Aludra had pressed onward for minutes that felt like hours. In the time of the run she had permitted herself to daydream slightly, only for the sake of ignoring the pain within her leg. She had missed a small crater within the earth and certainly found it when she nearly collapsed. Somehow, with whatever coordination she had, the shaman had managed not to shake up Averice too much in the rush to bring her to safety. Hopefully her mental plans would become truths, the ones involving the pup anyway. Her own personal wishes were less and less likely to become reality with every passing day. Grunting slightly the female lay Averice down upon the ground softly. Emerald orbs darted around rapidly, there had to be something to make a small bed out of. Yet, panic was settling into her steadily now.
Whining softly, the Arctic nudged at the puppy. "These are the dens," somehow her normally wavering voice held still in her words to the pup. It seemed as if the femme was managing to maintain composure, for once. Secretly she was quite proud of herself, but that would remain locked away. Cherie had been increasing the quiet one's conversational skills; yet, they were still quite sub par within most situations. 'Except with children,' that fact had been true for her entire life. Aludra had always been rather comforting to whelps, she hoped that Averice felt some comfort in her presence. At least, the pup would be able to stay safe and warm. The idea to summon Cherie did cross her mind, food was something that Averice desperately needed.
Muzzle raised itself upward and once more the musical song that she despised so much escaped from her lips. "We need you," a quiet sigh ended the noise from the shaman for the time being. There were more important things droning inside of her skull, like ensuring the utmost survival for the pup. None of her herbs would be useful quite yet, what Averice needed was real flesh. A real meal was vital to proper growth and to ensure that she was going to become a strong and healthy adult. The white adult turned towards one of the tunnels, her concerned gaze peered into the darkness. Silently, she prayed that anyone would have heard her call. Hopefully someone would be able to find food faster than she could, Aludra did not trust leaving the pup by herself. Not that Averice would cause issues, but for fear that the whelp would die.
Even the thought nearly caused the femme to burst into tears. Mating season was driving her crazy, her mind had not been holding steady for quite some time. Everything seemed to bring her into this family craving, lonely attitude that caused her logical attitude to swirl down the drain. It was driving her absolutely insane. The femme was hardly certain how to function when she could not easily direct her mind to the correct path. Rather it bounced from end to end easily. Absolute madness was chewing away at her brain.
She turned back to face Averice, studying her from a few feet away for a moment before returning to her side. Once more the femme curled herself up, laying upon the ground beside the other once more. "Everything will be okay," her eyes closed tightly, fighting back the water droplets that begged to run down her cheeks. 'Listen to your own words, calm yourself.' Almost immediately visual composure was completely gained, her features masking the inner turmoil she was dueling with.
A limp, dragged Averice finally felt the world stop moving beneath her as Aludra entered some type of opening in the ground. It was unlike anything that the small white female had ever seen before, and it distracted her somewhat from the pain in the back of the neck from Aludra's method of transporting her. While she could have not traveled the distance on her own, she was still rather large to have been scruffed and carried, so the method was both unconventional and somewhat painful for her. However, she was almost past the point of caring. Out of the snowfall, it was somewhat warmer, and Averice could finally feel some feeling returning to her extremities. As Aludra introduced the new place as the dens, fresh tears filled the small wolf's eyes.
The dens back in Tas'alea had been the last place she saw her mother before the similarly white female darted off to try to save her father. She could vividly remember both her parents' charred flesh and bloody remains. All that the dens reminded her was that she was no longer with her family and that they were not coming back. How could she possibly cope if Aludra left her alone here. What if she never came back? What if she vanished, just like her mother had, and she was left to fend for herself yet again? The idea of "dens" did not comprehend to the small female to connect that this wolf was a part of a pack. For all Averice knew, she had happened upon a friendly, loner female who took her back here. She had no inkling that another wolf or two or even eight or nine could be connected with Aludra. She just did not want the female to leave her.
"How can I know that?" Averice whimpered in response to Aludra's soothing words. Nothing could possibly be alright in a world like this. She was alone, although she had this wolf's company now, and she was starving. Her stomach rattled angrily as she laid on the den floor, contemplating just how much better it may have been for the winter to have simply taken her life away. Then she would not suffer the pains of this world. She missed Ansley, her pack friends, and her parents. This was not how her life should have gone. "I just want my momma," she cried again, although she knew that the cries would not do anything to solve her problems. She was alone, and not even this nice female could help her.
