Lost Lake All the (bad) luck in the world.

They had left Oaktree Bend as soon as Florence’s ankle had healed fully. Now they were making their way carefully up the mountain, Florence keeping a careful eye on Vera. It was interesting to watch the small wolf stick by his side almost like fly to honey. It calmed him immensely to know she wasn’t going to leave him any time soon. Yet there had been a pause when there was a path that meant they had to go one at a time, otherwise they’d fall. Florence nearly flinched when his paws felt like they were going to tumble out from underneath him as he pulled himself up onto a ledge but he managed to right himself before falling. Turning to help Vera up if she needed to, a flash of light caught his attention from the corner of his eye however and lifting his head, Florence felt his eyes widen in what could have been a comical way. The large wolf was on a small cliff, over looking a huge lake, as it shimmered brightly in the fading daylight.

However, his attention was torn away when he heard a growl coming from his left, higher up and Florence whirled around to face it, when the scent of a lynx brushed by his nose. Oh no. Where was @Vera? ”Vera-!” The male cried in fright, as the black lynx tracked his movements with its eyes. ”Vera, where are you?!” Fear that the lynx had gotten his Nix Delibo without him able to protect her-it was licking its chops rather too much, as if licking blood of its dark fur, not to mention its content look on its face- anger filtered in past the fear and he snarled at it. The Lynx stared back at him owlishly, hissing back at him when he snarled. Where was Vera?! ”Vera! Can you hear me?”

For all his shouting and his obvious anger, the lynx continued to lounge above him, grinning as if it knew something he didn’t.

(This post was last modified: Oct 12, 2014, 08:07 AM by Florence.)

@Florence

The two wolves had left Oak Tree Bend as soon as Florence's ankle had fully healed, and then they had set out on their journey over the mountain, which they were currently climbing. The diminutive ivory she-wolf stuck to his side like glue the whole way, never letting anything more than a few inches come between them. She was more protective of him than ever. However, she paused when they came upon a ledge ahead, with only enough room for one wolf at a time. Vera held back as her larger companion jumped up onto the ledge, watching him as he looked down from his higher-up view of something far below them, whatever it was.

Her gaze was torn from his large, dark form at a growl coming from Florence's left, higher up than he was. Her head lifted up and she spotted a black lynx in the evening light, prowling, as if waiting for the chance to pounce on them. It knew it had the advantage, but that didn't stop the vicious growl escaping from Vera's maw. She would not let it harm her larger companion, who seemed to be frantically searching for her. "Yes I can, I'm fine Florence!" She barked out to him in a reassuring tone while keeping her eyes on the lynx. It could pounce at any time, and she wanted to know exactly when so she could warn Florence.

Carefully and slowly, making sure that she didn't push him off the ledge, the diminutive ivory she-wolf leaped up onto the ledge, and then up onto her larger companion's shoulder, keeping herself steady after months of practice. "I can distract it by running further up the mountain and you can bring it down from behind?" she said while keeping her eyes on the lynx. She was faster than it, and if she could take its focus off of Florence then he had a chance to use his large bulk to bring it down without either of them coming to harm. Unless if he had a better idea...

342 words

When Vera finally managed to voice back her well being and that she was fine, Florence relaxed a little bit but kept his eyes on the lynx as she bounded up to his side and then onto his shoulders. It was something they had come to do easily after several months of practice. It looked odd to other creatures, their positions but it was comfortable for them. Not to mention they could care less about what others thought of them. Twisting his ears back to listen to Vera’s plan, Florence hesitated for a moment. It could be very dangerous for the two of them but the lynx brought back the danger of it by letting out a slightly confused yet angry noise, unsure what to do with the two wolves and their position but not liking the two wolves in its territory. The dark wolf eventually conceded to Vera’s plan, shifting slightly to allow Vera to jump off his shoulders and to go above the lynx, to distract it. If they left it any longer, it would attack them.

