Bonesplinter Ravine waiting by the mailbox, by the train

@Cinder

in the days following relmyna's passing the girl went belligerent with grief, a hateful shade unloosened to the wilds. whatever she could sink her teeth into, she did -- whatever she could chase or kill or terrify with her frenzied sorrow, she did.

on the fifth day following her mother's passing she collapsed in a heap outside of bonesplinter ravine, her frame gaunt, her limbs cut and nobbed, with nettle and detritus clinging to her lackluster fur.

she was exhausted as she slept in the cairn, her sunken eyes closed in a dreamless sleep.

thank you for starting!

The ravine and all that environed it were far from pleasant to the eye - bones and bodies seemed to litter the foot, mangled piles of unknown covered in ivory snow, the shadows lingering from behind each nook and cranny of the jagged rocks... Cinder quivered visibly, trudging away, feeling the chill climb up his back with every step. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have strayed quite this far from the plateau, but his curiousity had taken relentless hold of his young mind. Now he regretted it ever so slightly.

He lumbered on and on, beginning to wonder which way was left and which was right (maybe having an adventure in the snow, in entirely unfamiliar territory, was a little stupid), which direction was home, and which was not - a sickening panic bubbled in the pit of his stomach, but he forced it away, thinking of the warmth of a tasty meal, and the comfort of his mother's embrace. Eventually, cringing at the force of the wind, he caught sight of-

A shadow?

Bronze eyes slanted into a squint, pushing closer to examine the smear of black before realising with a tug of his gut that it wasn't a shadow, but a real, live wolf! A gaunt frame marked with detritus lay before him - thin, a weary creature, and the blackthorn frowned, quietly creeping closer before sucking in a breath and beginning to gently nudge the stranger, eager to ensure they were okay.

ofc! <3

astara slept like a sled-dog run ragged, her breaths drawn in cyclical bouts. had cinder not come along, she likely would have slept the entire day -- but the blackborn roused her into consciousness by the persistent nudges of his muzzle.

her ascent into the waking realm was groggy at best; first her eyes fluttered open, filmy and unseeing -- followed by the slow stir of her consciousness. she gradually became aware of a touch, and then a presence -- and with a harpy's gasp she recoiled fearfully from the shadow over her.

she was too exhausted to issue a crocodilian snap of her muzzle, and instead she weakly lifted her gums, revealing a show of teeth but little more.

One moment her eyelids were beginning to flutter open to the air, the next she had slithered back, seething in silence and lengthening the distance between them - Cinder let his tongue swipe nervously across his lips, feigning a cheerful confidence in order to attempt coaxing her over with friendliness. If there was one thing that the Blackthorn was not, it was devilish.

"Hey, um..." He prepared, voice sounding dispairingly childish in the tenebrosity. "I... My name is Cinder. Or Rabbit. Whichever you prefer. I saw you lying there and I thought you were dead, no offense, so I came over just to make sure you were okay... you're okay? Maybe? Do you need any help?" Fully aware of his issue with over-talking, the stub-tailed boy grinned sheepishly, before it dropped in distinct concern for the ebony stranger. What was she doing out here by herself? Had she gone to explore and got lost, too?

"I won't hurt you. I promise."

aww he so cute ;-;

astara blinked slowly as the boy rushed into speech, explaining why he had come from where he had been, and sharing his name. the girl shared nothing, simply staring back in that dull way a prisoner of war might deliver a thousand-yard stare -- for she was, after all, still shocked by relymna's death and the unspeakable acts that had followed her mother's passing.

she said nothing, for she had never spoken in her life, and would not speak now -- and with overwhelming exhaustion, simply slumped back onto her side and issued a quiet, despairing whine. her mother was dead -- and her grief sunk in with new tenacity.

:3

Despite his outburst of details that likely meant nothing to this ebony stranger, she said nothing - not a single word slipped from her lips, leaving them for a few heartbeats in a mildly uncomfortable silence.

But then- 

Then she whined, and his brows crumpled with deeper concern, corners of his mouth curled down in a perturbed frown; still, she did not speak, gave no explanation for her distress, so he slowly attempted to shuffle closer, waving his tail low in a sign of friendliness, slinking closer to the frozen earth in order to display he was no threat. "Are you... hungry?" Cinder knew close to nothing about death - only what Phox had told him before the lynx attack, that although it was inevitable, they had plenty of years to live before it could grasp them. Though he did wonder why this wolf was travelling in her lonesome, and the high-pitched wail of distress that had fallen from her muzzle was full of grief... had she lost her pack? Lost her parents? Was she simply lost? 

"Do you need a friend?" That suddenly sounded like a very good idea. He liked friends, she must too, right? Who didn't like friends? "I can be your friend! I'm good at finding things... most of the time. Are you looking for someone?"

the girl wallowed, her dark form draped across the cairn's long-deceased residents with a listlessness. she did not glance up as cinder pressed her, having neither the energy nor the will to entertain a stranger. could she not be left alone to her own devices, to process the death of her mother in peace? a mounting sense of frustration stirred in her heart, trickling outwards through her pulsing blood in leaps and bounds.

yet, still her company persisted -- his kind nature pouring forth by the way he spoke to her, the way he tried to no avail to rouse her spirits. she shook her head -- just once -- to the series of questions that pressed from his muzzle, and then her indigo eyes fell shut in desolation.

A lingering silence hung in the air even after he spoke again, watching the lonesome girl's bleak expression with a concentrated frown - the tip of his tongue poked out just at the side of his lips, and his brows scrunched together as he fought to connect the scattered pieces of the puzzle; why didn't she talk? With a rather sudden jolt, he contemplated whether she even could, and his ashen body slumped to the ground, resting his chin on the cold surface beneath.

This would require a big thonk. He'd have to use his brain, and he wasn't always good at doing that.

Then the ebony wanderer shook her head - a small gesture, but one that hinted he was getting somewhere, at least. Little steps, like when he'd had to re-learn to balance himself after losing the majority of his tail; detective Rabbit, on the case. He wanted to uncover this mystery. "Okay, soo..." he hummed, inclining his head a touch to the side. "Do you talk? Or... or no? If not that's okay! I can talk enough for the both of us," a half grin, before it dimmed and he submerged himself back into concentration. "My name's Cinder. Or did I already say that? Probably. Anyway - I'm from Redhawks, and I can help you! My family-" Well, actually, most of the other blackthorns had run off to a new adventure elsewhere with the Firebirds. But he supposed the redhawk crew were close enough to family anyway, so perhaps it didn't matter. "We can help you! Do you need anything? Even just someone to sit with you? I can do that. I can try to be quiet if you want that, too." Key word: try.

She shut her eyes. Cinder chewed the inside of his cheek, and relaxed his body, observing with as much silence as he possibly could muster.

astara's indigo eyes remained shut even as cinder spoke again -- the first of his questions regarded with a narrow shrug of her shoulders, neither a helpful answer nor a genuine one -- and the questions that followed remained unanswered, save for the beleaguered flick of an ear.

had she known the redhawks were enemies to blackfeather, or had cinder known her to be an enemy, perhaps the situation would have been different.. yet it seemed neither knew of their parents' distaste of one another, as was often the case with youthful innocence, which saw through unfiltered and often unjaded eyes.

she was tired -- so tired -- taking a deep breath, the girl opened her eyes again, hoping cinder would be transformed to relmyna, and that she could forget this day ever existed.

but it was cinder that remained besides her, and no other soul.

the girl could not take this. she did not want company, she did not want to be consoled. she wanted her mother. with a snarl, she suddenly rose -- and without nary a glance back, tore from cinder's company and galloped wildly for home.