Fore-dated to the 15th, takes place after Regner's encounter with inferni. Takes palce in the dampwoods. Posted with the RIGHT character this time
Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the dampwoods as Regner pushed himself forwards as quickly as he could, thick legs pushing his large figure through the snow at a speed that would have amazed somebody who had seen his usual speed; a slow pace assisted by a staff. The reason for his haste was just in front of him, frustratingly far away from him for all its close proximity and slowly getting father away as Regner tired and the pain in his leg began to come forward, the ever present wound aching with pain from cold and overexertion.
Regner had been chasing the deer for a while now and was growing more and more frustrated in his inability to catch the animal. While Regner had always been far to heavy to run across the snow like some wolves did the large wolfdog's muscles had, in the past, been sufficient to push through the snow much more effectively than prey creatures. In the past Regner had been known for his speed at running in a straight line and would have caught the deer in an instant, now it was all he could do to barely keep up with it and he was tiring fast.
There was an undercurrent of panic tingeing his frustration. While rabbits and rats caught with thrown knives and snares were enough to nourish Adelle, the small puppy not requiring that much meat, Regner himself required much more substantial meals to support his large frame and while he had enough muscle that he wouldn’t starve for a while, letting himself atrophy to survive starvation was a deadly cycle that would end with nothing other then his death.
These thoughts in his mind Regner put on a burst of speed, forcing himself to ignore Adelle's squeak as she was bounced violently in her harness at his hip, reminding himself that she needed food as much as he did. Unfortunately Regner's burst of speed wasn't enough and had done nothing than left his leg muscles and lungs burning, his old body not fit enough for such manoeuvres. All Regner could do was shout curses in Danish, his powerful voice echoing throughout the trees as he cursed and raged at the vital food that was quickly gaining ground now he had expended the lions share of his energy.
Moseying along Terra followed the trail of a bird mindlessly. It was probably long gone, but Terra was just enjoying the day, and didn't really have anything else to do. Following the path Terra twisted around the tree, head low to the ground. A sharp sound broke the air though, and Terra looked up. Something fast was bounding towards her. Crouching low Terra bared her teeth, trying to warn off whatever was coming towards her.
A deer broke through the thicket, and their eyes met. For a moment both stood in perfect understanding of each other. Neither of them wanted to be there, and neither could change what was about to happen. Coyote and deer understood, and the moment broke as the deer flailed, trying to break it's rampage. It wasn't strong enough though, and it continued on it's careening path right towards Terra's thick head. She reacted like any good canine would, jaws snapping at the deer's delicate throat.
It was just like this was a real hunt, her teeth closing around it. The deer thrashed, twisting around as Terra clung on for dear life. Her paws scrabbled at the air as her tiny body was swung around, slamming her against trees. Snarling Terra refused to let go, blood gushing out of the inflicted wound. Terra wasn't strong enough to bring the deer down on her own, but there was no choice. The situation had been created, and she was trapped underneath. To let go would be to risk being trampled underfoot.
Regner barely noticed the second scent until its bearer came into sight and what a sight it was, the vision of the small coywolf holding onto the deer's throat for dear life almost enough to make Regner stop moving in shock. Almost being the key word there.
Taking advantage of the deer's slowed speed Regner forced on a second burst of speed, pain screaming up his scarred leg like a shot of fire, and pulled level with the animal. Regner's knife was out of the question with the deer's throat occupied by the stranger so instead he went for his backup and unslung Soelvblod from its harness. The axe was a heavy weapon even when he was younger and with his advancing age he found it nearly impossible to use, but there was a trick with it. Pouring strength into his muscles so he didn’t break stride Regner swung the axe in a wide arc, letting the heavy weapons own weight provide most of the force behind the blow, and struck.
Unfortunately age had its say and the hit that would have severed the deer's spine and near cut it in two instead skimmed through its side, a gout of hot blood spurting out of the wound as the deer fell, kicking. And there was the danger, a severed spine would have provided a safe zone but now Regner was right in range for a wild kick. Time seemed to slow down as Regner watched the deer's foot shooting towards his hip, exactly where Adelle hung. Blocked from dodging away from the blow by the animals own body Regner instead moved into it, accepting what would have been a glancing blow to him but killed Adelle straight into his stomach.
With a cry of pain Regner fel to the ground with the deer, his loud roar echoing through the forest.
