(Please forgive the lack of table. Haven't gotten around to getting one made as of yet! )
It would soon be time for the wandering brute to finally turn westward. Months of mainly aimless wandering had led him here to the East coast, where the unusual smell of seawater was always in the background. Itheral didn't much care for it; smelt vaguely like puke, he thought. Soon enough, he'd reach the sea, and finally begin traveling the other way. That was, of course, assuming he didn't find a place to call home here, but he wasn't too optimistic. Every pack he'd run into and attempted to join always came up with some excuse to kick him out. That pack back in Quebec chased him off over a simple misunderstanding; he was just sampling the pack food cache in the middle of the night to make sure it hadn't gone bad. So what if he had to eat nearly half to make sure of it? Or what about that pack back near what would have been Kingston? How was he supposed to know that the female wolf whom he complimented on her....'ample posterior' had been the alpha female, and her mate within earshot? Some people just couldn't take a compliment.
All of Itheral's traveling had led him to this peninsula. Not keen on a repeat of the latest incident back on the mainland (how was he supposed to know that jokes about various female parts might be deemed offensive by the alpha female? Prudes), he had been sticking clear of the numerous pack territories he'd wandered close to. It wasn't until he'd gotten to a sizable mountain range that he realized, perhaps, he should have tried his luck at one of the pack lands behind him. He didn't much like mountains....too much work trudging up them and all that. Still, Itheral was curious...why where their any big trees on it? There must of been a fire at some point, he guessed. Well, he was already here, he reasoned, so might as well keep going.
As it turned out, it seemed only the Northern face of the mountain was missing mature trees. After a few days travel, vegetation that he would of normally expected soon made an appearance, though there still was a small hint of ash hovering in the background. He unknowingly passed what was known as the Stellarton mines, too busy trying to follow a rabbit he'd been chasing for dinner (he ended up catching it), and within the week, he paused, near the top of the mountain, looking down on two larger peaks not far in the distance. More importantly, the winds brought the faint smell of marked territory. He must of been close to another pack's lands. Trudging down the sloped side of the peak he was traversing, the plump lupine figured that he might as well try and see about joining this pack. Surely their wouldn't be another pack before he hit the Eastern-most side of the coast and had to turn back around, so might as well try his luck. Whats the worst that could happen?
How could he be expected, though, to put his best paw forward on an empty stomach? Surely Itheral, with his incredible hunting ability, could find something to eat before the day ended. Gazing up into the sky, he figured it was...hmm...an hour or two after noon? Might be a bit tricky getting the jump on a rabbit with the sun out and shining like it was. Perhaps a quick bout of scavanging would be useful. Swinging around the northern side of what he figured was the norther pack borders, Itheral trudged long the foliage, sniffing about. Unknowingly just above the large cave system called the Crystal Caverns, Itheral halted, nose twitching. What was that smell? Lifting his snout up and taking sharp, deep inhalations, Itheral began to follow what smelt like a meal. A bit hard to tell exactly what said meal was...had a hint of rabbit, deer, but mostly unusual scents he wasn't familiar with, which peaked his curiosity. Maybe some wonderfully tasty rabbit-deer-elf-squirrel hybrid? The wolf began a slow search, trying to find the source of the smell, which was easier said then done. For nearly an hour, Itheral walked along, sniffing and pausing, sniffing and pausing, trying to find where the hell this smell was coming from. The closer he got, the more...odd the smell got. It seemed almost...salty.
Finally, Itheral seemed to find the source...or, at least where it was coming from. Partially hidden by a fallen tree, a narrow crevice lead down into the darkness. Generally, any wolf in their right mind would hesitate with such a snug tunnel leading into the unknown. Itheral's gut, however, seemed to be doing most of his thinking at this junction, and after taking a deep breath and sucking in his paunch, he crammed himself into the fissure, mind on the prize. The smell grew stronger now, and it became clear what it was; a coyote (or perhaps fox) made this a little food store, though the faint scent of said coyote seemed to hint at it's prolonged absence. That worked for him. It meant that, despite some slightly smelly meats, he wouldn't have to fight anyone off for it.
Grunting and wheezing, Itheral cursed softly under his breath. Why did they have to made these tunnels so damn small? His sides chaffed, and a few times, he though he'd gotten stuck. A few heaves, though, and he became unstuck, continuing on his way down the tunnel. He was almost there, he could tell. The smell was so strong now, he could almost taste it. It was almost completely dark, what little light coming into the cave mostly being blocked out by the fat wolf crammed in the tunnel. He could see ahead of himself, though, so there was a little bit of light coming from up ahead somewhere. Finally, with a yelp, Itheral popped into a slightly larger cavern. A little more light slipped into the snug room, but it was enough to make Itheral's mouth water at the sight he could see before him now. A sizable pile of rodents, mostly rabbits and hares, all waiting just for him. Without a second though, the glutton leaped upon them, and began to stuff his face.
Now, generally, it wouldn't take a genius to put two and two together: small tunnel into food store + stuffing ones face inside said foodstore = uh oh. None of this occurred to Itheral, who simply saw it as some sort of gift for being such a cool dude. Things, however, were about to get tricky for the poor fellow. Half an hour passed, and the fatter-then-usual wolf was laying on his side, a large, stupid grin on his face. He hadn't gorged himself like that in a long, long while. There was still a good portion of the stockpile left too, so he could come back later. For now, though, he best think about applying to that pack. With a loud grunt, he got himself up off the floor, and headed back to the way he came out.
As the walls dug into his gut, it soon dawned on Itheral that he may have forgotten one tiny little detail. Huffing, he dragged his hindpaws on the cavern floor, his forepaws trying to drag himself forward. The tunnel just dug tighter on his bloated gut, though. Panic started to well up in the wolf's mind. Wheezing and panting, the wolf struggled, squeezed, and grunted, trying in vain to get himself back into the tunnel. All his efforts were for not, though; he was just too fat to fir back through the only tunnel out. Whimpering pathetically, he tried to back out into the cavern with the meats...but couldn't. The wolf's blood ran cold, eyes widening in terror as he realized what had happened.
He was stuck.
Yelping and whining, Itheral began clawing in desperation at the tunnel interior, trying to push back, then forward, hindpaws planted on either side of the wall, trying to heave himself out. It was utterly no use, though. He was utterly wedged. It seemed the entire weight of the mountain was now closing in on him, walls squeezing against the wedged wolf. In desperation, he howled out, hoping someone, anyone nearby could hear him. Between howls, he shouted desperately, eyes watering in fear.
"HELP! PLEASE, ANYBODY! HELP!!!"
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