Riddle Heights The Beginning of Ruin

Slimshady?

Anne tripped and stumbled along the path. Her vision was blurry from the injury to her head, and her right shoulder gave out every few feet down the mountain. The gash in her shoulder had bled continuously as she sped away with her heart worked up into a frenzy. Now her whole leg was cloaked in dried blood that the girl had yet to clean off fr she was still escaping the black demons wrath.

Huffing for breath the thin she wolf stumbled once more only to fall to her left fatigued and tired. Picking up her stiff hurting head Anne looked behind her to look for that black alpha, but he was no where to be found. She was finally safe.

"Ouchie my head, and my leg....but mostly my head." She dropped her head to the ground and just lay there for a while on the cold snow and stone. Why was living in the wild so difficult? How come she couldn't find her old family? Were they really so far away? Thinking of her past brought tears to her eyes. If she were back home right now her mother would be happily groomng her with maybe a game of tag after being cleaned.

Angry at herself and the way she was so helpless out here Anne sat up and began looking over her injuries. She had to get better as soon as possible. First she started cleaning her shoulder wound and the dried blood down her leg fur. As she did this the woman thought about which plants might help her get better.

"Like there's gonna be any plants out here in the snow!" She growled at herself. She would have to make due without the help of herbs. The only thing she might find is willow tree bark down by those other wolves she had met in the forest. Plus there had to be some white fur around here.That could help with her shoulder wound at least.

With her shoulder still bleeding after her rough journey down he mountain Anne couldn't clean it completely. Pausing at that task she sat up and glanced around for the tree she needed. "They should be growing in this area too.." She looked around and found a number of them growing around her. The closest specimen being a smaller tree to her right. Picking herself up the girl limbe over to the tree and looked it over closely. With flat needles and that white coloring on their undersides this was definately a white fir tree. Ducking her head under the leaning branches and needles, Anne moved toward the bark of the tree. ,

"Who woulda thought my first meal in a while would be tree bark.." She thought glumly while using her canines to dig into and peel off bits of the bark. She was too busy with her task of self healing to note the wolf scent that blew on the breeze. That plus she couldn't smell past the fir tree stench that clogged up her nose at the moment.

The lowly wolf from beyond the pass slunk from the cave they had all been hiding up in. Frustration was evident from how he moved: broad, stiff movements that sent rocks skittering over the ledges as he meandered carelessly. They acted as if Blackcrow was gone... as if he wasn't still with him. Slimtail was used to being degraded and ignored, but these cautious looks they exchanged and facial expressions that shifted between being incredulous and deeply unsettled. They made him afraid. What? What's wrong? He'd quip uncertainly whenever he managed to catch them staring. But they never answered. Blackcrow needs us. Why are we just sitting here? Once more they tossed their secret looks between themselves. The anxiety continued to rise until finally Slimtail could take it no longer. His shoulder was itiching again and the corners of his mouth pooled with foam. With a snarl of frustration, he took his leave from the Aniwayan Wolves.

But the anxiety didn't leave him even after he rounded the corner and was beyond the reach of their cryptic stares. Their eyes clung to him wherever he went. "Why won't you tell me!" he called out in his trembling, reedy voice. "Why won't you tell me what's wrong!" But he knew why. He had known why all along — he wasn't so blind as that: it was him. He was the one that was wrong. Why else would Dapplefur be showering him with her attention and her disgusting treatments. But why were they worrying about him? It was Blackcrow they should be worrying about! The frustration bubbling in his stomach rose to boiling anger. Reality suddenly became slippery and he lost his grasp on it entirely. "I'll save you Blackcrow. I won't let these horrible heathens take you away."

But where was he? Wildly, he tossed his foam-dripping muzzle towards the sky and inhaled.

And on the breeze there was the scent of blood.

"Blackcrow?"

Thick, milky froth streamed from his slavering jowls as he broke into a gallop and clung to his fur. And as he ran, the fear began to slip away. Everything began to slip away. The Aniwayan was a fearsome sight, rabid and furious as he leaped over rocks and slid down the heights. Had Blackcrow been out here all along, dying out in the cold while they argued over the stupid heathens? But Slimtail was here, and he would save his leader, he wouldn't abandon him like the others had. The form of a wolf came into sight..

But it wasn't Blackcrow.

It was wearing his blood, though.

He snarled, "What did you do with Blackcrow, you fucker?"

All the while he dripped.

(This post was last modified: Jan 18, 2013, 02:02 AM by Slimtail.)

The noise of paws thudding on the ground racing towards her made the young wolf yank her head abruptly out from under the tree. Wincing at the scratches the stems made Anne's eyes opened wide as a strange wolf came bursting out of the forest at her. Backing herself up stupidly against the tree effectivly blocking her escape Anne stared at the growing wolf. His fangs dripped foam as he snarled at her. "Black Cow? Is he talking about a wolfs name? Or a black female elk?" Terra wasn't so sure. So she guessed.

