[html] aw, one please ... where Shiloh Hills & Ethereal Eclipse meet
Anu had grown weary, a feeling she had risen with in the morn's Sun. She felt the need to venture beyond. Beyond the borders that had protected her since the war. It was something she needed to leave behind, but the scars were still so visible. Along her neck, as well as in her heart. The wolfess needed to place it in the past, where all the old harmful things went to die. They were left to grow dust, to crack and crumble, or to disappear. Which ever they wished, for Anu did not want to think of them once again. But the scar was there, along her neck and seen by anyone that glanced in her direction. It was not that she was vain, for she had never thought of herself as beautiful. Instead she feared one would ask her how it came to laced across her neck, or that they would not allow her to forget...
The she-wolf covered the frozen ground quickly, with a trot that might surprise those that knew her age. Yet her body was still built for the ways of her species, the ability to travel many miles each day. Through the Hills that surrounded the pack lands, beyond the forests that kept her pack safe and the lake that they called theirs. Her nose directed her, and she followed the trail of prey, but it was a dead track. She was exposed in the wood-less landscape, and headed for the tree-line. The trees would protect her, as they always had. So much so that two springs ago she had named her three sons after particular species.
Once the ground had been covered, the gray and tan wolfess blending in with the trees and slightly shadowed snow cover. The air was brisk, but not so sharp that it pierced through her winter coat and to her skin. Idly she wandered, thoughts absorbing the scents and sights of the ground before her.
[/html]
OCC- Hi, hope you don't mind me coming in 
Merlin grew tired of the cold weather, it was leaving little variations of landscapes to paint, and most prey would be hibernating, so food was harder to find.
He sat resting in a large, strong tree hoping for some movement on the ground that indicated food. His eyes were slowly getting heavier, for he hadn't slept for a while and home was a far distance. The deer that once grazed near his home had left for new, warmer grounds, meaning Merlin had to move further from his home to find a good hunt.
He quietly waited in the tree, chewing on the last remains of berries he had kept. He ears twisted round constantly, scanning for footsteps.
He sighed boredom, but a rustle on the ground awoke his awareness. He quietly grabbed his bow and pulled an arrow from his quiver that rested between two branches. He carefully placed the arrow on the bow and rose slowly to his feet. He pressed down on the branch with his feet to keep balance, and pulled back the bow, ready to fire once the creature came into view. He held his breath, and waited as the footsteps got closer and closer.
He eyes targeting the ground directly in front of him. His awareness grew as he saw a foot appear from behind the tree trunk and almost let go of his hold on the bow, but when he realised the foot belong to a wolf, he pulled back the bow, which then got caught on a branch. As the bow pulled back Merlin found his balance disappearing, and before he could replace his footing, he tumbled of the back of the branch he rested on.
He crashed down to the solid ground, bashing his head on a couple of branches as he went. He was sure the wolf would have heard him fall, but he couldn't raise his head to check. He back muscles ached from the fall, and he struggle to moved his arms so that he could get up. He just hoped the wolf he saw was friendly, because if they weren't Merlin would stand a chance.
[html] yay thanks for joining!!
It was the scent of a rabbit, female from what Anu could detect from the small hint of pheromones. Experienced told her that there was not point in following it, the scent was too cold for her to have any positive outcome by trailing it. Yet, she wondered if it would lead her to anything interesting at the least. Perhaps a small den, or even simply a game trail. But it was mostly the lack of anything else to take her mind away from it that made the Dreamer continue her tracking.
She was oblivious to the fact that she may not be alone, lost in her own thoughts. It was not until the faint noise of a tree above her, that Anu paused. She did not look up, trying to find the maker of the noise with her ears alone. Maybe it was just a squirrel. Her nose took a deep inhale, but all she could smell was dirt and old rabbit. Then, the tumbling began and she shot her eyes upwards and to the side. A blur fell from to the ground, and she stood startled and surprised. Blue eyes watched until the beast disappeared into the undergrowth and onto the ground. Anu stepped two paw steps closer, hesitant and watching.
