Jade Fern Grove much too young

This is a thread prompt for The Corpse Gardner! Any number of wolves welcome, you can choose if you're injured or not. :) Written by @Behati (Karm). If you choose to pursue the shadow, I will post again - just tag Behati!

To the north of Jade Fern Grove, where the foot of Noctisardor Bypass creeps into the forest, there is a large crater. The ground just caved in one day long ago, dropping fifty feet and sloping into darkness where forest meets rock. In the warmer months, greenery spills in from all around the rim, and a sparse forest of saplings gives the place the look of a tree nursery. In the autumn and winter months, it is a large, empty bowl.

You (both of you, if there's more than one) wake up at the bottom. You don't remember how you got there - did you attempt to climb down into the pit? Looking up, it seems ludicrous to think that the idea would even have crossed your mind; it has been raining for two days straight, and the various paths to the bottom are treacherous even on a dry day.

As you recover, fragments of memory begin to return. You recall the sharp scent of lemons, and the rather strange image of a skull hovering by your face as you slept.

To the east, where the pit descends into the darkness beneath the mountain, you detect a flicker of movement. A shadowy form disappears from view before you can make heads or tails of what's going on.

@Behati :D

Her eyes fluttered open, briefly, to greet the empty sockets of a skull. Her mouth was dry and tasted of blood and something more acidic, sour. It all made her stomach do flip-flops, and her vision began to spin before she returned to darkness.

The next time she awoke, she was able to survey her surroundings. The skull was gone; perhaps that had been a nightmare. Her own skull was throbbing, and she could feel something thick and dried trailing from above her temple and down her cheek. That was why she tasted blood. For some reason, she was on her side— and she began the labored process of shifting to a seated position. Whenever the movement became too much for her, the yearling paused until her nausea subsided. Eventually she sat, able to glower at the treacherous walls that surrounded her.

What the f—

Before she could finish that though, or even further analyze her surroundings and how she had gotten here, something flickered in the corner of her vision. Spinning her head— too fast, for it then caused her vision to swim again— the yearling was just able to catch the form before it disappeared.

"Hey, wait—" she gagged, stumbling towards it despite her inability to see straight.

Can I jump in? @Behati

Glassy eyes struggling to open, the burly female let out a hoarse groan, barely being able to lift her eyelids from her eyes. They felt heavy like stone, her entire body wouldn't wake up or let her move. Finally gaining the willpower, one eye, then the second, opened and surveyed the area. She hadn't visited this place before (however her memory was still foggy).

The female felt her heartbeat pound in her head against her skull, and her nose filled with the scents of blood and a strange aroma. Slowly, struggling, she lifted her thick neck to take a glance at her body. Nothing seemed to be in immediate danger, she only bore bite marks, a few blood stains, and claw marks. She didn't understand what attacked her to make her so weak, nor to leave her here instead of eating her. She wouldn't give more time to herself to think, only one thought made it through her brain: she needed to get out of here. Glancing around, movements still stiff, she saw a dark figure subside into the shadows, not saying a word.

That perked her interest. Was this her attacker? She couldn't get up, she felt as if her body wouldn't move no matter how hard she tried. She growled to herself, she needed to escape unharmed. Surely, this animal left her alive for a reason. Taking her time, she slowly sat up from her laying position, her bones popping and muscles aching. Her paws especially hurt, along with the rest of her legs. They felt as if she had been running for miles and miles with no break.

Taking deep breaths, Krypton finally stood up, her nose being filled with more scents of blood. Her tongue licked over her lips, tasting the metallic flavor. It wasn't fresh though, it tasted old. How long had she been out here? It didn't matter, she needed answers to her questions. Seeing how the bowl she was in wasn't very steep, she started to walk over, her steps unsteady and her head dizzy. She felt her knees buckle from underneath her, and her body collapsed to the ground.

 She let out an angered growl and rose to her paws again, slowly making her way up the slope, her sight starting to alter. Again, her legs fell from underneath her, and she collapsed on the edge of the bowl, half of her body on top hanging on, her other half hanging from the side of the ledge. "Wait..." She whispered out, her voice so weak it was almost inaudible.