Thicket of Secrets Never Miss the First Blow

RE: Secret Woodlands: A bobcat is lurking on your borders.

Calm lay across the border of Secret Woodlands. A young black wolf made his way from one end, paws rapid with irritation that grew into anger. Liam had gone missing, hardly a few weeks in the pack and already he was gone. Was no other male capable of loyalty to Secret Woodlands? Hollow was still stretched entirely too thin, even with the assistance of Iopah and Koda, there were times when the borders were ignored simply because Hollow physically could not patrol for his exhaustion. These factors all infuriated the young male, and anger was not a fitting face for the kind male. His teeth snapped periodically and a growl could be heard echoing through the forest. Still the vigilance was kept, and his shadowy figure merely floated among the tree's near the border.

A sound drifted into his ears, feline. For once Hollow grinned at the thought of chasing whatever this was off of the territory. On second thought, maybe he should just kill it. The dark male lowered himself and began to creep through the brush, until he came upon a bobcat, whom had seemingly caught his scent for it looked around as if something had caught it's attention. Without waiting Hollow stepped from his hiding place and barked orders at the cat, "Run and you will live, fight and you will die." The last word was laden with threat and anger. Someone should have been alerted, and Hollow should not faced the bobcat before having help. But in his current mood he had no time for these things.

The bobcat snarled and crouched down, preparing to pounce. Hollow sprang at the same moment the feline did and in his anger his initial blow merely scratched the side of the feline's body. When he landed, his size betrayed him. The cat turned and sprang before he had a moment to think. Hollow felt the teeth sink into his shoulder and the claws stab into his fur. Pain like he has never known shout through him, A pained howl cry escaped him and he spun trying to shake the cat off but to no avail, So as quickly as he could Hollow threw himself sideways and slammed the bobcat into a tree. The only success was the bobcat who's fangs now felt as though they were scraping his bones. The dark male set his weight into the cat, trying his best to crush him between himself and the tree, or just make him let go. But he was beginning to grow weak already, as blood seeped from his wound. If this fight went on much longer without help. Hollow would surely be killed.

She had been enjoying her peaceful day out, content to let her children wonder out on their own, knowing that they would not wander far. Their bodies could not handle so much travel in a time period and she was sure eventually one of her pack mates would stumble upon the trio. Nina had no worried and was sure that she could trust her family living within the lore. She had very briefly met Liam, one of the pack’s newest members, but was disappointed to know that his scent had faded from her borders. She could not help but be slightly relieved that she had not grown close to the man and that her children had not known him very well. The alpha wished the best for her children and that meant having wolves in her pack that she knew she could rely on. Unfortunately, today would be the day that one of her most loyal members would not be too alright.

In the middle of her peaceful stroll, all hell broke loose somewhere within her territory. Before she knew it, her paws were flying over the ground towards where she had definitely heard Hollow howl out in pain. Something was not right and this caused her gut to wretch. How foolish she felt to let the children go out on their own, what if something had happened to them? Nina was sure she would never forgive herself. She was panting as she ran, her paws flying as fast as they would take her over the thickets, trying to avoid the thorns as best as she could. Along the way she was sure a good amount of her fur was being tugged onto the side thorn bushes, but she did not care. If something was wrong with one of her family members than she would have to protect them at all costs.

When she arrived at the scene in front of her terror caused her single eye to widen, a vicious snarl tearing forth from her throat. From what he could see a bobcat had attached itself to her faithful Head Guardian and was trying to take him down. Hollow looked pretty worn out and Nina knew it was time to take it up a notch. All she saw was red as she launched herself at the back of the bobcat that was slammed against the tree. The golden brown woman could see that the young man was losing himself. A remind of her last encounter with a wild animal that had left her with minor injuries still had its mark. It did not matter to her then though; the only thing that mattered was the bloodied body in front of her. Quickly, she scrapped her claws along the cat’s back, pleased to hear the pained shriek that escaped its throat as it wheeled around towards her. She launched herself at the bobcat in no time, trying to catch it off guard. In her luck, it worked. Pinning the animal down to the ground, the woman sunk her canines into the feline’s throat, crushing the windpipe quickly. She had down so many times before when she had been hunting large prey and this made no difference. Before she knew it, the animal went limp and a furious snarl escaped from her muzzle.

