Alias:
Élodie Fortescue
Birth:
January 1, 2009
Mutation:
None
Species:
Canis Lupus Arctos
Gender:
Female
Contact:
PM
Method of Discovery:
http://alphawolf.gotop100.com/
Initial post:
She sat at the edge of the border, not a hair's breadth further in nor out. Her coat was hanging in mangled clumps off of her back, and her thick ruff was tangled in brush and feathers. She was the spitting image of a survivor: the kind that the Wild swallowed and spit back up without so much as a sideways glance. A ferocity most kindred of one that has lived a life of fear and regret shone clearly in her eyes and the tense set of her face. The velvet corners of her lips, caked in old blood and morning dew, were lifted to reveal a formidable pair of large, protruding fangs. But in a sharp contrast, her jaws were slightly parted, enough so as to allow her tongue to loll off the side of her mouth. In this sense, she resembled a panting dog, ears hovering just over the temples, eyelids held loosely at half-mast.
It was, in fact, her attempt at a pleasing countenance--a display of civility that far outpaced the short span of her early life. It was a behavior that echoed in the very fiber of her being, passed on to her through the genes of her father and mother, and their parents, and their parent's parents, and so on. Thus it was with this wolf, --a pitiful sight of jutting ribs and dull eyes--, following an instinct that was not only ingrained in her brain, but also a part of her spiritual soul, as sure as her bones and as deep as her howl.
And in this fashion, she waited.
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Hello and welcome to Souls! :]
The man had initially intended to spend a few idle hours out on the shore of Rabbit Lake, relaxing and enjoying the overcast summer day. Indeed he had spent some of his time by the waterside, but it had left him restless, and soon he was back to venturing about the packlands once again. He slipped past the windmill, where he had met the old man Marcus a number of days before, the encounter a pleasant memory for the Marino. He was glad to find that another adventurous soul from Europe had joined them. He watched the old, defunct windmill stand tall in the plains for but a moment before his four paws took him onward once again.
Ehno settled into a slow and easy patrol of the borders, a habit he always slipped into when he had spare time and lacked the creative drive to tinker with the carpentry projects in his workshop back at the manor. Usually these patrols of his were uneventful, but today seemed to bring him a little change of pace. After trotting along the borders for a good half hour, he spotted a figure sitting out in the distance. The Marino directed his course toward them at once, stopping a short distance from them. The figure was ragged looking, quite clearly having had a tough journey on their way here.
He gave a brief nod of greeting before straightening into a more authoritative stance. Amber eyes took in the details of the stranger and her countenance as he greeted her. "Hello there. You've reached the borders of Crimson Dreams. Was there anything I could help you with?" he asked, words dancing with his Italian lilt.
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((Thank you. :]))
Her patience was rewarded sooner than she had ever dared to hope. She swung her head immediately to the side and lowered her belly to ground without so much as a glance in the newcomer's direction, for it did not matter who or what the creature was. All she cared for was the simple fact that it had come from across the border--from the inside where it smelled of fresh blood and meat and many wolves--, and the fluid change in its gait, --from aimless meandering to a narrower purpose--, that portended an end to the solitude in which she had been enshrouded. For many moons she had lived alone: hunted, eaten, slept without a partner to share the discomfitures and complaints of life in the wild. It frightened her to be approached so quickly, and by a wolf that smelled so much like a beast that was yet not a beast. If life in the wild had taught her anything, it was that the unknown was to be feared.
And fear emanated from her in pungent waves. She had wet herself in her fear, and the grass around her stank of the fetid reek of the sick and dying. Her urine was a foggy brown color, and smelled of blood. Yet she had the decency to feel embarrassment, and her high cheeks flushed with a color that would've been considered quite becoming in a separate set of conditions, times, and lives; but with her lackluster coat, emaciated body, and hanging jowls, she seemed to have caught a fierce fever.
And then she took a deep breath that seemed to expand her bony chest to its limits, swallowed in a feeble shudder of muscles long wasted to skin, and struggled to position her lips as if to speak.
"Meat," was all she could manage before she collapsed at the stranger's feet.
Mustering the last of her strength, the wolf lifted her head and exposed her neck to the other in an utterly submissive gesture. She was too far gone to hope for anything more than to rouse a mixture of pity and disgust in this stranger, this wolf who smelled like a wolf but not like one--of smoke, burning wood, and fires--, things that were beyond one so vicious and untamed as she. But by now she was no longer there in the pleasant clearing, lying in the warm patch of sunlight. She was truly gone, resting in darkness.
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wc:342 If I'm having a derpderp moment, and she actually did pass out there at the end, please poke me. XD;
The stranger's reaction to his sudden approach was swift. The way she lowered herself to the ground and averted her gaze spoke of obedience and proper submission and the sight pleased the instinctively territorial part of the Marino. But the display went further than that, her painfully obvious fear mixing with the musky scent of urine. He had never seen someone cower in such fear before him, though he could hardly blame the girl. She was skin and bones, weariness seemingly etched into her submissive posture. After pushing through such an apparently rough time in the world, Ehno would be afraid of what to expect from the borders of an unknown pack too.
The entire display tugged at his heart, and he already felt himself loosening up from his stiff stance. As defensive as he was around strangers approaching their home, it was quite clear that this youth would hardly be capable of stirring up trouble for them in her current state. She muttered a single word before collapsing into an even further dismissive display. He shook his head very slightly. Subtle displays of submission were all it honestly took to please the Italian, though he understood quite well how such behavior was bred into those who grew up in the heart of the wild. It appeared that putting up such an appearance was only adding to the girl's strain, and Ehno pitied her. He was too kind to play the part of territorial pack member for long with a sight such as this in front of him.
"There's no need for that," he said, words slow and careful, now longer containing the edge of territoriality. "We have food, back in our home farther in the territory. What is your name? Can you walk?" He wouldn't feel right leaving her here like this. He could bring her to the manor, whether he had to carry her or not, and offer her a meal to fill her weary belly. It was the least he could do, and he knew Savina and Anu would be understanding.
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((That's alright. She somehow regained consciousness! xD Oh, I'm new to this type of site. How do you get the paragraphs indented like that?))
"... name?"
What? Name? Whose name? she wondered drearily. Whose name?
"... walk? ...name? ...walk?"
Walk? Walk where? she answered, beginning to grow irritable. What do you want? Who are you?
"...name?" it echoed. "... walk? ... name? ... walk? ...name?"
Leave me alone, she growled, Let me be. Let me sleep in peace.
But that was not to be. The voice either didn't care or didn't hear; it repeated itself insistently, as persistent and dogged as a broken record. Élodie was not to one to be cowed by an intangible being, especially one she could not see, but in her current state, the most she could do was lift her eyes.
The world was a crescent of bright light, fending off the darkness; the shadows grew short, and then retreated back to the edges of her vision as the crescent grew to a semicircle, and from there, a waxing moon. When her eyes had fully opened, Élodie instantly drew back with a hiss.
The world was all light and colors, so blinding that tears sprang to her eyes. She blinked rapidly, patiently waiting for her weakened brain to make sense of the jumble of blurred shapes and colors and lights. Eventually, the world came back into focus, and although it was still painfully bright, she could see.
"Can you walk?"
Élodie could only muster a low whine. She squirmed under the wolf's gaze and tried to launch her upper body forward into the air to give him--yes, a male by the scent of his musk--an appeasing lick. But when she fell short of his neck, she settled down on the wet grass with a sigh and lay still. The occasional twitch of one of the ears hinted that she was still conscious, but her breath was coming heavier and each exhalation was an effort. It seemed to take all of her concentration and energy just to remember to inhale; there were a few instances in which she choked and spluttered and gasped until somehow in the midst of the wheezing, her lungs relearned to draw breath and jolted the muscles in her chest to relax. During these fits, her body would convulse violently, as if she were a rag doll tossed to and fro in the grip of a giant's hand, and her eyes would roll back until the whites showed.
