The cougar was dead. If it had been a different situation Terra would have been prancing around, howling her head off at the triumph over the dangerous creature, mocking all that would dare to injure her and hers. That wasn't the case though. She was in enemy territory, in danger of being killed if Augustus caught her alone, and a pack member had been injured bringing down the cougar. Hearing that had made her feel even worse. Not remorse, as she was incapable of feeling such a thing, just a dead weight of fear settling over her.
Deciding to find out who had ended up getting injured Terra had dragged herself out of the den that she'd been in. Gently she moved, careful to make sure that her injuries weren't exposed. From a distance it would look like she was simply moving slowly, uninjured. Moving closer broke that illusion though, and one could see her reluctance to move, leg held off the ground. It took a while before she was able to pick out a den that didn't have the scent of her blood in it, but another's. Laying down outside it Terra woofed gently, letting whoever was in there know where she was.
Nightmares of the cougar’s attack still haunted the newly appointed Epsilon, even a few days after she and Augustus had brought it down. She would find herself drifting off into sleep, resting in the den as Deuce had ordered, only to be tormented. Flashes of red, swiping claws and memories of a sharp, searing pain would plague her each time she shut her brown and golden eyes. It made for light, often disturbed sleep, and certainly hindered the healing process.
Her ribs still ached, even after Deuce had done the appropriate measures to ensure healing. She could only speak with a low voice, could not howl at all, until those bones healed. Every time her chest would expand with the air needed to make sound, a sharp pain would stab through her, leaving her whimpering. Something as simple as drinking too fast even brought pain, and truth be told the golden female was miserable. Her only comforts were that the cougar was dead, and Augustus’ constant presence.
He hadn’t left her side since the injury. When those nightmares caused her to awaken with a yelp, he would be there to soothe her. Even when her noises of pain and fright did not wake the male, she could still move closer and press her nose into his warm, white fur. His scent calmed her as well, for it carried with it tones of the earth and snow, contrasting against the fragrance of the ocean that Ciara often carried.
She’d been in a rather comfortable position within the den, awake, but relaxing. Augustus had left the den to perform his duties, hunt, or relieve himself – one or the other. He would leave for nothing else, and she knew that it pained him whenever he had to leave her alone. For that reason, she was curious when she heard the soft woof from outside the den. She didn’t recognize the tone as that of any of her pack mates, and certainly they’d have entered the den without warning if they so pleased. It was the communal pack den, after all, and was welcome to each and every New Dawner.
Carefully, and painstakingly, Ciara lifted herself onto her paws with a wince. She gave a small glance around to ensure that Augustus was gone. If he had seen her moving too quickly, surely his gruff voice would have scolded her for it, and convinced her to lie back down to continue resting. She enjoyed his protection, even when she sometimes wanted for alone time and appreciated every second that he was there. Regardless, she shook her mind from thoughts of the male Epsilon and very slowly made her way to the entrance of the den.
There waited Terra, the coywolf who’d brought this situation to them. Bitterness flared within her at first, instinctive blame on the female, but Ciara quickly pushed it down. It had not truly been Terra’s fault. She hadn’t known that the cougar would attack her, and she was merely doing what she had to do to survive by coming to the New Dawn lands. She knew that Augustus would think differently, and that if the salt-and-pepper male caught sight of Terra he’d drive her off with snarls and snaps. Ciara, though, remained calm and poised, lifting her head and tail as befitted her position.
“Hello, Terra,” she said carefully. Her brown and golden gaze locked with the ruddy visitor’s, but her eyes were not cold. Cautious maybe, certainly confused as to why Terra was visiting the den, but not cold. “What can I do for you?”
OOC terra doesn't remember anything after the cougar attack, not even coming onto New Dawn
A youth Terra didn't recognize crawled to the entrance of the den. It was pretty clear that she had broken her ribs as well. It was quite the pairing they made, neither quite able to breath or speak very well. Luckily hers had been broken in a throw, making the shattering less complete than if the cougar had struck her against the ground. It made it somewhat easier to breathe, if still sending small jolts through her body if she breathed too deeply.
