Lost Creek Hollow see, your face wasn't quite as I remember

her decision to stop at the borders was driven by a multitude of factors. chiefly, solitude had become something unpredictable and dangerous. her tail most surely smelled like death, now, and there was a heat beneath her fur she couldn't shake, no matter how many pools she dipped into. fatigue - both of her wanderings, and of her beginning illness - had her desire no further travel. she's no idea what to do now that she's at another pack's borders; it seems the kind of knowledge her father would have imparted had she not snuck away in the middle of the night. 

the best course of action is to garner someone's attention, she decides quickly, and thus calls into the empty space before her with a h*owl she hopes sounds confident and powerful enough to paste over her lack of knowledge on how to procede. this done, she sits gingerly and waits for what she hopes will be, at best, a neutral reception.

At least Treason's patrols would end up being slightly eventful.  She did have to wonder how much longer she'd be able to do this for any extended period.  Days, probably.  She'd already cut them down to just being manageable pieces instead of huge chunks of the day.  But the whole pregnancy thing was taking its toll. Treason came to answer the call with relative promptness, spotting the other woman easily enough.  Those closer to her own size always did draw her interest more.  Another soldier, perhaps?  That train of thought was then interrupted as the wind shifted slightly.

She couldn't see the source of the smell from where she was -- not that Treason herself would be much help.  Perhaps the reason she'd been more picky about food over the last month and a half was because for whatever reason smells seemed more pronounced to her.  She hadn't put the two together until now, but considering that was a very not edible smell and it was turning her stomach a little even from where she stood... Ugh.  It wasn't exactly an emotion that she hid very well, and in fact it had overridden her normal greeting leaving her with a blunt, What's that smell?

she's done it! a woman approaches, perhaps an inch or so small at the shoulder but with the same bulk as herself; this stranger perhaps even a little moreso. she stays put, though her first small victory is turned to internal distress when the woman's face changes. "my tail," she blurts, hoping not to go into detail. it didn't even feel like her tail anymore - it contained no sensation and seemed to fester like carrion. the flesh had not started to necrose, but infection had taken hold. fever made her bold, and she proceeded with her quest here. "I'd like to join your pack. if you'll have me." there. intent imparted, and now to see if it'll be an outright dismissal or if she'll have some chance.

Her tail?  The hell did she do to it?  Did Treason even want to know?  She'd be eager to get this done quickly though.  Well, you're going to need treatment for... That.  Whatever the hell had caused that disgusting smell to infest her tail.  If the smell was that bad to her, she'd just avoid looking at it too.  So she kept her eyes firmly on the upper part of the stranger's body.  She'd have to call Baelfire (assuming that thread doesn't explode suddenly) and/or Gannet and see if any of them could deal with it.  Hopefully it would be something easily dealt with so she wouldn't have to worry about it.

Yeah, she'd keep this rolling if at all possible.  You're at the borders of Lost Creek Hollow.  I'm Treason.  So, who are you and what is it you'd provide the pack?  And anything else like that you care to mention.  Maybe after this she'd avoid the borders for a bit.  If this is how her luck was going, that annoying Easthollow girl was going to make an appearance and specifically request her presence.  Nah, no thanks.

she silent at the woman's words, though nods in agreement. she's tired of dragging the stench everywhere she goes, and so badly wants the ugly wound rememdied as quickly as possible. she'd like her tail back, too, but there's no hope of that and she doesn't plan on wasting thought on thing that'll never happen. the woman's gaze didn't try to find the ugly mess of her tail, which she was glad for.

Vuk answered without hesitation, charging ahead now that the conversation had begun. (on a slightly iffy start, but begun all the same) "I'm Vuk. I can hunt, and, um, I'm good at telling stories." heat rose to her cheeks once more. it was a stupid skill, and she'd only mentioned it because her father had praised her for it. it was hardly going to provide anything for the pack, and for a second she was at a loss - did she have useful to offer at all? she ought to have thought this through. "I'm a fast learner. If there's something you need done, I can do it." oh, fantastic. she ought to have thought this through, first.

Okay, so basic skills, and she was pretty young so probably didn't know what she wanted to do anyway.  Fair enough.  Hunters are always welcome at this time of year.  Either way, someone needs to look at that.  She wasn't going to take any risks, but if it was something fixable, then she probably wouldn't be as bad as any of the other random wolves that joined (and often disappeared not long after).  As long as Vuk didn't use too many resources for a low chance of survival or something like that...