But nevertheless, she would not release again her grip on consciousness. As determined as her body was to admit defeat, her spiritual being was set afire with the desire to live--to exist. No matter how severe her throat spasmed, or her body shuddered, she kept her tail wagging feebly.
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wc:343 The indents in my posts are done in the CSS code for my table, along with the text style, picture, colors, etc. There is a guide here that can teach you about it if you are interested, otherwise you can always post in the Talents forum and someone can whip one up for you. You can also do it without a table, but you'll need to add [*dohtml] tags to your post and put " &*nbsp; " a couple of times (without the asterisks, of course) in front of each paragraph in order to create the indents. Hope that explains it clear enough? XD And if you have any other questions, feel free to drop me a message. :]
For a moment there, Ehno was certain that the weary wanderer had finally given into her exhaustion and slipped from consciousness. Panic nearly fell over him when her eyes slipped shut, but she seemed to fight against it and slowly pried them open once more. He remained silent as she tried to focus her bleary eyes, mind working quickly to process the situation and determine how he should proceed. She seemed to regain herself a moment later, attempting to move forward and give him a lick, but she fell short. The move caught him by surprise and he nearly stepped back, but he remained still when he realized her intention.
She surely wasn't in any condition to move forward on her own, her labored breathing and developing convulsions made that much clear. The Marino couldn't leave her there, and and her worsening condition made waiting for help to arrive seem like a gamble. His best option would be to bring her back to the manor himself, after all. The male took a few steps back and willed himself to make the change from his four-legged form to his bi-pedal one. Helping her to the manor would be much easier that way. Bones shifted and limbs extended with practiced ease, and within moments he sat crouched in the grass in his optime form. Amber eyes drifted back to the sickly wanderer, silently assessing her condition.
He moved forward, keeping himself crouched low to remain close to her level. "I'm going to carry you back to our home. To help. Okay?" Ehno kept his hands raised slightly to reveal that he had no foul intentions. He needed to gauge her reaction to his closeness before attempting to lift her up. Fear was a powerful thing, and it could push a wolf to do dangerous things, no matter how weary they'd become. He doubted the girl would try to attack him, but he wanted to be sure she would be okay with it. He didn't want to rush through this unless her condition was proving to worsen further.
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((Thanks for the info. I'll look into asking for a table.  ))
She crawled forward to meet his hand, propelling herself by using her hind legs to push her upper half across the grass. By the time she had reached him, she had expended the last of her strength. She realized that she had already surpassed the limits of the physically possible and the fatigue was taking a great toll on her already weak body; however, she kept her tail wagging, --and reached up to brush her crown against the wolf's worn palm, indicating that she meant no harm and was ready for whatever he dealt to her.
She was panting heavily, and during the brief intervals between her convulsions, she knew no rest. She was always in action: if she found no strength to wag her tail, she compensated by giving a low whine, and even when her voice failed her, she would lift the corners of her mouth in a grimacing smile. I understand. Her large amber eyes, more so luminous in the greying light of early noon, betrayed an intelligence that almost belied her underlying ferocity. If she wished to snap, she no longer could summon the strength. She was driving on sheer willpower, and even though wolves were known to be incredibly stubborn creatures, her body was wasting away at too fast a rate. Before long, the iron of her muscles would be reduced to string, and her bones would scatter in the wind as dust and ash. Help me, came the soft cry of her corrupting flesh. Save me, whispered her eyes.
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wc:320 No problem! :] I've got some pp here with him carrying her all the way to the mansion. If you want me to change anything, let me know. Also, go ahead and edit 'leader needed' somewhere into your title just so they know that they can pop on in now. :]
As soon as she pushed forward to brush her head against his hand, he gave a quick nod and knelt beside her. The Dreamer carefully eased one arm underneath the front part of her body, just past her front limbs, and slowly tried to pull her up a bit. He then wrapped his other arm across her back and slowly lifted her from the ground. As he stood, he frowned at how light and frail she seemed to be in his arms. After making sure he had a proper hold on frail stranger, he turned and began to make his way back through the territory to Haven Manor.
