Laek's Last Trek

'We have to run.' Her father had said to the pack. 'It's all we can do.'
'But no! What will happen then?!' She had whimpered at the news, echoed by the responses of her pack mates.
'Laek, we have to! The humans will make breakfast of us if we don't!'
'We need to keep trying!'
'You have no say, you are not alpha yet!' Her father had said in such an evil voice, Laek stepped back and looked at her father in horror. And so she began to run. 'Get her!' He had cried out, and the pack turned into savages in that moment alone. They were close behind, but her speed gave her the advantage.
The next thing she knew, she was running up the mountain straight off the cliff into the rushing rapids. The savages slid to a stop at the top and looked down at her with no concern in their eyes.

The Eurasian wolf awoke with a start in her makeshift den. Quickly raising her head, she looked around. She was in her den and not in the old valley, where her dream had taken place. Lying on her side, she slowly placed her muzzle back on the ground. The real moment her pack had fled the land was nothing like that, but she couldn't help but have nightmares. Breathing slowly, she caught up to reality.
She was still in the mountains, it'd been about a moon since her last encounter with a full, healthy mountain pack. Maybe today will be good. She thought quickly in her head while she crawled out of her den. It was morning at the moment and the wolf was starving.
After stretching, she lifted her muzzle into the air and gave a few good sniffs. The scent of a fresh kill had reached her nostrils. Quickly, she debated whether or not to check it out. She decided that she should and followed the scent.

Soon enough, she reached the carcass of a small mountain goat. It could have been a baby, but it was there, dead and untouched save for the bites that had killed it. Looking around cautiously, she slowly approached it. Nothing.
She sniffed it, and it smelled alright enough. Taking the first bite, she concluded that it was safe to eat, and began to eat some more, savouring the taste bit by bit.
All of a sudden, mid-bite, Laek heard a short growl behind her. Turning around, she spotted a pair of cougars watching their kill get eaten. She was smart enough to know that she wasn't wanted here. Finishing her bite, she decided to stand her ground, while quickly evaluating the scene in her head.
The cougars were at a close distance when they began their charge. Just before they reached her, Laek quickly dived to the side and ran for the one exit out of the clearing. The cougars left her to run and didn't give the chase, but she still ran.
----
Laek had spent a large portion of the day walking through the mountains, her long legs and large amount of stamina bringing her to the more dangerous parts of the lands. The rest of the day was spent bringing herself through the treacherous landscape, dealing with near death experiences with the local lynx, and the local cougars.

The day brought her to the base of the mountain quicker than she thought. But she wasn't quite there yet. There was one cliff she was climbing, when she slipped and slid with a small yelp. When she stopped sliding, she gave small whimpers at the pain in her left foreleg caused by the crash landing. She was hurt, and she had no clue where she was.

Blitz was on patrol, once again, and nearing the Mountains. He never expected to see anyone here, but today he was surprised by a sharp yelp. He could see nothing as he headed towards the sound, but her scent filled his nostrils almost instantly. Soon a whimper had him speeding up his pace, skidding to a stop on the ledge right above where she was now laying. His ears perked as he looked down at her, making sure there were no life-threatening injuries before he carefully slid down the ledge, coming to a stop beside her.

"Are you alright?"

He asked, ignoring the fact that she was a complete stranger and carefully examining her body, looking for injuries. When he nudged her front left leg, it became obvious that she was indeed hurt. He sighed, looking around for a moment and thinking. What to do?

"I'm sorry about this."

He said, and lowered his muzzle to her neck. He then took her scruff into his jaws, carefully and slowly dragging her up the side of the ledge to the soft grass at the top. There were too many rocks and stones for her to jam her leg on or injure herself more down there. So he needed to get her to flat ground that was soft and slightly comfortable so he could help her.

In the midst of her whimpers of pain, another wolf appeared at the top of the ledge that she had just fallen from. A large Arctic wolf, from what she could see. She silenced herself as he came down the slope and tapped her pained leg.
"Sort of." Laek quickly answered with a yelp at the other wolf apologized and then grabbed her scruff and dragged her up the slope.

Once they arrived on flat ground, the wolf adjusted herself to be more comfortable on the dirt. She rolled around to her right side so she was not laying on the hurt leg. She took a look, and the leg looked perfectly fine. It was just the immense pain that came with it. Laek then looked at the wolf who had carried her up. He was larger up close, and had the air of authority. Maybe she had gotten herself into pack grounds. She wasn't completely sure if that was good or bad.

"Thank you very much." She said as she tried her best to stand to greet the male, her leg caused her to collapse back on the ground, Have I intruded land? She added as politely as she could.

