Sacred Grove Smoke Gets in Your Eyes

@Carmen Midday, mostly cloudy, 30°F -1°C

you fill my head with pieces

of a song i can't get out

Her time was running out with each passing day and she was starting to panic. Worried that she wouldn't have any preparations done for when her pups arrived. She'd now turned back North heading along the base of the mountain in search of a good site for a den and a place close to it she could cache food. She'd already traveled over to hush meadow and found that the lavender had yet to sprout, that was a disappointment to say the least.

She now found herself back in more familiar territory which offered some comfort but not enough. She picked along the mountain base looking for something that would work for a den but in the back of her mind she didn't think she would find anything. Movement along the rocks was slow and awkward for her now that her belly was starting to swell with the lives growing inside her. She went on until she found something that looked like it could be promising.

The hole that she found in the ground looked like it would be big enough to allow her to enter and exit as she was. The Raven sniffed the entrance for any signs of something dangerous lurking in the dark but found none. She decided to investigate it further sticking her head in just a little to see what was inside.

While she was an immensely curious child with social butterfly written across her face, she had learned in the last few months to be cautious. That it would be difficult to differentiate between friend or foe sometimes. Like the female that crossed her path just up ahead and was lingering outside, of what looked to be a dug out hole, looked to be quite friendly but anyone could look a certain way and be one or the other. So the gray girl simply stood back, metaphorically on her toes, as her body leaned forward ever so slightly as she peeked around a tree to see what the woman was doing.

The dark head of the woman disappeared into the hole for just a moment and Carmen examined what was left. Rounded tummy - boy, she must like food - dark fur, she looked to be a little bigger than Carmen herself but the young lady wasn't exactly full grown yet so hadn't reached the point of being taller or heavier than the stranger she analyzed. This was the first of the strangers that Carmen had come across and it only made the girl slightly more wary of where she put her travels.

ALL AROUND ME ARE FAMILIAR FACES

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(This post was last modified: Apr 10, 2018, 07:09 PM by Carmen.)

you fill my head with pieces

of a song i can't get out

What she found when she looked into the hole wasn't anything to be excited about. It was small, most certainly not room for her and her pups. It would never work and as she pulled her head out she decided she didn't like the way the ticks formed little ledges that weren't a big deal for adult wolves but puppies could get hurt. She was starting to wonder if she would ever find a suitable den for her children. She turned away from the hole and was just about to continue her search when she smelled something there hadn't been there before.

The scent belonged to another, a female, and she was young. At first the scent had put her in alert but realizing that there probably wasn't a threat here she relaxed a little. “You can come out from. Wherever you are. I assure you there won't be any trouble from me,” she called into the surrounding forest. What would she look like attacking a young wolf with a belly full of puppies anyway? She stepped further on to flatter ground to rest her paws by dropping onto her haunches to wait for the other to show themselves.

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There was a particular hard swallow as her silver-moon eyes blinked, casting their stardust out in the dark woman's direction. The breeze whispered over head and she knew that her scent must have carried, she hadn't ever been very good at being stealthy. The voice carried towards her large, rounded ears as her voiced cooed. A subtle, sweet rumble passing over her lips as she peeked her head a little more from behind the musty cover of the thin, ravaged tree.

Eventually, Carmen found her strength and took a couple steps out from the tree and looked at the stranger in front of her with care. Silver eyes trailing along the woman body, looking to her ears, eyes, nose, feet before looking around. It was hard to say what it was she was looking for but likely scoping out for more. It had been five months since she had been around someone else as her mother had been the last to see her. The gray-dusted girl had made it somewhat of a rule to stick to herself and keep out of sight. Only recently had she figured that she should be out in the open if her mother did come looking.

What is your name? she asks, tentatively, knowing that while knowing the woman's name might make her not so stranger-danger anymore, it wouldn't soothe the fact that this woman was an unknown piece in the puzzle of this land. She didn't seem to want trouble and Carmen didn't either, but trouble always had a way of presenting itself in trying times.

ALL AROUND ME ARE FAMILIAR FACES

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you fill my head with pieces

of a song i can't get out

Inna wasn't particularly keen on being watched especially in her current condition. She didn't know if the wolf that was watching her meant her harm or not. Any other time she would be ready to defend herself but she had her puppies to think about. She couldn't take any chances so it was best to figure out what this wolf was up to sooner rather than later.

Sitting back on her haunches to give her paws a rest the Raven waited for the girl to come out. She didn't expect any trouble really from a girl and one that seemed rather shy but she stayed alert just in case. Finally her fiery gaze rested on her and she looked only a little older than she pictured her daughter to be. Now the question became what was she doing out in the lore all by herself? Of course Inna knew she was one to talk since she knew she should be in a pack herself.

A dark brow raised at the question, “That's a little forward of you,” she said with a short laugh, “No matter. I'm Runi, what's your name?” She returned the question since it seemed they would be playing this game. At least until Inna couldn't keep herself from asking, “What's one so young doing out here on your own? The Lore isn't always the safest of places.” Inna knew quite well the dangers that lurked just around each corner.