Treason lifted her head and called for @Baelfire or @Gannet, but if anyone else creeping the thread has a char that would be interested, they could probably show up too.  She was having a hard time really focusing on what she should ask besides, 'Will that smell go away,' at this point.  Treason wasn't keen on letting her in if whatever was causing it was going to spread -- or stick around forever.  Who knows, it might actually help Vuk get an easy entry just because Treason wanted to amscray ASAP.

Hey, at least whoever showed up would probably have a good idea why they were called, right?

he could smell the sickness before setting eyes on it.

luckily he had been close by, obtaining a few plants he would have buried to bring back to camp in a bundle. the whiff of the infection caught his sensitive nose - everything smelt clearer on the surface - and he would immediately turn at Treason's call. it didn't take much intelligence to know someone was probably injured on the border. gathering some plants with him, he'd march off to where he had been called.

the scene was familiar to anyone who'd ever seen someone in need. there was a young woman, her tail festering, by the border. potentially a recruit or someone requesting aid. he blinked at the beta before approaching, dropping the plants at his own feet. "I'm a healer" he'd explain to the new woman before glancing quickly over her wounds. Treason had obviously called him here to help so he wasn't going to waste the beta's time with stupid questions. and it was clear what the problem was; something had yanked off the girl's tail. 

not all of it, but enough. "hm" his eyes strayed to the creek. "soak it in water. I can apply herbs after it's clean." he instructed the girl quietly.

the woman's repsonse was promising, though left her wondering jsut where she stood. she didn't seem to be accepted, nor was she being turned away. she called for another, and she decided to lid it until she had a better idea of just where she stood. running her mouth now and getting turned away for some stupid reason did not appeal to her, and luckily the person Treason had summoned arrived quickly. 

he introduced himself as healer, and she peered at the herbs at his feet, trying to recognize there either the yarrow that Bisbane had describes, or the root that the pale woman had offered. his words shook her attention, and she stood, finding herself facing a new problem. "okay," she agreed easily, but paused a moment before moving to the creek. she didn't want to hobble there, even though her leg still pained her, but swallowed her discomfort and gritted her teeth as she made her way to the stream, putting more weight on the limb than she had the last few weeks. she padded into the freezing waters and for lack of a better idea, sat precarously in the shallows, brow twisting as the cold only added to the discomfort. "How long?" she asked then, the words casual, as if she might be content to sit in the stream all day. (she would, if it resulted in a place for her here)

Baelfire must have been close, which was good.  She dipped her head in greeting and thanks to him.  Treason continued to kind of keep her distance, as if that would keep the smell at bay -- hint, it wasn't really.  Hopefully the fact that Baelfire was acting with basically minimal instruction meant it was something not too troublesome.  Or something.  She should confirm, as it wasn't her wheelhouse and she kind of would have to make a decision here at some point, Easy to treat?  But as Vuk started to walk along, it seemed like there were maybe some other issues.  They just didn't draw her attention like the smell had.  Hm.

She was one trained to cause wounds, not heal them.  Okay, technically she was trained to just kill things so wounds didn't matter and then they couldn't come back when they were healed to try again.  She was such a nice person.

he assumed Treason wanted it to be as harmless as possible. for the pack and for her own sanity. he could see that allowing a wolf with sustaining injuries into the community was almost seen as a weakness. it would waste precious resources that were recovering from the winter. Baelfire didn't answer at first, marching over to where the girl was and viewing her tail from his spot at the edge of the water. he couldn't see very well, but the current was washing away impurities. from what he could see where large bite marks, mangled and feral.

he would pause.

"someone bit your tail off, didn't they?" there was no 'fixing' that. he couldn't magically give her a new tail. it was too small to be a bear even if the bites were large. it had to have been another wolf. how vile. it was almost something his people would do when seizing victory in combat. he'd shift his gaze back to Treason "infection takes time to heal. the mouth cares a lot of germs. it wasn't treated right away, this injury" he tried to explain it'd take time for the girl to recover "she'll need to be monitored. fever could set in, an infection could spread to other parts of her body."

Baelfire would sigh heavily. this wasn't going to be easy. "if she's come to join, I advise bringing her back to camp right away. set up a den for her close to mine. I can watch her. treat her" it was Treason's call, for she was the beta. to the girl, he'd call back. "you can get out now. come here, and I can see it better."

the healer didn't answer her question, and so she remained seated, the cold bleeding into what seemed to be her very bones but almost pleasant against the heat that was gathering against her fur. the healer asked his question and she nodded, shifting slightly against the current. he was silent for a beat and she looked to the woman in charge, hoping he'd say something agreeable and this whole meeting could go well and smoothly. but he didn't, rather, talked about the same infection that Brisbane had mentioned and the fact that it would take time. and then he was talking about fever, and spreading, and fear gripped her for the first time. she couldn't stand to be turned away now, not when she'd have to deal with the shame of it and with the stupid infection taking over. 

