Whisper Marsh Girl, I'm not with it I'm way too far gone

For @Morganna  God save this sweet boy. Foward dated to the 13th.
Note to self: Keeping it vague on the nin front.

He'd travelled a long way to get here and with each passing day he found walking all the more easy. At first it had been awful, he couldn't keep his balance at all and he wobbled and stumbled over the rocky alpine tundra. For what felt like an eternity he couldn't manage anything faster than an easy lope. He'd been useless, just as weak and as feeble as the day he'd arrived at the Selwyn's borders.

But he was getting better! He hadn't fallen over in ages, so of course he had to go and jinx it didn't he?

It was either the slippery marsh mud, or the mounting snow that did him in. But either way, the blondie slipped and  fell to the floor with all of the grace of a skydiving bison.

"Heck."He groaned as he laid there, his ears flattening to his skull.

He hadn't fallen hard-fortunately for him the marsh soil was nice and squishy- but he wasn't as fit and strapping as he used to be. Those unaware of his history would assume he was an over dramatic youth, ignorant of the aches and pains the world could inflict. But he knew, in fact he probably was more familiar with it than most, considering his missing toes and all.

wait for me to come home

Morganna Archer

While Morganna was about as fond of feathered prey as she was of finned, (ok, maybe it wasn't quite as bad as the finned variety), the geese were in the final leg of their southern migration and even she wasn't going to pass up an easy meal if there was one to be had. So when a wet smack was followed with a heck alerting the birds to her presence she simply tch'd behind her teeth and stood, glaring and daring the birds to come and get her. She'd pluck the lot of them and use their feathers to line her den.

But they weren't taking the bait, merely honking among themselves before waddling into a deeper, more treacherous part of the marsh. She wasn't foolish enough to follow them. The pools could be deceptively deep and with just Celandine to keep her warm she could quite possibly catch her death with the weather turning as it was.

But then, there was also the matter of whoever had put them on guard to start with. Her stomach growled far more fiercely than anything that might ever leave her chest, a frown punctuation the noise as her glowering gaze raking across the marsh in a frustrated fashion. "Yer gonna get back up or did yer roll inter th' water 'n drown?" Obviously, if it was the latter, she wasn't going to get a response. Better him than her though.

There is a rabbit's nest nearby. +1 Health

Maybe he was a little tired. Heck, he couldn't even remember when he'd last had a proper nights sleep. The sort where he'd just settle down, get cosy and drift off without a care in world. Even when everything had been fine, as it should be, he'd been a bit of a worrier but these days he was twenty times as bad. To be fair, he had a lot on his shoulders, probably too much for a young man of his age, but what was he to do? Shrug off the responsibility to someone else? There was barely anyone else left in the mountains, Raina did a wonderful job of keeping them all together but even she could only do so much.

And she wasn't a spring chicken anymore, Elias had to pull his weight whether he wanted to or not.

Still, marshy ground wasn't the ideal spot to take a nap. Especially when it appeared he had company.

Hurrying-or rather blundering- to his paws, Elias shook himself off and  looked down owlishly at the strange woman before him. Orange eyes, dark coat and a scowly gaze. For a moment he was reminded of his cousin, Askan, after all he often regarded him with looks that were equally as sour. Even to this day he didn't understand-or even realise the true extent of- the animosity his cousin felt towards him. Elias had always just assumed that time would bring them closer together, that one day Askan would see him as a brother.

But now he guessed it was too late for that. The thought made his heart ache, but he pushed it aside as best as he could. He'd mourn him later, when he wasn't in the company of such a...fierce looking lady.

"Oh goodness, no. I slipped and hadn't gotten around to getting up. Apologies if I-uh, inconvenienced you in any way."He said, offering her an honest and amiable smile.

It was only then he belatedly noticed the honking of distant geese and he winced, knowing full well what he'd done. Wonderful, he'd ruined her hunt without meaning. Surely he had to make it up to her somehow, though honestly at that point he had no idea how.

(This post was last modified: Nov 12, 2017, 03:21 AM by Elias.)

wait for me to come home

Morganna Archer

Morganna managed a smirk as the gravity of the situation seemingly sunk in, her scowl more effective than a physical blow it would seem (that she had no intention of wasting energy on following through with). She hadn't really been a loner before and had rarely had to endure true hunger. Hangry didn't suit the Archer, and she would work quickly to get herself back under control. "It happens." It was as close to forgiveness as she was ever likely to get, moving closer with a single wave of her tail. "So did yer come here lookin' fer food or bodies?" It was a dark joke delivered with a darker smirk. It had been too long since she had teased anyone, and he just might be young enough to take the bait.

Rates M for possibly gross/sad things

Elias' tail began to wag in an earnest display of gratitude. She wasn't quite matching his level of friendliness, but that was okay. After all, he was well acquainted with this sort of stoic behaviour. In fact,he-like always-was more than willing to cover her lack of enthusiasm with his own. Elias was a try hard in all meanings of the word, social interactions were not an exception to that rule.

He had just been about to respond to her question when her last string of words caught him off guard. Like she'd lunged across the distance between them and held his throat between her teeth. Bodies. He swallowed thickly (a reaction that could easily be mistaken for one of nervousness) and looked down at his mangled paw as it sunk into the dirt.

