Turtleback Lake graverobber

Saradathia blinked blankly at the joke, it compe;lty went over her head as humor, glancing down at her paws before giving a small nod “I do.” As he glanced back toward her, noting her ear, she tilted her head slightly,  even further into confusion by his reply, quietly she nodded, finally knowing the name of her savior. She trudged after him, on shaking paws before nodding, her attention span split between fighting exhaustion, hunger and learning about this new land.

As food was mentioned and soon the entrance to the sanctuary revealed, Saradathia paused for a moment, almost as though she expected him to trudge on in and leave her to follow. As Lorcan stood there, waiting, it slowly clicked and the small arctic wolf caught on, at this point she was down to a crawl and shuffled in, turning around and settling down near the carcass as the male entered.

Her silver gaze flicking between the other wolf and the carcass as she sat, her body still tense and rigid under the scar speckled fur as she waited. After a few moments she paused, her full attention on the meal, though she wasn’t lunging into devouring it “What do you want in return?” He had to want something, no sane wolf would give up something as essential to survival as fresh meat to a  stranger with no expectation of gaining something in return, with how scarce food was, it was the literal blood line of the north, it hadn’t dawned on the girl that things could be drastically different this far south. "A pawn? Someone to settle something for you? Someone to fight? Bait? What is it?”

Lorcan watched in mild amusement as the ghostly white female seemed to take his jokey-question literally as he glanced down to check on her mud stained toes. “Good, I pulled you out in one piece then.” He grinned, laughing inwardly to himself this time, doubting that the female would understand his humour.

His reply to his question seemed to confuse her she glanced across to him with her head tilted to one side. Lorcan raised a brow awkwardly, somewhat perplexed, but she seemed contented to remain silent and so Lorcan didn’t bother to explain things any further. The young girl seemed eager enough to follow after him though, even in her shaken mud-drenched state, to which Lorcan was grateful. Although he noticed she did come across a little hesitant to step into the hollow tree before him. The agouti male nodded his muzzle towards it to encourage her. “Go on, after you.” He assured him warmly.

Climbing in after her, Lorcan settled himself within the entrance of the tree hollow, rear limbs curled up underneath his frame and his tail sweeping around to protect his body from most of the cold rain which blustered in heavy sheets outside. Turning to his companion, golden eyes met her silver gaze briefly before he noticed tense she looked. “It’s okay, please, help yourself.” He encourages again, reaching his muzzle across her to hover it towards the caribou carcass.

Her response took him by surprise, and his head jumped up to meet her gaze with confusion, before his eyes softened and a small smile tugged at the corner of his charcoal lips. “How about your name?” He replied, a small sigh breathing past his lips, but it seemed the female did not see the deal as settled and began to offer up her potential services in payback. “N-no, why would want that? Wait, bait?! What do you mean? Who would even do that?!” He looked across to her puzzled and slightly shocked. Did she see him as a threat or overweening? “Honestly, I don’t want anything in return, I’m fine.” He once again assured her, eyes wide.

She was certainly turning out to be a little odd. Somewhere in his mind, the subordinate was starting to consider whether it had been such a good idea to let the girl eat with him, but it was too late to change his mind now. Reaching over her, Lorcan tore a piece of meat from the beast and placed it between his paws before he began chewing, watching the strange girl to see if she’d give in to hunger now that he had starting eating.

 

(This post was last modified: Sep 16, 2016, 08:04 PM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

The scarred white wolf sat there, her muscles still tense as Lorcan asked her a few questions, the confusion on the male wolf’s face was evenly matched by her own growing uncertainty. Her silvery eyes looked pats the large and prominent scar that laid across her white muzzle as the yearling blinked “ My name..I um…” She paused for a moment before quietly murmuring “I’m Saradathia…” Gaze shifting toward the carcass as he reacted in surprise to her suggestion, slowly, she raised her nose toward those golden eyes in order to reply.

She paused, thinking out what he had said as she laid further down, her sodden fur pressing against the surprisingly dry dirt, when one considered the onslaught of rain pouring down outside, provided. “But...you’re sharing food with me…” That alone should have explained her reluctance right? Saradathia wasn’t one who like owing debts, especially with how ruthless and vicious most wolves were in their demands when food was a bargaining chip on the table.

“You offered a meal..there has to be something you need done, something you wouldn’t want to get your paws dirty in so you offered me something lifesaving in exchange for services...right?” The amount of belief the yearling had in this flawed and disturbed system, there there was no other way wrapped around her with a miasma of certainty. There couldn’t be any other way..right?

When the young scar-ridden female finally offered up her name, Lorcan offered her a warm smile. “Well, Saradathia, the offer for food is there if you want it.” He replied, giving the last word on the subject. He had tried his best to be polite and generous and if the girl still refused to accept some of his kill, well, he couldn’t force her. Chewing contently on a chunk of meat, Lorcan left her settled next to the caribou carcass, only reaching over slowly to tear off some more for himself.