The scent of a wolf reached Terra, though her concentration on the deer and the blood clogging her scent skipped everything else. Growling Terra shook her head, trying to snap or tear the neck. Thankfully the stranger intervened, a blow knocking the deer to the ground. Leaping aside Terra darted out of range of the thrashing legs. Eager now she leaped in, snapping at the deer. She tore parts of it free, swallowing it even as the deer continued it's useless struggle. Growling and barking at it Terra continued to worry the creature until it laid still, dead.
Triumphant Terra howled, her mixed voice dancing through the air. Proudly she stood over the kill, the memory of the pain and the fight already fading. She turned to see who had joined her, to find an old optime kneeling on the ground. With her nose clear of the scent of blood Terra could smell that there was a pup as well. Whining softly she walked over, licking at the inflicted wound. She cleaned it carefully, making sure that it would be alright. Satisfied it wouldn't kill him Terra stepped back. It was much too bad that the blow had struck. It would make hunting that much harder, and at that age difficulty was already implied.
Thanks. Terra sat at a distance now and shifted into optime form. Her long red hair fell down her back, covering the small scar on her shoulder. Her youth was apparent, though her dancing eyes belied any claim to innocence that would give her.
Shots of pain ran through Regner's body, little spikes of fire emanating from the contact point on his stomach. The wound had done little actual damage, the kick had been weak and Regner's stomach protected by a layer of old, hard muscle, but damned if it hadn't hurt. Regner was vaguely aware of the deer's death by the rich smell of prey blood that entered his nostrils but he didn't react, instead focusing on controlling his breathing and suppressing the pain from his stomach.
A quiet whimper and the gentle feeling of a soft tongue running over his wound brought Regner back to reality, the sensation soothing some of the pain. Opening his eyes for the first time since the blow had been struck Regner raised his head just in time to see the canine which had struck the killing blow on the deer shifting into Optime form. Regner examined the canine, now revealed to be a fairly small female, her appearance displaying her youth quite readily. Subtle signs in the shape of the females face hinted to Regner at a mixed heritage, wolf and coyote if he had to guess, Despite this the usual aggression that Regner felt towards coyote failed to rear its head, one who would bother to check the wound of a stranger was worth at least conversing with before he rejected them outright.
The bundle at his hip squirmed and let out a muffled yip. Regner absently dropped one hand from his stomach, loosening the fur lined straps and allowing Adelle to slip out of her harness. The golden puppy shot out from under the cloak, took a brief moment to examine the stranger, and then turned on Renger, climbing up onto his bent thigh and nosing at his wound frantically, the young girls tongue dancing over the injury as she examined her grandfather.
Chuckling Regner gently pushed Adelle away, the puppy dropping onto the ground with a grace that escaped Regner in his old age without taking her eyes off him. Bending his head down he examined the wound himself, the deer had split the skin causing a small amount of blood to spill into the golden fur and Regner had no doubt there was some horrendous bruising beneath the fur, but nothing that met his eyes looked too serious.
The coywolf spoke, catching Regner's attention as the thanked him, presumably for his help with the kill; she had been in a rather precarious position when Regner had caught up with them though the dog had no clue how she had got there, having fallen behind at the time. It had been rather a shock to suddenly find a small coywolf clinging curiously to the neck of his prey, "It is no problem." Regner's words were odd, a mix of the short, clipped sentences drawn from his nature but overly complex word paths from his inexperience with English.
Regner glanced at the dead deer, sizing it up. While Regner had spent a long time chasing it his efforts had been largely ineffective, it had been the woman who had slowed it down and struck the final blow so it was to her he dipped his muzzle a fraction before jerking it to indicate the corpse, "May I?".
A pup came squirming out of the pouch. Terra watched silently, contemplating the odd pair. The pup obviously wasn't his, though they did smell fairly similar. A generation separated them. Terra didn't think that it was good such an old wolf had a puppy placed on them though. It was difficult, and he was old enough for Terra to see death moving behind him. True, he probably had a couple more good years in him. Those should be spent differently though, not working to care for a pup. That's why one stopped being able to have pups at an old age, so this wouldn't happen. Terra wondered what had happened to the parents to create this situation.
