Hollowheart Keep See, I'm Trying to Find My Place

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

And if I bleed, I'll bleed, Knowing you don't care! The moments stretched like days while she lay still, silent, listening to the rumbling breath of the woman above her, waiting for her to let go her grip. When she finally released the brown girl, she immediately moved a paw to the other's frail shoulders, forcefully holding her down; Evann had no intention of getting up before she was completely sure the silver dame was done with her punishment, but a small whimper did escape her lips, despite her hardest efforts to keep it back, when Sagacity put her weight on the sore shoulder. She snapped a breath and clenched her teeth to keep any other outbursts in; I am strong! She didn't cringe when the grey wolf growled in her ear, only taking a shaky breath of relief when Sagacity lifted the pressure and stepped aside. Evann stayed down, ears flat against her skull, bistre eyes strained on the other wolf - though careful not to meet her gaze directly - while she waited to see what would come next; Did you get what you wanted? Until the larger woman relaxed, Evann wouldn't dare move an inch, she was already lightheaded from the fall and Sagacity's swift punishment, she wasn't gonna get anymore beat up if she could help it. Her shoulder was throbbing and her scruff stung where the other's teeth had torn it, she tried to ignore the pain and focus on the silver wolfess. And it did appear Sagacity was not done with her act as superior, she made a silent challenge at the pup - who dutifully averted his eyes - and then went on to... Give a speech? No, it seemed her proclamation was meant as its own challenge, soon followed by a direct question. Evann's eyes widened in surprise, and then narrowed; That's not FAIR! It wasn't, what could she answer? I patrol the borders every day, I eat next to nothing despite my state! Her pitiful state. Hollowheart Keep had taken her in when she came staggering, surely saving her from death of starvation, and now they wanted her to pay them back, was that not reasonable? But they didn't just take me in! She had earned her position here, showed her worth by killing two rabbits, of which she had tasted little more than their blood, that had been her test and she had passed it. Grinding her teeth, the brown-mottled girl stared at the large paws of the woman before her. When she spoke her voice was loud and clear and, while not defiant, it was adamant; "I... I am s-strong!" She was. If not brawny then strong at mind. Evann longed to show her strength to her new pack, to prove her worth in action. That was why she had come here in the first place. For now, the winter had prevented her from doing so, but it would not last. Taking a few moments to consider a further response, the wiry girl's eyes drifted to the black pup, watching the interaction with wide, curious eyes; What must he be thinking? Then she looked back to Sagacity, focusing her eyes at a point near the tip of the woman's silvery muzzle, and said: "What m... m-more will you ha... ha... h-have me do to p-prove so?" And it was a true question, asked with no hint of irony or rebellion; she truly wanted to know. "When I came here, I... I hunted. I h-have tried to d... do so ever since, but without l... luck." Her eyes drifted up, to meet the other's goldens for just a second, before returning to her snout; "Hu... Hunger has rendered m-me we... w-weakened, but I do my d-duty, I ca... carry my own weight. And when na... nature a-allows it, I will p... prove m-myself!" Word count: 633 "Speech." Thought

The silver dagger was pleased to see that at least Karpos knew how to behave, and that he wasn't going to try and stick up for Evann. This was the way of the wolf pack- weaker members were kept in their place until they found the strength and need to stand up for themselves. Evann, though bigger than Sagacity, was weak and had not learned how to fight and defend herself. She stayed right where she was, flattened against the ground and in doing so, helped some of Sage's ire fade away.

In fact, when she protested first, she caused Sage's brow to raise and a moment later, she laughed. She looked down at Evann, the one who claimed to be strong, and grinned. "Are you now? Well- either you're delusional or you really would make a good jester." She said. She knew she was being cruel- but she had no patience for wolves who did not know their limits. Her eyes scanned over Evann's body- though her winter pelt was thick, she could make out the harsh lines and edges of bones. Her body had begun consuming itself, muscle, fat and all. Soon she'd be but gristle and bone, if the hunting situation did not improve.

She fought to redeem herself, but it was clear in Sagacity's scornful gaze that she wasn't impressed. "That got you accepted into the pack. Now you mean to tell me you've done absolutely nothing since then?" Sagacity, at least, had gone on scouting missions, taking leave with permission of the alpha pair. She tilted her head to the side. "When nature allows it, you'll starve." She said, a mild comment on what Evann believed to be some sort of excuse for not being able to hunt. If she starved, she wouldn't be much to eat- but she'd at least be contributing to the health of the pack.

There is a rabbit's nest nearby. +1 Health

valar dohaeris.

karpos slayer

all men must serve.

