Cedarwood Forest these broken wings

For @Kjors!

Karina’s paws flew over the forest floor in time with her breath, carrying her farther and farther from her homeland and on toward higher ground. She could not stop; she was too upset, and too disgusted with herself for being upset. That very tiny greedy voice inside of her had pulled the wool over her eyes, convincing her that of course she and her brothers were enough and her parents couldn’t possibly want for more. How wrong she had been, and what an embarrassing way to discover her own mother’s pregnancy! Smelling it on the border markers! If she could scent it, everyone could. Everyone would know Karina was about to be replaced, and Kisla didn’t even ask her ahead of time. She hadn’t said anything at all!

Reaching her destination, Karina collapsed into the largest lavender patch in the Cedarwoods. She rolled around onto her side, trying to catch her breath in order to inhale the plant’s soothing scent. The harder she tried to catch her breath the more it eluded her, and she realized slowly that she was sobbing into the lavender patch. Of course Karina hadn’t been good enough for her parents!  She couldn’t do anything well--certainly not hunting or fighting—and while she had a knack for plants she wasn’t nearly as good as Lachesis or even Amisun.  She was useless as a packmember and an utter disappointment as a daughter; she couldn’t even manage to be happy for her parents when she should have been celebrating with them.

No doubt Aleksei would be over the moon about more sisters to protect, and Orren would love having little brothers to wrestle. Where did that leave Karina, the “baby” of the family up until this point? Karina heaved a sigh as her tears subsided, and in the air she perceived a scent that didn’t belong. ”H-hello?” the princess called, voice hitching in her raw throat. Her salt-and-pepper head popped up out of the lavender patch to allow her cloudy blue eyes to scan her surroundings. She could have sworn she scented a stranger, and the last thing she wanted was to get caught off-guard and crying by some scary lone wolf.

I am already in love with @Karina already, oh my lawd, she is precious.

Thus far, Southern Eden had offered him only information and possibilities – there was no further explanation needed when Kjors felt the itch in his paw pads once more. The badger woman refused to be good company, and the One-Eyed Dragon felt disinclined to argue with her about it, though he thought he might reconsider sharing his den with a wolf so uninclined to be amicable. It was a relief, then, that she had insisted on digging a new, proper site, and had left his original sleeping place intact. If worst came to worst, he could always shore up underneath the fallen tree and catch his shut eye in peace.

Of course, that was all a day behind him, and the timber wolf felt as free as a raptor upon the sky, wings outstretched as it scanned the forest floor below for some tasty treat. His hunger was no dire need, but it was enough of a grumble to keep him interested. Perhaps more importantly, he was hoping to meet others. The male was well aware of the Cut River Rock pack in these parts, but he knew there must be others. There were scents, too old and faded to be distinguishable, but there must be more wolves, and with more wolves came more alphas.

He had only settled himself down in a cool patch of undergrowth for a brief rest with a stranger noise caught his ears. Tips swiveling forward, he quickly got back to his feet, tipping his head to one side – if anything, it sounded like heavy breathing. An animal in distress. An easy meal?

Kjors tipped his snout skyward, about to thank the Mother for providing him with such a fine reward for her devout when he realized the scent was clearly wolf. Female wolf. Not something he was inclined towards tasting, but something fascinating all the same. When a shaky voice called through the trees, he broke into an easy jog and answered. "'lo there, lassy," he rumbled, twisting his ways through the shadows until he finally spotted the lass. He halted a few lengths away, lest he spoke the woman. She was clearly distraught. "Y'alright, miss? Ain't soundin' so good…."