The older wolf inclined towards her, slightly startling Terra. She would be dead if he hadn't intervened, yet he still asked for permission to feed. It took two to bring this deer down. Two should feed. The pup gets rights simply because of what it is. Terra would never deny a puppy food, unless it was fat and obviously in danger of being overfed. Then Terra might keep food away. She'd still care for it though. Terra dug her hands in, pulling out nutrient rich parts. She tossed those towards him before tearing out a part of the hind for herself, nibbling on it happily.
An approving hum and a slight smile graced Regner's face at the girl's words, especially those about Adelle. Regner caught the meat that was thrown to him and motioned to Adelle that she could eat. However the puppy, who had been fed with most of the meagre amount of food Regner managed to catch, was more interested in the female at the moment now that she was satisfied that her grandfather was fine, padding over with wide eyes and a furiously wagging tail.
Regner simply chuckled and placed most of the meat to one side, putting the rest in his mouth. Adelle would start to eat sooner or later, for now he would simply let the puppy enjoy the first friendly figure other than Ilusion to grace the pair in this new land. Satisfied in the pups safety Regner leant over to the corpse and dug his fingers in, cracking open the ribs with a mighty tug to provide both canines with better access to the organs within before getting to work on one of the deer's front legs, dislocating it and cutting the limb free with one of his daggers and holding the limb like an oversized drumstick.
Adelle for her part was entranced by the stranger and was crouched near her in a play bow, alternating between darting forward to nudge at her feet and staring up at the woman. It suddenly occurred to Regner that with Adelle's age and the Broderskab tendency to nurse almost exclusively in Lupus form that this could be the first time Adelle had seen a female in Optime form; the pup having been covered up when they had first encountered Ilusion who had changed by the time Adelle had actually seen her.
Realising that he didn't know the stranger's name Regner decided to remedy this, "I am Regner," his voice was gravelly as usual but some of the dryness had been washed away by the thick, rich blood pouring down his throat from the fresh kill,"And the puppy is Adelle, my granddaughter." Regner placed his free hand on his chest, fingers splayed across the scarred flesh in another Broderskab greeting, this one more friendly than the formal greeting offered to the Salsolan wolf several days ago. Regner would have closed the distance between them and offred his hand but getting in and out of crouched was an area where his ever-wounded leg caused him problems so instead he made do with the more distant greeting.
Terra's meal was interrupted by the curious pup. Whining she nudged it lightly, trying to concentrate on her meal. The pup came over again though, bowing down happily with her tail wagging. Between the open stares and darting at her feet Terra couldn't concentrate, her attention split between the pup and trying not to laugh at the antics. Reaching down the next time the puppy darted close Terra pushed her lightly with her hand. The puppy growled playfully, teeth nibbling on her fingers. Laughing out loud now Terra shook her hand free, and dropped a piece of meat with plenty of fat right onto the puppy's back.
Hearing the old voice Terra looked up, ears twitching with polite interest. Her tail wagged softly at the introduction. I'm Terra. You really saved my life coming in like you did. The deer would have trampled me to death for sure. There was a reason why coyotes didn't hunt deer on their own like wolves did. Being a luperci definitely gave some advantages, like using archery to take down prey one normally couldn't. Terra refused to have anything to do with the frightening weapons though, her memory still bright with returning to the pack, an infected wound from an arrow in her back. Why do you have your granddaughter? Why not her parents watching her?
Regner focused on his meal and tried not to laugh as Adelle pestered the stranger as she tried to eat, the puppy continually harassing the larger woman. When the woman responded by dropping a piece of meat onto Adelle's back the puppy took it in stride, flipping the meat out of her fur and gnawing on it enthusiastically.
The stranger introduced herself as Terra and her words made Regner pause in his eating to examine the female. With nearly all of his pack being large enough to stop a deer if they weren't caught off guard Regner sometimes forgot that even the timid prey animals could be dangerous to smaller canines, "And you have saved my life by slowing the deer down so that I may have something to eat. I believe that makes us even." There was a tinge of humour in Regner's tone, though as always his unfamiliarity with English made the delivery of his words a bit stilted.
Terra's next question cut Regner's brightening mood off, his ears dropping sadly and a low growl sounding in his throat. Adelle didn’t understand what was being said but reacted to her grandfathers distress, her ears mimicking Regner's and her throat letting out a quiet whine, "Were it possible they would be. They were killed along with the rest of my pack by a pack of coyote" It was evident in the way that Regner pronounced my and the indignant air about him that he was taking this loss personally, "We were outnumbered and the coyote poisoned our water. I tried to fight them off but in the end I was injured and all I could do was flee with Adelle." Regner jerked a thumb to his injured leg, the wide scar easily distinguishable from the countless smaller scars that littered his pelt.