Karpos gulped as he watched the interaction. He did not dare interrupt either of them. His eyes swerved occasionally to glance at Sagacity but his eyes were pried on Evann. He watched because from this he would learn what not to do. He caught the scent of rabbit on the wind as his stomach rumbled fiercely. "Ma'am Sagacity. May I be excused. Rabbit." He said in a slow whisper to not frighten the rabbit in the nest away. Then Sagacity spoke of the jester starving when nature would next allow it. Karpos would never wish such a horrid death on any wolf, but the wolf did make the mistake of challenging the Silver Arrow... or was it the Silver Dagger? Karpos could never remember the exact nickname.

Sagacity was hard to describe, she was like a mix of the defensiveness of Mapplethorpe with the instincts of Naira. As if that made any sense at all? He waited to be excused for he did not want to offend the second in command in any way. He didn't want to end up another jester as the girl whom had confronted Saga had already been branded. It seemed embarrassing and offensive. Stay calm Karpos. You can do this. His chocolate brown fur bellowed slightly when a sudden surge of air hit him. It was cold and bitter and stung. He did not waver from his sitting position however. He had grown use to the cold that was often dished out in the mountains and the north in general.

The cold never bothered me anyways. He told himself as he kept his eyes pried on the two woman though he dared not look either in the eye.

I'm never going back, The past is in the past! The brown girl cringed as Sagacity laughed at her defense, ears falling out to the sides in embarrassment. Clearly, there was no words that would change the silver woman's opinion of her; And nothing I can do either... Not now at least. Eyes strained at the snowy ground, she stayed silent and still while the other wolfess gave her condescending speech. There was no point in continuing to talk back, Sagacity's mind was made up and it would only get worse if Evann challenged her again. At The Silver Dagger's last comment, Evann's ears straightened up, and the rest of her body followed, slow and stiff; she'd had enough of this. Chocolate gaze still fixed on her own paws, she flattened her ears back down, tucking her tail submissively between her legs - she wasn't gonna challenge Sagacity's dominance again - but she wouldn't stay to simply be insulted; It's enough already! While she stood, carefully breathing deep gulps of the cold air to keep herself calm, Karpos suddenly spoke, making the mottled fae's eyes look up at him. His demeanor was entirely submissive - just like her own - and his voice was low; the words explaining why. Rabbits! Evann's attention had been fully on Sagacity, but now that the dark pup had brought the prey to her attention, she could clearly smell it; the enticing scent of living game filling her nostrils with every deep breath. One ear still back, the other pointing forward to listen for movement, the girl slowly turned her head in direction of the animals, breathing now going silent to make it easier to hear any noises; They seem to be still, sleeping? Or they had already smelled the nearby threat of the wolves. Turning back to Sagacity, Evann gave the golden eyed dame another quick glance, breathing deeply once more before asking, her voice hushed like the boy's; "Ca... c-can I go with h-him?" It was a question a yearling would ask, the submissiveness of it almost making the young woman recoil. But she held her stance, eyes focused again on Sagacity's muzzle, in a show of respectful attention, silently waiting for permission. Hunt, that was something she could do for the pack, was it not? A small catch would not be enough to satisfy the pale dame, surely, but it was a start. A little part of the brown lass wanted to rebel against this, excessive , submissiveness - was that not why she had come here in the first place, to be free of such things? - but it was a tiny one, and she suppressed it; Sagacity had demanded obedience, and she was entitled to it. Sighing lightly, Evann forced her thoughts into compliance, The Keep still needed prove of her worth, and at the moment she couldn't give it, so she would submit and comply, until, hopefully, she got a chance to prove herself. For now she pushed aside her defiance, ignoring the feeling of ridicule; Let it go. Word count: 499 "Speech." Thought

Last post for Sage.

One ear flicked toward Karpos when he spoke and he was hardly acknowledged for a moment before she nodded. She herself could smell something- though it wasn't rabbits. Perhaps he was confusing the scent, or maybe he'd cottoned on to a different scent trail. Either way, Sagacity could smell something and was going to investigate it herself. Evann didn't argue with her, and instead seemed to invest more interest in hunting. As much as Sagacity would have enjoyed it had Evann cowered more and begged for mercy, she was glad, at least, to see that Evann wanted to help contribute to the pack. Sagacity took her time before she even responded to Evann's request, and in the end, she stretched out her shoulders, yawned and nodded. There was nothing else she wanted to do with the woman, so if she wanted to hunt, so be it.

She felt her point had been made, so she left Karpos and Evann to their hunt, once she too had caught the scent of the rabbit...But that wasn't what she'd smelled earlier. Her nose led her instead to a frozen, twisted corpse, which somewhat resembled a deer. Something had killed it some time ago and had left a bit behind- and it wouldn't be overlooked. Evann and Karpos could have their rabbit- this find was hers. She dug it up, and had to tug on it a bit to get it to come unstuck to the place where it'd frozen, but she was determined and hungry. She brought the morsel back to the communal den to nibble on and share with anyone who showed up.