Whisper Marsh Wayward ̶s̶o̶n̶

Dated to May 13th '22, during Stella's journey back to SC. AW, one person only, graci!
Current health condition 65%, please ignore health bar

It was well past the middle of the night, but the sky and landscape beneath lay illuminated in a reddish glow, cast by the light of a nearly full moon that seemed to have been rinsed with blood. The girl who jogged through the still marshlands could relate  - recently, the only thing she had found to slake her thirst was the trickle of blood from a paltry kill. To Stella, the eerie glow was a boon despite its bloody appearance - it was Sanguine, the color of her home's namesake. The ruby glow meant that she could keep moving, despite the tiredness that echoed through her frame. She was too close to home to concentrate on sleep, her mind humming with an anticipatory, nervous energy.

Who was she kidding, going off on her own like this? The girl felt a deep longing to be home, but she felt as if it was crawling home and admitting defeat as well. She wasn't really ready for any of this. When she left, she had harbored the hope of finding some trace of Kip. Now she wasn't sure she could even properly remember her scent! And what else did she have to show for the journey? Worn paws and protruding ribs? The only way to head off such trepidations was to keep looking forward.

As she made her way through the tall grasses and reeds that dominated the area, the stalks seemed to whisper softly among themselves. The grasses here were so tall, they reminded her of when she had been only a tiny thing, sneaking away to play amongst spring's gentle verdant embrace. The razor-thin blades arched high over her back and traced darker lines against the night sky. The grasses did not answer her thoughts, simply singing their own song in their own language. Were they welcoming her, or speaking of her failures? She could only guess.

(This post was last modified: May 17, 2022, 03:06 PM by Stella.)

Scully was hunting, and saw the marsh's grasses shiver and sway as something else moved through them. The wind was against him, and so he could not scent the animal, but times were getting desperate. The thought of fresh prey, and being able to help keep @Avella hydrated, trumped all reservations that might have otherwise entered his mind as he prowled after the visual trail.

Once close enough, he shot forward, lunging with fangs bared at the unknown presence within the reeds. Whatever it was, he hoped to come down on its back and throw it off balance, taking a mouthful of its skin between as well if lucky. Of course, not knowing the frame he was hunting left many variables up in the air, meaning he was more likely to fail than succeed.

(This post was last modified: Sep 14, 2022, 04:24 AM by Scully.)

Too late she heard the swift rushing of the grass as something - or someone - bore down on her. Too late, she smelled the wisp of a scent on the breeze, of a stranger. No time to process. It all hit Stella at once, the realization followed just a moment later by the physical force crashing into her, giving her only a hair's breadth of a moment to duck as the beast pounced at her.

"AARGH!" she snarled in surprise and anger as she tried to duck, hoping his momentum would send him off her back and past her rather than pinning her down. Her paws scrabbled at the earth underfoot, seeking purchase to aid in throwing her attacker off and throwing herself sideways. It might knock her off balance, but hopefully she'd be freed. "What in the -?!" A half-formed sentence leapt from her lips in indignation.

The noise that burst from his intended prey communicated almost immediately that they were wolf rather than any lesser beast. Lips twisting into a disappointed scowl, he tried to rectify his mistake mid-action. His limbs pushed away and his body twisted as it sailed, next connecting with the earth and brittle grass. Now focused on defense, he rolled and leapt to put some distance between himself and this stranger in case she wanted for revenge.

It wasn't until he was a few yards away did he begin to realize just how young the vagabond was. Curiosity sparked, he gave his coat a shake and offered something of an apology.

"My bad."

She had been lost in thought, and then reacted without thinking. Now her thoughts raced. Was this encounter going to turn bloody, fatal even? Her heart raced in time with her thoughts. What if she never returned home, saw her family again? No, no, no.

Stella wheeled to face her attacker. The shadow of a man was larger than her, certainly, but her hackles were up and temper flared. Luckily, they seemed to have the same goal in mind, to put distance between one another. Both scuffled back from one another, the dust settling between them. The girl's masked brow furrowed as she tried to understand what was happening, adrenaline coursing with each heartbeat.

His bad? Something between a scoff and a growl fell from her lips. "Ya think?" she retorted, though her pulse was steadying with each breath. For the moment, anyway. "This place claimed or somethin'?" If it was, he still hadn't said so. Still, she probably shouldn't go barging around so carelessly.

(This post was last modified: Sep 20, 2022, 12:09 AM by Stella.)

The attitude she met him with reminded him of something, a similar incident where he'd been the one in her paw prints. His own hypocrisy was not lost himself, and in fact he found it amusing. A soft snort fled his nostrils and his lips ticked upward in a crooked smile. Oh well, sucks to suck.

"In a way," he answered off-handedly, "they're huntin' grounds."

It was something of an answer, if she wanted to make the proper assumptions. Scully didn't much mind either way, whether she brushed the incident off or grew even more irate over it. Even if he didn't have a pack to call, he was confident enough in his own deduction that he could totally take her if need be.

So was or wasn't she trespassing, anyway? Stella tried to reconsider that first instinct to put her hackles up and argue back. But really, it wouldn't matter if he was claiming the moon overhead. She knew she was outmatched. There was no point in a needless fight, and for the moment it seemed they might talk this out.

"Well, I didn't mean any harm," she offered. Maybe you should mark the places you don't want strangers to go, so they can avoid them, the young Vuesain wanted to say but instead she followed with a question. "Mind if I cut through? I'll be out of your fur faster," such a request was probably the less reckless thing to say. Truthfully she didn't want to go around and delay her journey by making a detour, she just wanted to get home. Willing to take or leave this interaction either way, she still had to ask.

Scully began to catch on that she was under the impression that the almost-scuffle had been intentional. He quirked a brow, watching her as she seemed to reign in her ire and gave his claim some semblance of respect. A huff of laughter left his lips then, and he gave his fur a shake to rid itself of the debris collected from their bump-in before answering.

"Knock yerself out, kid," he answered with a relatively light note to his voice. His own legs were already moving, taking him past her and putting some grass between them. He still needed to find food for Avella, after all.

"Just stay out of the Willows."

Almost as suddenly as he'd arrived, he was off again. The interaction left her puzzled, but it was all well enough and she wasn't even asked to go out of her way. He seemed almost entertained by the whole affair, giving her the impression of a rather capricious demeanor. Her lingering annoyance was tinged with relief and a hint of gratefulness, a distasteful mixture.

Her ears swiveled to catch his words as he went, and this time it was her turn to let out a huff. "No problem," she turned on her heel to go. After this meeting, she wouldn't plan on treading any closer than she had to to get out of here and toward the mountains. Not if this was was the way these wolves of the Willows greeted strangers, until they learned to look before leaping. "Thanks," she called back as she went. Let them part without delay, but with a scrap of civility between them nonetheless.

No problem. Without much meant of it, his thoughts reflexively answered ya better. At this point, Scully still felt more protective over than jealous of his sister and the little family she had created for herself. If the yearling didn't mind the boundaries of the forest, he'd have little issue with tackling her again - even if he had known she was descended from the Cove leader.

He remained alert as he continued his hunting, thankful not to cross paths with anyone else...