Heartleaf Creek hellhound on my trail

December 9th, Moderate Snow, -11F/-24C AW

Gitano had been making the most of his journey, travelling as much as possible and never staying for long in one place. Now that winter had set in his fasting had become more frequent, not necessarily by choice but just by circumstance. Whatever the reason for it, it certainly helped him focus on what he had set out to do. His guides were becoming ever louder with the lack of food and the constant practicing and at this rate he may be becoming the best of his class. Not that the quest was meant to be any kind of competition of course.

It seemed all of the wolves that he had met in the last few months had some kind of spiritual connection. Perhaps this is why he had chosen to remain in the general vicinity of what he had heard been called Relic Lore. Travelling from area to area but never wandering out far enough that he reached a completely new region. Wading through the knee high snow his breath billowed through his nostrils in plumes of mist, eyes blinking back against the snow that fell.

It had been nearly a month since he had had any kind of interaction and loneliness was beginning to set in. Tano knew that this was just a wolf weakness and that he should focus on what his guides were teaching but he was still young. He had thought more than once to seek out @Karina and the pack she had said she led to check on her and her daughter, perhaps seek shelter there if he could. In these weak moments he reminded himself of everything that was at stake, but then again maybe she would accept him as a travelling minstrel, she had understood his quest after all.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts the tawny yearling looked up at his surroundings, trying to focus on something more productive. The snow that tumbled t the ground obscured much of the area and it looked mostly untouched between the trees. Even the creek was completely covered hiding it from the view of the teen, overall everything seemed quiet, peaceful.

  

@Gitano

Having been traveling by herself the last few days had left Holly to be introspective and withdrawn as she went over her thoughts. Thoughts of her mother occupied her thoughts mostly but what kind of wolves lived in this land. She had already meet a few who were kind and hoped the next few were the same. Kicking up the snow as she trotted along, Holly continued to wonder if she might keep on going or if she might bed for the night around this area. It was nice, all covered in snow and peaceful.  

But while lost in her thoughts, she didn’t notice her surroundings very well or the slight dip in the snow that covered the creek and put her entire weight behind her next footfall. Her paw slipped out from underneath her, surprising her and making her yelp as it sent her chest first onto the ice below.

Having the wind knocked out of her and the sudden fall, Holly simply laid there for a few moments, stunned and groaning slightly as she tried to process what had just happened with the cold ice beneath her.

That hurt, she thought hazily, wanting to try and move to check nothing had been severely hurt when having slipped on the ice. Yet as she tried to stand slowly, she hissed in pain. Her right ankle, the one that had first been placed on the ice, twinged painfully as she stood and Holly carefully lowered herself back to the ice. While she did want to get off the ice, the cold did help in giving her some relief against the pain. Drawing the ankle close to her, she looked over it carefully, to make sure it was just twisted not nothing else.

So caught up in what had just happened to her, she didn’t notice the other boy at first until the wind shifted bringing his scent her way and she glanced up. Part of her was embarrassed at she hadn’t noticed him before but the other part of her was glad to see him.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking but do...do you think you get help me get off the ice?” She asked uncertainly, not knowing what sort of wolf the other was like. But also she wanted to get off the ice before getting any colder and potentially freezing.  “Please?”

(This post was last modified: Dec 09, 2016, 06:16 AM by Holly.)

Karina’s paws sank into the freezing snow, squishing in the slush with every step, making her thankful for her warm, dry den back in Dragonveil Fold.  A bone-chilling gust of wind rattled through the leafless trees overhead, and Karina lifted her nose despite the cold.  A while back she had caught the scent of a friend, the traveling soothsayer Gitano, and she had been tracking after him ever since. If Gitano was back in the area, she thought perhaps to hear some stories of the other wolves and creatures he had encountered in his travels. He was probably looking for a place to escape the cold and rest his paws… Karina remembered what it felt like to be a lone traveler in the middle of winter. So she pushed onward, knowing that no matter how cold she was, Gitano likely felt worse, and it was up to her to find him and offer shelter.
 
When she finally came upon the young man, he was not alone. The girl with him—a stranger—was laid out in an odd way across the slippery, frozen surface of the creek. Karina squinted her clouded eyes, attempting to decipher the blurry scene unfolding before her. After a moment of watching her, Karina deduced that she must be injured from the way she was nursing one of her paws. Karina was too far off to hear the exact words of her plea to Gitano, but she could hear the desperation in the young woman’s voice. Karina had no doubt Gitano would lend a paw to the injured stranger—he was a kind, compassionate boy with a heart full of Goodness, after all. 
 
So instead of making directly for the pair, Karina veered off course in order to make a quick visit a particular tree she had scented. Rearing onto her hind legs, she used her forepaws to scrape chunks of bark from the base of the White Fir. After a cursory sniff at the woodchips piled on the ground, she selected a few particularly fragrant pieces before turning to trot toward the pair of yearlings, medicinal bark clutched in her jaws. No doubt the White Fir bark would come in handy once the young woman needed to walk on that foot. 

Karina hasn't really arrived on scene yet, she's just sort of watching/ approaching from afar. No need to acknowledge her presence until after next round.

(This post was last modified: Dec 09, 2016, 04:24 PM by Karina.)

   

    
 

@Holly

It seemed that his guides had nudged him into paying attention at just the right time. As soon as Gitano had lifted his gaze a dark pelted teen had come into view, wandering just as mindlessly as he had been. Tail began to wave behind him in greeting but stopped mid gesture as the girl suddenly slid across the ice and landed heavily upon her chest. Even from where he stood Tano could hear the gust of wind that left her and see the dazed look in her eyes as she lay limply upon the snow. If he had known the area better he would have been aware of the creek that was submerged beneath the fluff but as it was he had no idea.

Even before her plea the tawny teen was moving forward, albeit cautiously so as not the become the ice's next victim. He watched as she attempted to stand before wincing and lowering herself back down to the ground, concern written across his muzzle. Nodding he called, "Just try not to move until I get there." Slowly he made his way from solid earth onto the creek, toes splaying out in an attempt to gain as much traction as possible.

It took a few moments but when he got there he was careful to turn so he was facing back the way he came. Lowering himself slowly he smiled, "Okay lean your weight on me when we stand, and then we'll worry about getting off the ice." Oh please guides be kind to them, don't send them both sprawling out onto the ground all over again.

  

(This post was last modified: Dec 18, 2016, 05:23 AM by Gitano.)

The male was already moving towards her even before the words finished falling from her maw, calling out to her as he stepped onto the ice. This caused relief to surge through her. If he hadn't been here, while she could still get off the ice by herself, it would take her longer to do so and still leave her half frozen and shuddering once she managed to recover enough to gather her limbs beanth her.

"Thank you," she murmured as he made it to her side, carefully lowering himself to allow her to lean some of her weight on him. Her ankle protested the weight that was put on it but she ignored it for now. She'd worry later, once they were on solid ground without any worry of accidently slipping. Following his instructions, she would slowly stand up with him and move with him carefully over the ice before reaching solid ground.

Once they were a few feet away from the ice, Holly stepped away from him with a small smile before settling into the soft snow covering the ground. Her body still ached somewhat from the fall and laying in the snow, while cold like the ice, was much softer and much better then the hard ice. Holly turned to her ankle and saw that it was swelling slightly. Sighing, she knew she'd have to rest for a day or so, to allow.it to get better without making it worse.

"Thank you again, for helping me." Turning to the other who helped her off the ice, her gratitude was evident in her tone as she spoke, dipping her head slightly towards him. "Guess I wasn't paying close enough attention to where I was putting my paws."