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Everything thus far had been slowly developing, climbing numbly towards a distant apex: the breaking point. The dreary, expanse of grey in the sky was heavy, monotonous. In fact, it was so heavy that it did not even seem capable of supporting its own weight. The sky seemed to hang low, drape itself on the rattling, chattering arms of the trees. They did not want this burden. And if that didn't seem to be enough, there was always the sharp pain in her sides, the throb in her leg. These factors all culminated in one awful, miserable afternoon spent in the bassinet of jumbled tree roots. She was too broken to crawl in to the regular dens. Ozera's reality seemed intent on pushing her, seeing how much she would take. She was unremarkable: like everyone, she had a breaking point. And gradually, she was approaching it.

Moody was perhaps the best adjective for her at the moment. This in itself was a startling phenomenon, since Ozera often sidestepped any malicious thought or melancholy notion. But she was tired of being cooped up in this place. Her keepers were angry, broken bones, who did not wish for her to move at all. No matter how she tried, she could never move very far from this spot. At the moment, she was planning on giving up. "Screw moving. I can just sit here the rest of my life. I'll be a rock." Surely, she would be a welcomed addition to this infinitely dismal, colorless world. "Yep. I'll be a rock."

Rocks don't feel. Good. They don't think, they don't talk, they don't react. Bad. Yet, at the moment, she would give anything to not be plagued by pain and this incessantly somber day. She paused, trying to clear her head of everything, to empty it all so she could be a statue. But all she saw was Ruiko. Well, that's fitting. "Oh, if only you could see me now, Ruiko." She wondered if he would laugh at her. Probably not. Rocks don't laugh. That thought itself would have been worth laughing at, she noted, if it weren't for the damn pain in her sides that made laughter so impossible.

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lame post alert :c

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Thump.

Ozera's eyes, the color of curiosity flecked with hints of hunger, watched the carcass fall at her feet. What's this? Her questioning eyes flicked upwards to her benefactor, only to see that it was a pale youngster already turning around. Ozera could have sworn that the pup looked... sort of... what was it....deflated. Despondent. Now, that nearly knocked the wind from Ozera. She couldn't even hunt for her damn self, and here was this sad little scrap of fur moping about, giving her the rabbit that she had caught. Ozera didn't even know her name. "Wait," she called softly, "I can't take this. You caught it." Although it wasn't like Ozera could actually catch anything herself. But it's the principal of the matter.

And though the broken wolf, with her fur all unkempt and in utter disarray was trying to reject the meal based on ethics, she also did not want the pup to turn away. Some of it was because of the peculiar slump in the tawny female's shoulders, but most of it was her desire for conversation. To be fair, Ozera only knew two members of Swift River, both of them Tainn brothers. How could she turn down the opportunity to actually converse with another female? "Come back here, please?"
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short awful post is short and awful :C

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Just eat the stupid rabbit. The sentiment, so dead yet so painful, would have stung a lesser wolf deeply. Yet Ozera refused to let the pup's rudeness get to her. Instead, she wondered only about her demeanor, the flat, empty tone in her voice. Whatever misgivings she had though, she had turned around now, and, with her raincloud in tow, came to sit before Ozera. Boy is this confusing. Concern tinged with a light, helpful smile creased Ozera's mottled, dark features, "Why do you look so sad? Is there something wrong?" Genuine care echoed every syllable.

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The little girl's reply was strangely barbed, and it confused Ozera. If she wasn't upset, then why did she look so depressed? And what was this nonsense about "actually being able to do anything about it." If there was nothing wrong, then of course Ozera couldn't do anything. But there were underlying implications, like the way she said "about it," that lead Ozera to believe she was in denial. Strange. Carefully, Ozera responded, "I don't believe you. You look pretty upset to me." Why she would lie about it when every movement made it painstakingly obvious was beyond Ozera.

At the moment, the white depression was eyeing the rabbit she had given her. Probably waiting for her to eat it, although Ozera still felt that she couldn't just take food from others. "We could share, if you want." Something inside her said that the peculiar creature would turn her down, but there was no harm in asking. "I'm Ozera, by the way." Names, names were always good. Behind her, her tale swept the dust warily, hopefully.
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going back to ozera feels like such a downer lately xD happy pants mcgeee.

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Family business. The term confused Ozera, who was so open and never really grew up in a world where there was business meant only for family. Or had there been secrets no one had ever told her? It was too long ago for her to really remember. After the deaths of her parents she had mostly tried to rewrite over their memories with fields of bright paintbrush and aster, buttercups and brome. Now that she thought back on it, things seemed a bit hazy, but Ozera would not admit that it had anything to do with her approaching sixth birthday. Not at all. At any rate, Ozera realized she didn't even know how to mind her own business. Why was this pup being so orney? After all, she only wanted to help. The older female saw nothing wrong with her nosiness, figured that it was a healthy curiosity.

But it dawned on her, then, that this mention of family business meant something. Family. Which, in Swift River, always meant one thing: the Tainns. Funny, she thought with a snort, Indru never mentioned any sisters. She had only ever heard him talk about his brothers. And Triell, the same. And well.... Ruiko... Wait. Abruptly, she gave the youngster a sidelong glance, but quickly thought the better of speaking her mind. Instead, despite the irony, the Beta female followed the orders of the pup and dipped her head in for a swift bite of rabbit. But could it be that she's upset over Ruiko? Her eyes flicked up at the pup — Borlla.

She decided to begin carefully, and drew a very deliberate breath before letting the words come out. "I know your brothers. Or well, some of them." Another bite of rabbit. Swallow, smile. Ozera carefully delved deeper into the conversation, "I wish Ruiko hadn't left." Oh.. wait, that came out wrong. Quickly, Ozera shoved her face back into the rabbit.

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