Worried that there would be more bobcats lurking around them, she turned around towards Hollow, her jade eye following towards the black Guardian. She would not be able to take of him herself, and instead turned away from the dead body of their attacker, deciding she would come back to the case of the attacker later. Instead she needed immediate help from both of her Healers. So raising her muzzle to the sky, she called for @Azariah and @Ashanti, hoping dearly that both woman would come to her aid. In the meantime, Nina looked down at her friend…her family member, assessing his injuries in the calmest way possible. It seemed as though Hollow had a serious bite near his shoulder and a few claw marks along his sides. The golden brown mother winced slightly, knowing that the young man had recently gotten over some other markings along his sides. Hopefully it would not affect the scar tissue already there. Nina knew she could fix her subordinate though, she would make it better. But it would definitely help if Azariah and Ashanti got their quicker. Taking a deep breath, she tried to get some sort of reaction out of Hollow, "Hey, sweetie, can you hear me? Focus on my voice please." She truly was worried about the black male laying before her. She would not lose a life today. None of her family members were going to lose their life as long as she was there.

It seems when you're around, my life is complete.

The Bobcat's drip was loosening as his strength was waning, yet it was not fast enough, Hollow knew he would lose this fight. If he did it did not mean shame, nor did it mean failure, but death. The inky veil would shroud him forever more and he would be gone from this world. Images shuffled through his head, of Azariah, of Nina, and Koda, Ashanti, Bane, Iopah. The light all around him began to dim as he was becoming weaker, almost as if in a dream heard the snarl. Somewhere in his mind he knew Nina had arrived, and still he wished it wasn't her. Koda could afford a small injury, as could Iopah, and Hollow himself. But not Nina, she had pups to take care of.

So in his final effort before he knew he would lose his remaining strength he pressed harder, not allowing the feline to move from where it was fixed to him. His play paid off as Nina's claws raked down the cat's back distracting it long enough to let go. Hollow fell. His head turned as he was moving towards the ground, in slow motion he watched Nina take the bobcat. It was in an instant, too quick for him or the weakened feline to comprehend. Hollow could see as the light flickered in his head, Nina look around for more. There were none, the dark guardian knew this well, he had scented before the fight.

A howl, where Hollow vaguely recognized that Nina had called for Azariah and Ashanti. He raised his head just as much as he could when Nina came to his side. He opened his mouth and at first nothing would come out. His blue eyes were dim, and the ring of green in his right was nearly extinguished. Between the fight and the blood loss he could not tell if it was exhaustion or he was about to die. His fears came shakily out to Nina, while his eyes became glazed with it. As young as the dark wolf was he was still very afraid of death. "N-Nina? Am.... am I going to .... to die?." A few whines escaped his muzzle, "Because I don't want to die." He lay his head back on the earth and waited for Nina, for Azariah, and Ashanti, perhaps even death. He had no way of knowing the damage done to him could be repaired and if he rested well and did not stress the injury. Hollow's only danger now was losing more blood.

[Sorry for the wait </3 craziness at my house, getting ready for a grad party]

The urgent call from Nina for herself and Azariah meant one thing to her; there was a packmate I need of urgent help. Her ears were perked, listening and when she was sure she was needed, the young mother nuzzled Bane and told him to stay where he was, and that she would be back soon. Her sleek white fur bellowed as she ran against the wind to find Hollow and Nina. Hollow at the borders, badly injured, the smell of bobcat around. "Hollow!" She said, shocked to find her friend in such condition. She connected the dots, the scents and she feared for his life. The blood was gushing and it would be hard to stop. "Nina, what do you need me to do?" She asked in urgency, saving his life was most important.

