Sacred Grove enjoy the silence

Ruiko had said farewell to his brother. He had stepped down officially, and the tawny beast prowled along the snowy ground of Sacred Grove. He had decided against giving Triell and Borlla an official farewell – for it was not goodbye, it was simply a ‘see you around.’ It would be hard to not wake up and have them there near him as he used to, but times changed. Wolves changed. No longer could he accept the rule of his brother – especially when Indru had enough disrespect towards him to be unable to show the same courtesy.

There was a moment’s pause as afternoon began to shift to evening. Lifting his muzzle to the sky, the rogue called to the Swift River pack, informing them what had happened. Indru was going to lead them, and he was leaving. Those who wished to were free to join him. His song faded against the winter air, and Ruiko’s breath coiled in sight against the cold. He waited patiently, only truly expecting an ebony she-wolf to join his side.

<i>Kauda squeezed her eyes shut, groaning silently to herself. Her head was killing her from when she met the buck's antlers and hooves earlier. Thinking about it made her think of the experienced she - wolf known as Ozera - who she had learned to trust and to love quickly. The blood had stopped trickling down her head shortly after the buck had injured her when she tried to kill it alone.</i>

<i>Kauda began to whine when her eyes began to cross. She couldn't see straight and her head was pounding. She took a cautious step forward and her hip hit a tree. A white emitted from her throat and she turned herself around the tree. As she turned, she noticed there were no longer lines of brown that served as trees, but just a long clearing of white. Entering the end of it was a tall tawny blob. Kauda was in absolutely no mood to fight - she wasn't healthy enough either.</i>

<b>"Oh.. Gosh.."</b><i> she silently muttered to herself, trying to lift a paw to her head. Instead, she instantly lost her balance and tumbled in the snow. Another whine escaped her, though she tried to keep silent, as she did not want to get into a fight with the blob that was who knows how far in front of her - she sure didn't know. The sleek black she wolf - as dark and sleek as the wings of ravens - pushed herself awkwardly off of the ground with two paws, as the other two laid limp in the snow. It was getting harder to move, harder to think, and harder to see. Stupid buck, she thought bitterly. She had been too loud though, she was sure the blob had heard her.</i>

She had been back for only a few days and was busy cleaning out her den when she heard the howl. Her heart sunk immediately, recognizing the tone within his voice. But what was worse than the tone of his howl was the content: they were leaving. Ranger had no desire to live in Swift River without Ruiko, as she had told him explicitly on her return, so she immediately abandoned her den, grabbed the few rabbit furs she had lined it with, and followed the sound of his voice.

When she appeared, there was already another wolf there. She was dark like her, but smaller, and there was clearly something wrong with her. Ranger dropped the furs at Ruiko's feet and placed a <span class='word'>buss</span> on his cheek, before turning her attention back toward the other female. <b>"Do you think she's okay?"</b> she asked him softly, hoping he would know what to do. She wasn't necessarily scared of the girl collapsed on the ground, but she was wary of her. Ranger also wanted to make sure she was okay, and if so, take her with them. Perhaps she could be of some help to them.

<blockquote><i>Kauda's head pounded as she laid limp on the forest floor, dusted with ice cold snow that collapsed when she fell into it. The snow immediately sunk into her fur, dampening the thick, sleek black strands. Her ears perked at the sound of someone's voice. Was it the tawny blob she saw moments ago? She wasn't able to tell, as she was buried in the white snow. Kauda couldn't stop the endless whines that escaped her as her sides rose and fell with her heavy breathing. It wasn't this bad earlier, when she was sitting at the river after her nap or talking to her favorite friend, Ozera. The buck had hit her hard, but still... Maybe it was getting infected, or maybe it was just the aftershock of the situation.</i></blockquote>

<blockquote><i>She couldn't think straight any longer. She couldn't see through the snow that covered her. She laid limp, hoping someone could help her.</i></blockquote>

<b>OOC: Sorry for the lame post but it's hard to RP a nearly unconscious wolf. xD</b>

His figure stood proudly at the borders, despite the ache in his heart at the decision he had made. It would be hard if not impossible to be away from them all, yet this couldn’t be avoided. As much as he loved his brother he was not meant to bow to another wolf, and in turn, Indru was not meant to bow to anyone either. It only made sense for the patriarch of the Tainn family to stay behind with the family, though the tawny wolf released a sigh at the thought of leaving behind Damascus and Avalloc.

A gentle and pained whine broke his gaze from Swift River. His hackles bristled at the sight of the stranger, though he blinked lightly as the raven wolf collapsed heavily on to the frozen ground. He stood his ground for a moment, his tail giving an idle flick as he debated over what to do. The lone wolf struggled to sit up, though she could barely do so. As Ranger came upon the scene relief swept over Ruiko; she would follow him. They would be together. However, his companion gave him a nudge of worry, her eyes set firmly upon the seemingly injured wolf not far from them. A wolf who would likely prove to be more of a hindrance to them than a help.

