Thicket of Secrets i am a pheasant plucker's son

located in the space between SW and GH, where the cedarwood start turning into thicket

also I never use WotD and now when I do it's in the title so I can't even count it

Anxious as he had been about the idea of sleeping in a den full of strangers, his mother had found a small, sheltered spot nestled close to the main den where they currently slept. It made him guilty to think that he was depriving her of what she would normally be doing, but that was par for the course - and he had made sacrifices for her, so hey, it was his turn now. Every morning he'd get up and peek over at the main den and think maybe tonight. But his skin crawled whenever he imagined sleeping beside so many unknown bodies; he could only abide his mother's presence. Maybe soon, maybe once he'd gotten to know them better... maybe then he could take one more step towards normal.

Huffing with the exertion of it, Duck pushed against the log again, but it didn't budge. It wasn't that long, and, half-hollow, the boy had thought that it might actually be quite trivial to move - and he had been so wrong. Sunlight filtered down from overhead through the trees, the ground mostly clear save for a lingering dampness caused by a long but light snowfall the night before - it had mostly melted since then, and had barely reached the woodland floor anyway. All the snow had melted in the sun and dripped down and now the ground was a little slippy and squishy, which really wasn't helping him get a good footing. Giving up, Duck jabbed his nose at the log in some half-brained moment of retaliation for its lack of cooperation, but all he got was a sore nose. "Owww," he whined, rubbing at his muzzle with a forearm, hopping away from the log as though it had attacked him rather than merely defend itself.

"F'you," he muttered thickly, a word learned from a boy he had met a lifetime ago - but had never forgotten. Not that he was quite ballsy enough to say it in full, even in private and directed at a totally inanimate object.

let me know if you want anything changed <3
Also I thought we could have one round Tomen/Nin - and in Duck's next post I'll have him get their attention :>

"You did not," he laughed, nudging @Nineva lightly with his shoulder, a sloppy grin on his face that he couldn't seem to shake.

He had never understood her enthusiasm for life outside of Grizzly Hollow, that urge to step across the borders and see what lay beyond. Sure, he thought about it, but there was so much for him where it was safe within their lands that the curiosity was eager to quash. He could count on his digits the number of times he had purposefully crossed out of the pack's territory. It simply didn't seem worth his own intrigue to impose any kind of worry on his parents, for they already had so much to deal with. Tomen had long made it a highest priority to not be something they had to keep tabs on and get anxious about. He was good and predictable, and if someone wanted to find the dark boy, all they had to do was check on his usual running route or the tree where Prudence lived. Easy.

But Nineva was different. Maybe it was because she wasn't from here, so they were never going to be the same anyway, never going to have the same priorities. He felt bad that she had had to leave her home, but had never voiced his pity, having quickly sensed that it would be unwelcome. He'd also quickly come to feel stuffy and boring around her, a girl with so much life and spirit - and he, a lone child who usually cared more about being obedient than being fun. But she made him want to be both. He could be both, right?

She'd needled away at him all the night before, and he had been planning to give in before they even went to sleep but he was afraid that would mean she would stop paying him as close attention. Instead, he offered his concession in the morning, with an exaggerated sigh and roll of the eyes which he thought she had seen straight through. It was hard to be deceptive around her, but he didn't really understand why. She just made him want to smile and curl up someplace safe and warm and talk to her for hours.

It wasn't particularly warm today, though as they trotted along side by side, he felt comfortable enough. They'd travelled north, and though the borders were behind them, he didn't feel too anxious about it. He'd made a silent promise that he'd bring them both back safe, and he'd keep that promise - simple as that.

s'all fine with me <3 ugh both your boys are so adorable

Her own expression mirrored his, joyous and unbridled. She couldn't imagine what life might be like within the Hollow if she didn't have Tomen, someone to partially fill the hole created within her heart by having left her siblings behind. He wasn't @Korrin or @Yuka, and she even found herself missing @Rose from time to time, (there was now an utter lack of female presence in her life, unfortunately, making her long for @Narimé's company most of all), but she liked the way he smiled and how utterly kind and polite he was. She even liked how it took some coaxing to get him to explore with her, something she'd found annoying in her age-mates but now was rendered endearing by nostalgia. He couldn't make up for what she'd left behind, but she liked him in a different way, anyways. Instead of trying to shape him into something of an older brother like she might her guardians, he was something all his own and unique. He was just Tomen, and he was her first real friend.

With a roiling giggle she nudged him back, allowing the story to fade with its ending and the peaceful calm of day make itself known with silence. Her bright, mismatched eyes looked around them, taking a moment to focus on what all was there. She'd been so enthralled in her own tale to Tomen that she'd failed to realize just how far they'd come. Slowing down, she nudged her companion's shoulder with her muzzle, smile dissipating as she realized where they were.

