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Ah! … Musquodoboit Valley
The rain would never end, it would continue until the earth was so saturated that she would need to grown flippers just to stay afloat. But if mutations were legitimate, she’d rather have wings, able to rise above the dangers and fly. Maybe she would go to the desert, where it never rained to begin with so when it would flood to the tops of the tree in the north, it must just be drizzling in the south. All the clouds were too heavy to be pushed away by the weak breeze that hardly caught her coat, they laughed and grew darker at each attempt. The drops that fell were not fat and heavy, but fell consistently and continuous until her fur was sodden and sent a chill to her skin.
She was diligent, even with the world bearing down. Walking through the open spaced of her homelands had made the transition to the pine needle forest easy, and even pleasant. Part of her wanted the warm dry walls of her den, but the larger and louder parts wanted to explore, even if the weather did not cooperate. She plodded on, four paws trotting lightly on the needle carpet, silent even though she expected to slosh instead of step. She traveled until she met the edge of the forest.
She stopped, teetering under the tree cover, unsure if she wanted to enter the rain once again or stay under the safety of the woods. Testing the weather she reached her head out from under the last tree’s bough, eyes squinting in anticipation of pelting drops. Relaxing she found the rain to be light, though still constantly falling. With all the water that surrounded her, the urge to reach the creek she heard and smelled was ever diligent. Exiting the forest she ran for it, playful dodging rain drops as she went.
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Sorry about the slight wait.
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_____Despite the raining, Corona had spent her free time gathering what herbs she could find lying around. Though she hadn't scoured the city for things just yet, but she knew if she wanted to do anything on the fly as a general remedy, herbs were the way to go. Either to brew a tea or to mash into some sort of paste to cram down someone's throat, they did a world of good when there wasn't much else to go on. For now something temporary was better than the next to nothing that they were getting and she felt if she could alleviate even some of the simpler symptoms they were having then maybe they'd rest. Maybe rest would be the most effective thing to combat whatever they had.
_____Holistic rambling aside, Corona was crouched down alongside of the trail, working diligently as she picked through the tall grass and shrubbery. When she found something that would be suitable for either drying or as a topical application, she packed it away in a pouch that was slung over her gold-haired shoulder at the present moment. She was mostly oblivious to what was going on around her, the rain and the running water of the nearby creek were merely white noise in her ears. They offered no comfort and no distraction.
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Her paws touched the cold water, sending a chill down her spine. She bent and took the clean water in her mouth, it was refreshing and tasting of rain. The drops pelted her back; some soaking threw while other hung to the longer guard hairs. She made a lazy attempt to shake her coat and rid her body of the extra water weight. Watching the clear water she took another step into the moving creek, letting it flow across the tops of her feet. The soothing motion captivating her.
Broken from the spell, her ears stood strait, and she turned her head to find a golden figure in the distance. Comparing the upright and in the two legged form with her four legged, Anu figured she could out run anything that chose the different shape. Turning to face the stranger, it was hard to suppress the curiosity that was ever present. Stepping forward Anu watched carefully and found that this new beast was collecting flora from the earth. They were instantly friends, from her standpoint.
Padding forward Anu allowed herself to run through all of the different plants that this one might be looking for. Getting closer, and finally forgetting the rain, Anu found a surprising fact. Black nose to the moist air, it wasn’t hard to notice that this was a pack yote. From the wild Inferni group no doubt. Stopping sharp she watched to see if she was as much as a threat as they were all made out to be. Tail and hackles in the air she made quite a sight, well more like a wet sad looking Shetland sheepdog.
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*too lazy for a table*
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_____It wasn't probably such a good idea for her to have been so engrossed in what she was doing out there in the open, no doubt bearing the smell of the family clan all over her backside. Though the rain did dampen much of the smells that were in the air, it wasn't enough to wash it out completely. She worked with precision as the minutes passed, only coming to pause momentarily when a very distinct presence seemed to be hanging around and the soundscape to her back changed.
_____Out of the corner of her eye, Corona suddenly understood why she felt that way, as someone was approaching her with the caution written aloud in the air. The tension seemed to mount even more when she turned to sharply look at the figure who was approaching, quickly noting her body language long before the curiosity reflected in her face. However, Corona bristled in response and slowly pocketed the herbs that she had gathered and held her ground, letting her own body language tell her standoffish reaction. Expressions could lie much easier than anything else and she wasn't going to take any chances while a war was going on. [/html]
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Their eyes met, blue on blue, and Anu took on her posture. It was easy to read, and looked much like she felt. Her nose tested the heavy air again, making sure that she truly did smell Inferni on the golden wolf. Confirmation came and Anu grew slightly disappointed. Were they able to be friends, after the grand warning given to her by her pack’s council? Though her instinctual need to enjoy the company of every beast she met tended to override any other type of pending danger.
The female did not try to charge her, or run away. Her calm yet weary actions made Anu drop her own defenses a bit, her tail lowered and her back fell smooth. Despite all of the rumors of crazy Inferni and the wolves and coyotes that lived there Anu had never been the object of their anger.
