Larkcall Lowlands Big old pile of them bones

@Morganna

Lyris braced herself, lean muscles pulling taught in preparation for movement. She pounced to the result of a rampantly squeaking lemming. She pressed her weight upon the small creature, and the squeaking ceased. Picking the rodent up with sharp, white fangs, she wandered to the creek that wound through the tundra like a ribbon. A few moments passed before she found a place to lie down on her belly and eat, and she was soon soothed by the gentle  bubbling of the brook. The lemming possessed bones small enough that she could eat the entire animal, which she did, with the faint crunching sound of cracking bone as she chewed.

It was the fourth or fifth lemming she had eaten in the last hour. There was food in the caches of Wild Rye Fields, but it was scarce. The girl currently favored capturing as much food for herself as possible, leaving the cached morsels for her pack mates. Once she had finished the last of her snacks, she sighed in satisfaction and rested her head between her front paws, yellow eyes watching the water tumble and flow down over the rocky bed of the stream. Since joining Wild Rye Fields, the chocolate-furred girl had regained quite a bit of strength. Her hipbones were not as sharp and her coat was no longer coarse and ragged. The starved woman was slowly resuming the role of a beautiful maiden, but more importantly, she was happy. The wolves of the Fields had taken her in with grace and mercy, restoring her health and her once-saddened state of mind.

Lyris Cantata
even my memories cannot drown me

(This post was last modified: Feb 09, 2017, 10:43 AM by Lyris.)

The mother prowled the lowlands, frustration clear in every taught step. She had beaten her son from one side of the Monadnock to the other trying to get a straight answer out of him about how he had managed to lose an eye, but all the boy could muster was that it was dark, and he didn't know what it was that had gotten him. She might have believed him foolish enough to walk into a protruding branch were he not moving so gingerly the next morning. There was clearly more to it than that. The last place she wanted to go was the Rye Fields, but they were their closest neighbour, and despite her harsh words in the past she could never truely wish harm on a child. They had their own to look out for.

So south she travelled, and south some more before the familar scent reached her nose. She might have missed the dark wolf in a roll of the tundra had she not specifically been seeking a member of the pack out. She was cautious in her approach none the less, while they may have been on terms of mutual avoidance for now she couldn't guarantee that subordinates of the southern pack had been told the same, despite the shaky peace that had carried them through the winter months to date.

She chuffed a warning, stopping several wolf lengths away. Her chin was dipped while ears turned forward. She would wait for the other wolf to get up before she spoke. She couldn't know how much or how little she knew, after all. She only seemed young.

A dark figure materialized in the distance, and soon enough Lyris could distinguish it as another she-wolf. Ever eager to meet someone new, the girl's tail began to wag furiously, causing her hindquarters to tremble along with it. The approaching woman, however, did not seem half as pleased. She drew near and took on a dominant stance, folding her ears forward and giving a low, rumbling growl. Lyris wilted, her tail ceasing its rapid movement as she lowered her entire posture, rolling over to expose the delicate flesh of her belly in a display of complete submission.

Her ears flattened against her skull as she spoke, Did... did I do something wrong? she asked softly. The cheerful mood had morphed into one of fear and uncertainty. She could not imagine what she had done to offend the stranger. There was a pack near by, but this part of the tundra was without territorial markings. Lyris had been here a few times before, and was never confronted like this. Her past experiences upon the tundra had all been positive ones. It was here that she had met Askann, then, a few days later, Leotie. Lyris whined softly. She would remain belly-up until the other woman gave some indication that she was forgiven for whatever transgressions she had inflicted.

Lyris Cantata
even my memories cannot drown me

(This post was last modified: Feb 11, 2017, 09:51 PM by Lyris.)

Morganna had been expecting any number of reactions, least of which was for the girl to roll over and show her belly. She could have laughed were the circumstances not so dire, so instead she just gave an annoyed huff. "Yer from th' Fields?" It was worded as a question, but her tone made it clear it was intended as a statement. Peach eyes scanned for any other members of the pack that might be lurking, but finding none in sight she supposed this girl would have to do. "Get up already." she lifted her chin, attempting to relax her stance as much as possible, despite how bloody on edge she found herself. She couldn't shake the feeling they were being watched.

She glanced at the girl again, there was something soft about her, it almost reminded her of @Piety, or the way she was when she first joined the willows at least. It made her stomach churn in an unpleasant way. She wondered if this one would cause the Rye wolves trouble come spring. "Have yer noticed anythin' strange about? Strange scents, strange tracks?" She had yet to assess what they were up against, whether it be wolf or some other beast. Perhaps they had seen something.