Ghastly Woods I could hide 'neath the wings

@Lenae

She was picking her way through the forest searching for a trail of any kind that would bring her closer to catching something to eat. The small Agouti had been at it most of the day when she wasn't checking in on Piety. They'd found a place to take a long rest from their travels and Cheedo often felt she'd reverted back to surviving like she had in Ritter. Without Whitestone she didn't have that protection or sense of safety she'd once had. She was with Piety and Cyril when he wasn't off visiting his friend, that was what mattered.

 She stepped lightly through the snow hoping it wouldn't crunch too loudly and scare all of the prey away. Her ears swiveled on her head as she listened for any sounds that would also lead her to what she sought. Then a light crunch caught her attention as her head turned toward the sound. Sea green eyes searched the surrounding forest for any sign of what had made the sound. She didn't want to call out for fear that it might have been a rabbit or some other animal that would make a good meal later.  

(This post was last modified: Jan 24, 2018, 11:25 PM by Cheedo.)

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This forest was still spooky. Exposure wasn't helping her get used to it at all, if anything it made it worse knowing that there could be something lurking out there. Her fears often took form before her very eyes, be it flashes of black fur followed by the awful scent of blood on the wind. Sometimes she thought that the snapping of twigs beneath her paws sounded like the clicking of teeth next to her ear, whispers of the pain that would follow if she wasn't a 'good little girl.'

At least there was one sort of good thing about this place. Solitude. This place was so empty, and quiet, it would have been peaceful if she wasn't so cowardly. Or at least she should have been alone... It was what she wanted-but didn't- was probably best for her and yet...Her ears flitted to her skull as she pressed her stomach to the floor, a position she had fallen into time and time again. Upon the rock she had stood tall and strong-comparatively- but now she cowered and huddled and hoped whatever it was would pass on by.

Her gaze didn't glimpse anything in the forest which gave the small Agouti wolf and uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her head tilted up to look into the trees with their spindly branches swaying slightly in the breeze that caused some snow to blow about. She couldn't help but wonder if the forest they had been residing in the past few weeks was just as creepy during the other seasons as it was in the winter.

Looking back out through the trees Cheedo decided that she was going to find out what the sound had been. She didn't want to miss out on a meal that was more precious now. She found some small sliver of courage inside her and moved off toward where the sound had done from. She had traveled short distance when a familiar scent reached her nostrils. One she didn't think she'd ever smell again. “Everly,” she whispered.

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It didn't. Whatever,whoever, it was drew ever closer till Lenae could see it approaching through the tangled trees. Through her lashes all she saw was a blurry, if not small, brown shape. Her nostrils flared as she took in their scent, her mind working overtime to shuffle through the panic and put a name to the smell.

She could have sworn that it was familiar, was her mind playing tricks on her or was that.... She shook her head, surely not, what were the chances? And yet, her ears twitched at the slightest murmur of her name, the false one, the name she'd paraded around in as though it was a mask protecting her from the world. What a terrible job it had done, or perhaps she had been the fool to believe in it, a title that meant little these days.

Instinct told her to lay low and remain silent but...What if it was someone she knew? Someone good?

"Hell-lo?"She stuttered, her voice hoarse and sore from lack of use.

There was no question in Cheedo's mind as to who the scent belonged to. The question was what was it doing there. The last she saw of Everly she had run from the scene of Wraith's death. It was a scene the small Agouti wished she could get out of her mind. She feared it would haunt her for the rest of her life. She may not have lost her father or husband but Wraith had meant a great deal to her. Of all the men in her life he had treated her like she was capable of being more than what she was. That she would always treasure.

She had to shake herself out of her thoughts to return to her search now that she was almost certain that it was her former packmates who'd made the sound. She didn't have to search far when the sound of Everly's voice was heard. It was a little raspy but Cheedo recognized it immediately. “It is you,” she said happily her tail wagging. “Are you alright?” She asked as she went toward where the greeting had come from.