Ruiko grunted in response to Ranger’s question, and with reluctance, the male padded forward to investigate. The stranger barely moved in the snow, and as he neared, the regal wolf stopped before the clump of snow and dark fur. Stoically, the male bent his muzzle down and brushed some of the building snow from the lone wolf’s body before pulling back. “What happened?”

Ranger stood there in silence, watching Ruiko take the initiative and uncover the girl. She had been covered in snow from her impromptu fall earlier, and while Ranger didn't want her to get hurt, she was more aware of her and Ruiko's peril at this moment. They had barely left Swift River and here they were, dawdling about because this girl had collapsed.

Her gold eyes watched Ruiko's movements and raked over the dark figure on the ground. After a moment, she stepped forward to his side, looking down at the girl. Her nose, dark and cold, nudged Kauda's chin, hoping to wake her. After a moment, she took a step back and turned toward Ruiko. They couldn't afford to linger much longer on the border. Perhaps someone would find them and try to hurt them. <b>"We could take her with us, or leave her here."</b> Her voice was soft but resolute. <b>"I don't feel comfortable letting her die."</b>

OOC: Kauda isn't like this any longer, buuutttt she'll still be this way in this thread for a bit. :) And now that I look at the posts, Kauda seemed pretty pathetic. I'm still feeling around for her I guess, but she isn't like that. Suckish post, but I'm uninspired. ;) Everything was kind of blurry, and her head was pounding, though she grasped at conciousness. It was just a stupid buck that did this. She should have just killed it. Her stomach would have been a whole lot fuller and her head wouldn't be spinning. She grumbled as she pushed herself off the ground with delicate paws, her eyes narrowing stubbornly. 'What happened?' came a voice, booming in her ears as snow was dusted off of her. She was stubborn about the situation, and she wasn't about to tell a stranger that she got her but kicked by a buck. Her mind tried to come up with a lie, even though she wasn't the lying type, she hated lying. I hit my head on a rock.. no. I was attacked by a wolverine.. as if. I was... I was drowning in a river.. they are all frozen! she thought to herself irritably. "Nothing." she growled quietly at last, catching herself as she nearly collapsed, taking a small step forward.

Ranger came swiftly to his side, her concern for the fallen she-wolf not entirely contagious to the male. Ruiko regarded the ebony creature with little empathy, his hardened eyes lifting to study Ranger’s beautiful features in a brief pause. Her words elicited a shrug from him, unsure of what they were going to do with an injured female.

The gentle stirring of the fallen figure drew his gaze to her sharply, and the loner pushed herself up. Ruiko blinked, taking a pace back to give the stranger some room. Her answer was far from satisfactory, and the regal wolf felt his tail arch in dominance at what he took to be impudence. “If this ‘nothing’ is what has you buried under the snow, then perhaps we’ll let you be,” he growled in return, exchanging a look to his companion to see what her thoughts on the matter were.

Ranger had wanted to be on the girl's side. She was not a cruel wolf and wouldn't wish harm on anyone, especially strangers. But when she and Ruiko attempted to help her, they were snubbed. With a soft snarl, she agreed with Ruiko's words. Turing to him, she shrugged. <b>"If she doesn't need help, then we can leave her."</b> Ranger turned her golden eyes on the collapsed wolf who had tried to sit up.

<b>"We're trying to help you. If you scorn us or don't want our help, you could just say so. But being deliberately defiant is just stupid."</b> She watched the girl for a moment more, noticing how she couldn't seem to get her balance right. She said softly to Ruiko, <b>"I think she hit her head. I've seen deer do this when they've fallen. It's like they can't get their equilibrium right and are very dizzy."</b> She looked to him to make the decision. <b>"She will live, but might catch cold because of the snow. The least we could do is help her to shelter, if she'll let us."</b>

Kauda muttered something to herself on the ground, as the beginning of her bitter mood that lead to her meeting with Jayse was just beginning. 'Well if this 'nothing' is what has you buried in the snow, then perhaps we'll let you be.' snarled the male. What's got me buried in the snow is my own pathetic self - pity. she thought bitterly, her hard blue eyes flickering to look at him sideways. She listened to the female as well, who let out a snarl and then accused her of being stupid, as Kauda took it. The female spoke of a deer and how they could do this to wolves, and she instantly shot her a glance out of dizzy blue eyes. And she would know how? Kauda grumbled silently. Instead of answering the wolves, she remained silent. OOC: Has to go! I can make it better later but right now I gotta go!