Stone Circle Awkward

Although she'd been with this pack in the past when it was Silvertip, she felt extremely awkward to be surrounded by completely new wolves. Yes, there was still Steady, and she hoped Chaska the wolf she had a rather deep connection with, though only for a conversation. She had put together that her assumption of Zaria not homing here was correct, but she learned no information of her pups. Steady only mentioned the newer ones, perhaos they lived here now? She hoped nothing bad had happened to them. 

The temperature was getting increasingly low, and although a fair amount of free game was present, the chills were a bit much to handle. Though her nose felt no numbing tingle that she did when it actually worked, so for once she found a benefit of her lack of smell. That didn't keep her paws from freezing though. It was strange to meet such bitter weather, especially with a winter coat like her own. The cold wasn't much of an issue until recently, and it was starting to become a bother. The wolfess continued to wander about the unfamiliar territory, catching the occasional smell of others, but nothing strong to indicate someone close. 

Of course, she wanted to make friends with the new even though techinically she's the new one members, but couldn't find the push to sought them out. She was afraid of embarressing herself around others, and kept her joining on the down low.

Shortly after this thread

Day padded silently through the territory, wet blood still drippling down his chin. It was already frozen in some parts, particularly where it'd spattered across the fur on his chest. But the wolf hardly noticed this - there was a drawn, distant look in his eyes. In his mind, the scene played over and over again, and he thought that, maybe, he should feel something, but all he was was tired.

He'd never killed another wolf before. He hadn't killed her either, but he'd helped. Shouldn't he feel bad?

The male didn't waste time thinking about this. He was bothered by the woman's death about as much as he was bothered by the blood, and as long as that truth maintained itself, he didn't see any reason to dwell on it. His only thoughts were for his children, who he'd left alone at the den before rushing to Steady's aide. He had to get back to them and make sure they weren't too cold - the weather was only getting worse.

Distracted by his paternal urgings, Day nearly walked into Mara, the woman whose name he'd only heard in passing, and whose scent he knew only from her trails throughout the territory. This was his first time seeing her face.

"Hey," he said, his voice a little rough. He cleared his throat, coming back into the present. "You're Mara, right?"

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Mara was shocked to see another wolf, his maw covered in blood. She had no clue what the blood came from, and contemplated if she did want to know. His knowledge of her name was even more surprising, had she been talked about? It didn't really matter, it wasn't of importance if her name was mentioned around the pack, it was only logical to know the new girl's name. She disliked not knowing his, though. She backed away slightly, mainly to get a better look of the brute, before giving a small smile in benevolence. "I am, and you are?" She tried her best to observe him in other ways than just the blood, mostly for any sign of injury. 

"Are you hurt at all?" Her amber eyes glance back into his riveting umber gaze. Perhaps she was overthinking it and he had only just killed a rabbit, but in any chance of his harm, she would attempt to fix best she could. This was the second new face she'd spotted at the aftermath of Silvertip, did they really change that much? Had she lost everyone from her old home? No, she did still have Steady, but she held a gut feeling the two would never be as close as they once were. He was far too busy to go fishing like they had, and for too grown to want too anyway. 

This was her chance to make new friends, people she would consider family, and this wolf didn't seem too bad, though first impressions weren't exactly what to base someone on entirely. She was forced to deal with that the hard way, and still regretted it.

"Day," he replied, keeping it simple because he didn't have the presence of mind to say anything else. He wanted to make a good impression on this woman - she was going to be living with them, after all - but his brain just wasn't working, and even if it had been, he wasn't sure how to send the signals to his mouth to get to do anything other than just gape at the unfamiliar face.

She broke the silence, luckily, and Day looked down at himself as if seeing the blood for the first time. "Oh," he said, a little belatedly, finally taking stock of his injuries. He didn't think he'd been bitten at all, but her hind legs had raked up against the skin of his belly, and he didn't know how bad it was yet, but now that she mentioned it, he was starting to feel it. "I don't know," he said, shifting slightly. Testing himself. "I think maybe on my stomach, but Steady - " Steady had been bitten, he remembered. Had Day stayed behind long enough to ensure he was alright? He couldn't remember. Not right then. "Are you a healer?" he asked instead, figuring that Mara would be called for if Steady needed her. Valette had been there - he remembered that - and Krypton was a healer as well. Maybe Mara could help him out, if she wasn't needed elsewhere.

Day, it was a simple name though she hadn't met anyone with it. He seemed off, like he was just out of touch with reality, and she couldn't help but stare somewhat. Her blood ran cold at the mention of Steady, and a million questions raced through her mind. Was he okay? What happened? Where's he now? Anxiety started building up, Day wouldn't leave him if he was too hurt right? "What about Steady? Is he okay?" Her voice seemd to shake for a moment, her entire mood seemed to shift into a low rated panic. 

She tried to relax slightly, he had to be okay. Mara shut in her eyes and took a deep breath before speaking again. "Sorry, um, he's a good friend of mine is all." Someone else had gotten the news of whatever happened and had to be treating Steady now, right? He was fine. Once gathering her senses, she tried to get the best glance of Day's somach that she could. "I'm a healer in training." Mara admitted, and although she was much more advanced in anything involving pups and pregnant wolves, she obtained enouh knowledge to help him if it easn't too severe. "May I see?" The girl questioned, lowering her head slightly in attempt to see his wounds, if any.

