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WC: 287
Colibri inhaled deeply, the cold mountain air stinging her nostrils. She held it for a moment, calming herself, before slowly exhaling between parted lips. She was lucky to be alive. Her muzzle was still crusted with blood from the chafed laceration, as were her bruised wrists and ankles. Her Optime frame was gaunt, malnourished and atrophied from months of captivity. It would take some time to heal.
She inhaled again, trying to savor the taste of freedom. It was hard to feel optimistic, though. She had wasted a year of her life trying to find herself, wandering in complete and utter solitude across the wild north. All she had learned was what she already knew; she was hopeless, she ruined everything good in her life, she was a coward. Then she had been captured. She became a prisoner, an even more pitiable and wretched creature, forced to travel all the way back to where she had started. She exhaled, ruefully massaging her raw wrists. They ached as though they were still bound together. The scars would never fully disappear.
Coli inhaled a third time, icy blue eyes scanning the rugged mountain. She needed to find sustenance. It would take too much energy to hunt prey, but she was not too proud to scavenge. And once she found something to eat, she wanted to sleep forever. She had never experienced this kind of exhaustion or pain when she had lived in Crimson Dreams, or Dahlia de Mai, or in her vague puppyhood memories of Clouded Tears. The safety of a pack had been something her naive mind had taken for granted. She would not make that mistake again. She would not drop her guard again, even now. Exhale.
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Table by Shannon!
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OCC- Hi there, hope you don't mind me dropping in!
Merlin quietly walked through the rough terrain. His broken foot was healing fast, thanks to help. And to celebrate, Merlin thought of a little trek across the land for exercise and excitement. There was no reason in particular why he wanted this, but with a new sense of freedom from his injury, he felt it best.
He sang random songs as he kicked a few stones, listening to their rhythm across the stony hillside. He was about to send yet another rock flying, when he realised rocks were sliding past him down the mountain side as if someone had push them away.
He looked up to see a female. She looked tired, but from Merlin's distance he didn't know why. He turned his body to face up the hillside and climbed, although he was Optime from, he had to use all four limbs to make way up the rocky side.
He struggles as the rocks he used to push him up continued to disagree and break away from the surface. But he eventually made level with the female. On closer inspection, she looked hurt, blood painted around her face, and rash red marks on her wrists.
She looked cautious, so Merlin approach slowly, as to not surprise her, "Are you alright?" He spoke softly.
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OOC: Yay, thanks for joining me!
WC: 287 again!
Colibri flicked her ears back, catching a faint strain of melody. Someone was singing nearby. She was not alone. She tensed up, hair rising along the curve of her spine, and tried to fight the wave of panic that crashed over her. Singing was not threatening, and whoever it was obviously didn't see her yet, so she had seconds to prepare. She was in no shape to flee, especially not up the steep slope, so she sank into a crouch. Perhaps she could startle the interloper with a quick pounce, then make her getaway down the mountainside while he was incapacitated...
Then she caught sight of bobbing ears, followed by a shock of scruffy dark hair, followed by a friendly male face. He was scaling the hillside to approach her. Coli tightened her jaw, determined not to drop her guard despite his disarming expression. She took a few steps back as he drew level with her, internally wincing as she saw how much bigger and fitter he was. She could easily be overpowered by the full grown male, and her anxious fingers strayed to the fur pouch she wore around her neck.
"I'm fine," she replied sharply as he inquired. Of course she must look a mess, she hadn't even taken the time to clean her wounds or groom her fur. Her cold blue eyes darted to the leather belt and pack he wore -- was he some kind of hunter? He didn't carry the scent of a pack, but rather that of trees, riverwater, charcoal. "I don't need help, so you can just be on your way. Unless... you have any food on you," she muttered as an afterthought, ears flattened against her skull with mistrust.
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Table by Shannon!
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Merlin twitched his head slightly to the side upon hearing the female's harsh words. She sounded distressed, probably because of previous events, but it didn't make Merlin doubt her. He'd been in rough times and although he'd deny it, company was the best cure.
He stepped back, after seeing the female’s reaction to his approach; she must be of a timid nature. His ears perked up, hearing that the female was looking for food. "Food?" Merlin asked smiling, and reached into his pack to reveal cloth-wrapped meat chunk. "It isn't much, but I haven't recently hunted." He said and slowly passed to meat towards the female.
He knew how it felt to be feeling no trust in anyone; Merlin had experienced it after his childhood escape. He felt like he couldn't talk to anyone, nor rely on anyone. But after sometime, he got used to company and others, and although he would never think of joining a pack, even after spending time receiving help from one, he always felt like everyone deserved trust.
Merlin hoped this female would be able to accept help. He knew she probably wouldn't turn violent, considering he was quite large compared to her. Not that Merlin would fight her back if she did turn violent, she already looked damaged enough, and Merlin didn't want to add injuries to her.
Merlin smirked, seeing the female’s tense muscles and flattened ears, "Don't worry," He said softly, "I'm not one to not trust." He smiled with both sympathy and respect, one for thinking of all the pain this she-wolf must have gone through to be so tense, and the other for respecting her caution.
He shook his head slightly, "Those marks don't look fine "
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WC: 277
The scent of meat hit her nostrils, and it was all Colibri could do not to immediately snatch it from his hands. She swallowed hard, trying to ignore the gnawing hunger pangs, and edged cautiously closer to the male. Eying him suspiciously, she sniffed the meat again, trying to focus on recognizing any poisonous odors. There were none. Her half-starved mind was buzzing with anticipation, screaming for her to swallow it whole before she passed out. Delicately she grasped the parcel, accepting it, before edging back a few steps.
He started speaking again, and she took it as a cue that she could eat. She unwrapped the fabric and quickly snapped up the contents, barely pausing to chew as she choked down the meat. It was gone all too soon, and the wolf was soon licking her claws clean, letting the empty wrapper flutter to the ground. "Thanks," she murmured after a moment, begrudging towards his sympathetic smile. "I haven't been able to hunt in months."
Then he mentioned her appearance again. Coli flicked her little tail stub, annoyed at the stranger's persistence. "It's fine," she repeated, averting her gaze to the abrasions on her wrists. The fur had been worn off. Hopefully it would grow back so that she wouldn't be asked such questions by everyone she met. "It won't happen again." Now that she had something in her belly, she began to feel less keyed up, a little more relaxed. This stranger did not appear to be hostile, for now, so she might as well get some information from him. "...Do you know anything about the packs around here?" she asked, tilting her head casually.
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Table by Shannon!
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