Umbra Copse Fits of Reason

Larkspur had managed to walk out of battle with his head held high, but that had been miles ago. Now he was dragging himself, only fear of death itself keeping him going. One of his shoulders had a large, brownish-red gash in it, along with some smaller bite marks on the rest of that leg. It didn't hurt so much anymore now that he'd learned exactly how to walk without doing so, but it itched so terribly he wished he didn't even have the leg to begin with. The trek in the forest should have been easy, but he'd pushed through so many branches and hadn't seen the sun in days. You're lost, it said, and he felt like rolling his eyes. "Yes, I know I'm lost," he wasn't sure if he was going in circles or not, but he could have sworn he'd stepped on the same broken branch three times too many. The deep forest all looked the same, dark and haunting, screaming with birds and buzzing with bugs. He would have killed for silence... or even something to eat.

He swiped a tongue over his muzzle, which wasn't in much better shape than his shoulder. He seemed to be riddled in scratches, most of it hidden in his thick fur. Snap! said that same branch that he'd stepped on a fourth time now. The white wolf growled, then picked up that stick and firmly held it in his jaws to keep himself from stepping on it a fifth time. Now almost certain that he'd been walking in circles, he needed to come up with a better tactic. You could lie down and die, Larkspur snorted and took a sharp left to take off in a run (or as much of a run as he could manage).

Weeds clung to him and dead branches brushed along his wiry fur. The limping-run kept his mind busy for a moment, but then he felt a strange pain in his leg and went tumbling. He yelped and cried out in pain each time he felt pressure on his shoulder, or when a large branch stabbed him too roughly, but eventually he stopped rolling through the woods. He breathed heavily, his sides aching with pain as he reached a paw out to feel the ground beneath him. It was still there, so everything wasn't entirely awful. Larkin's eyes watered so he tightly shut them, then couldn't help but to laugh.

Somewhere south of here, miles and miles away, his attacker was smiling at his pain.

(This post was last modified: Jul 15, 2016, 12:22 AM by Larkspur.)

a short and crappy post just the way i like it ;). also if you want to use html you'll need to use the [dohtml*] tags, or just [] instead of <>

The scent of blood unnerved her.

She had only really smelt animal blood before, blood that felt thin and did not trouble her mind in the way that the stench rooted through every cavern in her sinus and somehow dove straight for her heart. Oh, she remembered suddenly with a gasp Anneliese's tusk-shredded corpse, twisted beyond recognition as they buried her in the hard November dirt. That the girl did not recognize the scent—that it was not a packmate—did not occur to her as her heart climbed up to her throat and she wove through the darkness of the trees, head twisting left and right.

His scent wove in confusing circles that made her whine as if she were in pain, too. Eventually, however, it finally dawned on her that her slow pace had only prevented the discovery of the loner as they "chased each others tails" so to speak. She let out a bubble of unenthusiastic laughter. Dumb. With a sigh of frustration she turned around the other way, hoping to meet him in his next circuit.

He was running right at her.

Well, not running so much as stumbling, but the pace was alarming for someone in the shape he was in. Looking at the male head-on made it hard to judge his injuries, however his coat was pale and brittle and the magnitude of the damage was quite clear. How he was on his paws at all was a wonder. "H-h-hey!" she called, unsure if she should step closer as she made herself small and nonthreatening, her voice an anxious whine, "I can... I can help you..." He shouldn't be standing.

"You need rest, lay down."

There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

Haha I didn't even notice, whoops!!

He couldn't have been left to suffer alone. That'd make life a little bit too easy, and instead he found himself facing a small, dark girl. Larkspur's mind was spinning, a little unsure as to what to do with the situation. He was hesitant for a moment before he seemed to burst to life, snarling and snapping his jaws in the air. "Don't," it didn't matter that she was small, or that she was playing the nice, innocent doe. She was a threat and letting her close could mean death. His lips were curled up to show off his nice, yellowy teeth, his dirty fur bristling as he tried to keep the girl back.

Lark found it hard to both keep up his big, bad appearance and listen to what she was saying. "No," his tongue felt tired, and the idea of getting on the ground and just relaxing for a moment was inviting. He barked, snapping at the air again. "Back!" it felt like actual, coherent sentences weren't available to him at the moment. Single words and snarls was just going to have to do for now.

The gears in his mind were spinning double-time, but when he started to smell blood and meat, he decided to sing a different tune. He tried to relax a little bit, but couldn't get that on-edge feeling to go away. "Get..." he paused and tried to find his words again, "Get that, get the," he licked his lips, "There's food, it's," he paused to sniff at the air, then slowly gestured towards the kill. "That way. Bring it to me," it made him feel a little bit better to feel like he was in control of the situation.

