Dead Empress Backwater why am i so differently wired

Random Event: Asmund, a nearby raven won't shut up about a nearby kill-site where sizable prey has died from the severe weather. All welcome!

I'M STILL BREATHING, I'M STILL BREATHING

---

(I knew what I wanted, I went in and got it, did all of the things that you said that I wouldn't)

Asmund had followed the winged creature this far, to where he could just still barely smell Viorel and the other's musk, to where it was only just barely safe. Ahead of him, broken up by trees between but clearly a fallen bull elk, lie a banquet of food. The perfect way to contribute to the pack's caches, their wellbeing. To be more than someone who hides, but... was it really worth being the last thing he ever did?

The crow continued to caw and clack its beak, demanding he open the skin and reveal the best of its meat. Az shivered and paced, frozen in place by fear of what lay beyond. One solution would have been calling for help, but the thought of that curdled his stomach even worse. Asmund was nearly two, he was sick of asking for assistance. A low, frustrated whine leaked from his chest and bubbled out of his throat.

Still he could not take a step forward.

(I told you that I would never be forgotten, and all in spite of you I'm alive, you took it all but)

---

I'M STILL BREATHING, I'M STILL BREATHING

(This post was last modified: Jun 09, 2024, 12:16 AM by Asmund.)

Tuwile followed Asmund's scent trail idly, getting distracted here and there by other scents and sounds. His meandering paws eventually brought him into earshot of a particularly vocal crow. His mother always said to listen to the birds as they sometimes had something of value to share, and so he focused his attention on it. He smelled Asmund before he saw the smaller wolf, coming across the wolf who appeared to be... frustrated?

Tuwile snuffled audibly to announce his presence, orange eyes flitting between the agitated crow above, Asmund, and the carcass of a bull elk further up ahead. He sat on his thoughts for a moment, before realising that the bird likely wanted one of them to dig into the thick hide to reveal the meat within.

Well if Asmund wasn't gonna do it...

He brushed past the other wolf with no other acknowledgement, heading towards the bull elk and fully preparing to just dig right in with no care in the world.

Asmund heard someone approaching, and it felt as though ice water had been dumped upon him. It was coming from his back, from within the pack lands, but that didn't guarantee a single thing, especially this far out. He whipped around and bared his fangs, anticipating the worst. One of the pups (the creepiest of them, actually) emerged and gave a wordless greeting. Safe but dismayed, Az's posture shifted back toward neutrality. Still, he watched the other warily.

Without reservation, Tuwile trotted forth, treating the invisible barrier that defined Asmund's entire sense of safety as though it were utterly inconsequential. His ears fell along with his jaw, a measure of outrage crossing his features. Was Godt himself mocking him now?

He looked about them, another thought following swiftly after. This was how it had started, a child going past the borders, the perfect bait for a monster. Fear was stronger than his indignance, and he couldn't help but let loose another lamenting whine. This wasn't good. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths, steeling himself before opening them again and taking pointed strides forward, over that imaginary line and into the wilds.

Asmund would reach Tuwile's side, keeping his eyes on their surroundings without fail.

"You're not supposed to come out here," he told him, and then tried putting his foot down the way he had used to do with Llinnea.

"Come on, let's go back, now."

Asmund's noise of worry fell on deaf ears as Tuwile marched forward, not intending on changing his course unless physically challenged to. Food was food, and he was not about to just let it go to waste for no apparent reason. Like a rubber band snapping back after being stretched out, Tuwile felt the older wolf suddenly appear at his side, saying they had to go back.

But why? His ears fell back on his skull, nose wrinkling in some sort of negative emotion. He shook his head resolutely. They could eat their fill and then also bring back what remained for the rest of the pack, rather than leaving it for the raven to feast upon. Although maybe he'd leave a sizeable portion for the bird for guiding them to the food in the first place.

Rather than continuing to entertain the idea of heading back home, Tuwile took a large bite of the exposed meat and sat firmly back on his haunches. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

(This post was last modified: May 14, 2024, 12:11 PM by Tuwile.)

It told him no, and Asmund scowled openly down his nose at the younger wolf. In that moment, he made himself a promise; he would never become a father, even if he ever managed to get close enough to another to consider starting a family. He wanted to pull Tuwile back by the scruff, but the child was rivalling his own size now, and what would they think of him if he got into a fight with one of the pups? Especially when they seemed to get so little correction no matter what they did.

Az did know that @Clover and @Vayko did not want their children leaving the pack's territory. He tilted back his head and howled, loudly and clearly into the sky. A pup was out of bounds, and he needed reinforcement. When the call ended, he would step closer, making a sweeping motion with his head.

"Go, Tuwile. Your parents will not be happy you disobeyed them."

In reality, he had no idea what kind of consequences might be awaiting the boy (or not). He did know that his own mother had done what was necessary to teach him boundaries and respect.

I’ll add Clo in after your next post <3

Tuwile paused mid-chew when Asmund called out, doing what his siblings would call ‘being a tattle-tale’. He hadn’t expected the older wolf to actually do something. But his surprise was short-lived, and he finished his mouthful with gusto.

His head moved back and forth between Asmund and the carcass, ears stuck halfway to laying flat on his head. Tuwile didn’t see why being out here was such a bad thing, especially if there was food they could bring back to the pack. Was it so wrong, even if he was breaking a rule? Barely, but technically so.

Rather than take another bite like he desperately wanted to do, the boy latched onto a leg of the carcass and gave it a yank with as much strength as his body could muster towards the border. He looked at Asmund from the corner of his eye, making a muffled noise that clearly meant ’why aren’t you helping?’, or at least it did in his mind.

Asmund witnessed Tuwile's obvious reluctance, and failed to understand it. Was he really that hungry? Couldn't he just go dig up a cache? It wasn't like the Backwater had ever lacked for food, not in his memory at the least. Still there was a moment where Az thought the child might finally listen. Instead, the boy started trying to drag the carcass. Making his way back to where he was meant to be, though painfully slow. Putting it off, even.

He scowled again, now rolling his eyes. Maybe it was immature of him, but he didn't want to help the young Valle with anything now. He stayed where he was, watching Tuwile with a flat affect. Frequently, his gaze would dodge away, flicking anxiously over their surroundings. Still wary of the dangers he knew to lurk out here. The border, this place where the markers stop, should feel trivial, and it was why they needed to be so much further on the other side of it. There was no wall, no true obstacle should something, someone wish to attack.