Her icy blue eyes filled with pain and sorrow, she had grown a bit soft to the pain of her packmates, and never liked to see them in a state of pain or suffering. Hollow had been there for her, and brought her back when she needed help the most. She planned on returning the favor and bringing Hollow back to the real world and getting him back up and running again, it appeared it would be a long while before that happened. Her tail was curled underneath her stomach as they were both still higher than her in the ranks of the pack, her ears perked as she waited for an answer from the alpha female and senior healer.

(This post was last modified: Jul 12, 2013, 11:49 PM by Ashanti.)

Azariah had been out trying her hand at hunting. She tried to get some fresh meat for the two mothers whenever she could. Both Nina's children and Ashanti's boy were getting bigger and the mother's were both out and about more, but she still liked to help where she could and it could be done while she continued to memorize every inch of the Woodlands for herbs and plants that might be helpful to her family. A Healer had to be ready for anything at any time and Solarra had taught her to remain calm and rational under any circumstances. She was good at what she did and she had always conveyed an unusual confidence, even as a yearling. This assurance had only grown with age and security as she blossomed into a young adult fae.

Her musings were cut short as an urgent call came from Nina in the distance. The rabbit that she'd been tracking slipped away unnoticed as golden ears swivelled and aquamarine eyes scanned for the correct direction of the call. Sure that she knew where to head, she took off running, her speed and small stature aiding her for once in the dense underbrush for she'd been a long ways off from the her leader. She could only pray that it wasn't Nina that was harmed, for she was the backbone of the pack and Azariah at times felt as a daughter to the golden brown matriarch, who had welcomed and untried healer and yearling in more need of love and acceptance than she knew.

The sight that met her was just as bad. All of her training went out the door. Thoughts of staying calm and rational and keeping a clear head... all gone. It was Hollow. Hollow who was laid out by a tree, blood draining at a frightening rate from his shoulder. She felt her own blood drain from her face as her heart constricted. No, no, no, NO!.... Not Hollow! This thought beat a rhythm in in her head and somehow she was at his side, barely acknowledging Ashanti or even Nina. Her place was with Hollow. She needed to feel his heartbeat to assure herself that he lived still. He needed to know that she was there.

With a glazed look of utter terror, she glanced at the others, finally, the panicked look on her face begging them to not let this happen. She looked back at Hollow on the ground, knowing that they had to stop the blood loss. "I-I-I'm here, my love! I'm Here." She wormed her own body next to his, laying parallel to him, actually upon his legs. This afforded her the position to lay her own petite shoulder upon his and apply pressure upon his wound with her legs pushing on the earth and grasses to maintain it, hating that it must cause him great pain for her to do so.

Her heart fluttered in her chest at the panic attack that she was fending off. Tears welled in her blue eyes as she looked back at the now-blurry forms of Ashanti and Nina. "C-cobwebs." She was sure that there was more, but it was all that would come to her tortured mind. They were both Healers. They'd know what else he needed, right?

Destiny leads and I follow...for I am Destiny's Child

When a response came from the young male, Nina was somewhat relieved, but she felt her heart constrict when he heard her words. So far, in her lifetime, she had only lost three patients and she hoped dearly that Hollow would not be one of them. The woman’s stress level was already running high and she took deep breaths, replying calmly to the bleeding male that was lying beneath her. "I take care of my family the best I can, but I don’t think you’ll be doing patrols for awhile," Nina had avoided the question, with a quick joke to try and lift the boy’s spirits before speaking to him in a commanding tone, "Stay down." She then waited impatiently for the two of her friends to arrive, her mind racing in the process. She really did hope she had made the right decision bringing Azariah here. Nina knew that in a situation like this, it could be easy for the girl to try and overrule Nina, but the alpha would not have it and would expect the young woman to listen to her commands as if it were just a normal pack mate. It would require the woman to be stronger than she had ever been and Nina had much faith in her.