Hesitating for a moment, Larkspur finally allowed himself to sit down. His eyes never left her as he mentally prepared himself for another fight. Or he could be lucky and the girl would be just as nonthreatening as she was portraying herself. "Where am I?"

Sahalie would never expected such a vitriolic reaction. No one had so much as snapped at her in her entire life. There had been some snarls and bitter words at the meeting, but this loner was wild—full of a terrifying rage that made her rear back on her butt as she skittered backwards. Her ears went backwards as if they had been hit. Tears welled in her eyes, and her mouth moved without making any sound as she tried to get the word "sorry" out of her mouth but found herself too frightened to even breath. She had never had much of a reason to examine anyone's teeth before, but knew some how that his mouth was close to the ugliest she had ever seen. All because it was mean. But it was her fault. She was the one who was making him mean.

He was hurt bad.

As he moved and snapped she caught sight of a horrid gash in his shoulder. It reminded her of the red clay gullies east of here in a more morbid way. She ached to tell him that she knew some medicine but felt like the line had been drawn well before medicine and she had already done enough by stepping within several yards of him. When at last he muttered a command she nearly leaped to her feet but would not allow herself to feel delight. A girl just wanted to help. Frightened, rapid nods precluded her distressed trot in the direction of the rotting carcass that he had indicated so vehemently.

Not much was left of the deer, which quieted her stomach a bit—she was afraid at first that the lynx who had felled the creature might be nearby. There was just a torn rump and a partially attached leg and a cloud of flies. Carrion. But the girl could not turn up her nose at a meal that could save a life, and she bent down and tugged the meat back to her new...friend.

When she returned it appeared the man had taken a seat. That was good. Not as good as lying down, but he had made it quite clear how much he objected to that idea. The dark girl dragged the deer rump to the fallen leaves she had tosses about in her panic—not looking to get any closer—and quickly retreated. He opened his mouth and she flinched, expecting more wrath. Instead she found a question.

"Uhm..uhm," she whimpered, clearly frazzled by the encounter and the change of pace, "This is... Umbra Copse. And the whole place... like for miles and miles and miles... it's uhm. Relic Lore."

She definitely felt like she was pushing the boundary between them once more but she stuck herself out on a limb anyway, "I...I live nearby. In a pack. We're...we're friendly. And uhm. I know medicine. Sorta. I'm training...uh... if you have a cough... I can find you sweet grass..." Her heart hammered as it sank with disappointment all the way to her paws. Quentin's lesson's had advanced some, but she still struggled and in all the excitement of the moment she had forgotten nearly anything. She had no idea how to treat wounds anyway.

I'M SORRY HE'S BEING DRAMATIC AND OVER PROTECTIVE HE'S A GOOD GUY I PROMISE HE'S JUST A LITTLE BROKEY

 

Hal, it seemed, was out on another expedition and Kino felt morally obligated to follow her. Well…perhaps obligated wasn’t the word. He could never voice it out loud, but he didn’t like it when Hal went out of the territory by herself. It made him very nervous and finicky until she got back, worried that something awful might happen and he wouldn’t be there to save her. Thus, when he’d found her scent leading out of the borders and unaccompanied he naturally decided he had to follow. It wasn’t stalking, he decided, it was simply making sure his friend was okay. That’s what friends did, right?

As Kino neared, he stopped dead, auds sweeping back and nose twitching rapidly as he scented something in the air that made his heart drop. Blood, and a lot of it. Topaz gaze widened in panic as he was suddenly flying, muscles tense as he sprinted with a powerful instinct to protect overwhelming his senses. If anything, or anyone hurt his Sahalie, they would pay.

Bursting through a lining of trees, he arrived in time to see a male snarling at her, jaws snapping and fangs bared. If anything he looked rabid, and suddenly the real Kino was coming to play. The man’s words meant nothing to him, especially not the orders that he gave her. He didn’t give a rat’s ass about the wounds he held. She threw him the deer, and he’d had more than enough especially considered her utterly frazzled state. Lips pulled back to reveal sharp canines as he stalked over to place his massive frame in front of her, nose scrunched and legs stiff. Hackles rose to make him seem even bigger if that even seemed to be possible, and his topaz gaze flashed dangerously. “Who the hell do you think you are, ordering her around,” he barked, his chest rumbling. It would take a lot more than just an apology to make up for the rage that he felt at the threat that was made towards her.

Either she was smart enough or he was scary enough, but either way the girl got the hint to keep her distance. He should have felt bad, with her about to cry, but he was too busy feeling proud of himself. He thought to chase her off, but doubted he'd be up to the task of snarling, barking, and running. If he could keep her away, he could be happy enough. The deer was tossed his way and Larkspur jumped for it, grabbing a strip of its hide to pull it closer to him. He gorged on it, barely chewing as he ripped and swallowed chunks of the rotting meat. Instantly he felt refreshed... almost as if some strange bar of health was replenished.

