Grizzly Hollow The Edge

<i>Cause I'm six feet from the edge and I'm thinking, Maybe six feet ain't too far down...</i>

Morning 20 degrees F.

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Follko stifled a yawn. Even with the slightest movement of his jaws the fire of infection burned across his face. Picking his head up the older wolf gazed out at the forest. He longed to be able to run through the tree's as he once had and patrol the borders with his pack mates. However the constant tiredness in his limbs kept the dark man from moving more than a few yards by himself. It took him forever just to get to this abandoned den with Jaysyek the other day, and he was being helped by the kind woman.

His ears twitched hearing the pawsteps of another wolf. The crusty snow cracking under each step of the newcomer. Follko wondered who was visiting him today. He sincerely hoped that it was Shadowstorm with some more herbs for him to take. If the swelling in his face went down then perhaps the male might be able to actually eat without whining in pain. That's why the rodents were scattered around his sleeping place as they were. Follko just couldn't eat them the way his injury was.

Tiredness creaped up his neck. Just looking up and using his neck muscles was too much effort now. Lowering his head and lying it on his front paws the dark elder waited for the wolf to come into his sight.

“Never to suffer would never to have been blessed.”
--Edgar Allan Poe  

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(Couldn't resist it, stalkin' your characters TABs)

Shadowstorm had gone out in search of more Ergot for Follko's infected face. She knew the herb well because she'd used it a lot when her leg broke. She looked at Follko as she arrived at the den he was staying in. the lingering question remained. why had he left shortly after helping Shadow herself into the pack? The question had yet to be answered and she was curious. "Hi Follko! How are you today, other then the infection of course." She said kindly, the way she'd been speaking a lot. It seemed like she had changed.

Shadow had changed a lot since she had last seen Follko. she had rekindled her friendship with Nina. She'd planned to visit Nina and ask that she be taught how to heal. Healing seemed fun, though she had no idea why healing those who could die was fun. It just was, and it felt good to heal her pack mates and help out too. she remembered the first secret she'd shared. In fact, it was her history with Follko. "My tale isn't heroic, or nice as your history I'm sure. But I'll tell you anyways since you're my friend. I was born to adestinct pair of Lone Wolves that to be honest. Hated other wolves. My brother Shade and I started training to survive in a place far from Relic Lore called Death Pine Forest. The first lesson my father taught us, even though I now, after seeing the strength of packs, was Packs are weak, bottomfeeding losers that couldn't take care of themselves, so they hung together and shared food. He specifically told us never to join a pack, or we would taint our blood line. MY brother tried to object as he was the more reasonable one, my father beat him. I tried to get him to stop, he beat me. My father was a cruel, mean steel wall. Whenever I did something wrong, he beat me as a punishment. My mother eventually stepped in, conquering her fear of my father. She was too beaten. It got worse. During my final 'test' , a hunting assignment before I was to go off an live my life. My mother and fahter were attacked by a group of two or three lone wolves. Out of fright, I ran for his life. I thought all my family to be dead. My grandparents gone. My father was an only child, same as my mum as far as I know, I thought my brother Shade was in dead. But truth is he joined a pack called Willow Ridge. Odd, after all these years, he went against my father's teachings. By the end of our lessons. He was set on the goal of never being in a pack ever. "

~ραяαησια ιѕ α tнєσяу, ι'м ησt ραяαησι∂, ι'м ιηѕαηє~

Things never did seem to calm down for Sibyl. If it wasn't her own bad luck making trouble for her while she was away, it was various intruders to the Hollow that kept her on her toes. So many things wrapped her up in the present, that she had all but forgotten about old Follko. At first, she'd been worried as to his sudden disappearance. He was an old wolf, not the type to go wandering about with wanderlust like a young wolf might. She'd looked for him, scanning the borders but not necessarily expecting his return. It had been so long since he had vanished, and given his decrepit state it was unlikely he'd be able to last for long on his own. She'd come to assume the elder had gone off somewhere to die, as she never did find a body within or near the Cedarwood forest. It was sad, but she didn't think there was anything she could do about it besides look for whatever might be left of him. Day by day she doubted anything would turn up, and day by day she just stopped looking.

Given this, it took Sibyl completely by surprise when she caught his scent on the outskirts of the territory, barely distinguishable beneath the acrid stench of infection. A gasp caught in her throat, she picked up her pace hoping to reach some sense of closure, whether she might find him alive or dead. As she came closer, the foulness of the disease carried upon the air nearly staggered her. A dark shape, too dark and too small to be Follko stood before a small den carved into the snowy earth. Sibyl blinked, her head turning as she puzzled things out. She'd never met this wolf before, but it was no intruder, just another addition to the pack she hadn't had the chance to introduce herself to. Within the den, she saw two orange eyes glowing forth.

