Sunset Valley Little Fall of Rain

:( my poor baby, but she really never was meant for a happy ending. Mainly this is open for @Bazi but if anyone else wants to pop in that's cool

My only post (obvs)
I'm also good with it if anyone wants to follow/take out the NPCs ;)

Danica had not wandered this far from the Peak since taking Bazi up on her offer to stay, but now that she was getting used to the idea of once more being a part of a pack, she found herself wishing to learn the area as once she had known the Creek's surroundings.  If this was to be her home, then she couldn't do it halfway, and throwing her heart into this would require that she love this place as she hadn't allowed herself to for a long while.  With the beauty that surrounded her, though, this would likely not be a hard task.  Bazi and Scimitar had outdone themselves in this claim, and she looked about with wonder as she descended the slopes and set off towards the expanse of the Morraine.  When she had approached she had been distant, a fog on her mind and her spirits.  Now that the haze was disappating, it was with fresh eyes that she took it all in, and she reveled in this.  She hadn't ever thought that the north would be her cup of tea, but there was something about the air up here that the south just didn't hold.

Before she knew it she was standing once more in Duskfire lands, but this time she looked about with something akin to fondness.  For a while, she had held a good home here, though she had not appreciated it the way that she should have.  Duskfire Plain was laid out before her, an expanse of ice that she had to squint to behold, and only the sound of the breeze whispering through the nearby woods accompanied her.  It was so empty here, but the quiet no longer held so much sorrow.  Instead, it almost seemed like these lands, where so much wrong had happened, might have finally found a bit of peace in their solitude.

But they weren't quite empty, it seemed.


She cut along the edge of the plain, not wishing to spend too long away but willing to revisit a couple more haunts before returning.  A faint whiff of a memory came upon her then, and for a moment, she thought she was mistaken.  It was a scent from a past long gone, but one she would never forget, no matter how much time had gone by.  It brought an image, a lanky adolescent, eyes wide as she hid behind her father, whose teeth rained punishment upon a young Danica for a confession born of friendship and childlike naïveté.  A lesson that had taught the golden youth much of the way of the world.

Yes, she would know that scent anywhere.  One did not easily forget their first love, especially when that love ends the way hers had. Caryssa.

A year ago she would have ignored it.  Hell, six months ago she would have.  But now, she hesitated, staring at the horizon.  It was a recent track, and one that would be easily followed.  For a long time she had held no hope in repairing the friendship she had lost that day, and no desire to.  But now, her situation with Bazi made her wonder.  Could it perhaps be remedied?  If Bazi had seen her for who she was, accepted her, then who was to say that Ryssa could not do the same?

It was the decision of a moment.  Unbeknownst to her, it was also the last she would ever make.

As she figured, it was not long before she came upon her, alone and waiting, it seemed.  When she announced herself with a pleased call of "Ryssa!" she had no idea what to expect - anger, regret, or maybe, just maybe, happiness  But perhaps lowest on the list was the reaction she recieved... a flicker of, something, that was quickly consumed by fear.  Her former flame flinched away, her demeanor and the terror in her eyes clear: Danica was not a welcome sight.

Now confused, Danica paused, sure now that she had made a mistake but unsure why.  She had no time to find out, though, for at that moment a heavy weight hit her full on from the side, teeth tearing solidly into the back of her neck.  Panic erasing all thought, she managed to tear herself away, leaving a good piece of herself behind in the process.  The pain was ignored as she sprinted, and the breadth of her misadventure was laid before her.  She recognized the male who had taken her down, and the situation became clear.  He had belonged to the pack, a young joiner and another friend to them back then.  Were they mates now?  They must have split off to start a new pack, and somehow fate, that sadistic bastard, had led them here.  Passing through, and at the exact moment she'd decided on a jaunt.  She could have laughed if she didn't hurt so damn much.  Now others had joined him in the chase- she could hear them, behind her, avid upon the hunt.  They had hated her then.  Why stop now?  She wondered what they saw within her, to wish so much to see her dead.  A threat?  Perhaps.  It would make sense to think her wishing revenge upon them for what they had done all those years ago.  Not that a reason mattered. She knew how this day would end... Her legs were already failing her, the limp she was almost able to hide most days becoming more apparent with every stride she took.

She made it as far as Sunset Valley before they caught her, the peak's promise looming in the distance, too far to reach.  She never had a chance, for her speed had never been the same, even before her winter alone.  She stumbled, her chest heaving, and they were upon her. It was over quickly, and she barely had time to let out a single, feral call before her throat was torn beyond use.  Ripped and broken, they left her in the meadow, finishing what they had begun all those years ago.  Sightless eyes stared at the mountain she might have called home, but now would never set foot on again.  She had been naive to think it could last, but the happiness of the past few weeks, while too late to save her now, was a flickering glow she held close.  It gave comfort even as the cold darkness consumed her, until all that was left was her prone form, sundered but pointing a clear arrow.  One that led to a future that was forever beyond her grasp and a pack from which she would quickly fade, her time there having barely lasted longer than a ripple upon a stream.  Her greatest fear had always been to die alone, and it was some small mercy that despite the desolate plain on which she lay, that couldn't feel farther from the truth.

Danica hadn't come back. It hadn't been long - a day, perhaps two, and under any other circumstances Bazi would have thought little of it - everyone went exploring now and then.

But Danica was still on the mend. There was still a stiffness to her gait, and she was rarely give for more than a few hours. When morning came on the third day, Bazi went after her.

It hadn't rained, but the tick of time had scrubbed at the trail in other ways. Bazi lost the scent a few times, but when she saw that the tracks were heading in the general direction of the Glacier, she assumed that Danica had gone on search of Tuwawi. Perhaps she had even found the red mother. Bazi's heart thundered in her chest even before she broke into a headlong sprint, hope and excitement rising on her heart like steam from the underground. Tuwawi and Danica. The white wolf could scarcely believe her luck.

But then she found blood. Lots and lots of blood.

There was flesh, too - a dried, red strip of it, caked in mud and trampled into the ground. Bazi did not approach it - did not breathe in its presence.

More blood. Signs of a struggle. A chill claimed Bazi's spine. She picked up speed, breathing shallow breaths, battling to stop her mind from processing the facts and taking the signs before her to a logical conclusion. They had only just made amends. There was more to say - more life to be lived.

At the end of a second sprint, she found Danica.

Flies had claimed her golden eyes, and her midsection had already fallen prey to scavengers - there was nothing connecting her torso to her hind legs, which had been dragged away by some hungry creature and left in the grass. Nothing revognizable remained excheaved dry nose and a parted muzzle, pointing in the direction of home. Perfectly preserved.

Bazi heaved up the contents of her stomach at Danica's still feet.