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Post by Venus on Jul 15, 2009 10:46:53 GMT -5
Winter had well and truly set in. The snow was banked up against the trees, deep enough to hide the bottoms of the trunks and most of the forest floor from view. And, as Ing found out, it also handily disguised the roots of said trees so that any unsuspecting passer-by could go ahead and trip over them.
"Oof!"
Muzzle-first in a snowdrift, the young wolf sighed. This entire journey was turning into a farce; passage through the mountains had been perilous enough. His old pack had always managed to avoid the ravines and avalanches through generations of accumulated knowledge, passed down from alpha to alpha. Unfortunately, he didn't have the advantage of being the alpha in the first place - as a middle-ranking wolf leaving to fend for himself, he was truly on his own.
But regardless - the forest was nice. From his prime position in the snowdrift, Ing could scent new shoots sitting just beneath the ground, water flowing beneath a sheet of ice. Spring was waiting. Pulling his head free from the snow and shaking out the flakes caught in steel grey fur, he glanced around for what felt like the millionth time that morning.
It was waiting; and probably would be for a long while yet.
... he really did hate winter.
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Post by Fury on Jul 15, 2009 10:55:58 GMT -5
Ahan was a lucky wolf. He'd never been the strongest or the fastest but certainly higher on the end of intelligence. Still that didn't help the poor fellow. He'd run away from everything he'd once held dear just because his self-proclaimed alpha, a black wolf named Zarna, had pulled a stupid stunt so stupid.
Laying in the snow, the red wolf was freezing to death slowly and surely. He was unfamiliar with this place as he was with most places so far away from the Rebel Pack in their war against those who imposed upon their lands and shunned the rules. The Pack had meant to teach a lesson, instead they had lost insane numbers of wolves. Ahan cringed at the thought. Then Zarna had had the very nerve to howl and execute a plan without alerting him to it when HE was the strategist. It hurt like knives to think his own brothers and sisters would betray him. He hoped they were safe but one thing was sure. He wouldn't be going back. Ever.
His breath traveled from his mouth in small wispy trails. His face was caked with frozen blood and his fur was matted. He wasn't wanted. Now his hind paw was caught in a root and he couldn't even muster the energy to escape. Damn. Some wolf I turned out to be.
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Post by Venus on Jul 15, 2009 11:07:55 GMT -5
A few more stumbling tracks through the deepening snow sent Ing sprawling yet again. It took a few moments for him to stir himself, getting up and allowing the pattern to repeat. Again. And again. And again.
Eventually, the wolf got the message; despite growing up on the high slopes, he still wasn't suited to the arctic climates. Maybe Ulfr had been right about him, after all. The thought depressed him - he could easily imagine the rough burr of his old packmate, harsher with reprimand than it was with reassurance. Huffing warm breath into the snow and watching it melt into rivulets only to re-freeze barely seconds later, he threw his ears back, blue eyes lazy.
He could try once more before admitting that Ulfr, of all wolves, had been right. Ulfr was never right.
Trudging onwards and around the next tree, Ing closed his eyes and counted.
'One... two... thr-!'
His reacquaintance with the snow wasn't a surprise. Alternatively, as he twisted to look over his shoulder at his hind feet, Ing found that the 'tree root' he'd tripped over was definitely more surprising than gaining a wet muzzle. But the red wolf looked tired, wetter than his muzzle could ever hope to be - and... blood-spattered?
"Sorry... are you all right?"
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Post by Fury on Jul 15, 2009 11:16:15 GMT -5
Ahan, though he was breathing raggedly, opened his green eye to look over at Ing. He was dazed. This much was obvious just by the clouded over look to his expression. His muzzle twitched to a very slight smile.
"No... Not really." he said. His voice was barely a whisper. It was like he hadn't been able to speak for a very long time. Perhaps he hadn't judging by the harsh sort of gravel tone behind it. Maybe he'd just forgotten how in his long time silence.
A violent shudder ran through his body. If Ing wasn't suited to here, surely a red wolf who lived in a considerably warmer environment wasn't even more-so. "It's cold."
I hate cold. ...I hate sympathy even more but I'm too tired to complain. Too tired. Too tired. It was like the cold even sapped his ability to properly think. A dying wolf? No. Ahan reasoned that he had been dying inside ever since he had heard Zarna's howl that last time. Betrayed by his own family. Why hadn't they trusted him?
