White Fir Notch Life Less Ordinary

@Raela

The colder it got the harder it was for the healer to leave the den but he knew he had to. It was times like these when he missed the warm days of summer most. Even with the sun out and shining brightly across the snow causing it to glitter didn't do anything to warm the man. He'd left the den earlier in the morning knowing he had much to do as hard as it had been to leave the warmth. An early hunt however was a good way to get through the extremely cold weather I'm the early morning.

By noon when he'd finally returned to the center of the notch he was once again cold as well as prey less. He'd a very unlucky run and hoped to make it up later but for the time being he had a few other things on his mind. The bad hunt had been a disappointment leaving his spirits down as he made his way to the infirmary. He hoped to find Sylva there where they might go over some herbs, it always helped him feel a little better to go over the herbs.

He of course wasn't expecting to run into anyone on the way but he had and it wasn't just anyone.

(This post was last modified: Dec 16, 2016, 01:03 AM by Emrys.)

Winter had always filled the woman with quiet dread. Nothing good had really happened in those few frigid months of the year, not for her anyway. Her second winter: exile; her last: the slow death and crumbing of the Crest. Several of Minka's brood had vanished into the snow in the past couple of years, and of course the Queen was extra careful to keep an eye on her growing pups, just in case. Perhaps it was beginning to annoy them, but she would not loose her babies to even a shred of negligence. They were good kids at least, and no major incidents had befallen them, though there had been a couple close calls and the inevitable wandering out of bounds. Still, everything was manageable - so far. 

Her thoughts did wander to @Draven, and even @Kova as the ground turned white and soft. She hoped the both of them were alright after all of this time, though suspicions of the worst always crept in. It was hard not to wonder about the emerald-eyed boy specifically, with her own pups nearing the age she'd last seen him. Many times Raela wished she would get the opportunity to see him again, to find out why he had left so quickly in her absence. It was nothing she could dwell on though. The Notch kids were adept at distracting the woman from those concerns. 

Instead, she now regarded the pack's caches with hidden worry. Never had the cold been kind to her or those she cared about. Day by day, she was beginning to wonder if the food stores were going a bit quicker than they should have. Of course they would get quite slim over the coming season, and eventually be refilled in the warmer times, but what if they hadn't gathered enough? It was up to her and Gent to try to gauge how much they would need, and to put that much pressure on the rest of the pack before the snow really began to fall. Last winter there had been enough at the Crest, so it was reasonable to assume that the same amount would do here. However, they had taken on a few extra bodies recently. Quite welcome for future hunts, but their numbers had been sort of small a few months prior. Was it putting too much stress on their resources?

The Queen's mind was clouded with these ponderings; golden eyes scarcely moving from the snowy trail before her. She was on a kind of auto-pilot as she trotted down towards the springs for a drink. Eating snow worked to quench thirst of course, but was hardly preferable. It would be good to check on the ice down there anyway. It was the mother's large, russet ears that woke her from her trance. Being as sensitive as they were, the footfalls of another were plenty loud enough to grab her attention, with the breeze unhelpfully providing no scent-based information in its current direction. Her head jumped up to spy the movement of a creamy coat in between the dark tree trunks. The pure white powder made him look more yellowed than usual. It was funny how snow put even the whitest hair to shame in its brilliance.

She recognized it as Emrys fairly quickly, due to that distinct pelt; unmatched among the Notch's ranks at the time. His appearance reminded her of another forgotten face; the gentleman Alphinaud. Emrys seemed equally friendly and polite from what she'd heard and seen. It was the grey on his back and the otherworldly blue of his eyes that set this wolf apart from the one in her memory. Without thinking, Raela raised her tail in a lofty wag just above her hip. She hadn't spent much time getting to know this one; maybe it was best to start now. In reality, she shouldn't have waited this long to do so, and the matriarch knew it.  She had to stop being so preoccupied with things. Patiently, Raela observed the man for a sign that he might be open to conversation, or that he was far too busy for it.   

            

It was always disappointment when a hunt was unsuccessful except now it was much different than it had been when he was on his own. Before it had been he didn't catch anything he didn't eat simple as that, consequences he could live with. Now it was he didn't catch anything and a member of the pack might not eat, that member could be one of the pups. He being a healer was well aware of how important it was for the pups to get food at this hard time of the year. It was these thoughts that weighed heavily on his mind as he made his way back to the infirmary.