The Marino moved forward at as quick a pace as he could manage without jostling the weakened wolf in his arms too much. When the Manor finally appeared in the distance after a number of silent minutes maneuvering through the forest, Ehno sighed slightly in relief. Amber gaze peered down at the poor soul to see how she was holding on. "We're almost there," he said. Help was just within reach for her, and he could only hope that it would not be too late.
Only moments later was Ehno hurrying up the front steps of the old manor, pausing for a moment at the door only position himself to grab the handle without letting the girl slip from his arms. He wedged his foot in the slight opening to push it the rest of the way and stepped through. As he made his way through the entryway, he called for help with a low howl, letting the members in the building know that they had a situation. He quickly made his way to the main living area and carefully set the ailing stranger down on the soft old couch. It reminded him of when Naniko was still here, always bringing her patients to this very spot. "Help is on the way."
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She was jostled in his arms as he ran, but she held her tongue. Occasionally, she would give a soft whimper and lick the crook of his arm, or whichever body part was closest; it was the only way she could reassure and urge him forward. Words she could not grasp. They slipped like water from her mouth.
The wolf was soft-footed and quick, his gait smooth and graceful, but there was a certain clumsiness that possessed him. In this new, two-legged form, a wolf was forced to support the whole weight of his body on one foot before switching to the other, shifting back and forth in an ungainly manner. It was this ceaseless transfer of weight that bothered her, because she could not distinguish whether the terrain was of grass, rock, or wasteland. It was from the sound of his footfalls that she gathered they were traveling swiftly across the grass, and when his feet hit the paved roads, she knew instantly that they were close to the main lair.
He continued running, his legs pumping, his feet pounding, until at last they reached the largest building she had ever seen. But before she saw, she smelled. The perfume of wildflowers and herbs drifted to her on the wind, and the musk of other wolves settled onto her face in gentle gusts. He went right up to the door, twisted the knob and walked inside. There, he placed her carefully on an old leather couch that smelled of old blood and sickness. She turned her nose up and endured the overpowering scent of wolf and fire.
"Help is on the way."
She blinked, not able to understand. She saw his lips move, but heard nothing. Yet it seemed that he was telling her something and there was kindness in his eyes. She maneuvered her body onto the edge of the cushions and lifted her head to give him a soulful gaze.
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what exactly is wrong with Élodie? Savina isn't a healer, but my other character Cambria is, so I can NPC her in my next reply 
Savina was laying alone in her room, letting her still bruised muscles recover. Fights were not something the Commander often endured and while this one had not been as bad as her last, her body was unaccustomed to such hardships. With plenty of rest and her daughter's care she was recovering quickly, but of course it was never quite fast enough. Laying around idly was not something the fey let herself do often, and so when she did even if she were not tired her lids would fall over her eyes and her mind would drift into sleep. That was exactly what had happened when her brother's call for help and the sound of the manor door closing roused her. Dark brows knit together as her mind woke up. Was Ehno hurt? It didn't really sound that way, but she knew that time couldn't be spared.
Carefully the Italian woman rose back to her feet with a slight grimace and left her room. Long legs carried her down the stairs and she spotted her sibling by the couch in the main room. His smell was not the only one that her nose was met with, and it was clear he had brought some unknown wolf with him. Quickly Savina walked over to his side and looked at the poor, bedraggled thing that he had carried in and laid upon the couch. Her emerald eyes showed her concern and she looked back to her brother. "What is wrong with her? You found her on the borders?" After asking these quick questions the Commander turned her head and barked out a call for her daughter, the pack's Practitioner. Hopefully whatever ailed the female, Cambria could fix.
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Luckily the girl seemed to be a fighter, refusing to give in again to the blackness of sleep that had temporarily seized her on the borders. She wasn't getting any better, no, and certainly time could not be spared much longer for her, but the survivor's spirit Ehno saw in her amber gaze gave him hope that it would not be too late for her. The Marino remained kneeling beside the old couch, his own amber eyes remaining locked on hers as they waited in the silence.
