Broken Antler Fen I'm a phoenix in the water

anyone is welcome but aiming for @Pearl since they haven't yet had a thread

Water dripped from Kareja's coat in rivulets, her thick fur looking almost yellow due to the amount of marsh water she had collected in it. Her size was diminished by the heavy weight of her fur that sagged with gravity. But the girl held a triumphant grin for from her jaws dangled a dead frog. 

Kareja almost immediately decided what to do with it..to give it to Pearl. The Alpha female hadn't looked too hot on the pack hunt, her legs had shook and she seemed almost sickly with hunger. Kareja had spent the better part of two hours searching for food to give to Pearl, finally being rewarded with a juicy frog. 

Slogging through the territory with squishy steps, the smaller white wolf followed the scent of her Alpha with a grin on her face in anticipation of giving her the gift.

Pearl was treading the marshlands carefully, looking for beached fish or targetable prey. There wasn't much aside from underwater greenery, which had annoyingly stayed relatively the same. It was true that she shouldn't even be out and about in her condition, given her tendency to nearly black out whenever she wasn't distracted from the hunger. She then resolved to always keep busy, though really that was more detrimental than she thought. 

Pearl, though smaller to begin with, had leaned out considerably. Her fluffy fur had lost some of its fullness, shrinking her down even more. She could still keep her speed, but a fast metabolism comes at a price.  

She glanced behind her and saw one of the old new wolves, Kareja, with something in her mouth in the distance. Keeping up the happy-leader persona, she smiled at the girl as she approached. "Hey Kareja!" 

Kareja padded over to Pearl, smiling around the frog as the Alpha female called out to her. She was still dripping steadily and kept a few feet away to avoid getting water all over Pearl as well. 

Kareja placed the frog in front of her Alpha with a shy grin. "Hi Pearl. Uh..this is for you." She gave an awkard nod to the frog, feeling bashful around the other female since they didn't really talk much.

As the girl came closer, appearing rather soaking wet, Pearl noticed the prey caught in the other's mouth. Though her mouth watered, she was still in the process of blocking out hunger, so she really didn't feel it. She didn't know how to respond, because surely there was someone else in the pack who needed it more. Pearl kinda didn't know that she was the one that needed it most as of late. 

She hesitated for a second and thought of how to respond. Pearl padded over to the frog, delighted with it. "Um, thanks! Thank you so much!" she said, "Uh, are you sure you don't want at least a leg?" It was a rather large creature, so there would be plenty for both of them, right? Don't get her wrong, she loved that her packmates thought of her and were willing to catch prey for her. But she didn't think too much of herself.

Kareja shook her head in denial, not wanting to take any from Pearl who looked like she might pass out soon if she didn't eat something. Kareja had dropped weight since the locusts but she was surviving on mice, moles, voles, and other small rodents pretty well.

"No, it's just for you. You don't look so good Pearl, like you might keel over any second." The girl worried aloud, ears flattening. While she and Pearl weren't close that didn't mean she didn't worry about her or any of her other pack mates.

Though she was honored, she was still hesitant. Pearl steadied the bullfrog with one paw and laid down to begin to dig into it. She took it slow, reluctance out the window as soon as that first hunk-o-frog hit her stomach. Given the ok, she was going to be eating the entirety of it. The pale girl gestured to the other to sit and join her, at least in a conversation. 

"Are you enjoying it here? I mean, aside from the bugs. That's a given downside." she questioned, having never actually talked with her.

Kareja sat beside Pearl, given an invitation to sit she accepted. Perhaps she and Pearl could get to know each other, maybe even become friends. 

"Oh, yes. I'm not new to natural disaster or hunger. The floods back home washed away a lot of plant life and prey, it wasn't hard to adjust." 

Pearl's eyebrows furrowed, temporarily pausing from her meal and raising her head. "Where did you live before?" she asked, curious to how others had dealt with barreness before. Did she know anything that might help the pack?

"It must be hard to jump from one disaster to another, right?" she wondered aloud, Kareja probably used to the hunger by now.

