Fallen Tree Cove fade away

-AW RE. Also thread exhibiting Jadon being at -5 LP.
At least maybe someone else can get the RE points if Jay dies.

His time here in the mountains had been a fool's errand. It hadn’t mattered where he’d gone, what peaks he’d ascended. The wanderer hadn’t seen so much as a single sign or revelation from the gods. No dreams, no messages, no forgiveness.

Nothing except for cold, constant hunger, and silence.

Now, he was probably going to die for it. He’d managed to follow the scent of water to a cove tucked in from a lake of sorts, where he’d paused for a drink.

He’d always been of a slender build, but it was now worse. Scavenging only got him so far, and it was not enough. Even beneath a thick winter coat, the outlines of his skeleton were growing visible. He could see his ribs and shoulders protruding as he studied his reflection in the frigid waters just beyond.

The wanderer turned away after that, placing his nose to the ground in hopes of finding something to eat. In his weakened state though, he didn’t get too far before one of his limbs buckled, and then all of the sudden he was tripping forward.

Right into a rather thick crop of burrs. He could feel them tugging at his fur as he landed on his right side, leaving little cuts here and there, especially where the fur was thinner along his face and limbs. He’d never been one to quit, even when the odds were against him. But now, it just felt hopeless.

Rather than try to extract himself from the bushes, Jadon simply reclined his head and remained there. Perhaps it was time to stop running from what seemed would be his inevitable fate.

Eclypse was not the world's best hunter yet by any means.

So perhaps it was no surprise when she found a trail and thought it prey for a good while. Until she thought she saw a glimpse of familiar things. Wolfish ears and a tail.

Only for those things to disappear and go downward into a tangle of brambles. Had she known the importance of where she walked, maybe she would have thought fonder of the overgrown place. Yet as it stood now she only faltered herself in the thickets. The cold may have stripped leaves and killed off a few growing things, but the place here still sat untouched.

Well, save for him.

"Are you okay?" She would always be quick to offer help. The world had not snuffed it out of her yet. "My mother is a healer not far from here if you got scratched..."

Too young to know that maybe cuts and bruises were the least of his concerns.

The wanderer allowed his eyes to close. Only a few moments would pass before he would open them again though, as a voice broke through the air, shattering the silence that’d surrounded him and pulling Jadon from his thoughts and misery.

Despite the tangle of burrs and dead vegetation he’d found himself in, Jadon gathered his forepaws and pushed himself up to study the other. Still a kid, probably all of six or seven months old. Taller and yet thin, not having quite filled out into her adult form yet.

Are you okay? Was her question. She went on to add that her mother was a healer, and could help if he’d been hurt. She was too young to know, or to notice, perhaps, that his condition was worse than that. Instinctively, he wanted to refuse.

No. He didn’t want someone else’s help. Didn’t wish to be bound in service to anyone in exchange for his life - assuming of course the mother was even willing. A feeling rooted in pride, which had been the cause of his exile now. But he couldn’t bring himself to refuse outright. What if this child was bringing the answer to his prayers? Maybe not the one he’d wanted, but what he needed?

Jadon would respond to her with a small nod, confirmation, acceptance of the offer, before beginning the process of untangling himself from the burrs and branches that still stuck to him.

"Here, I can..."

She sought to break some of the brambles around him. A combination of snapping them between her jaws and crushing some under paw. If she could clear out the immediate area around him then it might be easier for him to get up by himself.

Soft crunches under foot. It was easier when she was...healthier. She was close enough to see it better now. That he was not just small, but he was gaunt. Bony shoulders and jutted ribs. Something about it twisted her gut nervously. What if Mama said he was sick? What kind of sickness made someone look like that?

"I'm Eclypse." She offered softly, a voice that sought to soothe despite her youth. "The walk won't be very far but...I can call too, if you need me to..."

--here you are maybe saving my characters again... that's 2 I owe you now :o

The youth, without hesitation - without even waiting for an answer - pressed forward to help free him of this present entanglement. With her aid, wrenching himself free of the tendrils that’d grasped at him seemed easier. After she’d managed to break a few more off, the wanderer pulled himself free and was finally able to stand upright.

