The Sentinels Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?

@Tachyon 

Luckily the injury Osprey had acquaired few days earlier had not been of a very serious nature. Yes, it hurt like hell occasionally, but she could walk and the herbs perscripted by the healers had worked too. The only downside was that she was back on the bench player list, which was a reason for mild frustration with the whole ordeal. No hunting for her in the near future. 

She was resting in the sunlight, lying on her good side and having her injured leg outstretched. Eyes behind the closed lids were moving, now and then her feet would twitch and occasionally she would let out muffled barks - her probably dreaming about running without any restraints. Then she moved her bad leg in the wrong way, sharp pain ran through the limb and up to her body, waking her up. Osprey let out a quiet whimper and raised up so that she could lick the affected joint, as if that could soothe the discomfort.

since tachyon's inception into donnelaith, one particular scent had perplexed him. he knew it -- but he couldn't place it. at first he had been too timid to consider pursuing the scent to its owner, but as the days grew longer and he felt his strength return to him, it seemed a wonderful conquest to pursue.

osprey was not particularly challenging to find -- tachyon came upon her when she was laid out in a bright yellow swath of sunlight. it was obvious she was asleep -- but as he approached she jolted upright suddenly with a whimper. tachyon nearly recoiled in the manner a turtle would snap back into its shell -- but it appeared osprey had not noticed him yet. he resumed his approach, his footfall heavy enough that she would surely hear him before he breached the distance between the two of them.

"Bloody hell," Osprey cursed under her breath, when the pain kept pulsating through the affected limb. She shifted, trying to find a better position, but, when this did not seem to help, she raised to her feet and stretched. Heavy footfalls caught her attention and she stopped mid-way, lifting her head and looking around to find the source. 

Her gaze locked onto approaching young adult, which wore the same colored coat she did. While Tachyon recognized the elder, she did not recall him at all. "Hey," she called out to him, making few steps towards the fellow and then coming to a halt.

kept her wound type vague - it's a sprain right?

tachyon heard the tail end of her curse -- his ears pricked forward in concern and he glanced over her briefly, specifically looking for any sign of a wound. had she also been besieged by the seaside savages?

he was relieved to see he did not startle her -- and even more relieved to see no spark of familiarity crossed her grey features. he hoped this meant a clean slate as he hadn't exactly left the best of impressions on the older female. 'hi -- what's wrong?" he asked immediately, settling on his weak haunches a few meters from the prone wolf. "that's not from those wolves, is it?"

ooc: not exactly - mostly a bad hit on the shoulder joint. She hit a tree, while hunting. The same way, when people bang their elbows or knees against something hard. Hurts like hell. 

"Wrong - well, I have a dysfunctional forefoot," Osprey explained and to make her point, lifted the affected paw and shook it lightly. Which was not a very good idea and she cursed under her breath for her own stupidity. "Sorry for the language," she looked at the guy apologetically, hoping that she had not ruined his first impression of her as a respectable elder. 

"Nah... don't need them to hurt yourself," she shrugged, then walking over to the guy to have a good sniff at him. She was pretty sure now that she had met this one before, but neither the face, nor the looks rang a bell. "So - do you want to cheer me up? Is there anything wrong with you?" she asked, when she had done the first round of finding out, who this fellow was.

the gaunt wolf craned his head to view osprey's leg -- it was not until he was aware that his blatant stare was somewhat rude that he visibly retracted. his golden gaze passed briefly upon her own and a wry smile supplanted upon his broad muzzle as she revealed how she had acquired such a spectacular hurt. the irony was not lost upon the slate male. her inquiry caused him to pause -- at a glance it appeared he was uniquely unfit to answer such a question. he was perfect, wasn't he?

"i--- uh.. well.." he seemed to wriggle, searching for any sort of tender flaw in which to expose. "i almost starved to death a few weeks ago? uh.. the girl i liked ran away from me... um...  there's lots of things." he smiled sheepishly, the soft whump of his tail audible.