The little wolf shivered on the floor, though this shiver was not from the cold. This shiver arose from the realization that nothing she could do would ever bring her life back to normal. Maybe she could just stay with Aludra forever. But then she would grow tired of Averice, would she not? After all, she was a burden. She could not hunt, fight, or even remotely fend for herself. She was a burden to anyone that she would encounter, and no one would want to take a random orphan upon themselves. She was destined to be taken away from this world. No one could possibly want the responsibility of raising a pup that they did not birth. No wolf was that kind, at least from Averice's experience. She could remember the pack members ending the lives of loner pups found on their territory. 'Survival of the fittest,' they would say to her as the pups cried for mercy. Their cries fell on deaf ears. Why would her's be any different?
Averice was older than those babies, but it did not mean that she was any more special. Just because she was a pack puppy did not mean that someone wanted her. She was an orphan, and a useless orphan at that. Who could possibly want her? But as much as that realization settled upon her, she could not bring herself to flee from Aludra. Something in this female had made her take Averice under her wing, and the puppy was not sure whether it was kindness or if she had ulterior motives. Averice did not want to think the latter of the two, and she did not want to leave Aludra. All she wanted was to be loved...
Tired. Cherie was tired. She had been putting long hours into hunting. Now that snow was on the ground it had become even more difficult to locate winter prey. More often than not she was coming up empty, most edible animals hibernating or having migrated to warmer regions. Once or twice she could catch a stoat or other small mammal that dared venture out. Pickings were slim though, and it was quickly becoming apparent that she could not feed the pack on her own.
So as usual she'd gone out early this morning to catch whatever she could, bringing it back to the dens and depositing the fresh kills in her usual pile. She'd decided a break was needed maybe an hour ago. Her body was cold, her paws were numb, and her pelt was soaked with melted snow. There hadn't been much to catch anyway, only a weasel and a bunny she'd dug out of its burrow. Maybe later she would try again. For now, however, she needed to rest.
The apennine femme was curled up in the dens when the others entered, nose tucked under her tail. In fact, Cherie was sound asleep. She had been overworking herself lately and the long hours were finally catching up to her usually boundless energy. Had Aludra not howled she never would have known she was no longer alone. The musical sound pulled her from her dreams though, and as much as she protested and tried to hang on to sweet slumber, she couldn't.
There was something about the shaman's song that had her automatically worrying. With a sleepy yawn, she rubbed her paws against her face before getting to her feet and stretching. Her back cracked and popped as her rump rose in the air, still muscles resistent to being moved. But, after a few minutes she was fine enough and sleepily made her way into the main are of the dens. What she found confused her greatly. There lay Aludra and a small white pup. As far as she could remember, no one had had pups in the pack. Beyond that, the pup was much too old to have been here all this time without her knowing. She didn't think Aludra was the type to keep something like a child hidden away from there either. Something that life changing would have been noticed much sooner.
"What's... going on?" The words were broken by another yawn as she moved a little closer. Tall ears had been pulled back in confusion though her tail still wagged in greeting. Once she was a little more awake Cherie would be able to figure things out. Until then she stood before Aludra and the stranger, head tilted slightly to one side. Her usually chipper mood was finding it hard to burst through the melancholy aura that seemed to be hanging around the two white wolves, and until she knew more she wasn't sure what to do.
With a motherly gaze, Aludra observed Averice. The poor pup was so shaken up, the shaman could only imagine what sort of chaos was running through the smaller one's mind. With a gentle nuzzle the female tried to reassure her. 'Where is everyone?' Aludra had isolated them slightly, not intentionally of course, but where she had placed Averice was somewhat out of the way. Her muscles had simply grown too tired, there was little that she could do right now without Averice's help. "I know everything will be okay, because soon there will be food here. And the other's will keep you safe too." She nodded her head to reinforce the seriousness behind her words. A soft sound of movement caught the Arctic's auds, and quickly they perked up. Someone was coming, thankfully.
Aludra typically would have stood to greet whatever canine was approaching; yet, this time she did not move. Her body stayed close to the whelp's not wanting to permit even an ounce of additional cold to caress Averice's pelt. Emerald orbs stared and were quite pleased to come across Cherie. "My friend," her tail began thumping joyously. The exact canine she had wished to see had shown up, "Cherie, this is Averice." She turned her head between the two canines, half to make sure that the puppy was still doing okay. "I found her stranded in the snow, she's nearly frozen and starved." Now the Shaman's attention lay back upon her friend. It pained Aludra to see her dearest friend so worn and exhausted, for a moment she felt quite selfish for not handling the situation entirely on her own.
