Whitestone Monadnock Stinky business

RE:Whitestone Monadnock, a skunk seems to want to sleep in your main den...

Lenae wasn't sure what it was, but something smelled funny. She didn't have the habit of sniffing around the monadknock's summit, but not knowing what it was really got under her skin. What if it was something bad? Something that might try and hurt little Cyril? As small as she was Lenae wasn't going to let that happen. She was no fighter, she'd sooner roll over and expose her belly, but she would at least try and do something. Even if it only meant she was buying time for backup to arrive.

So off she went, nose to the ground as she sniffed and snuffed about.It didn't smell very good, in fact it was gross, stinky and pungent. The trail of stink led her to the mouth of the communal den and warily Lenae poked her head in to see if anything was amiss.

And oh yes, there it was, the smelly culprit.

Hidden in the depths of the den, curled up on the floor was a small black and white beast. A skunk, if she remembered correctly. Grimacing, Lenae risked a quick look over her shoulder to see if anyone else was around to help out. To her dismay they were not, or at least she couldn't see them in the fading light of the evening.

Fine, she could deal with one skunk, couldn't she? What was the worst it could do? Oh...It could spray her in the eyes. That sounded awful, a terrible way to end an otherwise okay day.

Bracing herself, Lenae squared her shoulders and tried to look as big and as scary as she could manage.

"Oi you, get out!" She scolded the smelly beast, doing her best impression of her little brother. He always made being mean look so easy. Sadly she wasn't nearly as good at it as grumpy Kana was, alas she had to make do with what she had."That's not your den, scram and find somewhere else to sleep!"

It had been a long day for the small agouti woman as she made her way back across the border. She hadn't come back without anything for the pack either, a plump hare hung limply from her jaws. Cheedo hated coming back without anything especially now that the pack had grown. They needed to keep the caches full and if she were honest she felt a little more secure when they were full. After the winter and the scarceness of food she felt like a full cache was a sign the pack was doing well. Her day had been spent scouting, or at least doing what she thought scouting to be. Cheedo took her role seriously and wanted to be ready at a moment's notice in case Wraith called upon her once more.

After crossing the border she deposited her catch in the nearest cache before setting off for the den for a nice rest. Twilight was coming on so she felt she would fall asleep quickly, whether she stayed there or not was another story. Her nose twitched as she smelled the stink, it was the easiest way to describe it. As she stepped onto the goat path it was faint but it was there. Immediately she because curious though she knew what made that smell, or rather what smelled like that. The small agouti woman had come across one during her time outside Ritter after Craw had disappeared.

She quickly learned that skunks were not to be messed with, it had taken weeks for her to get that stench from her pelt. Moving up the goat path the smell became stronger causing her to quicken her pace as she realized that it had to be coming from the den. Soon Cheedo had reached the mouth of the den, the smell had become so pungent it almost stung her nostrils and it filled the air around her. Everly was there already, Cheedo could hear her telling the skunk to get out of the den. “I wouldn't get him too upset,” she warmed the girl, “Or we might not be sleeping in there for awhile.” Anyway Cheedo knew she wouldn't be.

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A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

The boy had slunk away from the dens in order to seek solitude before the absurd creature arrived, stinking up the place. He had not gotten far, his over-sized paws clumsily carrying him over the uneven terrain, when he had heard the commotion. His nose immediately wrinkled as he spun on his heels, head tilted to the side as he watched Everly puff out her fur in a feeble attempt to make herself look bigger. He could not help but snicker at the sight, his tail wagging in amusement. Cheedo arrived shortly after his adventure buddy’s shout, her soothing voice filling the air as she warned the agouti. Cyril was confused—what did making the strange creature upset have to do with not sleeping in the den? Blinking hard the boy stomped forward, closing the distance between himself and the den he had just left.

“Whass'it?!” He chirped excitedly as he peered around Cheedo’s hindleg, his yellow-blue eyes nearly bugging out of his skull as he tried to get a better look at the foreign animal. It did not resemble anything that his older packmates brought back to the caches and it smelled absolutely wretched. His nose wrinkled once more, a frown cutting across his dark features as he remained glued to Cheedo’s side. Even though curiosity bubbled within his chest Cyril remained glued to the outside of the den. He did not want to smell anything like the strange creature. Staying as far away as possible was his best bet to avoid adopting the scent.

(This post was last modified: Jul 26, 2017, 04:47 AM by Cyril.)

rolls back in a hundred years later

Cheedo had a good point. Aside from begin sprayed in the eyes it would stink up the whole den as well...Which would be awful! Where would everyone sleep? Where would they go to take shelter from the rain? Lenae frowned as she pulled back, brushing against Cheedo's side in the process. They would have to be smart, real cunning if they wanted to rid the den of the stinky beast

Not a moment later, Cyril appeared on the scene and-as was to be expected- he was ever so curious to see what the fuss was about.

"It's a stinky skunk. Bleeeh."Lenae pulled a funny face, an overly dramatic reaction to it's wretched stench."How should we get it out? Pulling it out doesn't seem like a good idea."

Lenae might have found the critter, but she didn't want to put her mouth anywhere near it. Not now, not ever. Even a dead skunk smelled horrid.

"Maybe we could...um, lure it out?" If it left the den of its own accord, maybe it wouldn't spray? It seemed like a bit of a stretch but perhaps it could work? At the very least it seemed like brain storming would be a good place to start."What do skunks even eat?"

