Lucifers Gorge eat your heart out, no control

Fall Festival Gift: You found a bush of late-season berries! However, you ate so many you are starting to feel a bit sick.
@Neha <3

The rushing water had sounded so much like Hearthwood's river that, for a fleeting moment, Bennet had doubted where she was. But it passed quickly with a curt shake of the head to banish the disorientation, and she dropped it by the side of the road and left the memory and its discomfort behind. She didn't want to be thinking about @Kyrios at a time like this, when she was who-knew how far away, when everything was different now. Bennet was a dragon now - she had been all along, but now she knew knew it. For real. Not just wishful thinking, but in her blood.

Unfortunately, being a dragon wasn't all power and splendour. Kept at a distance as she had always been, Bennet had never been able to really appreciate the security and  comforts offered by a pack, even one as small as Hearthwood; she had never questioned where her next meal was coming from. The river wolves had always provided. Now they were alone and just three, and there were probably only two fully working eyes between her parents, and Bennet too young to really be much use hunting. For the first time, the little dragon experienced hunger - a real hunger, not the childish, ignorant kind which had driven her to aggression in the cosy den she had been born, the sort which was more spawned by boredom and the demands of the young. Just like her new blood, this was real, too.

But Bennet was not a complainer, nor did she enjoy being dependent, and rather than pester @Karina or @Kjors to catch something for her, had chosen to tend to her own needs.

Something about the dark, round shapes caught her eye and triggered a strange impulse which travelled straight to the bottom of her stomach. Logically she saw no appeal at all; they were not warm, they were not alive, they did not smell of flesh or bone, and yet the rumblings spurned her on. Almost in a daze the dark-pelted girl wandered towards the thriving bush of tiny treasures and pressed her nose towards a hanging cluster of them, entranced by their dull shine and sweet smell. Slowly her lips opened and she wrapped her tongue around the bundle entirely, and before she could change her mind pulled them into her mouth and closed it.

The taste was rich and sharp and pleasant and vile all at the same time and she winced as they burst in her mouth, but then - almost just to get rid of them - she swallowed and her stomach felt a little flutter of relief.

That was that. With a marksman's precision and efficiency she targeted sweet cluster after cluster and plucked them from the bush, until she felt some semblance of full even if it was just plant and not meat but at least she had banished the emptiness, for now. Content, and with no more berries within reach, Bennet plopped back onto her hindquarters with a satisfied grunt, licking her juice-laden lips, and she had several minutes of wonderful contentment until her stomach rumbled again and this time it was different to hunger.

Very different.

A soft whine and a clenching pain and she sank down onto her belly, wrapping her paws around her muzzle, determined not to waste her efforts and lose her fullness, but her gut only complained louder and harder and angrier and was it worth it?

Hooray for matching Fall Festival RE's! 

The eldest Vuesain daughter was doing her best to be productive and to keep busy. Things were still a little too shaky for her liking back at the lake, and even with Moonshadow in charge, the princess could still not shake the feeling of uncertainty in regards to the future of her pack. While she fully intended on getting around to having a direct, one on one conversation with the inexperienced matriarch, Neha did not feel the time was right. Not yet. Better to give the dark female time...time to adjust to her new position within the pack. Besides, she had her mother to seek out first, to probe for the reason why she had relinquished her leadership in the first place. 

Dense layers of snow had already begun to cap and line the highest peaks of the great mountain which enveloped her home. It was just a fact of life that came with living among the mountains. Snowfall always came early in the season. Wolves either had to adapt or seek out somewhere else to live, should these weather conditions prove too challenging. The latter of the two was not an option...nor even a consideration for Neha. She had been raised in this environment, her home somewhat more sheltered and less exposed. But being as adventurous and fearless as she was, she welcomed this challenge brought on by mother nature. Delicate in stature she may appear, but looks were deceiving. It was today, that the pale agouti female descended down from her little haven among the craggy peaks after a long and thorough patrol of the borders. With able adult bodies short on hand within the pack, she had taken on an active role in picking double shifts.

