Blackened Down the ins and outs. [bwp]

It was only a miracle, perhaps, that the coyotes seemed only interested in the adults and not the pup. Youngest pup. Archie certainly hadn't been doing anything to keep herself hidden, save for being small. The grass rustled and shook around her. Only for a moment could anyone take her as a shadow, for now that the hiccuping sobs had started, she couldn't seem to make them stop. Her eyes ached and her vision was blurry, her cheeks hurt with each whine as she sucked in hard breaths, choking on snot and saliva. The misery seemed just as awful as the pain and injuries the others had received, if only because she had never been truly unhappy before.

Scared.

To be scolded was one thing, but to cast to one side of a true fight was entirely another.

Her eyes were pinched shut as the rattling cries continued, and when she opened them, she saw two things. Blood, painted all over her parents and the nice stranger, who told her about the rainbow, who stood between her and Not Friends. And her mother, small and mighty and so very big now, as if she took up all the space in the clearing where they stood, poised to kill coyote. Or stranger. Archie couldn't really tell who was on the ground, on the receiving end of her mother's ire.

"NooooOOOooooooOOOOoooo!" the puppy wailed, a fresh wash of tears streaming down her cheeks. She feared the worst -- that the speeshul rainbow stranger was the one who would be hurt -- that she had done this to him.

@Kino

Thankfully, the youth seemed to be able to move at least. Yet, they seemed to cower before him. Their eyes flickered from him to behind him and all around, clearly nervous. The man opened his mouth to assure him that he wouldn’t hurt him, but he was interrupted by the other suddenly leaping toward him. His lips drew back and he moved to the size with a growl to avoid the pounce, but his auds were met with the sound of bodies colliding just to his right. His head swiveled quickly to see the other on the ground with a coyote on top of him. The small boy had been protecting him.

Yet, before he could move to aid his mate was already on it. She pinned it, snarling in rage. The Leigh’s auds swiveled to catch his daughter’s cries and he was quick to move to her, swooping in and scooping her with a massive paw to sit between his forelegs. “Shhh Archie, it’s okay. It’s not your fault, it’s not your fault. Coyotes are just big meanies,” he comforted, pressing his nose to her in hopes to provide her comfort. He attempted to position her in a way that she wouldn’t have to see what was going on beyond, in case her mother needed to do some dirty business. No child needed to see death like that, another wolf or not. Hunting was one thing, but a fight was much more savage.

Vaken Svart Vaken’s breathing was heavy, his energy completely drained from the battle. He let himself calm down, trying to steady his heartbeat. He rolled when the female came to his protection, but didn’t get up right away. Instead, he stayed painfully still to recover his energy. He didn’t look at the coyote or the women, but kept his eyes trained to the ground. There was a lot going on, but he felt hollow. He wasn’t embarrassed, but it didn’t feel good. He wished he could have protected himself. He pressed his lips in a straight line and shook his emotions off. The pups whimpers rang in his ears, but he just closed his eyes. He tried to still his beating heart and stop all the noise, but he wasn’t capable of it. He gave a small wince but forced himself up. He wasn’t severely hurt, but there was a twinge of pain on his side and he was awfully tired. He wasn’t going to be able to hunt for himself today. He was going to have to rest, somewhere he would be safe from the coyotes. He took a deep breath and looked towards the pup and his father. “Is she okay?” He was genuinely concerned, but didn’t dare move closer to them. He had taken enough of a beating. He wasn’t going to play with fire and approach a pup that wasn’t his. He couldn’t just leave, not yet. He wanted to make sure the family was okay. I feel numb, born with a weak heart I guess I must be having fun

(This post was last modified: Jun 28, 2018, 06:51 PM by Vaken.)

currently travelling with Circe (she can jump in any of his threads)

And she would have killed the disgusting, lowlife dog had not her daughter suddenly screamed. Sahalie's first thought was that some new coyote had appeared and had gotten a hold of her and was about to run away with their daughter and then she and Alastor would never see her again. Later on, she would marvel at how fast and how vividly her mind had conjured this image in the second it took her her to whip her head, eyes leaping to the spot on the ground where Arcus sat—

Completely unharmed.

