The Wildwood Tunnel Vision

AW RE: Sharlee, your paws are bloody from digging in the ice. This takes place after the thread with her father.

Sharlee had been chasing the rabbit for hours. The trail had taken her out of the backwater and when she finally spotted it nibbling on some grass next to a tree She was ready for the chase and eventual take down. So she went through all of the proper steps as she'd been taught. Then at the last minute the rabbit changed directions on her, she was close behind using her tail to help her make the sharp turn without falling in the snow. Moments later the rabbit had disappeared into thin air, "Nonono," she said trying to keep it together.

She'd spent all day in that rabbit, there was no way in hell it was going to get away from her. After a deep breath, "You can do this Sharlee. You can find this rabbit and bring it home to your family." Then she set out looking for the scent. It wasn't hard to find since she'd been following it all day. The Valle woman soon discovered where the rabbit had disappeared to. A hidden burrow going into the ground under a bush.

Her mind was made up, she was going to get this rabbit even if she had to completely tear the place up to find it. She began digging. Snow was getting kicked up everywhere she was digging so furiously. Sharlee had one thing on her mind and that was catching the rabbit.

Her tunnel vision had become so narrow that she hadn't noticed her paws. After digging so intensely in the snow for some time the snow around the hole she'd created was starting to turn red. It wasn't until she felt the burning that she finally stopped and saw the color of the snow. Felt the wounds in her paws that the cold snow had created. A whine escaped her maw as she tried to walk.

Collapsing in the snow where she stood Sharlee wasn't sure how she was going to get home. This worried her, she knew she needed help. The only thing she could think to do was call for it. So from where she laid in the snow she raised her muzzle to the sky and called for anyone that could come help her.

Eros hadn't meant to come across anyone other than @Seri this time that he'd ventured out past the borders, but of course the scent of another wolf's blood could not be ignored. Alarm shot through his body as the scent infiltrated his nostrils, and he was running to find what had happened now. When he recognized that it was his aunt, he feared the worse.

Finding her downed in blood-soaked snow didn't help.

"Auntie!" he shouted, plowing through the frosty drifts between them. This can't be happening, he thought frantically as he reached her side and began to nose her over, seeking the source of harm.

"I'm here Auntie..."

Sharlee had sent her call hoping that someone would arrive soon. The burning in her paws each time she put them down on the snow was so intense. She bad nothing left to do but wait. The Valle wan started to lick the blood from her paws in hopes of getting them to stop bleeding. She also hoped it might keep her mind off of what would happen if no one came. She wasn't far from home but she might be far enough no one heard her call.

As time passed she became more and more worried. The she was in the middle of trying to clean her paws (but that was proving painful too) when she heard it. The voice of her nephew, she breathed a sigh of relief, "Eros, I'm here," she called back.

That hadn't been necessary because he came into view a moment later and a moment later than that he was at her side. He had begun to check her all over, "Eros, You have no idea how happy I am to see you," she told the boy. "Its my paws Eros, I can't walk on them," she explained.

His aunt's relief was clear, and it only further fueled the surge of adrenaline and worry. Usually, the adults were all telling him that everything was okay. Now, Sharlee was speaking clearly that something was wrong - her mangled paws. Eros couldn't look at them for longer than a few seconds at a time, thoroughly repulsed by the wounds. They looked like they hurt so bad, he didn't know how the older wolf wasn't sobbing with pain.

Instinct told him to lick the wounds clean, but she'd already been doing that and he didn't want to hurt her anymore than what she was already experiencing. Instead, he tipped back his head and sent out his own howl, hoping it was loud enough for the pack to hear. What if they didn't? There had to be something he could do to help. Maybe if he just found something green and mashed it up and put it on her toes? His peach eyes lifted to meet her gaze.

"Tell me what to do," he all but pleaded.

(This post was last modified: Feb 28, 2022, 12:43 AM by Eros.)

The Valle woman was trying really hard to not think about the throbbing, burning pain in her paws. She kept her focus on her nephew as much as she possibly could which did help some. It was the fear that she'd be stuck out there with no way back to the pack that scared her most.

She could tell that Eros was really upset, she tried to calm him by remaining as calm as she could but she wasn't sure if it was working. She was really touched that he'd come and that he was so worries about her. In the calmest voice she could muster she told him that it was her paws that were injured. She had done her best with them but they were so raw and cut up from digging in the snow that there wasn't much she could do. The cold was starting to set in from resting on the snow. She looked them over again as Eros called for more help.

He then asked for her to tell him what to do. She reached out and licked his cheek, "Its going to be okay," she said trying to comfort him and maybe herself too, "Could you find something that we can put under then so they won't be on the snow?" She asked. Maybe giving him something to do would help.

There the assurance was, and it helped a little but he still could feel the panic in his chest, battering around like a caught animal. It helped when she gave him a request, something to physically do that would hopefully help. He took a deep breath and his head bounced briskly up and down to say yes, he was on it!

The boy took a step back and then twirled round, assessing their surroundings for anything that could help. Unsurprisingly, it was a tree that his rosé eyes settled upon first. His mind immediately made up, he lunged at its trunk and reared onto his hind legs, pulling and scratching at the bark with his forepaws. It gave away only in small chips, the fiber too healthy to be pulled from its foundation. He scowled with annoyance and abandoned the pursuit, dodging at another tree, and then a third before finally finding one whose skin came away easily. He pulled great big strips from the trunk, hoping for it all to come in one piece so that it would be large enough to hold her entire frame but was of course unsuccessful in this.

Still, it was something. He gathered the large pieces in his maw and brought them over to his aunt, gingerly setting them beneath her injured extremities before turning to get more, and more. He'd give her all the bark in the world if it fixed this. Meanwhile, his mind was a buzz wondering if anyone had heard them, or if they were completely alone...

She could see how worried Eros was about her and the situation. It was touching to say the least but she was worried about him. Sharlee worried that this was too upsetting for him. Especially when he didn't know what to do or even if anyone had heard their calls for help. The latter worried her too but in that moment she was more worried about getting Eros to calm himself enough to help her think of a way to get her to Clover if no one did come to help.

Thinking quickly she sent him to find something that would get her paws off the snow. Sharlee hoped that would help to ease some of the pain she was feeling. It made it harder for her to think when her mind kept going back to how much it hurt. While Eros was off doing as she asked Sharlee was trying to think of what to do so that they could get her back to the backwater. Looking around the area she spotted it. A large branch full of pine needles. It looked wide enough for her to lay on. She thought it would be perfect.

Eros returned sliding some bark under her paws which worked well to get her paws off the snow. She smiled at her nephew, "You've done good Eros. This bark is really helping." She reached out and licked his cheek. "Now, it doesn't look like anyone else is coming so it's up to you and me to work together to get back to the backwater. Are you okay with that?" She needed to know he was up to the task.

Her praise was like a needle prick against numbed skin. It made a difference, but he couldn't currently feel it. Eros remained resolutely focused on action, on making this better. That meant no more blood, closed wounds, the warmth and comfort of their communal den... his mind was racing, and thankful she was able to guide the frantic thoughts.

Are you okay with that?

"Of course," he answered without hesitation, "I'll do anything, just say the word."

He'd try dragging her back on those strips of bark if it's what it took to get his aunt to safety and proper medical care.

Sharlee was doing her best to not stress her nephew out any further than he already was. She didn't know what was going through his head but she could easily see this wasn't easy for him. It was with a gentle voice that she spoke to him to make sure he was ready for whatever she was going to ask of him.

It was now abundantly clear to the Valle woman that no one was coming to help them so they needed to do something. Her paws were still painful and bleeding a little though it had seemed to slow thankfully. She'd formed a plan which could only be executed by the both of them.

"Listen to me Eros, please. Over there," she gestured toward some large pine trees, "You need to go find a branch with needles on it. One that can hold me and bring it back," she instructed.

She didn't like that he had to do all the work especially after she'd done something so stupid but there wasn't any other choice. She thought it best to give him one step at a time so he had one thing to focus on.

A branch with needles, large enough to carry her back. That made sense. Eros nodded briskly before whirling round to face the forest once more. His eyes locked with a bough and he launched at it. It's branch was thick around and the whole of it fanned out far enough to carry three bodies. His teeth dug past the thin bark and scraped at the healthy wood, and the entirety of it swayed up and down, shedding snow and needles, but still it was far from coming away from it's trunk. He tried more than he should have, but finally relented and went for another on a different conifer.

Luck was finally on their side, as this tree was brittled by years of bad health and parasitic insects. It was not by his design, the boy still grasping blindly at straws. It snapped in one swift tug, and he nearly tripped over his own paws as the ease and sudden weight sent him stumbling. Eros was not deterred. He hefted the thing about in an arc with a swing of his massive skull, and pulled it to his aunt.

"Dah eh er?" he tried to ask with his tongue pinned beneath the branch's girth.

(This post was last modified: Mar 17, 2022, 05:09 AM by Eros.)