"Spectacular!" Osprey exclaimed, when the guy had finished listing all the things that were wrong with him. The knowledge that other people tended to be in bad places - not just her - was soothing. Plus, his past troubles made her current ailment appear like nothing. Shit happened and there was nothing you could do about it. 

"Welcome to the club," she carelessly lifted the injured foot to touch the male on the shoulder and only the stabbing pain in the affected joint reminded her that this was not going to be such a good idea. "We will deal with the joining ceremonies, when I am better," Osprey said casually and let silence between them last for a moment. "I never asked your name, did I? I am Osprey and who may be you?"

ooOooO pretty new donnelaith banner!!! YAY SPRINGTIDE

tachyon's torn ears fluttered forwards at osprey's exclamation. spectacular? his brow knitted but for a moment as he realized it was not meant in harm. his grin widened boldly as she seemed to identify herself alongside him in the 'embarrassing-moments-clique'.

he hadn't realized his ineptitude at social etiquette and he looked crestfallen as it dawned upon him. "oh yes, i'm tachyon. my apologies, i've forgotten my manners." he rose carefully and scanned the promontory before them. "do you need anything for your leg? i could get it for you."

"T-ahh-yon," Osprey spelled the name incorrectly, while noting to herself that this was a pretty complicated and foreign name. "Manners - heh - I did not begin our meeting politely either," she pointed out to the fact that she had been swearing, when the guy had found her earlier. 

He offered his help in case she needed one, but Osprey realized that it would take her a lot more time explaining, where to find the herbs she needed than going there herself. "You can accompany me on the way to my den, where the stuff for my aching leg is stashed," she offered, "and you can divert my mind from the pain by telling stories. Or jokes. Whatever you are good at? Sounds fair?"

STORIES!! I LIKE - mild PP of them starting to walk to the den?

he didn't mind her mispronunciation -- if anything, it caused him to giggle inwardly. osprey's acceptance of his help resulted in a surge of importance rising to his chest -- proudly he stepped forward as she rose and he offered his shoulder should she need to lean on it during her lame stride. "a story.. ah.." he thought for a moment, small words forming silently on his lips as he struggled to recall the tales of his childhood. "the forest i grew up in was called gris dalr - an old, revered forest that was as cheerless as a sunless day. the trees in this forest were perhaps as old as the world itself, black of bark and the tips of their boughs seemed to be swallowed above by clouds. the only thing older than the forest itself was the tribe of boars that lived there -- boars whose shoulders were as large as boulders, with snouts longer than our bodies and hooves as large as our heads. to fell one was impossible -- they were far too large for even three of us to take on. they spoke an old, strange language, perhaps the language of the gods. their gods were unmistakably cruel - at night they would come for wolves and drag those they found through the forest in high shrieks, cast them before the mountain and sacrifice them at the summit to appease their faceless gods. this was an age old custom seem simply as 'the way things were'. our own pack believed in equally merciless deities - before long the forest was locked in a century long war between wolf and boar. these were our ancient ancestors -- and to drive the wicked beasts out of the forest our ancients wielded long sticks of fire brought forth by what was told to be the storm of the world. the boar were forced back by the massive fire... and that is how bacon was born." he grinned sheepishly, hoping his terrible twist on an ancient saga would amuse her the way it amused him.

Tachyon was quick to comply with Osprey's request and as they made their slow way towards the elder's humble home, she listened to him with keen interest. It wasn't every day she got to hear an entirely new story, which was not made up by her, therefore, even after the details got more and more bizarre, she couldn't help but beam as a kid that has got hold of a cupboard full of sweets. She began laughing quietly, somewhere in the middle of the tale and, as it rushed towards a plot twist at the very end, she wasn't even attempting to hold the laughter back anymore. Fun really did miracles, because, while her mind was processing and memorizing the story, she forgot entirely about her leg. 

"This was a good one," she praised the story-teller. "Do you have more like these hidden up in your sleeve?"

