Blackfoot Forest sticks and stones and weed and bones

All welcome, but intended for Hawkeye. Backdated before the role call thread & (for my reference) before Zombie caught up with Pied.

Bon Dye appeared to be dying; she hadn't seen hide nor tail of their leader in quite some time, and though she could smell other wolves in the area, it was rare that their paths seemed to cross. Still, she held onto hope that all was not lost—that perhaps Jinx was merely on a long hunting or scouting trip with her closest aides, and that she would return someday soon.

Zombie hadn't yet spoken to the two white wolves that intrigued her, that seemed to walk upon the blurred line between life and death—but she had watched them and their habits from the shadows. She knew little of herbs, and indeed, little of the voodoo that they seemed to practice. Even so, watching them had provided the yearling with enough confidence to attempt to gather some of the supplies they used. When they returned, she would offer them as gifts.

She had quite a collection of items in her den already, but searched now for a stone that seemed to be rather rare and prized. A stone that was made of darkness pure, jagged and glossy. Zombie moved through the trees, pausing frequently to dig at the fallen leaves or sniff under felled trees, unsure of how to find the stone but determined to do so.

Hawkeye scanned the forest quickly, something she had learned to do with her powerful eyesight in absence of her hearing. She snapped her eyes to a form that moved slowly, head lowered, searching. The humongous wolf trotted toward the other wolf with malicious intentions, a wicked smile glued to her face. Red splotched her vision until she recognized the scent of the female. Immediately she smacked herself, knowing she should have also noticed the look of the ribs. This was Zombie. Someone she had never talked to personally, but that it wouldn't hurt to get to know now.

Hawkeye let out a bark to let know Zombie she was coming from far off, so as to not startle her. As she approached, the pitch-black wolf noted the mud covering the paws of grey, white, and rusted female. "Hello, Zombie," she spoke with an upbeat tone. "I am Hawkeye, but I am sure you recognize me from the pack meet.. although it was long ago." She finished with the last words added on slowly, almost in a reluctant manner. The midnight wolf didn't like to think of the pack being one that was scattered or disbanding. She noted the electric green eyes of the opposing female, finding them interesting and exciting.

set by sophie

I never actually replied to that meeting thread, but for the sake of this thread I'll just say she was present in the shadows~

As a bark rang out over the lands, Zombie's ears went up in alert and she moved instinctively to a more defensive position. She had thought the forest to be mostly abandoned by the rest of her species, and hadn't expected to run into anyone while she searched for the blackstone. Zombie relaxed slightly, however, as she realized that it was friend that was interrupting her rather than foe. She was glad when the dark beast offered an introduction, because she hadn't actually been paying too much attention during the pack meeting.

"Hi, Hawkeye," she mumbled, shifting to sit back on her haunches. "You surprised me. I haven't seen anyone in a long time."

ooc: oopsie on my part, then :p haha

The fact that Zombie shared that she hadn't seen anyone in a long time made Hawkeye's face falter into a frown. The pack had to be done with; it was the only possible explanation as to why Jinx had disappeared, and the same for Kerberos and Lecter. The black wolf let out a soft sigh at the thought of the latter male, for she had become somewhat fond of him.

Taking a few steps forward, Hawkeye also settled on her haunches. She noted that the air was beginning to cool quickly (for it was the end of fall), but was still a comfortable temperature. "I see your paws are dirty, have you been searching for something or digging a shelter?" The midnight wolf asked not only to start conversation, but because she was also curious and willing to help if needed.

Zombie felt somewhat protective of the fact that she sought to learn the ways of the shamans that had left them; she wanted it as her role, and no one else's, for she didn't believe that there was room for too many in one pack. But, she supposed, there was little harm in telling others that she was looking for something shamanic in nature—it didn't necessarily mean that she was one, and the extra pair of eyes couldn't hurt. She exhaled gently, then told her pack mate, "I'm looking for a shiny black stone. I saw one of the shamans with one, before they left us..."

She trailed off, looking to the dark female, wondering what conclusion she would draw from that. After all, it could be that Zombie was simply looking for clues of the departed leaders' whereabouts.

The midnight wolf nodded at the words Zombie spoke, and then looked around in a wide perimeter, her precise vision scanning up and down. "I think we might have better luck searching over there." She looked back to Zombie and smiled a little, then headed off into the direction she had talked about.

After searching for a few minutes, Hawkeye sucked air into her mouth and asked, "are you trying to build an altar of some sort? I talked with Lecter and saw his, I could help you make one. It would please Sos." She wondered if Zombie was a following of Sos or Atka, or even both.

ooc: edited because I forgot to unbold at the end of her talking

At first, to Zombie's relief, Hawkeye didn't press the why question, but immediately offered her assistance instead. Silently, she followed the dark female's lead; Hawkeye's words had been spoken with confidence and for reasons she couldn't explain, Zombie instinctively trusted it. The pair began to search the area, and while it seemed somehow wrong that she had the help of another wolf, Zombie was internally grateful. Her self-assigned task now seemed less daunting.

After a few minutes of searching in silence, the dark female's voice broke through the air. Zombie shrank down and put her ears back defensively, her green eyes burning with a mixture of suspicion and guilt. As Hawkeye continued speaking, however, the yearling began to relax slightly, "I... well, I don't know much about Sos or Atka," she admitted. "I didn't have a chance to learn of them before the others left with their secrets. But... the shamans..." Zombie trailed off, half shy and half embarrassed. How could she explain her reasons for her interest in them? She didn't know enough about the dark god to truly care about him in one way or another, but the way the shamans had seemed to exist somewhere between life and death was something she wanted for herself.