The lynx would follow Vera, leaping to its paws from its crouched position and spinning on the spot to chase her and Florence took his chance when it turned its back, scrambling after it so he could get up behind it. The lynx bounded after Vera as she ran, growling after her as Florence managed come up behind it, his long legs helping him closing the gap between them. It seemed odd the Lynx was angry at them, when they hunted different things. But Florence remembered they could be territorial.

The diminutive ivory she-wolf saw her larger companion’s hesitation, and she held her breath, hoping, waiting, until he finally conceded to her plan. It was the only plan they had that could work, and even though it put her in a dangerous position, she knew that Florence would take down the lynx before it would wound her too greatly, if at all. That was the beauty of them. They worked in absolute teamwork, which at times didn’t go so well, but when they had the same endgame in mind, it usually turned out for the better than if they went against each other.

Vera felt the slight shift in his stance, which would allow her to jump off from his shoulders and go above the lynx’s head that much easier to distract it so he could take it down. Taking a few deep breaths, the diminutive ivory she-wolf let out three sharp, loud barks to get its attention before pushing against Florence’s shoulders and leaping up and over the lynx, barely getting out of reach of its deadly claws. The moment all four paws touched the ground she shot off like a bullet and sprinted up the steep mountainside. She didn’t dare look behind her to see how close the lynx was, and instead focused on her footing as she ran. Falling down or tripping was not an option at the moment as she could feel the predator’s hot breath on her heels, and she willed herself to go faster. It was now or never for Florence to bring it down.

261 words

Right on its short tail, Florence felt like if he didn’t act now, then Vera might get wounded seriously and he did not want that at all. So gathering up his strength, the large wolf leapt at the black furred lynx-and wasn’t that an oddity in of itself. Lynxes were generally light colored, at least to his knowledge- and knocked the lynx to its side. A howl of rage left the lynx as it tumbled, trying to right itself before trying to attack Florence, yowling with sharp teeth and deadly claws ready to sink into his shoulder. Unfortunately for Florence, he wasn’t quick enough to sink his own teeth into its throat before pain flared in his right shoulder as daggers dug into it.

Gritting his teeth, Florence tightened his jaws around the lynx, knowing that unless its breath ceased, then those claws would not come out of his shoulder. In fact, it would be worse because it could get free of his grip on its neck and in turn get its own grip on his throat. Trying to shake the lynx’s grip off of him, he could feel its struggles becoming weaker as he refused to let go of it.

Eventually, its claws let go of his shoulder and its rasping growls, what had been a warning to let it go, ceased. Limping away from the body, Florence turned to study his shoulder, wincing at the sight of the blood and deep wounds that were laid bare for all the see. It was just his luck lately wasn’t it, to become injured?

”Vera?” He called to her, having lost sight of the small wolf in the chase and subsequent struggle. He hoped she was alright but knew the worry she would have for his injury. ”It is dead now.”

When Vera heard howls of rage and pain, yowling and flesh tearing and ripping she slowed down and whipped her head around. The lynx was no longer chasing her as Florence had brought it down, but now her larger companion was in danger as he battled the predator. Quickly turning around she ran back down the mountainside, her lungs aching from the steep climb and her leg muscles screaming for her to stop and lie down. But she kept running until she was back at his side, where the dead lynx lay blood splattered on the ground. Her eyes immediately darted to Florence as she checked him out to make sure he was okay. When she spotted the claw wound on his shoulder her eyes widened. “Florence!” She barked out worriedly. “Your shoulder!”

Upon closer inspection, the diminutive ivory she-wolf saw that it was not as deep as she had originally thought, but that did not mean the wound wasn’t susceptible to infection and inflammation if not treated immediately. Wracking her brain for herbs to help, she could only think of Ergot and White Fir, neither of which could be found on the mountain. There was also Solomon’s seal, but she had no idea where it grew apart from near Oak Tree Bend, which was too far away for her to collect. Backing up she looked up at Florence, worry clear in her eyes. “I don’t know of any herbs that grow on mountains that can help!” She practically wailed with concern over her larger companion who most likely knew of an herb that could be used.