He remembered that dreadful day far too well. How he'd stared down the mountainside and saw the bodies piled high, mangled and covered with a faint dusting of snow. As though Mother Nature herself was trying to hide the evidence so that she could go on pretending the world wasn't an awful place, with awful men in it.His mouth clicked shut as he glanced back up at her. She couldn't possibly know, could she? But what if she did? Elias knew that they hadn't managed to get them all, that some of those monsters masquerading as men had escaped justice. But he'd never anticipated that they'd be here.

It had to be a joke, a terrible one at that, but a joke nonetheless.

"Um, no ma'am."He told her, as he squared his shoulders. The foul taste of despair still lingering on his tongue. "I'm looking for someone, who I hope is still alive and well. His name is Thuban, he's got bright yellow eyes, browny coat. Have you-is there a chance you have seen him?"He asked, his eyes gleaming with hope.

(This post was last modified: Nov 12, 2017, 06:13 PM by Elias.)

M for morg's potty mouth thoughts

wait for me to come home

Morganna Archer

It was barely noticeable unless you were looking closely but it was a look she had seen before, her stomach dropping as she called herself stupid. Just because he was here didn't mean he hadn't endured some hardship, or lived through some hell. Her time in Torbine had been eye opening in more ways than one, and for maybe the first time in the lore since the flea incident, she wished the earth would just swallow her whole and let the boy wake up like it had all just been a bad dream. "Doubt yer'd find th' latter, it's jus' a ghost story anyway," She tried to brush the comment off with her usual gruff bravado, a smirk that hinted at a silent apology working it's way to her lips.

Her eyes narrowed as she considered his request, a minuscule shake moving her head from side to side, "Nah sorry, plenty o'wolves that fit th' description but none wi' tha' name that I've encountered..." and she was truly sorry that she couldn't help him, but she could steer him away from deeper water and more treacherous terrain. "Yer wanna get out o' here? We might manage ter find somethin' worth scavengin' that doesn't taste o mud and stagnant water if we head terwards th' caverns." She motioned with a tip of her head towards the meadow in the south. Anywhere away from this damp and miserable shit-stain on the otherwise welcoming terrain of this part of the lore.

Elias was far too eager to put that part of the conversation behind them so that they could move onto greener pastures. But it seemed as though fortune did not favour him, as the-scary- lady soon informed him that she hadn't seen Thuban, let alone heard of him. His shoulders sagged, as his hopes of finding his friend took a nose dive into the great, dark unknown. It had been worth a shot, right?

If that was the case, then why did he feel like such a failure? Like his Grandfather should have cast him out, alone into the wilds when he'd only been a few days old. At least then he would have been spared of all of the heartache.

Elias sucked in a load of air and let it out in one big puff. She had a point, there was nothing for him here. Nothing but mud, snow and ghosts.

"I would really appreciate it if you showed me the way ma'am. As you could probably tell, I'm not familiar with these parts. Heh, knowing me I would probably get lost. Fall down into a ditch, have to get rescued. Forever the damsel."He laughed, hoping she'd join in. Otherwise he would have made a fool of himself for no reason.

Not cool.

"But uh-yes! A meal wouldn't go amiss, I certainly wouldn't mind sharing it with you."As terrifying as she was. All brazen and bold, almost like Aunt Raina but with more spunk and a funny-but charming- accent.

Let me know if you want me to change anything!

wait for me to come home

Morganna Archer

Forever the damsel, She managed a dry snort of laughter, Yeah, well th' ditches in this part 'o th' lore're full o' freezing' water an monstrous fish so yer better off headin' east." She didn't check to see if he was following until they reached a particularly tricky patch of swamp and she muttered under her breath about bolotniks and the ever changing nature of the terrain. They would have to double back and go further east.

It was as she turned that she noted his gait, eyes narrowing but not moving to question the movement, she motioned with her head instead back the way they had come. "Gonna have ter take th' long way I'm afraid." She might have known her way around, but it had even been a while for her.

It's fine!

Like a good-not so-little subordinate, Elias trailed after her, his tail swishing behind him as he went. Maybe these parts weren't so bad,maybe he'd find Thuban sooner rather than later. It was true she didn't know about him, but she was still being nice and helpful when she didn't have to be! She could have just as easily shrugged him off, like dead weight, but instead she was leading him somewhere better, even if they did have to take the long way around.

"No worries, the more time spent with you, the better."

Elias was many things, but he wasn't a smooth talker. Or at least it wasn't his intention to come across as sleazy. It was hard for him to have tact, or to even be subtle, when he was trying so damn hard.

"You seem to know these lands well, ma'm. Are you a...native?"Elias cringed and gritted his teeth. Good one, champ. Talking to his fellow Selwyns had never been this difficult, but then again he supposed this was something he had to get used to, wasn't it? Maybe this would serve as good practice. Or more pointedly, maybe it was about time he tried his paw at turning a bad situation into a good one.

"I'm uh, clearly not from these parts. Which isn't to say I hate it-"God he hoped she wasn't offended. He didn't mean her or her homeland any ill will, he'd never do that. He was too good and chipper, and it was very important that everyone was happy! And he was trying too hard wasn't he? Arse-kisser Elly, that's what they used to call him."It could be better though."

That's the best he could manage, he truly deserved the title, 'The King of Pessimism' did he not?