Fallen Tree Cove Hard-won Homecoming

@Kajika @Moonshadow but all welcome

Everything reeked of blood and infection. It was the payment he'd made to return home.  He could have run, and perhaps he should have made a circle, but this time he couldn't turn his tail.  He knew he couldn't really take them all on his own, but he'd had to try.  In the end he'd managed to hurt enough of them badly enough that he could make a break for home. The cost was high.

He could hear them following behind, waiting for him to collapse.  He could hear their quiet footsteps and their howls at night when he tried to stop.  He was forced to push on.  This time he was walking up, struggling up the mountain towards his family instead of following the slope of the earth downwards into the unknown. He wondered if he would actually make it back or if they would find his body, savaged by coyotes, beyond their borders.  He wondered if they would find him at all.

He couldn't rest.  He couldn't stop and eat or drink.  His legs shook and he stumbled every few steps when he failed to properly lift his heavy paws. Each step sent agony lancing through the gashes along his flank, and his rear leg didn't seem to want to hold his weight.  He was ready to collapse, but he was oh, so close. 

Finally, finally, the scent of home tickled at his nose, somehow managing to make it through the reek of his own illness.  He somehow managed to push himself the last short distance over the border before the earth sucked him down, where he was not strong enough to escape its hold. He couldn't even muster the breath to call for help.  He hoped the pack scent would be enough to hold the coyotes, though they would easily be able to see him on the other side.  His sides heaved as he gasped for air. He would not die here.  He could not.

l

The alpha had spent his morning watching over the pups and Birtie. He worried for the mother of his children and how she was adjusting to her new circumstances. He trended to stay closer to the den in case he was needed watching over the children more. He was growing restless hit that was another matter entirely. He didn't want to think about it then as he watched the sleeping forms of Elwood and Chenoa. They would surely be up and about soon enough and he would be chasing them.

Feeling that they would be alright for a little while the father decided to take a few moments for himself. Checking over them one last time he left the den site to head for the border. He still needed to do a patrol that day but it wasn't long before his nose caught the scent of blood and worse, infection.

He rushed ahead not wanting to waste any time in case it might be Tulip. The scent of the wolf being masked by the other scents. When he finally came upon the wolf he didn't find Tulip but Tagg instead. The scent of Coyotes thick in the air. “What happened to you Tagg and where have you been?” He asked getting straight to the point. He needed to know what was going on in case they had to counter an attack from the coyotes. Going to his friend he immediately started looking him over. He would need medical attention quickly.

(This post was last modified: Aug 15, 2018, 04:15 AM by Kajika.)

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Chan had worried after his father when the man didn't come home. It was those damned coyotes that had him most worried, as he knew Roland couldn't have been responsible; he'd been watching the boy closely that same day, having caught him earlier alone with his baby siblings. Tagg could've taken him anyways, his dad was strong, but five coyotes at once strong? Six? Seven? They'd... they would...

He'd wanted to look for him, too, but he couldn't leave the pups and his mother alone. Not with Roland. Maybe that was the wrong choice, he thought, as the scent of blood and something sickening laced within it reached his nose. The boy nearly tripped over himself as he changed gears, from an easy-going stride to a full on sprint. When he hit the scene, he was far less collected than their alpha.

"Dad! Dad!" he shouted as his thundering paws quickly closed the distance between them. Chan would have laid with his father, not caring about the blood that would've smeared through his fur, but he could still smell them; coyotes, out of sight.

Chan threw back his head and howled for the others.

Medic demonstration 1/3

The small female had been dozed near the lake’s edge for the past couple of hours. Her muscles were sore from her run. Licking her lips she wiped away the last traces of the rabbit she had demolished hungrily. She still needed to sort her herbs later, check them over, make sure none were wilting or unhappy. Their potency could be lost otherwise.the sudden howl that went up caused Sylva’s eyes to shoot open, she looked around before standing and giving her head a shake. Looks like her plans were going to be put on hold. She looked in the direction the noise had come from, a seed of worry sprouting up as she started off toward it.

She came closer and closer to the border, the sudden and strong scent of infection filled the air. Sylva picked up her pace dashing down the trail. The worry turned into concern. Who was hurt? Was it Chan? It had sounded like him.” Once she got there, Sylva sucked in a breath when she saw the state Tagg was in. A soft growl emitted from her throat, the damn coyotes. She looked at her packmates, taking a step closer to the male. “Stay still please.” she said softly “I need to look you over.” She looked at between @Chan and @Kajika and asked “Yarrow, back in my den, do either of you know what it looks like?”

(This post was last modified: Aug 17, 2018, 12:09 AM by Sylva.)

