Save Me [joining]

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A tattered, worn pup, shell-shocked from the change in both scenery and temperature, made her way further and further into the new land, both taken back and terrified by each new land form she passed. It seemed that this was an entirely different world than what she had grown up with, was it not? Her parents never talked about any sand or big pine trees or hot water springs. Everything was new to her, and she wanted to go home. She wanted to snuggle with her mom and dad, and she wanted to go learn to hunt like she was supposed to last week. But everything had changed in a blink of an eye. She was alone. Her parents were gone, and there was nothing left for her there. She would have died alone in the cave had she not emerged when she did. Even now, she was skin and bones. Having not eaten in close to three weeks made her dizzy and disoriented, and the long distances were not helping either. How had this been a good idea? She just wanted to find her way back into the thickets of the jungle and hide away for the rest of her life. But she knew the possibility was bleak.

Averice could smell the other wolves. They were crawling all over this land, and she was petrified that, sooner or later, she would encounter someone who was not happy to see her. They would know she was different, that she was somehow intruding in their little world. But she had hope that maybe some of the wolves here would take pity on her. She needed to find someone who could support her, or she would die. She was not naive enough to believe that she could survive on her own. The white fluff ball may have been young, but she was not stupid. Right now, her largest weakness was the giant hole in her heart that could not seem to close no matter how much she willed it away.

Ansley was dead. Her mother and father were gone. She was alone. Alone. The little female felt fresh tears pricking at her eyes as she pressed forward, heading into colder and colder territories as she tried as hard as possible to leave everything she knew in the dust. She could never go back there. It was too painful, and she was no longer a part of that world. She would have to find her way here, or she would die trying. Nothing was worth the crippling pain associated with Tas'alea. The snow was starting to chill Averice to the bone, and her lackluster coat was doing a poor job of keeping her warm. Help, she thought weakly, the urge to lay down and sleep suddenly upon her. She could not sleep here. If she closed her eyes, there was a chance that they would never open again. She could not sleep.

So Averice pressed forward, the snow growing thicker and thicker and clogging her eyes, ears and nose as the flakes swirled around her. This was it; there was no way she could go any further. In the chaos that was the snow, she completely missed the markers of the pack of the territory and wandered a quarter mile into Airila's territory before her little body gave out. "Somebody... Anybody," she called out weakly, hoping that, by some miracle, an angel would be by to save her.

The young wolf threw her head back, crying out all her pain and hurt into one drawn-out howl. Sobs wracked through her body as she collapsed into the accumulated snow, her fur blending into the white surroundings as the terrified, frozen, and lonely pup drifted off to sleep for the first time in five days, hoping that the nightmares that plagued her head would finally decide to stay away.

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[atrb=background,http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/6300/alumid.png] Today had not been the typical day for Aludra, she had opted to give herself an opportunity to relax. There would be no running around in search of more herbs, as if she hadn't already gathered plenty. This day would be full of relaxation and thinking, certainly she could sort out this mess her mind was in within one day. The situation between herself and Toiro would be thought about and evaluated, Aludra had to know the answer. It was no longer an option, the Arctic female needed to solve this issue. Something needed to be done before she drove herself absolutely crazy thinking about it. Sooner or later it would become absolutely maddening, Aludra wanted to have some tact about it. If she actually needed to speak to Toiro about the situation then there needed to be some flow and logic behind what she was saying. 'Although I will more than likely become tongue tied,' that much would be true. She had never exactly had a way with words. Her paws gracefully carried her ivory body throughout the snow, the chilling air felt comforting against her. It was quite relaxing to wander through the light snowfall, her mind really was given the opportunity to wander. As she paced throughout Shyia, her head was held high and there was a playful pace to her tail. All was grand today. The only issue was her own hormonal change. Lately the femme could not rid the thought of the Alpha or family from her mind. Everything about her mindset seemed to be changing - more like directing itself more towards her being a mother. The thought of having children had always been something that Aludra fantasized about. She loved teaching young ones, it always brought a smile to her face. Before Anikira she had dealt with puppies quite a bit, it was only natural for her to want to be around them once again. A soft howl was heard not too far in the distant, it sounded as if it was from a young wolf. A pup. For a moment Aludra was baffled, she nearly felt as if her mind was playing tricks upon her. Yet, something deep in her chest told her to run. The shaman knew not why the sense of urgency was injected into her heart, but she trusted herself enough to follow it. Paws pressed themselves against the snow, rapidly carrying the femme closer to the sound. Or at least where she believed that the sound had came from. A brief song of her own echoed out, calling out to whatever young one had made such a sorrowful cry. Nervously, the shaman whined, her pace stopped and instantly her nose kicked into high gear - searching for an unfamiliar scent. There had to be one. Tail flickered behind the female quickly, her footsteps became more like pacing as she placed her nose near the frosty terrain in an attempt to sniff out the newcomer. "I swore I heard you," Aludra's words were quiet as she poked herself around the ground. For a moment the female doubted herself, she genuinely believed that the noise was all in her head. 'I know I'm feeling hormonal, but I have never done something-' her thought was cut short when her dark hued nose poked itself against a soft fur ball half buried in snow. Her heart jumped within her chest, she had found it. Emerald gaze raped the snow for the little ball of fluff, muzzle quickly flipping the fluff away from the whelp. "Darling," she spoke softly to the pup, hearing its' shallow breathing to prove that it was still alive. Her mind prepared herself for a sharp bite to the muzzle, for she certainly deserved one for poking around it so closely. Yet, her mind told her that something as small as this creature would not survive in any land without an older canine to care for it. Certainly the pup would have lain in the snow and died. Her slumber would have been eternal.

