The Wildwood Carry me home tonight

This thread is for @Annaliese @Viorel @Vayko and @Andrey. Clover has brought Ana back to where the boys have settled down at. WildFlower first please <3
Mid afternoon, dated back to 18/01/2021

They had gone back to where Ana had stashed her other two rabbits, and though Clover had offered to help carry at least one of them, the dark girl had insisted on carrying all three of them herself. She knew there would be no use arguing about it, so instead she opted to simply assist Ana as needed while they walked. It was slow going, and she felt frustration at not being able to help the girl more, but there was nothing else she could do until the snows melted and flowers began to bloom again.

The journey took them a good portion of the day, the sun just starting to begin its descent in the sky as the two of them came across the small clearing where her and the boys had been staying around. She glanced at Ana with a comforting smile, directing her towards the edge of the clearing where she would be partially hidden from the wind. "You can lay down here for now. We can find a place to stash your rabbits after you've had some rest." Clover sat down on her haunches with a soft exhale, a little tired herself from the trek, only imagining how tired Ana must be after having to walk on three legs the whole time.

Annaliese couldn't of left her rabbits behind, that would've been preposterous! Nor would she accept Clover's help carrying them. On the off chance the woman decided she wanted Ana's rabbits, well, the option wouldn't be given. And so the yearling carried all three rather complicatedly. Her mouth stuffed full with their scruffs. Cheeks stretched to keep her hold. The three scrawny buns swayed about, colliding into echother as she hopped along. It wasn't easy trying to steady them. A few times she was forced to set them down and readjust before continuing on.

The female was perhaps too stubborn for her own good, and yet here she was. Actually agreeing to go along with Clover to some group. She hadn't asked who they were, these wolves, and the thought pressed against her mind. Was she foolish to blindly follow Clover since she'd patched her paw up? Was this going to be the end of her and not the sprain? The dark wolf followed behind with anxiety nibbling at her gut.

As the approached a clearing a familiar smell greeted her. It was similar to the one the humans had tarnished her pelt with. Her noise scrunched up with distaste. Would that rude butt Vayko be here? Unsure if she'd be welcomed or not the girl looked towards Clover for reassurance.

The words were nice enough, but Ana wasn't so sure. She laid the rabbits down carefully, then ever so wobbly, flopped ontop of them . She wasn't taking no chances in this matter. "Are you sure they'll be okay with me being here?" She questioned, licking at the bark that encased her wound.

Currently Annaliese smells vaguely like Valle wolves. During transportation, the humans rubbed her with their scent.

Just a note this is approximately a day or two after the meeting thread also I think @Andrey is still across the mountain?

Just prayed to a God that I don't believe in

The teen had spent most of the day scouting through the newly discovered territory, his mind running wild with ideas. Where the den would be, the cashes, the lines they would draw that would mark what was theirs. Viorel felt alive with a type of drive that he had never before felt in his young life, it felt like he was finally doing something for himself and not just what was expected of him. There was part of him that wondered if they were being naive about the whole endeavour, but a larger more optimistic part of him knew that this was what he was born to do. Valle blood ran through his veins.

Finishing a loop of their imaginary borders Viorel slowed his pace and loped slowly back towards their old home base. He had been alternating his time between the new area and the old, in case any of their other family members turned up and got dropped off. Suddenly, the teen slid to a stop in the snow, nostrils flaring. The salty smell of sea air was unmistakingly Estuary, but the underlying smell he didn’t recognize, and Viorel had known everyone who lived there.

Flashing yellow eyes narrowed suspiciously. His mind instantly on what Vayko had told him before, I think a loner I ran into with a less than pleasant attitude said she was rubbed down with something and this loner happened to smell like home when I’d never seen her before a day in my life. I think something is going on here and I don’t trust it. Viorel didn’t trust this either, Clover’s smell was also intermingled there and suddenly the teen was running. Bursting into the clearing he was confused to see Clover sitting across from a stranger who had a comical amount of rabbits. He had certainly never seen her before but she did smell of home. Narrowing his eyes, his tone was accusatory, ”Who are you and why do you smell of the Estuary?”

'Cause I got time while she got freedom

what i really need now is a double shot of crown

This place was slowly but surely becoming home in his mind. Admittedly, the idea of leading had been enough of an appeal to make a huge jump but it would still take time and a familiarity with the lands before it truly set in his mind just what he was going to be doing. Vayko had been taking a nap. In his defense, he had been tracking a herd late into the night, so a nap right around now had been not only good for his health but necessary as well. He stretched out, his rump in the air with a soft yawn before he decided to venture off back towards their home base.

