Mount Apikuni When I find myself in times of trouble
836 Posts
Ooc — Hela
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The storm had continued off and on since they were forced from the river. She was torn; she had to keep her daughter safe, but she also needed to find her son. The storm had swept him away along with what had remained of Kaistleoki. Mother nature had taken her son, her pack, and her friends all in one fell swoop. Now she was left with the impossible task of choosing between which child to protect. All she could do was try to keep Malila safe right now. They needed to find somewhere else to stay. She hoped her skill and experience as a healer would make a pack more willing to take her in—that, along with the fact that her daughter was much too young to handle the winter without a pack even when there weren't storms dumping never-ending snow on them. Once they were settled, she would be able to make short trips out to look for Mohe.

The snow fell heavily, and the sun would be setting soon. She needed to find them some shelter for the night. While making their way across the mountains, she often had to choose between finding shelter and finding a meal. Tonight, it would be shelter. It had been a couple days since Malila had eaten, and even longer for the healer, but the weather forced her choice tonight. 

The valley was too open, so she shepherded her daughter to base of another mountain, cursing herself for not familiarizing herself better with this side of sunspire. But she knew mountains meant the possibility of some kind of shelter, and even though they were exhausted, she pushed them forward on a path the wound itself up the mountain. 

Mercy came in the form of a giant crack in the rock wall next to them; it left a hole in the side of the mountain that was just big enough for the two of them to fit inside. They could huddle together and keep warm at least. She turned to Malila. Let's rest here for the night, sweetie. They had gone as far as she could manage today.
175 Posts
Ooc — Mai
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Malila was confused, disoriented, shaken and upset. She was far too young to be homeless. Far too vulnerable to be wandering out in the wilderness in the middle of a blizzard. All she had ever known was the sheltered life that only a pack could offer. And all in a day, that was gone now. The scent of her brother, Mohe, was no longer there with her. She fretted, bursting into frequent bouts of tears, wondering if she would ever see him again. If things would ever go back to normal.

But she had Speedy, who had refused to leave her side. Malila adored her mother, and stuck to her like glue while they pushed through the storm, together through the mountains. Her winter coat had not yet grown in fully, her thin guard hairs offering only so much protection against the bite of the cold. Head tucked low, ears plastered back to her skull, she squinted against the snow that whipped at her face. The air up here in these mountains was thinner, but she didn't know that, making her breathing more difficult. Her lungs weren't accustomed to this.

Shivering and panting from exhaustion, her young legs burning with a raw ache, she managed only a meager nod when Speedy signaled it was time to rest. She hadn't even laid eyes on the refuge her mother had discovered. Her legs and eyes felt heavy; it took her everything she had just to stay awake and not collapse in a heap. Prying her eyes open just a little further, the crack in mountain wall materialized before her eyes, albeit in blurry focus. She sniffled. "O-okay." She stumbled forward, and when she reached the shelter, squeezed her tiny body in as far as it could go, to distance herself from the bitter cold. "I just wanna sleep. Momma...I really don't like winter..." She mumbled drearily as her eyelids drooped shut at last.
2,664 Posts
Ooc — ebony
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he set out that day to search the lands between the sunspire and the bypass for his sons. 
here and there he would draw the air and drift; he committed himself to the questing of it, thankful for his tall legs that carried him with less effort through the high drifts.
the gargoyle found himself filling with familiarity as he came to the mountain. little possibility they had come this far; he expected astraeus and thade to both return to the stone halls of their birth, more than cross a wholly foreign set of rock teeth. and yet a curious hope spurred mahler. he found his way along the remembered trails; even covered in snow the man knew the steps to take.
here the doktor called a low darkened dirge; here he stepped down into the high snowbanks encircling the edge of the small spire, nearly a hillock alongside the likes of the sun-peak and sawtooth.
fresh tracks, but they did not belong to any in rivenwood. and yet mahler followed them perhaps for lack of better to do, and found himself a short distance from a yawning boulder-break that reminded him of his short stay in the taigawood. he cleared his throat, shifting but not yet advancing lest there be teeth in the mountain.
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836 Posts
Ooc — Hela
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It broke her heart to see her daughter so exhausted and uncomfortable. The guilt she felt almost constantly swelled to an unbearable amount in her chest, making tears sting her eyes. Now was not the time for crying, though, so she tried to push past the emotion and focus on Malila. I know, sweetie, she said softly as her daughter slowly made her way into the shelter that would hopefully keep them safe for the night. Speedy nuzzled her cheek as she drifted off to sleep, and turned to look around the area. She would curl around Malila once she was sure they were safe.

The soft clearing of a throat, barely audible over the icy wind made her freeze in place. Her worried gaze scanned around them once more until she saw the dark wolf standing a short distance away. She had no real fighting skills, but she would protect her daughter as long as she breathed. A quick glance behind her told her Malila still appeared asleep, so she took a few steps forward, her body language wary but she hoped to keep him away from her sleeping pup until she knew he meant her no harm

A few more hesitant steps and she stopped. I don't want any trouble; I'm just resting for the night, and then I'll be on my way. She knew this area wasn't claimed, but that didn't protect her from lone wolves who might be possessive of this part of the mountains.
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Ooc — Mai
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#5
Tucked in as far as she could manage, her back pressed up against rough stone, Malila's body was a tiny ball of blonde and chocolate fur. Sleep had taken her quickly. It was not a restless slumber, though. It was fitful and precarious, as her sides heaved with rapid, shallow breathing. Each little hair on end, waving slightly while her frame shivered just a little. 