Weaving through the trees his pace wasn't as quick as it usually was as his thoughts drifted between what had gone wrong as he ran the rabbit down and what he could have done to change the outcome. He also chastised himself because he knew he was a better hunter than that and to lose a rabbit when the stakes were so high. Emrys was so caught up in his thoughts that he missed the movement among the trees that would have told him another wolf was in the area.

It wasn't until he was almost upon her that his nose caught her scent telling him exactly who had been watching him. When his gaze finally fell on her and saw that who he'd run I to was raela he immediately felt bad for not seeing her sooner. Regardless she was his leader and he knew he should have spoken to her sooner but with all that had happened since he has joined it had to have slipped his mind.

Approaching the place where she stood he dipped his head in respect. “Hello, we haven't properly met. I'm Emrys,” he stated in greeting though he was sure she already knew his name. “I'm sorry to have not introduced myself to you sooner but I'm glad we have this chance to speak now.”

Running into her after such a terrible hunt wasn't exactly what the healer had in mind but formerly meeting her was important. He awaited her response hoping she wouldn't be angry that he hadn't spoken with her sooner.

(This post was last modified: Dec 21, 2016, 02:40 AM by Emrys.)

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For as preoccupied and mentally muddled as she had been, @Emrys seemed no more perceptive. She'd still managed to spot the man first, and he seemed a bit surprised to find the Alphess standing before him. Raela felt a polite smile tug at her lips as his blue eyes came to rest on her, and his creamy paws slightly changed course through the snow. She was glad for his manners, and wasted no time in dipping her own skull to reciprocate. "Raela." She was grateful for his apology, though she hardly felt deserving of it. The words flowed surprisingly easily from her mouth. "I should have spoken to you earlier too," she confessed sincerely, easing the height of her tail. It was her job to get to know these wolves and to take care of them. The Queen couldn't afford to shirk that duty, but she had. Were she still trying to become an advisor, it would have reflected poorly. 

"I'm glad to see you've taken such good care of Jynx," she began, remembering suddenly just how much of an asset to the group the pale man had already become. "I wanted to thank you. She seems to be doing much better." Her smile was real as she gently bent the tip of her muzzle toward the snow. Jynx as their main hunter and second was not a loss that the Notch could afford with winter bearing down; that, and she would be crushed to see the young woman's hopes of finally achieving that role officially dashed by injury, and so early in her life too. There was a moment allowed for his response before she continued. "Are you also doing well?" Raela's tarnished ears came forward curiously, just in case there was something going on that she couldn't see. As far as she'd been able to discern, Emrys was generally accepted by the rest of them, and Jynx herself seemed quite close to the man. They had been friends before this, apparently. She didn't anticipate any great confessions, but the inquiry was important nonetheless. 

(This post was last modified: Jan 04, 2017, 05:04 AM by Raela.)

            

Emrys hadn't been expecting to run into anyone and with the way he was currently feeling about his most recent hunting endeavor he hadn't been ready to see anyone. Running into Raela however was a pleasant surprise and he was more than willing to speak with her especially considering that he hadn't yet gotten the chance. “It's a pleasure to finally meet you,” he said with a smile and it was as he'd been looking forward to formally meeting her. He shook his head when she said that she should have spoken to him sooner as well. “I'm sure you're very busy with the children and the pack to worry about.” Emrys knew how busy his mother had always been just trying to keep track of him and Raela had three children plus a whole pack to worry about, she had to be a busy woman.

“Thank you, I am doing what I can for her but there's a lot she has to do as well.” while he could give Jynx the herbs to keep the pain and swelling down as well as help the joint plus the instruction she need he felt her part was more difficult. She had to rest and take it easy until she was fully healed and he knew that could be hard especially when there was a pack to hunt for and look after. He felt bad for his friend because he knew how driven she could be so he'd done his best to help her understand. “You're very welcome, she does seem to be doing well and I think that if she keeps going the way she is she’ll be back to where she was before if not better.” Emrys was hoping for better, that her joint would be stronger and the two injuries to it would be completely healed however he did have to be realistic. As a healer he knew injuring the same ankle twice could have caused damage that couldn't be fixed but time would tell. Raela’s question to him was somewhat of a surprise but he took it in stride, “For the most part yes, I feel I'm adjusting to pack life well. It was something I had worried about at first. Jynx is doing better and I'm happy that her recovery is going so well. I was just out hunting and it didn't go so well, I don't want to let her down,” he admitted the last part said more quietly his gaze dropping to his paws. He had promised Jynx he would take care of the hunting so she didn't have to worry and he felt he be letting her down by not being back as much prey as she probably would.