267 Words

Florence whipped his head around to stare at Vera when she appeared at his side once again, her eyes instantly seeking out his shoulder wound. It certainly wasn’t as bad as one would imagine but Vera seemed to be very worried about it, wailing that she had no idea of what herbs that grew on the mountain that could help it. ”Vera, peace, please!” He cried in vain to calm her down, stepping around the body of the lynx to press his nose to her shoulder in an attempt to soothe her.”Tis but a scratch. And there should be wormwood somewhere around here, that’ll help with healing it.” His voice was strained, obviously wanting his dear friend to be not as stressed about his wound. Though if it were him in her place, he would be just as worried.

Quickly, his eyes darted around to try and find sid plant, hoping that it was within sight so he could show Vera that his wound could be treated right there and then without it becoming infected or anything. Unfortunately, there was none in sight and his shoulders dropped, making him wince in remembrance that his right shoulder was injured.

”Vera, can you help me find it? It’s a short-stemmed bush and boasts yellow flowers. It will help greatly with my shoulder.” He explained to her, rubbing his nose across her back. It was a soothing notion, something he found that worked on her sometimes.

The diminutive ivory she-wolf knew that her larger companion was attempting to soothe her wild emotions with promises that he was okay, and even though she knew that, she just couldn't get rid of the panic inside. Knowing that he was hurt on a mountain where she had no idea of the herbs that grew, and so had no way to heal him, was the worst thing that she could imagine. She forced herself to take deep breaths when Florence tried to calm her down, doing her best to heed to his wishes.

A small, hopeful smile crossed Vera's face when he mentioned an herb, wormwood, that could help heal him. She had heard him talk about it before, but had never asked what medicinal properties it had, nor had he ever told her. "Short-stemmed, yellow flowers. Got it," she said under her breath as she nuzzled Florence gently before darting off in search of the herb. Scurrying up and down the steep mountainside, it was a few minutes before she spotted the clump of short-stemmed bushes with yellow flowers that she was searching for. Grabbing a mouthful of the herb, Vera ran back to her larger companion, being very careful not to bruise the leaves or swallow any of it.

"Is this enough?" the diminutive ivory she-wolf queried after she placed the wormwood in front of Florence. She was unsure of what was used to heal, how much and how it was used. The only guess she could make was to make a sort of poultice and put it on the wound, but for the rest she had no idea. Vera glanced up at her larger companion with a questioning and worried gaze.

284 Words

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

Of course, as soon as he had made mention of a herb that could help him, along with his attempts to soothe her, seemed to calm her down enough. This relieved Florence, who hated seeing Vera so worked up because of something that had happened to him. The small wolf listened diligently to his description of the herb, repeating it back to him before scurrying off to find said herb. In the few minutes she was gone, he thought about teaching her more about the herbs he knew. He had taught her some of them but not all. It was something he had been meaning to do, teaching them to her but at the same time, he wasn’t going to be separated from her ever again. So she’d have him always to take care of her, if she ever fell ill or became injured.

What if you become separated by chance? A voice whispered in his mind. What if, what if. There’ll be no what ifs! He ferociously told himself. She’ll always be with me!

He was pulled from his thoughts when Vera asked him if it was the herb that was before him.

“That is the herb, yes.” Florence assured her, licking her cheek fondly. ”We need to turn it into a
poultice.” He tilted his head, glancing down at it. ”Though we might need some more for that.” He explained somewhat guilty to his friend, bending down to sniff at it quickly. It was fresh. ”though it is a good thing we have water close by. We’ll have to clean my wound first.” The wound was still bleeding slightly, his dark fur slicked down by the wet substance. Florence eyed the trek down to the lake, wondering how they could get down without hurting or killing themselves.