The sky was clear, not a cloud in sight as the sun hung low over the trees, streaking the sky in orange and gold and stretching the shadows on the ground long and skinny. The orange hues in the sky set the rust colours of the huntresses pelt on fire, a liquid fire that moved through the tall grasses of Fireweed Rise with purpose. All of the poppies had died with the fall and in their place stood tall yellow grass that swayed slightly when the wolf passed among their stems. Minka had her head and body low, snout following the scent of her prey that had wandered this way not long before. Though she was tired of the taste of hare and she was sure the rest of the pack was as well the caches had run extremely low when she had been injured and moping and it was her duty to fill them, constant hare or not.

Upon returning home the woman had found that the man she loved had betrayed them all by disappearing in the night, news that had sent her into a deep depression. The slash on her leg was nothing but a pink scar now, a place fur would never grow that ran jacked down her left hind leg, though she found that leg still tired more easily than the others. Her ribs had mended themselves completely, other than some minor bruising and so Minka was able to hunt once more, a chore she adored. The healing process had been made long and hard by the fact that the fae refused to let @Simaea see her to treat her injuries, claiming she would rather them heal on their own. That and the fact that Minka had not stretched or moved about the cavern at all to exercise the healing bones and muscles, instead she had hidden herself away deep in the caverns where she had little company so she could grieve the loss of Asterion.

The woman had grown thin in this time, barely moving to eat or drink and had groomed little, her fur becoming matted and dirty. Depression had been replaced in time with anger, a white hot anger that churned in her stomach at almost every moment of the day. This fury drove Minka to pick herself off the rock floor, groom herself to perfection and run, as far and fast as she could until the woman could breath and run no more. All in all she had been gone for about three days, one of pure sprinting in short fiery bursts and two to return home at a trot. This had been a couple of weeks ago and since then the flame of fury had done little to diminish though it drove the woman to work, hardly making time to sleep, instead constantly hunting or patrolling the borders.

The caches were almost full now, of hares, rodents, even a beaver, anything the huntress could get her paws on, winter was coming. The grass was often stiff in the morning underfoot with frost and the trees hardly had any leaves left clinging to their branches in the cold rainy winds that clutched the meadow. Today was an odd exception to the rainy season, though the sun had done nothing to raise the temperature and it hung just above freezing. The busy work kept Minka from lingering too much on her recent losses, the loss of her love and the loss of her friend Simaea. The dark healer had not left of course, but the two were no longer friends and it had been nearly 6 weeks since they had even seen each other in the territory. Avoiding one another had become routine, and when they were unable to manage it they always passed by in a tense silence until they were out of each other's sight.

Minka had been so focused on the scent she didn't notice the large orange things that now loomed around her until a rotting smell reached her snout. Golden eyes flicked up to search her surroundings and a gasp of shock slipped through her muzzle at the pumpkins that were all around her. Moving cautiously closer the woman sniffed a nearby one, having never seen the vegetable before, her previous home had been a slab of rock. It seemed she had wandered into a pumpkin patch unknowingly, a place she had never found before in Relic, full of a vegetable that she didn't know, what else could possibly be lurking around the corner?

The scent of the rotting pumpkins masked the scent of the healer entering the strange patch of orange plants, though the sound of pawsteps reached her ears loud and clear. Tawny ears flicked sideways and golden eyes flashed to the entrance of the area, the woman instantly on her guard. Before the fae would have been trusting and welcoming to whoever entered, but recent events had hardened her, trust was much harder to gain now. Hackles rose slightly at the sight of the dark female, and eyes turned icy though Minka uttered no sound, made no advancement towards Simaea. Pity panged through the huntress at the sight of the woman who had once been her friend, fur hung matted and limp looking oddly grey and thin for such a young wolf. It had been only a few weeks ago after all that Minka herself had a similar appearance, and even now the tawny woman was still much slimmer than before. Reminding herself who had added to her depression, made her feel a mockery in the pack where she should have been a respected second the fae's hackles rose once more, emotion leaving her face.

The panic might have once stirred Minka into compassion, but now it fell before her feet an unwanted gift, the panic of Simaea no longer concerned her, just as her panic that day had caused amusement for the healer. A laugh coursed through the thin body, but it was not her usual laugh of bells that rolled from her stomach, this sounded cold and mechanical. Sidestepping so she could face the dark fae the huntress purposely moved closer to the large orange object, "Oh I'm sure it's just some regular moss, but wait...won't that make my fur fall out and kill me?" the words were sarcastic, dripping in mockery, a clear paraphrase of what Simaea had said to her months before, the words that had caused all of this.

