Grouse Thicket What was her name again

For @Althaia, hunt roll here! Considering the famine rolls, he caught it!

Ezekiel had been thinking about Krypton since he had left her. She was a nice wolf, and she'd offered him something that he couldn't expect from anyone. A safe place to stay. He'd turned her down, he thought he didn't deserve such an easy route. He'd done too much harm to endure only a month's pain. But the thought was so tempting. His mind was telling him to go back and join her family and maybe he'd become one of them, his heart told him no. He was done with conflicting feelings though, it had consumed him too long. He'd think more about it later for now, he'd walk through these woods and find something to eat.

He caught onto the scent of a rabbit, hopefully close by. Excitement rippled through his body, the thought of food filling his senses. He stalked the rabbit, and finally came through a small patch of daisies to see the brown animal nibbling leaves and hopping about. He watched it carefully, his blue eyes scanning the area as he prepared to pounce upon the creature. It stood up on its hind legs, it had caught a whiff of him with the change of wind. It had a bit of a head start on him, but he didn't slow down. He chased after it through the thicket of trees, but while he was running, he stepped onto a sharp thorn and it impaled into his paw pad. Shit! He snarled in pain, but didn't stop. He caught up to the animal and killed it in one swift bite, then dropped it at his side.

So he'd caught the rabbit, but now had a large thorn stuck in his foot. He'd dealt with pain before, but this one was gonna bug him for a while. The large male kept his kill close to him and began trying to get the pesky thorn out. He looked very awkward, sitting there with his foot in his mouth, but it hurt so bad.

Althaia watched a bright red beetle make its way up a tree through slitted eyes, lazily sprawled out under a huge fallen tree. She contemplated heading to the small river nearby for a drink, but declined. She just longed to rest for a while.
Sudden paw steps caused her to perk her ears,and bolt to her feet when they came near.  A small brown blur, followed by a rather handsome male. Relieved at the fact the wolf wasn't, in fact, running at her. She watched for a moment as a robin let out an alarm call. She decided to trot after the male- what exactly had he been chasing? 
She found him a few minutes later, beside the body of a rabbit -yum- and holding his paw in his jaws rather awkwardly. She sat a few feet from him, regarding him quizzically. "Are you alright?"

Ezekiel was too caught up in getting the dumb spike out of his paw to notice a silver woman coming his way. Not until she spoke did he look up, dropping his paw and leaping to his feet. An ambush? Someone come to attack him? No, it didn't seem that way for she asked how he was. The boy remained on edge however, downy chest puffed up, hurt paw shaking as he tried to seem strong. At a time like this, it was best to be seen as strong, injuries were like neon signs saying 'free food, come and get it'!

What do you want! I'm fine, thanks for asking. His words sounded weird, as he was kind of shouting them but at the same time sounding generous. He had to calm down, but the fact that his paw was burning and this she wolf could try and steal his kill kept him on his toes. He tried to hide it, but he couldn't help but hold up his bleeding paw and bite his lip in pain when he dropped it to stay balanced.

His change was quick, and he suddenly became a confident male. Just as she was beginning to regret her decsion to talk to the male, (She always poked her muzzle into other peoples affairs, didn't she) he spoke.
"What do you want! I'm fine, thanks for asking."
His words sounded strange- a strange mix of different emotions. The slight gratitude in his voice prevented her from apologizing and fleeing. "Relax. I'm not going to steal you, uh, rabbit. I'm not a thief, I promise!" She frowned as she saw his paw, bleeding and sore. She relaxed a little more- she doubted the handsome male would attack her. "I can help you- I know some stuff about herbs. If you let me, that is." She offered him a small smile, trying to appear as non-threatening as possible. You never knew with strangers- they could be crazed.

The girl attempted to convince him that she wasn't a thief, but Zeke was always the skeptic. Around his food, he was always very defensive and he wasn't ready to trust her just yet. He sat back, ears flattened as she spoke, until she mentioned knowing about herbs. Doesn't look much like a healer. He thought, ears flicking at her words. She smiled, and seemed harmless. He could let her take a look at his paw, and if she turned out to be a thief, he'd be ready.

He grunted in frustration, not liking the idea of looking pitiful. He hated needing help, it made him feel useless. He bowed down his head to the girl, giving her permission to come forward. He gave her a hot red smile, embarrassed at his vulnerable stature. He grumbled under his breath, I stepped on a thorn.

The male let out a frustrated noise, but then, to her surprise, bowed his head. She stepped forward, slowly and calmly, knowing that this male was guarding his kill and not wanting to startle him into attack. He gave her a smile, and, feeling less tense, she took another couple of steps closer. He grumbled something about having stepped on a thorn, she bent her head and looked at the paw. 
"I'l have to take the thorn out first- it might sting. It doesn't look to bad, but a poultice might stop it from geting infected. I think I saw some herbs on my way here that may help-" She paused, looking up at him. "Is it okay if I take it out?" If he let her, she would remove the thorn, then return the the small glade she had seen the tiny shoot of green. Locusts having decimated this area too, there might not be enough left to help this wolf- but she would do her best.