When Ashanti arrived; she seemed quite shocked by the scene, but immediately jumped into action, along with Azariah running close behind her. Though Nina cared deeply about each and every member of her family, she knew that she had to remain calm. It took time for her to built up such stamina to situations like so, but in the end she had been able to keep her composure. Now it was time for both of her friends to learn to do the same. Azariah seemed to go into a state of shock and it seemed to take a few moments of Nina snapping her name for her to get back into the present, her words shocked the alpha and she knew that she would not be getting the cobwebs for Hollow, it would be easier if the young women did, leaving Nina to her work. "Azariah," she started firmly, "I need you to get me moss, cobwebs, anything that will soak up his blood." She paused quickly, her voice business-like a quickly speaking to Ashanti(whom Nina had trained more in the past). "Ashanti, I need you to collect some hellebore, goldenrod, lavender, ergot, and black hawthorns. Get as much as possible and please hurry." Both girls were larger than Nina in size and it would make more sense for them to get the herbs and mosses, for they could carry much more than she would be able to. Turning her attention back to her faithful member, she added pressure to his wound, mentally willing Azariah and Ashanti to hurry.

It seems when you're around, my life is complete.

Iopah had a few hours before the sun was overhead -before her time to patrol- and a few hours was plenty enough time for a hunting run near the cedars. The prey there had been abundant recently. She had begun to wonder if the pack in that area had moved. That curiosity would had to wait as finding enough meat was a priority.

While Iopah was busy, she was not concerned. The pups were growing well and the border had been quiet for weeks now. Even her recent encounter in the nearby orchard had reassured her that their borders were being respected. All seemed to be well and Iopah was content, happy even, as she neared their borders.

The cry stopped her in her tracks. She knew that voice and the pain in it made her heart clench in sympathy. Her hind feet dug in to the earth as she pivoted sharply, then she was running. She was pelting through the thicket, hoping she would be in time. Normally the pale she-wolf was silent in her thicket, but none of that mattered now. Iopah was hoping that she wouldn't find the same bloodied vision that had haunted her for years.

The faint stench of bobcat, then blood. Too much blood. Guilt wore at her. She had promised she would pull him to safety. And she had been so far away. Hollow lay near the three healers. Iopah spared only a second to listen to Hollow's breaths before turning to Nina. She nodded in understanding at Nina's first request. "I will help Azariah." She knew nothing of plants, and it seemed Azariah would need some support. Iopah reached forward to softly touch Azariah, hoping it would pull the young golden wolf from her stupor. Without another word she ran back to the thicket, nose to the ground in search of moss.
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I give permission for Azariah to PP iopah coming back with supplies.

An aside: he has not even realized at this point that Iopah is there too.

As the adrenaline from the attack began to wear off, it felt as though his shoulder had been lit on fire. Nina's tone terrified him as well, he had no way of knowing that if the bleeding were stopped he would merely feel weak for a while. All the young guardian knew was that he was bleeding, he was in pain and he had driven the fangs deeper into his shoulder. As far as Hollow was concerned this was entirely his fault, it was his fault that this whole thing had happened, he should have went for Koda. His mind began to slow and a haze began to make his vision cloudy and his eyes focus in and out. Black ears pinned down to the top of his head as his teeth would periodically grit in pain for a few moments, and even that felt as though it was weakening him.

A form of hazy white came into the scene before him and he recognized Ashanti faintly. His tail twitched as if he were still trying to give it a friendly wave of greeting. As if nothing was wrong, but his world had shattered around him, and on the edges of his mind thoughts of his parents began to creep in. Was this what they felt? Was this the kind of pain they felt before they died? His panicked thoughts almost washed away the recognition of Azariah as she appeared at his side. The young male felt his eyes begin to close until he heard a voice, "I-I-I'm here my love, I'm here."

For a split moment his eyes lit up in a wildfire of emotion and snapped wide, "Azariah... I'm not... going any-anywhere." The words were just loud enough to reach Nina, and Ashanti. With the knowledge that the she wolf whom held his heart had come to him in this dark hour, deep down, Hollow began to fight. Even as she put pressure into his shoulder. The pain was excruciating but he fought it back. Hollow could not bear to leave, not with knowing Azariah had come, no. He would not die today, he could not, for her sake, for the sake of their love.