"Who are you?" He asked. His green eye looked over Ing with a hint of curiosity. This wolf was younger than him... Or so it looked. He wasn't quite sure on how to tell when it came to an Artic Wolf. Sure the Rebel Pack had consisted of all manner of wolves but most were Timber and Red. Artics never manged to make it that far. It was too warm for them.
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Post by Venus on Jul 15, 2009 11:27:35 GMT -5
Ing blinked, not bothering to get up from where he'd sprawled across the forest floor.
"Oh."
His tail twitched, half-sweeping some of the snow into a small pile and then burying itself in it, resigned to its resting place in the cold. The red wolf looked a little older than him; worn, tired. The split in his ear suggested fights - few of which ever made their way up the steep slopes of his old range - and the blood... well. The closest to blood he'd ever been was through prey and playfighting. Wolf blood drawn in rage was something he wasn't used to seeing. But caution prevailed - after all, he was far enough from his home that this could be the territory of another pack. He may have missed the scent trails, the markings, possibly even the howls above the roar of the winter wind.
Freyja would want him to be polite.
"Erm- are you lost? Need help?"
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Post by Fury on Jul 15, 2009 11:38:57 GMT -5
Ahan forced himself up, shaking out the snow from his white-speckled pelt. His brown paws sunk back into the snow and he sighed. "I've been lost a long while." He disregarded the fact that Ing hadn't bothered to answer his question of 'who are you?' and met the younger wolf's glance. Both eyes weren't the same. Sure one was that familiar deep green but the other was only half green. The bottom half of the iris was sea-foam. Blue green.
"As for needing help... Quite frankly? Yes. I'm cold, starving, and it's suicide for me not to ask for help."
I may be inwardly dead but I don't need to completely die. Not now. Not in case Cal comes looking for me. For a moment the red wolf imagined her face. Her coy smiles, her apparent inability to even feel emotions, her confusion when it came to love and pain. If anyone missed him surely she did. She was his closest friend back in the Rebel Pack.
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Post by Venus on Jul 15, 2009 11:49:20 GMT -5
Ing tilted his head, one ear flicking out to the side - either in askance or to get rid of the snow beginning to heap on top of his skull, it wasn't clear. The two-toned gaze of this red wolf really did seem lost - and not just physically. Even he, not well-versed in the intricacies of non-arctic pack behaviour, could see that. Something was shattered there, inside. Gudrun the old healer would say the same; he'd spent enough time in her 'tender' care to be able to pick out the small things. And seeing a fellow wolf struggling wasn't something he enjoyed. Natural goodness wouldn't let him be so callous.
"Well, this isn't my range and I'm pretty lost myself, but I'm sure I can find something to eat..." He thought a moment and perked up, tail wagging and ears pricked. "And probably shelter too! Oh- I'm Ing, by the way. Nice to meet you in the middle of this-" His nose wrinkled, as close to distaste as the cheerful soul could get. "Really snowy forest."
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Post by Fury on Jul 15, 2009 11:59:21 GMT -5
A rolling chuckle- half a growl from not using it in so long- escaped Ahan's throat. "Nice to meet you Ing." The words 'shelter' and 'eat' brightened his mood significantly. His eyes still held that strange foreign forlorn gaze but he managed to offer a smile. The first smile in almost a year.
Though he'd heard that Zarna had a bounty on him, he doubted Ing knew the Rebel Pack. After all he was far enough from home. "My name is Ahan. Thank you." It was a general thank you for the kindness and just for speaking to him. Thank the Wolves of the Stars. Thank them for giving me a break in my misery. Lord knows I need it.
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Post by Venus on Jul 15, 2009 12:22:29 GMT -5
More snow flew from Ing's pelt as the young wolf shook himself clean, returning Ahan's greeting with an easy smile.
"Nice to meet you too; feels like years since I've seen another wolf!" He tapped his oversized paws against the packed snow - one of the main contributing factors to his clumsiness - and wagged his tail once more, running an experimental circle on top of the bank. His balance held, and Ing felt inordinately proud of himself. "Well, I'll be back as fast as I can."