As he continued to feast, he noticed then that Saradathia had yet to actually eat anything and had instead laid lower to the bottom of the hollow tree in reluctance. Lorcan offered the girl a sideways glance as he continued to eat, before his russet ears pricked up as she continued to protest against his offer, much to his irritation and dismay. Why couldn’t she just accept his kindness? “Well, we would be sharing if you actually ate something..” He replied dryly as he began to lose patience, not helped by the cramped confinement.

When the young female spoke again, Lorcan’s russet ears folded back, feeling a little guilty by his cold response prior. “No. You were stuck in that mud, you needed help…and I thought offering you food and shelter may help your recovery.” He replied, trying to remain calm and collected. “You were obviously in shock.” He added, his golden gaze softening a little, before he turned his attention back to the meat he had grasping between his two front paws and began chewing at it again.

But as he chewed, his mind continued to churn over her words and soon he found himself frowning and unable to properly enjoy his food. Pausing with a quiet sigh, he placed the caribou flesh back between his paws before turning back to face Saradathia, his head tilting to one side in concern.

“Look, I don’t know what kind of place you come from, but around here if someone does something for you it is polite to offer something in return, but it isn’t law.” He paused, briefly glancing out to the heavy rain which hissed outside before turning back to her. “Sometimes, like now, we help someone else just because we can. It doesn’t mean I have an ulterior motive behind it.” He replied, hoping that the explanation clarified the situation for her. In one last attempt, he reached over her again and tore off a chunk of meat before dropping it at her paws and nudged it an inch closer to her with his nose.

Recoiling, Lorcan once again gave her the space to eat as he watched her quietly. “So, tell me, not that I want anything, where do your skills lie?” He asked, before tucking into his kill again, blood now staining his muzzle. “Were you a scout before?” He tilted his head curiously, golden eyes flickering across the large scar across her muzzle and the missing tip of her ear. He presumed she held no position now, considering that she smelt like a loner, but those scars must have come from someone or something. Maybe, she had in fact, fought off a lot of bears or cougars in her time.

(This post was last modified: Sep 19, 2016, 08:50 AM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

Saradathia sat there, watching Lorcan eat with quite reluctance and regret, the only things that had been keeping her from springing head into the sweet and tantalizing meat had been her lack of understanding of how things worked this far south, prey being in an abundance and the conditioned she had faced her entire life. Listening carefully as he explained what she couldn’t bring herself to believe yet. Kindness existing without any ill intent nor hidden agenda.

As Lorcan moved some of the carcass toward her, the girl became even more rigid out of reflex, her eyes closing as though she expected something bad to happen. Slowly, after a few moments her silvery gaze blinked open as she found that he had simply been nudging some toward her to eat. Oh….. She thought quietly, finally hunger overridden whatever fears or reluctance she had as her stomach decided to rumble in it’s two cents on the matter.

With a quiet sigh of relief the arctic yearling shoved her muzzle into the chuck of meat, slapping her fore paw over it to keep it steady as she tore chuck after chuck off and made short work of quickly devouring with well practiced haste. Almost as though it would simply disappear if she wasn’t quick enough. Beneath the soft slurping sound of her eating, Saradathia’s ear perked up at Lorcan’s inquiries, within a short minute or two, the piece of meat was gone and the girl lifted her bloodied muzzle up from the remains of bone.

“Fighting.” Was her quickest reply as she paused to think it over. “We always fought….for survival, our place in the pack….to lose was a death sentence because we’d have to face the harsh weather and predators alone…” The girl paused for a moment, a wave of emotion overtaking her as she glanced away for a brief second before repeating something quietly, almost reflexively “To lose was to betray the pack and your family…”

Rubbish post, sorry :(

Saradathia remained hauntingly silent as Lorcan set about explaining himself. His golden eyes flickered briefly back in search of her pale silver gaze; off-put slightly by her lacking response, the subordinate male wondered if the young female was even take any of his speech in, for she gave no indication that she understood or agreed. He continued to talk anyway, not wanting to come across as rude - again - should be actually turn out to be listening.

When he leant over towards her small pale figure to nudge a chunk of meat towards her with his muzzle, she flinched as though she anticipated some violent outcome. Placing the meat slowly in front of her small paws, Lorcan slowly recoiled and shifted his weight a little towards the open entrance of the hollow tree to allow the girl some more space. Turning his attention away from the girl for a moment in an attempt to make her feel more at ease, Lorcan gazed out from the inside of the tree at the sky.

To his surprise the rain appeared to be dying down and now only pattered lightly on the ground. The earth around the tree had grown thick with mud, but Lorcan suspected that would be the case everywhere and so it could not be avoided when he finally came to leave. The sky was still dark and stormy, so he suspected that the rain would not be gone for long. “The rain appears to be stopping..” He murmured, before his russet ears darted at the unmistakable sound of a growling stomach and he turned back to the girl, a grin plastered across his charcoal lips as he caught her finally digging into the piece of meat he had offered her.

“You’re welcome to some more…but just, save the hind leg or something, so I can take some back to the pack.” He smiled, before reached over to tear another large chunk of meat off from the main body of the beast to wolf down by her side.

