your car crash in slow motion

ooc: this is going to be a super awful & short post because i hate posting over-dramatic eek sometimes. xD; but she needs some help, whether it be motivation to move along, or an invite to a local pack. so she's kind of just sitting here being a cry baby until someone comes along. ---------------------------------------- Eek could not believe the horrible and cruel turn her luck had taken. She hadn't meant to wander so far away from home, she couldn't help that she'd found a child that needed her and took her over the range and she certainly never intended still be here now, completely trapped and isolated from the pack she'd swore would be her last. The panic inside her chest choked her. She felt lightheaded as she stared up at the walls of ice that refused to let her go home. Here and there were tunnels and divets where the woman had tried to scale, but she would either punch through the snow and be buried or simply slide back to where she started with every attempt. In this moment, she was beginning to realize that she would not be able to cross until winter had had it's say and the snow took its leave. And so she stood, quaking, fighting back tears that would only freeze to her fur. Hunger burned her organs and thirst cracked her tongue and cheeks but she could not recognize these basic needs as the heartache she felt trumped it all. What would they think, when she did not return? Would they assume her dead or a deserter? Would they care? @Borlla would get well... Without Eek's careful prescriptions, she would fully regain her strength and there would be no need for a medic anymore. Everything she'd so meticulously worked for would be ruined. Unable to contain the upset any longer, Eek threw back her head and belted out her sorrows. She yipped and barked, sang and cried, until there was nothing but emptiness left. While she may not recognize it currently, she had been through worse before, and eventually, she would move on; as long as she did not starve first.

(This post was last modified: Dec 29, 2013, 07:39 AM by Eek.)

Oh girl it's a cold world

• NAIRA •

When you keep it all to yourself

They hadn't been here long enough for their location to be common knowledge yet, and that was fully how she intended to keep it. There was no telling if Rhysis might return to seek her out, and their absence from the mountain would give them the upper hand.

Tracks had been forged through the forest, but they needed to be maintained daily, and this was the task the tawny leader was undertaking, marking as she went, before the cacophony of yips and yowls pierced the air. Her ears folded flat and one side of her muzzle pulled up in annoyance. She had grown to enjoy having the sounds of the woods as the only noise to permeate the air - did this stranger not realise she would scare off prey with all that racket? Breaking away from the task at hand she headed in the direction of the noise, thankfully a fair shot away from any sign of the Keep wolves borders.

Being as loud as she was the dark female was easy to find, seemingly so absorbed in her protests that even if Naira were to clear her throat it would go unnoticed, and so she chose a far less subtle approach - diplomacy was @Mapplethorpe's forte after all. A low growl left her chest while her tail sat high over her back and the fur along her spine bristled to attention. "Shut it!" she barked. "I have no intention of starving because you happen to feel a little sad." For a moment she let her words hang there before she continued, softer. "No matter how you howl they won't hear you on the other side - they wouldn't even be able to hear you half way up..." After all - she would know, she had been stuck before.

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Being separated from her family by a literal wall of ice had been so final that she had come to be enveloped by the idea that she was truly in isolation, unreachable by anything or anyone. It never occurred to her that her racket would draw attention to her, or that it could put her in danger, and she left no fraction of attention to keeping track of what may be around her. Thus, when Naira approached, the lost medic was completely unaware until the other woman's harsh words sliced through the frigid air to assault Eek's ears. She was silenced immediately, as commanded, and twisted on her toes so quickly the motion was a blur. For a moment, she kept this hunched and startled stance, pallid silver eyes wide with shock. And then her words registered, and Eek sniffled and bowed her head, allowing a few more seconds for leaking emotions before reigning them in and regaining her composure. She spread out her legs and shook out her body, and with a few swipes rid her eyes of their burning moisture. The pout evened into an uncommitted line, and she met Naira's gaze with a look that was far more typical of that which Eek normally held; highly attentive, slightly optimistic, and completely empty. "I'm sorry. I lost control for a moment. You're absolutely right." She stated such things as though the matter were now trivial, and a simple feat to get over. In her heart, she did not feel it so, but deeper down the theme rang true. The girl was silent for moments more, thoughts swelling within her head before she forced them to calm and made a decision; she would survive the winter, and return in the spring when the pass had thawed. Perhaps they would take her back, perhaps they would need her still; especially with the fierceness of this winter, come spring they may be at their wits end, needful of a medic after all. Eek cleared her throat, and averted her eyes, pawing at the ground unconsciously. "Is there... is there truly food near by to scare?" The woman smelled of a pack, and while Eek knew better than to expect any degree of benevolence, it was necessary to try. Perhaps, if she assisted in hunting, the woman would let her have a scrap? It was all she needed. Just a chain of temporary before she returned to what had supposed to of been permanent. "If you have need for it, perhaps I could lend a paw for a hunt... ?"

