities and they all intrigued the curious wolf.

Haven rushed on, scrambling through the forest at speed. Bazi brought up the rear, pausing here and there to inspect a snapped twig or suspicious scent. It wasn't until Haven barked at some unknown entity to come out, come out that she sped up, moving soundlessly between the trees.


Her subordinate had deemed the coast clear when the Gamma arrived, braking as she entered the clearing. There was very obvious evidence of a fight strewn across the ground, and Bazi found herself with growing feelings of maternal pride for the yearling. Perhaps this one would stay. "Good work," she praised with a curt nod of her slim head, and joined the other female in scouring the area. There was fur everywhere, and flecks of dried and blackened "Blood," on some of the harder surfaces. Bazi scratched at it with her paw, looking at Haven for confirmation. "Loners, maybe?" the white wolf ventured, brow knitting softly above her stormy eyes. "Scimitar and I scoured this area, but.." We were distracted by how much we hate each other? "..it's a big forest, and we're still quite new here." Bazi made a face. She almost wished for the scent of bear to be among the remains on the ground - at least then they would have an explanation for what had happened. "Let's split up and check the area a bit more thoroughly. Howl for me if you find anything. This looks quite old, so.. it could just be before our time."

Conclude and have another?! Feel free to PP Bazi disappearing off in some direction.

Haven looked around at the dried blood and scraps of fur. She snapped out of her stupor when Bazi came to her side and praised her. She nodded to the Gamma, pride rippling through her tri-colored pelt. Haven really liked Bazi. The Grove mother seemed kind, and was easy to talk to. It was from that moment that Haven began to think of Bazi as a roll model. She wanted to be just as strong and great a wolf as Bazi was.

Haven shrugged when Bazi asked about who it could've been. However loners did seem like the most practical option. The white wolf continued on, until she finally came the conclusion to split up and look for more clues. Haven nodded, Of course, I'll get too it. She said curtly, watching Bazi run off in a different direction, her white tail slipping into the gorse. Haven stood there for a moment, looking down at the remnants of the scuffle. I hope nothing too awful happened to them, she thought, kicking away a scrap of white fur that had blown onto her paw. She looked up again, the brisk wind ruffling her shiny fur. Hope I don't get lost! She thought sarcastically before leaping off in the opposite direction that Bazi had left to.

Yeah sounds good! Whoohoo my first finished thread C: