Heartleaf Creek the humbling river -s-

Immediately after the encounter with that @Nash character, Woya had taken off North. She traveled nearly to the edge of of the forest, where the trees were thickest, before finally stopping to sate the gnawing hunger in her stomach. After all, she needed to be absolutely sure that she was alone and safe to let her guard down a little.

Settling down between the large, gnarled roots of an ice-covered tree, she began the methodical work of picking open and peeling apart her prey to get at every delicious morsel. While raccoon was far from her favorite meal, it had been too long since the last time she'd eaten and in this moment, the bloody meat was delicious. Her eyes gently closed, Woya smiled with pure contentment as she ate.

(This post was last modified: Feb 08, 2021, 12:30 AM by Woya.)

Clover shook her pelt to rid herself of the light dusting of snow it had accumulated while she had sat by the edge of the creek, pondering about the future, specifically her future. There would be much responsibility for her to carry in the next coming months if everything happened as she believed it would, and it scared her a little. She was still young herself, barely an adult, but bearing new responsibilities was part of the steep learning curve.

She stepped back from the creek and made her way back into the forest so as to get out from the snow. While the flakes were only gently falling to the ground, she was unsure of if the weather would take a turn for the worse and wanted to take shelter before that happened. It was not long before the scent of fresh blood filled her nostrils, and she lifted her muzzle into the air to try and figure out where it was coming from. Her first thought was that someone was hurt, and so she changed course towards where it seemed to be coming from. "Hello? She called out, a tinge of worry in her voice, hoping nothing bad had happened to whoever was out there.

Woya was at peace for quite a few minutes, enough time to be thoroughly indulging herself on the meat when a voice crept into her ears, robbing her of all tranquility. Her eyes snapped open and searched for the origin, but saw only snow and dark trunks. Promptly, she grabbed her food and jumped to all four paws. Time to go, again, she guessed. It irked her, but without back up she wasn't about to get herself pulled into a tussle.

Woya scrambled over the roots and back onto the snow. Blood leaked from her kill, trailing and staining the paw prints she left behind. She'd have to find a way to lose them, quick...

She came upon the roots of a tree with bits of fluff scattered about and a trail of blood leading away. Her ears pulled back against her skull as she followed the trail, taking note that the pawprints seemed even enough, suggesting that the wolf did not have a limp. But where was the blood coming from?

"I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to help," she called out again, picking up speed to try and catch up to whoever it was. If they could travel this fast then they must not be very hurt, and the blood trail seemed to be quite light so the bleeding was not too bad. But she could not just go about her business when someone was hurt and she was able to help them, and as she tracked the trail her mind began to list off whatever materials she could gather to help stop the bleeding.

I'm not going to hurt you, the voice claimed, and a huff of clouded air expelled from Woya's nose in clear disbelief. Wolves 'round here were pretty damn nosy, she was beginning to gather. What did this lady want, anyways? The Macieo woman kept glancing back out of the corners of her eyes, anticipating a glimpse of whoever it was following her. She tried to pick up the pace, and it was one of the two that caused her downfall.

Woya's paw caught on a hitched tree root and sent her flying forward. The thick meat of the raccoon's torso that her teeth were buried in protected them, but her nose wasn't so lucky; it knocked against something hard hidden just under the snow when she landed, and she could almost hear something pop.

Warm blood began to flow from her nostrils, and Woya cursed up a storm around her kill's dead weight as she tried to scramble back onto her feet before her pursuer caught up.

Motherfucker she could not catch a break.

She heard a dull thunk and muffled words not too far up ahead, and broke into a quick sprint now that she knew she was close to the wolf. The smell of fresh blood got stronger, and it did not take her too long to come across a wolf similar in size and colour to her scrambling to her feet, the body of a furry animal clutched in her jaws. Clover skidded to a halt, panting slightly, partially from exertion but also from worry. The prey explained the scent of blood and the trail she had been following, but after a quick inspection she could see rivulets of blood streaming from the other woman's nostrils.

Her head lowered slightly, ears splaying to the side in an almost apologetic manner, hoping to not scare the woman even more than she probably had. "Sorry if I scared you, I just wanted to know if you were okay," she said in soft, gentle words, trying her best to appear calm like her parents had taught her. "I'm a healer, I can help, but only if you would like me to." Clover would never force her help on another if they truly did not want it, but she would do her best to convince them that accepting her help was a good choice to make.

Dammit, the thought ricocheted with force around in Woya's head as her pursuer appeared from between the shadowy trees; she was caught. Her fangs bared and the fur along her spine bristled, the woman making herself as fierce looking as she could while standing protectively over her kill. No, she wouldn't actually fight over it, but one would be surprised at how many wolves bought the bluff.

Instead of making a move to take her food from her, however, the stranger spoke with concern etched clearly across her features. Woya's brows drew together and lifted, eyes widening in a mixture of outrage and horror. Her jaw even dropped ever so slightly, tiny tombstone teeth showing as she glared at the literal psychopath that chased Woya down to the point of bloodying herself in her panic to ask her if she was okay.

"Okay?" she repeated incredulously, "Am I--? Bitch do I look okay?!"

Clover took a quick step back at the other woman's bared fangs and bristling fur, not willing to be caught up in a scrap over a meal that was clearly hers. She had no intention of stealing the carcass, and there was no need for a tussle to happen between them. She took another step back at the venomous glare pointed directly at her, taking note of the fiery anger in the other's brown eyes, not understanding why the woman was so... furious at her, as it seemed this was less about the dead creature than she had thought.

She winced at the woman's words, ears fully laying back against her skull as a soft whine escaped from her maw, confused as to why the other creamy wolf was acting so callous. "I'm sorry, I didn't intend any harm! I just smelled the blood and thought you were hurt, so I wanted to check that you were all right." Clearly it had not been the right call to make, as even though the woman was sporting a blood nose, she otherwise seemed as healthy as a wolf could be in winter. Maybe she should just apologise and make herself scarce instead of offering her goodwill upon a wolf who did not seem to want it.

(This post was last modified: Mar 24, 2021, 04:03 AM by Clover.)

The other woman was easily cowed, and rightfully so in Woya's honeyed eyes. Her brows remained firmly furrowed, eyes burning with righteous wrath. These angered features did not shift as the stranger apologized and explained herself, a reason that the Macieo did not understand given what her own limited perspective of the situation was. Nah, something was wrong about this chick and Woya wasn't sticking around to find out.

"Mind yer own damn business!" she sneered, before retrieving her limp kill and, with one last glare over her shoulder, taking off once again between the trees. If the woman started after her again, Woya would lose it like a rabid wolverine, but given how upset she'd seemed to have (rightfully) made her it was highly doubtful to the huntress that the other wolf would do anything other than take her own leave.

The other woman wasted no time at all in throwing back the apology she had offered with a dismissive attitude and taking off with one final glare. Clover stood there silently, watching her leave, deciding it was better that she say no more in case she just made the whole situation worse, not that she was sure it could get any worse. Not only did she not help the other woman with her bloody nose, but it seemed she pissed her off at the same time. Perhaps today was just not going to be a good one.

With a shake of her shoulders and a glance towards where the other woman had taken off to, Clover turned and began to head back to the creek, a definite droop to her body as she walked, hoping she would not run into anyone for the rest of the day. Maybe some time alone would be best for now, and she could start the next day off on a better paw. But she did hope that wherever the other woman went she was okay, even if she seemed a little rough around the edges.