"Uhh..well.. I don't know a Black Cow! Please don't hurt me, I haven't done anything to anyone!" Anne shoved herself backwards farther into the stinging branches of the tree while watching the dribbling wolf. Something about him made her more frightened than the others she had met. Of course all of those savages had scared her, especially the last one she had met, but this one... This one just didn't seem right. She couldn't put her paw on it. His smell was sickly sweet and gross at the same time. Plus all that drool was really starting to creep her out.

Turning her head to look for a way to escape Anne realized that she had trapped herself within the confines of the pin tree's lower branches. Sure she could wiggle and worm her way through them, but that would take much longer than trying to dart around the male. "Of course that's if he tries to attack me.. Maybe we can talk this out..Maybe.." She second guessed herself while looking over the sick wolf. He didn't seem to be showing signs of calming down soon. Anne hoped to god that she wouldn't get yet another savage biting on her butt as she fled from the thicket.

The signs had been there along. The confusion, the itching, foam... But for many weeks, he had been managing to hold it together — but by what unconscious mechanism, it was hard to say. It was something fundamental about his spirit —his that so loved the light and would fight to uphold goodness no matter what— had been helping him hold it all together. Most of this happened outside of his awareness. Most. Desperately, his soul waged war against this dark enemy that had entered and poisoned his body... There was some terrible flaw that that the sickness had discovered in these past few days and began to exploit. Though his spirit managed, most times, to keep the sickness in check, the sickness broke through its defenses time and time again. Slimtail could feel this warring going on inside of him. At first he had only been nervous, but when the sickness stumbled upon this it purred with glee and clung to it. The sickness grew stronger within him, within his nightmares... And that was when his spirit began to slip, and that was when his anxiety gave way to fear.

What Slimtail couldn't have known was that fear would, ultimately, be the instrument of his undoing. His spirit was strong, tempered his faith in Unelanuhi... but fear was stronger. Fear flooded, fear eroded, fear destroyed. Fear was a abyssal crack in his walls... that grew and grew as the sickness worried away at him, at his spirit.

The blood.

The blood on the girl would be what broke him. Slimtail could never abide any bleeding. Deeply religious, Slimtail believed more than blood was an bad omen than a biological necessity. He had felt, more than discovered, that any sort of bleeding would lead to death within days, weeks, sometimes months. But it always lead to death eventually. A loss of blood was not always directly the cause of death. Somewhere, poor Slimtail had constructed this elaborate belief that blood was a sign of Unelanuhi's displeasure. It warned of her wrath to come, and it was this wrath that Slimtail feared the most. The prey they hunted bled and died. Old pack memebers bled and died... Blackcrow had bled and he had died. This scared Slimtail most of all, for he could not understand what his beloved leader had done to incur the wrath of the Gods... Or what he had done, for Blackcrow had made him bleed, too.

The sight of blood on the girl's shoulder —in much the same place as he had bled when his leader had torn his shoulder open— would be what finally broke down the last barrier that his spirit had been hiding behind. Maybe he had been afraid of the blood, maybe he had been afraid that it was yet another sign from the Gods. But it didn't matter, it was fear all the same, and this was all the disease needed. The sickness burst through, and in an instant devoured what had been left of his soul.

The pale, sickly wolf raised himself from his characteristic posture of the lowest wolf into a stance of dominance. His namesake tail, mangy and thin, arched above his back and his ears rose up from their home against the nape of his neck and his teeth came out too play. He took a bold step forward. "Liar," he cried, spitting foam towards the girl backed against the fir tree. "You will tell me what you did with Blackcrow or you will suffer a hell much worse than whatever has been set aside for you heathens in the afterlife."

You can attack her any time you want. ;)

The sight of the sickly male made Anne's fur stand on edge. He was getting just staring at the wound on her shoulder. What the hell?! Why were wild wolves so wierd.

Fear.. It was all she felt now. It seemed as though this wolf was not going to let her go. Even if she told him the truth, that the young woman had no clue who BlackCrow was..yes, BlackCrow not black cow. Anne had heard the male wrong before. He was looking for this BlackCrow wolf.

But he's not even going to believe me if I tell him the truth. What am I supposed to do!!

"I.. I only saw him once.. That BlackCrow guy.. He was a black wolf right? Yeah.. he beat the snot out of me further up the mountain. Said something about me being ignorant..." She half lied. The black wolf she was talking about that hurt her had been Rhysis, not BlackCrow. But she had to say something to get away. "He's still up there if you want to go see him...Now.. leave me alone, Ihave already gotten hurt enough today!" She put up a snarl and growled at the sick wolf who had taken a domineering stance. Why was the world so cruel to her?

• Now it's found us, like I have found you
  I don't want to run — just overwhelm me
  
  — The Lightning Strike Snow Patrol

There. She was caving.

"I.. I only saw him once.. That BlackCrow guy.. He was a black wolf right? Yeah.. he beat the snot out of me further up the mountain. Said something about me being ignorant..."

