Fairspell Meadow an agitation of the air

It was an overcast summer day, and not very warm, either. Pumpkin didn’t mind the weather, for it meant that summer was coming to a close and soon autumn would be here—her favorite season. Autumn was the season that had the most magic in it, from what she recalled of her puphood in a forest far away. She and her family had eaten the last of the fruit fallen to the ground and told each other stories—spooky or otherwise. She remembered this time of her short life fondly as she meandered through the meadow she now found herself in. The smell of fruit was strong here, for there were many berry bushes dotting the landscape.

Unfortunately, Pumpkin also smelled bear. She froze, scanning the horizon for the culprit, and saw the massive creature off to her left aways. The fur on the back of her neck rose in terror as she lowered herself to the ground. It wasn’t looking at her, too preoccupied with eating berries off of a bush. Still, it was a threat. It would be best not to alert it to her presence, so she slowly began slinking away, keeping the bear in her sight at all times and praying that it would remain oblivious.

she wanders with an aimless stride, shoulders slack with a carelessness as paws drift across the long grasses leading away from her home. there's a slight limp to her movements thanks to her knee still remaining stiff from her...scuffle with the intriguing pale man but she seems light as she moves with a ghostly grace nevertheless. she was experiencing a magnificent lull in the abuse her mind liked to throw at her recently although she believed it was starting to get...better? or was she just growing immune to the pain, would she manage to cage it all up once more and go back to being a pure robot? did...did she want that? a frown creases her features now, it was certainly better than the bad days but.....if there was another side would she prefer that?

her head starts to hurt and so with a slight clench of her jaw she attempts to drop the subject and is all too glad to spot another in the distance. normally socialising was not high on her to do list but at that moment she sees the pale wolf as nothing more than a distraction from a treacherous spiral. so she actually voluntarily moves in its direction, stopping only a little ways off to tilt her head curiously. female, loner..? and pale like her...also, her nose wrinkled, terrified. why? 

dark eyes scan the area until she starts with a surprised blink. well shit. a fucking bear. she should've noticed that ages ago dammit like it's smell was literally in the air what was...was she about to ask what was wrong with her? she would've laughed had it not been for the looming threat and a soft explosion of concern hits her, leaving her wincing lightly at the pure strength of the emotion. it was pretty close to home and she chews at her lip nervously, it would be disastrous if it came too close to the woods. 

oh yea, the female- she'd almost forgotten she wasn't alone and watches as the woman begins to back up slowly in tundra's direction. she drops her own frame low into the grass and lets out a soft chuff to announce her presence without alerting the beast before the other wandered too close and got a potential fright. she then remains crouched, heart already beginning to flutter quickly as that familiar tease of adrenaline flickers through her at what could turn into a risky situation.

Pumpkin did not notice the other female until she chuffed, and therefore, almost jumped out of her skin. She grit her teeth together hard to keep from yelping and spun her head around so fast that she got a crick in her neck. Oh, thank the stars. It was just another wolf, who seemed equally as unwilling to let the bear know that they were there. Pumpkin nodded silently in acknowledgement of the woman and continued scooting away. The farther she got, the less her heart hammered in her chest, and she was about to sit up, thinking that she’d gotten enough distance between herself and the bear, when suddenly the wind changed direction.

The bear sniffed the air curiously, then stood on its hind legs and let out a roar, turning around to face the two wolves. Pumpkin bit her tongue to keep from screaming and held still, unsure if the monster could see them or not, hiding in the grass. It continued sniffing the air and giving warning calls, and then began to lumber towards them slowly. It didn’t seem overly concerned, but Pumpkin certainly was. She turned quickly and hissed, “Run!” to the woman in the grass with her. Without waiting for a reply, she took off, fleeing like a mouse running from a cat.

she's not all too worried to be honest, if anything she's only concerned about the idea of it coming across her home especially since the mothers and pups outweighed the number of other adults...although the the pups were probably old enough for the mothers to be back in the same category as other adults...maybe? really she didn't know but either way nothing good would come of that lumbering beast getting anywhere near the woods. as big eyes track the other and her lips tug upwards at the corners in response to the nod shot her way, she's also aware of a giddiness spreading through her chest. running her tongue over her lips quickly, she's about to speak quietly when she catches the look of alarm to flare in the vibrant gaze of her company and brows arch as she once again is left relying on someone else to react first to notice the issue. it doesn't sit well with her since she's always aware and she blinks back a wave of confusion before refocusing on the large predator in the distance.

well shiiiit it could smell them now and of course to announce this development it had to stand and roar which resulted in her flattening sensitive ears with an annoyed huff. it falls back down on heavy paws and begins to wander in their general direction and she's just marvelling at what it would be like to just be able to stand on your back paws and look all big and intimidating like that whenever you could when the unnamed girl lets out a panicked run! causing the ex-soldier to jump with surprise.  

she arches brows first as she shoots off with an incredible speed and admires her for a few moments before simply shrugging, grin gracing pretty features as she shoots after the girl. she doubts it'll give chase giving it hadn't really pinpointed them yet and simply enjoys the wind rushing through her fur as she follows the girl, paws thrumming softly against the earth as she moves with as agile a gait as she can with her injury. a soft laugh spills forth from open jaws as she gently guides the other away from her home in case the bear did decide to follow their trail. better to be safe than sorry. she's content to keep the run up until the other feels at a safe enough distance to stop so continues to spring through the meadow, trying to keep soft giggles to a minimum lest it made the loner nervous although she highly doubted the bear could hear them with the distance between them now.

The woman got out ahead of Pumpkin after a few seconds, and she gladly followed her. She heard no sound of the bear behind them, and was glad for that. Eventually she slowed her pace and glanced over her shoulder. The bear’s form was smaller now. It had not followed them. It had probably gone back to eating berries, much to Pumpkin’s relief. She had never encountered a bear face-to-face like that before—although, in reality, that hadn’t exactly been a face-to-face encounter. Still, that was the closest to danger she’d ever come, as far as she could recall. Her heart still pounded in her chest and she thought of the bear. She was panting from her sprint and grinned at the woman who had run with her. The woman was giggling.

“Well, that was an adventure,” Pumpkin quipped, a giggle begging to escape her. She tried to pull a straight face and then immediately began giggling. Part of it was because laughter is always contagious, and part of it was from the adrenaline rush. In a few moments, she found herself on the ground, laughing until she was out of breath. “I’ll… I’ll have to tell my siblings about this… some day,” she managed to get out between guffaws. She could only imagine the looks on their faces when she told them she’d almost been eaten by a bear. (That, of course, was a lie, but it would certainly make the retelling more interesting).

The white woman seemed to have nothing to say to her, so after a short time, Pumpkin said her goodbyes and was on her way from that crazy situation. She would be sure to be more careful in the future.

[Exit.]