The Wildwood what are we doing here [m]

All welcome to discover her, but special tag to @“Rochus”

The Valle woman had been feeling overly uncomfortable lately. So much pressure everywhere across her body making it difficult to sleep, walk, or just be normal. Though, being pregnant was a completely different scenario than the normal. So Amondi decided to take a walk that day, Rochus must of been off hunting for them again. Ever thankful for his care and watchful gaze, the mother just wanted to work off the tightness. Perhaps after a good stretch she would feel better.

Walking across the clearing, she could hear the babbling water just a little ways away. The walk was seeming to be more strenuous than she first anticipated, so a quick drink would do the mother well. Waddling as quickly as she could, the pregnant mother reached the creek side. Quenching her thirst, she decided to take a breather over against the large maple that cascaded over the river. The shade was nice against the spring sun, Amondi laid awkwardly with her expanded belly. Being a lone wolf while pregnant was not ideal, but Rochus had a plan. And at the moment, she hoped it was enough for their incoming children.

For now, they were settling within this forest until the cubs were old enough. Whether they were to move again or settle within these woods, Amondi was not sure. All she knew was they had to stop traveling for now. The Valle was not going to give up on getting back to her family, but for now these cubs within her belly held priority right now. So they dug out a birthing den, well Rochus dug out a suitable den for her. Amondi tried to help, though she was not very helpful. They were doing what they could with what they had. It was not them grand established den like the one back home, but it would suffice.

Waking up in a startle, Amondi didn’t realize how long she had dozed off for until she realized it was almost dusk. By now, Rochus had to have returned and realized she had wandered off. Rising to her feet somehow, she started to make her way back. Trying to rush back to their makeshift den site, Amondi didn’t realize where she was walking until she heard the unmistaken cry of a young bear cub. Freezing in her steps, her dandelion gaze widened as she was only a few feet away from the unknowing grizzly bear cub. Looking around with just her eyes, she spotted another to her left and another to her right. The Valle mother had walked right in their path. But where was their mother?

Praying to whoever gave out luck and fortune, Amondi hoped their mother was further away and they too had wandered off away from her watchful eye, so she could continue on her way without disturbing them. Taking a deep breath, the Valle slowly continued on her path away from the three bear cubs. No sign of an angry mother was good as she surely would never be able to outrun her wrath. Cursing at herself in her head of how stupid she was for getting herself into this mess, she twisted her dandelion gaze back towards the three cubs to make sure they were still there and not following her. Thinking the coast was clear, she quickened her pace until she heard the unmistakably angry roar of the mother bear.

It wasn’t the fairest fight, not against a grown 350 pound grizzly bear and a pregnant 150 pound wolf, so the winner was clear and so was the loser as she laid motionless bleeding against the cold forest floor. Her tawny body torn from the giant claws and teeth that were mercilessly dug into her. Amondi’s world was black for the longest time. The overwhelming metallic smell of her blood filled her nostrils, causing her to go in and out of consciousness. Her only thoughts were of the well-being of her unborn children and why the hell did she take a walk today?

 

(This post was last modified: May 27, 2021, 03:44 AM by Amondi.)

It was rare that Xulia left the pack, but her paws had felt rather itchy today, and she'd wanted to stretch her legs. Of course, the woods weren't far off, but it was enough to get out of the territory and be on her own for a bit. Not that she was the most social in the Backwater in the first place, but still. She wanted a little bit of that freedom to wander.

She hadn't been on her walk for very long before a myriad of scents hit her all at once. The first, and most alarming, was blood - wolf blood, to be specific, and the fact that it was mingled with another scent that was quite familiar was even more frightening. And underneath it all, bitter and musky, was the scent of bear, and Xulia's brain was scrambling to put together a mental puzzle of what that might mean.

Her long legs carried her quickly over toward the scent, her guard up just in case she might have to fight. She was not at all confident that she would be able to beat a bear, but for the sake of her family, she was sure as hell going to give it a shot. The girl did not slow down until she could physically see what she was afraid of.

"Amondi!" The name tore from her lips, breathless and alarmed, as Xulia skidded to a halt next to the heavily pregnant woman's frame. There was blood everywhere, but fortunately there did not seem to be any sign of the bear. So she could be there for the older Valle without distraction. "Damn it... wake up!" she demanded, voice a bit harsher than she would've liked as she shook the woman's shoulder. But Xulia was scared, and she did not deal with that particular emotion well, nor did she know how to fix wounds like these. And what of the pups? "Amondi!" she shouted again, gritting her teeth to keep the panic at bay. That wouldn't help at all in this situation.

Rochus had gone off hunting like usual, though it seemed the critters were hiding particularly well that day as he only managed to catch a single rabbit after many hours of prowling and searching. But when he returned to where he had left Amondi, he stared around in confusion, wondering if he had somehow gotten lost. A quick sniff of the air confirmed this was the correct place, but that meant she had wondered off somewhere by herself.

With a short growl of frustration he dropped the rabbit and began following her trail at a brisk pace, hoping to find her before dusk became night. This was exactly what he did not want to happen, especially with it most likely being nearly time for her to give birth. He had not travelled far before the scent of blood filled the air, and the cry of another calling out Amondi's name. With a burst of energy Rochus started forward, running as fast as he could until he came upon the sight of Amondi's bloodied and torn body laying almost lifelessly upon the ground, and the familiar form of one of Sita's children standing over her.

His first thought was if his unborn children were okay, but then he realised that even if they were, Amondi would be unable to feed and nurture them in her state. Anger filled his body, anger at Amondi for being stupid enough to go off on her own and get so badly injured, and had the young girl not been there he might have simply walked off and left his mate there to bleed out on the forest floor. All his hard work was ruined, and the lives of his unborn children at stake, all because of Amondi. Oh how he wished he had chosen someone else to be his mate, someone who was actually worth being a life-long companion to.

But since he was already there and the young girl had already seen him he could not just slink away, he had to pretend that he was overwhelmed and worried for Amondi. Rochus darted forward, breathing heavily and frantically nosing at Amondi's shoulder, forcing a whine to slip through his teeth. "Xulia, you need to find someone to get her some help!" He said in a strong tone, making sure there was just enough of a quiver in his voice to make it seem like he was worried. He could smell the scents of others on the young girls coat, so surely they had someone who knew even a little bit about healing, though he was unsure of what they could do given Amondi's wounds.

(This post was last modified: May 30, 2021, 09:32 AM by Rochus.)