Word count 345:: Forward dated to the evening of August 2nd. Zalen is in Secui form.
It was in the evening and still ridiculously hot. At times like these Zalen just wished for the winter to be around, his form was built more for cold climates. But he could not change the weather so there was no point in complaining about it, besides, even though it was still warm in the twilight hours it wasn’t anything compared to the swelter of mid-day. Perhaps the dark male was even more put off by the warmth because of the stinging on his upper back. Earlier that day he had been attacked by a wolfess bent on revenge for her mate and had mistaken him for the perpetrator. It was only until he had pinned her to down was he able to convince her she had the wrong man but by that time she had already managed to get a good bite on him.
He had managed to clean up the superficial wound, removing the clotted blood from his matted form, but he lacked the skills for stitches and lacked the material for bandaging so he had decided to head towards Anathema and seek out the exotic wolf named Panda. She had spoken to him of her soaps and herbs and thought perhaps she had some medical prowess and could aid him.
He tried to remain silent as he walked across the pack land borders, he knew that even though he had become friends with the Rakeeb and Furcas of the pack didn’t give him any kind of permission to trespass. But he considered himself on good terms with this pack and hoped that a positive word of him had been spread throughout its members.
Zalen decided that once he got into howling distance of Anathema’s caverns he would call out specifically for Panda. He was excited to see her again, their initial meeting had been both friendly and playful and he found that something about her calmed him immensely. He most definitely needed some calming after today's insanity. Zalen breathed in a let out a long sigh into the musty summer night air.
The bump at her belly was now unmistakable to anyone she met and surprisingly the woman carried it with a large amount of shame despite how excited she was to be pregnant again, hoping that this time they would last to term and live. She hadn't been strong enough to keep her other two litters alive, but the shame came in the fact that she didn't know who their father was or whether it was more than one, between Giuseppe, Matteo and whoever else she had fucked in recent weeks. For the first time in her life, Gemma was ashamed of being a whore and of how she had been living her life, oh it wasn't enough to stop her practicing the behavior but it was enough to make her think, ever so slightly.
The woman stroked her belly gently with a snowy as she took a calm, relaxed stroll through the surrounding forest that belonged to Anathema, the cramped and dark state of the tunnels as much as she loved them now were beginning to make her feel trapped again like they had done when she had first arrived, she put it down to the wrigglers squirming around in her stomach messing with her mind and hormones. For once she was not wearing her hot pants and leather shirt nor Matteo's shirt, that had been returned to him after the wedding, she was in her fur as she wandered around, something she was sure would completely scandalize the white man if he knew.
Quite suddenly and enough to make her jump a little she came across a large black male who was in the stronger of his four legged forms. With pretty much no room to hide or leave without being inexcusably rude. He also smelt of the outside and it was quite a way from the borders, chasing out trespassers was supposed to be the job of people like Alaki not pregnant women like she was. With a soft feminine sigh the woman's large coyote ears came forwards, and in a firm voice that wavered slightly,
"Ex-excuse me! Hello? Have you been given permission to enter the packs lands?" He could lie to her if he wanted but then Gemma could always go and warn the leaders there was a wolf sneaking around unchecked.
Zalen was still about a mile or so away from the cave structure and knew his voice would most likely carry far enough at this distance but he didn’t want to chance it and continued forward. That was when the smell of pregnancy came to him. Slowing down only slightly he glanced to his right and caught site of the ivory female just as she caught sight of him. Zalen came to a complete stop as she spoke, ears completely turned in her direction. What he saw turned his stomach. It was a coywolf, a pregnant coywolf, an abomination in every sense.
It was one thing to run into a coywolf on Inferni lands but here? In Anathema? He guessed he shouldn’t have been that surprised, Panda had spoken about her non-prejudice of all canines, this should have hinted at the fact that Anathema would allow them in the pack structure. But actually being confronted now by one, and one that had most likely been impregnated by a wolf slightly sickened him.
He tried to put these somatic feelings to the side and decide what to do. Besides her species she was a member of this pack and he was a trespasser, though a friendly one. He stared at her for a few more seconds before replying gruffly, I’m injured, I seek my friend Panda. Do not interfere.
He turned and continued on for a few more yards before stopping again and turning his brutish head to look at her once more. If he wanted he could easily kill her now, slash her protruding belly open and rid the world of the unnatural offspring growing inside her. But these dark thoughts, as much as he wished he could enact them, were forceably pushed down into the deepest part of his mind. Despite what she was she was still a vulnerable female bearing young and should be protected. He sighed and decided he should probably explain himself a bit more, though this annoyed him greatly. With a grunt Zalen plopped his massive form to the ground and winced, his wound throbbed and he hoped it was not bleeding again.
ooc; lol no problem Gemma's used to being discriminated against for being a whore, shes used to it
3+
Also whar is he innjured?
