Turtleback Lake Broken, in every single way

@Desideria

Nothing. After everything she had nothing. Bedraggled feet scuffed over the rocks that dotted the quiet shore. Her dark nose followed the terrain; hauling up and over the broad stones and dipping low as she padded through the freshwater tidepools. Her tracks were dark and thick with grime. Present motivation was only enough to keep her moving, Noble didn't care for appearance or properness. Nothing should care for her and Noble couldn't care if feet dragged and pelt tangled.

Her first winter was far harsher than it should have been. It was a wonder Noble had managed to grow into her full height. Her legs seemed unnaturally long and uncomfortably bony as her belly tucked sharply to her spine. Eyes shone with desperation, not youth. That was the only part of her to shine, the rest was matted and filthy with inattention. Her mental state was no better with no one to converse with and only uncertainty around her. Nothing, her mind whispered as the dark girl gazed over the water. The landscape echoed the sentiment and Noble grunted softly to herself. The lack of social interaction had made a mess of her mind. Natural timidness had become exaggerated defensiveness. Noble was over over-sensitized and trusting of none. The winter had taken everything.

Now she had only a fierce desire to live... not that it would get her very far by itself. She didn't know how to make her life work and was too suspicious of others to ask. Noble shuffled along the shore, only vaguely aware that she didn't even know how to fish.

(This post was last modified: Apr 26, 2015, 01:16 AM by Noble.)

She trekked north and the clouds continued to gather, an accurate representation of her state of mind. Despite some earlier run-ins with pack wolves and loners, Desideria still found herself traveling alone. It was a pity, she thought, to have no one to banter with. Perhaps more importantly, hunting was much more time intensive on her own. She was hungry, thirsty, and tired. Dezzy was in a horrid mood, and no amount of travel seemed to perk her up. New sights and scents usually excited her, but as she journeyed through unclaimed lands –

It was then the breeze shifted and alerted her of the presence of another wolf. A female, alone, without any pack scent on her. Ears pricked forward, the small creature broke into an easy lop, motivated by the idea of finally having some company. Finding a lake as she followed the trail was only a bonus, and there Dezzy paused only to have a drink and quench her parched throat before she continued her quest. Fortunately, all she had to do was lift her amber eyes. Further upon the shoreline drifted a dark wolf. She was lanky, skinny, and alone. The woman tipped her head to one side before pressing forward, offering the other female a chuff in greeting as she approached slowly, not interested in starting the other.

"Hello!" she called, halting a few strides away from the other loner. If she was sick (and she might be, considering how bony she looked), Desideria did not want to share in such a wretched fate. "You mind if I fish, too? Lake looks nice today!"

@Desideria you are totally welcome to pester me if Noble takes too long... it's very effective motivation! also, Noble's kind of gross, hope you have strong stomach

Watch the water, watch the stones.

The mantra continued over and over in her head. Her gold eyes would lift to scan the water for any edible movement, feet continuing a slow measured. She would figure out how to catch a fish later... when the opportunity actually presented itself. After the predetermined number of steps (Noble had been searching for days and a system had been developed), her gaze slipped from the tranquil waves to rake the stony shore that stretched out before her. There had to be a way to survive out here, the bird calls and animal tracks were proof that it was possible.

She tried not to think about everything she'd search for in her short life, tried to ignore how much she sucked at finding things. Her muzzled twitched and gaze ripped wildly from the water. Something stunk. Clearly it was dead, and had been for several hours now. The smell was thick and oily on her tongue. She could feel saliva pool in her mouth and scrambled over damp rocks towards the dead freshwater clam. Her teeth had just closed on the deplorable meal when a voice rang out. Wide-eyed and mouth occupied, she jerked her head up to see Desideria.

Perhaps if she hadn't been so desperate, Noble would have been embarrassed to be holding onto the leaking, smelly thing like it was the only thing she'd eaten in other a day (which it was). Dezzy came closer and Noble watched, carefully keeping track of the space between them. She had no intention of letting this new-comer taking her prize away. Noble's eyes squinted at the statement about the lake. She turned to it briefly, it looked the same as it always did. She nodded stiffly in response.

Without a word Noble, shuffled backwards to yield the water if they wanted to fish. They could have the water, the vagabond-girl was already looking forward to finding another dead clam anyways. She promptly ignored Desideria, spending a few quiet moments to pry the shells apart and slurp out the softening flesh. The next few minutes were spent pretending she was searching for more dead things to eat, but she stole glances at the older wolf. Finally, she dropped all pretenses and sat watching Desideria with open curiosity.

