Red Fern Forest the white knight is talking backwards

a dream within a dream

Some days the old lady forgot what she was doing but continued to do it. For instance, this morning she had started for a morning walk and simply forgotten which direction home was. Too dumb to follow her own paw prints in the snow, or to call for the pack, she just kept moving. While the winter was harsh, and snow was difficult to move through, she found she had more energy today than usual. Being small and practically weightless, December did not disadvantage her too much. Without a physical remainder that she needed to rest, she just kept walking forwards, farther and farther from the pack.

She was not sure how long she had been walking for before her body abruptly stopped. She did not know where she was or how she got here. Panic set in, her tail tucking behind her back legs and ears flattening. Her eyes grew in fear and her breathing quickened. She circled the same spot, looking wildly around for something familiar- but there was nothing. She was lost.

Salvador heard the cry of a frightened wolf and followed the sound to an elderly woman circling a spot in the snow. He looked closer trying to see what was wrong but could not. "What's wrong, madam?" he asked. As he waited for her answer, he tried to get a better idea of who she was.

Her coat was white, but matted and dirty. He could smell the scent of a pack on her. Recent, so she was likely still a part of it. He wondered where it was and why they weren't here with the old woman. The brown gentleman sniffed the air to check for other wolves, but detected none. He was oddly reminded of a story his aunt used to tell him when he was a little pup, about a pup named Friskabon who wandered away from his family in search of adventure. He was found by Kirian, a sly, evil fox, who would like nothing more than to eat Little Friskabon. The pup saw through his lies, however, and escaped, running back to his family as fast as his little legs could go. This gave Salvador a sense of unease. Was he Kirian or Friskabon in this story? He'd have to be careful and wait for the tale to unfold.

a dream within a dream

Lae was the overly trusting type. While she was nervous, lost and a little stressed out- she trusted her new visitor. She was foolish in that way, but she had gotten this far. Kindness never hurt anyone. "I'm lost," she admitted, shifting her weight. "I thought I was going straight but-" Her tone trailed off, implying that something had gone wrong along the way. "I was wrong."

There was no shame in her tone. She did not feel embarrassed by her situation, only scared. She did not want to be lost. She wanted to be in the pack den by night fall, to sleep beside her pack mates. While not threatened by her new companion, her body was still tensed. She was too old to be out on her own like this, wasn't she? A little groan escaped her, filled with hollow fatigue and anxiousness.

A warren of rabbits is hidden under a nearby tree. +3 Health

The old woman confessed that she got turned around without any shame. That helped Salvador a lot, actually. He didn't have to tease out of her what was going on. "Where do you live?" he asked. He didn't know how much of a help he would be, given that he didn't know where anything was. But she was sure to have a pack. Besides the obvious scent of other wolves, an elderly lady like her should have a pack to protect her. A pack would patrol their boundaries, correct? She'd be able to smell them once he got close and tell him if they were the right wolves. "Don't worry. We'll find them," he reassured her.

a dream within a dream

The reassurance was something, but it didn't ease the tension from Lae's body. She stayed frightened, wide-eyed and confused. She was a deer caught in the headlights. Even though the stranger meant no harm, she was beyond irrational. She struggled to respond to him, her mouth freezing up. Where was home? That was the issue: she didn't remember.

She just shook her head in a curt no, trying to give him a sign that she was unsure since her voice was missing. She could remember her pack mates, the waterfall, but not how to get back to it. It existed in her memory like a theoretical place, not one that she remembered realistically. "I think- I think it's north."

This was a stab in the dark, since Lae didn't really know. She was trying, grabbing at straws and hoping.