The apology was ignored, met by a stony unwavering stare, a million apologies would fall to her paws only to be overlooked and overstepped. The mention of fire sent Minka's senses into overdrive, ears automatically flicked upwards listening for the crackling of flames on trees, eyes searched the skies for the glow of embers, and leathery nose searched for the tell tale smell of smoke. All of this searching came back negative and golden orbs looked questioningly to Simaea who now stood swaying in the pumpkin patch. Paws stepped uncertainly forward, "Simaea the forest isn't on fire.....I don't sense fire anywhere....are you...are you okay?" The words were slow, uncertainty ringing through in them. A million thoughts ran through the huntresses mind, should she run for help? Call and hoped somebody was close enough to hear them? The female had no experience in healing and was completely out of her element.

Minka watched as the healer succumbed to delusions, swaying about in place with glassy eyes and panic gripped her. She knew nothing of these sorts of hallucinations nor how to help Simaea keep her grip on reality, she almost wished that there were real flames, at least that was something physical she could fix. The tawny huntress stood there mutely as the dark wolf lifted her muzzle to the sky, unable to do anything but stand and watch. It was the healer's proclamation that snapped her into action, "Simaea there is no fire, and even if there was I would never leave you behind to perish in it." The words were stern, like a mother scolding her child for throwing a tantrum and saying foolish things in their fit.

Instincts took over the instant Simaea's limp body hit the ground, Minka had grown up on the Canadian Shield, in a small oasis of woodlands that was surrounded by miles of rock. You could wander in a straight line for days and see nothing but rock shelving and what made it worse was how easy it was to get turned around. The wolves that did manage to make it to the oasis were mostly on the verge of death and with the experience the huntress had gained knowledge. The woman could do no healing with herbs or plants, but in this situation she had all the knowledge she needed.

Water glistened on the leaves of the nearby pumpkins, small accumulations of dew and rain, not much but it would have to do for now. Walking swiftly closer Minka gave Simaea a firm nudge on the muzzle, "You have to get up now, I'm not leaving you here to die, drink the water that is on the leaves of those strange orange things, and we will make it to the nearest cache if I have to carry you the whole way." The cache was hidden in the meadow closest to their territory, it was one of the ones she used while on long tracking trips, it was small but it would have enough to keep the healer alive. Perhaps 45 minutes from where they now stood at a good speed, the trip was sure to take a couple of hours with Simaea in such a state, but they had little other choice.

Golden eyes watched as the dark fae drank from the leaves, moving from plant to plant for several feet before turning. Minka smiled encouragingly and nodded, showing her approval of what Simaea had done, that the healer had been doing the right thing. The situation was dire and the tawny woman knew that it had to be handled delicately, even the slightest thing going wrong could mean fatal consequences for her pack mate. It seemed as if time was moving in slow motion, every action which should have taken the female seconds could take the malnourished wolf a minute at a time. Finally though she returned to Minka's side, "Alright, we're just going to go slow okay? let me know if you need a break." The huntress had no idea whether the other woman understood a word of what she was saying, but she moved forward none the less.

The movements were slow, just a walk but they were moving forward steadily as darkness began to settle around them. The flames of the sunset moved higher into the treetops until it disappeared altogether and they were surrounded by a murky purple colour of the forest. The wind changed, rustling the women's pelts together and for a moment rust intermingled with dark as if they were becoming one wolf before Minka froze. Ears instantly stood at alert as golden eyes flashed around the forest looking for movement as her leathery nose fidgeted on her face. Moving them closer to the nearest tree the fae motioned silently for her companion to lie down intermits the roots. Glancing around again she whispered, "Stay here and don't make a sound I will be back." Moving like a snake between the trees the huntress slithered through the trunks, sticking as close to the foliage as possible.

It had been the scent of a bear, slightly stale but the blood of its meal was fresh enough. That meant it could be back at any moment to reclaim its prize, and a wolf sniffing around would be seen as a threat. The carcass of the deer came into Minka's sight and once more the woman checked the area for any sign of its predator. It took several minutes of following the trail of the bear before the fae decided it was safe enough. Grabbing a hold of one of the hind legs the huntress set to work dragging it back to where Simaea lay, which in itself took almost 15 minutes to maneuver through the roots and branches. Finally Minka returned to the healer's hiding spot, prey in tow, though she was out of breath she was proud, this would certainly help. "Come eat your fill Simaea, we don't have much time," the huntress murmured before sinking her own jaws into the flesh of the deer, filling her own need.