Heartleaf Creek Set course along the river bend

"Watch the antlers! The Antlers!" The cry of warning had come too late for the young wolf learning her way of the hunt. The large elk bull the pack had cornered turned his deadly crown on the wolf unfortunate enough not to move in time. She had felt nothing in her young life like the pain lancing through her back and down her spine to her legs. Despite the fifteen wolves surrounding the beast, none could help the helpless one speared on his main line of defense. At first, she had expected to become just another casualty of a hunt, but the flight through the air changed that thought alone - the bull had thrown her. Impact with the ground once more left the female in a crumpled heap - her white fur turned red and black with the wound. The antlers had left a gaping hole through the meat of her shoulders, narrowly missing her spine and bone - an injury that would have crippled or killed the wolf.

Despite her luck with the placement of the wound, it did nothing to stop the infection or other injuries the she-wolf suffered. The pack had ranged around her fallen form after taking down the elk they'd taken down despite her injuries. An older darker wolf stood by her as she struggled to get her feet beneath her. Even he, in time left her to her own devices as the pack ranged to a new hunting and birthing ground. The alpha female had come into season and begun searching for a new den - taking the pack with her.

Recovering from the infection had sapped much of the she-wolfs' strength and determination. Barely having the power to get up and hunt, she had settled to lying near a river and making short, clumsy bursts of movement to catch the occasional mouse or rabbit. At first, the hunting had been hard won, and at times she'd gone hungry more often than not. The months following her injury left her weak and disoriented, the infection flaring hot and strong before it seemed to come under control and rescind its' control on the she-wolf.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was the rustling in the grasses that brought the wolf from her slumber, jerking her head upright and ears turning this way and that to get a location on the sound. Her dream had been the same as it always was - her injury and the loss of her pack - but thankfully unlike her dream, she was on the mend. With a soft grunt, the femme lifted herself to her feet and drank of the stream, quenching her thirst and shaking herself to dislodge the dirt and branches that clung to her coat. Despite her mending from the injury, she was still battling the infection from the wound, and had for months now - even though the scar had closed and begun growing over with white fur. A paw dipped in the water then wiped over her face dislodged yet more signs of her illness, the crusted liquid from her eyes scratching off and falling to the ground.

Whatever prey had brought her attention from the dream was long gone, but she had found this region teeming with game of the smaller kind - rabbits and squirrels.. Another shake brought the female to full awareness and she looked around, glassy amber eyes bright with intelligence and as aware as she got nowadays. The stream had been her guide on her travels, fresh water abundant also drew in her prey, and where there was prey, there was the chance that her pack was near. She traveled the stream in hopes of finding her missing family, but knew she had crossed into lands unknown and new to anything she'd seen in her two years.

Her footsteps were sure now that she had woken up, and they left a distinct trail along her path paralleling the stream - but despite mindlessly following the babbling and chatter of the water - she was anything but mindless. This wolf had an itch to hunt, a stomach needing food, and the strength to find that food. She crept along her path and listened for the sounds of game or other threats such as bear or the feline threats to her kind. Her movement froze, a paw uplifted as if in mid step, her attention to the left where a small creature of some kind was nosing through the underbrush of the wooded area she traversed. In silence, the huntress lowered her foot and crouched, all of her body focused on that one point, eyes and nose focused on the smell, her ears trained for any change of sound or clarion call of warning. Closer she crept until she could make out the soft breathing of her prey, soft and frantic even though it had stilled. A fawn it seemed, had been left in a hollow by a well meaning mother. Unfortunately for the mother - she had left her fawn and ranged too far for its safety.

The small animal bleated a cry for help as the wolf closed in on it in a burst of speed, a bleat that was cut off abruptly. An animal this small wouldn't feed two wolves, but for one, it did just fine - and she could eat well, though she'd have to hunt shortly after. Vlarindara settled in to enjoy her meal, the river behind her and the food in her stomach - despite being alone...life was good. For now.

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Please note that she's ranging close to the Sacred Grove -but as of yet hasn't crossed any scent trails or markings. So.. Have at thee, my furry friends! ;D

Hey there, hope you don't mind having me again! I saw this post hadn't had any replies. :C

Since Ruiko's howl, Damascus felt a mixture of feelings. Confusion, of course, though he wasn't about to outright seek out his accepting leader (er, make that ex-leader) to find out what had happened. He had considered seeking out Indru, but also thought better of it. A proverbial outside, he hadn't quite integrated himself into Swift River as he felt he should have. He had hit it off well with Ruiko and Indru, but his luck and fortune of finding the others within the pack were hit and miss. Though he were usually optimistic, Damascus wondered here or there if his being unrelated had anything at all to do with the fact that he hadn't properly acquainted with many of them.