The large wolf raised her eyebrows, as if expecting Zombie to continue. "Are you saying that you wish to be a shaman? Is that what the black stone we are looking is for? I have no experience with shamanism, but I will help you with whatever you need; you are my packmate still, even if the others have disappeared."

The black female became quiet after last words and continued to dig within the area. She found a yellow, almost mustard-colored rock and rolled it with her nose towards Zombie, wondering if she could use this as well.

Zombie's hackles rose slightly, though it wasn't likely enough to be noticeable—it was a prickly feeling, similar to what one gets when they feel they're being watch, or when they think they've seen a ghost. It was uncanny how Hawkeye seemed to be able to cut through to the heart of Zombie's vague words and unspoken thoughts. "I was just looking for it in case they returned," she finally said, a little defensive. "I saw one of the shamans with one. Maybe it could tell us where they went, or... I don't know."

The yearling felt a bit disappointed, too, to hear that Hawkeye didn't know much about the shamans or their voodoo. It was what she hoped to be, someday, but she would never be able to if she did not have a proper mentor. "You think they're gone for good?" Zombie finally questioned, after the anxiety and defensiveness fled her.

Her left ear turned to the words of Zombie. They were even more quiet than usual for the partially deaf she-wolf, but she heard them just the same. The words she spoke made her ears push back to her skull and she turned to look into electric eyes. She had hoped they weren't gone for good, but felt as if they were.

Hawkeye pushed air out her nose slowly and then nodded. "I think they are. Hardly anyone is around here anymore. I think soon we should try to round everyone up and -- oh!" She interrupted herself by pulling what looked like a large dirt clot from the ground. Scraping some dirt off with her paw, she met eyes with Zombie again and smiled. "Here you go, Zombie."

Once more she pushed a rock toward the thin female. Taking a step back, she sat back on her haunches, waiting for Zombie's response.

Hawkeye made no more comments on Zombie's apparent interest in shamanism, and the yearling relaxed, relieved that the subject was dropped. She didn't really know why it bothered her so much to think that others might know of her intentions—they were all members of Bon Dye, after all, and it hadn't exactly been a pack that exuded rainbows and butterflies.

Evidently, Zombie's question startled the dark female, for she suddenly focused an intense look upon the yearling. After exhaling slowly, Hawkeye confirmed the yearling's own suspicions. Her thought, however, was cut off short by a sudden exclamation. Hawkeye pulled a clump of dirt from the ground, scraped at it, and then dropped it at Zombie's feet. The yearling's brows furrowed as she investigated, clearing more dirt off as best she could with a paw. "How did you know it was there?" she asked, privately irked that what had been taking her hours had only taken a moment for her pack mate.

Hawkeye's ears dipped back to her head momentarily. She shrugged. "I really don't know, the forest floor looked different to me in this area. I mean, first I found that ugly yellow rock and now this. I bet there are more, if you want to keep looking." She moved her eyes from the ground, up Zombie's legs, and once more to the electric eyes.

Hawkeye felt slightly uneasy around the female, like Zombie had wished she never was bothered in the first place. Was it distaste? Or maybe she was just having a bad day. Whatever it was, she didn't prefer the vibe it gave off at all.

Zombie flicked an ear in annoyance at the other female's apparently slipping mood, oblivious to the fact that she might be the cause. She was used to wolves growing agitated the longer she spoke to them, of course, but it never occurred to her that it might be because she was unpleasant and frustrating to deal with. But Zombie had been left behind time and time again; it didn't seem to matter whether she was patient and kind or not. And so she subconsciously opted for the latter.

[i]"It's rare,"[/b] she emphasized when Hawkeye mentioned that there might be more nearby. Zombie nudged the rock back towards the dark female, so she could have a look if she liked. If the yearling knew what glass was, she might have described it in that way. Its black surface shone in the filtered sunlight that fought its way through the canopy of trees. If she wasn't in the mood for company before, she definitely wasn't now that it seemed Hawkeye was uncomfortable.

"Anyway, thanks for finding it. Too bad it can't tell us where everyone went..." she was being sincere, though her tone might not have made it seem so.

Hawkeye's ears perked at the words of Zombie. "Well, I remember Lecter doing some chanting. Maybe if you create an altar or shrine and did the same, it could give you insight to where they went!" The sudden rush of excitement almost made Hawkeye hop in place.

"I can stay and help -- or leave. Whatever you prefer." She smiled at Zombie, hoping that she said the former. The thought of finding out where the wolves were excited her. Maybe the male wolf who spoke to her would return and disclose their location.

Any inkling that Zombie might have had about Hawkeye feeling uncomfortable around her vanished in the next moment, for the dark wolf didn't seem to be in a great hurry to end the conversation. Even Zombie could tell that her companion was trying to be, well, companionable, but the thing yearling couldn't seem to control her foul moods. She knew that Hawkeye was only trying to help, but she still felt a little frustrated by the fact that the older female seemed to have all the answers.

"I don't really think that's how it works," she told the other a little flatly. Build an altar, without really understanding how to do so properly? And then chant in front of it? Zombie had no doubt that the process was the same, but... "I don't know how to built a proper altar, and what would I chant, anyway? 'Ooo-gah booo-gah, tell me where they wen-tah?' I think their gods would laugh in my face, or make my tail fall off or something." She shook her head in disbelief. Part of her felt a little bad for being so rude, but her displaced anger burned a little stronger.

Zombie flicked her ear, in something like sheepishness or maybe annoyance. "I'm glad not everyone left, but I think I want to go back to being alone." Without waiting for a response, though she would likely still be in earshot if Hawkeye gave one, Zombie began to shuffle away, black stone held carefully in her jaw alongside the femur she was rarely seen without. She idly thought that she should probably say thank you, or sorry, or something... but it was too late now.