Whitestone Monadnock To Venture in These Woods Alone

Mostly for @Morgana @Odin and @Lorcan, but any Whitestone wolf is welcome.

Word Count:  365

Anaia felt cramped despite the fact she was sitting outside the den in the fresh air.  Her fur was fluffed up against the chill air and the crisp scent of winter stung her nose, but still she felt smothered.  She had been waiting for @Sara, hoping her sister would visit her today.  Or maybe Lorcan or Odin.  Each day she hoped to hear the words “You’re all better”, but each day was a disappointment.  It felt like this was never going to end, that she would be stuck in the den beside the coyote track forever, wondering if she’d ever feel alive again.

Deciding she needed to shake off her gloomy thoughts, the small white wolf stretched and started down the track to the lake that rested at the bottom of the monadnock.  Her limp was very subtle now; in fact, she almost felt like she could walk normally and the limp was only out of habit.  @Lorcan had done a very good job of patching her up, and @Odin had done a good job of helping him.

She finally reached the water and had to break through the thin layer of ice to get a drink.  The frigid water almost hurt her tongue, but she kept drinking.  It was better than eating snow.  Besides, she found that cold water tasted cleaner.  When Anaia finished, she sat on the shore and gazed across the land.  It was already familiar to her, though she hadn’t seen much of it.  She wouldn’t mind exploring some when she was pronounced healed; maybe @Piety or Sara would go with her.  Maybe both of them.  It would be nice to have some company.

She rarely thought of her parents anymore.  When she first realized she’d gone a whole week without pining after them, she’d been surprised.  The pale woman had thought of them every day and then suddenly, nothing.  She expected it had something to do with her decision not to get lost in her thoughts and dwell on the past.  If she had the opportunity to return north to find them, she would.  But until then, she had obligations to this pack to fulfill, and she would fulfill them.

"Speech"  Thought

(This post was last modified: Feb 04, 2017, 11:32 PM by Serach. Edit Reason: Staff edit, this isn't a "pack" thread )

Lorcan had risen in a positive mood that morning. After almost four whole weeks of checking up on @Anaia, today was the day that the healer hoped to bring the young female some good news. The agouti male had noticed in the passing days that the swelling around her limb joint was almost completely gone and the bruising and grazes that she had received in the avalanche were but a distance memory. In his educated opinion, the young female could now be put to work like any other pack wolf. Having filled in both @Craw and @Morganna, and @Odin too of course, on his views after checking up on Anaia the night before, Lorcan now strolled eagerly down the old goat track in search of his soon to be ex-patient.

Pausing to sniff at the entrance to the coyote den, with a merry sway of his tail, the agouti male was surprised to find a fresh scent trail leading away from the safety of the chamber but instead further down the goat track. With a curious tilt of his head, Lorcan immediately continued down the goat track before soon spotting the stark white fur of Anaia lingering by the pool of water which lay at the bottom. Making no attempt to quieten his approach, the healer approached the female from the side and greeted her with a friendly chuff. “Anaia, I was just coming to check up on you..” He said, pausing to let a tell-tale grin tug at the corners of his charcoal lips. “..also, I wanted to let you know that you’re now fit for work.” He stopped to smile at her then, waiting for her reaction to the good news.

 

(This post was last modified: Jan 04, 2017, 10:46 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

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

Word Count: 210  

Anaia jumped as she was pulled from her thoughts by a familiar voice.  “Lorcan.” She greeted, trying to hide her surprise.  She felt like letting her guard down and getting lost in her own mind wouldn’t look good.  Before she could speak further, however, the healer told her why he was there.

“You’re serious?” She jumped to her feet, excited.   She couldn’t wait to tell Sara!  “I’m all better?” She’d noticed that her leg didn’t hurt as much, yes, but hearing it from Lorcan himself was comforting, and it meant she didn’t have to sit in that cramped den all day anymore.  Her tail whipped back and forth, her excitement too much to contain.  She wanted to do something, anything, to celebrate.  Maybe she’d go find Sara now, or go try to catch something on her own?  Maybe if she took an offering up to @Craw and @Morganna t the main den to demonstrate her ability…?

“What should I do?” She muttered, mostly to herself.  Hunting with Sara or Piety was an appealing thought, but she wasn’t sure where they were or what they were doing, and she wanted to do something right away.  Maybe she could catch something small, like a rabbit or something for now and hunt more later?

"Speech"  Thought

Lorcan couldn’t help but grin when she jumped at the sound of her voice. His black tipped tail waved behind him in friendly greeting as he watched her. Her elation was obvious as she jumped to her feet and her expression became ecstatic. “Yes @Anaia you’re leg has fully healed now.” He repeated, moving in a sweep his muzzle through the thick fur of her neck to congratulate her. “Just don’t jump too hard on it..” He warned, in case she should land too hard and injure it all over again.

