Drooping Willows Better Than Misery

A lowered nose trailed along the edge of the lagoon. The scent was a familiar one, but it belonged not to a wolf or a prey. Two feet in the water and two on the land, eyes opened as she ran her muzzle like a vacuum along the mossy surface of the banks. What she sought was a plant, a special kind of leaf, and she had smelled it thick in the air the second the grounds had changed. No longer in a forest, she seemed only to be getting herself deeper and deeper into unknown territories. What difference did it make though? Who was going to come and tell her that she could not be where she was?

Eyes lit up as she sucked in a breath, and then brushed away at the grounds with the top of her nose, clearing a small patch of dirt and grass to uncover what was underneath - a snaking vine lined every few inches with spiny red leaves. In some doses, they could be absolutely toxic, but a lick of two or three would most often result in nothing but a pleasant tingle and a feeling of light-headedness. As she lifted her head and looked around, not sensing - seeing at least, anyone nearby, she chuckled a low sound to herself before dipping her head once more.

Taking a part of the vine carefully between the front of her teeth she reared back, tugging on the natural rope and revealing a rather long strand, spraying dirt into the air as it was exposed from the grounds. A little over four feet lifted, before the piece snapped off and the female dropped it from her muzzle. Again she chuckled, ears pinning back as she moved to pace along the length of the now exposed crawler. What a delightful little surprise she said aloud to herself before sitting back with a groan. She was getting a little tender in the joints with her age, and some days had her worse for wear than others. Today was another of those days, but her little discovery would serve to help with that...

OOC: Mind if I join? :)

Kaela trotted along in a foul mood.  She hadn't had anything decent to eat in several days, and her run-in with Ziigwan a few days prior had her on edge.  While she'd been in a fit of laughter for most of the conversation then, Kaela now felt enraged.  Who was he to think her strange?

She stopped as she smelled something strange.  It was the thick scent of something unknown to her mingled with the trail of another wolf.  Once again she found herself in a peculiar position.  She almost passed it by, not in the mood to deal with obnoxious furballs, but curiosity got the best of her.  The other canine seemed to be following the smell of the strange thickness that Kaela couldn't identify.  What could it be?  Maybe it was something tasty she could take away and keep for herself.

Turning from her current course, Kaela followed the other wolf into the sparse willows and soggy ground.  As the smell grew, she slowed.  She wanted to be able to take this one by surprise, not pass by as she had done before.  Crouching to hide in the thin layers of tall grass and reeds, Kaela crept foreword.  She circled around to try and take the other animal from the side, but halted in place when she saw something odd.

It was an older-looking wolf, about the same size as herself, pulling up some sort of vine by its leaves and settling with it.  Tilting her head in curiosity, the yearling stood straight and padded foreword just enough to make herself visible.  "What are you doing?" She asked, her pleasantly smooth voice shattering the quiet of the drooping willows.  

"Speech"

Be my guest :D

Company hadn't been something she was expecting. She'd scented someone else on the air faintly, but it came in waves both thick and thin, so it was easily dismissed as someone merely passing by. Her concentration was on the prize at hand, uncovering the vines and more importantly the leaves. It was those which would provide her with the greatest of rewards, and she made a mental count of how many were strung along the vines she'd found, saving it in the back of her memory in case it would be needed at a later date, for reasons that she simply would not share with anyone untrusted.

The sound of rustling was what caused her first to lift her head, doing so with a twisted ear just in time to see the young lady step forward and out into the open far enough that the old female could see her. Instantly it was clear, that the girl was just a young one, and in no more than a second the older woman drew upon her face the softest and warmest of smiles. It was a welcoming look that came but seconds before the question sung out on the air. What are you doing? The real question was whether or not it was appropriate to share her intentions.

"Gracious, young lady." The older female laughed a sound that was slightly akin to shock. "Careful sneaking up on people like that. Not everyone is as friendly nor as beautiful as we." The air calmed slightly, the ice apparently broken as she turned her head down to examine the vines at her feet. These are... uuh..." she hesitated, lifting her gaze back to the other with that same soft grin settled on her features "These are leaves that help to ease the pain of aching joints." Well... it wasn't completely a lie.

A smile was the last thing Kaela had been expecting.  She hadn't seen a smile in...

Ah, hell.  Who knew?

Kaela's lips twitched.  She had almost snarled, but decided against it.  She was still curious.  With one ear trained upon the older woman and the other twisted back, Kaela edged foreword a little, trying to catch the scent of the plant.  "How can it help?" She asked.  It didn't make sense.  How could an underground vine help aching joints?  She was still young and didn't have to worry about the infirmities of age, but she knew sometimes parts of one's body could get sore.

She carefully edged foreword again, careful to stay out of range of the other wolf should she decide to defend her claim.

Just kill it. The harsh voice in her mind whispered.  She's lying.

Kaela wanted to do it.  She really did.  But she was still curious.  She wanted to know.  Why was this wolf so interested in a plant?

"Speech"  Thought

An older woman could sense the hesitation. Avari was no different, she could almost see the conflict of emotions in the younger woman's minds, and while she ordinarily would have used the opportunity to capitalise on such a weakness, she'd imagined that doing so in this case would have most likely caused the other to flee. Then what did she have? Nothing but her lonely self and the plants and vines that were laid out so neatly at her paws.

"Young dear" She coaxed in a soft voice, keeping that warm smile on her features in an effort to make herself appear more welcoming to the girl. "Come a little closer, and tell me your name." She hummed quietly, using the kind of voice that a mother might have to a newborn child.