Aww thanks! I'm loving playing out teenage Karina, so angsty and confused. So in need of guidance... ;)

A shadow moved at the edge of the girl’s vision, and she ducked back into the lavender with a squeak. It was difficult to make out the intruder through her cloudy eyes, and Karina had to wonder who would follow her all the way out here.  Karpos! her mind shouted to her, the name of the swarthy boy that was never too far from her thoughts. The tall, dark, handsome youth had finally taken notice of her! Karina’s head popped back up out of the lavender for a second look. She shook herself and stood, flinging the last of the tears away. She didn’t want Karpos to know she had been crying... or sulking like a little bratty princess, really. ”K-karp?” she called quietly, the name feeling strange on her lips. She took a few hesitant steps to emerge from the lavender patch, leaving the safety of the flowery sprigs just as a strange voice answered. The girl froze as the intruder—definitely NOT Karpos-- came into view, and the girl lowered her wiry frame to the ground instinctively. She was still breathing heavily, this time fighting tears of surprise and fear.

The man’s golden eye—singular golden eye—caught the child’s attention, and the fur on the back of her neck stood up. Her own eyes widened, and she uttered, "Are you...?” She lost the words before she could finish the sentence. ”..a monster?” was what she was originally going to ask, remembering from puppyhood Naia’s stories about evil creatures that lived beyond their pack border and ate up little puppies. Of course, once Karina and her brothers were old enough to understand Naia amended the story, telling them it wasn’t monsters but enemy packs and loners she had to watch for… so this one-eyed man was certainly one of those. "Are you going to hurt me?” her voice wobbled out instead, body still frozen in its lowered position. She began to quiver. She had been far too frightened to even hear the stranger’s words let alone decipher his accent and make sense of his greeting, so she reacted as if he hadn’t spoken at all. "Please, I’m a princess...” she found words again, and movement too, and she began backing away from the one-eyed monster-man.

   

    
 

Oh lawd, she is absolutely perfect. Kjors loves it. She is so precious, clearly she needs to be protected~ He seems to think so.

So shy. So…submissive. Something primal awoke in his chest as the little flower lowered herself to the ground, all but trembling in fear as she sized up the lone wolf. Perhaps her mother should have kept those monsters in her stories – a dragon was far, far more fearsome than your average vagabond. A slow smile spread from his muzzle to that glimmering golden moon, and he did not encroach any further into the youth's space. She was terrified enough already. Now that she'd shown she could display humility and respect – well, there was no need to traumatize her.

Lowering his tail, Kjors took a particularly neutral stance, shoulder relaxing as he tipped his head to one side. "M'name's Kjors, lass. Ain't interested in hurtin' ya," he rumbled, swinging his head in an exaggerated denial. It was the truth. After all, attacking another wolf took energy, and while she was young, she could probably battle back. He didn't need to sustain wounds, and he certainly didn't need to expend the energy only to obtain no gain.

(You catch more flies with honey than vinegar, after all.)

Settling himself down, he sat his haunches upon the ground as if to illustrate his point. "Naw, no worries, lassy. Only lookin' 'round these parts, fer food." For allies, for a perfect place to call his own. "Though Ah wouldn' go 'round advertisin' yer status as princess, huh? They're plen'y a wolves who'd exploit that. Keep you fer their own, like a treasure." The dragon hummed in his chest, golden eye shimmering in its dark socket. With patience came great reward. "Wha's yer name, princess? Y' lost out here? Y' hungry?"

The youngster took another step back as a grin spread across the monster-man’s face, only serving to make him appear even more malicious. Was he smiling at the thought of hurting her?  Was it worth it to run? A lithe creature like him would certainly catch her quite easily, especially once she tripped over something as she usually did while running through the forest. The girl remained facing the stranger as he spoke, his reassuring tone and cozy accent wrapping around her fear-addled mind, only heightening her confusion. The swarthy stranger shook his head to further illustrate his point, and it began to dawn on Karina that he just might not pose an imminent threat to her. Once the one-eyed man reclined to his haunches, the pup was finally able to register his accented speech. "Kjors..”  she echoed, her voice barely a whisper. Now that the monster was named he didn’t seem quite so monstrous after all. The fur on the child's nape settled, and a spark of curiosity glinted in her cloudy eyes.