Words occurred to him as Nina's orders were given to the two she wolves and they raced away. Words that only Sloane had heard, a small gasp of pain at Nina's pressure. Ears pinned back to his head, and he began to choke the words out, "I will make my own heritage of honor and trust, love and loyalty and all of the things that are right." The words he had spoken those many moons ago to Sloane now gave him strength for each member here now was upholding the honor of Secret Woodlands by helping him while he was in need. They all proved their loyalty to Nina and to him by being at his side, and Azariah showed her love more than one could have ever wished for, as did everyone else. His words continued hushed and low, "Fight, it's all for something." He repeated the words weakly his speech slurred as he fought to keep from slipping into the blackness of unconsciousness. He fought as hard as he could to keep his grasp on the blurred forest before him.

"Ashanti, I need you to collect some hellebore, goldenrod, lavender, ergot, and black hawthorns. Get as much as possible and please hurry." That was all that Ashanti needed to hear, and she knew exactly where to go, she often saw that lavender grew near the fields on the edge of the borders, and that would be the last thing to pick up since they were on the border. Goldenrod, there was a small amount in the stores that could last until she could find more. Hellebore, she knew some grew near her birthing den and the ergot and black hawthorns were also in the stores, until she could find more. She rushed off, fur bellowing as she ran as fast as she could in the emergency. Hollow was still fighting it, he had tried to greet them like nothing was wrong.

She reached the herb stores, which she had founded with Ecco so long ago when they were just lone wolves, and she grabbed from it the goldenrod, ergot and black hawthorns from it, running then to the short distance away where she had last seen hellebore, though she was saddened to see that it was all shriveled up as if something had gotten to it and ripped it off from the roots in the ground. She ran back with what she had, and grabbed a little bit of lavender she found on the way. She arrived back to Nina and looked at her with sadness almost. "I have everything except the hellebore, I have to go find more, I’ll be back as soon as I can." She said, setting the herbs down at Nina’s side and running off once more.

Hollow was always there for her, and now she would be there for him. She just pictured poor Azariah, who had loved Hollow, she still loved him and he loved her, judging by the way they were acting, Azariah greeting him the way she did. Ashanti scanned the area, hoping to find some and out of the corner of her eye she saw it, the green bulb-like plant, though it was strange for it to grow so far away from a larger body of water like the creek, she took it as a miracle and ran back to Nina, placing the plant by Nina and waiting for further instructions.

Her heart beat unevenly in her chest as she burrowed firmly into Hollow's shoulder. Nina spoke to her and the words entered her head, but almost as if from a distance. Hollow reassured her that he wasn't going anywhere and she felt her lips tremble. A gently nudge brought her around a bit more and she turned her head to look anxiously at Nina. She knew that her alpha would take care of her love, but it took everything that she had to gently remove herself from his side.

Azariah turned back to him and gently licked his wound twice before nuzzling his cheek and whispering. "I love you." and turning away without another word to do as Nina bid. She knew that her head was not on straight. Hollow meant too much to her and she'd gone into panic mode. She'd be no good to him like that. Nina was right, it would be better if she gathered the needed supplies. After a moment, she registered Iopah's presence at her side and she softly whispered, "Thank you." The other woman was there to support her and she was very grateful for her presence to keep her grounded.

Gradually, she came around all the way and determination filled her steps as she searched out as much moss and cobwebs as she and Iopah could carry. Hollow might need more, but they had enough for the initial treatment. Hopefully the bleeding would stop on it's own with only a little help from there collection of sticky webs and springy moss. With her mouth now full of supplies, she gave her pack mate a nod and led the way back to Nina and Hollow, feeling a bit more herself, having had the chance to recover from the shock of seeing Hollow bleeding so badly.

Destiny leads and I follow...for I am Destiny's Child