Ouroboros Spine surman suuhun

surman suuhun means "into surma's mouth", as if the victim was mauled to death by surma — a terrible beast in finnish mythology that guards the gates of tuonela to prevent escape

it is always after spending time away from the teekon wilds that wintersbane finds himself drawn back to it. it is inevitable; like the lure of a moth to a flame. there should be no reason to come back and yet he does, again and again. it's almost like an endless treasure hunt: he searches despite coming up empty pawed and maybe not entirely but what he does find is fleeting. like his current companionship: the acquaintance that shadows him now as they move through the spine's sparse trees, tracking the fawn they'd caught the scent of earlier. wintersbane doesn't trust the older male. not really. he expects the other to leave ...and if he doesn't wintersbane plans on shaking him, himself. since choosing to disband what little of the vartija he'd managed to gather he wasn't very interested in gaining followers.

theirs was one of convenience. two were better than one ...at least as far as bigger prey was concerned. they track it down and wintersbane makes the killing blow. finally, we can eat. wintersbane tells his companion, salmon pink tongue drawing across his jowls. attention focused on the felled fawn before him he misses the look sent his way and catches the movement of the charge from the corner of his eye. confusion and taken off guard wintersbane tries to absorb the other male's blow with his shoulder. travel has waned him down a bit and hunger distracts him, stealing his full attention from the grapple. the grapple that he realizes as teeth snap wildly for his face is serious — finding purchase above his brow causing wintersbane to snap at him in turn.

the adrenaline numbs the pain even as claws swipe down his face in territoriality over the felled fawn, trying to distract wintersbane with pain as he collides with him again. wintersbane is winded and staggers to the side, trying to regroup, hesitant on whether he should continue defense or switch to offense. he takes too long and teeth snap wildly at him again, this time latching onto his throat. he thrashes in the other male's grip, trying to break free as panic washes over him and threatens incapacitates him. panic followed by relief. so, wintersbane thinks, maybe this is how it ends, as he gasps for breath, a low growl rumbling and cutting off, a sharp whine of pain ripping from betwixt gritted teeth as the other's teeth tear at the flesh of his neck. wintersbane blindly manages to wrangles himself free, and lunges, tearing a chunk out of the other male's leg as their fight inches them closer to the ledge.

something spooks his attacker — ex companion — and wintersbane sees the opportunity. he seizes it in the next moment, throwing his weight against the other male and the pair topple over the ledge together, a tangle of tearing teeth, scrambling paws and tangled limbs. the fall isn't terribly far — not enough to kill either of them alone but winterbane's companion smashes his head against a jagged piece of rock on their fall and lands awkward and still on the ground seconds before wintersbane lands, his fall cushioned by the body of his ex-acquaintance, head slamming painfully against the ground.

it is there, drawing ragged breaths, that the world goes black as he falls unconscious; bleeding from the wounds on his face and neck still stubbornly drawing breath, fighting against death's clutches which has already come to claim the wolf crumbled beneath the tundrian limp and heavy tundrian.

Rarely did she ever leave Kaistleoki's borders since they had been established - but as she built her garden outside of the den she chose, Reiko found it was necessary for her to go out and seek herbs, flowers and other small things she could carry back to dig them up by the root and transplant them back home. Proper herbs were scattered everywhere, today she hunted to bring back some ginger root she found. 

On her way back home, she hummed a little tune while the plant hung gently in her maw - only for the soft humming to be interrupted by the sight of something, somethings falling from the cliff above and Reiko catching the sight from her peripherals. Hm? Stopping in her tracks, Reiko peered over to where the things fell and saw the bodies... bodies!

Quickly she ran over to them, the one she approached first due to the severity of the injury... it didn't look good at all, she leaned over to put her ear to his chest and... nothing. No beating. The other however, as she approached, she could see his chest moving slightly! What a good sign. Pouring over his wounds, there was a bite mark here... possible other lacerations there... what about anything broken internally from the fall? It looked like the one who perished cushioned his blow, but she worried for any other injuries she couldn't see.

Can you hear me? She called out, trying to see if he was still cooperative, consciousness would be a good thing right about now instead of once again, dealing with a lifeless, but breathing, body. 

