Great Bear Wilderness nothing you can say that can tear me away

@Chanel

the nightwalkers didn't prioritize pup supervision, allowing famine the chance to sneak away. he wandered aimlessly from the den, going seemingly unnoticed by the adults, and eventually meandered his way across their border. 

not long after leaving home, famine found himself to be quite hungry. he would have turned back for more of serem's milk, but...he was lost. suddenly, things seemed more frightening than they once had.

note to self: dated AFTER joining FB

After getting lost from Firebirds once, she was much more careful to organize a mental map now. No longer would she journey without thought, and so when she took a stroll over the mountains and into the region which she'd come from, her mind was focused on the route which she took. 

It was not long after crossing over the mountains that something caught her eye- something round and grey, like a big rock- except this rock seemed to wander slightly, with glimmering lavender eyes. Naturally, she was intrigued. 

Racing up to the adorable little thing, Chanel halted before him, gazing down with pitiful chocolate eyes. She paid a worried glance this way and that- was no one watching him? Oh my goodness, darling, where are your mommy and daddy? She cooed with anxiousness. She wasn't sure if a boy this age even had the grip of vocabulary to reply, but she would at least try this before she moved to more drastic and decisive measures.

chanel's voice was sweet and smooth, her tone warming his little heart like fresh molasses. famine took an apprehensive step forward, but stopped himself from coming too close. she was a stranger, and she didn't even have any food!

the boy stared up into her eyes for a moment before turning his back to plop down onto his hindquarters. famine began to cry, whimpering quietly the names of his siblings: con-est, deffy, pest...

He took a step forward- but hesitated, which sunk her spirits. And be begun to cry! No, no, no! It was every teenage babysitter's worst nightmare. Furthermore, the words he mumbled made no sense- only one, pest, registering as a word, and she figured it was not what he'd meant to say. Any child would say bug before pest, right? Perhaps he was simply babbling as children did. 

Another glance is paid around them- empty. She frowned, and began to coo sweet words. Oh, darling, hush, hush, it's okay, you're safe, I've got you baby, it's okay...are you hungry? She murmured as she crept closer, slowly leaning down to try and pick him up by the nape. Surely he'd be quite the heavy little child, but if she could carry him somewhere safer, maybe... Maybe there was room for him at Firebirds, she thought. If only his parents would show, all of this mess would be solved- but there wasn't a soul in sight.

the woman continued speaking, grasping famine's attention. he slowly turned over his shoulder and peered at her face, surprised by the new expression she wore. what was it called? he'd never seen concern before, and especially not to this extent.

while being lifted into the air, famine opened his mouth and replied, hun-gy? hell yeah, he was hun-gy. the child's tail began to wag wildly, sending ripples of excitement throughout his body.

omg... hes cute I love him

The ctrying seemed to cease, or at least slow as his attention was grabbed by her words or expression. Another word came from the boy, and this time she finally understood what he was hoping to say- hungry! He had latched onto that bit, and she figured he must have done semblance of the meaning of it. Though she could not see his tail at this angle, she could feel him begin to wiggle with excitement, and her own tail wagged joyfully in response. 

Soon she had carried him to the base of a lone tree, placing him carefully beside one of the roots. There was no way to keep a child in place- and so she knew, she must hunt quickly, and keep one eye on the child at all times. Gaze remained partially focused on him as she followed the nearby trail of a vole. The creature was not much, to any adult- but it ought to satisfy a child. 

It was only a minute or two later that she had the thing grasped neatly between her teeth- as always, careful not to brutalize the animal in any way, make it too disgusting to look at. If she never had to hunt for food, she never would- the process of killing an animal, snapping its bones, sent a shiver down Chanel's spine. 

She had only wandered a couple of yards, and so returned to the tree with the vole between jaws, hoping the boy had remained in place.

"remained in place"— famine hadn't wandered too far, but he certainly hadn't remained seated. the chubby child caught sight of a nearby butterfly and took off after it, deciding that he would feed himself. of course, his legs were too short to leap effectively after his prey, but famine was proud of his efforts.

hearing the woman's return, he trotted back toward the tree. curious eyes looked between the vole and its maker, wondering what she expected him to do. the wolves at home taught him to wait until the meat looked mushy and this looked nowhere near mushy! famine kept eye contact with furrowed brow as he bent nervously down to nibble at a paw.

By the time she'd returned, he was trotting back to the tree. It was good, at least, that he was where he belonged- but how far had he wandered? She figured it couldn't be much- and what did it matter, now that he was here and not missing? She wouldn't let such a thing bother her. 

Famine still looked rather bored with the catch that was in Chanel's mouth though. His brow furrowed- an expression that was readable even on a baby. Something wasn't right. She considered momentarily how things had been when her mother's next litter had been born. She wasn't around for much of it- but she'd been interested enough in the adorable little babies to watch over them sometimes. And the way her mother had chewed the food and spat it up- she recalled it distinctly because, she found it too disgusting to witness and would promptly exit whenever it happened. Would she have to do such a thing...?

Face contorted in total disgust as she began to chew, slowly approaching the boy with reluctance. Once she reached him- she spat up a lump of soggy half-chewed meat. It was so nasty. She couldn't dare to look, and so turned her head away with something like shame, though she doubted a puppy was one to judge.

chanel dropped the food within reach and promptly turned to give famine some privacy. he was appreciative of both actions, demonstrated by his ferocious chewing of the meat. smacking noises and greedy huffs sounded from where he sat, until he'd finally found himself full.

famine rolled onto his back with a hefty burp. eyes half-lidded, he patted the fur on his belly and opened his mouth wide with a yawn. was it time to go home yet? he hoped not; having a personal food supply was way cooler than competing with siblings.

The noises that came from behind her were rather surprising to hear from a little thing- smacking, huffing, slobbering and chewing. Her face twisted with disgust then too, but at least she didn't have to witness it all. Once he burped, she took that as affirmation that he was finished, and turned back towards him.

That boy was already a short round little thing, and yet somehow she could've sworn he'd gotten even fatter. A yawn- he was tired, certainly. She ought to get him home soon- but where was home? She strode closer, carefully on dainty feet. Where's your mommy and daddy? She cooed with dual adoration and worry. If there was no way to find his home- the only option she would have left would be to take him. Chanel couldn't just leave the boy out here alone.

mommy and daddy? famine's vocabulary didn't include those words. he blinked his eyes once, then twice, while awaiting further explanation. another burp came up, this one accompanied with the tiniest bit of vomit, consequences of having gorged himself (again).

slowly, famine began to drift off to sleep. he fought to keep his eyes open and focused on the chocolate-dipped sylph before him, but eventually found his body unable to fight off the -itis.

Blink. Blink. Burp. Vomit. Kind of disgusting, she cringed slightly. And she certainly wasn't getting an answer from this kid. She began to gaze at her surroundings again, hoping a fatter grey wolf would emerge from the grasses, from the trees. No one came, and by the time she looked back to the baby, he was drifting off. She sighed, making her way towards him and curling up around him, to take her rest as well as shelter him from the cold. And perhaps she could make the decisions about this whenever she awakened. 

fade here, we can start a new one forward dated a little to tuktu? unless, you want to make smaller stops along the way... just lmk