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Was she alright? Lenae wasn't quite sure what to say to that. Clearly she wasn't, she was the furthest thing from it, but on the other paw she didn't want to admit it. Lenae didn't want to make a fuss, and she certainly didn't want to draw more attention to herself. That voice though...it felt familiar, as though she had heard it before. Not just once in passing, but rather someone she had once had several conversations with. Not a stranger, or even an acquaintance. A friend.

The maiden didn't have many of those these days...so could it be someone from the north?Soon enough the owner of the voice came into sight. Cheedo.

Oh. Whatever words she'd had faded away, out of sight and reach as though they had never been her's to begin with. What was she supposed to do or say? Lenae merely shrugged as she stared down at her paws, pretending was hard enough at the best of times, she didn't know if she'd be able to cope under such a warm and understanding gaze.

She had discovered her former packmate who she thought she'd never see again after that dreadful day. She remembered her running from what had happened and who could blame her, what they had witnessed. Cheedo didn't even know how she'd found the strength to stay but she had and she'd given her fallen leader the burial he deserved.

She remembered all of it like it had just happened and there were plenty of times she wished she didn't. Still there were other times that she was glad to be there for Wraith as he took his last breaths. As least he hadn't died alone on the tundra like some wolves had.

Cheedo approached the woman and licked her crown. “It was a hard thing for all of us,” she said trying to comfort the woman. “I'm glad to have found you. I've been worried and hoped you were okay.” She stepped back to lift the woman's gaze from her paws if she would allow it. “You don’t have to worry now. Piety and Cyril, they are close by and I'm sure they would he happy to see you.”

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Lenae couldn't help but sigh at her touch, it had been too long, she had been lonely. Lenae had no doubt that Cheedo worried, she was good at that, caring for others. She made it all seem so easy, as though a sense of goodness was woven into her very being. Why couldn't all wolves be like her, Lenae wondered. Kind and accepting. Lenae had run away like a coward, shrieking as though the beat's antlers had impaled her skin, and yet there was no sign of anger or resentment. Nothing at all malicious just acceptance, care that the bird was not worthy of.

"I'm sorry." She whined, and oh how she was, as she tucked herself low, small and subservient. If Cheedo had anything unkind to say, it was okay, Lenae would never hold it against her. Not now, not ever. "Are- they must hate me. It's all I deserve but I-"She couldn't nor wouldn't lie. "I miss what we had Cheedo, so so much. We had it all.

Cheedo took Everly's sigh as a sign that she had been comforted by the lick to her crown. She'd never questioned why the woman had run after Wraith had been killed. It had been a horrible thing to see and everyone had dealt with it differently. She had chosen to stay and take care of her leaders body then continued to take care of his wife and son. The small Agouti woman had hoped that she would one day see the shy female again. Now she was standing there in front of her in a bad state. Cheedo had hoped her words would help her former packmate to see that no one was angry with her.

“You don't have to apologise Everly. There may have been a point in my life when I would have run too.” In fact Cheedo was almost certain that there had been a point in her life when she would have run after seeing something like what happened to Wraith. The small Agouti woman shook her head, “They don't hate you. They are just as worried about you,” she assured, “You did what you had to and no one can judge you at a time like that.” It was Cheedo's turn to sigh as Everly spoke about missing what they had. “I miss it too. We had a good life the best I ever had,” she admitted.

(This post was last modified: Mar 09, 2018, 06:06 AM by Cheedo.)

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That was the difference between them. Cheedo had gotten stronger, she had found her strength and courage whilst Lenae was still scratching around in the dirt, struggling to find the will to live. Jealousy was not an emotion that came naturally to her but she could feel it wriggling inside of her like some sort of parasite. It wasn't Cheedo's fault, Lenae realised that, this problem was all her own, one amongst many.

"I know I just- I can't help but be scared...It's all I have, comes so naturally and I can't- I think I need time Cheedo... I feel so selfish for wanting it but...I'm scared I will drag you all down with me. It's like I'm c-cursed, everything I touch, everyone I love d-d-d-ies."

It was all coming out now, after weeks upon weeks of being bottled up, the words and the tears spilled forth.