Kjors’ rumbled warning struck a strange note for the girl, who couldn’t imagine anyone daring to harm a princess. Her father the King would tear that wolf’s like to pieces, and there was certainly no one in the Cedarwoods who was unfamiliar with Maksim’s distinct smell and the scent of his pack. Karina didn’t have much time to mull over the strange warning as Kjors continued to speak, distracting her thoughts with the word “treasure”. Her, a treasure?  Certainly not! She was about as worthless as a pack wolf could get. “I’m no treasure, sir,” she insisted, gaze dropping to the ground in shame. How on earth was she going to show her face back in Cut Rock River?

Her head lifted as he asked another question, eye glimmering as he waited for a response. The golden eye distracted the youth from his query, and she stepped forward before her brain realized she was even moving. ”I.. no, I’m.. I’m Karina. Baranski. I came to... um..” she uttered faintly. She couldn’t find the words to explain what she was doing out here, and even if she was able to speak coherently she couldn’t very well tell him, “I’m worthless and being replaced and sulking like a baby.” The man waited patiently, golden eye still fixed on her. She tried not to stare, but Karina found herself glancing back and forth from the golden eye to the gaping, empty socket. The girl finally blurted, “Does it hurt?” She realized her rudeness immediately and stammered out, “I mean, I- I’m sorry, I just... my eyes are messed up too.” It was the first time she had ever told another wolf about her disability, and the admission surprised even Karina herself. Somehow it was easier to tell a stranger, whose eyesight also clearly suffered. The pup ducked her head once more in shame. 

   

    
 

"Oh, child, whoever told ya y' ain't a treasure was lyin' t' ya right through their teeth. Ah can see it, plain as day, and Ah only have one eye to me name!" The dragon laughed at his self-depreciation, closing his single orb for a moment as he shook his name. Truly, even her status as princess made her more valuable that most. Her bloodlines meant something, and even if she would never rule as Queen, she would have connections that most would only dream of. Were she to have pups someday, they'd be a part of something greater than themselves – and this was only the physical aspect. Karina was a gem in and of herself, but that was a discussion for later times.

As it were, he wrapped his thick tail around his flank, dark pelt settled against his back as he waited for his companion to settle herself. He'd meant to keep quiet, but the name. Baranski. He knew that name. "Yer Aleksei's sister, then? Th' right age. Think he said somethin' 'bout belongin' t' th' lead family. S'a good lad. Good hunter," he rumbled with a nod, reflecting to the fawn they'd brought down together. It'd been a good meal. Absently, he wondered if the lad had indeed brought the remains back to his family. But, now was not the time. Clearly the Baranski female was upset.

Before he could question her further about her lack of self worth, she addressed his most noteworthy feature – and added a surprising confession of her own. Grunting softly, he got to his feet and slithered closer, closing the gap between them as he narrowed his eye, trying to find an obvious defect. When he couldn't, he continued and answered her query. "Naw. Not 'nymore. Did at th' time, yanno? Got it ripped out bein' a mouthy upstart. Hurt fer a long time – now s'only ghost pains, when th' weather's real bad. Feels like it's still there…and then Ah remember s'not. Ain't so bad, though. Ah can still see…even if Ah'm somewhat limited. Huntin' is harder. Fightin' is harder. Y'learn, though." He paused, settling himself back down in an attempt not to alarm her further. "Wha's wrong with yer eyes, Princess? No one back home t' help ya? Don'tcha got that healer—" He'd met her, too. He liked that little flower. "—Amisun?"

The girl’s ears perked up at the compliment—she was getting better at deciphering the accent—and Karina graced the stranger with one of her rare smiles.Finally relaxing, she reclined onto her haunches as well. Feeling bashful, Karina’s eyes trained on the ground beneath her paws. She wanted to know why she was a treasure, what he could possibly see in her, but she was too shy to ask.  Her head popped back up at the mention of her favorite brother.  “Leki is good at everything. He’s going to be King someday.” Aleksei was already a leader, providing for others and protecting what was his. Karina’s expression darkened for a moment as she was reminded once more of the pups on the way. Little pups were in need of protection, much more so than their big sister Karina. Would Aleksei forget about her if there was a newer, littler sister to guard?