(This post was last modified: Jan 04, 2017, 11:56 PM by Emrys.)

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His allowance for her tardiness in initiating this encounter was gracious, leaving the matriarch with a polite smile. He really was quite well-spoken. The conversation swiftly moved on to her recovering second, Jynx. Raela nodded in agreement with the pale man's first statement, knowing how it always went with her own children whenever they would get a bit sick or hurt themselves just a bit more than normal. Not everyone was so willing to adhere to the advice of their medic, especially children. She was so grateful that the pack had multiple wolves to see to its wounded; she dreaded to think how few would still be doing well otherwise. 

The Queen of the Notch grinned to hear of her friend's prognosis, relieved to hear it from the man looking after her himself. There was a quiet but audible sigh from her lungs as she regarded Emrys thankfully. Again Raela nodded, to illustrate her understanding of his words. "That's wonderful," she smiled. Perhaps when Jynx had fully recovered, they could begin to recover something of those caches. Good news was very appreciated. 

And finally, the man was able to answer her inquiry; to which she listened close. He started reassuringly, and Raela continued to grin until the very last of his speech. Hunting wasn't going well for him either, it seemed. That he would be letting Jynx down by not completely filling the young huntress' role was a small bit perplexing to the matriarch at first. She'd initially thought “letting her down” to mean not bringing the woman enough food while she healed, but it didn't make quite as much sense. Emrys did not provide for the pack's food all by himself, and he must have known that. This was exactly the kind of thing, though, that she'd wanted to find out with such a question. 

"Everyone seems to be having trouble hunting lately," she confessed, her voice low. The woman's face took on a more concerned expression as she spoke. "Jynx is good at what she does," Raela continued, cupping her ears gently forward, "you're a skilled healer. Don't feel bad if you aren't also a fantastic hunter." A small smile crept back onto her face then as she waited for his reaction.

(This post was last modified: Jan 11, 2017, 12:14 PM by Raela.)

            

There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

There were many reasons that it had taken them this long to formally meet, the point was they were now. Emrys didn't see any reason to put the blame on either of them since it was something that has happened out of circumstance. A smile crossed his maw at the same time one crossed hers. Jynx was the next topic of discussion and making her follow instructions so she could get better. It seemed however his promise to cover her hunting responsibilities while she was recovering was doing the trick. He was happy to report that his patient was doing well and he expected her to recover fully, or as close to it as she could get.

The alphess didn't hesitate to show her appreciation for what he had done for Jynx. It was appreciated though not needed, he would have done anything for the woman to ensure she recovered fully. “Yes, it is,” he agreed with Raela's sentiment, “I'll be happy when she is able to get out and do what she loves again.” Emrys knew Jynx didn't like being cooped up instead of out hunting for the pack.

At first when he had been asked about how he was doing he'd been a little hesitant to share exactly what he was feeling. However he knew that it was her right as the alpha to know what was bothering him. The biggest thing was the fact the hunting wasn't going well for him which left him feeling that he was not only covering for Jynx as well as he would like but also he wasn't doing his part to help the pack. It was important to him to show both Raela and Gent that he meant to do well by the pack and so far he wasn't sure he was doing that. His gaze went back to her as she spoke about how everyone else had been doing hunting.

“Well, I suppose that is some relief on my part but it's a little scary where the pack is concerned,” he stated his brows furrowed. It was one thing for him to be having trouble but the rest of the pack as well, it had to mean something else. His train of thought was interrupted by Raela speaking of Jynx once more, “Yes, she is very good at what she does and I wish she could be out here,” with him helping him but he chose not to voice that. Her next statement was encouraging to him and brought a smile across his maw, “I appreciate that. To be honest being that I've been on my own I was hoping to be a better hunter then it seems I have been lately but I'm starting to wonder if it's not me that's the problem.”

(This post was last modified: Jan 12, 2017, 09:47 PM by Emrys.)

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