His limbs were weak, but some level of motivation had returned. Jadon didn’t want a child to be the one to see him perish.

Eclypse. He’d look toward her after that, eyes alight with gratitude. ”Jay,” he spoke, barely a whisper. ”Thank you.”

The walk wouldn’t be far, she said, but she could call. Jadon gave his head a shake at that, before gesturing with his nose for her to lead. He was already going to be a burden, potentially. He didn’t need to drag this child’s mother out and away from her home on top of that.

(This post was last modified: Nov 10, 2023, 05:09 PM by Jadon.)

how can i not save them <33

Jay.

A name she tucked carefully into her mind. The first non-Cove wolf she had met so far. Perhaps she might turn him into a Cove wolf if he could stay but...well, she liked him either way.

Enough to bring him home for help.

She smiled softly and shook her head at his thanks. She had not come expecting anything in return, simply doing the act out of nothing but goodness in her heart. It was the way of Sanguine Cove, the way of her mother and father. Things learned in life already.

"Are you used to the mountains?" There was a very real chance that he may not want small talk as they made their way around the lake towards the Cove's claim. Yet still she would try to encourage him into a livelier state. Maybe she could paint a wonderful picture of the home she came from if it would bolster him.

— well, I appreciate you for it :)

The child flashed him a small smile and seemed to dismiss his thanks. As if it weren’t necessary, which displayed a level of maturity and kindness the wanderer hadn’t expected to find in someone so young. It would also speak, presumably, to the character of her parents. Which, come to think of it…

Jadon was pretty sure he recognized the scent she carried. Nash had also had it - pack scent. Their name escaped him at the moment, but he hadn’t realized that they were so close as she began to lead him around the lake. He tried to keep his expressions masked, to not show his hurt or fatigue as she guided him, nor the shame he felt at struggling to keep up with a kid.

Eclypse posed another inquiry which he focused on. ”I.. am not. They are different,” he spoke once he found the words in that same raspy tone. ”Untamed. Hostile.”

Not where he would’ve been if he could’ve helped it.

Those were not the words she would have selected even if she knew the dangers of the mountains.

She might have said glorious and beautiful in their frightful strength. Yet to those who had not been born upon the slopes of this mountain chain, she understood his choice.

"The Cove is beautiful, more forgiving than the rest I think..." Her experience was minimal given her age but she imagined there was a reason her family had settled where they had. "I was born here at the lake." She had no idea that that was likely obvious from her age alone.

Her tail waved softly and she jutted ahead on their course.

"It'll be over there!" A wide smile to life his spirits further.

It was only reasonable that the youth would not share his view on the mountains, considering she had been born in them. The more he saw of this lake and the lands surrounding it, the more Jadon was inclined to believe that, too. Especially if one was born into an established group and had all of the privileges and bonuses that were present therein.

”Perhaps,” he conceded with a gentle nod. He could not deny the beauty of some of the views he’d seen, this lake included. The child smiled, and proclaimed her home was not far. Curiously, he tested the air and did indeed begin to find traces of other wolves within it.

It stirred in him envy, sorrow, and shame. He missed his home, longed for it. But, to think he'd nearly quit when potential salvation was so close...

Her words spurred his memory, though. ”Sanguine Cove?” That was the name Nash had said, before. He had been the leader. Was this his child?

She radiated warmth and delight when he uttered the name of her home. Perhaps he had become lost in his search for it, the mountain wolves seemed perfectly secluded, after all.

Which led her to wonder a many other things too!

"That's it! Maybe you know my mother? Or my father! Aquene and Nash Eastfall-Slayer." Their names felt odd against her tongue but she spoke their shared last name with pride. Her tail waved like a banner behind her as her steps became lighter, more familiar with this trail that led them away from what was once an important place to the first name she wore.

All Eclypse currently knew was the importance of Sanguine Cove these days.