Good mood soured Regner tore into his section of the meal ferociously, taking his frustrations out on the dead meat. When he felt a bit calmer Regner looked up to Terra again, his now calm expression at odds with the blood splattering his face, "Have you lived here long Terra?" Regner pronounced the name oddly, extending the A sound, "I am looking to find somewhere to settle with Adelle, any information you could provide about the area would be gratefully received."
Suspicion filtered into Regner's brain as, for the first time, he actually took notice of the fact that Terra was part coyote, that fact having been subconsciously ignored up until now, but he dismissed it; the coywolf might be of a race he had less than kind feelings towards at the moment but she was also the first kind face he had seen so far in these new lands.
A small chuckle rested in Terra's throat as the puppy tipped the meat over, happily digging into it. Adelle was clearly hungry, digging through the meat like there was no tomorrow, though there was no true edge in the frenzy, simply the chewing of a hungry puppy. The old one looked like he might drop dead, but the puppy was healthy. Clearly Regner had been going without for his tiny granddaughter. For others it might have stood out as a great sacrifice. Terra simply saw it as how things were, taking another piece and eating it. Youth were the future, after all. They couldn't exist without them.
Her ears twisted at the odd humor, not completely understanding what was funny. To her the old wolf was a giant, though still hammered by age. Terra just might be able to take him down with her tricks, treating him like a rather large bear. Yes, that might work. Then again, one didn't live to be so old without something up their sleeve. If he was younger her tricks might have worked. At this point though, she was sure she'd die even in his weakened state. She'd have to starve him to death.
Both of the strangers drooped, whining at the mention. Terra recognized that Adelle was just picking up Regner's mood, but it was still distressing to see. Hearing that coyotes had done it didn't elicit any feeling from her. They were just a pack in her mind, no different from any other. The emphasis on the my wasn't lost on Terra. So this wasn't any old hybrid, but a leader. She growled as Regner mentioned it being poisoned. That was just wrong. One didn't kill without reason, and one definitely didn't decimate a pack. They drove them off, not something so...wrong.
The one thing that rested on her mind was why. It made no sense. There was no reason for them to do that. Surely there were better tricks that could have gotten the task done. That was just so corrupted, such a civilized way of thinking, rather than the primitive way that Terra lived. She frowned as she looked at the injured leg. Part of her was proud that a member of her race had managed to so badly damage such a fine warrior. The other part was horrified at what had been done to do this. This wasn't just dirty fighting, something Terra did without thinking. This was pure brutality.
Her reaction at his fierce devouring was sharp. Feeling his anger Terra retreated a short distance from the deer. In this rage he might just tear into her by mistake. Sitting she waited until he came up, blood soaking his face. His words were so mild, allowing Terra to relax slightly. The rage had dissipated. The odd pronouncement of her name did bring a small smile to her face. I've lived her for the past few months. Not very long, though I have made sure to learn the packs around here. She looked down at the pup indulgently before continuing.
The main thing I suggest is avoiding the north. There's a pack of hybrids up there, bunch of idiots. Will attack anyone who gets close. Their borders surrounded by skulls, so it's pretty easy to spot. They only believe someone is good if they have coyote blood, though they've thrown that part of their heritage in the dust. The distaste for Inferni was clear on her face. They acted like wolves in her opinion, had no place claiming that they represented coyotes. There is a peace pack up there, and it's fairly welcoming, but it's surrounded by mountains, making travel difficult. They're neighbors with a pack that will kill trespassers. I believe they mainly consist of wolves, though I'm not too sure. Was injured before I had a chance to learn more. Very secretive group
Taking a breath Terra moved onto the south packs, the ones that she knew well, and her own home. Here in the south we have Crimson Dreams, a nice pack that mine works closely with. There's Aniwaya, a very spiritual pack that's recovering from war. There's an art pack as well, but they're not too friendly either, more cordial than anything else. And there's my pack, the home for misfits. We accept all with few questions, and care for our own. We're loyal, and strong, and our alpha takes care of us all. Her chest puffed up with pride at the last part, love of her pack clearly displayed.