The look he gave her as he lumbered to a stop, it chilled her all the way down to her bones. She didn't understand why and inside she shuddered. Gemma had had a lot of experience with people being mean to her because of her loose ways and relaxed attitude towards sex and her own body and how she used it but never had she been judged based on who her parents were. Her ears pulled back as he spoke gruffly, he was injured? That explained the smell of blood that she had been smelling faintly for a while but she had merely assumed some animal had made a kill nearby, as much as this male scared her with his on edge behavior, the woman felt compelled to offer her help to him,
"Oh that is too bad. If you want, I have some medicinal supplies in my bag here, I could patch you up and save you trudging all the way up to the howling caverns? Or I could go get Panda for you?" She did not know Panda personally but Gemma has seen the strangely colored girl around and about and knew her name and that she had a companion named Venom. Even as she spoke, dread continued to fill her and she had a sudden feeling that her unborn children were in danger, threatened by this male. Her ears dropped all the way to her head and she took a step backwards. But the sense of threat disappeared as he sat down on the floor in front of her, like a scared deer that had been spooked she tentatively stepped forwards, recovering the ground she had lost.
The ivory female's hands shook and she tried to hide it by grasping them together and letting them rest just underneath her protruding stomach.
Zalen watched her carefully and could tell that she was frightened by him. He could see it in the way she stood, the way she spoke and he could smell it in her sweat. He couldn’t help but let a small smirk touch the corners of his mouth. How does it feel now that the tables are turned? He said this quietly to himself. No use in frightening her even more especially now that she was offering to patch him up.
He turned his injured side to her. The wound wasn’t terrible but it was causing him some discomfort. The golden wolfess that had attacked him earlier that day had managed to get that one good hit on him right above his left shoulder blade. Her teeth had punctured and torn the skin away there and the pink of his sub dermis glistened in the moonlight. Zalen set his eyes upon the white coywolf again as she cradled her enlarged belly. How strange it must be to be pregnant and to bear young. Just several days ago Zalen had encountered puppies for the first time and it had been a positive experience. He wondered if he would ever father his own. I believe I need stitches or a bandage.
Had the circumstances been different he would have sent this girl off to grab Panda but he could not risk injuring himself more by traveling in this unknown territory. He was already much deeper into Anathema then he ever thought or wished to go.
The girl took a few steadying breaths to calm herself and stop her hands shaking as he turned to expose his injury. She missed what he muttered to himself but decided that she probably didn't want to know what he had said. She looked it over with a critical eye, if she were completely honest with herself she was a rather lackluster medic but she would do her best to help this man that scared her so, she had not been as scared of her father as she was of him. Lucifer had never invoked within her the feeling that her life was in danger. She hmm'ed noncommittally at his words. She did not have the expertise to stitch so it would have to be a bandage and a herbal paste. She struggled to her knees beside him, hindered slightly by the belly that protruded and opened her satchel, pulling out the required supplies.
A roll of clean gauzy bandage, a second roll of adhesive, a small set of scissors she had found; to cut away at some of the fur that surrounded the wound and finally two small jars containing different colored pastes. She arranged all her stuff quickly and efficiently, the practised motions helping her clear her mind. The moon gave her plenty of light to see by so it was not a problem. She looked at the supplies and then at the male, opting to explain to him what she was going to do first before she actually did it, some of her character and personality came back to her and she offered him a sweet, gentle smile before explaining in a kind voice,
"Okay. First I'm going to have to cut away some of the fur around the wound with these..." She help up the scissors for his inspection and then putting them back down. ".. So that it doesn't get in the way. Then I'm going to smear these two pastes onto the wound, which might sting a little bit. One is an antiseptic which will stop it getting infected and clear out any bugs already in there and the other is a pain reliever and muscle relaxant, which will help bring the swelling down. Then I'll wrap you up in this stretchy gauze, it will contract and expand so you can shift with it on if you wanted to, and the gauze will be held in place with the adhesive." As she explained she held each of the items she was referring to up for him to see, knowing instinctively that if he suspected her of trying to harm him in anyway that he would hurt her.
"Do you have any questions? Oh, I'm Gemma by the way, Gemma Rhiannon." She waited patiently for any questions she might have, not adding on her official last name of Sawtooth, she didn't know if she still considered herself as belonging to the family of Sawtooth. She was hoping that maybe Giuseppe would let her take on his last name of Trovato, it seemed like a respectful name to carry.
The white coywolf took a breath before approaching him. He watched as she investigated his wound. He could not see it that well himself and could not stretch lick at it. He also hadn’t been able to shift into optime in the state he was in, so early in the day the best he could do was take a dip in the blue lake near his den. He had hoped this would have cleared it out a bit, but he couldn’t be certain.
He listened intently as she explained to him what she would be doing, holding up each item as she spoke. He was somewhat fascinated by her medical equipment, it was like none he had ever seen before, hume more than likely. Zalen assumed there must be the large ruins of a hume settlement around, that would explain all the paraphernalia he had been seeing. She also seemed to relax a bit and a chipper nature was revealed. Zalen couldn’t help but cock his ear at her slightly, had she been a wolf he would have been engaged by her attitude, but as a coywolf he could do nothing but become apathetic. Perhaps it was also the dull pain emanating from his wound that caused him to remain stoic rather than smile back at her.
