Emberwood awebo

rebuffed at sacrarium, belen had returned to blackwater. but she had found it empty. abandoned. in the days since her departure it had become only the islands once more. she had gone through each of them, eating what she could find and sleeping in different places. and then she had come back to the mainland and headed away from the sea. long days had passed. belen fed herself with the little hunting skills she had acquired. she passed the mountains on one side and the taiga on the other. by the time she reached the sunlit valley, she was weakened and near starving. she collapsed at the base of a great gnarled pine and slept the exhausted slumber of a damned soul, drifting in and out of consciousness as her paws slowly bled.

Lucius could smell blood on the wind, but it didn't smell like prey. He was close to Belen, though he had no way of knowing it, lounging in the shade of a tree. The day was hot and his travels had been long — he meant to find @Inkeri soon.

The smell of the blood made the grayscale coyote rise, shaking out his thin pelt. He would follow the smell until he found the lump that was Belen laying there, and he called out anxiously, a fair distance away, "H...hello? Are you okay over there?"

she came awake with a start. the sharp face of the smaller canine swam with tavina's purple eyes. was she back in akashingo? belen swung upright and blinked around at herself. no. this was still the same place she had come before, the odd forest in the valley she had not seen. the palace was not here. "hello," she croaked out, still polished despite her horrendous appearance and long journey.

Lucius started at startling her, embarrassing himself, and he dropped his head lower as he questioned again, "Are you alright? Do you... need any help?" He scented the air again. "Are you injured?" He didn't know what to do about an injury aside from clean it. Herbs had been his mother's thing, but he'd never really absorbed any of her knowledge. Still, he wanted to help.

her paws stung. she tucked them under her chest. "just food." she wanted to laugh. or even smile. but neither of those came. "where am i?" she asked, glancing around again. her head spun and belen slumped back down, wiping her mouth with a dry tongue. "what is your name, señor?" she was becoming leery.

Food, he could do that, easy! The coyote nodded once, his tail waving gently behind him. "Are hares okay?" He hadn't successfully caught a fish yet, though he'd not been trying for very long. "I'm... not entirely sure where we are, I've been staying at the massive valley east of here." He gave a sheepish grin. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Lucius, who're you?"

"i am belen." formerly of akashingo. and blackwater she would never mention. that at least she had adhered to as an acolyte. the boy was offering to find food and she nodded eagerly. "anything is good. i am not a very skilled hunter." she hoped he would go and get it now, eyes shutting hard as her stomach audibly groaned.

At her remark, Lucius couldn't help but give a nervous chuckle. "I am not the best hunter, either... I'm still learning." But hares he could do. Lucius dipped his head to her, then slunk off deeper into the forest. Prey scent was all about, and he set off tracking. He found, not a hare, but a rabbit — fat from a near-full summer of good grazing. It would be the perfect meal for Belen. Lucius began to stalk it.

she would wait until he came back. lucius. that had been his name. belen shut her eyes in the buzzing and heat of summer and was soon in a syrupy doze once more.

It heard him, and far too soon. It sprinted, already long out of sight by the time Lucius was scrambling to catch up with it. It weaved in and out of the bushes, darting under some particularly nasty thorns that Lucius unfortunately could not. The yearling male caught a face-full of thorns and yelped loudly, but refused to give up chase. It was in sight!

the coyote's distant yelping caused belen's ear to twitch, but otherwise she stayed asleep. the blood on her paws had dried and they did not hurt so much. her breathing evened.

Lucius shook his head, clearing some of the thorns and brambles. He could see, at least, and it did not hurt terribly. The rabbit was running out of stamina, but the coyote pressed on. He could almost taste its sweet blood in his jaws, and he had to firmly remind himself that this was not for him.

The hunt ended swiftly, the rabbit slowing from exhaustion, Lucius falling upon it with a snarl. It was dead in the next instant. He made his way back to Belen, panting, still with thorns on his face, neck and shoulders.