"Cherie, you look exhausted darling." A look of guilt washed over Aludra's features and for a moment she did nearly stand away from the pup. 'Am I being selfish? I must help them both,' and instantly her mind flipped. Overdrive began running, attempting to construct a plan in which both could get what they needed. After all, her body was merely weary - she could push herself onward. The others were the ones who truly needed caring for, the shaman shook her head slightly. Worry consuming her entirety. "I am sorry to disturb you, Averice is starving, I should have looked for food." The shaman felt like a poor medic, it seemed everyone around her needed help and she was doing nothing. Merely sitting back and having them do everything, Aludra had a wave of sorrow hit her. 'Does Toiro feel this way?' certainly he did not. She ruffled her pelt a bit, attempting to clear her mind before she upset herself too much.
Her features expressed her current state of mind, even with the female struggling to mask it. There was little she could do right now, simply wait for Cherie to either wake up or explain her ailment. Then they could move forward, the shaman trusted the hunter not to lie to her - even if it meant that Aludra had to go get food and care for both of them. She happily would do so, if it meant that the others would be healthy and happy. Her own tired body was making it a struggle to sort things out. Flashes of memories were drawing themselves upon her skull, confusing the female slightly. The panic and emotions swimming throughout her blood stream had not made this situation much easier. 'As long as they are okay, I will be happy.'
Last Edit: Jan 15, 2013 19:55:15 GMT -5 by Deleted
Averice would not have noticed that someone else was around had the new, strange wolf not spoken. Even so, the small wolf let out a scream of terror, shrinking back into Aludra's soft coat as she sobbed once more, startled by the appearance of the other larger wolf. This one was not white and soft and pretty like her savior. This was was much different, and according to Aludra, her name was Cherie. Once the small puff ball settled down some, she skittishly poked her nose toward the new wolf, sniffing twice before being satisfied that she would not eat her. After all, at this point it would be more work to try to pick the meat off Averice's bones that it would be to catch a rabbit. There was so little left of the wolf that she was withering away into nothingness.
Big, green eyes stared up at Cherie, filled with wonder that Aludra could possibly ask her to go get food. No one would do that for her, would they? She was just a scraggly, mangy mutt that had no business being here. That was what the jackals and coyotes had snapped at her as she fled her way through the desert. They thought that she was useless, and chances were that she was. She did not know how to hunt or fight. She could do nothing to contribute and help these two. While Averice was starting to understand that there was more than just Aludra here, she could not fully fathom that she had found her way into the territory of a full-fledged pack that could offer her safety if they had it in their hearts not to turn her back out into the snow.
The pup's cries softened to sniffles and the occasional falling tear as she pressed her way back into the warmth of Aludra's coat. She was the only one that Averice trusted. Aludra had pulled her away from a certain death and given her hope, however small that hope may be. She was alive, and Aludra was the reason why. When she mentioned that she should have looked for food, the Mongollon Mountain female felt a fresh wail rise in her throat, though this was much more strangled and painful than her cries of emotion. This was one of pure terror of being left alone. Aludra could not walk off and leave her with this wolf. She would take off into the snow again. She would follow Aludra, regardless of how little her body wanted to respond to even the most basic commands. She could not let the older wolf walk away from her or get out of her sight. Nothing could possibly hurt the small wolf more than Aludra leaving her.
"No... no no no no no!" she wailed, clinging to Aludra as if she would never see her again. "Please don't leave me! I promise I'll be good, just don't leave me!" The pathetic cries echoed against the walls, meeting Averice's ears once more and working her into an almost self-injuring frenzy. She could not regulate her breathing that continued to hasten with each passing second, and the small wolf hyperventilated. The last thing she saw was the white of Aludra's fur moving away from her, though she did not know that the movement was not from the larger wolf moving away, but rather from her fainting and falling to the floor to lay limp. Her body twitched aimlessly, giving the indication that she was still alive, yet not near in the condition to awaken. The involuntary muscle spasms ceased, and the young wolf laid stoically on the den floors, unable to move or speak as she laid in oxygen-lacking stupor.