Blitz smiled as she seemed to have just a sprained paw. As she tried to stand, he frowned, wishing she would remain laying down. He didn't want her to get injured further. Finally she spoke, and he smiled slightly, shaking his head a bit before speaking.

"No, I have dragged you onto pack lands. I don't believe that's considered intruding. Welcome to Silverlight. I'm Blitzen, Alpha male."

He said, sitting down and smiling at her. There was no rush to get the patrol done, and he knew Inferno would take care of things back at the dens. So he watched her curiously, seeing the exhaustion written all over her face. The large male was typically what one would call a 'gentle giant' and he silently made a decision. There was no way he was going to let her leave the safety of the pack lands with that injured paw, she'd never survive.

Laek was slightly surprised when she learned that the male in front of her was the Alpha, but she also wasn't surprised. And when he didn't speak to her with anger, or aggression, she let her head fall back onto the ground, almost sure she was safe. Then she looked up, realizing the Alpha had also introduced his name.

"I'm Laek, once part of the proud CrossLands. Pleasure to meet you, Alpha." She introduced, even naming her old lands. Why would you say that, it's been almost four seasons. She scolded herself, there was nothing to associate with the CrossLands any more. Not even herself.

"So Silverlight, this place is called?" She took a quick look around, as much as she could. There was a lot of open land on this side of the mountain, as well as clumps of trees in some space in the distance. She liked the view, and she liked the Alpha. She was slightly hoping she would be welcome here for some time. She really didn't want to return to the mountains any more.

Blitz smiled at her as she spoke. "Welcome to Silverlight, Laek." He said, wagging his tail slightly. Once again, he was determined not to let her leave the packlands in her condition. He looked around for a moment, finally letting his eyes fall back on her face. "I'm sorry, Laek, but I'm afraid my conscience will not allow me to let you leave my lands in your condition. Would you be at all interested in remaining here, at least until your leg heals?" He asked, tilting his head to the side hopefully. From the looks of her, she would also be a great addition to the pack, and he was known for his great judge of character. He hoped he'd agree, for he would hate to have to force her to stay against her will.

Laek looked at Blitzen while he spoke. After he asked a question, she looked around herself again. Well, isn't that just a batch of luck, Laek? She quickly thought to herself, while debating if she wanted to stay. But of course she did!

"I would love to stay! I'll leave when I heal up, that is, if you want me to." She finally answered, lifting her head a little. She then attempted to stand, tripping a little bit. After a moment, she was successful in standing, lifting the injured paw into the air. She lifted her muzzle and took a great sniff. A thousand scents flew through her nose; those of the mountains, that of the Alpha beside her, the distant scent of trees, and the scent of the nearby springs. Her thin tail began to wag slightly as she realized that she'd be with another pack for at least a short time.

"So, Blitz, where is the pack? How big is it? Where are the boundaries?" She quickly shot out at the alpha, not entirely meaning to bombard him with questions. But it was only for her safety really. There had actually been a time where things had gone wrong and she'd led two packs to their doom.

It wasn't the smartest move on her part.

Buck smiled as she spoke, doing his best to help her stand as she struggled to. When she finally managed to get to her feet, he remained beside her, letting her lean against him as he led her into the packlands. He would take her to Molly, the pack healer, so that the white female could give their new resident some relief of her pain as well as prevent the leg from swelling and getting worse. He made sure they moved slow, not wanting her to over-exert herself and make her injury any worse. He had no problem with her staying after she healed, but he would address that when the time arrived. Right now, his main concern was keeping her safe and healthy. When she fired off a bunch of questions, he laughed softly. "Slow down, slow down. There will be plenty of time to answer your questions after you see Molly, our healer. Until then, you need to conserve your energy to get to the pack dens." He said, nudging her shoulder gently and helping her limp towards the center of the pack lands.

After a moment, Laek realized that Blitz had been helping her stand. While she was standing, she slightly leaned against the strong build of the alpha next to her and listened as he spoke. She realized she had said that too quickly, and perhaps too soon. "Alright, alright." She said as she limped to the center of the lands, with the aide of Blitz.

She chose not to say anything else until they arrived at their destination, which she assumed and was also told were the pack dens. The bigger wolf had said that she were to see Molly, the pack healer. Laek slightly wondered how that encounter would end up. It had been quite a while since she had had an encounter with pack wolves, the last time with a mountain pack. But her experience there had not ended well and she was terrified it would happen again. But all taken into consideration, it wasn't her fault, she just hadn't realized it yet.

But Laek was still excited to meet the new pack.