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Shivers coursed through the small wolf's body as snow piled on top of her during her slumber. The vivid images of blood and fire plagued her mind, forcing her to relive the last week over and over without any hope for reprieve. Averice could not escape the pain and suffering. It was all around her, black and suffocating, constricting the airflow to her lungs until it felt as if she could not longer take another breath. She forced herself to breath in and choked heavily as water rushed down her nose and into her lungs, burning the entire way down. A slight whine slipped from the small wolf's muzzle as the burn came once more, but she could not make herself wake up. The cold was all around her, but it burned like fire on her nose and inside her ears. She dared not open her eyes for fear of the pain reaching them as well. She could not take it for much longer.

Suddenly, a beacon of light shot through the darkness. Something warm prodded her nearly lifeless body, forcing yet another quiet whine to slip through her lips. She had to still be dreaming. Of course the universe would taunt her with hope and then snatch it back away from her, forcing her further into a spiraling depression that would ultimately end in her untimely demise. Averice would end up killing herself, if the weather did not kill her now. Even that was up for debate right now.

"Darling."

A mottled cry slipped from the female's lips as reality consumed her once more. The darkness swiped at her and time again until the strangled screams from Averice's mouth were both earsplitting and heart-wrenching. Her emerald green eyes snapped open as a new onslaught of tears streamed down her cheeks. "I WANT MY MOMMA!" she screamed in terror to the absolute stranger in front of her, eyes flashing with fear as she tried to force herself to back away into oblivion, but the wall of snow that had accumulated around her as she slept kept her firmly in place. "Please, please don't hurt me," she cried softly, her head falling in defeat as her words trailed off into the wind. No one could help her. She had lost everything. Why did she ever think that it was a good idea to leave her home? At least there she knew what she was doing and what to expect. Here, everything was unknown and petrifying. The small female, not even thirty five pounds yet, paled in size and weight to the wolf before her. She was going to end up being a meal just like her Momma and Papa. Her Momma had saved her, but for what reason? She was all alone, and there was nowhere safe for her to hide.

"Please," she whispered, the final tears falling as they froze upon contact with the cold ground. Her violent shivering worsened, and she could not keep warm in any way. It was as if her body was frozen into place; her muscles refused to move her in any direction, and the tell tale signs of frostbite were starting to settle in. Averice whined in pain and fear, her eyes flashing up at her visitor with distrust and terror. What was this wolf going to do to her? "I promise I won't be bad. I promise I didn't mean to come here. I'll go, I'll be good, I promise!" she wailed, a new wave of tears rushing to her eyes. There was little that could comfort the small wolf, other than a magical appearance by her mother and father.