The cry of the small pup caused Cherie to let out her own childlike reaction. Her ears flattened against her skull as she stepped back, whimper leaving her maw and head dropping in shame. Had she done something wrong? Her mind was too tired to want to be rational and her tail tucked between her legs. All she wanted was to know what was wrong. Somehow that translated into scaring a puppy which was the last thing in the world she wanted. The Apennine was a friendly, likable femme and she quite enjoyed children. There was nothing scary about her, especially when such a sudden, panicked cry had managed to scare her too.
"Is she okay?" Orange eyes peeked at Aludra as once again things settled. Her tail and ears remained submissive, not wanting to appear as some sort of threat. She didn't want to give poor Averice any more reasons to emit such an awful cry. In truth, she found the unfamiliar bundle of white fur kind of intriguing. If the pup had been in a better mood Cherie probably would have tried to play. Instead her sleepy mind was commanding her to cause as little additional trouble as possible so she focused on her friend.
"I'm fi-ine," she yawned again again shook herself, keeping herself a respectable distance away. "Just sleepy. It's cold out there." This time she managed to quirk a smile, letting her tail wag a little more. Once she got herself a good night's sleep she would be good as new. Well, mostly good as new. The cold weather and over exertion was making her chest feel a bit tight. Maybe later she'd ask Aludra if she had anything to help her with her breathing, but right now there were more important things to attend to.
Now that she was a little more alert (and once again startled by the pup's violent cry), Cherie managed to force her brain into active mode. Her head shook back and forth, reassuring the two white femmes that they didn't have to worry about hunting. It was her job and she was darn good at it. Taking Averice back to the dens was the smartest thing Aludra could have done. "You don't have to do that. We've got food here." Another whine escaped her, hoping her words would soothe some of the pup's protests.
Slowly but surely the brown colored femme backed away from the others. She tried to keep herself as nonthreatening as possible before finally turning and disappearing in the direction of the prey pile. Moments later she was returning with the rabbit, cautious in her approach as she set it down in front of the pair and nudged it forwards with her nose. "There's a little more than this, but I'm afraid it hasn't been a very productive day." Unfortunately, it wasn't until she pulled back that she realized Averice had fallen limply to the ground. Her ears pulled back further and another panicked whimper left her maw. "What happened, Aludra?"
The wails from Averice certainly were unpleasant to the ears, that was for sure. Regardless, Aludra proceeded to snuggle the puppy close to her. She hoped that this young one could be saved, it was obvious that there were many things Averice had lacked. The shaman's mind was racing in an attempt to calculate everything that needed to be done. A gentle nuzzle was offered, "She won't hurt you, I promise." Her words were sincere, Aludra trusted Cherie and knew the huntress quite well. Cherie was more likely to frolic and play with the puppy than ever harm her. If the Arctic had been worried in the slightest about a pack member harming Averice - she simply would not have howled. Aludra would have saved the pup by herself, it was quite beneficial to have some aid though.
Aludra's tail thumped against the ground a few times, "I am sorry to have woke you up." A shy, green gaze was cast back to the Apennine femme. "And she will be okay, she's just malnourished and hungry. Right now food and hydration are what she needs the most. Once she is stabilized, we can go from there." The female bit her lip slightly in order to prevent herself from rambling on. It was not often that one inquired about her profession, when they did her mouth simply did not stop spewing words. The shaman was proud to have the ability to assist the others of Airila, especially when it came to their health. "If you're cold then you can come join us," a slight giggle parted ways with her muzzle. It simply made sense, Aludra was the only one in great shape of the three when it came to preparation for the winter weather. Her breed simply had thicker coats than Cherie's and poor Averice was simply too weak to survive freezing weather.
Cherie wandered off to go fetch a meal for the small pup and Aludra was thankful that her friend was such a Savior. It certainly would have taken her quite some time to find and slaughter something, a smile pecked her lips at the thought of her darling friend. The shaman could remember the moment they met, even then the Apennine creature brought a wag to her tail. Airila was certainly filled with the best wolves - Aludra was convinced of that. She could not imagine that another pack would be so welcoming towards everyone.
