Sun Mote Copse This place rings with echoes

Set for the 5th/6th, after thread with Kovertol. Keeping injuries vague as thread is ongoing.

The worst moment to have a stuttering memory was when you were facing off against something dangerous, and whether he would remember the event in question or not, Yellowbelly had the distinct misfortune of finding himself at the mercy of a bear. True to his ailment, Yellowbelly forgot the danger almost as soon as he came upon it - fear and stress causing his mind to empty repeatedly. In each iteration of that star-struck moment of seeing the dangerous beast, he would try to escape from it.

But when he woke the morning after, alive but with his ears ringing and his head pounding, he wasn't aware of how close his life had come to ending. It was like he had just been beaten in a bar fight; when trying to stand up he felt the whole world tilt and spin, so he settled heavily against the thicket. Not remembering how he had gotten the crap kicked out of him was one thing - but to taste blood in his mouth was an eye opener, and he couldn't help but whine piteously, feeling like he was at the end of his rope. He hadn't felt this bad since leaving Jade Fern --- wait a minute.

He blinked, frowning, and thought about Jade Fern Grove. Kaskara came to mind, and then Scimitar, and --- okay, things fizzled out after that, but there was suddenly some hope!

I can't not reply to this. So many SCC feels.

Sequoia had been about to head off to the Redhawks when the smell of blood distracted her. As she neared, she came to the realization that it was a wolf. Injured. At their borders. She was no leader, but she was one in training, and she hustled toward the smell. The wolf she came upon was nothing remarkable except for the fact that he appeared to be injured. His smell was instantly linked in her head to a color, and she approached him with only the slightest bit of caution.

What happened? she asked, readying herself to call for whomever might be able to help this poor fella. Her mother would have been the best one to deal with something like this, but Portia was far away. Maybe she could run to the Redhawks and grab Raven if absolutely necessary.

This time as he was approached by a stranger, he heard them coming; a part of him thought it might've been the culprit of his beat-down and he tensed, but when a young girl emerged from among the copse he felt himself relax a bit. She voiced her concern, her question, and Yellowbelly waited for the reset. He'd never been aware of his resets before, but something felt different now. It never came — or it was taking its sweet time. Either way he had no time to lose.

I can't remember, he murmured, and found that his jaw hurt the more he spoke, and the taste of blood in his mouth grew worse with his speech as well. He turned his attention away from her and stuck out his tongue, trying to get a look at it - but he didn't really need to. As soon as he moved it he felt the twang of pain; he must have bitten it at some point. That's where the blood had come from. The rest of him felt like it had been thrown in to a river and run through some rapids.

I'm sore all over. He explained, and tried to stand up. That was also, evidently, a mistake. As soon as he was rising to his full height he was down again, huffing and puffing and trying to breathe as his ribs spurned the effort. I think I cracked a rib? But then would he be able to talk? God this was so frustrating!

He said he couldn't remember, which was rather concerning. Sequoia didn't have a lot of experience with those who had lost their memories, but it seemed like a pretty big warning sign to her. He said he was sore all over, and he seemed to have self-diagnosed that he had a cracked rib. She tried to remember who in the pack had the most medical knowledge, and she decided that would probably be Eljay. She was loathe to call him since he still had new kids, but she knew it was the best thing to do.

Hang on, she said, I'm going to call for somebody who I think can help. Seq did a quick one-eighty, then howled for @Eljay. Hopefully he wasn't too far away. With that out of the way, she turned back to the injured wolf. My name is Sequoia. What's yours?

Hang on, she said, and turned to howl for someone — a very much appreciated effort, and undoubtably one of the few moments of kindness held within his mentally diminished brain. Yellowbelly listened as best he could as she addressed him again but he was still smarting from the pain in his sides; he could breathe, and it only really ached if he took a very deep breath, which might've meant he was actually healthier than he initially thought.

—what's yours? His what...? Oh! His name. Right, he knew this.

He knew his own name, didn't he?