As expected, they didn't have to wait long for anyone to arrive. The sound of footsteps on the stairs nearby drew his gaze, revealing the approaching figure of his sister. She hurried to his side and regarded the poor soul he had brought in, questioning him briefly before barking a summons to her daughter. It relieved him to know that his niece would be arriving to help shortly. Surely with all she had learned in her studies as a practitioner she would be able to help this wolf.
Ehno nodded briefly to confirm that he had found her on the borders before trying to explain the situation. "I'm not entirely sure what's wrong, but it looks like she's had quite a tough journey. I couldn't leave her out there." His gaze briefly returned to her before he stood. "I'm going to see about getting her some food. It looks like she's starving." Savina could keep an eye on her now, and Cambria would be arriving soon to help. The male gave an encouraging nod to the weakened wolf before stepping out of the room. They likely had some fruits of recent hunts tucked away in storage near the old kitchen.
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((She's extremely emaciated and exhausted. She is also sick. It's up to you to diagnose which particular contagion she has caught... But I just thought of something! o.o Is it possible to use the Luperci virus as a means to treat a possibly fatal sickness?))
She mourned over the empty space at her side. It was hard enough to watch the wolf get up--the kind companion who had seen her through the last few hours of what remained of her wretched life--leaving as if without a second's thought, but to feel the absence of warmth was a different torture of its own. The gentlest of breezes, and the tiniest stir of breath, was enough to send shivers through her body. She curled up in a tight ball, pressing her forelegs against her inner thighs and resting her head on the tangle of bent knees and knotted fur. With another sigh, remarkably more shaky than the last, she closed her eyes and tried to catch up to the dreams that seemed determined to evade her.
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decided to reply with Cambi instead, since she'll be doing most of the action. I'm just going to have her treat her with a plant that reduces fever and bronchial issues since most illnesses are either highly contagious or things that can't be cured with herbal medicine. As far as the virus, I don't believe there's any precedent for it being able to cure any diseases.
At the sound of her uncle's howl she had stood alert, not sure whether or not she was needed in this instance. That question was answered a few moments later when she heard her mother's call for her. Quickly Cambria gathered her medical supplies and rushed out of the room she now shared with Mati on the main floor and went into the main area of the mansion. She saw her uncle walking to the kitchen and then looked to her mother and the pale, ragged wolf that was curled up tightly in on herself on the couch. The girl knelt down next to her mother and what little information there was was relayed to her. She couldn't see too much, with the woman all curled up as she was, but it was clear that she was dangerously underweight and also seemed to have some difficulty breathing.
"I'm going to touch you, okay?" she said softly before laying her hands on the strange female's head. Her skin was hot, she most likely had a fever. The Practitioner poked and prodded a few other places, but didn't find anything else too alarming. Chances were that she was malnourished and fatigued and some infection had attacked her weakened system. That was about as specific as she could get though. Cambi dug through her supplied and unscrewed a jar with some sweet gale leaves in it. She picked out a couple small leaves, not wanting to risk giving the woman too much of the stuff. The cocoa girl held the leaves out in her palm near the other's mouth. "Chew these. They should help your fever and your breathing." Food and rest would likely be the best solutions however.
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Sorry for delay and short post. Yous can probably skip over Ehno for a bit, unless he's directly addressed or you guys need him to do anything?
The Marino returned minutes later with a hare in tow that was likely the product of the previous day's hunt. Quick footsteps led him back to the main room, where he was greeted with the sight of Cambria examining the sickly stranger. He was relieved to see that the girl was still stubbornly hanging on and that his niece was apparently making headway on her diagnosis. Hopefully whatever treatment she had in mind would've been given in time to allow her to recover and pull her away from the brink of death. He stopped at the side of the old couch and placed the hare on the cushion near the stranger. The man's amber gaze traveled from the weakened wolf to his niece and sister and back. He didn't know if there was anything else that he could do to help, but if there was anything he could do, all they had to do was say the word.
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