"Sit with me, and I'll show you how they help. Everything will explain itself." Nodding her head, the elder woman rolled back to sit on her hips beside the vines and simply watched the other female, curious of what was making her seem so hesitant. Had she been attacked? It certainly made sense for wolves to be wary of each other, but this was neutral grounds. There was nothing to suggest that there would be any kind of conflict, unless that was what the younger female was looking for...

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

Nobody had called her 'dear' for a very long time. Not since she had taken her first steps from the den and her mother had whispered "the poor dear is all alone." The word brought back floods of memory Kaela preferred to keep locked up.

And, for the first time since her abandonment, Kaela was unsure of how to feel. Her emotions usually did as they wished, paying her no heed. Part of her was angry; so angry. That part of her caused her to recoil slightly, but the part of her that was sad stayed. The elder seemed to be trying to make her stay. The cool part of her simply watched. She was offering to give her the information she'd latched onto, so she might as well stay, right?

KILL IT! The voices screamed, enraged at the memories that had broken forth. She didn't want to think of that time, with those wolves, who had stabbed her back and pushed her away.

But the sad part, the part that - for some reason unknown to Kaela - longed for a companion, wanted to crawl closer and hear what she had to say. Though that part was very small and new to the yearling, it was strong enough to stand with the cold side of her against the furious voices that commanded her.

She wanted to know. "Kaela." She said softly, inching foreword until she was beside the other woman. She seemed to be no threat; being close to her wouldn't hurt Kaela. She settled next to her, glancing between her and the vine at her paws.

"Speech" Thought

(This post was last modified: Jul 29, 2015, 03:09 PM by Kaela. Edit Reason: table )

There was something... off about this younger female. It caused a sensation of uneasiness in Ava that she was finding difficult to shake. She was almost to the point of driving the girl away with how uncomfortable she was making things, but there hadn't been a reason other than the feeling that twisted in Ava's gut. It would have been rude to push her away so soon. Perhaps she was just nervous of meeting new people? It was an excuse that the older woman had no choice but to settle with for now. "Kaela. Such a beautiful name." The woman remarked in an effort to put the girl at ease. The tension was so thick in the air it could be cut by the bluntest of fangs. With some proximity between them, the elder bowed her head just slightly, enough to show contentment but not so much that she'd lose sight of the stranger. "I am Avari. Ava for convenience sake." Turning her attentions back to vine at her paws... "To some creatures these are poison." The way she spoke suddenly made the whole ordeal sound a lot more dangerous, as her nose dropped towards the ground and her muzzle parted to allow her tongue a couple of quick swipes at one of the leaves. "To us - in moderation they can significantly dull a pain." Her tongue at the leaves cleared away a layer of wax and exposed a darker green interior to the petal. "That sticky part has to come off or it doesn't work." She moved to sit back again, head turned to the other girl with a lazy nod of her head motioning down to the vine. "Go on. You pick one and give it a try."

She knew something was wrong. Though this wolf was perfectly friendly, Kaela was still unsure of her. She wasn’t doing anything to make Kaela fear for her safety, but she still wasn’t sure. She seemed uneasy, like she was forcing the kindness. Others always felt like that around her for some reason.

Kaela watched as Avari bent to lick the leaf. She was confused. Leaves have sticky stuff?

Ava offered her the vine, and Kaela hesitantly selected a leaf, running her tongue over it the way she’d seen the older wolf demonstrate. She wasn’t sure how to feel about the flavor. It didn’t take long, however, for the darker interior of the leave to be uncovered. She looked at her temporary mentor. It dulls pain? What kind of pain? She wondered. She thought it might be nice, to not feel pain. The Voices hurt, when they spoke. Would these leaves help?

“How does it work?” She asked, beginning to feel a little more relaxed. By now the Voices were too interested to interrupt. Something new; something she might be able to use. “How can you find the vines?” If she was going to be able to use these leaves, she needed to be able to find them. Maybe she could find a way to keep them with her as she traveled.

If they did what she wanted, that is. She glanced back to her leaf for a moment before returning her questioning gaze to Avari. She was eager to try it and see what happened.

"Speech" Thought

The tension between the two was evident. From every movement to every word, there was something that had the pair of them on edge. It was a vicious kind of cycle that only served to make things worse, but the older woman knew that as long as the youth was game enough to take a bite out of chance it would only be a few minutes before things became much more relaxed. Watching as her demonstration was replicated by the other female her warm smile brightened and she nodded her head slowly. "Yes - just like that." Her voice was an affirmation for the efforts, though it was a relatively simple task it was one that Avari felt necessary to recognise, if for no other reason than to try and ease the tension. Curiosity struck though and the stranger asked questions, and the older woman chuckled as she pondered over the answers, falling silent in thought before she responded the only way she knew how. "Honestly, darling. I'm not sure how it works." The same way as a poison she supposed, just in smaller doses. If toxins could stop the beating of a heart, they could just as easily cause it to slow. It wasn't often that she failed in her calculations though. When she wanted someone dead they died. Only one had ever proven her wrong, but she often put it down to the fact that Kjors had inherited her stubbornness. "Someone your size..." she carefully assessed the girl and found an interesting opportunity. How easy would it be to convince this female to eat four or five of the leaves and ultimately come to her death? She knew nothing of this stranger, and while she had nothing against the youngster it would be the perfect way to announce her arrival in the area. A body to her name and nobody would ever know it was her... "You could eat one. Just one." Her voice was thick with warning. They were similarly sized, and Ava wasn't in the mood to come up with excuses as to why she'd only take one for herself while insisting that the other take more. Leaning down again, she took the leaf she had exposed between her teeth and plucked it from the vine, drawing it into her muzzle before straightening. "It will work quicker if you hold it on your tongue for a while..."