Her story, however, didn't appear to meet up with reality. Was he dead or was he alive? Had he just been up the mountain this whole time? Why hadn't he come down? So desperately did Slimtail wish that his dear leader was still alive, and yet desperately he wished to avenge him. But he couldn't do both. His frustration rose to a climax as all the questions and incongruent realities rattled around in his skull. All this noise became an intense throbbing in his head."BE SILENT!" He cried suddenly, his eyes screwed shut and his teeth bared as he fought against his confusion, fought to make sense of it all.

Somewhere inside of him a small voice cried, I'm losing it, I'm losing it.

But that voice was quickly drowned away in the flood of thoughts that eroded his mind.

He was gone.

But she was still here. Still rambling.

"I said be SILENT," he cried once more, his patience totally gone. Like lightning he flashed and like lightning he struck. With a thunderous growl, he flung himself at the poor, lost girl, his jaws parted and frothing. There was no aim in his lunge, no precision or anything besides a deadly intent: if she wasn't going to submit to his commands, he would shut her up himself. Permanently.

Waiting for the sick stranger to make a move Anne ducked her head and shuffled around into the fir tree when Slimtail barked at her to close her mouth. For a few moments he was silent with a strange hollow look in his eyes which frightened the cream and rust wolf. His eyes looked like that of the dead rabbit those two wild woman had given her to eat. A living breathing wolf should not have those eyes. She shook as a shiver tore through her thin frame.

I have to get out of here...right now... He can't come closer.. I have to run.. No sooner did the she wolf decided to try and escape than did Slimtail erupt from his thoughtful stillness and attack her. Her eyes widened as his stinking body came forward almost too quickly for an animal with those dead eyes. Animals with eyes like those shouldn't be able to move this fast! That last thought filled her mind as she scrambled sideways scratching herself on the stems and overhanging branches of the tree.

Swinging her head forward Anne would not look back. All of her focus was on the escape. As she pushed her thin frame around the tree's entangling branches the young wolf felt a sharp number of pains in her the side of her neck. She had not been fast enough. Though she had moved enough for the ill strangers bite to be only of a slight to moderate damage instead of fatal. That was a good thing.

Stumbling away from the tree and into the open Anne could see her way to escape. All she had to do was dislodge the sick wolf from her skin and fur. Warmth seeped down her neck as her blood spilled onto her opponents muzzle. Twisting herself around Anne tried to yank the sick wolf off. If I can yank him off then I can run.. I think I'm faster than him.. She growled darkly preparing to shake off her attacker. Her plan was to dislodge the male wolf then make a quick escape down the slope using gravity to help her run faster back into the relative safety of the forest.

Feeling the green tree's needles brushing through her coat the young woman began slowly trying to slip through the branches to the right.

He felt his fangs sink into her brindled fur with satisfaction. Foambegan to drip down from his jaws and soak her fur. The monster applied more pressure, and a warmth filled his mouth as blood began to seep up through the broken skin. Blood. Yes, blood. This was a good omen. This girl would die. In the fires of his rage, pride began to kindle and burn fiercely. I will be Unelanuhi's wrath, was the booming voice in his head, I will avenge Blackcrow. In doing so, Slimtail would rise towards the Gods when he died, and he would be hailed as a holy demigod, a brother of the righteous. And he would hunt beside his daring leader once more... Slimtail was afraid no longer.... Wait

What was this?

Underneath him, the girl began to writhe, attempting to free herself from his hold. Snarling, Slimtail relinquished his hold on the stupid little heathen. She was bleeding, she was afraid... That was all he needed. He didn't need to kill her. No, the Gods would take care of that. This girl would be his vessel, the chariot for his message and his sickness. A dark smile clogged with foam spread across his face as the girl ran through the trees and down the mountain side.

"YOU TELL THEM WE'RE COMING FOR YOU. WE'RE COMING FOR YOU ALL."

Those heathens were doomed.

But his head still throbbed and he needed to lie down. Still smiling, the thin tailed monster turned and began to walk back up the mountain towards the cave that the Aniwayan wolves had been using as a rendezvous.

• slimshady out, dog

Aww one more post and I could have claimed points for her. Oh well.

His snarl behind her all the more made Anne's movements more urgent to get away. Finally releasing herself from his grip Anne rocketed out from beneath the drooling savage and pelted towards the tree's she ignored the pain in her neck and shoulder. The best thing to do right now was to run. Save herself. Of course she had no knowledge of the <i>illness</i> that was now coursing through her veins. The illness that would at some point in the future cause her great pain. Make her turn into a savage herself.
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No she knew nothing of this. Perhaps it was a good thing. Ignorance breeds bliss. She would survive until that time when the illness decided to finish her off.
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Running faster and faster Anne sprung farther away from that scary mofo. She was not sticking around by the mountains any longer. It was far safer among the trees. <i> Run.. keep running. To the tree's and the bushes. To the lowlands where the other savages lie. I will be safer there where more herbs can be found...</i> She told herself this as the creamy and gray she wolf disappeared into the wilderness, tail tucked tightly between her legs.
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(Anne Out)