"Belen?" He called gently, for he thought he saw her sleeping. "Belen... food..." He moved to place the rabbit by her paws, then backed away.

when she returned to herself, lucius was back. belen hardly noticed the evidence of struggle or the brambles caught in his fur; she fell on the small furry body and began to gorge herself, blood splattering in multiple directions. she hated to eat in such a way and wished she could stop, but starvation was a powerful motivator. eventually belen sat up and pushed the carcass away, still silent in the starting stages of her grooming, licking blood from the parts of her pelt she was able to reach.

Belen ate with haste, and Lucius felt sorry for her, wishing he had gotten something larger than a hare. He offered quietly, "If you want or need, you can come where I'm staying for some rest and more food." He didn't think Inkeri would mind — in fact, he felt badly for how long he had been gone. He hoped she was okay without him. Perhaps she had found Anja?

belen lifted her head and for the first time she truly looked at him. he had hunted for her and now he was offering her a place to be. belen licked her jaws; next they curved into a smile meant to charm. "where are you staying, lucius?" she was not even sure she meant to agree, only that the prospect of a certain barter might keep her fed until she decided what to do.

The way she smiled at him threatened to take his breath away. He was not fully mature yet, but that didn't mean he couldn't find her quite pretty. She could use him easily, if she wanted. When he replied, his tone was almost breathy. "I'm staying in this massive valley to the east of here. I've got a friend there, too."

more travel, and with someone she did not know well. belen was exhausted and not tempted, save for the fact that the other might continue to feed her. "i need to rest," she said gently, crossing her forelegs at the ankle. her glassblue eyes watched lucius. "if you bring me something else to eat, i will reward you." she grinned again at him, ears twitching forward.

"You can rest, and I can stay nearby," Lucius really didn't want to leave her on her own. She asked for more food. Lucius perked up, grinning slightly. "Sure. I'll go back out." And he did. Though he was not the greatest hunter, he was almost built for hares and rabbits. He would come back to Belen with a pair hanging from his jaws, which he deposited at her feet. "Will this be enough?"

secretly belen enjoyed the idea of having a fellahin to serve her. she had no prejudice around coyotes or those mixed, for in akashingo she had worked among them. belen ate lightly, looking up from time to time to twinkle a grin in lucius' direction. when she was finished, she rose gracefully and came to sit beside him, where her muzzle would seek the side of his neck and start to preen him if he allowed. "tell me about this friend," she urged.

Lucius kept quite still as Belen came closer, but he let her start to groom his neck, a nervous chuckle slipping from his teeth. Only Inkeri had been this close before. He swallowed hard, then stammered, "H-her name is Inkeri. She's very kind..." And pretty, but he knew better than to tell Belen that. "She sort of... st-stutters, like me. Or... sh-she repeats words a lot." It secretly made him feel better about his own speech impediment, however mild. Inkeri just made him feel... normal.

belen hummed as she moved to the backs of his ears. "she sounds very interesting. how did you find each other?" she was trying to figure out if this mentioned woman was a good huntress, for belen worked on survival and suitability. lucius seemed to be liquid in her embrace and so she kept on with her quick licks and smooths.

"It was storming," he shivered lightly, uncertain if it was the memory of the storm, or Belen's touch that did it to him. "We both took shelter together, it — it was hours before it ended." He tried to remember the conversation, but couldn't. All he had was a warm memory of falling asleep curled up next to her. Looking up to Belen, he said, "She's trying to teach me to fish, but I'm not very good. I'm better with small game..."

she smiled. "well i am not good at all," came the young woman's chuckle. "and look how well you have hunted today." she though she had him now, but suspected she would not have to give him anything she did not want to give. in fact, what if he grew attached? he could not very well come with her if she decided to return to the palace. "this woman sounds very nice."

She praised him, and the coyote grinned further, his tail anxiously wagging. "Yeah, well, I mean... you needed help." He swallowed, laughed nervously, and said, "I — I'd've wanted someone to help me... you know?" But speaking of Inkeri! He sighed, looking wistfully east. "I... I have to get back to her. Are you coming?"

belen shook her head a little wanly. she was beginning to feel sick after such rich food when she had not eaten in so long. "i need to stay," she whispered, for reasons she truly did not understand. but her eyes blinked softly at lucius. "which way are you going? i will come find you — someday. and repay you."