Horizon Ridge Back to the wild

It had been over two weeks since the orca had hurled itself onto the beach, clipping her and nearly taking her life. For the first time since the attack, Pied woke up with relatively little pain and managed to slip out of the den into the February sunshine with only a few grimaces and groans. Her ribs would ache for weeks to come, she knew, as would the knitting bone in her hind paw. Yet she'd mastered the art of moving about gingerly and even felt confident enough today to venture down the path leading away from her den site.

She didn't get very far before she needed to make a pit stop, pausing where the trail led onto the beach and leaning back against the foot of the ridge to rest. Her tongue lolled from her muzzle in a mild pant as her eyes scanned over the nearby beach. Pied wasn't afraid to venture out onto the sands, though she wouldn't be going near the water anytime soon. She would stick to the dunes.

Once she felt strong enough, she rose back onto all fours and hobbled forward. The cool sand felt lovely beneath her pale paws and the bracing, salty air made her skin tingle pleasantly as it tousled her dappled coat. She didn't go very far, stopping just beyond the shadow of the ridge. Her ribs throbbed for the effort and she kept her broken paw crooked, yet she smiled into the wintry breeze, happy to have made this small but significant comeback.

For several weeks Bambi had become reclusive. A brief illness had taken hold of her, perhaps as a result of the malnutrition that had plagued her during her earlier travels. She had remained in the shadows of Neverwinter Forest for as long as she could before she had departed all together. Socializing with the other wolves there had been difficult for her. Bambi liked to think she was outgoing enough, but perhaps her pack mates in Neverwinter weren’t the same way. Needless to say when the female started feeling like herself again, it was not the coniferous woodland that she returned to.

Bambi had journeyed north and sought acceptance in Horizon Ridge. A male named Akhlut had welcomed her into his ranks. He’d left a favorable impression upon the she-wolf and she had high hopes that her new home would offer more opportunity than her last. That brisk February day found Bambi wandering through the trees, her senses alight with all that her new surroundings had to offer. Horizon Ridge seemed a great deal different to her than Neverwinter Forest, and she found that she rather liked that. Change was a good thing, she believed. Horizon Ridge would take some getting used to, and Bambi hoped that her health would not fail her again.

She was drawn towards the beach by the salty scent that lingered in the air. The ocean was something she was only somewhat familiar with, and Bambi was excited by the fact that her new home would grant her the opportunity to be near it as often as she pleased. Her paws carried her slowly and deliberately through a trail that descended onto the sandy dunes. Pale audits perked forward eagerly as the sounds of the waves upon the shore grew louder. A ways ahead, Bambi spotted another light-furred wolf. She was not yet close enough to notice the others’ peculiar markings or injuries. “Hello down there!” she called, tail swaying in an amiable manner against her heels. She would not approach until she knew her presence would be welcomed by her pack mate.

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A voice broke the silence—well, not counting the wind and surf—and it startled Pied somewhat. She turned, her gray ears sliding backward as her gaze swept the sands, soon enough locating a pale figure across the dunes. The Gamma squinted, yet she didn't recognize the white she-wolf with spring green eyes she could make out even from this distance. Assuming she must be a new recruit, the sub-leader woofed loud enough to be heard over the background noise, inviting the other female to come closer if she wished, as Pied certainly wouldn't be the one moving.

Snowy audits pricked forward to catch the sound of the other female’s woof above the sounds of the surf. Glad that her presence seemed to be welcome, Bambi ambled unhurriedly down the trail that led her onto the beach. The sand felt deliciously cold beneath her paws and she welcomed the unfamiliar sensation. It had been quite a while since the Mu had last spent any time near the ocean.

She surveyed her pack mate’s form as she began to draw near. The greyish patches that littered the woman’s pelt struck Bambi as unusual, but she was fascinated by them nonetheless. A brief glance at the she-wolf’s eyes alerted her to their differing colors, something that she was also captivated by. Bambi noted that the female also seemed to standing a bit awkwardly, and it was then that she noticed one of her legs was not being used as much as the others. She did not stare, however, in an attempt to display subordination.

Her tail twitched in greeting between her hind legs as she approached. A small smile curved its way over her lips and she kept her head lowered in the meantime. “It’s lovely here,” she noted aloud, her eyes scanning the beach. “I’m Bambi. Akhlut accepted me not very long ago.”

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Pied watched the stranger's face as she neared, discerning the curious look in that vividly green gaze when the stranger caught sight of her strange pelt and even stranger eyes. Despite the dull aching in her body, the Gamma smiled, hoping it was actually her peculiar coloring that caught the other female's attention and not her sorry state.