Her dark ears only twitched sporadically as she dozed on, eyelids scrunched shut, while the tip of her tail protected her nose. Oblivious to the arrival of a strange man outside their makeshift shelter and to her mother, Speedy, on wary alert.
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Ooc — ebony
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mahler stopped at once, stepping back several movements with an appeasing swing to his dark plume. "no trouble meant, frau," he assured. there was another scent here, and the gargoyle noted it with a passing mental note.
"forgive me. but if you are vithout shelter, might i offer it?" and he knew how this appeared; he took another backward step, for a strange man appearing from nowhere to proffer what might be needed could instill a sense of suspicion.
but he remembered the creed of diaspora and how it had been practiced within these hillways and stone arches, and how once a band from drageda had sought footing in their land and it had been granted; all the things that had come from that filling his mental tomes.
silence now; he would take his leave if this only gave the watchful woman more reason to fear.
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836 Posts
Ooc — Hela
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His words seemed genuine, and she was not usually the type to distrust without any reason to be suspicious. She was alone, though, and solely responsible for keeping her daughter safe; it filled her with worry and questions when normally she would be friendly and open. 

She watched him carefully as he took a step back. His offer was a bright light in her world that had been so dark and uncertain lately; she wanted to trust that it came from a good place, but her thoughts kept returning to her sleeping daughter. What if she led them into a bad situation by accepting shelter from this stranger? Normally, she would trust her gut, but she was having trouble tapping into her empathy right now. Her expression still wary, she finally asked: What would you ask for in return? Some things were perfectly reasonable—healing, food, protection. But what if his stipulations were more sinister than that? She was getting ahead of herself, though. She had no idea what his motives were, if he even had any. Maybe his answer would clear things up some. Her attention remained on him as she waited for him to speak, but her ears listened to the steady breathing that let her know Malila still slept where she was hidden.
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Ooc — ebony
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#8
posting w permission! <3

mahler meant to say nothing, but thought better of it. again he considered who he was and his strangeness to them. it would not be a respectable answer. "i have a place for skilled volves in my ranks, alvays. i am a healer and midvife by trade." he had once thought others might find this odd; now mahler said it without thought of such things. it was a necessary teaching to possess. any wolf could hunt; it was a requirement to survive. therefore he placed emphasis on other things.
a swish of his charcoal plume; the man had nothing else to say until she accepted. at her first refusal, mahler meant to depart for the sake of her peace. but his was a bruised heart, and he did not feel right leaving behind a vulnerable pair.
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836 Posts
Ooc — Hela
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When he mentioned he was a healer and midwife, she visibly relaxed a little and took a few steps forward, her gaze falling back to Malila to ensure she was still asleep before focusing back on the stranger. I'm a healer too, she told him. A medic. I once had a pack that I took care of, but they're gone now. Her face fell at the memory. She would never see Ira or Heironymous again, or any of her packmates. The loss of her son was felt the deepest; that was a sorrow that would never release its grip on her heart. It's just me and my daughter now. She is young still and isn't used to traveling so much, especially in the winter. She glanced back to where her daughter slept, then back to the other healer. If you give us shelter, I will offer my skills wherever they're needed. It wasn't like she could stop herself from helping anyway; she could never leave a sick or injured wolf to suffer, no matter the circumstances.
2,664 Posts
Ooc — ebony
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#10
last for me! <3

mahler's features warmed. "it vill be good to have another healer," he said softly, nodding to the woman's offer. "i vill accompany you now, if you vish," he suggested. teeth in the night would not be a worry so tangled in the mountains, and he suspected they would be at rivenwood beneath daylight if they departed now. but he was willing to wait, whatever the woman would decide for her ease.
"vhat are your names? i am mahler." and when he had them, mahler would set his attentions on the option she chose, either settling himself close or laying a path for the lone pair down through the stone arches toward the bypass.
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Ooc — Mai
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#11
Blearily, Malila opened her eyes. The soft exchange of words had tugged her out of her sleep. Lifting her head, she was certain she recognized the voice of her mother. But the second...was entirely foreign to her young ears. Masculine and accented, belonging to a stranger. But warm. She didn't know what to make of it, having only been exposed to wolves welcomed into the inner circle of Kaisteloki.

Curiosity won out. Shyly at first, she peered with mismatched blue and yellow eyes between the space of her mother's legs. The man outside was no one she knew. He was dark furred and scarred. Large. Her uncertainty wavered once a single word left his mouth. Healer. That was all it took to light up Malila's excitement again, however small. Regaining some of her former chipper attitude, she pushed partway past Speedy. "My name is Malila. I'm working to be a healer too, like my mom." She declared, chest puffing out slightly in pride.
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Ooc — Hela
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#12
Speedy nodded. I do, thank you, she said in response to his offer to escort them.

As she was about to give him her name, she saw movement near her and turned to see her daughter bravely coming out to join her. She smiled down at Malila as she introduced herself. As always, she was ecstatic that her daughter was so taken with the art of healing; the familiar feeling soothed her fear and worry just a little.

She looked back to Mahler. And I'm Speedy. Then her gaze dropped to her daughter, her expression indicating that she should follow. She would explain where they were going on the way.


last from me, as well!