hope you guys don't mind Crowe butting in. Just let me know if ya do.

Crowe irritably moved along the borders to the keep. A chorus was sounding off towards the mountain, and it just about nearly pissed him off to the point of rage. He essentially turned the border into a trail by plowing his way towards the sounds. If it wasn't bad enough for the prey to be scarce some wolf was acting like a coyote. Making noise for absolutely no reason at all, Crowe heard the sadness in her call but that mattered little to him. What did matter was the fact that he was a big wolf. Big wolves need food, and while there were wolves howling on the edge of the territory, there was no food, and thus no Crowe.

"What the fuck were you thinking girl!?" Crowe's hunger and the ever present cold made him short and irritable before he had even noticed Naira was there too. Once he did see he made sure to check his stance and give the leading lady one of his signature regal nods. "Naira." he said as his head dipped low. He turned himself around and stood towards Naira's right and behind her so that he could show that he was backing her up as her guardian. So maybe Eek would understand whose pack she was messing with. She was a stranger on their land. Thus she was not welcome, and if Naira decided so, she would also be dead. Crowe was certainly a little anxious to prove himself further. But not so he would act without orders, this was after all in Naira's control, Crowe was just the supporting party.

I said, you can't hide on the inside

• NAIRA •

All the pain you've ever felt

Judging the other woman to be of little danger (even in her current worn state), Naira softened her stance just in time for Crowe to charge onto the scene like a wounded elk bull, thrashing and bellowing - daring to greet her with little more than a nod. Hunger gnawed at her stomach and had long since eaten away at her patience. Her tail shot back over her spine, a low growl and a quick snap of her teeth by the subordinates cheek was all the warning she would offer. He would remember his place or she would remind him of it herself. She didn’t need a man to do her interrogating for her.

Turning her attention back to the coal pelted woman, her tail dropped level with her spine, her nose twitching as she took in all she could. A small wolf but in this weather it could work to her advantage, causing her to sink less than majority of the burly brutes that made up her ranks. The question of prey was answered with an absent minded shrug and a non-committal tone. “We have had some success... a small herd of deer a few days back. One escaped injured, I was hoping to track them down, but who knows how far they may have travelled in search of a meal for themselves?”

Again she watched, every flick of her eyes weighing and measuring the wolf before her. She was in good condition and judging by her howls of despair her current availability wasn’t by her choosing. “Walk with me a ways. Perhaps we can flush something out... and while we walk tell me - what bought you to this side of the mountain when you so clearly want to be over there?”

Her own discomfort was easily masked, the far side of the mountain was only a place she travelled when she absolutely had to. The Serpent was her Wall, and served well to protect her from the wildlings and white walkers that prowled the woods on the eastern side of the Pass. With a small sigh she jerked her head to indicate that Crowe should join them - after all, with any luck they would need a man to do their heavy lifting.