Or maybe it had something to do with the fact that he wandered a bit still, which was certainly a possibility. Instead of lingering around super close to the territory like he had done for days, inhibited by snowfall, he took the first opportunity he could get to venture outward and explore. Partially to check to see what he could find, partially to clear his head of thoughts. If the snow had kept him in, then it was possible that it had also kept the others in as well. So maybe, just maybe, they'd all cross paths somewhere at some point. The Sacred Grove wasn't that large of a place in comparison to places he had been into the past, but Damascus knew not of every nook and cranny like its native residents.

The distant bleat of an animal captured his attention though as he trekked steadily west. It piqued his curiosity, but not enough that Damascus felt overly inclined to investigate. He had come out to hunt as well, and hunger tugged sharply at his insides, as though it were cashing in several days of I.O.U.s that Damascus had promised but had not paid up. A small field mouse had been the only thing he had captured in the last three days, and that had only been because he had caught it burrowing out of one of the den walls within Swift River itself. But out there, he was out for something more, something larger. Something that he could take down solo without the aid of another if he could help it, because the majority of his hunting came solo.

But eventually, after several minutes, the smell of blood reached his nose, and he was inexplicably drawn towards it. Hoping to find an abandoned kill that was still fresh, he crept his way up through the brush, peering carefully over snow bank and through brush and tree to see what he could find. The smell of blood was overpowering to him, but he picked up minute traces of this and that. No bears though, no other predators that he figured he should have worried about. Another wolf would have been trouble, no doubt, but bears and cougars alike were unfavourable to the nomad. Neither animal discriminated when it came to someone checking out their kill — the curious soul often became dessert, or something to that affect.

Finally, where a few drops of red dared to taint the ground, he noticed that the very kill he had been looking for was in fact, fresh, and… presently in the middle of being eaten. That notion alone sent a pang of disdain through him, but the wolf who was munching away struck him as being utterly familiar. He circled around smoothly, not bothering to mask his steps (because making her aware was better than just blurting out something from behind, right?), trying to gain a clear look at her before he said anything at all. And when he did, even if it was so much as a glimpse of the alabaster-haired wayfarer, something clicked. “Vlar?” he queried, before catching himself. She had a kill, and it was her, and he remembered their last meeting too well. “Er, I, I'm sorry. If you'd like, I'll step away from your… from you until you're finished.”

And then maybe, he'd pick at it… maybe. If she ran away.

(This post was last modified: Feb 13, 2011, 07:41 PM by Damascus.)

OOC: Hehe, not at all! :) gonna .. advance her a wee bit since the posting time of this since so much has happened. :3

It had been some time since her accident with the bull elk, but the memory still haunted her to this day. One of those oversized ears flicked back when she heard something rustling in the bushes, causing her to pause in her eating to concentrate. The remains of the fawn were tucked securely in her front paws when Damascus spoke softly. The white females head lifted and turned, her amber eyes taking in the large male and his quick glance at her meal. She also felt rather than heard the slight...pause in his tone and let her ears lay back over her neck comfortably. She stood and shook herself, lifting what was left of the fawn and padding over to him where she set it at his feet and scooted it closer with her nose. Once she had it close enough, she backed up and sat on her haunches looking thoughtful.

"I...owe you an apology, Damascus.. for our previous meeting.. I wasn't.. as healthy as I am now..far too nasty." She dipped her head in respect to the male, a soft smile curling her muzzle before she brought it back up and sat proudly. While she may not have had a pack of her own aside from Raigo.. or even a *REAL* home to protect.. she still sat as regally as any wolf might. Her plumed tail was curled gently around her paws, the front ones tucked neatly up against her belly. "Perhaps... we could start over?" The female chuckled, but glanced around them, almost watchfully as she settled in to wait. "After you've eaten.. of course. Then perhaps we could hunt something.. larger? The mother might return for her baby - though she would be stupid to do so."

Her tone, demeanor.. everything had changed it seemed since their last meeting. She'd filled out and put on more weight, the sheen of her fur showing that she'd eaten enough it could afford to take more nutrients to gleam so. The females eyes, once bright and fogged with fever and suspicion were cleared, and just as bright. However it was not suspicion but kindness, a gentle demeanor that touched the she-wolf now.. rather than a malicious and angry nature.