Sun Mote Copse verlamming

this is making the bold assumption that no one is like murdered in this thread.

the feeling still hadn't returned, not fully. for days after the incident, anathi had been bedridden, confined to the soiled hole he'd crawled into. eventually, hunger pulled him from the den; crawling with his hind legs sprawled out worked long enough to lead him to a pond. 

there, anathi found himself grateful for the girl's lessons about die water. it took hours of frustration and failure before he finally, finally, caught a fish just smaller than his paw. he stayed beside the bank for as long as necessary before he was once again able to stand. 

it wasn't...it was standing, but only by definition. anathi's legs shook like those of a fawn. these episodes of strength were momentary, lasting just long enough to close miniscule distances. for days, he worked tirelessly on his balance, stopping only when on the verge of fainting.

hunting felt impossible. his survival was made possible by the picked-over carcasses of long dead prey. occasionally, he would test himself to a chase but thus far, they'd all failed.

eventually, anathi was strong enough to carry himself for moments at a time. his hindlegs still hadn't regained feeling; instead of walking, he moved with an exaggerated limp caused by the dragging of his paws. there were often times wherein he needed a break and would revert back to the more comfortable (and more vulnerable) crawl.

he remembered the woman who'd found him in the den. just like the others, their conversation was essentially non-existent. still, he remembered her persistence and what had been perceived as compassion. anathi thought to seek her out. 

there was a pack some ways from where he'd fallen. it would have normally taken a morning to find, but this trip took days. when anathi did arrive on their doorstep, he drew in a deep breath of relief and took a moment to express his gratitude. finally, the hunter tilted back his head and sounded his request.

Finley was not usually one for prowling the borders, but since Sugar's disappearance, she haunted them like a wraith. Every call that sounded held the barest whisper of a promise that there might be some news of her wayward daughter and Fin, foolish though she knew it was, let hope bloom. Every damn time. She couldn't help it, it was in her nature to not let go of the things she loved. Even when it seemed like she had, she kept it deep inside of her heart, hidden, held close.

So, when the call at the borders came, Fin was on her way quick as her old bones allowed. By forcing herself to work the past couple of months, she had found herself growing stronger again. She would never reclaim the strength of her youth, especially not with the hip injury from the past that still caused a slight but noticeable limp, but she was no longer letting herself waste away and calling it "retirement". Not all signs of her age could be that easily remedied--the white that used to cover her undersides reached further towards her black spine every day, peppering across her face and her sides like flakes of snow that simply wouldn't melt. Still, she felt strong-ish and confident when she came to a stop before the stranger that sought an audience with her pack that day.

"You rang?" she asked, her posture authoritative but not unwelcoming. She took the man in with a sweep of her eyes and a deep breath of his scent. He did smell like her little Squirrel, nor did she appear to be with him. There didn't appear to be as much hope as she'd thought in this encounter, but she held her judgement, just in case.

the expectation of submission was one that anathi was grateful for. it allowed him to lie down and rest under the guise of respect without exposing his vulnerability. the woman spoke, and he listened, though meaning was lost in translation. eh..., he was searching for the words, hier, wolf. help my. these were words that he'd used before, words that he knew she could understand. frustration began to tick as he realized that these might be the only words she could understand.

still, anathi continued. siek den. kom help, ek is beter. small sighs as he tried to communicate his gratitude. dankie. bedank haar. every word was said almost painfully slow in hopes of increasing comprehension. he waited for a response, though he doubted he'd understand it anyway.

It quickly became clear to Fin that the stranger was not in great shape. It wasn't because of his movements--she assumed any tension in his frame was due to the situation and not becaues he was physically unwell. No, she was basing her assumption on the way he spoke. The guy had clearly had a stroke because he was muttering absolute gibberish at her.

The Blackthorn frowned as he yammered slowly. She picked out a couple of words here and there, like help and den and better. He also seemed to keep referring to something as being dank. Like a dank bed. Like he needed help finding a den with a better dank bed in it. His bed wasn't dank enough? Fin shook her head.