((Molly continued from: https://incendio.rpg-board.net/t53p30-pack-meeting-1#499 ))

Blitz smiled, and after the long trek to the dens, he slowed to a stop and let out a soft howl to call for Molly. He knew the pack healer was there, so he let Laek stop and rest while he waited for the white wolf to appear. He sat beside her, looking around and then back at her. "These are the pack dens. Molly should be somewhere around here. She's been confined to the dens lately because of her condition while the prey was very scarce here. She's been improving lately, but she's still rather thin and weak." He said, explaining the post-starved condition of the pack healer.

Soon enough, Molly appeared, walking slowly since she had just been woken by Blitz's howl. She yawned slightly, blinking against the bright sunlight as moved towards the large white figure. When she got closer, she realized that he wasn't alone. "Oh, hello." She said softly, smiling at Laek and sitting down. "I'm Molly." She said, looking over at the female and tilting her head to the side. There was something wrong. "Oh dear! What happened to you paw!?!" She asked, getting up and moving over to investigate the female's injuries without waiting for her to introduce herself. "Come, come, we need to get you somewhere comfortable." She said softly, nudging the female towards her den and nudging Blitz's shoulder gently.

The pair finished their trek to the pack dens in a long matter of time, and it was spent in silence. When they appeared at their destination, Laek heard the alpha give a soft howl. She took a look around her, and the sight was very simple. Simple dens in a simply wooded area. She liked it.
Then her ears perked up as Blitz explained Molly's condition. Laek was beginning to wonder where this Molly was, when another white wolf walked up to the pair. She was smaller than Blitz and was slightly smaller than Laek herself. Introducing herself as Molly, she went straight to examining Laek's paw.
"I slipped on a small cliff right by the mountain. Took a hard landing, really." Laek answered in reply to the healer's question. Then she was nudged over in the direction of one of the dens, she decided to listen and limped over there.
The eurasian wolf turned around and sat down, waiting for Molly.

Blitz smiled as Molly moved the new wolf towards her den. "If you two are alright, I must join Khalessi and Fallon on the hunt." He said, glancing at Molly for approval before heading off into the trees to catch up with the hunters. With such a small pack, it was required that everyone that could hunted.

Molly nodded at Blitz as he spoke of hunting, and then turned her attention back to Laek. "Come, come, lay down dear. You shouldn't put pressure on that. You can go ahead and lay down out here, the sun will keep you nice and warm until I come back." She said, nudging the female's shouler gently and trotting off into the trees. She figured that Inferno, who was no doubt somewhere nearby, would be cross with her for wandering off, but she needed some herbs to ease Laek's pain and bring the swelling down. Finally she found what she needed, and brought it back to the female, applying it and telling her to chew on some leaves to alleviate her pain a bit. "You're lucky this is just a sprain, love." She said softly, finishing applying the herb to bring down the swelling as she spoke.

Laek listened to the other female wolf and lay down in a spot covered in sunlight. She watched as Molly walked off into the trees. But yet it only just registered to Laek, that Blitz had spoken and then walked away. A hunt he was talking about. With Khalessi and Fallon, who Laek assumed were other pack members. Her eyes scanned the area, not seeing many others around.

Maybe this is just a small pack, she quickly thought, Or maybe not. She finished, not wanting to go to assumptions so quickly. Soon enough, Molly returned with some herbs, or at least, Laek thought they were herbs. Molly told her to chew on some leaves as she applied the herbs on the injured paw.

To Laek, it slightly stung, but it was really not surprising. But at least it did make her feel slightly better in the end. Molly had told her that it was only a sprain, and Laek was glad that she wasn't too hurt. It was only a small cliff, and she'd only lost her grip on the climb.

Laek let a short silence pass by before speaking, "Thank you very much, Molly. I do appreciate the help."

Inferno had been wandering through the trees that encircled the den site when Blitz had called to Molly. As the call was for Molly and since Blitz would be there with her, the copper colored wolf continued his small hunting trip. He had been hoping that the abundance of prey would show up nearer the dens now as well, and that hope had proven true. The prey here was pretty scarce, which was to be expected with such close proximity to the dens, but there had been quiet for so long here that a few rodents had ventured out and been collected by the wolf.
He searched about for a while more, silently waiting for the sounds of the creatures' movements, but his hunting in addition to Blitz's howl had scared the clever animals into hiding.

It was just as well, since it was probably time to check and see what was going on over in the dens. He'd been far enough away not to hear, but he could smell the two wolves in the camp - Molly and the one who had come in with Blitz.
Grabbing his kill, the male loped back into the camp and made a beeline to the storage den. He dropped the carcasses and hesitated, turning his head toward the entrance of the den. Inferno had checked out the newcomer and Molly as he'd come, from the opposite direction, to the storage den. They seemed to be getting along well, and that along with Blitz's presence before probably meant this new wolfess was a new pack member? Either way, she was obviously welcomed by Blitz, and from what he could see, she was also obviously hungry. So he picked up one of the hares he had just put down and then headed over to the two wolfesses.