The stranger must not have logy, to be standing there with a rotting, stinking shellfish hanging out of her jaws. Even on her hungriest days, she'd never considered eating something that smelt so putrid. Scavenging a kill was one thing, but scarfing down something that had been dead for weeks was entirely another. Desideria wrinkled her nose at the awful stench, ears rotating backwards as she actually drew to a pause, uncertain how to proceed. The initial worry of illness grew in her mind, wondering what on earth could drive the female to such a state. For a moment, she considered simply turning around and leaving. If the yearling was sick, she didn't want to share in whatever diseased plagued her. More alarming still, if she had that disease, Des did not want to be caught in a sudden fit of rage if the other wolf suddenly took offense. But eventually, the other loner did yield, and with one eye on the stranger, the timber wolf shifted towards the water. She'd never been a good fisher, but it was certainly better than trying one of the dead shellfish. Unfortunately, most of her attempts went without reward, the small perch darting through the chilly water every time she thrust her nose into the lake's surface. Fish was very tasty, she knew, though it took quite an effort to get. She might have had better luck with trying to catch a bird, the timber wolf thought to herself, though the shore offered little cover. It would be almost impossible to catch one on her own. Stilling as she contemplated her options, it came to her attention that the other wolf was openly staring at her. Concerned, her ears rolled back as she faced the female. "…what? You okay? You…want something?"

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It didn't take long for Noble to come to a definitive conclusion: fishing was more interesting than searching the gravel for dead things. She looked down at the water-logged stones under her feet and flipped one dolefully. It was empty underneath. It might be hours before the waves pushed another clam ashore. Noble had been lost at the worst time in her life; she'd grown into the leggy body of a yearling without the knowledge of how to hunt as one. She could hunt rabbits because it was the one thing @Minka had taught her young daughter, but everything else was far beyond her experience. Perhaps she could have gone and scavenged in the forest, but Noble was powerfully curious about how fishing worked now.

It was hard to see much. Noble scooted forward an inch, fascinated by the chaotic ripple of water and stray glint of dusky green fins. She was so captivated that it wasn't until the other wolf stopped and Noble's gaze lifted from the water that she discover Desideria was watching her in turn. She shifted sideways, scooting away like a child caught with their hand in a cookie jar. "I'm fine." Noble pressed out, feeling horribly embarrassed. Mentally and physically though, she was far from fine. This was the first conversation she'd had in nearly two weeks and her heart slammed at being put on the spot like this. Pelt clung tight to her body, the long bones uncomfortably clear underneath. Her eyes, when they finally dared to meet Desideria's, were clear and alert. Noble might be starving, but she wasn't dead yet. She flashed a bashful smile, teeth flashing a healthy white in the sun. "I've just never seen anybody fish before."

(This post was last modified: May 09, 2015, 01:03 AM by Noble.)

The yearling spoke, at least, easing some of Desderia's concerns as she eyed the skeletal female. The tawny wolf's ears swiveled as she was addressed, the scaly treasures in the lake briefly escaping her notice as she studied the other wolf. Tipping her head to one side, she shook her head with a rueful smile. "If you wanna fish, I'm not the wolf you wanna watch. I'm not very good at it. Maybe, if I get lucky, one might flop on shore and suffocate." Allowing herself a short chuckle, she shook her head. If that's what the other wolf wanted, she'd be much better off with one of these lake packs, she imagined. Namid had fed her, after all, and had implied she'd have no problem catching more. Idly, she wondered if any of the packs near waterways kept fish in their caches. Licking her lips, she regarded Noble with more curiosity than wariness. Ears were pricked forward with attentiveness, her tail was held out at a neutral angle, having no desire to even think of getting after the other wolf for any sort of dominance. "…you wanna help? Might be easy to chase the fish if there are two of us." There was no guarantee they'd find something to eat that way, she supposed, or get enough for both of them. The other wolf looked like she could eat half a moose and still be hungry. "Or we could always, uhhh…you know, help ourselves to an easier kill. Spend less energy." Not actually do the work themselves. She supposed the stranger might be content to wallow in her own pitiful state, but having a partner in crime never hurt. "My name is Des, by the way."

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She wasn't sure what to make of Desideria's deflecting response. It certainly seemed that Desideria knew what she was doing. Noble glanced at the lake, the surface was unbroken and shining in the sun. There was no sign of the fish now, presumably because Noble had pulled the attention of the fisher-wolf away. Whoops, black ears folded back in apology. Now they would go hungry, a situation Noble could certainly sympathize with. Despite that, the other didn't seem angry with her. In fact, as her gaze shifted back, an invitation was made.

