Mountain of Dire Let It Fall

ALL WELCOME! RE: Nalda Your Gift is: You scavenge a carcass only to find that it is overgrown with maggots... And what's that thing crawling out of its chest?
- Set not too far up the eastern side of the mountain

 

The stars were still blinking coldly through holes in the silvery clouds when she left that morning, slinking across the borders in the quiet darkness, right before dawn. She had no particular goal, and no specific location in mind, other than simply further than she had ever been before. This urge had been building up inside her for at least one cycle of the moon, causing her to retract even further from the wolves around her, even her mother; And... She snorted loudly, cutting of her thoughts before they could move into dangerous territory, she had spend enough days brooding, today was a day for action! Her breath formed tiny clouds in the crisp autumn air, lightening along with everything else as the sunlight slowly made its way passed the horizon. More clouds blew in along with it though, leaving everything dull, never truly lit. Still, the colors were beautiful, everything orange and red, her unusual coat blending in nicely. Soon it would be over they told her, all the stalks would wither and leaves fall - already the ground was littered with them, brown and dry - and in the end everything would be left bare; Such an odd thing, for plants to die that way every year...

And as if to prove the stories, snow began to drift slowly from the sky, powdering everything in white, in a promise of what was to come. The young wolf still remembered her first snow, and the utter shock it had been to wake up and see everything covered in a thin layer of white, and with more falling from above. But she had quickly learned how sadly ordinary snow was, falling more and more often, though never sticking around for long, and leaving behind mud and puddles; Like rain but colder... A heavy sigh fell from thin, dark lips, Nalda Zamora was bored out of her mind.

But today she was escaping her frustrations, and she was doing at by running! Of course she couldn't run constantly, her lungs still needed a lot of training before she could keep up with the adults, but she did a pretty could job, shifting between a slinking trot and gangly lope. And soon enough, she made it, not just beyond the open pine woods full of toppled and rotting trees, but further still, through denser forests and eventually to an area where the ground began to slope upwards, trees again thinning. This was new! Though there were some cliffs around the falls, this jagged land was of a much larger scale, and seemed to keep reaching skyward forever. Gleefully, the pup climbed, rage and sorrow forgotten in this joy of exploring something new. Her nose was constantly in the air, and when a familiar scent suddenly hit it, she was quick to turn, her stomach demanding attention. Food was always good, especially the kind that was already dead so you didn't have to chase it; And this most certainly is! The intense odor spoke loud and clear, and as soon as she lay eyes on it, there was no doubt.

The carcass appeared to be of a young deer, though it was hard to tell as large parts of it were missing, and they remaining lay twisted in a grotesque angle. The unfortunate beast had slipped on the cliffs and tumbled to its death, leaving an easy meal for nearby scavengers, and the Timber pup was not late to take advantage of it. Though late enough it turned out. As she tore a piece of meat from the cracked bones, she noticed the odd consistency and dark color, as well as the very distinct smell, and yet she chewed down, putting  hunger above her finer senses. This proved to be a mistake, the rotten taste on her tongue making her spit and wretch, reaching up to rub a russet paw against her muzzle to get all of the disgusting stuff off of it. And something did snack on a stubby claw, wiggling distinctly. Wide golden eyes turned to the pads as she brought them back into view, and her nose wrinkled as she saw a fat, white worm stuck between her toes. Shaking the leg rapidly, to get it off, she looked over at the carcass, more closely, and a shriek emitted from her maw as she saw the rotting meat teeming with thick, pale maggots.

Word count: 733

"Speech" Thoughts 

  

Nalda has a stalker ;P

Ember naturally woke up early, often getting less sleep than she should be at her age. It simply didn't do for the young girl to be still, and sleep rendered her unable even to plot, making it the absolute most useless expense of her time. This led her to waking in time to discover that Nalda had gone, and immediately she was on her paws and sneaking after her, curious as to where the shy monthling could be going. The Reinier child didn't think to summon Bracken or Arion with her, for she didn't expect that Nalda would cross the borders, and by the time she herself crossed that threshold, she was far too enraptured to look back. What on earth could her age-mate be heading toward? What foudroyant adventure was she undertaking? Ember wanted dearly to be a part of it, and so she welcomed herself along.