She asked him if he had any questions and he slowly shook his head. She introduced herself as Gemma Rhiannon, Zalen. he replied simply with a slight nod. After a moment he decided to add, Thank you… for helping me.
Sky blue eyes watched somewhat nervously to see if he had any questions before blowing out a breath and reaching up to tie her long curly hair back using her bracelet as a hair tie, it kept all of the hair back apart from one strand that lay along the side of her face, it wasn't in her way or bugging her so she left it alone. After several seconds of slightly uncomfortable silence he revealed that he did indeed have a name and that it was Zalen, he then thanked her for helping him and her eyes showed her surprise,
"It's no problem, I only wish we could have met under different circumstances and not because you have a hole in your body that needs plugging." She smiled slightly, attempting a small stab at humor, maybe it would help him relax? She didn't know, men confused her a lot of the time, at least when they were simply lusting after her they were easier to understand and react to. She winced as one of the kids decided that her spinal cord was a good thing to kick, twinges running up her spine and making her tail twitch.
"Okay, i'm going to start now.." With that she lapsed into silence as she went to work, he was free to talk to her and she would listen but if she spoke herself then she might loose her concentration. Carefully so she hurt him as little as possible she cut locks of fur off from around the wound, it was a nasty looking bite mark that had turned into a rip/tear. When all the fur was cut away and to a suitably short length she unscrewed the caps on the two jars, the smell of the antiseptic permeating the air quickly and she wrinkled her nose up slightly at it. Before she applied the pastes she once again said,
"Brace yourself, this might sting some." She applied the two pastes, making sure they both soaked into the wound as deeply as possible and then began to wind the stretch gauze around his chest, finally ending with securing it with the adhesive. When she was done she leaned back to inspect her work, and tutted to herself, cutting a few straggly bits off with the scissors before finding it suitable.
Its ok. I managed to get my other threads closed out. But we should try to finish this one within the next few posts eh?
Zalen couldn’t help but to let a small smile escape his lips as she joked about the wound, but it soon again replaced by a sullen face. As she began to work, the sound of fur being sheared away ringing in his ears, he began to recall the events that had played out just hours before. He had been attacked by a golden wolfess with a painted eye, she had not asked any questions just assumed that he was the person who had raped someone named Shiloh. He was completely confused as to why someone would just invade his well-marked territory and know that he was the one. Perhaps he had shared some physical characteristics with the true abuser but he could not be certain. After besting her he had she had run off with no explanation and left him hot, dazed and injured. But he knew she wouldn’t soon forget him, his teeth marks had shown from her muzzle like red lights. He knew they would scar and be visible for quite some time after.
Letting these thoughts drift into the deeper parts of his mind he looked back over at Gemma who had just finished cutting his fur, he could feel the warm night air against his tender flesh. He once again looked at her round belly, wondering how many abominations where inside her. She warned him that it might sting and he nodded. When she applied the salve he could help but twitch a bit; it did sting but it only lasted a moment, then a cool burning sensation emanated as far down his shoulder and he relaxed. As she went to get the gauze he decided to speak, Are there many coyotes in Anathema? he could help but notice there was venom behind the word “coyote”. He usually was better at hiding his feelings but the heat, the pain, the confusion were all getting to him.
He was not in his normal mind and he knew that going back to his den after this and resuming life as if nothing had happened would not do him well. He needed to leave these territories for a while, get his head straight. Perhaps he would keep heading east, away from Anathema, to see what lied beyond. It would give him a chance to heal in private and try to figure things out. Yes, this would be the best plan.
failsauce post, you can have Zalen walking off for your next post and we can end it if you want?
She grimaced at his question, the venom behind the word 'coyote' did not go unnoticed but Gemma did not seemingly react to it. She began to repack her medicinal stuff into her bag with create care. She had not mingled with the inhabitants of Anathema and therefore did not know, could not even begin to answer his question accurately.
"That I cannot answer, I do not know many of my packmates, I prefer to be alone most of the time so I haven't met any of them, not really." She shuffled the bottles within her pack to make mroe room, the glass clinking sharply against each other. Her answer actually got her thinking, she really did need to be more sociable and meet some of her kin, what if war were to come to Anathema? She would be worse than useless. She stood, pulling her pack onto her shoulder and looked down at Zalen, he was one of those who thought hybrids were wrong or something to fear, his company no longer endeared to her but still she maintained the façade out of the politeness her mother had taught her, her mother the coyote.
"Although our leader, Naniko is wolf I believe, if she is anything else then I could not tell." She then tried to change from this topic that was dangerous to her,
"You'll want to wear that bandage at least fourteen days, by then the wound should be healed enough for you to take it off, if you don't need anything else then i'll be on my way."