"Um, hey, maybe we should turn around. Head toward the mountains?" she encouraged, hoping to keep the anxiety out of her voice. She should have been more aware, more vigilant as they wandered, for now they were dangerously close to the thicket pack she'd run away from. What if her father caught a whiff of her and came barreling at them to take her away?

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

Once the throbbing in his muzzle had subsided, Duck surveyed his opponent more carefully. Snuffling his nose in the cold, damp earth where the log touched the ground, he quickly found the gap which had swallowed up his prize, and inhaled sharply to try and determine if it was still there - but just managed to clog up his tubes with mud instead. Sputtering, he retreated, once more rubbing at his nose, and when he looked back at the log it was with vengeful determination in his eye.

It had to still be there. He'd seen it fall and slip out of sight. Squaring up against his foe once more, Duck tested it by placing his shoulder against it and cautiously pushing. Nothing. But that was okay, he had another plan. Twisting his upper body so that he could shove his right paw into that nefarious gap between ground and log, which was really quite uncomfortable but would be so worth it, Duck braced his chest against the log, brought his other paw up against it, tensed and untensed his hind legs a few times and then shoved, hard.

His elation at its moving perfectly matched the log's elevation - that is, as it rolled back an inch or two, his delight soared, but then when he slipped and the log thudded back down to its original position, he was totally crushed.

And it was lucky that that wasn't entirely literal, though it could have been - the paw underneath the log had slipped, and the dead piece of wood had landed on it, trapping his wrist underneath it. Instantly he cried out at the pain of the impact, and instinctively jerked backwards in a thoughtless attempt to free himself - but his wrist did not move, and all he managed to do was send the pain shuddering all the way up his arm and into its socket. Heart pounding, it was also beginning to dawn on him the potential gravity of this situation, for he'd struggled enough to shift the log when he had all his limbs, and now one was being held hostage - and it was forcing him to twist down and his arm hurt and everything was uncomfortable and now he was going to die here and he decided that he hated hunting mice.

All the while he cried out, helpless and hopeless and hurting, so mired in the misery of his situation that it hadn't yet occurred to him just to howl for his knight in shining armour.

(This post was last modified: Dec 09, 2015, 02:41 PM by Duckweed.)

She didn't defend herself, and only shoved him back, all of which did nothing to help remove the smile all over his face. Even when Nineva's advance slowed, Tomen didn't really question it, matching his pace to her own, bright eyes coming to rest on her face in curiosity. Maybe she'd seen something, but in that case she'd point it out - until then he was happy looking at exactly the spot he was.

The mountains? His gaze flickered past her to the Dire in the distance, a feature on the horizon he normally used to orient himself if he got lost and little more. He missed the hint of nerves in her tone, busy thoughtfully contemplating her suggestion. Had his mother or father had the same subtle vocal wobble, it would not have slipped past the dark boy, but he wasn't as intimately familiar with Nineva's emotional state. Yet. Yet? Yeah, yet.

"Sure," he said easily, for he didn't believe that she meant actually go to the mountains, so why not change direction for a bit? This was mostly just more of the same forest anyway, and it made little difference to him where they adventured. So long as she was happy. "Do you thi-" he started, when somewhere from a spot directly ahead came a muffled yell, and his ears swivelled forwards automatically to pinpoint it. Whatever he had been about to ask was lost, but once more his attention fell upon Nineva, eyes wide, as the sound turned into a faint trickle of whining.

He was ultimately a slave to whatever decision she made.

She breathed a silent sigh of relief when he easily agreed to her rushed proposition, and just as simply as that her anxiety began to melt away from her once more. Her pale limbs strode forward at the desired angle, eager to move on with the new plan. Anyways, the mountainous terrain was far more exciting, and a place she didn't get to travel very often to. It was a rather amiable, if sudden, change of pace. Her ears turned as she moved, receiving Tomen's continued words, but then something very odd and pretty unsettling bounced around the air from the opposite way and her entire head turned to take it in.

The smile was gone from her face and her eyes were now ringed in white; it sounded like someone was in trouble, or at the least upset about something. She turned to catch Tomen's gaze, but hesitated no further than that. Without a second thought, Nineva corrected her gait once again and was off, tracing the whimpering to its origin.

The closer she drew the more she recognized the scent; not the person who held it but the place from where it came. The pace of her heart picked up even more as she realized she might be getting herself into an unfavorable situation, but what could be done? If someone needed help, she wasn't going to just pretend she didn't hear.

The boy quickly came into view, and the situation at paw was easily discerned. Nineva wasted no time in approaching, careless of the stranger's personal space as she braced her shoulder against the rough of the dead wood.

"Tomen," she asked, jerking her muzzle to indicate that he should do the same on the opposite side of this snared wolf. It was questionable how easy this would or would not be, but they had to at least try. With all of the medically-inclined adults that she spent time with, the girl was able to imagine many horrible things that might be happening to the poor boy's limb the longer it was caught under the weight of the log.