Given Nalda's own shifting pace, it was difficult for Ember to catch up to her, but never did she lose her trail. Often did she think of how proud her parents might be of the tracking skills she was exhibiting, and just the chase alone was enough productive fun to keep the girl satisfied. Still, she wished the other girl would slow down, for as much as she enjoyed this game, Ember was above all a social creature and wanted to experience this grand changing of the landscape with her friend.

When at last she thought she was close enough to catch her, Nalda's screech suddenly assaulted her ears, swiftly erasing her joy and excitement to replace it with the lead weight of apprehension and concern. Bolting forward, Ember scaled the increasingly difficult terrain with abandon, rushing to make it to the other girl's side so that she could help with whatever had gone so wrong. When at last the russet girl came into view, she called out to her as she raced to further close the distance between them.

"Nalda, what's wrong?! Are you okay?!"

Nalda Zamora All the hairs on her body were standing on end, nausea welling up at the sight of the decaying meat, covered in parasites. She had eaten some of that! Caught up in this horror, the taupe and sienna girl did not hear her cousin's approach, and when the shrill voice suddenly sounded behind her, she visibly jumped, another shriek escaping her. She spun around, pressing herself towards the ground, ears flattened back and eyes wide as she faced her attacker. The creature that appeared was no monstrous beast though, in fact it was about as far from that as could be, and Nalda quickly recognized the cream and grey pelt. "Ember?!" The name came out as a surprised squawk, the fear on her face fading in favor of bewilderment. She straightened back up, ears lifting to spin nervously, listening for any other possible pursuers. She heard none and at first felt relieved, as amazing as it sounded, it seemed no one had fallowed the other pup. Then her mouth squeezed into a thin line, attention turning fully to the pale girl before her. "Why are you here?!" She snapped, anger and embarrassment flushing to her face. How had she not noticed the girl following her earlier? How had Ember even managed to follow her? And more pressingly, how long would it take before someone else did follow Ember. Nalda's grimace darkened further, eyes narrowing as she stared the other pup down, she'd been reasonably sure no one would notice her absence before she'd gotten quite a head start. Now however, with Ember gone as well; No doubt Aunty Io will be hot on her heels! Nalda sighed, releasing her eyes from the age mate, to instead roll them at the sky. Then they landed on the disgusting remnants by her side, that she had been stupid enough to mistake for food. A low grumble left her lips, and her voice was resigned as she spoke again: "I'm fine, I jus'… Had a lil' scare, tha's all." When she glanced back up at Ember her expression was much less hostile, after all, the girl had come rushing when she thought Nalda was hurt. But that didn't change the fact that the Zamora had gone out here to get away from the pack and experience something new. There was no way she could – or wanted to – drag Ember along on this adventure, she had no desire to give @Iopah even more reason to chase her down; Her own mother was bad enough, though she was usually more lenient than the Pine Queen. Nalda had expected to at least have a few days of possible exploration time; Now though… Her brows had furrowed in frustration, but suddenly loosened as an idea popped into her head. Straightening to her full height, puffing out her chest, she stared down the other pup, willing up all the confidence she could muster. "Go home. 'tis too dangerous for you out 'ere." She said, with all the superiority of her ten more days of age. With everything she had learned from watching the adults, she showed of her dominance to the other girl, willing her to obey. Word count: 529 ”Speech” Thoughts

Fall-of-rain @ DA

Because of work, my activity will fluctuate every other week. For more information and OOC preferrences check out my profile

The moment her own voice hit the air, Nalda let loose another one of those horrible screams. Ember's ears flew back down against her skull as her paws dug into the earth, halting her momentum with a silent slide through wet and cold. A pang of guilt assaulted her heart as Nalda turned to face her, the fear within her so clear that Ember for once wished she had kept her mouth shut. She certainly hadn't meant to scare her friend more.