LMFAO sry my stories are the worst -- also have tachy's 100th post! *-* 

he had been worried osprey wouldn't have liked his blasphemous twist on what was a very real story of his childhood -- but instead, she seemed overjoyed by it. encouraged and feeling full of wit tachyon issued his most winsome smile, his tail wriggling as they walked. "well, none so good as bacon i don't think." he thought for a moment as he had just been reminded of how hungry he was. "i could tell you about the daring battle between alschaim, purveyor of the skies, and kleina, the little wolf? but not until after we eat -- no good story was ever told on an empty stomach." the druid winked slyly, already feeling his stomach growl in anticipation.

ooc: pfff... nonesense. This won't become a bestseller, of course, but I found it just as amusing as Osprey did. :)

"Bacon truly is the best part," Osprey nodded in agreement, while it was still hard to keep a straight face and occasional bursts of laughter crashed that facade. The purpose of the story was either to teach or entertain or both. She was not sure about the moral of this tale - kids, play with fire? Never give up? Anyway, she had had fun and that was the most important thing. 

"I will take that we are having a lunch date," she said, liking the idea about having something to eat, thinking about, where the nearest cache could be and completely forgetting that they had to fetch the herbs first. "I can tell a tasty story, while we walk," Osprey offered. "Just tell, what you want it to be about. Other than bacon."

tachyon nodded his head in agreement - of course bacon was the selling point in his thrilling (not) narrative. he smiled goofily, unaware that his story had presented a very confusion mix of no plot and dubious moral of the story. when osprey offered to tell a story of her own his ears flew forward in excitement. he gave the thought a moment's consideration before blurting: "how about how you came to donnelaith? or, if that is too personal, your favorite story as a puppy."

What Osprey had had in mind was a literal "tasty" story about one kind of food or another, but Tachyon had decided to satisfy his hunger for knowledge instead. Oh, well... she would have to save the tale about steak trees and beastly, but perfectly edible man-eating mushrooms for another time. 

"I would love to tell you that I came here because I was looking for the most exquisite bacon in the world and found it here, but that would not be entirely true," she began, picking up the thread and starting, where he had left. "Though the bacon here is quite good," she added not to undermine the place. "The whole ordeal is very complicated and very long, but after living in my birth-pack all my life.... one day it did not feel like home anymore. Plus, my brother, who was my best of the bestest friends in the world was chased out of the pack. I came looking for him, found him, joined his pack, a lot happened inbetween and... here I am years later."

She fell silent then, thinking about Peregrine and the fact that she had not seen him for almost a year and... that she suddenly longed to see him very much. To the point that she would be ready to set out for Caldera tomorrow.

STEAK TREES?! MANEATING MUSHROOMS?! WAT

she obliged him -- for that, tachyon felt immediately grateful. there was a lot for him to still learn about donnelaith, and oddly, he wouldn't quite feel as if he belonged until he knew every wolf in and out from their origin to their end. this made him feel secure, valued -- most of all, it tied him in the patchwork that was the pack.

"that does all sound a little complicated.." he started, nosing along as they drew closer to the cache. "what made you stay? is your brother still here?" he felt mortified -- had he unwittingly overlooked one of osprey's relatives in their ranks?

ooc: :D

"No, he is not here anymore. He met a girl and decided to start a pack of his own. Sounds simple, but this stirred up quite a lot of drama. To say that the leaders of this pack are at odds with him is an underestimation," Osprey said pointing out to one obvious fact, Peregrine was the forbidden subject. It was unbelievable, how things could change over matter of time - friends and lovers becoming bitter enemies - and it was not the first time she had thought about this. 