"I didn't... What now?" she canted her head and peered at him with a quirked brow. Maybe she'd glean more the second time around. Or she'd become more confused. It was a toss up.

okay, okay. anathi pushed himself backward to put more distance between them. he kept his head low, both his ears and eyes pointed toward the ground. the goal here was to get into position without inciting an attack. 

he glanced over at the elder to see her initial reaction. doen dit, okay? he was going to give her a step-by-step walkthrough of everything that's occurred.

it began with the fall. anathi worked his way up onto all fours and fell over onto his side, sticking out his tongue to emulate the body of a corpse. for a moment, his eyes were closed, but he peeked from one to see if she understood.

then, he stood again, this time positioned like he was about to begin a crawl. another look. okay? anathi used his forelegs to pull himself a few steps forward. wolf, help. nou, beter.

to conclude the demonstration, he stood properly before her. his legs wobbled and shook, one of them threatening to give out. after a moment, he was able to steady himself. anathi smiled and looked again at his audience. eh, help, it working.

Yeah, a repeat didn't illuminate things much better for her. There did seem to be at least one theme that continued from before--the word help, though his speech was now also littered with the word okay. So, he needed help, but he was okay. ...Okay.

Fin watched the little dance that accompanied his song this time with a bemused expression. First, he fell over, then he crawled, then he stood, and smiled at her. She peered at his face for a moment. She still had no idea what it was that he wanted, but there was something inexplicably endearing about him. For some reason, she thought of Lagan as she looked at him. Curious.

"Do you have a name?" she asked, deciding the let the whole figuring-his-story-out thing go for the moment.

name? sounds sorta like naam, right? anathi could work with that. rhode, he replied. it was a second name meant to cater solely to the strange tongues of foreigners. there was a warm grin slowly enveloping his maw, though he took care to not bare teeth.

to steady himself, he allowed his tag to carry an enthusiastic wag. occasionally, anathi would find himself tipping over. still, he worked to hold his stance. name, pak? he asked, hoping for some intelligible response.

It seemed name at least was something he understood. And if he didn't, the word he chose to say would become it anyway. It sounded enough like a name for her. Her posture thus far had been dominant, but she relaxed now into something more casual--an indication that he too could settle a bit if he'd like. He seemed to be having some trouble holding his pose. That or maybe he was just always wobbly. Just a wobbly little wolf, full of smiles and silly words. She liked him.

"I'm Finley Blackthorn," she said in response. She wasn't entirely sure which name he was seeking, so she offered both options that came to mind with the words name and pack, "This pack is called Firebirds. Are you looking for a home?" She still had the authority to accept wolves into their ranks, or so she assumed. She wouldn't do so without letting @Wraen have the last word, but she saw some value in this odd stranger, even if communicating with him would likely be a challenge. But since when had they ever had a problem with disabled wolves?

learning a language was a generally difficult task, but anathi found names to be the most trying part. there were just... there were so many! finley bla-ck-torn, he whispered, fi-yur bird. finley blackthorn, firebirds. 

the furrowing of his brow made his rearising frustration clear. anathi took a deep breath and tried to replay finley's words. are you looking for a home? well, yeah! and if he'd understood the question, he would've said so immediately! 

uhh, anathi's tail slowed its wag as he picked his brain, wat now? it was the same phrase that finley'd used earlier. as his youthful energy began to return, he gave her an expectant look, as though waiting for her approval.

Finley was surprised when Rhode managed to repeat what she'd said. She'd thought he simply didn't have full control of his tongue, not that he didn't speak the same language. It meant there was a different reason for his wobbly-ness, but she wasn't too concerned about that. She could work with this. She'd learned to communicate with a deaf wolf. This was definitely do-able.

His last comment made her laugh as she recognized it was what she had said to him earlier. "Nice one," she quipped with a grin. She definitely liked this dude. "Home," she repeated, adjusting her approach now that she understood his struggle to speak more simply for him, "Pack. A place to live?"

simpler sentences, thank goodness. if anathi really focused, he could understand almost nothing. there was one word that he paid attention to: live. it sounded a little like leef, and while the connection was a stretch, he decided to roll with it.

live, fi-yur bird? the she-wolf, she did live here! anathi could hardly contain his excitement. he was so happy to have made a breakthrough that his entire body shook with joy. it was too much for his legs to handle, though; still nodding, anathi sat down. ja, live fi- fire bird. 

anathi waited a moment but the she-wolf did not appear. he sighed impatiently, then adding on, bedank haar? he smiled at the elder and stood to move, soon enough hobbling out of sight.