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[atrb=background,http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/6300/alumid.png] The shaman could not resist letting out a small whimper of her own as the puppy's eyes shot open. Emerald gaze met another pair of swirling green pools, and for a moment Aludra held her gaze upon the whelp's. The swelling within her heart was overwhelming, the female found it strange how she could be thinking about children and then stumble across a lone puppy. Her glance broke away from Averice only for a moment to give a silent praise to whatever in the sky looked over them. Apparently it was not only saving a life but offering up a test to the ivory shaman in the process. This would see how well she could do. She would happily offer this little one all the safety and security she could - hopefully once it was back to full health there would be no permanent damage done. Aludra jumped slightly at the young one's sudden wail, it had certainly caught her off guard. 'Better than a nip on the nose,' she smiled gently, both at the thought and the pup. It seemed that her motherly nature almost instantly took over, for her heart nearly broke at every sob and whimper the puppy made. "Do you know where your momma is?" She held her voice as low as possible, to show Averice her innocent intentions. The shaman was highly concerned for the pup not only seemed to be exhausted and starving but on the verge of getting frostbite. Simply the thought of that made herself frozen to the bone, 'I must save her.' Her coat was always thick and ready to cope with icy temperatures, but at this time of the year her undercoat really prepped her body for the additional warmth she would need. Thus, the icy winters never tended to bother the adult arctic. However, it was clearly visible that Averice was much less prepared. The adult lay herself near the puppy, "I promise, I won't hurt you. I am going to do everything I can to help you, hun." Nurturing nature had instantly swung across the Arctic's features. Slowly the female moved herself slightly closer to the pup and then attempted to wrap her large fluffy tail around the other femme a bit. Her breathing slowed slightly, nervous that the young pup may not be able to survive. Any and all warmth would be necessary in order to keep this one around, even if she ended up leaving Airila in the end. Aludra believed it important to reunite the family if it was possible and once the puppy was healed and capable of travel. For now, the pup really needed to be hauled off to somewhere warmer; however, the shaman feared that Averice would fight or attempt to flee. It would be a slight risk, they would stay in the snow for another few moments. Hopefully, it would be possible to gain her trust quickly - or that Averice would know that she needed to get to warmth as soon as possible otherwise she would die. The small adult attempted to get slightly closer to the matching puppy, continuing to offer her own body heat. It not only was to show this strange species of pup that she meant no harm, but also her nature would not permit her to deny aid to one in need. Aludra simply could not watch a creature suffer. It was not in her nature at all. 'I am certain Cherie has some sort of food, and I probably have something to help raise her body temperature back at the dens.' Aludra nodded slightly to herself, taking mental notes as what to do with the baby in order to increase her survival rate. It was supposed to be a happy time of the year, mating season and the celebration of the Arctic growing yet another year older - she would not allow Averice to die upon her watch. It would simply crush her heart. The shaman glanced down at the young one again, "My name is Aludra, what is yours?" Her voice still held concern, but was a bit lighter in tone this time. The shaman was amazed at the puppy, the odds of finding an all white pup with green eyes was quite strange. Especially since they matched her own optics. An eerie sensation crawled through Aludra's veins, but the adult knew to ignore it until the pup was guaranteed safety.

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There was very little that could calm the young wolf. As her strange rescuer prodded for information, Averice withdrew more and more into herself, searching for any way out of the situation. She had been foolish to call for help; she could not honestly have thought that no one would respond, right? This female was probably just responding to her cry for help, yet she wanted nothing to do with Aludra. As the white wolf inquired as to the locate of her mother, all she could do was nod affirmatively. She knew exactly where her mother was, but that did not mean that she wanted to go back or be anywhere near the hell hole that was her former home. It hurt that she could not go back and snuggle with her momma. She would never get to see her mother's pretty face again, or the rest of the pack. Her sister, her father, and her mother were all gone.

As the wolf reassured Averice that she was not going to hurt her, the small female felt her lip quiver once more. She could not honestly believe that a complete stranger was out here to do good for her, but what other choice did she have? As Aludra wrapped her body around the smaller wolf's figure, all she could do was sniffle and snuggle into the warm body, hoping to absorb any and all body heat that she could before the winter weather took her to her grave. Maybe this wolf was not so bad; after all, she was not letting her die out here in the cold just yet. But she could not trust her yet; all she wanted was to feel loved again.

As the big wolf asked her name and introduced herself, she started to shake once more. She was so petrified by this entire situation that it was hard for her to even form the words she needed to say. "I... I'm Av-Averice," she stuttered, her body shaking from the cold and fear all wrapped into one. She was not sure what to make of this wolf, but she was not being aggressive, so maybe she would be okay. "Ca-can I st-stay with you?" she inquired timidly, looking up at the other wolf from behind snow-covered eyelashes. Maybe this wolf would turn her away and then she would have to go back on her merry way, but maybe, just maybe she would take care of Averice. She needed someone who could teach her what she needed to survive, and then she could continue on her way. She would not have to be a bother to anyone, and she could not put herself in any situation where she would have to lose someone ever again. If there weren't any ties, then there wasn't anyone to lose.

