Larkcall Lowlands Impressive Operation

On the borders of Whitestone Monadnock, Odin is bringing @Anaia home with @Saradathia and calling for @Lorcan and @Craw but others, of course, are welcome to see what the young lad has dragged home :D

our conscience in the gutter, our dreams up in the sky

Odin Archer

Slowing his pace to match the injured loner, and allowing Saradathia to offer her shoulder as support when needed, it took almost no time at all to get home again. The monadnock rose out of the tundra like some great fist, the vertical pillars of its surface as familiar a face to the lad as that of his own mother. The glistening lake at its base was shallow and clear, already frozen over with the early snowfalls that blanketed the land around them, but he still remembered the greenish-yellow tinge of everything underneath - the plants, the pebbles, the large long finger like boulders that had slipped from the mother rock and seemed to ever be trying to claw their way back home.

He had broken away from the white northerners as they drew closer, hoping to summon the healer and one of the leaders in time for the strangers arrival (it would be cruel to make her stand around waiting for too long) and so he took a deep breath. For a moment, he considered summoning his mother, but then he remembered how abrasive she could be with strangers and thought better of it. A quick glance over his shoulder showed the other two close enough to be clearly seen from the top while far enough away that the summoned could take their time if they needed to. He tipped his head back and called for Lorcan and Craw, fully anticipating that others (most probably his sister) would join them for the sake of making a display.

Once again, Lorcan found himself somewhat redundant from his pack duty. Snow had now completely covered the tundra and the lands which lay beyond it; every day seemed to bring a fresh coating to the thick white blanket which buried the delicate plants underneath. This made it near enough impossible for the trainee medic to recover any of the medicinal plants he desired and even if he did, they would be dry and withered beneath the icy cold caress of winter. The subordinate sighed as he traipsed despondently across the monadnock; he’d have to make the stash he’d collected through the previous months last through the dark winter period.

Just as he was about to settle himself at the edge of the monadnock to stare out across lands which stretched beyond Relic Lore, a howl caught him by surprise. Russet ears perked up instinctively and swivelled towards its source before the rest of his body followed. He recognised the voice to be Odin and the last time he had called for anyone it had been because he’d found them a meal to take down. Lorcan licked his lips hungrily as he moved across the great monadnock before descending carefully down the old goat track, making sure not to slip on any ice.

His golden eyes met the dark figure of Odin and as he neared the younger male, dipped his in greeting. A whiff of another pack mate caught his attention then, and as he swivelled his head around his golden eyes met the familiar pale figure of Saradathia approaching alongside another white wolf who was similar in size. The stranger appeared to be limping, but the distance between them prevented Lorcan from working out why. Turning back to Odin, white brows furrowing with concern, he directed his own question towards him…

“What’s happened?”

(This post was last modified: Dec 08, 2016, 10:19 AM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

OOC: You said 'what he dragged home' and I just started laughing because I got this mental image of a kid dragging home a dog an proudly showing it off to his parents xD

Anaia was trying very hard to walk without needing help, but once it was given she found it more and more difficult to keep her feet beneath her. She couldn’t seem to recall how she’d managed to keep herself going the last several days; now that she could finally look forward to a safe (she hoped) place to sleep and maybe even some food, her body seemed to be trying to give out on her.

As they got further into the territory, Anaia realized they were approaching a large… she didn’t actually have a word for it; she’d never seen anything like it before. Her eyes widened as she stared up at it in awe. Am I going to have to climb {i}that?[/i] She thought in dismay.

Sara stayed back with her when Odin went ahead. Anaia heard his call and pricked up her ears, wondering how long it would take his packmates to reach them. She hoped he hadn’t called for too many of them; she was friendly and enjoyed groups, but at the moment she was unsure of her security and didn’t want to be accosted until she was feeling better. She wasn’t particularly in the mood to be a spectacle. Even so, if more than one or two others had been summoned, she would deal with it and hope for the best.

As Odin came back into view, Anaia saw that he had already been joined by another wolf. This wolf was slightly smaller than him in stature, but still larger than herself. She glanced at Sara uneasily. Already she liked this near stranger helping her through her territory.

As they neared the other two wolves, Anaia slowed. Perhaps she wouldn’t have to climb the large rock just yet.