For a few moments, it was as if they were having a pleasant conversation. She was going on about where he was, then going on about her pack and some sort of grass. Then in a flash, it was gone. With their new company, his lack of control in the situation hits him hard. The white wolf jumps up in a snarl, snapping at nothing in particular. His mind is reeling again, the air around him feeling tight. "You talk big shit for a little boy," his tongue was still tired, but he finally felt like he had his words. Some of them, anyways. "The little lady and I were having a perfectly acceptable conversation, so how about you sit down before I make you."

Everything about this experience was brand new. Sure, she had seen other wolves eat before but she had never been in a situation when the only thing to do was watch a wolf eat. This guy didn't even chew his food, it was as if his jaws didn't move and he just kept guzzling the deer, coaxing it further down his throat with every twitch of the head. Awkwardly, her head turned away as if to afford him some last dignity. At least she felt a little better knowing that she had done some good, that this strange wolf had eaten food that he couldn't get in trouble for eating, and hopefully he wouldn't die. Not if she had anything to say about that.

He listened easily enough without any further complaint, which was a weight off of her shoulders. Literally. Her earthen shoulders fell back when they had once been nearly at her chin. A light smile started to play at the corners of her mouth. She had never been so shy in her life. It seemed strange to even her that she even wanted this wolf—as close to a heathen as she had ever gotten— to like her. To appreciate her, to forgive her. She opened her mouth, ready to apologize for scaring the dickens out of him, when suddenly the whole atmosphere was turned upside-down.

Alastor.

The silver man appeared in a way she had never seen him before: he looked just like the loner, inflated and angry. Her jaw hung open in horror, and without thinking she moved in between her friend and a complete stranger, wanting to protect the already broken man. Alastor was so angry. She couldn't even internalize or understand how she felt. Her heart was hammering. And of course the pale loner rose to the challenge. The poor beast could not help himself. He was just trying to survive. Every part of her body ached for him. "No! Al! He's hurt!" she cried, nearly a scream. She was so afraid. "It's okay. Everything's fine. I don't mind." Being ordered around was fine. Even for a wolf who aspired to lead a pack. Somehow. "It's okay."

M because mature language...this is also the first time I've ever had to post that. I'm so sorry ;u;

 

While any sane, normal would have backed down at the sight of a wolf nearly a foot taller than them and so utterly pissed, this man didn’t seem to be either of those things. Oh no, instead he choose to reveal those horrid, ugly yellow teeth at him this time, and the boy nearly lunged for him then and there. But, at the last minute his friend leapt in between them barring his path. He thought he was in any shape to make him ‘sit down’? Truly, this man had to be some sort of out of his wits even without the various injuries. He took a step forward, tongue swiping over his exposed canines. “Make me sit down? This little boy will fuck you up to the point that you couldn’t even lay down properly.”

This wasn’t him, this wasn’t Alastor anymore. He didn’t want this, and a little voice in the back of his head was yelling at him to stop. Reminding him that the last time he’d acted in the remote subsection of his current mood he’d lost everything. But damn, did it feel good, like he was finally getting out some of the repressed feelings he’d harbored. The saddest part was, he wasn’t sure this wasn’t the real him. The blackened part of his heart that had never recovered from the breath halting punch it had received from the death of his mother then the extra few stabs from being rejected by what he had known his entire life.

The shrieks of Sahalie brought him out of his red daze for a moment and he switched his intense gaze to her. She was defending him? Of course, what else could he expect from her. But while she seemed able to let it go, he might have been too far gone. “No, Sahalie, it’s not okay. He should be begging for your help, not talking words that’ll get him mauled more than he already is. You don’t deserve that, and if that bastard doesn’t see that maybe he needs to learn,” he ground out, tail lashing behind his frame.

He wanted to go back in time. He wanted to go to the time when he was just lost in the woods, when no one was bothering him or threatening him. Life somehow felt so much easier a few minutes ago compared to now. The air had been clearer, he thought, and not so tight. Are you going to let him talk to you like that? he lowered his head and leaned forward, which was about as close to a step as he could get at the moment. Sure, he was officially in the yellow zone as far as health goes, so to speak, but definitely still not in fighting condition. "Your momma teach you to talk so tough, boy? Or did you learn that all on your own?"

The little one, whose name was officially Sahalie, jumped out between them. She oozed with fear, and the two males with anger. Her crying didn't quiet the two larger, snarling masses, even as she tried to tell them that everything was okay. Maybe he needs to learn! he could hear that voice in the back of his mind egging him on, itching for a fight. He wanted the feeling to go away, he just wanted to go back to that moment when there was nothing but birds and bugs and twigs.

He might not be able to go back, but he could get rid of the annoyance that disturbed his peace.Larkspur finally jumped, abandoning his meal to wildly snap in the air around the two yearlings.