She had to find some medicine for him.. Looking around, she couldn't find anything of use here, nor did she want to leave him alone out in the open, bleeding and possibly an easy target for anyone coming by. Whether he was still conscious or not, Reiko gathered a few branches and began barricading him away, out of sight and creating a makeshift room for her to treat him on the spot. For now, hiding him was what she focused on.. after, to find the proper plants, berries.. and some honey of course, to help with the current injuries.

error. wintersbane.exe has stopped working. files damaged in crash. factory reset imminent.

the tundrian stirs, a deep rise and fall of his flanks in a pained and ragged breath. his vision wavers and his hearing fades in and out — so quiet and so loud it's almost painful. 'can you —' and his hearing fades out as the pain intensifies. there's someone else — someone beside the corpse beneath him — but he's not sure whether she, a blur of moonbeam fur, is real or not. he knows the pain is real. he knows because he feels it from his neck more than anywhere else. his eyes flutter open and then closed. though the pale woman certainly looks like a celestial being from above ...this is far too painful to be death.

and yet ...despite how he fights to survive he yearns for death. his mind is hazy. confused. where am i? who am i? what happened? all questions he would ask ...later. the tundrian tries to lift his head, achieving a small lift of his chin and tries to talk but all that comes out is an incoherent rasping, rumbling noise as the pain tries and succeeds in pulling him back to unconsciousness once more.

It was the smell of blood that attracted the mottled woman. She was hungry, and interested in any sort of dead thing she could get her teeth around. It was a wolf, this time, and that always made Easy think of Vercingetorix, these days -- she wondered how he was doing.

But when she arrived, it was to see that someone had already capitalized on this meal -- a pale wolf who seemed quite fretful over an odd-looking bush. Curiously, Easy came plodding forward, trusting her large form to protect her far more than she ought. "What're you doing?" she asked, somewhat bemused by the behavior of the other woman. She had no way of knowing that her father had once been rather fond of Reiko, nor that they had ever met at all. But she thought there was something kind and sweet about the stranger all the same, and was inclined to try to help her if she could.

Sorry for the wait guys! It's been... rocky here for me in RL, didn't see it coming! I'll try to keep up with this thread as much as possible however!

Busy, too busy to notice that the male stirred in his slumber to regain consciousness. Reiko wanted to make sure he was well hidden from prying eyes before she ran off for medicine and things to work with in order to make her magic work on the patient. Eventually as she dragged one more branch, the male was hidden in all angles and - Ah! 

"What're you doing?"

Spinning around, the voice caught her off guard, and so did the sight of someone appearing behind her. N-nothing. Just.. building a fort! She giggled nervously. Not knowing who this individual was, Reiko wasn't comfortable trusting her to watch over the male while the porcelain woman ran off to find medicine... She backed up a few paces, keeping her eye on the female and her back on the injured. Hoping that nothing but a passing curiosity would come from this.

I'm thinking of bringing puppies from back home here to play later, this will be our home base for games. She smiled sweetly, hoping that she was good enough to lie her way out of this and let this woman be on her merry way so Reiko could begin working no the injured male... there was no way he had much longer. She had to work fast as soon as she felt they were both safe.

... If only she knew of their relation more than just assuming they were all strangers. Her heart pounded within her chest, nervously waiting, hoping the female would leave... just in case.

no worries! <3

raako fades in and out of consciousness. as he stirs back to consciousness again he is dazedly aware of the shelter that is being built around him ...the pain pulsating through his body. next follows is voices though it takes more effort than he'd care to admit to focus on them and even as he focuses on them: two, as far as he can tell ...he isn't even sure what they're saying. he blinks and lets out a pained whine, soft and whisper-thin.

The woman was acting rather suspiciously, thought Easy, her ears flying back in bemusement at the nervous giggle. She thought perhaps that her impressive size had intimidated the other, and tried to loosen her posture so as to appear a little less threatening. "Forts are fun. Plus, there's good fishing down that way," she agreed, still feeling strongly that there was something wrong, here, and that the woman might need her help. "My name's Easy," she added, and might've gone on to ask for the woman's if she hadn't heard the quiet sounds the male had made.