The one-eyed stranger moved closer, examining her cloudy eyes, and Karina had to try very hard not to turn away, the usual tactic she used to conceal her defect. Kjors didn’t appear at all offended by her question, telling the story of his own injury so lightly he might have been commenting on the weather.  Karina tilted her head curiously, having trouble imagining a Kjors that could anger someone enough to remove his eye. He seemed very sweet to her.

The child’s face lit up when he spoke of his “ghost pains”. I can fix that! the budding healer within her insisted. Orren had teased her before about how excited she always got when someone said they were in pain. Before she could offer her services, Kjors directed the conversation back to her. “There’s no herb to fix me,” she said with the confidence of a wolf who knew her herbal remedies. “It can happen sometimes.. if a pregnant mother or a pup catches a sickness, or sometimes just because.” Karina explained further.  She was fairly certain her impaired vision was a birth defect. She had always been slower than her brothers, ever since she could remember. Always a step behind.

She had to try hard not to roll her eyes at the mention of Amisun. If Lachesis couldn’t clear the clouds from her eyes, Amisun certainly couldn’t. "Are you a friend of my family?” she asked instead, curious about why a wolf she’d never met knew so much about the wolves of Cut Rock River. “Black Thorn Downs?” she questioned, naming her pack’s closest ally. Her hope was very apparent in her voice.  Now that she thought about it, he did smell a little like Kova.. Perhaps if he was a friend of the pack he would stick around, and he could teach her to hunt and fight without vision.

   

    
 

"Ahh."

Kjors rumbled deep in his chest, not unlike the thunder he so detested. Sagely he nodded, as if he understood and took great kinship in the girl's explanation. The missing eye was no fault of his mother – but he had other deformities he blamed solely on the woman. "Ah was sick as a wee pup. Me dam thought Ah'd die – didn', clearly, but left me a wee bit small. Ought t' be bigger than this. My father was a big wolf, big, an' black, and a powerful thing, king a' all his domain. 'course me mum was not about t' have her runt be th' face a' th' pack – she tried t' poison me, so me wee brother might've led th' pack instead." The dragon rolled his shoulders in a casual shrug, as if he were telling a simple bedtime story, or explaining what he was having for dinner. "She was a bitch, m' mother. Ain't no love – but here Ah am, alive, and me brother's not. Ain't about bein' perfect, lassy. Y'jes' gotta wanna live."

The loner moved again, slithering until he was only a pace away from the young princess. Gingerly, he extended his muzzle in a simple, friendly gesture. He was no creature to be feared, not by her. Circumstance made them close, closer than his own kin, and the timber wolf felt no need to threaten her anymore than family or packmates already had. "S'tha' why yer cryin', Princess? Yer eyes? They hurtcha?" he asked, before she inquired into his current status.

It earned a soft snort, ears flicking backwards at the unintentional reminder of his…less-than-desirable state. "Naw. Got on with Aleksei well enough, shared a hunt. Met Amisun, she was pleasant. Ain't never met yer folks – don't much know Black Thorns. Ah just keep t' meself, mostly. Th' badger woman's here an' there, but." He gave a small shrug. "She's moody. Wanted pups, Ah think, bu' she ran off an' circumstance an'-- Well, Ah imagine y'dun much care, lassy, bu' th' long an' th' short of it is, Ah ain't got a pack. Ain't much suited t' taking orders blindly – was an alpha before, yanno? Hard t' be anythin' but that once ye've got a taste."

 

The pup’s periwinkle eyes widened as her companion launched into a story about his own puphood. Karina inched forward as he spoke of his illness and his resulting malformation, feeling more connected to this man than she’d ever felt to anyone, save Aleksei. Finally, someone who understood what it was like to grow up a step behind the rest of the litter! The girl felt her mouth go dry when Kjors spoke of his mother’s rejection of him. That part of the story struck closer to home for Karina than her new acquaintance understood. It solidified her fears about the upcoming litter, heightening her worry that the new litter would outshine and replace the old. If it happened to Kjors, could it happen to her too?

