Red Fern Forest Burke and Wills

For @Kjors - Oak Tree Bend, one of your pack mates is missing

a little bit messy, a little bit ruined.
a beautiful disaster, just like me.

The mud streaked puppy was hellbent on proving his sister wasn’t the only one that could go on adventures. He woke up when the sky was still grey, even the birds were still huddled in their nests. Fog blanketed the ground in heavy swathes as the young explorer set out. He had been to the west, and what he had seen of the east looked too hard. He was unaware of the boundless fields of mud and muck that lay to the south so he set out north instead. Hours passed as he weaved about this way and that, only stopping when he realised no matter what way he looked all these trees looked the same. They all had the same rough bark and trunks that stretched on forever. Any defining features that may be around their bases were obscured by blood coloured ferns.

His mouth fell open for just a moment as he spun in another circle. Which way was home? butterflies began to riot in his chest and he struggled to breath in anything more than short gasps. His mud brown eyes grew wide with terror. He hadn’t told anybody where he was going.

Nobody knew he was here.

His stomach gave a rumble to remind him it was well past breakfast time and his panic only grew.

He was going to die out here.

The Red Fern Forest was a bit further south that Kjors wanted to be, and a bit too close to Broken Timber Pines and its power hungry wolves for his liking. Ears rolled backwards as he trotted in a hunter’s pace, his head low, and his tail out straight as he moved, ephemeral as he sought only to return from whence he came. Meeting @Iopah or her lackes again was the last thing he wanted. Perhaps he’d returned to full health and had learned a bit since their last skirmish but oh, three against one were poor odds, and there was no doubt in his mind that @Kisla would run him out without a second thought if he started another fight. No, he’d continue to skirt north, keep to the west, and return to Hearthwood River as if he’d never excited in the first place.

So focused on his task was he, the dragon almost failed to notice the young wolf, bright and pale against the dying forest. The adult slowed to a halt, wondering briefly if the boy realized the ferns offered little as a visual barricade – Kjors was a bit better hidden, but he was a veritable shade amongst the dead leaves and remaining shrub. In the low light, he could disguise himself where shadows fell from trees and stone. Idly, he wondered if this pup belonged to the Falls – if he did, it would only be trouble. If he was not mistaken, he was far from the border, far enough to be considered just a passer by. Even if the cub did call, would there be grounds for attack?

Would that stop the master of the house, doling out the charm? And she was ever the charming one, that bitch, with ugly words and uglier eyes. The wolf made a wicked noise, wishing the alpha to the same place the green-eyed monster had sent Tokino, and cast his mother’s apparition from his mind with vehemence as he altered his direction, trotting down towards the youth with a low chuff. He did not wish ill, not today, not towards defenseless youth, and halted several lengths away, trusting not the boy to fight nor flee. His tail remained at half mast, offering one small wag as he dipped his head, ears swiveling forward as he scented the child. He didn’t smell like much of anything, though perhaps that was the dirt and the grime mixed with the heavy scent of autumn blanketing the forest.

Furrowing his brow, the male lifted his black nose and gave a wiggle, but he could scent no one else in the immediate area. While pups were pretty mobile, even capable at this time of year, it seemed a bit odd to see one totally by himself. Offering another chuff, he tipped his head to one side. “Y’lost, kid? Ain’t no pack, not nearby. ‘less…y’one a’ Iopah’s pups?”

Mother have mercy, if the boy said yes, he’d be out of here and back home faster than a bolt of lightning.

The chuff was unexpected and the pale boy flinched with surprise, but all that worry was awfully quick to evaporate when his eyes fell on the dark wolf heading his way. Somebody had come to save him. In his youthful mind, this strange wolf with one eye must be family. he had the same dark colour of @Spieden, @Sahalie, @Triell @Drestig and @Darrah. Yes, he might have looked rather fearsome with one eye and that strange voice, but surely now he had been found he would be escorted back to Oak Tree Bend. Surely?

"'s Iopah like a Spie?" he questioned puzzled, his head tilting ever so slightly, only emphasising his oversized ears in the process. Drift could only assume that everyone had a Spie somewhere, he would have been equally confused if the man had spoken of a 'mother' (having only heard her referred to as Nayeli before he had no idea what the absent woman should have been to him). His tail took up a friendly wag as he waited for the other wolf to chastise him for wandering so far, to comment on his dirty coat or how he managed to wander so far away from home. Sahalie would be cross.

“Th’ hell is a Spie?” the swarthy male wondered out loud, his head tipping to one side as he tried to get a better look at the lone pup.  At least it wasn’t one of Iopah’s, he thought with some measure of relief.  He had no desire to be within ten wolf’s lengths of anything that had any possibility of being related to that woman.  But this boy seemed to be friendly, with only a wag of his tail.