Feeling slightly foolish for acting so defensive, Anu closed the gap between them with calm and slow steps, until she reached polite talking distance. The air was laden with their common distrust, weighing heavy on the lean wolf’s shoulders. Far more uncomfortable with the tension then she was with the hybrid herself, Anu hoped to dissolve it as quickly as she could.
”Are you picking therapeutic herbs?” Looking to the pouch the hung at the females waist, “I’ve heard morning is the best time of day to harvest any medical flora.” She knew a bit about what herbs did what, but she was no medic. She knew mostly about the groundwork, more then the affect the plant might give, or the proper way to prepare it. The morning was the best to pick them though, before they fully woke and had more of a chance to become wilted.
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_____Sure enough, the wolf didn't want to pick a fight and lowered her stance to something a bit more neutral. Corona only held hers up a few more seconds, but slowly let her muscles relax and her hackles settle before nodding at her question. “It's a drab enough day to pick them. There's enough moisture in the air to prevent them from wilting as fast, even though that's what I'll be doing with them later anyway.” Drying them out, boiling them down. “Are you familiar with medicine yourself?” Common ground, an easy to prove that they weren't all bad to one another, though Corona wasn't the one with the problems.
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some people are ok with animal blood, but not human! it makes me laugh
Anu looked away a moment, as the female spoke, her voice confident and secure. It intimidated the petite fey. Hoping to not let the weakness show in her posture, she brought her face back to meet the golden wolfess. The mixture of Inferni scent and her larger stature still left Anu with an uneasy feeling, but she was working through her insecurities.
“More with the plant life itself, then with its medicinal use.” She scuffed a paw against the ground, trying to become more relaxed. She had a vague idea of how to treat simple bumps and scrapes, but she did not trust her small knowledge handling potent herbs. “Blood kind of makes my knees weak.” She smiled a bit at her own quirk. “Wolf blood, that is.” Of course she was happy to see the blood of her prey, but that of a friend would make her queasy.
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Blood and guts doesn't bother me as much as faecal matter and urine from anything. I gag, I freak out. XD;
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_____As she returned to scouring over the herbs and only picking the ones that were at the peak of their prime, she half-listened to the woman who was trying to make conversation. There wasn't a whole lot of confidence backing her voice and Corona partially chalked that up to the fact that she was working diligently; almost as though she didn't want the conversation even though it was welcome. There was a lot to contend with though and time was of the essence in more than one way.
_____“I wished I could say that I was treating cuts and scrapes,” she said with a sigh, scooting a step or two further off of the path into the brush. “This is more of an internal illness, like a cold.” Only worse, but she wasn't sure she wanted to share that factoid with her, even though it was more or less wolves who had it with the exception of Laruku. But he may as well have been a wolf—his blood was red and had the same function as the rest of them—even if he looked more like a coyote.
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It was unlike Anu to just sit around when someone else was hard at work. Even though she did not make Anu feel as welcome as the sandy fey felt she should, Anu still wanted to assist her in her hunt. As usual she didn’t have much to do, so helping the golden wolfess was the best option for her to pass the time.
She crouched and looked in the undergrowth, eyeing the shape of the leaves Corona was looking for. She might have little idea what the plant would do for those that were ill, but she did have an eye for spotting certain plants. Maybe she would warm to her presence if she helped in her quest.
“Is it contagious?” Her voice held more anxiety as she expected it to. More concerned with others health then her own, she saw at it as more of an epidemic to the entire area that to her personal health. She thought of her family, her Naniko, and the pups she carried. Maybe it wasn’t.
Taking a breath she found the best replica of the plant the other was picking. “I’m Anu, by the way.” The peace offering stood between them, and a small smile hung on her face, all she needed to do was pick it.
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_____With a thin but genuine smile, Corona took the offered herb and added it to what she had already gathered thus so far. She appreciated the help, especially over getting attacked or otherwise harassed. “I'm Corona. I think it may be, but I'm not entirely sure in what way it's contagious,” which made it a pretty big problem. She could have had it for all she knew, but she hadn't felt any adverse effects. But getting sick the last thing that she wanted to do and therefore took the necessarily precautions to avoid contracting it. “For the most part, those that have it go between being comatose and not, but they've had seizures in the past. For others, they hallucinate sometimes.” With that much information, she thought maybe it was best if others were warned about it. To stay away… but at the same time she could see a tiny army crusading to set the forest on fire to get rid of the sick.
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oh look at that, shes the color of corona! The beer… -is slow-
There. They could be friends. Anu felt her chest rise an inch when the golden female, Corona, took the herb and placed it with the rest she had been gathering. Maybe she secretly wanted to branch the creatures of Inferni with the rest of the packs. There was no reason that civilized beasts couldn’t get along. If one didn’t like another all they had to do was avoid each other. It was as simple as that.
Moving among the field, Anu kept close to Corona, in order for good conversation. Her eyes danced over the plants, and toes picked the herbs that she was sure were the ones Corona sought. Listening to the description of the sickness her heart sank. It sounded beyond terrible, and unlike anything Anu had ever known. There was no point in her life that more the one wolf had become ill. She had been the old grow week and sickly before passing, but this was very different.