Perhaps a hunt was in order as he’d isolated a herd near the fields, or someone might want to run the borders with him when that stench hit his nose. There was a fury in his eyes as he instantly broke into a run, diving into the clearing not long after Viorel with a drawn out snarl, his eyes locking instantly on the loner. “What are you doing here?” He hissed, clearly remembering the girl. He did not have the best opinions of her, given how she had been so insistent that packs were evil.

He spotted the bark on her leg, and he couldn’t help the disbelieving chuckle that settled across his maw. Oh, the irony. She was injured. Clover had helped her. “The big bad loner succumbed to injury, did she?” The words were practically spat. “And now you’re trying to turn to a bunch of… what was it you called us? Packers to feed and care for you until you’re better?” He’d made the assumption given what was presented to him in the scene: the light intermingling of her scent with Clover’s and the fact that Viorel had not shredded her the moment he saw her.

(This post was last modified: Jan 22, 2021, 12:31 AM by Vayko.)

She watched as Ana lay down on top of her rabbits, inwardly a little amused but also understanding the reason why. In her condition she would be unable to protect them from someone snatching them away, but she reasoned that none of the others in her group would be quite rude enough to try that. Her lips turned up in a soft smile at the darker girl's question. "I'm honestly not sure, but I couldn't leave you all alone. Viorel seems nice to I think he'll let you hang around for a couple days until you get better." Or at least she hoped Viorel was nice enough to let Ana stay. Now that their group had plans to officially claim the area soon, she was a little more unsure of what his standing would be on strangers.

It did not take long for Viorel to show up by showing up hurriedly from the edge of the clearing, looking like he had just been running. His tone was accusatory, and not at all friendly like it was when he spoke to her, but his words intrigued her. She had noticed the scent on Ana's coat was somewhat similar to the scent that clung to the boys and Sharlee, but had not made the connection in her mind until now. However she did not have any time to think about that as Vayko appeared with a snarl directed at Ana and some hissed words. Her ears flicked back, not quite laying flat on her skull, but she definitely showed her displeasure at his tone. That was no way to talk to anyone regardless of what had transpired between them, as it was evident him and Ana had met before.

"Actually I brought her here," she said firmly, doing her best to stand up for Ana against Vayko's tirade. "I found her injured and couldn't leave her by herself so I thought I'd bring her with me. She'll only be here for a couple days until her leg gets better." While she would not back down on her decision to help Ana, she would understand if they did not want the darker girl so close to where they had made camp, and would oblige if they asked for Ana to stay somewhere further away. "I will look after her by myself if necessary, and I can move her further away if you don't want her so close, but I won't just leave her to fend by herself."

A nearby creek is full to the brim with fish. +3 Health

Annaliese groomed the areas around her dressing, her paw throbbing within. Her ear flicked at....her friend?...Clover was her friend now, right? Regardless her ear flicked at the words uttered by the other female. The feeling of being utterly useless dropped into the pit of her stomach. She was a burden now. Ana frowned deeply, "I'm troubling you..." she muttered, looking away with sadness. She didn't want Clover to go out of her way for her. What good did it do for the gentle gal? The yearling couldn't fathom the kindness extended her direction. "I definitely owe you after this." She chuckled softly, trying to lighten the mood, but being consumed by a heavy sigh. She drew her attention back to the rabbits, making sure to tuck them out of view beneath her.

A young male, around her own age, barged into the clearing with a harsh tone. Knowing she was hurt and couldn't afford to be defensive, Ana flattened her ears and lowered her head submissively. She shied away from his gaze, staring down at the snow. His questions brought forth a surge of emotion she hadn't even realized was there. Her lip quivered, voice breaking as she spoke, "Annaliese...th-the skin walkers did it." She wanted to go home! She wanted to be at the coast! She missed the sand, the salty air, and of course fishing! Longed to go back to where she belonged before the humans had taken her. Now she was cold, injured, and stuck in this white hell. She finally met his eyes with a few tears beginning to line the brim of her lids. Dark pools of brown melting into raw emotion as she peered forward to the stranger that she smelt like.

Suddenly the yearling she'd previous met, Vayko, was there. Meeting her with the same hostility from when she'd first awoken here. She met his question with her own spat, "I wake up in a strange land and you're immediately barking at me. Get hurt in a strange land and you're at it again." She didn't look at him, trying to keep her anger at bay. Now was not the time to rub anyone the wrong way. He just kept going though and she gritted her teeth. Her head snapped in his direction and she stumbled up to her paws, visibly wincing. She still couldn't put pressure on the one, keeping it up off the ground. "What made you so hateful? Mean and nasty? You're just proving that I'm right and packers are cruel. You taunt loners. Chase them away from kills they made. Watch them starve and suffer while you sit back on your butt and laugh." Annaleise didn't even realize she was crying, tears staining her cheeks as she spoke. They dropped onto the snow below and left little indents. "I don't need-" She was cut off as Clover spoke up defending her, shock evident on the girl's face. She looked on with disbelief, shutting her mouth so that the tiny white female could say her peice.