Sahalie was still standing over a coyote but seeing her daughter, safe but overwhelmed and distraught brought about an uncomfortable mixture of relief and guilt and her guard came down. She was lucky that the coyote, caring only for its own life now, just took this as an opportunity to wiggle out and disappear into the grass with the other cronies. Sahalie blinked as its tail disappeared, realizing suddenly that she and everyone else had still been in danger up until then and she had just spaced out. She shook her head and moved to her daughter's side, curling around her.

Quickly she sniffed through her daughters fur, confirming once again that she hadn't been hurt in any way. "You're alright, my heart. We're all safe. We are here to protect you, okay? You don't have to be afraid." But Sahalie was afraid. The coyotes were still around and they were relentless. How many more times would this happen? What if Arcus was too far away next time or didn't know to call for help?

Then Sahalie remembered there was another wolf here. Her eyes widened when she looked over at him and saw how hurt he was. She took a deep breath. "She's fine," she said more calmly than she felt inside. "Thank you, thank you for saving my daughter." He didn't do it alone, but if he had not been there in the first place the coyotes would have gone for Arcus immediately. He could have ran, but he didn't. "I ... I don't know what we would have done."

Her mouth just kept moving, "You should come back with us. We are staying with a pack. It keeps the coyotes away. I'll tell them you helped us. Someone there surely can look at your wounds." She looked at Alastor, wordlessly asking him that Draven had some sort of medical training, right? And then, after a blink, her look softened. Alastor was pretty beaten up, too. She felt horrible, seeing him this way, but she could not ignore the pride of looking at him, so strong. He had protected their daughter. He would never let her down. "I love you," she whispered to him.

It was true -- she had been in no way physically harmed. In fact, Vaken himself had never touched her, only having the time to try to explain the splash of colors in the sky. The only 'hurt' was the fact that her eyes felt dry and stingy, the way her chest ached from all the shouting and ragged sobs. Her jaw, it ached. But there was no blood, and she was only mightily shaken by the time her Da had come over, planting himself firmly in view. Nosy a girl as she was, Arcus didn't even consider peeking around his big, silvery legs. Immediately, she pressed her small face into this thick fur -- she might have only reached his chest when he sat (and only sort of), but it did the trick. The soft tickle of fur against her nose was distracting, and with no further sounds or cries from the 'battlefield', she started to calm, ragged breaths slowing, tears finally drying.

And then her Mama was here, too. Archie peeked up, offering Hal a tiny lick under her chin before the woman turned to a third -- the spee-shul rainbow boy. He was still here -- Mama hadn't hurt him. Her tail gave one tiny, relieved wiggle as she leaned against Alastor's long legs, exhaustion starting to sink into her small frame. Blue eyes flickered from Hal to Vaken, and something finally stuck. "Fank," she told him, doing her best to mirror Mama.

And then she looked up at her Da. "Sleep?"

She'd never been so tired in her entire life.

@Kino ~

Kino’s heart sped up as Hal’s attention turned from the coyote beneath her to them. His hackles rose, gaze landing sharply on the beast as it started to wriggle. If it so much as breathed in her direction, it was done for. But, the mangy animal seemed to be somewhat intelligent and made out like a bandit. His chocolate wife was quick to scamper over to them, checking thoroughly over Arcus and fretting like the good mother she was. His own muzzle snaked out to poke and prod at her neck, cheeks, and ears affectionately. His little family was safe for the moment, and that was all he could be thankful for.

His attention turned upwards, toward the boy who had seemingly protected his daughter as well as Kino himself. The tiny wolf was beaten up pretty badly and doubtlessly needed medical attention. He waited for Sahalie to speak, voicing much of what he was thinking himself. A nod bobbed his head in agreement. “My brother(@“Draven”) knows herbs quite well, he should be able to patch you up. I’m sure he’ll help, especially if I tell him how you helped to save his niece,” he commented.