"Eh... I guess I wanted my own thing eventually. Peregrine - my brother - was the centre of my life for a very long time and, when he found his specific other, made new friends, had kids... it sort of felt like I was left out. Unintentionally, but the relationship between us was simply not the same as it had once been," they had both done some growing up, changed as a result and their paths had led in different directions. Now and then she would return to that happy place, where memories of her early childhood and youth were still alive, where they still believed that they would be together forever and nothing would stand in their way. Though she was content with the life she had now and most likely Peregrine rarely gave a thought about her these days, it was still sad to think, how very far from each other they were now.

his inquiry, while somewhat brave, was answered without pause. tachyon felt a frown tug his muzzle - it was sad that their family had split, but perhaps, that was the way of the world. osprey certainly did not seem to be missing a chunk of her life for it -- and tachyon did not know enough of the wolf in which osprey spoke of to form his own opinion. "well, i'm glad you stayed." he offered lamely, wisps of a smile faint on his features. "otherwise, you would have lived your entire life not knowing the true origins of the delicacy known as bacon." he joked, hunkering down towards the cache to scrounge around for their light meal.

Though Osprey would answer any other questions her packmate would have about her past and family, she was glad that he did not dwell on the subject. Not all things in the past were shiny and amazing, there were quite a few unresolved matters - old and more recent - that cried for being dealt with and to which she simply turned a blind eye. Osprey laughed light-heartedly about Tachyon's remark and nodded: "Definitely. Everyone needs a bit of bacon in their lives." She peered over the guys shoulder, while he was going through contents of a cache: "Speaking of which - any luck there?"

tachyon grunted as he overturned the damp earth, noting the thin spiderweb like roots that stood out from the dark soil, their tendrils fragile and grave. he nosed along the roots, finding no scent that betrayed the possibility of cached meat. disappointed but not necessarily discouraged, the male stepped over to osprey and started digging behind her. "nope," he issued between flinging heaves of his paws, digging deeper. "that is, unless you like soil and roots?"

"No bacon - darn..." Osprey shook her head, pretending to feel disappointed by the lack of the promised treat, though she was biting her lip not to burst out in laughter again. The story - impossible as it had been - was still amusing, whenever she thought about the details. She looked over her shoulder to see, what Tachyon was digging up and for the sake of doing something (because - now she remembered that she could not dig, the foot ached) took a sniff at the upturned earth around the area. Not expecting to have any more luck than her packmate, she walked a little ahead, until her nose located a specific smell, which made her ears perk up in curiousity. "Hey - come over here," she called to the guy.

ooc: you can decide, what she found hidden under the earth.

i never saw you replied, sorry!

as he churned the earth the female besides him picked at the fly-away mounds gingerly, clearly hindered by her wounded paw. he stopped and panted, his ears pulling forwards as he heard her command -- wordlessly he padded over with an inquisitive expression across his broad muzzle. with a snuff he dived into the soft loam, sending dirt hurtling as he did so. with a whuff of excitement he wrenched from the earth the half-decomposed skull and spine of an ermine and lifted it over his head not unlike the mighty profession of a warrior's heaven-hurled spear. with a stupid grin tachyon tossed into the air playfully before tossing it towards osprey.

Though not particularly appealing looking, the find was good enough for lunch. Osprey made a little jump and caught the remnants of ermine mid-air. Then she spat it out on the ground and nosed through what was left of fur, flesh and bones. "Smells like shit," was her verdict after the first examination was done. "But I have eaten worse," she added with a grin, not going into much detail, what exactly had it been she had eaten. "Choose your half and I will take, whatever is left," she told Tachyon.

sorry for the delay - fading tachy here but feel free to PP for conclusion

osprey's verdict was met with a delighted -- albeit muffled -- chuckle. the corpse held in his jaws was far from pleasantly aromatic -- it seemed to singe both his nostrils and eyes, yet all the same he found his mouth watering with the surprise. with a grunt he hefted the thing on the ground and placed his paw upon it, pulling back his head until a loud pop issued forth and sent him backwards. gently he nosed the bigger portion to osprey, electing to rest on his stomach to chew the remaining end thoughtfully.

Osprey picked her piece without hesitation and settled down to eat it in a pleasant silence. After the picnic was over, the two packmates spent more time together, exchanging tasty stories about great deal edible things. Bacon's neccessity and importance in every occasion of life undoubtedly underlined and emphasized. 

Cheers!