Her first glance was directed toward the body, alarmed, but she quickly realized there was someone else around. "Is someone hurt?" she asked, ears flying back once more as she wheeled back a step or two from the 'fort', lest some injured creature lash out at her.

Sure the woman's size was enough to make Reiko nervous, beyond nervous, but not for herself - for the injured man behind her. Reiko was confident she could outrun this woman, maybe do an obstacle course in order to avoid being caught and get away by simply being quicker, more nimble and sure footed. But the man however... she was scared for him. Time was ticking. 

Her heart pounded loudly in her chest, defending her ears, and her facade was quickly fading for being just a woman who was going to play with some puppies. 

For a while her lie seemed to be working, her tail wagged slowly behind her, a smile traced her lips as the other introduced herself and agreed on how fun forts were. My name is Reiko, it's a pleasure to meet you Easy. But her usually bubbly and excited introduction wasn't as Reiko normally was, she was hurried, trying to get this introduction out of the way.

Then the whine echoed softly behind her. Ears flattened against her skull as she could feel her heart stop, an immediate cease as if everything went quiet. Cerulean eyes kept onto Easy, hoping that she was as kind as she came off of so far. Please, he's on the brink of death. She pleaded, tail low, tucked tightly under her belly, ears flat as she gave Easy a wide panicked look. Quickly she stepped between Easy and the injured man behind her, making one more mild barrier to try and make sure he was out of harm's way. Would Easy go in the finish the other's job, or assist in helping this man get back onto his feet? I was trying to hide him so I can go fetch some medicine to tend to the wounds... please, help me, or at the very least... leave him alone. 

Now she waited.. unsure of her next move. A breath caught in her lungs, she almost felt like she would pass out by holding her breath for so long.

feel free to pp wintersbane as needed & go ahead and skip me for a while as he can't do much of anything presently. c:

he catches snippets of their conversation in broken words. hurt. death. hide. medicine. wounds. help. leave. alone. nothing solid and far from coherent enough to be able to piece together what they say the more they speak to one another. presently, he wasn't even all that sure that the two women he could hear even existed at all. who was to say he hadn't conjured them up and they weren't just illusions of a fragmented mind?

he lets out another low pained noise and slips to unconsciousness once more though that is how he stays as he grows weaker by the minute.

Sorry for the wait! Posting a quick reply to get back into the swing of things

The chance meeting started off awkward and quickly dipped toward alarming as the injured wolf was revealed. Apparently, Reiko thought he was in some danger from her. "Of course," she said at once, completely sincere. Although she had no problem eating carcasses, life was something she thought needed protection. "I'm no healer, but I can watch over him and get him cleaned up while you gather herbs," she offered, peering down at the male in bewilderment. A moment later, she realized something:

"Hey -- I've met him before," she commented, the night spent in the woods rushing back to her. Easy felt mixed fondness and worry as she examined his wound and the memory both. "Oh, I hope he'll be alright. Do you think you can heal him?"

Of course - the response brought a smile to her face. Mild, as worry still dug its claws into her very core. Thank you! Pressing to go, the one named Easy continued. She knew the male of all things, such a small world! And asked the most difficult question of all. I don't know, but I will try. With that, she was off in a flash. A wisp of white as she ran off in search of herbs, cobwebs perhaps as the wolf from before (@Cadeau) had shown the use of it, maybe honey if she could find some... and other herbs to dull the pain and infection. 

It all took perhaps a little over a half-hour - quick for a gathering, as she came back to the quickly made camp, all she found was a bunch of peppermints, slathered in honey - she herself didn't go without any bee stings, on her nose were a few visible new bumps and legs. She was quick at work, the leaves that held the most honey were spat onto the ground, careful to keep the sticky ooze on the top and clean. While the rest of the leaves she chewed them softly, choosing that chewing would be faster than any other option. It wasn't sanitary of course, but sanitation wasn't what she feared at this very moment. 

Once they were at the paste she desired, gently she deposited the herbs onto the male's wounds. Mind me asking who he is? Keeping her gaze on the male, she chose to make some talk with the one who knew him somewhat. Clasping the honey-drenched leave gently between her incisors, she placed it where the paste was added, pushing it with a paw to spread the paste and keep it there with the aid of the honey. It'll sting, but it'll keep him somewhat conscious I suppose.