Terra took one sniff and recognized Augustus' scent. Immediately her hackles raised. She was in huge trouble. It looked like the one to get injured was his mate. Terra took a step back, collapsing as she accidentally leaned onto her broken leg. Yelping slightly Terra quickly shook it off, standing firm like she wasn't aching from the effort of moving. She couldn't show weakness, not if she expected to survive. Heard another was injured. Curious to see who shared my bad luck. Terra really wanted to turn around and run off the territory now, but found herself lacking the strength to do much beyond keeping herself from falling over with the effort required to simply keep standing.
If Ciara could have heard what Terra thought when the coywolf caught Augustus’ scent, she would have blushed crimson beneath her fur. It was becoming more and more blatant how much she cared about the Epsilon. The crush had started those weeks ago when she first met him, and enhanced each time they were together. She knew it was too soon for calling herself anything close to Augustus’ mate. The two Epsilons definitely had something to talk to each other about, but it hadn’t come up yet. It hung in the distance between them, showing itself only through furtive glances from the corners of their eyes. Ciara, while a strong and confident female, could not gather the courage to start that particular conversation. Even then, after the air had been cleared, there were certain things that had to happen. Courting, time, permission from Alphas. Even while it was Ciara’s ultimate goal, they were still very far away from mateship.
The golden female didn’t understand why Terra jumped back so quickly. Why had she called for her if she didn’t want to speak? Having healed, Ciara’s wounds were no longer ghastly enough to scare other wolves away or make them uneasy. Her forehead creased as she tried to figure the injured female out, staring at her. She didn’t connect the animosity displayed by Augustus for Terra, and the stranger’s current state of fear. Augustus’ scent on her fur was something she’d grown used to, as if it were already a part of her.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Terra,” she said, frowning. It seemed as though the ruddy female did not recognize her from that fateful day. “I am Ciara. I had a part in killing the cougar and yes, I was injured. The cat got a swipe in at me, and I hit up against a large rock.”The scene played over in her mind again, much to her displeasure, but she did her best not to show her uneasiness. She had to appear strong in front of this female, for she now held an established rank. She was a hunter, and a warrior, and they were brave wolves. She could not allow the pain to haunt her.
Terra managed to stay standing long enough to hear that the female wouldn't hurt her before her body decided it was done. Pretending that she was simply relaxed enough in the other's presence not to care she folded down, allowing her weakened body to rest. Funny that you would say that. I would think you and Augustus would be on the same page. The weak don't deserve to survive. Trespassers must be punished. She grinned up at Ciara, as she introduced herself, before turning around and lazily licking at the shoulder wound, careful not to disturb the scabbing that was finally taking place.
She might not agree on the trespassing part, but Terra was very loose when it came to such boundaries. She simply didn't feel the same need to not cross borders, accepting strangers that entered the territory with ease. That didn't mean she was soft, far from it. Those that came too close to her pack would be driven away mercilessly. If Terra had found a New Dawn member bleeding to death on her territory she wouldn't have done anything to help. She wouldn't have driven the other away, but it would take a very powerful motive to get her to do anything for someone she didn't view as pack. I guess the cougar still had fighting spirit after what I did to it?
A sigh left the golden Epsilon’s lips as soon as Terra spoke of Augustus. After making the sound, she tipped her head up and turned her earthen eyes to the sky for a moment, looking as though she were picking up a scent on the wind. Really, she was considering just how to respond to that comment. She and Augustus had talked about it before finding and killing the cougar. He’d asked Ciara what she would have done with Terra, and while the female felt the coywolf should have been driven off, she had not thought of killing her. Augustus, however, was from a different world. Ciara understood that, even though she didn’t know any details of his past, she could see that it haunted him. No one else seemed to understand, and they found the dusty male harsh and unyielding on occasion.
“As injured as you were, some would have considered it a mercy to kill you,” she said softly. Her eyes moved back to look over the suddenly relaxed female. Ciara’s ribs were aching, so she settled her dominant posture, allowing her tail to drop a fraction, as well as her head. “I agree that you shouldn’t have trespassed, but I can imagine you didn’t realize quite where you were after that traumatic experience,” Ciara continued, heaving another painful sigh. “If it were up to me, I would have had a healer tend to you on the border, and then send you on your way. Zalen is wise, though, and he had his reasons for allowing you to stay in pack lands to recover.”
