A rest in the willows.

OOC: This’ll be after her thread with Angier.

Senka Flint allow me this moment of bliss so I may begin to miss the torment Shuffling around the willow trees, Senka couldn’t help but flinch at the crunching sound of dead grass beneath her paws. The ground she was standing on was only clear because of the tree providing just enough cover to keep any snow at bay around its base. The grass reminded her that there was virtually nothing to hunt and reminded her of her rumbling stomach. The rust colored wolf ignored it, however painful it was to do so. After her encounter with Angier, Senka had been reminded of the wolf by the border. The one he had sought out to thank her for detaining before he had arrived. Her name had been @Adelaide, she remembered her as settled below the willow tree. Senka’s heart clenched painfully at the thought of Angier. No, she had to focus. It didn’t matter that the male had seen her at her weakest. She had to stay strong, for the pack. She was curious about the new wolf though, wondering if she had been accepted after the hunter’s leaving. Her words had been true when she told Adelaide that another healer was beneficial. And their numbers were dwinlding to a dangerous level as well, which concerned her. If they kept dropping, there was a fear the pack would disband and Senka wasn't sure how the others would take it. Shaking her head free of thought and sighing heavily, Senka rested her head between her paws. A short rest would do her good. <b style="font-family:georgia; color:#fefefe;">

table by mimi

(Going to say that this is before her thread with Angier)

She'd told herself that she could not go beyond the pack's border. There was nothing for her out there. All she could ever need or ask for was among the bare fronds of the willow trees. She could not say that she had made friends with her pack mates as of yet, but Adelaide was sure that when the winter cleared, so would all of their minds. All the snow did was hoodwink them all into sadness. But Addie would not have the wool pulled over her eyes. Through the biting pain within her gut, the shadows that lurked in the crevices of her mind, and animosity with her pack mates, she would prevail.

That day, she had scouted about the trees, trying to find a suitable place for her little clinic. Not too close to the border, and not too far from the main clearing. Once she'd found a good spot, she'd started the great effort of digging. Pushing away the snow was simple. But once she'd cleared a large area, the frozen earth proved quite the challenge. It did not take long at all for her paws to ache, and she had to force herself to stop before she did serious damage to her appendages. Marking the nearest tree, she would have to work at the site little by little.

Nostrils flared and she caught wind of Senka, the first woman she'd met in this place. She moved among the trees, searching curiously for the woman. But she was not far, and seemed to be resting. Adelaide paused, unsure if she wanted to disturb the woman.

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Senka Flint allow me this moment of bliss so I may begin to miss the torment This was ridiculous. Though she had closed her golden eyes and taken a deep breath to calm herself, sleep wouldn't come to Senka, causing irritation to bloom in her. What was wrong with her? Had the meeting with Angier upset her that much? No, she didn't want to remember that. Not yet. She wasn't ready to face that completely yet. Snapping her eyes open again, Senka lurched to her paws with a scowl on her face, at first not noticing Adelaide nearby as she stormed away from the cover of the tree she had been trying to rest beneath. So caught up in her thoughts, it wasn't until the normally observant hunter had to nearly crash in the new member of the pack before the haler was picked up on her radar. At first, Senka wanted to snap at her, to tell her off for getting in her way and to announce herself next time instead of simply standing there. However, she caught herself before the first razor sharp words bleed out of her maw. It wasn't Adelaide's fault she was hurting so badly. The healer couldn't be blamed for her short comings, along with the dark mood winter had given everyone. Instead of snapping at her, the huntress fought to wipe the scowl from her face and curled her tail above her back and holding her head a little higher, to simply show her higher rank to the female before her. She wanted to be friends with Adelaide, yes but she would have to earn the friendship first. <b style="font-family:georgia; color:#fefefe;">

table by mimi

The woman was startled, and rightly so, as Senka suddenly rose from the snow and nearly charged at her. But the act seemed to be done blindly, and while Adelaide attempted to backpedal it was futile and she quickly dropped to her rump and dropped her head as though to brace herself for a collision. It was silly of her for not saying anything, even as Senka moved towards her. She really ought to have said something to snap the hunter from her stupor. But she hadn't. Maybe the winter had hurt her a bit. Or perhaps it was the sudden realization that she had no power here. She'd spent her life among family, she'd had footing there. Here, she was plodding up a slippery slope and could easily lose her footing at any moment.