By learning the pains of life at such a young age, Averice would be permanently scarred. But right now, she just needed someone to love her and show her that the world was not as awful of a place as it seemed at the moment. It was not all about death, taking away family, and finding gruesome sights that even the strongest stomached wolf would struggle to handle. It was about forging friendships, learning and growing, all of which were things that she did not know. She could not even hunt for herself. The occasional bug or vole she caught in the southern part of this land was not enough to satiate her hunger. Her tummy growled angrily, demanding that it be satisfied and soon. She was skin and bones, and she could not hope to continue on much longer without some sustenance. She was pitiful; that much she knew.

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[atrb=background,http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/6300/alumid.png] The shaman knew that the pup's time would be cut short if she stayed out in the cold. Certainly some food would be another necessity, but that would need to wait. The frigid weather would freeze her shriveling body before starvation would snatch away her life. Worry etched its' way into the Arctic's features, 'I don't want to frighten her, but she needs to get out of this.' This young one still had the majority of her life to live; seeing Averice in such a way nearly brought tears to Aludra's eyes. Emerald orbs were gleaming with concern as they stared into the face of Averice. For only a moment did they break away to the sky, it would guide her. Slowly, the female drew in a deep breath and released her mind. Seconds ticked by, but the femme opened her eyes once more. The answer was clear in her head now. A loving smile was cast into the baby's direction, "That is a beautiful name, Averice." It was the truth, but Aludra knew that some sort of trust needed to be established with the young one. Whatever demons she was running from would never touch her within Shyia - not under the shaman's watch anyway. Aludra had always held a strong maternal instinct, the desire to care for others. This was part of the reason she had began her medical studies, despite the obvious craving to obtain complete knowledge about the world. No matter how old of a canine it was, the female would not have been able to resist aiding a soul in absolute need. Something about this puppy drew in her mind though, perhaps the striking similarities had something to do with it. Within her mind, Aludra felt the swelling in her chest. She craved a family of her own. The longing had been there for an eternity; yet, only recently had it become such a powerful desire. Perhaps her feelings towards the Alpha had something to do with it. Either way, Aludra doubted that she would be blessed with such fortune. The skies foretold negativity in her future, things would get better and then the skies would darken. Certainly coming to Shyia and her acceptance into Airila had been the clear skied glory. Being a shaman meant simply caring for others, it was not a strong and powerful skill that needed to be passed on genetically. Toiro would definitely want to pass on his superior genetics. Merely thinking about it caused Aludra's eyes to begin filling with salty water. Her attachment to the Alpha was becoming overwhelming, but he was exactly that. She was merely his doctor, the one who committed her life to him and caring for the others. Her position was one of complete importance, but not one in which would bring about a close relationship with the brute that her heart so desired. Her head lowered to nuzzle Averice on the back, she could not help feeling responsible for the pup. The emotions dancing within the Arctic were mixed, worry, excitement, love, fear, rejection. 'Now is not the time,' for the first time Aludra felt a strange sensation in her chest. It was the urge to growl, something the femme had believed herself incapable of doing. Fear settled into her bones for a moment, before dissipating quickly as she pulled her face away from the puppy. Once more the other's words yanked violently at her heart, "Darling, of course you can stay with me. I won't let anyone or anything hurt you." Without thinking, Aludra gave Averice a small lick on the cheek. Despite wanting to stay near the pup, the adult forced herself back onto her paws. "I'm going to bring you to our den. It will be warm and we can get some food into your hungry belly," panic was beginning to settle into her soul. Time had continued ticking, certainly the adrenaline rush in her mind had caused everything to occur quickly. Averice was going to survive, right? Either way, Aludra was not about to give the pup one more second of icy weather. Instinctively, she scruffed the pup and began trotting as fast as she could towards the dens. Her body was not used to carrying another creature in such a way and began to grow weary with her anxiety ridden steps. With a sharp inhale of bitter air, the shaman forced herself forward. 'She needs warmth,' a slight whine escaped her maw as her clumsy footfalls proceeded. Soon enough the pup would be safe with a nice full belly. As long as her mind was settling upon the positive than she would not have to worry about a hindering pace. 'Maybe Toiro will be there,' the thought made the Arctic long even more to be within his company. 'Certainly he will be pleased to see this young one.' A smile would have perched upon her features had she not been carrying Averice. OoC| Permission to powerplay Averice granted by Uru to transport Averice to the dens. :P