Wanting for a change in topic, the Epsilon then smiled as Terra brought up the cougar. For once, when she thought back on that day she only saw the exhilaration and glory. Flashes of pain did not haunt her, and she did not grit her teeth at the thought of the vicious feline. “She certainly had fight in her,” the golden female replied, allowing a wry grin to form on her muzzle. “Not fight enough. You did well in injuring her during your battle, she was weakened and that made it at least a fraction easier for us to finish her.” That earthen gaze once again travelled the length of the rusty female’s body, taking notice of the injuries and that they were healing well enough. “You were brave. A little stupid, but brave.”
Mercy? Terra stared at Ciara blankly, uncomprehending. What was mercy? Surely they didn't mean simply putting her out of her pain. It was a pointless maneuver, one that did nothing for the one who did it. Well, it would help keep the predators that collected around the wounded from invading the pack, but she was pretty sure that Ciara wasn't thinking about that. Hearing Ciara's opinion on what should have been done Terra shook her head. She didn't understand why those who weren't pack would help her. it was just one of those strange things luperci did that she was still trying to get a grip on, much like clothes.
Hearing Ciara's words of praise startled Terra. Her version of what Terra's battle with the cougar had been like was rather amusing. She chuckled lightly, bringing another twinge from her body. Not bravery, not foolishness. Just me fighting for my life. It wouldn't let me run. Seemed it wanted to make sure that I didn't try eating from it's kill again. Angry now Terra's tail curled up, dominantly held in defiance to the world, and everything that would fight against her. Stupid cougar. Should have stayed with it's kill if it didn't want others poking around. It was embarrassing how she'd been caught off guard, believing it was a kill that didn't have a claim to it.
As Terra gave her own telling of what happened, Ciara’s earthen eyes watched her. The golden Epsilon picked up the little signals from Terra’s body that she was still hurting, and it made her relax. Even though Terra didn’t seem threatening, Ciara was injured. It was the instinct of a wolf to be wary of others, especially strangers, when one was injured. No other pack members were in close distance, and she’d heard rumours that Terra was less than fond of New Dawn. What would stop her from taking advantage of the Epsilon’s injuries and attacking her? If it happened, Ciara knew she had gained the strength to fight off an attack, and she’d be able to give at least one painful call to her pack members if anything transpired.
Still, the coyote didn’t look as though she was planning to attack the wolf. Ciara chuckled, with a wince, at Terra’s denial of bravery. “Fighting for your life is still brave, to me,” she replied. “Some may not have it in them to fight at all, and would have just given in to death. You did not.” While the instinct to do anything to survive existed within them all, there were some weak beings out there who chose not to take their lives into their own hands. Ciara was not one of those, nor was Terra, and the Epsilon respected that about the ruddy female. “I can’t honestly blame the cat for defending her meal, but she was stupid to leave it alone so long.” Then, Ciara finally allowed the thought she’d been blocking to come to the surface. It wrenched at her heart, even though the cat was of a different species.
As soon as Ciara relaxed Terra tensed up. Was Augustus nearby? As stealthily as she could Terra gathered herself together, prepared to fight if she had to. Terra was much weaker than Ciara, having gotten much greater wounds, but if she was going down she was making sure the other would be going with her. Hearing that some wouldn't fight for life Terra twisted her head. It was the most basic instinct of them all. To simply not fight for that, to give in without another word. It was wrong, unnatural. Even pups fought for life, despite the fact that all they could really do was cry for help and do their best to dodge. Some even got creative and would bite the enemy, though that still usually went poorly.
She nodded her head along with the wolf, agreeing that it was foolish to leave the meal alone for so long. Terra had been sure it had been an abandoned kill, so ripe for her to eat. Hearing Ciara's question Terra looked away, disinterested. That doesn't really matter now. The cougar was a threat. Now it's gone. It should have chosen it's battle more carefully. It should have let Terra run. Instead it had been proud enough to think it could kill a measly scavenger, only to discover that the coyote had much more than that inside her.