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A young pronghorn has fallen behind its herd and starved in the snow. +5 Health

The man's interruption was so sudden and violent, Eek's forced calm slipped in the face of it. As immediately as he snarled his rhetorical question, the girl's smoothed edges burst, imitating his ferocity. She took a defensive posture, and bared her teeth, a snarl ripping from her throat to greet him and say exactly what she thought of his choice of tone. In the same moment, the woman who Eek now assumed to be empress corrected Crowe in her own way, and it was enough to instantly soothe Eek back into the sleek and compact demeanor she'd held before. A small smirk found its way to her lips, intent on the man, before she lost all expression and listened to the woman's explanation and invitation. He had called her Naira. Eek joined her at the flank, allowing her lead and a distance enough to be comfortable while still enabling fluid conversation, and making sure to walk on the opposite side of her as Crowe. She took a moment's time for consideration, brows furrowing ever so slightly as she thought of how to best present the cause of her plight. "I was trying to hunt the goats; I found one that appeared to be crippled and I got caught up in the chase and then the snow hit and I was forced to descend onto this side of the mountain," she told her, attempting to keep the sadness from her voice as she could tell that despite the woman's generosity so far, she didn't much care for what Eek might be feeling in regards to the situation. "It was a very stupid mistake." She was silent then as they walked, and allowed her focus to drift, senses seeking out anything that hinted toward prey. Her luck had to turn now, and give her bounty; perhaps if they found food, the duo would take her home. At least, to their home. For her, it would be a forced respite until the pass thawed and she could return to Magnolia Glen. And after a few moments, the fates did decide to favor her. As the winds shifted, the iced-over smell of death laced her breaths and quickened her heart, and in turn she put some more power into her strides, cutting through the drifts like a knife to reach the stimulant's source. Half covered by precipitation, a frosted eye peeked out at them from the skull of a deceased pronghorn. The death must have occurred within the past day or so, Eek assumed. She nearly bound forward to dig into it, hunger shredding her stomach as she had gone so long ignoring it, but luckily the girl remembered her place. Eek hung back, merely lifting her nose for a moment to point to the death bed, and assumed her place as the lowest of the trio.

Skipping Crowe to get this did.

You'd better ransom your heart and baby

• NAIRA •

don't look back - because we've got nobody else

The snow had covered all trails and scents, and she found herself relying on her eyes as much as her ears and nose as they moved. A small snort was offered in response to the girls admission of hunting goats. Formerly of the Lake and the Pass, Naira had failed more often than she had succeeded attempting to hunt the pale horned prey. “A bold move while the billy’s are rutting, although really its the nannies you have to watch...” There had been more than enough occasions she had feared one of her pack mates may have been butted over the edge of a cliff. There were so many that vanished without explanation, she couldn’t be certain it hadn’t happened for sure.

Almost in unison the two women altered their course. For a moment, Naira’s hackles rose until the woman stepped back and her frame relaxed. Turning her attention to @Crowe, she nodded to the pronghorn. “Take this back to the caches, we will keep looking.”

Allowing her instructions to serve as a dismissal she continued on in search of something more. Something fresh. Worst case they would feast on frozen remains once they returned home. “I don’t suppose any invitation I could extend would be taken as a long term prospect? I imagine you’d much prefer to return home as soon as the weather allows?” She quizzed her companion with a half smile.

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There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the snow. Hunt Opportunity

Eek had fully expected the woman to scoff at her. She had braced herself for a razzing or chiding remark, yet instead, she did not one of the above, rather choosing to conversationally support Eek's action. A smile found its place on her maw at this, small, secret and appreciative as she kept her silence afterward and simply followed lead. Her eyes jumped to Crowe as his queen commanded him to heave the carcass back to pack lands on his own, leaving the two woman alone. Mirth snuck into her chest at this. Yes, she very much liked this Naira. Already, though the pangs of pulled heartstrings still remained underneath, she was beginning to warm up to this foreign mountainside and its inhabitants. So long as things could be repaired when she returned home, Eek supposed a mild stay here wouldn't be so bad. And it seemed that was exactly how things would go. Eek met Naira's eyes for a moment, before averting them as was proper and respectful. She would respond honestly this time. "Yes, that's right. I would thoroughly appreciate a stay with your family, and would pitch in with everything I had as though the pack were my own. But the magnolia glen is my home and I will return there come spring, no matter what." And she would, even if Naira decided not to give her stay and she was forced to bold the winter on her own. She would do it, and she would survive and she would return to @Phineas and @Lucero and @Borlla and the pups she thought still remained. Nothing could stop that.