"Pardon," she cooed in accented tones, silver eyes averted. "I was digging nearby. I didn't mean to startle you." Her words were not weak or faltering. The woman would not be a means of escape for her pack mates and she expressed that in her voice. Though she was a healer, and friendly, she refused to be an odd one out. And the way her pack mate held herself, Addie feared some kind of attack, either verbal or physical. Physically, she submitted, of course she did, but yet she could not allow herself to be made a victim. She kept her eyes down, the corners of them wrinkled slightly as a cautious smile painted it's way across her muzzle.

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Senka Flint allow me this moment of bliss so I may begin to miss the torment Senka stared down at her pack mate, unsure of what to say or do. The healer was sitting before her, in a subdued position and that's when suddenly hit Senka hard. Her position in the pack was higher then that of this newcomer, of Adelaide and she held much more power then her. Had more power over the female. Senka hadn't truly realized this before, not when the harshness of winter had kicked in not long after arriving in Relic lore and she was fighting to stay alive. And if she had, it had been back when their numbers weren't so low and her position within the pack hadn't been so high. She hadn't given much thought to her position in the pack, only that she was one of the subordinates and the hunter. That had made her content. But now ...Now, with several wolves having either gone missing or dead, Senka's chest clenched harshly at the thought that it was entirely likely that she was in a higher position now then before the start of winter. Adelaide's words brought her back to the present and Senka sighed heavily, leaning forward and nudging Adelaide's forehead gently. "It should be me apologizing," Senka explained quietly as she drew back, forcing her posture to mirror her voice. "I...I should have been watching where I was going. It hasn't been a good time for me. Heck, it hasn't been a good winter for anyone at all!" <b style="font-family:georgia; color:#fefefe;">

table by mimi

Adelaide learned quickly that she should have given Senka the benefit of the doubt. She had made herself so quick to judge and then even assume. Had she not run into Senka first in this place? The first impression of the Hollow had been gotten from this wolf and it had kept Adelaide from running off. Addie scolded herself for being so cruel. Her eyes rolled upwards as she felt a gentle nudge upon her forehead. It was something of a comforting gesture, and she laughed, the toothy, nervous grin gone from her muzzle now as she lifted her eyes. The woman rolled onto her belly and slowly rose up, shaking the snow and dirt from her pelt when she reached her apex. Eyes appraised her paws as she settled them back into place.

"Perhaps we both ought to just forget it," Adelaide chuckled, accented tones leaked embarrassment. She tried to resist pity, but it was hard when she did not know the circumstances of the Hollow wolves. What had this winter done to them? "Perhaps, if you are able, you could tell me about the winter?" She struggled with the words, ears folding back as she found such a question a bit...questionable. "I don't mean to be cruel, but...I suppose we're family now. We all ought to shoulder the burden, eh?" There was no laughter in her voice now, only twinges of sadness. There had been no one there to help carry her pain, but it was with willing shoulders that she welcomed the horrors of Willow Ridge's winter.