"Agreed," the piebald yearling replied. "Pied," she offered. "Welcome to Horizon Ridge. Let me be the first to warn you: if you walk close to the water's edge, keep an eye out for black fins. It was a blackfish—a killer whale—that did this to me," she elaborated, twitching her hoisted paw, which was the only visible injury left. Her golden and indigo eyes then swept the distant surf for a moment before returning to Bambi's face as she added, "The coast is quite literally clear, it seems."

Gently, the Gamma wolf lowered herself to her haunches, facing her new acquaintance. She found her gaze drawn to those eyes, which brought to mind the green grasses of springtime. She could hardly wait for the sea air to wash away the cold and bring with it the warmer temperatures of spring and summer. When the snow melted and the buds began to pop up on the trees, she would surely be a mother or on her way, at least.

Blinking herself back to attention, Pied said, "You have very pretty eyes, Bambi. Are they a family trait?"

Ears twisted forward to catch Pied’s introduction. Bambi dipped her muzzle in acknowledgement, happy to have learned her pack mate’s name. Whatever nervousness she might have felt upon first encountering the other female quickly dissipated. Pied’s friendly disposition seemed to mirror Bambi’s own, or at least so she hoped. She couldn’t help but frown somewhat when Pied mentioned the cause of the injury she had noticed only a minute beforehand. “A killer whale? Oh, my,” she murmured, brows furrowing while her gaze swept worriedly toward the surf. She’d never seen the creature before, but the name Pied used to refer to it caused Bambi’s apprehension to grow. Perhaps she’d remain a safe distance from the water for the time being.

She peeked toward the wounded paw that the blackfish had given Pied. “You’re all right, though? Expecting to make a full recovery?” Her lips twitched upward slightly then, hoping that Pied would turn out all right. Bambi knew very little about medicine or what was required to heal a wounded appendage, but she hoped that Pied’s foot would be fully functional again someday. She couldn’t even fathom the difficulty another wolf might have if all four paws weren’t cooperating with each other.

Pied’s compliment surprised Bambi somewhat, and she felt her skin warm slightly beneath her pelt. A soft, lilting chuckle slipped from her mouth and mingled with the sounds of the wind. “They are my mother’s,” she responded, beaming as she thought fondly of the she-wolf who had given her life. “What of yours? I can’t say that I’ve ever met a wolf with mismatched eyes. They are lovely, though.” Pied’s overall appearance struck Bambi as entirely unique. She possessed a distinctive beauty.

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Only after uttering her warning did Pied realize just how cryptic it sounded. When she saw Bambi shoot the water a furtive, worried glance, she felt a little bad. Had she just spoiled one of the ridge's most desirable features for the newcomer? The Gamma just wanted her pack mates—new and old alike—to remain vigilant when near the water. Her own ignorance had almost cost her her life.

"Oh, yeah, I'll be good as new in a few more weeks," Pied replied. She didn't expect to be fully healed for a month or two but she would regain nearly full function of her body before then, or so she hoped. She would be dealing with pain on some scale for a while to come, yet at least Dublin helped her manage it pretty well.

Pied wondered if Bambi would pass on that eye color when she had puppies one day but, realizing she was getting way ahead of herself, the Gamma quelled these thoughts and answered, "No one's sure why I turned out this way. My litter mates were actually lost because they were also born with abnormalities, though of a worse nature than mine..." Most likely, it had something to do with her father's unknown bloodline. He'd assumed as much, which was why he'd ended up killing himself. Pied mentioned none of this, of course.

"Well, normally I'd offer you a tour or something but I'm not as mobile as I'd like yet, so the best I can offer is a conversation. So, what took you away from your previous home and brought you here to the ridge?"

A beaming smile split the length of Bambi’s maw when her pack mate confirmed that she would be able to recover from the attack. The pale-furred Mu had a difficult time emphasizing with Pied’s situation because no serious injuries had ever befallen her, but she imagined the effects could sometimes be hard to overcome. Pied seemed to be doing all right, though, and Bambi found herself comforted by the notion that her new acquaintance would be able to get on just fine.

Her head tilted somewhat as Pied spoke of birth defects that had been the cause of her siblings’ deaths. Bambi couldn’t wrap her mind around what her pack mate meant exactly, but she believed those anomalies somehow hindered a wolf’s body to function the way it should. “Well, it seems that yours have worked in your favor. You weren’t born with two heads and a three tails, after all,” she suggested, a gentle laugh accenting her words.

