Cedarwood Forest it was never over

No one had been there when she awoke. No one had been there to speak the whispers, to answer her questions, to make this world somewhere she knew.

She was empty, simply, and the only thing in her mind was the faint calling of screw tape, whatever that meant. As her dull eyes opened, squinting against the brightness of the clouds overhang, she blinked back a few questions for the time being. The voice was not necessarily clear in her mind and she would not be able to recognize the whisper, but when she gathered herself she glanced around a few moments to settle and confirm no one was there.

Where? she mouthed, trying to make sense of it all in a few moments. Her head started to pound against the emptiness of her mind and she shuffled her feet to gain her balance. Nothing was there, the girl couldn't even find any sort of emotion past the confusion, and she felt just as heavy as she did empty. There were no thoughts aside from the current state, no memories she could pull from her past, and nothing to explain her current surroundings.

None of this was familiar, sight nor sound, and she gasped a few breaths before she moved, kicking her feet into gear and propel herself forward. The wolf did not go far, she had no where to go, and it kept her in one spot for a few moments before she pushed herself again to get moving. Nothing was familiar and it was not getting any better. She had no hope of finding the one she thought she heard in her sleep nor hope of finding out who she really was, but the only way to start was to find someone and find the questions to ask in hopes they might have an answer.

Healing was an exhausting process Indru had come to learn; since puphood he had suffered various injuries but nothing quite like this, that just seemed to take forever to heal. However, all waiting must soon come to an end and even Indru, as exasperated as he was, could seen the end was near and recovery eminent. His front paws skidded across the ground pushing up lose dirt and stones as he shifted his weight onto them, leaning forward with his rump in the air in a long, curling stretch, raising his head and softly bending his spine. Each day his joints had begun to feel more supple and his limbs stronger, the long period of inactivity causing them to lose their vigour but he was determined to get his health and strength back if it was the last thing he did.

Since returning he had not liked to stray far from the quick river he called home, especially with the enticing and comforting scents of his family coating the pack lands, but what he felt he needed was a good run, so his chest could heave and his paws could sting with the freedom of just running for no purpose. Starting on the western side of the pack lands Indru bounded from his freshly marked borders, slowly building his pace and checking himself mentally as he increased the pace, looking for any strain or sign of weakness from his injuries. He followed a well trodden path he knew with his eyes closed, a winding route through the Sacred Grove until he burst in Cedarwood Forest, a triumphant grin on his face at his steadily improving condition. So caught up in his own personal battle it took Indru a few moment to notice the fresh scent that shouted stranger at him but he tensed as soon as he identified it, his body posture changing immediately in response — defensive and quietly confident but not yet threatening. The pack leader took a curious step forward, peering through the trees of the Cedarwood until his fiery eyes fell upon a brown female up ahead. Her face was as unfamiliar as her scent and so Indru decided to wait and see what she did. The she wolf lacked the scents of others that would proclaim her of a pack and it was not uncommon for lone wolves to fade away back into the trees upon the sight of another who was, but perhaps this one would be different.

<i>Apologies for the short reply. Without interaction, she is simply going to do the same as the first post.</i>

The question that rose to her head was why someone had not been there when she awoke. The voice was fresh in her memory and then she had to try and remember how long she had been sleeping. What had she been doing before that? <i>Who</i> was she? Her jaw tightened at the thought, the faint repetitive calling of <i>screw tape</i> echoing in her mind. It was there, somewhere, but the memories were not within reach. Caged back somewhere, hidden in a place where she was never meant to find them.

Her body jerked and she turned sideways from her original direction, her pale eyes glancing off between the trees and finding nothing but the vacant shadows of trees. With her turning, she moved outward in that direction as if it were going to take her to the answer.

The she wolf made no sign of being aware of his presence even though Indru had gone to no accounts of hiding it and he found his curiosity piqued, as much as lone wolves had started to disinterest him recently. Most of them were flighty he found and while he was always eager to recruit members to his pack often they left without a word and he had found that waiting for them to come seeking a home was often the best decision. However this time Indru took a step closer to her, eyes watching her warily in case this was a ploy of hers, and continued to approach slowly. The hackles on his fur rose slightly halfway down his spine and that coupled with his confident pose and impressive size made him not a wolf to be seen as easy prey, and at the moment his limp was no existent.

The River leader stopped when he was around ten metres away and continued to watch her smaller brown form a moment longer. She seemed rather lost in her own thoughts, not the safest move for a lone wolf, and the curious side of his nature was undoubtedly intrigued as to why she was just so unaware. Hello, he called out softly, not wishing to startle her, trying to keep his posture friendly while clearly prepared too, keen to deter her before any trouble had the potential to start. Are you looking for something? Most lone wolves he found had a goal or else a general idea of where they wanted to go — whether it was seeking a home or just seeking adventure, but if it was something in Relic Lore he sought undoubtedly Indru was the one to direct her to the right place.