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Senka Flint allow me this moment of bliss so I may begin to miss the torment Senka smiled uneasily at Adelaide when she asked of the winter, which was soon coming to a close and with it, a surge of prey. At least, that’s what Senka desperately hoped for. The changing of seasons was something the huntress both was happy for and dreaded. She had told Angier of her plans to leave the pack, once the caches had been filled. She knew she also had to speak to Elettra about her leaving at some point. The female leader had already lost much over the course of the winter. Would losing another so soon, for nothing other than the selfish needs of herself? Her heart and mind felt heavy at the thought, there an almost painful beating coursing through her veins sluggishly which Senka swore could be heard by the other wolf. “Perhaps we should forget it.” The woman agreed. “And don’t worry yourself about it Adelaide. The winter is what was the crueler one. Not you.”[b/] The hunteress offered kindly, trying to ignore the way her heart seemed to clench at the mention that Adelaide was already considering her family. Even though they had only met briefly once and Senka would be abandoning the smaller wolf and the pack at some point in the future. Not that Adelaide would know until that day. Hearing the sadness in her packmate’s voice, Senka wondered if it was worth it to be telling her of the death of two of their members, two members she would never meet. Though she hadn’t been there to see her corpse, the scent of the injured wolf that had been residing in the den at their pack meeting-Narcissa had been her name?-had grown fainter and fainter until a sorrowful howl had announced her death. And Sema... Well, that image had been burnt in her mind and as her eyes were closed and a deep breath was taken, it reappeared, flashing sharply against the pitch blackness that came with closing one’s eyes. Yet the dead wolf’s body quickly changed to that of her father's, causing Senka’s amber eyes to snap back open and there was no way to contain the strangled cry that escaped her. Why did that happen? For the second time in as many hours, the hunteress’ limbs felt weak, her joints nearly bending against her weight before catching herself. you’ve already had one break down in front of someone, no need to do it to another so soon after. Do you? the voices whispered, almost kindly but sounding rather cruel instead. Swallowing thickly, her golden-orange eyes slide over to the healer before her. Parting her lips, Senka steeled herself and forced herself to speak, hoping Adlide wouldn’t question her strange behaviour if distracted enough. A cool calmness passed over the huntress as she prepared to answer Adelaide's question. Had she been concentrating and aware of it, the russeted coloured huntress would have pondered on the fact her very being seemed to be bouncing around with different emotions and personalities lately. One moment, she was afraid and shaking, the next she was cold and harsh. {b}”What is there really to tell of the winter? It was harsh and unforgiving. It drove away the prey and caused two deaths over the winter, while others simply left.” The words would come out harsher than intended, molten eyes narrowing coldly as they stared at the agouti colored wolf. To study her reaction. <b style="font-family:georgia; color:#fefefe;">

table by mimi

Adelaide chuckled, glad that they could put the faux pas behind them. It had been a silly little thing anyway. Such a foolish mishap that she couldn't even remember what had happened to begin with. Something with naps and digging and...Who cared? Well, of course, she knew exactly what had happened, but the woman would not beat herself up about it, because it really didn't matter. Senka would receive the benefit of the doubt, for she had clearly endured more than Adelaide had as of recent. Her eyes searched her superior's face as she awaited an answer. All was fine for a moment, but Adelaide found herself desiring to retreat as the woman shut her eyes. Clearly Adelaide had forced her into territory that she certainly wouldn't have wished to be pushed into.

Fumbling desperately for something that might break the golden-eyed woman's spell, she could not fish anything up and could only watch as Senka rode some despicable roller coaster into sadness. Addie could not withhold a gasp as the hunter suddenly cried out. Instinct told her to comfort the woman physically, a gentle muzzle nudge, a lick behind the ear, but a lack of familiarity kept Adelaide where she was. Sympathy glistened in her silver eyes. She took a step forward, one forepaw lifted as Senka suddenly seemed weak. But she seemed to lift herself back before she'd hit the snow, and Adelaide withdrew, ears twisted back. Eyes averted as Senka spoke harshly towards her, and she gave a slight nod. "No, of course, it was selfish of me to make you relive it." Quiet agreement eventually allowed Addie to lift her gaze again, though she could not bring herself to meet the other woman's eyes. "I am very sorry to hear that you all had to endure so much, though...

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There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

Senka Flint allow me this moment of bliss so I may begin to miss the torment Catching Adelaide’s movement towards her made her lips quirk slightly. But it wasn’t enough to make her actually smile. “It’s through no fault of your own.” Senka told her tersely, her body stiff and limbs feeling rather jerky when she shifted her paws in the snow. “You cannot control the weather nor can you control where or when the migrating prey will come and go.” Not wanting to linger on sadder memories any longer, the huntress swung her head around in an attempt to ease the tension in her neck and shoulders, taking a deep breathe of still relatively cool air in order to calm her agitated nerves and releasing it. Turning her amber eyes back towards her packmate once she felt somewhat better. ”So what were you doing here?” The dame questioned lightly, actually curious as to why the other wolf was out here. Not to mention that she should get to know her packmates more, even if...Shaking her head, Senka ruffled her fur slightly. Though she did feel a little calmer, she still felt agitated and it certainly didn’t help that she had just brought back memories she’d rather not relive right now. Just then a breeze picked up and Senka caught the scent of moose and coyotes mixed together. again? she thought to herslf, remembering months back to when the same thing happened when her brother was visitng. A moose that had been scavanged by coyotes. Tilting her head, she waited to see if the other female would pick up on the smell.

table by mimi

(This post was last modified: Apr 08, 2014, 02:26 AM by Senka.)