Moving forwards, he stepped to stand closer beside her before reaching his neck down to take an ice cold drink was the water pool at the bottom of the monadnock. Licking the water droplets from his lips, Lorcan glanced across to her expectantly, wondering what she would do with her new freedom. It became apparent though, that Anaia wasn’t sure what to do. Lorcan himself wasn’t sure either, it wasn’t exactly his role to instruct her what to do, he’d just presumed that someone had told her what to once she was better previously. “I imagine @Craw or @Morganna will want to talk to you, to figure out what you'll do..” He said, glancing back up to the top of the monadnock to where he had spotted Craw lounging earlier by his favourite boulder.

Raising his head, he let out a short soft howl, requesting the presence of either of his superiors.

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together

Having watched Lorcan trot past not that long ago in the direction of the coyote den, and coupling that with how the medic had given her a clean bill of health only the night before, it was no great surprise to Craw when the polite summons rose from somewhere further down the monadnock. With a gruff grunt to @Morganna to let her know that he would take care of it, Craw hopped down off his boulder and loped leisurely towards the goat track.

Anaia wasn't in her little healing hole, which he supposed was a good sign, since his nose told him that she'd been there only a little while ago. Not yet spotting either the medic or his patient, Craw made his way down the track, and there finally spotted the two pale shapes beside the small lake at the edge of the monadnock. Chuffing to them to let them know he was coming, Craw trotted over, eyes sliding over the white woman as he approached.

"Morning," he rumbled, a knowing smile creeping onto his face, tail raising in comfortable reminder of his position. "I'm to understand you're feeling better."

Word Count: 336  

At Lorcan’s warning, Anaia quickly settled down, though her excitement didn’t dim. She squirmed in place, mind still racing to decide what she’d do with her newfound freedom.  Exploration was definitely high on the list; she wanted to get to know her new territory.

She was subdued when Lorcan called for the alphas; she was incredibly nervous.  Would she be tested?  She hadn’t really met the alpha female, Morganna, yet, but from what she’d seen at the pack meeting, the queen was tough to win over.  

It didn’t take long for Craw to join them, and his demeanor immediately put the smaller wolf at ease. He didn’t seem to be planning any sort of mischief for her, though she hadn’t spent enough time around him to really be able to tell what he was thinking.  She nodded.  “Much.  Thank you again so much for taking me in.  I want to pay you back in whatever way I can.” She was desperate to show the scarred man that taking her in had not been a mistake.  “And I’d like to stay, if I can.” She added, not wanting to assume that just because she had been accepted while she’d been injured meant she could stay.  

Yes, she missed her family, but she had new family here.  That and she found that she liked this pack.  The territory, the wolves… they were different than what she was used to and offered an opportunity to learn, and to belong to something larger than herself.

“I know I’m relatively new, but… I was thinking maybe I’d like to be a scout?” She ventured, peeking up at Craw and hoping she wasn’t overstepping her boundaries by requesting a position that required such trust from the pack. But she knew she’d be good at it; she had good stamina – as she hoped had been proven to them by the nature of her injury and the fact she’d been able to travel so long on it before needing help – and she was quick.  

"Speech"  Thought

@Craw's grunt was answered with a groan and a yawn. She would join him, it was overdue, she just needed a moment to stretch her spine and shake the snow from her fur. She had been watching the patient with caution, expecting her to run as soon as her wounds were well enough despite her supposed blood connection to @Saradathia. That it had been Lorcan to alert for them left her with two assumptions. Either the girl was well, or she was gone.

With a final jaw-popping yawn she set out to follow the path Craw and Lorcan had both taken before her. She passed the empty coyote den, barely giving it a second glance as she continued down to the lake, only daring to think this might be good news when the little gathering came into sight ahead. Her tail waved merrily over her back as she brushed past her mate to pass her chin over Lorcan's head, low grumble of greeting a well-meaning sound as she laid eyes on the yearling and dared to allow a smirk to cross her face. "So yer didn' decide ter run as soon as yer could then?" It was a good-natured tease. Truthfully, she could only be glad all their charity hadn't yet been thrown back in their faces.

It didn’t take long for his call to summon Craw down from the plateau. Lorcan’s russet ears perked up and he turned his head to let his golden gaze fall upon the monochrome coated male as he approached. The agouti male dipped his head respectfully as their superior grew near and he took a few steps away to allow Craw to approach his former patient more easily. “Good morning, sir.” He replied, his tone friendly and upbeat.

Standing off to the side, Lorcan remained a silent bystander to the conversation between Anaia and Craw, not wanting to interrupt unless either of their pair asked for his opinion. A smile graced his charcoal lips though as he listened in to how the young female asked permission to stay within the Whitestone back. He was both relieved and delighted by the news that all his effort over the past month had not gone to waste: they would hopefully gain a reliable pack member from it.

He spotted the dark figure of Morganna then out of the corner of his eye and to her too, he dipped his head respectfully and gave contended chuff as she passed her chin over his head in greeting. Lorcan couldn’t help but smirk at her comment, for there had been moments when he had doubted that the young girl would stay once her leg was healed. “Indeed, it seems our effort has not gone to waste, ma’am.” He confirmed, his golden gaze dancing from Morganna then across to Anaia as he offered the girl a smile.

# P O R C A N

sometimes, two people have to fall apart to realise

how much they need to fall back together