she stopped listening then, and twisted fully to better see her tail. her ribs protested and burned, and she'd never tried to hold this kind of pose for long before, but she persisted. her tail, chewed up and nastly-looking, looked more like a piece of carrion that had gotten stuck to her than her own tail, and the way it moved of its own accord in the water have it a ghoulish quality. she swallowed, and inched her muzzle nearer. 

her chest was burning now, barely-healed bruises and cracks singing all their upset at her position. her maw was dry as she stared dully at the appendage that had caused her so much strife, and her muzzle opened a fraction. oh god oh god oh god. she couldn't stand it, it didn't even feel like a part of her anymore - literally and figuratively. oh god oh god oh god and her fangs slid through flesh and hit bone so she bit down harder shit shit shit shit shit shit

and she spat the lump of decaying flesh and fur onto the riverbed and spat again its ugly taste beside it, and the healer was saying that she could get out, now. there was no sensation, no hurt that she'd expected, though the wound bled freely into the stream. "e-easier to treat, right? and it can't sp - it can't spread now, right?" she rose and moved a short distance from the bank, gaze purposely setting on the pair and not the thing that had once been her tail as it lay dead in the dirt.

How 2 mobile post.

So she wasn't a hopeless cause. Okay. So if she was as quick at learning as she was suggesting then she could very well be useful over the longer term. Baelfire's descriptions seemed to make sense though. She nodded and was about to reply when -- !

Blink. Did she just bite off whatever was left of her tail? Okay, that's a little intense, but maybe it made sense, it wasn't like Treason was the one experiencing it. Then make it so. Vuk can help you replenish what's needed for her care once she is able. Hopefully it wouldn't be too long, but it not being impossible was a point in her favor. Their kindness could encourage loyalty . Maybe she'd stay around longer than some of the others.

Baelfire did not bat an eye at the other's self-amputation. to be frank, he would have suggested it to prevent further damage. though sometimes - okay a lot of the time - people would flinch at the mention of someone cutting off a part of them. better the girl loses her tail over a limb. perhaps he had seen his share of violent acts and was not phased by it. Treason would blink and move on from it. at least the girl had the balls to do it. "I'd bury that outside Lost Creek Hollow..." was all he could mutter at first.

his evergreen eyes saw the stump, the festering once-tail now a chunk of flesh. the smell would attract predators if not scavengers. the last thing the pack needed in spring was to compete for food. Baelfire would continue on now after a small shake. "I still need to watch for signs of fever and profound bleeding after I apply the herbal mixture." amputation fixed a lot of things, true, but the infection could have spread long before it was done. Treason suggested the girl - Vuk - assist him after she was better. exercise could do wonders for treatment.

"fine with me" he'd add to the beta, turning back to his new patient. he'd walk over to her and press against her side for support back to camp. "c'mon then" he wasn't going to let her struggle all the way back. "lean on me when you need to. I'll take her to a den so she can rest" he would add to Treason. she could leave now if she wanted; her work was done. his work was just beginning.

the shock fades quickly enough once she realizes that Treason's words mean she's in, and a small smile curves her muzzle. at the healer's words she moves to push the rest of her tail away before realizing she'd rather not have her nose near that again, and instead is quick to bury it shallowly under the cold, clumping earth. she listens to the healer as she does so, and turns back to him with a nod. the proverbial gates into the territory open when he offers to help her to what will become her den - with a little wiggle of excitment that causes a little more pain than it's worth, she steps up towards him. "thank you," she offers, the words sincere and directed at both the wolves before her as her gaze flashes from Treason to Baelfire and back again. she moves beside Baelfire, though only dares to use him (sparingly) as a crutch when they're far out of reach of Treason, and the happy warmth in her chest grows full to bursting.

Well, this had been eventful.  And it was probably a damn good thing for Vuk that Baelfire had shown up when he did, otherwise things might not end up going to well for her.  At the very least, it'd be a much longer healing process.  It wasn't like Treason was much good when it came to that.

But hey, at least the majority of the smelly bits was going to be left out there and maybe she could actually think again once she walked away from here.  Baelfire seemed to have everything in hand, at least.  Keep us informed if it doesn't go as expected. By that she meant all the leadership, of course.  Chances were she was forgetting a few things here, but oh well.  This was not exactly her greatest session here at the borders.  Maybe she'd regret it.  Who knew.  Either way, once they were well on their way, she went a bit farther along the borders and then swept back to the den.  Time for this day to be over.