"I lived in a tundra to the north, when the ice walls cracked and fell into the river it would make the water rise." Kareja tried her best to explain where she had come from and why the natural disasters where a yearly occurrence.

"It wasn't that hard really. I've been used to surviving on smaller portions but this is a bit harsher than that. It's also strange not to have any plants either." Perhaps that explained her small size, the lack of food growing up.

Pearl nodded in half-understanding, figuring that the ice walls must've been enourmous to cause such floods. She could only imagine what it would have been like, but it did describe how small Kareja was. 

"It is very strange. I come from the plains, so I didn't really get that." she said, glancing around. It reminded the girl of winter, but without the cold temperatures, snow, ice, and still present prey. So, everything was more like a barren wasteland with some lakes tossed to and fro. At least they had the underwater plants, and (assuming, it's very true though) the plants around the bodies of water had already bounced back fairly quickly.

"Have you happened to meet any others around here?" she asked, curious to whether Kareja might have found a love interest. But that wasn't any of her buisness. She took another bite of frog instead.

Kareja listened, fascinated with the thought of other biomes. She was an aspiring botanist after all, would hopefully earn a trade when the damned plants grew back. The small girl tried to imagine a sea of grass rather than water, waving in the wind with creatures crawling through it instead of swimming. The arctic couldn't quite picture it.

"I know most everyone in theory, we all sleep together but I'm not quite friends with everyone. I met Horosk but he's a bit of a ghost around here, ya know? I haven't seen Ambrosia since meeting her at the border and Sebastian has been the one I talked to most. I recently met Embry, he's quite nice." A bashful smile crossed her face, scuffing her paw in the dirt lightly at the thought of her friend.

"Oh! I remember now, Embry and I, we found a seed and planted it though I'm not sure what kind it is. I've named it Planty." Kareja informed, thinking of the soon to be sprout she was rearing.

Pearl nodded and chewed as she listened, reminded of Horosk again. "Horosk is still here?" she asked out loud, then realized what that question implied. "Sorry, that makes me sound like a really bad alpha. I had no idea if he was still here or not." she said, chuckling to herself. She honestly hadn't noticed him since he was introduced.

The pale alpha smirked playfully when Kareja seemed taken with one of the newer members. Hearing about a seed, her ears perked up.  "Planty, nice name." she stated, smiling. "Maybe that might grow back before everything else. Oh wait, that could be our pack plant!" Pack Plant, now that could be a good thing to get everyone going. It was stupid, but it might work.

Kareja laughed, shaking her head. "Nah, he is kind of reclusive. I had a crush on him for awhile but it's hard to like someone who is barely around, you know?" Kareja admitted, face warming with embarrassment.

"I think that's a good idea, might raise morale a bit. The wolves need something to give them hope I guess." Kareja smiled, genuinely pleased with Pearl's idea.

Pearl's ear gave an involuntary flick as she tried to think of the last time she even saw him. Turning her mind back to the conversation at hand, she immediately was reminded of a similar situation. "Actually, I know exactly what you're talking about. It was a long while ago for me, a guy named..." she started, scrunching up her face in an attempt to remember. "Malachi, that's it. Yeah, I know what you mean."

She nodded happily, glad a silly idea of hers could possibly be of use. If not, at least it would bring some amusement. "We all do, really. Has it sprouted yet?" she questioned.

Kareja nodded, grateful that it wasn't quite so embarrassing to have a crush on such a recluse. She was just happy that Pearl didn't make a big deal out of it. 

"Kinda. The plant itself is above ground but it has yet to unfurl, the leafy part is still rolled up into a little curl. In a few days it should loosen and pop up. Then it'll be officially sprouted." Kareja rambled excitedly about her sprout.

Fade after your post?

Pearl listened, amused, at the excitement this plant already seemed to bring. "That's wonderful, could I have the privilage of seeing it?" she asked, finishing the last reminants of bullfrog and licking her chops. 

Even if it was just a tiny plant, it would be nice to finally see more life around here.

Nodding eagerly, proud of her little sprout, Kareja trotted away while glancing behind her several times to see if Pearl was following. "This way!" The plan seemed to be working subconsciously on Kareja at least.