Whisper Marsh wasn't tryin' to get wasted

Somewhat vague on Niles' pack status; unsure if Niles has simply taken a trip away from Pookastone Scowle or otherwise.

April 9th; Mid-Afternoon; Broken Clouds; 37.4 ° F, 3 ° C

Along the edges of the Marsh, Niles dragged his feet. Mari had misunderstood him (which wasn't a total surprise since most wolves usually did, most especially if they didn't know him for very long) and had taken to the wilderness without a care. She had promised to take him with her but there was clearly no more empathy to spare. He silently counted his faults, his sins, his stupid and selfish deeds... All that was not honorable for either an Archer or a Lyall. Once or twice he thought to cast the name away, but found he couldn't do it. His name, even if mere syllables in spoken word, were the only things he had left that reminded him of his parents when he had no willows or family around to remember them by.

He waded into the shallows of the Marsh, leaning up against a wall of tall reeds before flattening them into some sort of bed with his body. The water soaked through to his undercoat and he remembered just what she had told him: "Don't you ever think of fucking following me, you prick. I don't need you, never did." All sorts of sour things found its way to the back of Niles' tongue and throat, all that he could have said and all he wished he had done. Regret had made him bitter to the point where he felt sick.

Hot flashes ran down his spine and he only moved out of the water to expel the contents of his belly behind a tree on the bank. Afterwards, he shakily put his paws back in the water, where the shallows barely reached the middle of his forearms. He might have laid back down on his flattened reed cot but he stood still in fear of the churning of his stomach.

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

though i'm empty when you go

Today was a good day. Or so she kept telling herself. It wasn't snowing, and it wasn't sunny. Just an inbetween. Story of my life. A story she wanted to change. She kept assuring herself there was no need to go to drastic measures. There may just be a few things still in her favor. She was always looking for signs.

Damn, she really wished she hadn't come this way. She'd smelled the marsh before she could see it, but she'd really hope there would be a hint of prey this far in. Mud marred her lower limbs, and she was pretty sure the tip of her tail. Hell, she'd come this far what was a bit further? She had to have something to show for her efforts.

There was a trumpeting off in the distance which caused her pause. Her memory quickly reminded her she didn't want to mess with any nesting cranes. But, then there was the nasty sound of someone losing their lunch. That was never a good sign. Wanting a better look, she pushed her pace, soon rewarded with a large black and silvery figure. "You all right?" Then she scrunched her brow with a shake of her head wearing an absent minded smile."Of course you're not. Is it only a taste of bad meat?"

i just wanted you to know

"You all right?"

Instinctively, Niles flinched and his throat made a terrible squelching sound. As horrible as he felt, he hoped in the next few moments he would recover himself if he just stayed still enough. Glancing from the corner of his eye, he saw her, a vision in black and telltale markings. He had known from the sound of her voice that she was no one familiar, but his guard hairs stood on end as he comprehended her coat color. "Of course you're not. Is it only a taste of bad meat?"

He grit his teeth together and merely grimaced for a time before he was able to mentally collect himself.

"No," he mewled like a freshly-weaned cub. There were too many things to blame his bout of sickness on; he just wished that spoiled food had been one of them. His ears fell back and he dropped his gaze back to where he stood in the shallows. "Stressed." He sniffled, whimpered once. "Want Mom..." At this point, he didn't care if he sounded like Greer, if he even mimicked him. The less words, the better. Maybe if he got his point across from the get-go, she would leave him alone in his misery.

we can say goodbye, just head home, but if we're going to be alone
Chimera is currently traveling with Niles and may hop into this IC thread!

You realize that two coyotes have been following you.