Combing his smallteeth through the fur on Morganna's ruff, the only indication that he heard Odin's call was the way an ear flicked up and back. Softly he growled his reluctance to leave her side, having been quite content in laying here beside her and sharing a quiet moment. As a wolf who expected promptness from his subordinates, however, Craw was not in the habit of being a hypocrite and maintaining double standards. Not least because it had been Odin to summon him - Craw would have attended the needs of any of his wolves, of course, but @Kara and @Odin warranted more keen attention.

It was a shame. After enduring another of her pranks the night before, he'd been hoping for some peace and quiet, but he heaved himself up obligingly nonetheless. Offering a kiss to Morganna's crown, the spider turned to make his way to the entrance to Whitestone, having identified the call as coming from beyond the plateau itself. He also hadn't missed the fact that he had been called for explicitly, and not Odin's mother, but would wait to see the significance of that when he arrived. As well as himself, Lorcan had been requested, which hinted at the nature of the call - but why would Craw need to attend to a medical issue? Had something happened?

The hefty wolf sped up a little.

As the edge of the monadnock approached and the tundra beyond came into view, so did two white wolves walking closely side-by-side. @Saradathia? Celandine? He sped up even more, even when he drew close enough that it was clear his first thought was wrong; the cold princess hadn't returned. Now disappointed as well as confused as well as disgruntled at being forced to cut his leisure time short, by the time Craw came to the scene he wasn't in the best of moods. Lorcan had beaten him to it, and Craw had heard his sensible question so there was no need to be redundant and repeat it. His desire to know why he'd been called here was evident enough in his manner.

Odin was clearly the ringleader of whatever was going on, so while Craw cast his eyes over the pair of small white wolves in the near distance he came to a stop in front of Odin, next to Lorcan, waiting for an explanation. He recognised Sara, but not the wolf she was supporting. A relative, perhaps?

our conscience in the gutter, our dreams up in the sky

Odin Archer

Of course, it took no time at all for his call to be answered, @Lorcan rushing to the scene trailed closely by the far more imposing bulk of his father. He greeted the healer with a playful bump of his muzzle, jaws opening to teasingly clack alongside the other man's face, but this was no time for a jaw-spar or tussle - a fact only reconsidered with the brown wolf's grave words.

Odin turned back to look at the loner they had dragged home, knowing @Craw was now within earshot he only uttered one word. "Avalanche." He broke away from Lorcan to greet his father by pushing his muzzle under the leader's pale chin, a needy but apologetic growl turning in his throat. "She says it's just twisted," he filled Lorcan in with a shrug, expecting the man to rush off and make his own assessments while the dark child focused on his father, careful to watch the way he spoke with the pale wolf. He would be far less likely to slip into his mother's way of speaking when his father was around.

"That brown woman was with her," he began to fill Craw in on the reason he had been called instead of his mother. "She backed off when Saradathia caught up and I said we had a medic." At first he had thought it odd, but then he realised there was only one conclusion left to draw. He was seeking validation on his observations.

[quote='Lorcan' pid='394842' dateline='1481229663']

The white wolf simply nodded quietly as she allowed Anaia to lean into her, very quickly many wolves seemed to appear on the scene. First Lorcan arrived, Odin quickly explaining the situation before she could even open her muzzle. Craw meandering upon shortly after. The small white wolf dipped her head to the male alpha, her silver gaze flicking toward the larger arctic wolf. The fact that she had survived something as deadly as an avalanche with only a hurt leg was a testament to her strength, she wasn’t going to sing needly praise of that. Craw seemed exactly like the type of wolf to judge each by their own mettle, and not the words of others.

“The other wolf seemed mildly hostile toward Odin, i wasn’t going to let her try anything cowardly like attacking him when he was alone. However, she survived one of the deadliest things you can encounter far to the north.” that's all she’d say on the subject, needless words would do nothing more than cause a waste of good air and there’d be no point in doing that, plenty of empty headed wolves out there for that purpose in life after all.

ah sorry guys didn't mean to post out of order my bad!!

It wasn’t very long before another wolf joined them, this one even bigger than Odin.  He radiated power and authority, and by the way Odin greeted him, Anaia figured this must be his father – and therefore the Alpha.  She quickly lowered her head and eyes in respect to the powerful man.  She could tell simply by the way he stood, and the scars on his face, that this was not someone to cross.