Another scream rang out from the pup and Aludra's attention instantly switched away from Cherie. "I won't leave, darling, I won't leave. It's okay I'll stay right here," Aludra attempted to soothe the stressed out pup - but it was too late. Her hyperventilating had become too severe for Averice to merely just stop. Instinctively, Aludra pulled the puppy closer to herself. For once, her timing was not excessively off; the shaman managed to prevent poor Averice's head from bouncing off of the rough ground of the dens. A whine escaped the ivory female's maw this time, one of extreme worry. If Averice had lost consciousness simply because of her hyperventilating, then everything should be okay. 'What if I was too late?' although tears wanted to swell up within her emerald orbs, she resisted. Gently, she pushed the pup back from her a little bit, hoping that the canine would be able to regain some rhythm to her breathing. Orbs turned and darted across her stash of herbs, there was nothing she could do with those right now.
Audits quivered as she noticed the approach of Cherie, "Thank you friend." Her words were nearly silent, for her own worry was overwhelming. Hopefully, Averice would awaken soon and be delighted at the meal before her. Aludra sent another troubled gaze towards the pup before scooting herself closer to the puppy. She ensured that Averice was laying comfortable upon her side - that she should be able to breathe easily without potentially swallowing her tongue. Gently the older white canine nudged the younger one, "Averice, darling?" Waiting was becoming the hardest part of the pup's unconscious state, the medic could not do too much. The thought passed her mind to being the pup to water, she would do so only if this non-responsive state lasted much longer.
"She was hyperventilating, Cherie. The poor baby got all worked up and the lack of air made her pass out," another soft whine left Aludra's muzzle as he shifted her gaze between the two females. "If she does not wake up soon I will really begin to worry," Aludra's words were spoken with the utmost concern. Taking in Averice had awoken a motherly nature that the shaman hardly knew existed. The thought of having puppies of her own had always been something she enjoyed. Never had she imagined that merely taking one in would instantly ignite a love for it within her heart.
Last Edit: Jan 29, 2013 13:05:04 GMT -5 by Deleted
Gentle nudges gradually stirred the young female from her stupor, and she opened her eyes slightly to catch sight of the unfamiliar female, Cherie, directly in front of her. Along with the strange wolf, there was a rabbit; it was more than she had eaten in many months, and the mere sight of it caused Averice to salivate uncontrollably, her eyes wary of moving because she was not sure that the food was for her. Surely they would not mind if she just took a little bite, though, right?
With her inner conflict settled, Averice hungrily lunged at the small creature, devouring it with such fervor that anyone watching would likely be appalled. There was no room to be picky as she tore the cooled flesh from the rabbit's bones, first devouring the meaty muscles and then consuming the organs mere seconds later. While it was not a large quantity of food, the rabbit alone was enough to make Averice feel bloated; her stomach must have shrunk from being empty for such a long period of time. Embarrassment settled over the female as she glanced back at Aludra, unsure if she had done something wrong or if she was okay. The last thing she wanted was to anger this new wolf or give them a reason to turn her back out in the snow. Of course, with her behavior, she would not be surprised if they did. She had no manners with that rabbit; what if Cherie had brought the rabbit for Aludra to eat and she had just stolen her savior's dinner? The young mongollon female's ears flattened against her head in distress, staring into the equally green eyes of the larger wolf.
"I'm sorry if I ate your dinner," she whimpered softly, dropping her head in shame. "If... if I knew how to hunt I would get you another one. I... I just was so hungry..." she trailed off, her justification feeling insufficient for the situation. Food had always been scarce in her birth pack, and she had heartlessly consumed what could have been their only piece of food without a thought. It was a horrible misdeed to take food away from someone more deserving, and with her lack of ability to replace the food, she was appalled at her behavior. "I'm so sorry," she whined again, her tail tucked neatly between her legs as she looked between the two females.
How was she supposed to realize that they were doing everything possible to make her feel welcome? Averice was so enclosed in her own little world that it was taking quite the work to pry the doors open once again. She felt kicked from side to side by fate. There was little for her to be happy about in the world at the moment, but she wanted to try. She wanted to be happy once again and be productive and able to help others. She just felt so useless and like she was a burden on these two. Cherie had hardly even met her, and Averice had snatched her food away like a savage. How did that make her any better than the jungle tigers that had consumed her family?
A single tear trailed down the yearling's cheek, but this time no sound came. It was a heartbreaking realization that she was no better than those murderous animals. All she wanted was to be good and make Aludra realize that it had not been a mistake to save her. She had to prove herself somehow, but she was useless to them. All she could possibly be was a burden; a starved, helpless, pointless burden.