Bambi grinned. “Conversation suits me just fine,” she answered, her tail swaying momentarily before the pallid female took a seat beside Pied. Her gaze ventured out over the white-capped waves for a moment before seeking Pied’s unique features once more, ears tipping forward as the woman’s question echoed through her mind. “My birth place is called Heather Woodland. My father was Alpha, and when it came time to choose an heir, he refused to consider me because I am a woman.”

Anger flashed through her mint-green eyes, though the emotion vanished as quickly as it had arrived. “He and my mother had taught my brothers and me leadership skills from a young age. Only the idea of me ascending the ranks seemed to change things.” She snorted, shaking her head almost disbelievingly. She still had a hard time understanding her father’s mentality. “I should have seen it coming, though. My father never allowed females into his leader ranks, my mother included.”

A sigh slipped forth past her lips. She noticed then at her body had tensed somewhat as she recalled her reasons for leaving Heather Woodland. “When I came here, I resided in Neverwinter Forest for a short while. Pack mates were hard to come by there, and I rarely saw the female who was Alpha. When I fell ill for short while, I distanced myself from the pack before deciding to leave altogether. Now, here I am.” She smiled. “And what of you? You seem to be well acquainted with the Ridge. How long as it been your home?”

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Bambi didn't seem to mind the idea of a conversation and settled in beside Pied before launching into an answer to the Gamma's question. The dappled she-wolf listened without comment, though her face drifted through a series of expressions as Bambi spoke of her father's sexism. The hypocrisy of it all caused Pied's lips to set into a displeased line, though of course it wasn't directed at the pale Bambi.

The mention of Neverwinter Forest naturally piqued her interest. After waiting for Bambi to finish, Pied commented, "I actually met Chakra once." She fell quiet for a moment, musing about the idea of a distant Alpha. It was an all-too-familiar scenario for Pied, so she sympathized, though she didn't share this.

Instead, she returned Bambi's smile and said, "Not that long, though I'm one of the more senior members at this point. I came to live here around the end of last year. I was also part of another pack—two, actually—here in the wilds before I came to the ridge to be with my mate, Kisu. Naturally, I hope to be here a while. But what about you? Are you here for the long haul or is the ridge just a stopover on a bigger journey?"

Pied mentioned that she had met Neverwinter’s Alpha before, and Bambi bobbed her head once. “She seemed like a well-rounded, capable leader when she accepted me. I’m not sure what happened.” Each wolf had their own issues and reasons for behaving certain ways, though. Bambi wouldn’t judge Chakra for distancing herself from her pack, but she hadn’t seen any reason to justify remaining in a pack that had dwindled down to practically nothing.

Her mint eyes brightened somewhat when Pied mentioned her mateship, but she refrained from commenting on it at that very moment. “I intend to stay. I don’t have any reason to leave, and rather than wandering around I’d like to try to make a name for myself here.” Her father’s oppressive, sexist reign had fueled her desire to be as productive as she could be within the pack. If she couldn’t do much for herself in Heather Woodland, she might as well give it her best shot in the Ridge.

Her mind quickly wandered back to Pied’s early statement. “I hope I’m not being too nosy, but are you and your mate planning on having puppies this year?” she inquired, doing nothing at all to fight the smile that lengthened across her maw. Bambi loved puppies and was excited about the prospect of a new generation of them being welcomed to the pack. That would depend though, of course, on whether or not Akhlut approved of other wolves breeding within his ranks.

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I'm editing a conclusion so this can be archived (Bambi was removed).

Although Pied understood that some wolves didn't pledge loyalty for life, she was still glad to hear that Bambi had every intention of sticking around a while. "That shouldn't be too hard, I don't think. Do you have any particular skills that will make you stand out? Well," she added before the other she-wolf could possibly reply, "I'm sure you do, actually. The real question is: what are they?"

But Bambi had another question first, one which Pied was happy to answer. "Oh, yes. I'm almost two and I could go into season any time now." She smiled, though it faltered slightly as she added, "There's a chance that my injuries may complicate matters—from conceiving to carrying to term—but I'm not going to let that stop us from trying," she finished determinedly.

The two she-wolves touched briefly on the subject of pregnancy and puppies before they returned to the topic of Bambi's skills. Over the span of the next hour, they chatted, the conversation coming easily. When it eventually drew to a close, Pied felt like she'd made a solid new friend and looked forward to meeting with Bambi again. Of course, she had no way of knowing that neither of them would be part of Horizon Ridge much longer.