"Hello, Ma'am." Sibyl greeted, her ears folded back as she carefully tread closer. She peaked in to the burrow, seeing Follko inside looking like he was just about on death's doorstep, his face swollen beyond recognition. "Oh, oh my goodness, Mister Follko. Are you..." Her eyes wide with worry and her jaw hung open, speechless. She was about to ask if he was alright, but that would be a stupid question. Obviously he wasn't.

(This post was last modified: Dec 27, 2012, 08:38 PM by Sibyl.)

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Looking around Follko sighed happily seeing the black form of his friend Shadowstorm. She had more plants with her that he guessed were for him. After she stopped at the mouth of the den and deposited the herbs Shadow began talking. She asked how he was feeling today. Unfortunately he couldn't tell her that he was feeling better.

"Better than a few days ago.." He answered Shadowstorm truthfully. The pain meds the dark wolf was on allowed him to talk and move his muzzle more with only a dull pain. He was even able to eat a little bit yesterday, but there was no way he was eating the older rotting mice and shrews left for him a few days ago.

When Sibyl appeared Follko lightened up further. He had a lot of visitors today! I wonder how she's been doin? Follko wagged his tail a little switching his gaze from Shadowstorm to Sibyl, and back again. Two ladies at once, what odds. Maybe he should have gotten sick ages ago.

"Don't bug out Sibyl I'm not panning on kicking the bucket yet." He twitched his muzzle ito a lopsided smile wincing as he spoke.

“Never to suffer would never to have been blessed.”
--Edgar Allan Poe  

<blockquote>At Aniu's request Renier held a root in his mouth to take to Follko. Apparently it wasn't easy to find, and she wanted to get more. Despite all his questions, he knew it was important the elder recieve this. The boy listened to instruction on where this other den was, and he tried hard to follow Follk's scent. He found it quite uneasy to concentrate also picking up Shadow's and Sibyl's. One he realized that's where they were going, he trotted to quickly reach the man.

He had not seen him since he had disappeared, and Renier tried not to stare at his swollen jaw. It looked quite painful, but despite it he looked happy to have company. The boy lowered his head, his tawny tail wagging slowly at his hocks. He briefly gave the ladies a glance, and then set the root down. <b>"Ani says this will start curing the infection, and build up your imunities. She said if you can't chew it umm...I could for you...to...eat."</b> He wanted to see the man better, but he hadn't wanted to chew it and spit it out if there was no need. It was a long and thin, and sorta soft...<b>"Do...you need something else to eat?"</b> He asked,noticing the uneaten things, and thinking he could try hunting something. He had caught one mouse himself, and was slowly improving.</blockquote>

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(251 WORDS)

Shadowstorm grinned a bit, at least he was a little bit better. but she held a poker face, she knew that it was still bad. Another wolf came into view, Sybil was her name according to Follko. He seemed relaxed around her so she was too. She barely knew any of the pack members and how they behaved. "Greetings Ma'am." She said back as she inspected the wound. But a pup ran in, no doubt Taima's brother. She heard Ani's name and saw the herbs. She looked at the little pup gratefully.

"Hello there. Can you tell Ani when you see her next?" She asked calmly, going back to the wound. He looked a bit hungry. It was nice of the pup to ask him if he wanted food. Her nose poked curiously at the scents. She knew the less people to come near him the better, but he must be lonely too. She was stuck between a rock and a hard place when it came to what to do here.

She noticed the swelling had gone down just a little bit. Though not much, it was progress. She took some of the white fur she had collected and went over so she was right by him. "Do you have much joint pain Follko? If so then eat this, I need to get the other herbs ready." She said placing the fir before him. She went over and started to chew up the other herbs or mix them and sort them.

~ραяαησια ιѕ α tнєσяу, ι'м ησt ραяαησι∂, ι'м ιηѕαηє~

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Follko was indeed glad of the company. All the more glad when another of his pack mates came to visit him. One wolf in particular caught Follko's attention and made the old wolf wish he hadn't left for so long.. Renier had showed up and the older wolf couldn't believe how much the young pup was growing! He still had a long way to go, but the elder blackish brown wolf was glad to see the dhild doing so well.

Dipping his head in greeting first to Sybil then to Renier Follko gave the pup a long look then smiled. He was glad Renier was learning about herbs and healing. The world needed more healers.

"Hello young one. Been a while... " He closed his orange eyes and sighed. When a pack meeting occured then perhaps he would tell his pack mates why he had disappeared. "Sorry for being gone so long Renier. I am supposed to be here helping you......but..yes I could use another mouse if you could get me one. " Follko opened his eyes and looked to the ground with a stoic face annoyed with himself and his helplessness.