"I think he is. There were others around - another healer," he told her, feeling a little guilty for not checking on the state of his alpha before leaving. (Or had he? This was so confusing.)

Fortunately, Mara seemed content to help him either way. Day laid down at her request, rolling onto his back without much thought. He did not mean to show submission, but at this point, he was not terribly concerned about not showing it, either.

He craned his neck, trying to see both whatever Mara was doing and the damage that had been done to his belly. There were parts where the deep welts left by her claws had drawn blood, but for the most part, it was just scrapes. He thought he would probably be okay.

"It doesn't look bad," he commented, letting his head fall back against the snow.

The wolfess relaxed knowing someone experienced was able to heal anything as soon as possible, which only made her feel bad for Day as he was forced to be checked by someone less knowledgeable than a true healer. She took a few steps closer, and her head over his stomach, examining the wounds, nothing too bad. "You're right, it doesn't, but an infection can still occur." 

Out of instinct, she backed away and almost started to sniff around for a chervil root, something that would prevent infection on his belly and also grew in the winter, but her lack of smell made it nearly impossible for her to find one, especially underneath layers of snow. "I'd find you a treatment, but um...I can't smell." Mara admitted, somewhat sheepishly. Embarrassed by her lack of utility at the moment. 

"If you don't mind me asking... what happened?" It was obvious an attack had happened, of some sort, but she wanted to full story put together.

"I'll just tell Krypton about it later, then," he decided, rolling to his paws and shaking the snow out of his fur. Sympathy flashed briefly across his face before he pushed it away, not wanting her to think he pitied her or something. He knew what it was like for a sense to be lacking, though he couldn't rightly say if he'd rather be without sight or smell. Sight, probably. "Thanks for looking at it, Mara," he said, debating on whether or not to share his own weakness with the stranger.

Luckily, she countered this line of thought with her own question, and Day furrowed his brow as he tried to put together a proper response. He didn't actually know what had happened, beyond the obvious, of course.

"There was an intruder at the border," he said after a moment, deciding to stick with the basics. "Steady and I took care of it."

"Tell her I suggest the chervil root." Mara tried to make light out of the situation, she was sure Krypton could find it. That's all that mattered, making sure Day wouldn't get an infection. "My pleasure." She insisted, sending him a faint smile. It was depressing that she almost always had a reminder that she couldn't smell, which only brought back the attack when she was little. She came to terms with it awhile ago, so it wasn't as much a bother as it once was, but still annoying. 

His answer was blunt and lacked much detail, but she didn't mind. "I'm thankful you two are alright then." Of course she could only assume Steady was well, but Day never said otherwise so it was safe to assume. "It's comforting to know we have strong wolves among us." The female insisted, glancing back up at the cloudy wolf.

Some tension he didn't know he'd been harboring seeped out of his body as his explanation was met with gratefulness instead of fear. Mirabelle's reaction had shaken him, far worse, perhaps, than the death of the intruder itself. Something about Mara's easy acceptance put his mind at ease, and Day drew himself up, unconsciously, at her (imagined) admiration.

"It's what we do," he said with a twitch of his tail, looking at Mara as if seeing her for the first time. There wasn't exactly anything striking about her appearance, but distantly, Day began to see that she was pretty. Young. Fit. The idea of romance was far from his mind, but even at times like these, he could appreciate and romaticise the situation. A pretty shewolf caring for a warrior after battle - admiring the male for his strength and valor.

Day snorted at his silliness. "I should go clean up," he said, a bemused smile now flickering across his face. "If I let the kids see me like this, they'll think it's okay to throw away all the table manners I've managed to drill into them."

There seemed to be a sudden shift in Day's mood as they finished up. It was lighter, less...dull. It would make sense to be shaken up after an attack, so she hadn't thought much of it, but now that the true personality of the dusty wolf was shining through a bit, she couldn't help but feel more drawn to him. 

The sudden mention of pups brightened her eyes, she absolutely loved yearlings, and wondered what he was like as a father. She then began to think, there must be another wolf she had yet to meet in Easthollow besides Valette. Unless Krypton had settled down already. She's find out soon enough. 

She giggled lightly at his comment. "Ah yes, young rebels they are." Mara did another one-over of the wolf, making sure she didn't miss anything. "Make sure to see Krypton, and get well soon. Don't need our best knights injured." She insisted.

Day's tail lashed when her mood seemed to match his own. Part of him wanted to stay and chat, but he knew himself better than that. Besides, he really should go and check on the kids, and he really couldn't go back to the den looking like this. He didn't think it would frighten his kids, but it would certainly rile them up. And he wanted to get some sleep tonight.

So he nodded along to Mara's words, murmuring in agreement, and went on his way, bumping his shoulder companionably against her own as he passed. He would roll around in the snow a bit, and if the blood proved too difficult to get out on his own, he would go and see Krypton. Otherwise, it could wait until tomorrow.

His friendly action forced a larger grin on the agouti woman's face. She turned for a moment to see him walking off, before moving in the opposite direction. Perhaps if she looked hard enough she'd find her own chervil root, but there was no telling how long that would take. So instead, she put her use to finding a small meal. 

An auro of satisfaction followed her, meeting someone new and having a good first impression was always pleasant, and it was one less person she had to meet in the pack.