Anu wanted to rush to the creature, to see if he or she were okay. The fey had climbed many trees in her younger years, and she knew how it felt to fall. But she had been hurt too many times to no be weary. First she took in the situation, nose working to figure out what pack the canine belonged to... None. And a male as well. Anu stepped closer once more and finally called out to him. Are you alright? She could still not see him due to the forest's cover, but she thought she heard him stirring.
[/html]
Merlin groaned a sigh of relief to know that the wolf wouldn't hurt him while he was down. He lifted his hand to his head and tried to rub out the pain. Once he felt like he could breathe normally he spoke, "I'm alright, I think." He dug his arms into the ground and raised his upper body up. He looked over at the wolf to find they were a female, the she-wolf looked older than he was. He attempted to shift his legs, but rejected the attempt on the pain that struck up his right leg. He clenched his teeth together to stop him from crying out in pain. He was almost certain his leg was broken, or twisted at the very least.
He reached his arm down toward his leg to feel for the centre of pain. It wasn't coming from his leg, but from his foot. He moved his left leg out the way and slowly lifted himself to a sitting position, trying not to move his right leg. He looked down at his foot, it didn't look out of place, but when he touched the sole of his foot, he quickly moved his hand back. He had defiantly cracked the bone in the sole of his foot. No other injury would hurt like that. For a moment he panicked, how would he get back to shelter? Even with his layers of clothes, he'd soon freeze or starve. But then he remembered that he wasn't alone, he looked over at the she-wolf; she might be able to help him at least get under shelter. "I think I've broken my foot." He called over in a croaky voice, he may have got his breath back but his throat still hurt from the impact.
[html]
Anu moved a bit closer, moving forward until she could see the canine that had fallen from the tree. The beast was covered in clothing and lying on the ground. He attempted to rise, speaking that he was indeed all right. Anu felt a mild concern, but the male looked sturdy enough to take the fall. Perhaps walking it off would be the only remedy that the stranger would need. But then he didn’t rise, and instead went back to the ground. Her concern grew, and the Dreamer trotted up to his hastily.
Blue eyes looked at him, and then mouth gaped slightly when he spoke of a broken foot. He had not been as lucky as she once thought. What saddened her more was that she wasn’t any sort of a healer either. It seemed like the wrong wolf had stumbled across him. You can’t move it? She asked, looking at the paw that was be kept particularly still. You will need a crutch. Anu added, looking around the treed area for a good limb to support him.
She walked a few paces away, and with a practiced ease shifted from her lupus form to the more appropriate and helpful Optime. My name is Anu, from Crimson Dreams. She spoke as she stood and turned to face him. It was only proper to give an introduction if she was going to try to help him.
[/html]
OCC- I apologise the delay, but school hasn't been kind with homework and revision 
"Merlin." He answered back to her introduction. He breathed in deeply and looked around the trees. His bow was on the ground near him, but his pack was still in the tree. It didn't contain anything important, nothing worth getting. He looked at a another tree near it, there was a low branch, think enough to carry his weight. He carefully twisted his body round, so that his weight was supported by his arms and knees, keeping his foot away from the ground. He slowly lifted his good foot and pulled himself up to stand, using a tree tunk for balance.
He panted from the effort of getting up, and pointed his head towards the branch, "That branch looks good enough to carry my weight, if you could help me over there, I might be able to dislodge it from the tree." He shuffled his good foot forward, ready to move toward the selected tree. The area around was quiet, no dangers seemed to expose themselves, so Merlin felt sure he could get back to his cave safely after he go the branch.
[html] pp, please let me know if it should be changed
Anu reached for his arm, to sling it over her shoulder. The fey then brought own arm around behind him and help him balance on one foot-paw. The brown male was far heavier then Anu would have ever been able to carry herself, but the pair was able to hobble around some. She nodded to speak that she was ready and the pair moved forward. It was not easy work, and the female gritted her teeth and they moved slowly.