Kjors sighed heavily, brows furrowing as he studied the pup a little longer.  Lifting his head, he glanced around for any sign of another wolf, ears pivoting.  This revealed nothing – even the wind had no results, and he was forced to settle on the idea that this pale cub might actually be lost.  “Y’lost?” he questioned again, hoping to get a clearer answer this time.  The dragon thought to offer a wag of his tail himself this time, wondering if perhaps the child would be more forthcoming if he wasn’t so…himself.  Ears swiveled forward, and he tried to think of anything else that might reveal where this pup actually belonged.

“Y’got a mum?  ‘er, mother?”

(This post was last modified: Nov 17, 2015, 03:48 PM by Kjors.)

Pale brows drew down painting clear worry on the young lads face, his tail tucking a little with the shame of his admission. "Yuur I'm lost. But you found me so we can go home now!" the second half said with more enthusiasm than the first. Tail arching back up to confidently wave as he closed the distance between them with a playful charge. He was aiming to prob his nose to the underside of the dark wolf's chin, but pulled up short when a strange word left the one eyed wolfs jaws. Mum. Mother. Why was his stomach twisting so painfully.

"Don't got one of those. We got a Spei." he answered with a small frown. He had heard the word whispered in hushed tones of course. Usually when the rest of the pack were talking about Sahalie and himself, or whispering about Nayeli. Perhaps they thought he didn't hear all covered in mud and happily playing, but he heard, and he wondered. "We goin' home now? I'm hungry." he spoke matter of factly. He had foolishly left without breakfast and even though it was only early morning his stomach offered an audible growl.

(This post was last modified: Nov 19, 2015, 03:01 AM by Drift. Edit Reason: Too sick to make sense sorry )

The boy wanted to go home, so that was a good start. He had a home – at least Kjors wouldn’t be wandering the forest looking for a single lone wolf to return the boy to. Or at least, that’s what the dragon thought, until the pale cub admitted he did not have a mother. He had a ‘Spie’, and he still had no idea what a ‘Spie’ was, and it seemed his new acquaintance had no interesting in explaining that, either. The wolf (or maybe it was a favorite toy, or a secret place, he hadn’t the slightest idea) was pushed aside in light of the cub’s hunger.

Kjors arched the brow over his missing eye, and he tipped his head. He could handle feeding a wolf, but…

“Y’know where y’live, then?” he asked instead, tail lashing as he glanced around. Still nothing, still nobody, and he was left to wonder if this boy was actually abandoned out here on his lonesome. The thought made his ears twitch backwards, a grumble curling up in his throat as he eyed the boy. Once he got formalities out of the way, he’d allowed the cub to gormandize if he really wanted. “What’s yer name? We’ll getcha somethin’ t’ eat, okay? Jes’ answer a few more questions fer me, an’ Ah promise y’get t’ eat.”

Y'know where y'live then? the frown that marred his pale face was more than words could convey. If this dark wolf was part of his family (hell he looked like family), then was this some sort of test or joke? "Near the Oak Tree. I was lookin' for puddles 'n hoppers but they're all gone under this." he answered kicking at the snow with frustration, growing less and less certain this stranger was one of them as the encounter progressed. He looked around the looming trees, hoping to catch a more familiar face or landmark than the ones currently before him, but all he could see were the same strange trees as far as the eye could see. 


When the man asked for his name, it finally clicked that maybe this wolf wasn't from the bend...

The promise of food was enough to chase the doubts from his mind however, with an upbeat wag of his tail he declared his name loudly, "Mm Drift, Drift Tainn..." the addition of his surname feeling foreign on his tongue, after all - all the wolves in Oak Tree Bend knew just who he was so introductions would have been wasted entirely. "Can we go now? This place is a bit creepy..." he finally admitted, the heavy canopy so foreign to the open clearing near the den he shared with @Sahalie.

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Oak Tree. Tainn.

He’d heard of all that, but wasn’t quite sure where any of it was. Ears flattened out to the side and the wolf huffed softly, racking his brain for the information exchanged with Drestig. He’d said as much, but they were away from the dark male’s borders, and never actually traveled that far. Kisla would know, he thought, as she had family in that pack. Perhaps if he brought the pale pup to his lady, she’d be able to tell them in which direction to go.

After the boy was fed, of course. Couldn’t send him home hungry. What sort of neighbor did that?

Deciding this was the correct order of operations, Kjors gave a short nod of his head, approving his own plans before turning back to the young lad. “Yeah. Yeah, we can go now,” he hummed, gathering himself up and circling the boy. Nose reached out and gave him a gentle nudge, towards the north, where his own personal caches remained hidden. “Ah dunno where th’ Oak Tree is,” he admitted, “bu’ Ah know someone tha’ does. We’ll getcha fed, a’right? An’ then we’ll find m’lady.” Kisla would know. Kisla would know, and they could get the boy back to the Oak Tree.