Hidden Berry Hideout Cold Inside

For @Elias
February 14th
Overcast, late afternoon.

 

Her wanderings were continuous. Despite a few run ins with some old friends from the past, Neha chose isolation over companionship. She knew they were out there and where to turn to find them should she wish to. But she had drawn into herself more and more, feeling that her new lifestyle as a solitary wolf was best suited to her. She knew her childhood friend Ember from Aurora Heights would love to have her close, in the pack but Neha declined. She simply wasn't ready to get back in the mix yet. With that pack being situated on the mountain, the same as her birth pack, her feelings were mixed about dwelling on those slopes again. She didn't want anyone from the Cove to catch wind of her, regardless if they missed her or were worried. That part of her life was behind her.

The winter months had been a trying time for the young Vuesain. Having spent all her life surrounded with the benefits of being in a pack, she was never left wanting. Now, just getting by was a challenge. Her slender frame had lost weight, taking on a more gangly rather than regal appearance. With much of the herbal plant life dead or gone at this time of year, there was little reason for the female to bother with what had once been her passion. Now, most of her time was spent tracking down small prey or leftover carrion or locating a sheltered place to bunker down for the night.

Once creamy paws turned pallid grey from lack of cleanliness pushed her through thinning undergrowth. The soil beneath the snow turned less soft and more compact. The upwards slope of the hill she ascended was no new task to her; she was accustomed to rougher terrain than this. While steered in the direction of the mountain, she had no intention of poking around it today. A peculiar scent drew her in, towards this hidden little nook somewhere between the forests behind her and the mountain to the west. Dulled brown eyes fixated on the brilliant orange pumpkins, haphazardly strewn around. Delicately placing her paws over the tangle of many a vine, she picked her way forward. Never having come across these oddities before, she grazed her dark nose across the nearest one in an investigative sniff. Maybe they were edible...

   

 

(This post was last modified: Feb 14, 2018, 06:31 PM by Neha.)

Neha can often be found close to Aleister's side and therefore may appear in any of his threads.

Elias was out looking.

Not for Revon, after all if she was with @Morganna then she was in safe paws. Rather, he was searching for Thuban, poking around in spots he hadn't yet to checked. It was a lot easier said than done, there were all sorts of tracks in the snow, but none of them were particularly fresh nor did they seem to belong to a wolf either. Unless Thuban had sprouted hooves in place of paws  then these tracks weren't his, Elias was once again barking up the wrong tree.

These days he found it impossible not to get disheartened, he could only hope so much before it all seemed pointless, as though he was wasting his time. @Nineva had once told him that if Thuban really wanted to be home then that's where he would be. What if...what if she had been right all along? What if he hadn't gotten lost, what would Elias do if Thuban didn't want to be found?

His heart hurt, but still Elias pushed on, moving east till-he paused and looked ahead. It appeared as though he had company. He tried to put a name to their face but none came to mind, a stranger then. That was always exciting, he did love to make new friends, even when he was feeling a little down in the dumps.

"Hey!" He called, as his tail began to swish and sway behind him. He didn't approach quite yet, lest his size gave them the heebie-jeebies. It was then he noticed that they had found something, something bright orange, almost like Kyna's eyes. "What do you have there?"

 

Believing herself to be alone, Neha placed a single paw on the peculiar red-orange fruit. Experimentally, she rolled it, applying a gentle pressure. It was firm to the touch and had a funky earthy smell. The unexpected voice of another calling to her took her by surprise. She flinched visibly, spinning around to face them defensively. Tail lashing but low at her hocks, head level with her spine, her eyes locked onto the stranger for a few very intense seconds. Anyone who would've known the old Neha knew that she would never have responded in such a manner. In fact, she was more likely to go bounding up to them warmly, without hesitating. She had been keen on befriending everyone, sticking up for those who could not or would not stick up for themselves. Loud and proud. But not anymore. Now, although perfectly coherent, she was teetering on the border of feral.

The male before her did not resemble anyone she recognized. He was larger than @Sachiel and his fur was a few shades lighter. His eyes though, were an intriguing shade of blue. After scrutinizing him and determining that he was unlikely to be of any threat, the Vuesain eased out of her defensive stance. Yet her face remained cold, her voice empty. "The heck if I know..." She said, turning back to the pumpkin again. Behind her, were many, many more sprawled out randomly. "But there sure are a lot of them..."

 

Neha can often be found close to Aleister's side and therefore may appear in any of his threads.

She seemed a little flighty, nervous. Elias wasn't sure if it was his fault or her usual disposition, either way he hoped to put her at ease,as the last thing he wanted to do was come across as some sort of big bully. After all, he was anything but. True to her word, he glanced about and saw several more orange things sticking out of the snow. He blinked slowly before taking easy, laid back steps towards the second closest orange mound. Just as she had done he sniffed it at first, then pressed down on it with his non-birdy front paw.

"Never seen orange rocks before...They're kind of squishy though, so probably not rocks." He mused aloud, giving it a long hard thought. Some sort of plant then, sort of smelled like it?

"I'm Elias Selwyn by the way!"He told her, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically... then again, it had never stopped him before. "This might uh...be a bit out of the blue but have you seen my friend around? His name is Thuban! Brown coat, the yellows eyes to ever yellow."

It was worth a try, right? What was the worst thing she could say, that she hadn't seen or even heard of him. Or...maybe she had, she'd found him dead and rotting like some- Elias shook his head and kicked the orange thing with his bird-foot, making the familiar ache bloom in his paw. He deserved that for being so pessimistic, Thuban was out there, somewhere alive and well.