With that, he began to weave his way around the shallower patches of snow, nose twitching as he searched for any prey sleeping beneath the ground or in a badly-placed nest. Harsh winters on the mountain slopes called for some creative hunting; the one thing he had been good at, despite his tendency to fall into the snow once too often. It didn't take him long to fall upon a sleeping fox - he figured that would be enough to tide over the exhausted Ahan, and quickly made the kill. Shelter proved a little more elusive; he eventually discovered what looked like an abandoned sett, the entrance crumbled wide enough for a wolf beneath the weight of the snow.
Happy with his progress, he began the swift trot back to his impromptu charge.
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Post by Fury on Jul 15, 2009 12:31:00 GMT -5
In an attempt to keep himself from laying back down in the snow, the red wolf had started to simply walk circles. They weren't tight but nor were they messy. It was a process he was familiar with from drilling the Pack. Shaking off the memory he nearly chuckled when he looked down at the snow. He'd worn a path in it already.
Stay alert. He could hear his own voice echo in his mind. It was advice he'd uttered time and time again and now it had bounced back at him. Funny how life could circle around so much. His ear- the one with a niche in it specifically- twitched. It tilted in the direction of the arriving Ing and he smiled. It seemed he still had his ability to take in details even when only semi-himself.
Finishing his circle one last time, he limped up to Ing to meet him half way. The limp was from a rather deep looking bite-mark on his hind right leg. Still it obviously didn't slow him down too much. Ahan was used to his own handicaps. "Welcome back."
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Post by Venus on Jul 15, 2009 12:51:27 GMT -5
Mouth full of fox, Ing tripped over for the third time just as he rounded the last corner on his way back to Ahan. He bounced back to his feet straight away, once more divesting his grey pelt of flakes before loping across the final distance. The meal was dropped, and one paw came up to wipe his muzzle and eyes.
"There! Hope that's enough to get yourself over to the empty sett I found - it isn't far." Ears twitched. "And even better, the snow gets thinner the further you go that way; I'd never have got that far today if I hadn't bumped into you, so thanks!"
'See, Ulfr, I'm no failure!'
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Post by Fury on Jul 15, 2009 20:11:32 GMT -5
With a chuckle Ahan replied, "I should be the thankful one." He then dug in with all the ravenous nature of a deprived wolf. It seemed he really had been hungry enough to eat just about anything. It didn't even take him long to finish, teeth crunching down on bones and anything else he could manage to get into his stomach. It would indeed hold him over.
He licked the fresh blood-which was the fox's not his own- from his muzzle and stretched out much in the manner of a feline. "Lead the way, Ing."
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Post by Venus on Aug 6, 2009 13:54:20 GMT -5
(Sorry I missed this RP totally - mind blank. -headdesk- >.<)
Whilst the injured wolf was eating, Ing sat back on his haunches, head tilted and ears leaning to one side. It really had been an age since he encountered any others of his kind wandering the wilds; the last wolf he'd seen had been the back of Ulfr and the rest of the pack as they turned away and left him to his new role of wanderer. Explorer. Investigator.
... he really didn't want to say loner. Admitting that would be admitting defeat, and defeat wasn't something he was willing to accept just yet.
Blinking large blue eyes in surprise, he shook himself back to attention as Ahan finished his meal and stood.
"Oh, right! Sorry - this way."
He turned, trotting around one of the large snowdrift and back into the relative shelter of the thicker trees. "The sett was a little beyond where I found the fox, so... here!" The scent of the prey was thick where he'd dragged it along the forest floor, and it wasn't hard to retrace his steps to the abandoned shelter.
It was ahead; bracketed between two thick tree roots, it disappeared beneath the ground. The entrance was a smudge of black against the sprawl of white.
"Found it, right-oof!"
And once again, Ing disappeared into a large pile of snow.
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Post by Fury on Aug 8, 2009 14:04:54 GMT -5
Following as best as he could, Ahan couldn't help but chuckle as Ing managed to do what he presumed was falling into the hole. "I'm on my way, just give me a moment or two Ing. I'm not quite as much of myself as I used to be." Was all that really a few months ago? Or was it weeks? ...How long have I really been gone? he couldn't help but wonder.
(shooort post, sorry T.T)
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