Inferno came up and dropped the rabbit, nodding to the new wolf. "Hey there," he greeted her, sitting down and looking her over. Ah, this was why Blitz needed Molly. "What's your name?"

Molly smiled as the female seemed to relax more once the herbs helped to ease her pain. Her tail wagged as she was thanked, and she nodded slightly. "Don't even mention it. I'm just glad you're feeling better." She said softly, nudging the female's side gently and examining the leg once more before deciding that there was nothing else she could do until it was time to change the covering later. Then the light atmosphere was interrupted when Inferno appeared. Molly refused to acknowledge his presence, that is, other than the fact that her ears pinned back and she grew silent. She said nothing to him, and kept her back to him as she sat by Laek, seemingly examining the back of the den. "Well, I'm going to go get some water. I'll try to bring some back for you as well. But you need to stay off of that leg, hun." She said softly, getting to her feet and getting suddenly dizzy. She spread her legs to steady herself, blinking several times before taking a deep breath and making her way shakily past Inferno. She didn't care if she should stay in the den or not, she didn't want to be in any enclosed space with him, even if it was HER den.

Inferno just kept his eyes on Laek as Molly left, refusing to comment, as a single breath of his in her direction would probably cause her to rip his throat out. Once the white wolf had left, the male looked over his shoulder out the den entrance and flipped back his ears as he watched Molly go. Was she really still /that/ mad at him? He thought she was being completely ridiculous.

Shaking his head slightly and letting out a long, quiet breath, Inferno turned back to Laek and nudged the rabbit again with a paw, hoping Molly's view of him at the moment wouldn't affect this new wolf.

Laek gave a small smile as Molly continued to help her, telling her to stay off the paw and such. They had a nice little moment together, that is, until a new wolf had entered the area. The male dropped a rabbit on the floor and greeted her.

Before Laek could answer, Molly announced that she would leave for water. Watching the two wolves, Laek could slightly tell something was going on but she wasn't about to ask. She was new, she'd find out eventually. She watched Molly leave and looked back to the other wolf. He nudged the rabbit and Laek slowly crawled closer to it. Extending her neck a little, she grabbed the rabbit and looked back to the other wolf for assurance that it was hers to take.

In that quick moment, she also quickly examined him. His pelt was copper and gold, outlined in black. He wasn't too big of a wolf and Laek didn't find him intimidating. At least, from first impressions. After a moment, she spoke, "I'm Laek. And yourself?"

The wolf nodded encouragingly; the food really was meant for her. "I'm Inferno," he introduced himself, "It's nice to meet you, Laek." He really couldn't express how nice it was to meet her. She was a lot less jumpy than Molly, which was a relief, as he'd recently found that nervousness in others made him apparently more aloof than he was. When others were confident and social, he was more likely to be so, and it was just a lot less stressful. Thus more enjoyable. "What brings you here to Silverlight?" he asked, since the little wolfess didn't look like she needed to sleep just yet. Pretty soon, maybe, but until then, it'd be great to get to know her a bit. Molly was off for a while, so why not?

((I think we can just finish this one up - Inferno's just too curious - even they're kind of talking in the past. haha))

((Yeah sure, I'll just get Laek to fall asleep then I'll post over in the combinations board.))

After the other wolf nodded, Laek took a large bite of the rabbit in her paws. Her ears were listening to the other wolf, who she learned is named Inferno. He asked a question a moment later when she had just taken another big bite. She decided to have manners and chew and not speak. She knew she had to have a good first impression and she knew how to deal with other wolves.

"I was travelling in the mountains and happened to end up on what I assume is the edge of the pack lands. I injured myself climbing." She finally said, finishing her meal rather quickly. It was then that she realized that she was exhausted. The mountain trek was very tiring earlier in the day, and Laek gave a long yawn.

"If you could excuse me, Inferno, I'm actually very tired right now. Could I sleep right now?" Laek pushed away the bone remains of the rabbit and laid her head on the ground.

The wolf shrugged and smiled apologetically at Laek, responding, "Of course. I'll just hang around for a bit, if you don't mind, until Molly comes back..." 'If she comes back', he amended in his head. He was a bit tired himself, and a half an hour break was all he needed, and then he'd be able to get going again. Inferno laid down by the wall of the den, and within minutes both he and Laek were asleep.

((Laek continued (and time lapsed) here: https://incendio.rpg-board.net/t58p30-combinations#587 ))