The man had to think about it for longer than he thought was appropriate; but finally he looked at the girl and said, I think its... Larry. Talk about denoument. Whatever mystique he had been cultivating (intentional or not) evaporated as soon as the word left his lips; it didn't sound quite right, and after another pause to wrack his sore brain, he corrected himself — No, that's not --- I think its Larus. Yeah. That sounds... That sounds familiar. Only barely.

It was hard to pull himself away from the children. Eljay had counted their toes a hundred times, at the very least, and whenever he needed to leave to provide Wiffle with something he was thinking of them the entire time. As the call sounded, it was no surprise that he was with his children. Eljay nuzzled their bellies lovingly and mumbled: Don't worry, daddy will be right on back. He nuzzled Wiffle's cheek, reassured her he would handle whatever the source of the call was -- though she didn't seem to need reassurance all that much, really -- and then Eljay started making his way towards the borders, from where the call had sounded.

It would probably take a little while longer before he would get to the pair of them, though Eljay moved at a swift gallop because Eljay wasn't called for that often, and when he was, there was usually something urgent going on.

He seemed confused. Maybe not quite sure what his name was, which was worrying. She really hoped he was alright, and her face was ripe with concern. Good to meet you... Larus, she said, still unsure if that was his name. Even he didn't seem sure. She wished that they could have met under better circumstances, but Sequoia was (and always had been) an optimistic wolf. Maybe there was a reason that they'd met this way.

You'll be in good hands with Eljay, she said, trying to reassure him that things would be okay here. Do you live nearby? Like, in a pack? she asked. Sequoia knew that, no matter what, Eljay would be willing to help the stranger who looked pretty banged up, but she was curious if he was planning on staying here.

This time the question felt like it had a definitive answer, and almost immediately he responded with, No. I have been alone... A very long time. While he couldn't say for certain how long he had been roaming, he felt the sharp pangs of hunger in his belly; looking down at himself, his limbs and his sore torso, Larus saw muscle where there used to only be youthful fat, sharp edges rather than soft ones, and felt immediately alienated within his own body. With a frown and a sigh, he rested his chin in the dirt and licked blood from his lips. I'm sorry, I am not making much sense.

With breath wheezing he eventually reached the pair of them. He saw them in the distance, though things seemed under control. No one was passed out on the ground. Eljay looked at Sequoia with a questioning expression in his gaze before he looked over to the stranger. What's -- oh, he said as he looked over the stranger. There was something weird about his smell and he seemed to have been in a scuffle, at the very least. What happened? There was worry in his gaze immediately, and Eljay immediately started to inspect the stranger to check where he might be bleeding, hurt, or otherwise needed help while presumably, Sequoia handled the non-medical talking bit of this encounter.

Hoppin' past Seq just to keep this goin!

Another wolf appeared - presumably the one they were waiting for, and they seemed concerned. Yellowbelly felt distracted; he couldn't quite focus on the newcomer until a few moments after they'd asked after him, and even then he'd left a growing gap of disquiet that Sequoia could've filled — but then he launched in to his slurred, jumbled, super-confusing explanation: I think I hit my head? I dunno; I can't remember — but um, I'm not from here. I don't... I don't know where I'm from. Can you help me?

He frowned, watching both of them expectantly but also dubiously; there was no way for Larus to know if this was the right play. He needed to rest at the very least, even if it meant they'd guard him here in the grass and then chase him off right after.

fading this :)

There was something off about the way the wolf's eyes were moving. Sequoia seemed to know nothing about what was going on and Eljay didn't really know how to handle this situation. All he knew was they had to help him, but how..? Especially since herbs had only just started growing, Eljay didn't really have much to offer him. Okay, we'll uhm, we'll help patch you up, alright? He looked at Sequoia with doubt in his eyes, before looking back to the wolf. Maybe you hit your head and got a concussion..? You look a little confused. Let's get you something to eat and drink, first, and I'll see if I can find some herbs to ease your pain. Eljay made sure that the wolf was outfitted with food, water -- outside of the territory's borders, of course -- and found a meagre offering of dried herbs against the pain, after which he presumably left again.