Karina’s ears flew to attention when she heard Kjors use the word “bitch” to describe his mother, speaking offhandedly as if it was simply common knowledge. It was a word that she hadn’t heard before, and it intrigued her. If a “bitch” was someone who had no love, someone who poisoned her young, Karina didn’t think her own mother qualified for the term. Karina had no doubt that Kisla loved her, what worried her was that she would love the new litter more... that those pups would be perfect where her first batch had been anything but.  Kjors spoke of perfection just as Karina was ruminating on the subject, telling her perfection wasn’t necessary... that it was the will to live that was important. Karina certainly had the will to live, but she desired to live differently.  She worried that the fates made a mistake on her—that they accidentally created her as more deer than wolf, she such a timid girl who enjoyed hunting plants more than animals.

Karina turned away as she felt her eyes brimming up again with tears. She felt Kjors move forward, and she lifted her own muzzle to receive his gesture of consolation. They shared so much, it felt natural to take the comfort he offered. He questioned her gently, wanting to know if it was her eyes that had her so upset. “No it’s—it’s not that. They don’t hurt. It’s my mother, she... She’s having another litter. I don’t think she would poison me or anything but.. but what if they’re better, and—“ Tears fell from her welling eyes, and she was unable to express anything further, but she knew she didn’t have to. The two of them had a connection, and Kjors would understand what she meant.

Kjors’ wanderings of the forest piqued her interest. She was not surprised Aleksei was out and about, responsibly hunting down prey to feed the family. He was a grown-up pretty much from birth. The pup’s ears flattened for a moment at the mention of Amisun, who she had to admit was pleasant.. but it was in that annoying way where Karina just knew Lachesis was going to like her a lot. Maybe even more than he liked Karina. As her companion continued to talk, Karina found the story more difficult to understand and follow. “Badger..woman..? Was she really a badger?” the pup questioned incredulously. She was still a little fuzzy on how the whole mating/having pups thing worked. Did the process actually involve a badger?!

   

    
 

Shit.

He'd made her cry. Curiously, this was not what he intended, nor what he particularly what he liked to see, reserved about females or otherwise. For a moment, he was absolutely lost for words. Despite his better judgment, he leaned in, pink tongue flicked out to lap up the falling tears. The salty droplets tasted bitter – he did so regret bringing the topic up. He wanted information, not emotion, wanted an ally, not heartbreak. Mother help him.

After a moment, the dragon took a step backwards, giving the youth room to breath. "Can't make y' any promises, Princess. Don't know yer mum." And while it was unlikely the alpha was as violent or conceited as his own dam, he'd hate to leave Karina blind to the possibilities. Someone had to look out for her, if her parents wouldn't. "Th' pups 're gonna get a lotta attention, though. No two ways 'round it – babies jes'…need tha'. They ain' better though. An' if y'get th' shaft, y'remember tha', alrigh'?"

Aware that might not have been particularly comforting, he soldiered onwards bravely into worlds unknown. (Emotional youngsters – who would have guessed it could be so complicated?) Talking about Urotho was much easier than talking about new pups – and mothers, Mother above help him, that was not a topic he wanted to continue on with. "Th' badger woman's…not a badger. She's a wolf. Got markin's on her face though…like a badger. Y'know those white lines up th' side? Like tha'. She's kinna grumpy, not much 'fer words – jes'…reminds me of a badger, yanno? Jes' a nickname."

The timber wolf paused slowly as his confession continued, not quite sure why this youth compelled him to speak. "Ah-- was courtin' her, 'fer a time. Bu'…things jes' didn' work out. She ain' that interested so…" He raised a shoulder in a shrug. "Not important. Y'gonna be okay, Princess? Seems like y'ain't got 'nyone back at th' pack."