She glanced at Sara as she spoke, standing up a bit more and taking all of her own weight.  The last thing she needed was for these wolves to think she was a sop that couldn’t take care of herself.  “It was only the very end of the avalanche.” She said, peeking up at the alpha male.  “I doubt I would have survived if it’d caught me sooner.”  She shifted her weight, trying to ease the pain. 

Unsure of whether or not she should say anything else, Anaia watched the others carefully for her cues.  She didn’t miss that Odin’s accent had changed from the way he’d been speaking earlier and she couldn’t help but wonder about it, though he was still young.  Not much younger than her, granted, but still.

(This post was last modified: Dec 10, 2016, 02:14 AM by Anaia.)

@Craw next i think?

Lorcan eyed up the other small white wolf from a distance as he remained beside Odin, russet ears tilted towards the younger wolf in anticipation for an answer to his question. The first word to spill from the young male’s mouth caused Lorcan’s eyes to widen, but he didn’t have a chance to voice his surprise as Odin swiftly moved away to greet Craw who had now arrived on the scene. Taking a few steps towards the father-son pair to keep up with the conversation, the agouti male adjusted his stance accordingly, head and ears dropping down and tail curling under as he submitted towards his scar-clad superior.

At Odin’s next words, Lorcan’s brows rose and he immediately curved back around to face the small pale stranger who stood alongside Saradathia. Upon approaching the arctic duo, Lorcan dropped his head again and yapped in greeting towards his female pack-mate, allowing his tail to brush beneath her chin as he stepped past her to inspect the casualty. Catching the stranger’s response to Odin’s and Saradathia’s comments, Lorcan offered the girl a friendly smile as he approached her. “You’ve been very lucky.” He added, dipping his head respectfully, before his gaze flickered down to her injured limb.

Carefully he sniffed at it, searching for signs of infection through the subtle scent of dried blood. There was only minor scratches, nothing that wouldn’t heal over in a few days and they didn’t explain why the young female had been limping so badly. Lorcan was sure of one thing though, it wasn’t broken. If it had been, she wouldn’t have been able to put any weight on it at all. Carefully, Lorcan nudges her injured limb with his muzzle, carefully manipulating it to see how it moved. Although painful, there was slight movement still, the swelling around it just made it more difficult and painful to do so.

“I think you’re right, it looks like you’ve sprained it.” He explained, before glancing back towards Craw, having missed most of the conversation concerning the ‘brown wolf’. “She’s sprained it. I’ve got some arnica in the cache I can use on it, but it will take a month at least to heal, maybe longer..” He looked at Craw with an uneasy expression, unsure if his alpha would permit him from treating the girl. She wouldn’t be much use to the pack in her current condition, she would simply be another mouth to feed. Surely they couldn’t just leave her out to die?

(This post was last modified: Dec 11, 2016, 05:32 PM by Lorcan.)

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

Don't know if it's worth sticking to posting order, just to keep this moving at its nice current pace? Any of @Odin, @Saradathia and @Anaia could go next imo.

Avalanche?

Craw's dark brows rose high on his forehead, as he glanced beyond Odin once more to the two white wolves just beyond them. If she wasn't a two-faced liar, then she must have come quite a way with her injuries, for there was hardly any opportunity to start a snowslide anywhere on the flat lands of the tundra. Briefly he glanced at the mountain ever to the south, even as his ears flicked backwards in internal acknowledgement that she could have come from the mire perilous terrain that way.

The next logical step was to think of @Wraith - and trust that he was too snow-savvy to get caught in anything like an avalanche.

His son's greeting distracted him from thinking about it, pressing down affirmatively on Odin's snout with his chin and returning the growl with a faintly disgruntled one of his own. Whatever her story, what was expected to happen now was growing increasingly obvious, and he didn't exactly like it. Craw watched as Lorcan went instantly to where Sara stood with the disabled stranger, eyes narrowing, considering whether or not to call him off, to not waste precious resources on vagrants.

But wait. That wasn't how he had been taught, was it? Watching how the medic inspected the woman's leg even as Odin began to explain the situation, Craw's expression and posture shifted, grew less tense. This felt familiar, comfortably so - and any lingering doubts about whether or not Odin had acted appropriately were washed away when he explained that the white wolf may have gone to the rabble south of them. He knew instantly what the boy meant by 'brown woman', and his lips curled in darkly amused pleasure at the memory of it.

