Stone Circle i ain't seen this clearly in years

what should have been an evening stroll became a two-day trek. blondine had probably gone in a few circles on the way, but the shock of the situation was enough to keep her laughing. in fact, she hadn't stopped laughing since leaving the site of the incident. 

everything made her laugh. when she ran into the oak tree and almost her nose, blondine caught herself in a fit of cachinnation so strong she damn near fell over. but she composed herself and kept on her path, giggling all the while.

it took a while for her to reach anything even resembling a border. blondine sniffed around it for a while, finally deciding that yes, this was home. she threw her head back and loosened a call for @Valette and @Greyback, following it with a short call for indra.

The young boy had been rolling in the snow when the call sounded. It was unfamiliar to him, but they had gained several new faces over the past few weeks. Shaking water and snow loose from his pelt he would make his way towards the call to see if he could help in place of his parents, who he could only assume the call was actually for. Hey! Uh...is something wrong? He remembered seeing the woman somewhere in the blur of the bison hunt so she had to be part of Easthollow, but West wasn't actually aware of who the woman was.

the unfamiliar voice drew blondine's attention. she stiffened, standing still while her ears swivelled in their search. i'm alright, she replied, say something else, darlin'. both eyes were closed, the dry blood on her cheek the only indication of a recent incident. 

she would wait for the boy to respond before continuing. i'm looking for a way to bide my time. maybe you've got something in mind?

The boy tilted his head as Blondine turned towards him, the dried blood on her face now evident. Had something happened to her? She said she was alright though so... Well— I was thinking about looking for some food to catch. My mom has been giving up her shares for me, but I'm one of the most fed mouthes in the pack right now.

It was true that now they had the bison, but hunting down a bison a day would likely be too much for the pack and Valette still needed to catch up on meals. As much as he loved food, he could spare some for his mother.

the boy spoke long enough for blondine to decide where he was. she nodded and gave a warm smile. who is your mom? she asked. there was a strange itch in her socket; she turned and used a paw to rub at her eye. 

i can help you find something, blondine offered, i can't help with catching it though. she would wait for a signal to move, then turning to sniff out a trail.

Valette! It always felt weird to just say her name, most knew who his family was leaving no reason for him to ever have to say her name but...she was new. That being said, he was always proud to be the son of the Matriarch and Patriarch.

he boy tilted his head when Blondine said she'd help him track something, but not catch. Why can't you help? Dad says wolves are supposed to pull their weight around here. Despite his confusion, he would still lead the woman further into the woods to find something for his mom.

there was no use in beating around the bush. i'm blind, blondine sighed, can't see a thing. she had no intention of abandoning her responsibilities; she was a hunter, just not a very good one. there was no apparent movement, so she stood still to await his response. 

after a moment, she continued. wha'd'you have a taste for?

Blind? That was a funny word. That doesn't make sense, everyone can see. Well...sometimes it's harder to see like when it's really dark but you get my point. After all she had eyes right? To be fair he hadn't seen them yet, but the boy wasn't exactly aware that you could lose em.

West turned his head in thought as he trotted along, A rabbit could be nice? Although I've been hunting a lot of those lately, oh! What aboutttt a bird? He hadn't done a ton of bird hunting yet...because they had wings. Sometimes they were just way too high for him to do anything, but they still came down to search for food on the forest floor.

hearing the boy's steps prompted blondine to follow. honey, i'm telling you, she laughed, i haven't got any eyes to see from. the delirium and shock had yet to fade, making such an admission easy. later, once the facts set in, the narrative would surely change.

she nodded along to his words, trusting that he would see. there were a myriad of scents that flowed through their territory so she stopped to see if any could be tracked. might not be a bird, blondine whispered between sniffs, but i think i've got something.

the huntress lowered her snout to the ground and began to head north. don't let me hit a tree, she called to the boy, then i really won't be any help.

She said it and she could say it again, but the statement just made no sense to West. Everyone has eyes though? At least everyone he had met...was it possible to not have eyes? That must be pretty freaky. His attention was turned back to the hunt as Blondine started following a trail.

Again, he didn't understand his need to be a guide, but he'd follow if it meant food. If it's not a bird what do you think it is? The boy's tail wagged excitedly behind him. Surely his mom would appreciate the meal no matter what it was.

the wounds were still sore, crusted over with fragile scabs and poorly dried blood. still, blondine laughed and asked him, you wanna see? if yes, she would open both eyes to reveal the empty sockets hidden behind closed lids. if not, well, she'd just keep on keeping on.

the scent grew almost unbearably strong. they were close, but because she couldn't see the targer, blondine stopped and waited for her friend to take the lead.

Blondine was quick to offer proof and cluelessly West accepted it only to recoil. A thousand words raced through his mind in response, but none of them came aside from a short yell as he stepped away. It was nightmare fuel. What happened?! That wasn't normal, right? It couldn't be.

Now he almost desperately wanted to catch something just so he could get away or at least be in some different company. The woman was nice enough, but that was too unsettling for him. His yell probably didn't help the hunt, but at least now he also caught the scent Blondine had been tracking.

For now West would try to distract himself from the image by focusing on the hunt, moving a bit slower as he sniffed the area to see where their prey might be lurking after his little outburst.

i'll tell you after this hunt! blondine's voice was barely above a whisper as she settled into a crouch and allowed her companion to take the lead. there wasn't much for her to do in this situation; without sight, she wouldn't be much help. she waited to hear the sounds of the chase.

since blondine is inactive I'm gonna just wrap up the hunt for trade purposes! Thanks for threading with me, sorry we didn't finish before you took her out

Blondine led ahead and soon enough he picked up the scent she had found. It wasn't a bird, but would still provide as a meal for the pack. Small prints littered the ground before him and following his mother's previous advice, West would slowly investigate until he caught sight of a pink tail poking out from a bush. Almost as if the possum realized it's mistake, the creature scrambled out attempting to climb the tree nearby.

At that point, the woodland boy had already leaped into action and just as it was about to climb out of reach, his teeth clamped down on its tail allowing him to throw it to the ground. In the sort daze the possum faced, West was able to quickly secure his prey and finish it off. Looks like you were right! he grinned even though the woman would never see it. His concern of her lack of eyes temporarily forgotten with the excitement that came from his new kill. I gotta go show Mom this! Thanks for the help!

With that, the young boy scampered off, kill hanging from his jaws to provide for Valette.