Her response to his question interested him, she had obviously had a harsh upbringing, but that just meant she had more life experience. “Would you ever consider joining another pack? Mine may be in need of a skilled fighter.” He hinted, thinking particularly of the brute Askan who had caused his so much trouble recently and that cougar that had attacked him and @Craw; with his and @Morganna permission, Saradathia could make a great player to the pack and help keep it defended.

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

The white wolf listened, her ear angling toward the outside as Lorcan mentioned the rain, the large heavy torrent had calmed down to a gentle onslaughter, at least to the arctic wolf her first real exposure to rain having been this downpour. “yea…” she said quietly, her silver gaze flicking toward the offered meat and a small scowl frowning at his comment.

“I don’t eat much, there be plenty left over for your pack….” She murmured, still finding it hard to believe that prey was around in such ready abundance and steady supply. A small groan escaped as she realized one thing. What would she do now? Though it seemed as though fate had a solution vocalized by Lorcan. Her head tilted toward him, pausing for a moment in order to devour another piece of meat. “I..I don’t know Lorcan..maybe….”

It seemed like a good offer, though was it worth the constant fighting and struggling just to belong? Out here, alone, Saradathia had felt a vague sense of peace, there wasn’t any burden losing or winning, starving because you failed to win a fight or gotten injured, but at same time she felt it deep within, she missed the constant struggle, she knew her place and how to keep it. Though her mind started to drift, her thoughts becoming more and more foggy as the exhaustion from the day’s events started to finally sink in.

One or two more posts, then archive? :)

Lorcan was unsure if he had offended her when he had asked that she not devour all the meat, suddenly noticing the frown that washed across her pale face. Lorcan nodded at her verbal response, not wanting to press much more on the subject as he did not wish to cause her more offence. He watched her eat for a moment before questioning her about any desire to join a pack. Her answer gave him obvious answer, which caused him to feel a little frustrated, although he said nothing and instead turned back to the carcass to grab another mouthful. For him the decision was an easy one, but he couldn’t tell what caused Saradathia so be indecisive. Everyone had their own reasons.

Glancing back to the young female, a piece of meat still held in his jaws, he noticed her gaze seemed tired and disengaged. Swalling the meat, he nudged her gently with his paw. “It’s okay, you can rest here with me tonight...if you want? I’ll take this back to the pack tomorrow morning.” Truth be told, Lorcan did not particularly want to drag the carcass back to the monadnock whilst the land was still so wet and slippery. It was just asking for trouble and Lorcan was already bruised enough as it was. Plus, hopefully the rain would completely clear off by morning, making for a more comfortable weather to travel in.

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

The arctic yearling’s attention drifting as she listened to the slowing rain, her silvery gaze closing with a soft sigh as she absently chewed on a piece of meat, her stomach satisfied for the time being. A soft squeak managed to escape as Lorcan’s paw poked her flank and her eyes shot open as she looked at him in slight embarrassment for the escaped noise, she debated on what to say and eventually settled for an awkward stare down, blinking occasionally before she decided to speak, though he managed to get the first words out.x

At his offer, the girl paused, glancing outside before nodding “It...would be nice…” She murmured tiredly, standing up and quickly shaking any remaining water from her damp coat, Saradathia scooted closer to the larger male and settled down, he rside pressed loosely against his as she laid her muzzle over paws and tiredly mumbled “Good night Lorcan…” as a yawn escaped. Eventually the girl’s breathing became more even and rhythmic, though there was still a certain tenseness to her body, as though the girl might still expect an attack at any moment, As she slept, her body shifted and revealed more of the various scars that mapped her history.

Feel free to post a reply or archive, whatever you prefer :)

Golden eyes watched contentedly as the young alabaster female moved in closer to snuggle against him. He smiled warmly, although his muscle tensed very briefly at the strange feeling of it. When was the last time he had snuggled? And with a stranger. Lorcan sighed, deciding to think nothing more about it. The young girl was obviously cold and sharing body heat would keep them both warm even with the harsh weather outside.

Pressing back against her, although turning his neck so that he did not lay face to face, Lorcan himself settled down, curling up so that his muzzle nestled against the thick fur of his underbelly. ”Get some good rest, Saradathia.” He murmured in response before his golden eyes slid shut. Stomach full with caribou meat, it didn’t take long for the agouti male to drift off to sleep.

Early the next morning when he awoke, he turned sleepily to glance across to the pale girl to see if she was awake, tongue sweeping across his dry charcoal lips. “I better get going…You’re welcome to stay here after I’ve gone.” The offer was there, not like he needed the shelter anymore – and luckily for them both, the rain had completely stopped during the night.

Clambering out of the hollow tree, Lorcan immediately shook his pelt when his paws hit the muddy ground. Glancing around to recompose himself and his whereabouts, he turned to face the direction he had originally come, towards the lowlands before he turned to peer back to Saradathia inside the tree. “If you change your mind about joining, head towards the lowlands and look for a large flat rock. I’ll be there.” He smiled and gave a small nod, before leaning in to haul out the rest of the carcass out from the tree, careful not to completely squash her as he pulled it past her slender frame.

Carcass in jaws, Lorcan began to slowly drag it away, leaving Saradathia to decide what action to take next.

-Lorcan exit-

(This post was last modified: Oct 13, 2016, 04:56 PM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together