Almost without hesitation Nineva made the call, and Tomen hopped after her, happy to let her lead the investigation. If someone was in trouble, of course the right thing to do would be to help, but there was no guarantee that's what was causing the crying. It made him a little nervous to just be rushing ahead towards the unknown, like they might be going to save a total stranger... or just run into trouble...

But it was soon clear that the trouble wasn't theirs, and his reservations were needless; the sight of a thin, pale wolf came into view, trapped by his paw. Any of Tomen's concerns vanished as he realised that they needed to help free the poor guy, and clearly Nineva felt the same; Tomen watched as she moved without second thought to the log, either not having noticed or not caring how the stuck wolf had gone deathly silent and shrunk right down. It looked as though he wanted to melt into the ground.

Nineva's summons was sharp and clear, and Tomen hesitated for only a moment before moving to the other side of the log, the stuck wolf now trapped between them as much as by the log. Sorry he mouthed at the stranger, not really sure what he was apologising for; they were helping, but something about the kid's manner made him feel guilty. Like he'd put the log there in the first place.

Bracing his shoulder against the log and letting his hindpaws find sturdy points to push against, Tomen looked back at Nineva and jerked his head to get her attention, starting to count down; "Three, two, one-"

@Nineva <3

It was as though he could feel the bones in his paw and wrist being crushed together, the weight endless and pressing and relentless, and though the initial impact had hurt pretty bad this was worse - would all the stuff in his paw be squished out?! What was even in there?! Would it flatten completely, would he be able to escape then? But what if he was left with a waver-thin paw, how would he walk and fish and do anything ever again?! He thought he was useless before - oh holy crap what if he had to bite through his own leg to free himself oh no he was gonna faint -

Then it got worse. Why it was worse, he wasn't sure, he just knew that it was; he was stuck anyway, at the mercy of the forest and everyone in it, which was about the most horrific fate he could think of (especially if they were lurking) but at least up until now he had actually been alone in his suffering. His first thought on hearing and seeing the pair of strange faces was that he just wanted to die. Let it be over. Male and female, dark and light, and in place of their unfamiliar faces danced masks of his siblings. Flashes of his inevitable fate overtook his vision, the jeering and mockery and laughter and torment consuming him, and the cries in his throat died out, extinguished, because protesting never helped. He went numb everywhere except the pain in his foreleg, slipping to the ground in surrender, unable to run away or hide so it was just easier this way - and it actually made the tension on his wrist a little easier at this angle, so there's a silver lining for all you filthy optimists.

Then they were stood either side of him, and bewildered and lost and frightened Duck glanced up and saw a strange look in the dark boy's face, glanced to the left and saw the girl on the other side, and they were so close and he shivered.

Three, two, one - helpless, he could do nothing but wait and see what was going to happen and resign himself to whatever fate that was. Maybe they were gonna roll it onto him and squeeze out all his innards, not just his paw. Maybe they would jump on the log, or mark it. Maybe they -

Suddenly the overwhelming pressure was gone, and without thinking he twitched back, his body understanding its need for escape even if his brain was too busy freaking out over irrational fears. With barely a sound the heavy log rolled back and settled into its new position, having only shifted an inch or two. It had been enough. There was a new hurt in his paw now, as blood rushed back into it and his bones re-adjusted and the skin prickled hotly, but he wasn't stuck anymore. And that, that meant...

Having fallen back in a heap on the ground, Duck looked from his sore-but-freed paw to the log, and finally to their faces, his grey eyes wide with lack of comprehending, ears back and body tense in his ever-defensiveness. But... "Thhh-th-th," he breathed, waiting for the catch, walking into the trap, but he couldn't see a trap, the jeering masks of Staleek and Tauza faltered, they had just let him out of the trap, "thhh-th-ankyoooou."

Nineva's watched Tomen as he ventured into the necessary position, focused as she was on action to remedy the problem more so than the victim between them. Still, it was noticed how the boy seemed to desiccate at their presence, and she attributed it to the pain and fear caused by the heavy log alone. He seemed... younger, too, and that might be it; but simultaneously, something was telling her that he really wasn't. Puzzles for later.

On Tomen's count she moved, heftily forcing the offender to roll backward. It was easier than she expected, and she was able to step back from their work with a contented sigh. A smile was sent to her friend, hey, we did good! before the other boy's voice rose up, something painful to her ears which flicked to attention all the same. Was he truly in that much pain?

"Here, let me look," she offered gently, taking a step toward him as her gaze trained upon what she could see of his poor paw. She had learned enough from her many teachers that she should be able to do something for the kid, right? Hopefully, they wouldn't have to drag him all the way back to the Hollow, and she certainly did not want either of her company suggesting they trek the small distance to the Woodlands.