Noble's mouth fell open in surprise and her tail swung in the air. "Really?" She stuttered out. The answer was clearly yes, but it seemed so intricate a task. The fish were deceptively fast and how did you chase something that could easily swim away. Noble was hesitatingly over her own ability, thinking of how bony and helpless she must look right now, when Desideria proposed something more realistic. Noble's ears swung forward in interest. "How? Where?" It seemed to good to be true and Noble simply had to add: "I've looked."

"Do you... do you think you could show me?" Respect was a more deeply ingrained wolf instinct for Noble than hunting. The girl approached very slowly, feeling her tail tuck farther with every step that brought her closer. It felt rude to speak from a distance and she wanted her interest in this supposed 'free meal' to be evident. "I'm Noble," was the shy introduce once they were finally a comfortable distance from each other. "Is it somewhere near here?"

"'course you looked, but this ain't something you just…find. My ma had to teach me, you know? 'course, I wish she taught me a few other things, but what are you gonna do, right?" Desideria rolled her shoulder in a shrug, happy enough to leave her dam in the past. As much as she adored her brothers, the two twins orbiting that strange gap in her chest, she cared little about the fate of the woman who raised her – calling it 'raising' was putting it rather generously, the woman often thought. Childhood was nothing more than a shivaree, a mangle of sound and sights as Desdemona basically ensured her offspring survived, if only barely. Ensured was perhaps giving her too much credit, come to think about it. Shaking out her tawny pelt, the woman directed her attention back to the youngster. She felt a brief flicker of guilt, but she was doing Noble a favor, wasn't she? She was making sure the young loner didn't starve to death – it was no worse than what her mother did to her. "So, what you do, basically, is you have to find a pack. Important to take a bath first, so maybe your smell isn't so strong. But you find a pack, and scout the border. What you wanna find is the cache – all packs have caches, you know? And you gotta take some. Just a little. Too much and they'll give chase. But you gotta be as quiet and run as far as you can before you eat it…or eat it on the run, I guess, so they can't take it away." "Make sense?"

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"...but what are you gonna do, right?"

Desideria had her interest right from the get-go. This was a rationale Noble could understand and sympathize with. No one could've known what was going to happen to the Lagina princess. The time everyone thought they had was suddenly gone, and every lesson she'd needed to survive had never occurred. There were a million things that Noble wished her parents could have explained: how to hunt deer, accurately follow the stars, interact with strangers. But that was the past and there was nothing she could do about that now, right?

Noble nodded firmly at Desideria's first question. All attention in the lake was lost now, she was oblivious to the gentle sluice of fins and whatever disgusting offerings were being washed ashore. The instructions were easy to follow and deceptively honest. Noble said nothing, simply listened and connected the points. Find a pack, wash her scent away And then steal. Her ears lay back in shame and she heard the crash of water on the shore. Maybe there would be something dead and rotting for her to eat now. Maybe it would keep her alive till next week. Maybe there was nothing. It was sheer luck, not Noble's own ability, that had kept her alive this long. Something had to change and this was the only "something" being offered. Didn't the benefits outweigh the crime? Hadn't Noble lost things as well?

The second nod was slower, but no less firm. It sounded so simple in theory, but Noble knew it would be far different in practice. "How far do I have to run? Won't they chase me?" This was not Noble dismissing the idea, but rather trouble-shooting it. Her eyes meet Desideria with a shy smile. "I was always faster than my brother." This could work!

It had to; it was all she had.

"Well, see, that's why you wanna wash your scent off as much as you can, right? If you smell like nothing, and nobody sees you, no one will ever know it was you, yeah? That's why it's real important not to get too greedy – that's how thieves get caught. They try to take more than they can carry, or they try to take something real important to the pack. Or they get lazy, and eat right there, next to the pack! Stupid."p>She could have spit, ears swinging back at the memory of a former comrade. He hadn't lasted nearly as long as she did – nearly got her killed for his greed! And what did he have to show for it? Nothing. He was a corpse, in the ground, probably eaten by bugs and mushrooms by now, the female reckoned, and that was not something she particularly wanted for Noble here. She was too young to die like that. (So was her friend – and so too, are her brothers, but she pushed them from thought as she continued her instructions.) "So, yeah. Don't get seen. Don't leave a smell. No one will chase you. If you do get seen, always smart to run through a river. If you don't take much, they never chase you that long – not worth their energy, you know? Take a rabbit or a squirrel, run a mile or two…they can catch another one with less running. So just…be smart about it, okay?" Des returned the grin, wondering if this was the sort of help she should offer. But what else did she know, really, that could help the yearling at all? "Look, I gotta head back, okay? But if we run into each other again, we can do it together. Show you what I know. Good luck!" Exit. LuDa-Stock & Dawnthieves.de - Table by PuppyThief