Turning his head back to Shadowstorm the dark male twitched his ear then answered the woman.

"My joints always pain me nowadays. Especially as the snows come.. " He finished then stayed quiet. The herbs did help a lot to dull the pain in his jaw and face, but even so not talking was a lot more comfortable to the older male.

Dipping his head again the man picked up the herbs and began chewing them little bits at a time and swallowing them down. The bitter taste made his nose curl but the elder sucked it up. Those herbs were his only chance at surviving through the winter.

(This post was last modified: Dec 07, 2012, 10:57 PM by Follko.)

“Never to suffer would never to have been blessed.”
--Edgar Allan Poe  

Sibyl returned Follko's smile, taking it as a good sign that he was at least able to afford a little bit of a joke. Her ears perked to the delicate crunch of snow, and her neck craned back to see Reinier heading towards the little gathering. The boy held a small bunch of plants in his jaw, and unless he'd picked up some strange habit of gnawing on roots, they could only be meant for Follko. Whether it was a duty given to him or something he thought up on his own accord mattered not, Sibyl was proud to see the young man the pup was quickly growing into.

Follko looked like he needed more than a few mice, but eating them with a jaw like that seemed like quite an ordeal. Even the medicinal herbs Shadowstorm doled out looked like it took Follko a bit of effort to chow down. Months ago it had seemed like he had emerged from the encounter with the bobcat relatively whole, but time had told differently. Time itself was working against the old wolf, and a slight frown pulled at Sibyl's mouth as Follko mentioned the pain the cold of winter worked into his joints.

Suddenly remembering something she perked up a little, excited to tell Follko what she had been up to in his absence. "Mister Follko sir, ah, you won't believe what Aniu and I did!" Her narrow chest puffed up slightly with pride as she prepared to tell him, though the look didn't quite fit right on her, like a child in their parent's jacket. "We chased a bobcat off! Aniu managed to wrangle him out of his tree... A little bit of growling and he was right scared of us!" At first she grinned, though the expression fell slightly when she wondered if mentioning bobcats was really the best thing. After all, a bobcat seemed to have put him in the place he was now.

(This post was last modified: Dec 27, 2012, 08:38 PM by Sibyl.)

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Shadowstorm simply observed the conversation. The pup seemed to be a friend to Follko, not just a packmate. Sybil appeared to be a bit excited, when the news came out her ears perked up and her eyes widened. A bobcat? Aniu and Sybil chased off a bobcat with minimal injuries? Follko and Borden were wiser and stronger and they received many injuries from what Follko told her. How the hell had they managed that? She took the chewed up marigold and applied it, it's main purpose was to stop infections and prevent future infections. She finally responded to Follko, a smallest bit of amusement in her voice. "You and me both, it's been simply too many winters." She said, glancing outside and seeing the fluffy white snowflakes. she could practically feel they're coldness from here.

Her eyes lit up as the conversations continued, she had to agree with Follko, he needed food and a mouse wouldn't hurt. But she had t focus now, her main goal was getting him operational again. Out of this den and back to the main pack den where he belonged. She never really did get an answer to why he was gone for so long. But she wouldn't ask, not with a pup and others around. He'd tell her if he wanted to and that was good enough for her. Her eyes were not as dull as they once were as she scanned around for her poppy seeds. Perhaps they would dull the pain, but she remembered she hadn't seen poppy seeds since she arrived in the lore and she didn't expect to find any. She would have to find another pain blocker.

~ραяαησια ιѕ α tнєσяу, ι'м ησt ραяαησι∂, ι'м ιηѕαηє~

<i>if you guys want to skip Renier, he'll be off hunting and will try to return with something before the end.</i>

<blockquote>Renier perked up, and nodded his head. He usually wasn't shy, but felt strange in all this company...eyes upon him. He really didn't know what to say to the wolf. Even he knew it was rude to say Follko should have been around. He really didn't understand why he had left, things happened to quickly for Renier to understand at times. When it seemed he could hunt for the elder, his golden tail started sweeping behind him. He heard not what anyone else said, but gave a quick response. <b>"I'll see what I can do,"</b> and he offered the male a smile in return. Hopefully all these remedies would do the trick. It seemed he had more than enough of everyone to worry about him now. Perhaps he wouldn't have to worry about leaving again. Eyeing the dark female with bright blue eyes, he had to stare at the sky like color, before giving Sibyl a sheepish grin. A polite dip of his head, he turned round, and scampering off to find Follko something to eat. That might take awhile, he was rather determined to get something. Nose to the ground there had to be one somewhere.</blockquote>