Zeke absolutely hated feeling like a pitiful baby, but it was how he felt right now. He looked up at the pale grey female as she spoke healer, a completely unknown language to him. He knew it would sting, it wasn't the first time he'd gotten stabbed with something sharp, but he secretly was dreading the moment when she'd wrench it from his paw. I'll be fine I've had worse, just take it out already. He said, the stinging pain making him feel bitter. The shale grey male braced himself, trying not to look too worried about it. He was a warrior after all and warriors don't cry over thorns in their paws.

Althaia nodded at his words. She slithered forward, scrutinizing his paw. She cleaned away some of the blood, then leaned forward and delicately grasped the thorn between her teeth. With a sharp tug, the large black object ripped out of the handsome male's pad. She spat the bloody thorn onto the ground, then examined his paw. A poultice of oak leaves would be best, but those were gone- however, she though she spied a few green shoots of dock a short distance away. "One second- I'm goning to make a poltice to help fight infection and quicken healing. Wait here, please"

She darted toward the tiny shoots, delicatley collecting a small amount of leaves. She broke them with her sharp canines, and the bitter taste of dock made her wince the tiniest bit. She dropped the now mashed leaves, and after cleaning the male's paw applied the poultice. Glancing up at him with pale green eyes, she said "I would recomend taking it easy for a day- don't use the paw too much. With the help of the poultice, it should heal in a couple days at best."

Ezekiel felt as she licked around his paw, cleaning it and preparing to pull it out. She was delicate in her actions, careful not to hurt him. He was glad for this, his healer in his old pack was rough, and it just so happened to be his sister. If you had a thorn in your paw, she'd rip it out no prep and walk away telling you to stop crying about it. Oh he missed Jojo, and Gabe too but they were the only ones. Maybe some day they'd meet again before they died. Thoughts and memories swirled around in his brain he barely even knew she was about to pull it when she did. He winced at the impact, eyebrows narrowed as his paw began to throb. He seethed through his teeth, a low growl emitting from his chest. You could've counted down. He mumbled, always trying to find something to groan about.

She told him to wait while she went to make the poultice, and he grumbled under his breath again. Does it seem like I'm going anywhere? Underneath his frustration, the handsome boy was very grateful for her help. The pretty yearling returned with her odd mixture and quickly applied it to his paw. She told him to take it easy, which he would probably not do, and said it should heal in a couple days. Thank you. He said, sitting there awkwardly for a moment, not knowing what else to say. He should repay her somehow, and by the look and smell of her, she was a lone wolf. During this famine, there wasn't much food going around, and while he had hunted the rabbit to bring back to his new pack, this girl might need it more. Umm, here. You can have this if you need it. He nosed forwards his kill, his defensive stance was no longer.

He thanked her, and Althaia noticed to her relief that his stance was significantly more relaxed then it had been. Then, to her utter surprise, he offered her his kill. She flushed, and hesitated for a moment. She was so hungry- but this rabbit was this wolf's hard-earned kill. She glanced longingly at the creature, and could almost taste the blood in her maw. But her gaze snapped back to the thick pelted male. She couldn't. It didn't look like he would be doing to much hunting until his paw had healed, and she felt taking the kill would weigh poorly on her conciense. So, with a slight tinge of regret, she said "Thank you kindly, sir, but I could not accept your kill."
She offered him a small smile. She would be alright, she just needed to try her luck at hunting here again. Althaia dipped her head toward him, and said "I had best be on my way- good luck, and hopefully we may meet again, one day." With that she offered him a finally smile before spinning neatly and trotting back the way she had come, longing to wash the persistantly bitter taste of dock from her maw. She hoped the the wound would not become infected, and wondered if she might meet the handsome male once more, one day.

Thank you for the thread! Let me know if you would like to do another in the future:)

Well she didn't want it, which was a bit of a relief because he knew he wouldn't be hunting much more today anyway. He had to think of the pups, who he hadn't met yet, but still. He still felt like he should repay her someway, but she didn't seem interested. She offered him good luck, and hoped they would meet again. Frankly Zeke didn't care whether they met again or not. He never found himself getting attached to others very easily. But if they did cross paths again, he would remember her face. Not her name, they hadn't exchanged names.

You too. He nodded with a charming smile, before watching her disappear. Now all he had to do was get home and bring his kill with him. Oh boy.

Yay that was fun thanks! I'd love to thread with you again, just tell me or simply tag me in one of you want to :)