“Is targeting the old, or young?” the answers would ease her anxiety, which had begun to increase. With Nanko’s pups on the way such a thing would become quite a problem. “Where did it start?” Yes, her questioning could be annoying and hse knew it, but she needed as much information as she could get.
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Lol... heh, everyone makes that annoying connection. x_x
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_____They were good questions, though Corona didn't have good answers. She wished she did have the answers to all of it, because she wanted to keep it away from others—Inferni and her family especially—but for all she knew, they could have all had it. It could have had something to do with the fire on the other side of the mountain, but at the same time she couldn't figure out how any of the symptoms would have come out of a fire. Chemicals, maybe, but why was it that they weren't all having adverse effects?
_____“I don't know,” she answered with a reforming frown, sitting back from where she had been furiously scavenging. “I'm not so much concerned about where it came from as I am trying to cure it. It could be from a number of things though. Food or water, even where they've been lately.” And as big as the countryside was, she hadn't had a chance to explore all of it. “Even another pack could have done something to make them ill. There's a lot of possibilities.”
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its such a good beer though… I think its quite a positive association!
do you think that she could slip that the sick are in EH, I would love to have her bring Laurel some flowers or food that he could give to the sick! xD
The golden wolf was becoming discouraged. The frustration was written all over her face, and Anu wished she had some great answer to give her. But she knew so little about the workings of their bodies, how sickness arose, and how it was cured. All she was sure of was that such a thing was as frightening as war.
The sky had calmed, but almost sensing their depression it had turned an ugly grey. Anu looked down to the ground, thinking about what the female had said. With all the possibilities of where it had come from, and how it could be cured there seemed to be little hope of answering any of the numerous questions.
Her last statement was purely impossible. No beast was so cruel that they would spread such a sickness. Biological warfare was just truly beyond her understanding, no one was that horrible. Some fought, some hated each other, but why would someone want to set such a thing loose, threatening a whole population. “Why does everyone always want to hurt each other?” She spoke the thought out load, eyes still off the other female.
She have a sigh looking back to Corona, “Has your family been affected?” Anu cared little whether they were Inferni or not. She only hoped that her new friend hadn’t personally felt the affect.
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I've no doubt about it, it's just that I've heard that association for the last three years now; old joke and all, y'know? 
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_____Anu's question drew a snort out of Corona, who had often wondered that herself. Especially as a child, Corona had never fully understood why things were the way that they were. Others had claimed her mother was crazy, but she had never seen it. They had said her father was just as crazy and while he had his moments, Corona didn't see him as crazy either. They had been loving, no, they were still loving. “It's the way of the world,” she finally said. “As long as there is one there will be the other and there will be blood between them.” As much as she would have liked to overcome that, it wouldn't happen. So she didn't preach about equality very often as much as she did about keeping an open mind.
_____That was of course, because she was a hybrid. She went between wolf and coyote (and in her case, a little bit of dog). She had been on both sides and she had found no difference. “But yes, my family is involved. My father and my brother are ill.” At this point, Corona examined over the herbs she had tucked away in the pouch, quickly and quietly counting them before feeling that she had more than enough. “I'd suggest if you didn't want to get sick that you'd steer clear of Esper Hollow.” Her words were very firm and laced with warning, but partially because she wanted to make sure that the other woman understood that it was very likely a grave thing.
_____All of the packs deserved to know, anyway.
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end soon?
It was hard to ignore the snort given off by the other female. Anu was all to aware of her naïve nature, and she obviously understood that there would be no answer to her question. But it was still a question that needed to be asked. When said aloud there no one could ignore it, forcing any listener to question their own action, and maybe wonder what they did to help or hurt the cause.
Corona’s words were honest and did not poke fun at her innocent comment, but there was scorn in her voice. It was a bitter sense that was easy to detect and made much more sense when Corona answered her second question. It was horrible, that bother her brother and father were ill, and that it seemed to be concentrated in Esper Hollow. What if Laurel was sick?
“I hope these herbs will be the answer.” But with all the possibilities surrounding it, there was a good chance that it wasn’t. “Or at least help.” Why couldn’t she still have hope that Corona would bring them the cure they all needed?
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Sure thing! I enjoyed having another thread with you. <333
Btw, feel free to throw up a thread in EH for Laurel whenever you want!
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_____“They'll help, at least until I can figure out what it is,” unless of course, she couldn't figure out what it was. It would make sense, given that they had become creatures different than just wolves and coyotes and dogs and so on and so forth, that they would gain immunities and lose them. “Right now I just want them to rest easier, at least make them feel a little bit better even if I can't make it go away.” She didn't want them to suffer, that much was evident in the tone of her voice. Pushing up from the ground, Corona rose up to her full height and pulled her bangs back out of her eyes. “I should probably get going so I can prepare these. You'll probably want to go back to your pack and give them a heads up about what's going around too, everyone should be aware of what's going on.” Offering her a parting smile, Corona turned back towards Inferni and headed off.
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