That was never a question she thought she'd ask, but there it was, out there in the open for both Cyril and Cheedo to hear. In fact, she'd never taken the time to think about skunks before. She thought about rabbits a lot...but that was because they were yummy, a good snack to fill a rumbling stomach. But skunks? If they were out of sight then they were out of mind.

It was an unpleasant discovery they had found in the den and if the small agouti were honest she'd almost prefer a rattler over a skunk. At least rattlesnakes couldn't spray their stink all over. Cheedo's attention was averted when Cyril appeared at her hind leg asking what was in the den. Everly answered the boy and was good to add that the small beast was stinky so the pup would know. The other woman also asked the question that had been going through Cheedo's mind all this time. “We could wait it out which of course could take forever and he may decide this is the place for him.” Which could make it even more difficult to get rid of it.

“We most certainly shouldn't pull it,” Cheedo agreed, “But maybe we could find a way to cover it up and then move it.” It was only a half formed idea but they were brainstorming. However, Everly came up with a perfect idea, “I think luring him out might be the best way. Let him think it was his idea to leave,” she said looking to the other woman.

Cheedo shook her head at the next question asked, “I'm not sure, maybe some kind of meat or maybe berries?” She couldn't ever remember observing a skunk eating.

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A skunk? His nose wrinkled as he committed the name to memory, his head twisting to the side so he could get a better look at the black and white markings. How had it gotten into the communal den?! He frowned as he returned his yellow gaze to the older females, his ears twitching as he listened to them brainstorm ideas on how to remove the thing. Pulling it out wasn’t ideal, according to Everly, which confused the ebony cub. Any other creature they would grab by the leg and pull. Why was this skunk to be treated differently? He assumed it had something to do with the smell, as it was the only logical reason. Otherwise Everly or Cheedo would have already made the attempt to grab the creature. Waiting it out also wasn’t a good idea, as Cheedo’s reasoning made sense. If it got too comfortable it might not leave, and then what would the Whitestone wolves do?

Huh.

Luring it out. That was a better plan. Cyril nodded to show that he agreed with them, his brows pinching together as he tried to think of something tasty for the skunk. Tasty enough to make it want to abandon the warmth of the den. “Berries,” he commented, breaking his silence as he returned his sunflower gaze to the striped creature. “Kinda looks like a weirdo bunny, an’ they like berries.” He flashed his companions a sheepish grin, hoping that his explanation was sound, for he knew nothing about the smelly animal. 

There was plenty of meat around on the monadnock but Lenae wasn't sure the same could be said for berries. Maybe if they had a medic, or someone of that calibre they would, after all some might be used for medicinal purposes but they- Wait a second, didn't Odin dabble in this sort of thing? Lenae didn't know him well-at all really- but she'd heard someone mention that he had studied with various healers in the past. This was it!

"Do you think Odin might have some?"She asked, hoping either one of them would know."I was thinking, we could borrow some and see if they do the job. If not...well we might have to call for Piety or Wraith."

At least they tried, right? They didn't just sit on their bums and hope the problem went away. They were working together to get the job done, even if it was a rather stinky business.

"Do either if you know where his collection is, if we all go together it might have leave by the time we get back? Might decide it's not a good place to sleep after all."

She doubted it would give up such a cosy sleeping spot so easily, but a girl could dream, right?

It seemed they had come up with a plan to get the skunk out and now they only needed to figure out how to execute it. They could easily get the meat to try but if that didn't work they would need the berries. They were a little harder to come by on the tundra but maybe there was a berry bush or two around that none of them had paid attention to before. Cheedo glance at the pup when he spoke of the skunks appearance before looking back at the creature, “He does have a point,” she stated.

Everly however brought up Odin whom Cheedo hadn't had the chance to know and hadn't heard much about him. The other woman seemed to know a little more so she considered the suggestion. “Well it wouldn't hurt to ask him and see if he has any that he could spare. For this situation he might be more than happy considering no one can really go in there at this point.” At least they couldn't if they didn't want to get sprayed and probably kicked out if the den until the stink wore off.

Cheedo hoped that it wouldn't come down to the having to call Piety or Wraith. She didn't think that would look very good for the three of them if they couldn't figure it out. On the other paw she felt that if they tried everything they could whatever ideas the leaders had would be helpful.

The small agouti shook her head at the question, “No, but he might he keeping it in the infirmary since it's already been used for that and it has been vacant for awhile now.” Since Lorcan she was sure since she knew that he was a healer but had left Whitestone just before she joined.

“Let's hope he does decide to leave while we are gone.” Cheedo knew she chances of that were slim but maybe if he couldn't find any food he would leave. He couldn't stay in there forever after all.

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His tail wagged excitedly behind him when he realized they agreed with him. He was helping, which meant he was being a very good boy.

Borrow some berries from Odin? Easy peasy.

He nodded silently to show he agreed with the suggestion to find Odin’s stash. Part of him hoped that the smelly creature would leave in their absence, but the den was rather cozy. Food was the best way to lure the creature out, as it usually worked for the smudge when he was feeling uncharacteristically lazy. “Check infirmary first?” He asked, his head tipped to the side as he took a leap away from the communal den. “Cheedo might be right. Or there might be somethin’ else the smelly might find yummy.” He shrugged as he gave an encouraging flick of his nose, the corners of his mouth curled into a soft smile. “C’mon! Quicker we go the sooner it’ll get bored!!” His impatience was showing but he didn’t mind. He just wanted the smelly creature gone before his parents realized it had taken up residence inside the den.

(This post was last modified: Oct 24, 2017, 12:25 AM by Cyril.)