When she was done Ana shook her head, "I don't need anyone..." She spoke in hushed tones, barely audible, "Never have and never will. Thank you, Clover, but I think it's best I leave."

Currently Annaliese smells vaguely like Valle wolves. During transportation, the humans rubbed her with their scent.

Just prayed to a God that I don't believe in

Skinwalkers what the hell was a skinwalker? Is that what the two legs are called? How did she know them and why would they have brought her here? Viorel’s muscles tensed, this whole situation was confusing and suspicious and he didn’t like it. Yellow eyes flashed towards Clover to try and gauge what she knew about this Annaliese, but he didn’t have a chance. The sound of paw steps caused the dark ears to swivel backwards just moments before Yako burst onto the scene. Clearly this was about to escalate.

Viorel was torn, on one paw he wanted to question everything that the woman knew, where she had come from, who the skinwalkers were, why they had taken her. However, on the other paw Vayko had met this woman before and clearly had some big feelings about it. Hardening his jaw he looked back to clover, questioning why she would have brought this woman here. Was there some bigger purpose behind all of this?

The teen was about to agree that the loner could stay if Clover insisted she had to, but would need to be moved farther from the base, it seemed like a simple compromise. Then Annaliese spoke again. Yellow eyes narrowed in anger, ”That is enough.” Stepping forward Viorel looked down at her, ”You’re acting like a fool, Clover has offered to care for you out of the goodness of her heart and I would be open to helping you had you not immediately begun to insult us.” Breathing smoothly out of his nose he paused for a moment, calculating what the appropriate move here was. ”We are not going to steal your food, we have no interest in laughing at you or watching you starve, you clearly do need someone as you have gotten yourself injured.” Grey tipped tail flicked behind him in annoyance, ”We owe you nothing, so I am not going to beg you or try to convince you to stay if you want to leave. However, if Clover chooses to help you and harbour you I will not make any move to stop her.” He wasn’t sure that Vayko would like that, but it was what it was.

'Cause I got time while she got freedom

what i really need now is a double shot of crown

He scowled lightly as Viorel spoke up. It was true that his cousin was his better half in the respects that he would not fly off the handle like Vayko did. He could recognize his temper was getting the best of him at times. He had listened with a lashing tail as the irritating woman spoke, once again painting herself in a sob story. He wasn’t having it. He would not have this presence around him. He didn’t care if she was injured right now. She had a blatant disrespect for what he and everyone else here stood for, hurling around ‘packer’ like an insult.

At least Viorel seemed to see what he saw, lifting his chin indignantly as yellow eyes stared on. He listened to what his cousin laid out, and in his opinion it was far too nice. Vayko might have interested in laughing at her, but only because his opinions of her were already low. She was manipulative and conceited in his eyes, and he was not interested in having this poison surrounding him or his family. His cousin was right, he was not a fan. He felt his tail lash from side to side in irritation.

He hummed softly with a soft snort. “As long as she stays far enough away from me.” He scowled. “I don’t want to have to listen to her spout any more than she already has to me about how packers don’t have survival skills, especially in her state.” He stated to make his contempt for the situation clear.

Clover shook her head when Ana mentioned owing her, but knew she could not simply say no. "You can pay your debt by making sure you let your paw heal properly." That was good enough for her as she simply wanted the darker female to get better so she could sustain herself once more if she still chose to go it alone. She stepped closer as Ana stood up, wanting to make sure she did not topple over and injure her paw any further, but she paused when Ana began to rant, most of it directed towards Vayko.

Ana's words surprised Clover, and she shook her head fervently in response. Living alone was no way for someone to live, even if it was by choice, and she would not leave Ana to fend for herself while injured. She would not. However, before she could speak, Viorel stepped forward, his words firm enough that she kept silent, not wanting to incite any further anger from him. She felt her heart swell when he said he would not intervene and stop her from helping Ana, as she had been worried that he would have chased Ana off considering her choice of words. Clover decided she would thank him at a later time, when things were less heated.

She nodded at Vayko, understanding his point of view, though not quite agreeing with it, but she did not feel that it was the right time to bring up that point. "Thank you," she said with as much sincerity as she could muster, her words directed at both Viorel and Vayko, ever grateful that they were being as lenient as they were. "We'll move further north, and once her paw heals she'll be on her way." She had been considering asking Ana if she would like to join their group, but given how things were going that did not seem like a good idea, and she would take whatever grace Viorel and Vayko were offering. Her gaze returned to the darker female, imploring her to agree to stay for just a few days, and then she could be on her way.