Yet she couldn't be distracted. With wary curiosity Ember's widened eyes shifted, looking about them and beyond the other girl, seeking whatever it was that had threatened the Zamora youth. When they locked onto the rotted meat, animated by the grimy decomposers within it, the pieces fell into place and she stuck out her tongue as her muzzle wrinkled with her disgust.

The mood then suddenly shifted for the fourth time, and Ember began to feel herself reeling as Nalda's angered voice cut through the air and her buttercup eyes returned to behold the girl utterly transformed before her. What the heck was going on, what did she do now? Ember hung her head as her tail curled between her hocks, clearly confused and hurt by the demanding reaction. She didn't realize Nalda would be so opposed to her company. Was she angry that Ember had startled her? She hadn't meant it, she had only wanted to help!

Nalda seemed to soften some as Ember remained silent, her following words and pointed gaze confirming what Ember had puzzled might be the cause of this mess. Thinking the tsunami was past, the cream girl began to unfurl, but then the other girl raised her chin to her and had the audacity to insult Ember's capabilities. The young girl's jaw dropped as she processed the ever changing attitude of her friend, before it finally became her turn to become irate. Brows knitting together, she braced herself with righteous indignance. Yet she did not raise her head, instead choosing to glower up at the other girl. She would only defend herself, not escalate the situation.

"Hey," she countered, with an edge to her voice that had not been carried ever before by the girl. She hadn't needed to. Anytime Nalda had gotten weird or crabby before, the girl had simply taken the hint and left her alone. That was when they were home, though. Now, they were so far away, in a land that was so breathtaking and exciting, and Ember had done absolutely nothing wrong other than show up and try to help. This was a step too far, and she wasn't going to let Nalda be such a.... jerk!

"If you can be here, so can I! I'm just as capable as you are, y'know!"

@Ember Nalda is grade A jerk material, I feel so sorry for Ember.

Nalda Zamora She watched the changing feelings roll over Ember's body, each one tediously familiar. Until the last one. Rather than tuck her tail and scot back home, like Nalda had hoped, the cream girl stood her ground, shooting a fierce glare that the other pup had never seen before. She'd made Ember angry! Well at least that was a new skill to add to the list. The girl pipe up in her indignation, eliciting a condescending snort from her darker age mate. The very idea was absurd of course, yet, it seemed the Reinier really believed it to be true; That won't stand… Now, Nalda could have chosen to go softer, simply explaining her wish to be alone in a more sympathetic manner. It wasn't like she hated Ember, just disliked her nosiness most of the time. However she felt that it would be easier to drive off the pest, and so she continued in the same manner. "Oh'really?!" She purred, a superior smile snaking onto her face; "Since when?" A silvery brow was cocked, head tilted ever so slightly. "It'akes real skill t' make'it out 'ere y'know. So tell me when you've learned'at, 'cus all I've ever seen you'do is playing." She was the perfect picture of arrogance, speaking to Ember not just like and adult to a child, but like a snooty, self-righteous teenager. She was painting on extra thick, to push the other girl into leaving sooner, but she wasn't working on complete lies; She believed herself much more capable than Ember, and in fact doubted very much that the paler pup was able to handle her own. It would be better for her to get home to safety anyway. Nalda assured herself, pushing on to blow holes in Ember's confidence; "Why're you'even out 'ere? You 'ave no buisness beyond th'borders." A term she had learned from listening to the adults, yet another point to show her authority. There, surely that would do the trick.  Make Ember mosey on home and give Nalda the freedom she had come here to find. Word count: 343 ”Speech” Thoughts

Fall-of-rain @ DA

Because of work, my activity will fluctuate every other week. For more information and OOC preferrences check out my profile