Now in the midst of enjoying her much deserved break, her paws had guided her to the sound of fresh flowing water. Along the banks of the icy, rushing river, she walked at a leisurely pace, looking for a safe spot to stop and take a drink. With a bite already in the air, Neha was in no mood to get wet. So far she had little luck in finding anywhere that looked ideal. The banks were either a little too steep, or too slippery. She had come expecting a thirst quenching drink, but then her nose and eyes spotted something much more appealing. Located a decent ways back from the river, were bushes bare of their foliage, yet with clusters of hardy berries still stubbornly clinging on. Brown eyes sparkling, the wolf licked her lips in anticipation of such a delicacy. So distracted was Neha in her inspection of the late berries and her miniature little feast, that she had failed to notice that she had company. Using her scissor like teeth, she gently plucked berry by berry from it's stem, blissfully enjoying the tart, slightly bitter explosion in her mouth. She had earned this treat! Maybe if there were any left, she thought, she would take some back for her sisters @Ismena and @Lunette to sample. Surely they would love this snack just as much as she did.

Or maybe not. Moments after she had gobbled down several large mouthfuls, staining the creamy white of her lips a purple-pink dye, a most uncomfortable rumble gurgled in her belly. "Oohh..." She groaned, taking a step back. Another surge sent a nauseous wave through her center, causing her to wince. Slowly, she laid down in an attempt to ease the discomfort, but it persisted. Then, a mirroring gurgle accompanied by a pained whine made her lift her head. Carefully shuffling forward on her belly, she peeked around a freshly picked berry bush to spot the black dragoness, laying pitifully. Ears flattening in sympathy, she called out to the youngster softly. "Hey..." Her own voice too, was somewhat pained. "Had too many of those berries too, huh?" Neha couldn't bring herself to manage a grin, as she dropped her head down to rest in the crook of her paw.

Neha can often be found close to Aleister's side and therefore may appear in any of his threads.

@Neha

The uncomfortable groanings of her belly only grew harder, as if with every rumble it sent a faint shuddering through her whole body. And yet in reality she just sat huddled on the ground barely moving, despite the earthquake in her gut. Resentfully she glared at the berry bush through narrowed eyes, unable to trust herself to move and exact revenge. How did you punish something so inanimate, anyway? Had this just been a test? Had she failed?

So caught up in her own suffering, she didn't notice the sounds of someone nearby, didn't notice that they were making the exact same mistakes - failing the same test - until the telltale sound of an unhappy belly caught her attention because it came from one other than her own. An ear swivelled about and she glanced up to spot the backend of a stranger step back from around the bush, heard the groan, recognised the body language. It was only moments later that the similarly afflicted woman noticed Bennet's own presence - and the black girl vaguely wished she had noticed her company sooner, that she might have spared another this fate.

But was it right to take away another's opportunity to make mistakes? The All-Mother's tests and trials were not to be interfered with.

Bennet grunted in wordless agreement of the girl's question, watching as the older wolf laid down and assumed much a similar pose to the dragon's own. For a moment she was silent, just staring, but then summoned the will to whisper: "You that hungry, too?"

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

Her stomach gurgled uncomfortably, the unsettling sensation causing the Cove princess to wince momentarily. Her lips tightened, eyes squinting shut for the briefest of moments. When the moment had passed and the worst of it was temporarily over, she looked at the sooty youngster again. "Yeah...but I was more curious than anything. Those berries tasted different..." Chocolate eyes shifted over to land scornfully on the bush from which they came. A soft huff of a breath followed. "I think I'll pass on them from now on..." She muttered in a grumble.

At least she was not alone to suffer the ill effects from eating one too many berries. She and Bennet could share in this misery together. Stealing a look back at the girl, she studied her. She didn't look like anyone she knew. Not in the least bit familiar. But she seemed at ease in the mountainous region. Traces of at least two others, adults, lay on her fur, Neha noted. Most certainly her parents. Shuffling closer on her belly, but gently so as not to make her feel worse than she already did, Neha laid by the young dragons side. The eldest Vuesain child favored her mother, in the sense that she possessed a naturally caring, nurturing personality. "How're you feeling?" She asked softly, peering down into those sunny eyes. "I know you don't know me, little one, but I might know of something that can ease both our discomforts." Her approach was gentle and non forceful. Neha wanted to help the child out, but would not be so careless as to force her into trusting a stranger who she didn't even know. Besides, her parents could arrive at any moment, and the last thing she wanted was to explain herself to the fury of mom and dad.

 

 

Neha can often be found close to Aleister's side and therefore may appear in any of his threads.