Merlin, as Anu had found out, was a tough sort of creature. She could hardly imagine that soft of pain, if the foot was indeed broken. The scars given to her by her imprisonment during the AniWayan Conflict had had gone deeper then through skin and muscle. She had never experienced such a break.
She wished the pack were here, to help this male and better carry his weight. His scent spoke of a lone wolf, a life that would make his healing very difficult. Her mind was blocked from those thoughts though, focusing on simple movements rather then the future.
[/html]
"Thank you," Merlin groaned as his weight was shifted onto the female, he worried about this Anu, she looked a fair bit older than he was, and a large weight like Merlin's might push her to her limits. But when Merlin tried to shift his weight slightly and give he less to carry, a strike of pain shot up his leg, warning him back to his orignal hobble position.
Slowly, the two wolves made process on reaching the destined branch, luckily, Merlin still had a small knife on his belted leather pants, and with a fair few strikes he would be able to knock the branch of it's home in the tree.
Once he was next to the tree, he grabbed hold of it with his clawed paw and released his grip on Anu, he slowly grabbed his knife and, with a few unbalanced hits, the branch fell to the ground. Merlin grabbed the branch and tucked the forked edge under his arm pit. "Thank you again." He panted.
[html]
Anu struggled, but the pair made it through and soon the male was up and able to fetch the branch. Once his weight was off her shoulder Anu took a step back, watching as he struggled to move around. She was saddened at the thought of his injury. Do you have a place to rest? You should have a healer look at it, perhaps splint it too. Crimson Dreams has two experienced healers. You could rest there. Anu expressed her concern and, in her mind, gave the male a comfortable option.
Though the winter was mind in the sense that there were not many snow drifts to drown in, the cold was still bitter on most days, and the wind merciless. He would have quite a hard time getting around alone, even with the crutch. And perhaps it would never heal if not properly treated. The older female looked at the tawny male in wait for his reply.
[/html]
Merlin stubble along, testing the strength of the branch. It would do, for now, but Merlin already had plans to create something less hefty to help him around. He pondered on Anu's words about her pack, 'Crimson Dreams'.
Merlin had what he thought to be a phobia of packs; the thought of looking up to leaders and taking commands wasn’t something Merlin enjoyed. But in a time of need like this, not accepting help would be foolish. Merlin hoped a pack wouldn't be as bad as his mind made it.
"This Crimson Dreams pack," Merlin started, "Do they, umm, mind helping loners?"
Merlin felt like a pup, being so nervous about it, but with a childhood of force and pain didn't make him accept the thought of a pack with open arms. But Merlin knew he would never find food or hunt in his condition, so the sooner his foot was rested and healed, the sooner he could get back to hunting. The thought of healers calmed Merlin, he was clever, but he didn’t know much else about healing than what books told him.
"I could use a place to rest, just for a few nights, while I get used to the injury, and good advice from experienced healers." He said politely as he could, "My home isn't the fittest place for a broken foot."
[html] we could wrap this up, and perhaps they could run into one another after he's all better?
Anu could not remember the days when she was alone in the world. To be without the pack was a feeling that Anu could not grasp even if she searched for it. It had been so long, and her membership in Crimson Dreams was the longest that she had ever had, memories of her lone life were faint images. She hoped that the male would agree, her concern for him building. Even though he had no ties to her, Anu was a kind and gentle creature and her heart ached for the hurt male.
He spoke, and Anu nodded. We wish to help those that need it. You may stay as long, or little as you need. It was the truth. Crimson Dreams had never shunned a beast that needed their help, they had never been looked upon as a pack that may or may not allow a needing heart a home.
The loner life was not one for a beast that needed the help that Merlin indeed needed. Anu moved to his side, ready to help him if he needed it or take his bag. She may be silver and gray along the muzzle but Anu was still strong willed and boned.
[/html]
|