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There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

There was so little about the world that Carmen really didn't understand. Carmen had never been around puppies (she was just over a year old and had left her birth pack around eight months) and wasn't familiar with pregnant women or how they became pregnant and what came from it. So to Carmen she just believed that this woman had a penchant for food which the girl would not shame. It wasn't right to judge someone based on their hobbies off-screen.

A hard gulp resounded in her throat at the woman's retort, Carmen's eyes moving to the ground shamefully as though she had been scolded for such an act. I'm sorry... ma'am. My ma always told me that the first rule of bein' social was that everyone's a stranger until you know their name. 'Course, just because she knew there name didn't mean they were rainbows and unicorns. Carmen knew that but she didn't expect Runi to be bad. Maybe a bit stern but it was a reminder of the adults back home, not necessarily her mother for she was as sweet as honey but the other adults had always been very distant.

I'm Carmen. she eventually introduced herself after giving her apology, hoping that the woman might understand that that was simply what she was taught to do. She hadn't meant to be so forward but there was little else that she could think to say when coming across someone who could help her simply be. It quickly came to her attention that she was too young to be here and that this place here was called the Lore. My ma and I got separated. I been wanderin' around but it's probably best I stay put otherwise she won't ever find me. But, as Runi pointed out, it wasn't safe here so maybe she shouldn't stay put?

ALL AROUND ME ARE FAMILIAR FACES

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you fill my head with pieces

of a song i can't get out

Since leaving Hearthwood and everything behind Inna felt a lot calmer than she had since her mother's passing. It made it much easier to be more patient with this girl and allow her to do things in her own time. Besides it gave the Raven a chance to rest from the journey north that she'd recently undertook. The urgency to find a den was of course still there but she needed to spare a few moments for this girl and for her own pups.Inna watched as the girls eyes fell to the ground at her words. “Please call me Runi and no reason to be upset. I just wasn't expecting it when you seem so shy.” The girl explained what her mother has told her, Inna smiled. “It's a good sentiment but I feel you have to get to know a wolf before they are a stranger. Even then…” Well that was all history wasn't it?

The Raven rose to her paws as the girl spoke her name, “It's nice to meet you Carmen,” she said with a flick of her tail as an invitation to follow her. “Come, we can talk while I work,” she added to clarify. The girl went in to explain she'd been separated from her mother. “I'm sorry to hear that. I hope that you find her but I don't know if staying put is the best idea unless you're planning to join a pack,” she advised realizing the decision she'd made months ago. The difference was she was older than the yearling.

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Carmen had always been very good at following mothers orders and had been told so many, many times. All by her mother, of course, but that might've just been persuasion to keep the record clean. It was hard to say now but Carmen was just happy to have found someone here that might be able to help her figure out what she should do now. Without her mother, she didn't really have a direction. Yes, Miss Runi. She took note that the woman wanted to be called Runi and it took a few seconds after she acknowledged that that she blinked, just Runi. There didn't seem to be any clarification on if she truly wanted to just be Runi or if she was allowed to say Miss in front. It was a habit that was hard to break.

Carmen felt a cringe somewhere deep in her brain as the woman classified her as being shy. Never had she been called shy though perhaps a better word would've been cautious. Carmen was a social creature by nature but she had never been on her own before and with no one she knew to trust. Just a nod was given, understanding that you had to really get to know someone before they upgraded from stranger but she didn't like to think that bad was lurking around her corner.

Likewise, she answered politely in retort to it being nice to meet and quickly followed suit right behind Runi so that she could talk while the woman worked. Just as she was about to ask what kind of work she was doing, Carmen paused mid-step and gazed at the dark raven woman. Is there a pack here? In the Lore? Was there a pack that she could hide in until her mother came to find her?

ALL AROUND ME ARE FAMILIAR FACES

TEMPLATE © NDA OF RCR & RPG-D

you fill my head with pieces

of a song i can't get out

Inna did note that the girl was very polite which she could appreciate. While she knew that was what Carmen was trying to do when she called her ma’am it didn't sit right with the Raven. She felt she was still much too young to be called that. What the girl came up with next however was much better but Carmen seemed unsure of which to use. “Either is fine,” she told in hopes to clear that up for her. Once they were past that they could move onto more pressing issues such as what the girl would he doing next. Inna felt she could offer some advice. She'd lived in the lore her whole life and had been on her own.

The Raven wasn't quite sure what to make of the girl yet since she had seemed shy at first but now seemed to have gained some confidence. She would give it some time before she made any final judgements. Until then she didn't mind talking with Carmen but they would have to do it while she continued her search. She couldn't waste much more time even if she felt in the back of her mind there was only one place she wanted to have her pups.

Once again Carmen showed her politeness as she agreed that it was nice for them to have met. As Inna moved back toward the base of the mountain she was stopped as the yearling asked about packs. The Raven turned toward her, “I know of a few, one not far from here though I don't know the exact location. It's that way,” she gestured with her muzzle in the direction she knew Kerbs pack to be. “Another a couple days journey to the south. Then in the north there are some packs at least three.” She hadn't come across any others that she could tell about, “Are you thinking of joining one of them?”

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