Hal’s gentle voice made his turn, brows raised in question before he realized what she’d said. Warmth spread along his body, his lips turning up in a gentle smile. He leaned down to press a kiss to her cheeks, a happy rumble in his chest. “I love you too, always,” he replied. He felt his daughter’s weight grow heavier against his legs and he looked down to find her puppy blue eyes growing droopy with exhaustion. He wasn’t surprised she was so tired, they all were after the fiasco. ”Yes honey, you can sleep. Mama will carry you back to the den for a good, looooong nap. Da has to take the nice stranger to see Uncle Draven,” he replied, his voice soft and caressing. His gaze lifted to the stranger before them, “That is, if you’re willing to come?”

Vaken Svart Vaken kept his head low, modestly accepting the praise with a sheepish discomfort. He shifted his weight nervously listening to the female. Staying with a pack? He grunted. Staying with a pack was the last thing he wanted to do, but he knew it would help him. It was too dangerous to be alone in this condition, especially with the coyotes around. He licked his lips in thought, submitting to the other wolves subtly. “Saved his niece?” Vaken scrunched up his nose. He hadn’t been the rescuer at all. He wasn’t motivated to do the right thing, he acted out of his own self interest. It just so happened that Vaken had a weak stomach and a soft spot for the pup. Hearing it get torn apart by a pack of coyotes would have been pushing his chaotic capabilities. If it had come to it, he would have left the pup. He hated to acknowledge it to himself, but it was true. They had saved him, he had merely put up a bit of a distraction from the coyotes. If the parents hadn’t come, both Vaken and the pup would have died. He fumbled in his head for the right words, the right way to explain the situation. “You saved me,” he mumbled. He opened his mouth to continue, but hesitated. He didn’t know how to thank them, how to admit he was in their debt. He took another step forward and made himself closer to the couple. Keeping his submissive stance, he felt more comfortable in their presence. “I would be very thankful for the help,” he admitted. He was fairly beaten from the coyotes. It would be dangerous for him to continue his travels alone in the coyote infested woods with injuries. He knew that it was his time to accept the kindness of strangers, but he was nervous. A pack opened up a whole can of worms. He would have to respect the hierarchy and learn to exist, even temporarily, around a group of other wolves. He wasn’t sure how well he would function, but he didn’t have much of an option. It was that or risk of death. I feel numb, born with a weak heart I guess I must be having fun

(This post was last modified: Jul 02, 2018, 06:01 PM by Vaken.)

currently travelling with Circe (she can jump in any of his threads)

this will be Sahalie's exit (and arcus' i guess??), but feel free to continue talking or w/e.

Arcus was almost too big now to be carried by her scruff, but somehow Sahalie intended to find the strength to manage. A younger version of her would have been incensed by the idea that she had to go look after the kid while he talked with the stranger but, honestly it didn't matter anymore. She wanted to be close to Arcus and she was dead tired, too. Besides, she had done some suggesting herself by submitting Draven for medic duties. "Mmm," she hummed tiredly in agreement.

For a moment she lingered to hear what the small, beaten stranger would do. He seemed hesitant to follow along and she could sympathize with that. Sahalie didn't really want to be a part of Charred Ash Draw either, but it was becoming a clearer reality with every passing day that they remained in the borders. Reluctantly, the stranger seemed to resign himself to their offering for help, which was probably a good thing as he would not survive very long with wounds like that, smelling like an carcass to all the predators for miles. Wordlessly, she bobbed her head, picked up her daughter, and began back to their makeshift home.

"Kay."

Even at this age, Arcus was starting to resent being carried. She was a good girl, a big girl! She was so good at walking! But today.... This felt pretty good, pretty okay. There was no squirming or small woofs of protest. As Sahalie lifted the girl by her ruff, she settled easily. The girl had no idea if she was heavy (or not), but she was behaved. It was inevitably easier than other days. Her eyes felt heavy, and now the imminent danger was gone, her eyes were already starting to slide shut. All the worry she'd felt what felt like both seconds and hours ago were melting away. "Kay," she said again, tongue stretching out in a long yawn. "Sleep sleep."

Exit.

Maybe we archive this thread and Vaken/Kino can continue in a second?