Sara piped up then, adding to Odin's explanation, and Craw's smile only deepened at the mention of how the other had been off with Odin. It was then that he was able to appreciate their newest member's part in this, for Sara had clearly been aware enough to be looking out for Odin, who, from the sounds of things, might have been over-extending himself. While he would have to talk to Odin about the importance of personal safety and not getting reckless, it had turned out well in this instance - and Craw could not scold him for that.

The limping woman added her own words regarding her unfortunate event, but they were relatively unimportant now. She hardly had to worry about avalanches here, and seemed a little defensive at the idea of being caught by one in the first place. With any luck, her injuries would be minor and easily healed, for while Craw was going to be charitable, he did not plan on draining the pack's resources for her sake without some superb convincing. The timeframe that Lorcan offered was fairly steep, especially considering the season, but Craw did not baulk at it.

"You did good," he wheezed quietly, just for Odin's benefit, running his tongue across his son's crown in praise. "For bringing her here, and for calling me so promptly.  I'm proud of you." The warning to be more careful could come later, when Odin was likely to be less eager for reassurance and more receptive to it. With that, he stepped past the dark boy to approach Sara, who earned an appreciative bumping of cheeks. "Thank you for looking out for him."

Finally, his attention fell to the patient and doctor, who he glanced between as he assessed the situation, but he had already weighed up his options. "You are sure it will take so long?" he rasped, looking to Lorcan, who certainly knew far better than himself. He peered at the small white girl, idly wondering how much Morganna would hurt him for considering yet another white female. "I'm sure you appreciate my concerns," he said, now speaking to the stranger directly, his manner far softer than it had been when first arriving, "for this is a hard time of year for all wolves, and it does not suit a pack to overstretch themselves helping every poor soul who limps past. If we help you now, how do we know you will not leave once you heal, the snows melt and you have no further use for us?"

Anaia’s heart leapt as the healer – Lorcan? – approached her.  She hadn’t been entirely sure they would offer her help given the season, but she dared hope as she was looked over.  “My parents always said luck took a liking to me.” She smiled a little.  Trying to make herself laugh usually helped her relax, but this time it did very little to sooth her.  Anaia winced as the brown wolf nudged her leg, but managed to contain her whimper.  She couldn’t help but sigh with relief as he spoke, confirming that it was nothing more than a sprain.  His next words stayed her excitement, though.

 
A whole month? She thought.  There’s no way they’ll let me stay that long, especially this time of year!  She briefly considered where she might go: perhaps further south? That mountain didn’t look like something she wanted to try to cross with a sprained leg though. What if she could convince them? She wouldn’t be able to help in any bit hunts, but the few times she’d come across smaller animals she’d fared okay.  She could probably manage to feed herself if she really had to…
 
Her planning was cut short, however, when the alpha finished murmuring to his son and approached them.  Anaia lowered her head, not wanting him to feel like she was trying to guilt him into allowing her to stay by pleading.  Her heart sank further as he began to speak, quickly quenching the persuading arguments she’d been trying to dig up.  “…this is a hard time of year for all wolves, and it does not suit a pack to overstretch themselves helping every poor soul who limps past.”
 
Though incredibly disappointed, the yearling was not without her manners.  Anaia opened her mouth to at least thank him for his time, when he continued.  She looked up at him in surprise. He’s… considering helping me?
 
Her heart pounded.  Her plan had been to wait until the spring and then return north to find her family… guilt panged through her.  She couldn’t just use this pack and then leave them.  She may be young, but she had been raised to appreciate when good things come her way, and always repay kindness with kindness.  She took a deep breath.  Though it pained her to delay the chance to see her parents and siblings again, there was nothing for it.  She wouldn’t make it far without help, and she wouldn’t take advantage of others willing to help her. 
 
“You don’t know me, so you have no reason to believe what I say is true, but… I would not be able to accept your help and then take off with a good conscience. I keep my word when it is given, and I promise you that if you decide to help me, I will do everything in my power to repay you.” She swallowed, hoping she wasn’t too formal.  Her parents had often told her when she was trying to be diplomatic she tended to overdo it, but she’d never really had the opportunity to practice.  This time, however, it really counted.  Everything could depend on what was said next.