I think I need help, cuz I'm drowning in myself

No no no this was not happening right now. The sound of her eldest's voice distressed reached her silver dusted ears her heart dropped. She double checked to make sure that the twins were near the heart of the territory the lake queen too off towards the borders. She couldnt bare her baby being hurt again! Blood and infection filled her nostrils as her mercury orbs locked on the tawny form of her boy. She turned towards him but quickly realized it wasnt his tawny form that was battered. It was that of her husbands.

"Tagg!" she shouted coming to his open side. Sylva was asking Kajika and Chan if they knew what yarrow was. "My love what happened?" she spoke her tone very clearly laced with worry. Whines came from her throat as she assessed the damage. She was not going to lose him.

Word Count: 000

It didn't take long for Kajika to find him. Of course it was his steady friend; the alpha, like him, wandered the borders frequently. The man wasted no time, checking him over while demanding answers.

Before he could collect enough breath to answer, his son was by his side, shouting. His voice rang in the guardian's ears as he summoned the rest of the pack. Not everyone... he thought.

The next to arrive was Sylva, speaking to him in gentle tones. He could barely process what she was saying, as his mind seemed to be slipping in and out of consciousness. Still, he remained motionless.

...until Moon arrived, her blessed voice cutting through the blurs as she cried his name and asked for answers. The only words he could gasp were, "They're still close," before gravity took hold of his head again and it thunked back to the ground. He felt heavy, like a dead fish melting into the earth. 

Is this what dying feels like...?

l

It was a shock to find Tagg, one of their own and his friend at the border in the condition that he was in. He wanted to make sure that the tawny man got the medical attention that he needed as a friend should. The alpha in him needed to know what had happened and if he needed to take precautions to protect the pack.

Before he could get any answers though Chan had appeared and after his call Sylva and Moonshadow joined them. Kajika was certain he wouldn't get any answers yet out of the man. He stepped aside to allow Moonshadow and Chan the family reunion they deserved and for Sylva to do her work.

Tagg did manage to get out something before he inevitably passed out. “We need to get him to the medical den,” he said gently to Moonshadow, “And we need to double the patrols in case someone comes looking for him.” Kajika didn't know who they were but they needed to be prepared for whoever it was.

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Sylva was the first to answer, and while Chan wanted his mother to appear more than anyone, it was best that their medic was so quick to arrive. She immediately set to work. The young Eastfall wanted to hover over her shoulder, stay glued to his father's side, but he knew that wasn't what was most needed of him in that moment. He strode past them instead, toward the edges of the Cove's domain. Still within sight and earshot, he heard his mother arrive, but his eyes were focused on the horizon, seeking any sight of the vermin that had maimed his father.

If he saw even one of them, he'd... he would...

His fur bristled thinking about it, an unfamiliar rage beginning to fill him. He'd make them pay. He didn't hear Sylva's question, nor Kajika's thoughts. Chan was solely focused on standing guard.

The small wolf was worried about Tagg’s condition, and how Moonshadow and CHan would handle their mate and father’s condition. She took a moment to breathe before nodding when Kajinka spoke, of whoever attacked their packmate still lurked in the area then treating him here was a horrible idea.

“Ok, ok, Chan, why don’t you and your mom give him support and lead him back to the den.” She paused and glanced at the male Alpha “I’ll run back and get a spot prepared for him.” With that, the small wolf dashed off and out of sight. The moment she got out of eyesight of the others Sylva let go of the breath she had been holding in. Now that she was alone for the moment she could let her worry show. Her steps became frantic by the time she reached her den. The comforting scent of her herbs greeting her.

The young medic looked around the small cave before cursing silently, she hadn’t kept anything extra to make a comfortable spot to sleep with except for her own. She looked at the slightly depressed impression on the pile of moss and leaves and sighed softly before murmuring “Sorry, it’s gotta be done.” She turned and sniffed the piles, hunting for Yarrow.

I think I need help, cuz I'm drowning in myself

Her love collapsed in front of her eyes and her heart did the same. Tears threatened to fill her eyes as they frantically looked between her husband and Kajika. She couldnt cry though, she needed to be strong for her child. She barely heard her onyx friend say Tagg needed to get to the medical den and she missed the second statement. Her ears were filled with her own whines as she desperately nudged him to wake up. "Ta - Tagg, love" her voice broke, she refused to lose him. A single silver dusted ear flicked to hear Sylva leave to the medical den. She tore her gaze away to see her eldest standing guard staring and had the circumstances not been so dire she would have smiled. Smiled at how much the boy had grown and how much he had become like his father. Her eyes made their to Kajikas the fear very clear within them.

Word Count: 000