[PRP] The Terms of Healing (Ashborn x Scent)

[anemosagkelos]

She had seen them through out her life in the swamp. It had been . . .

The first one she had ever seen had been a companion of Heritage and while she hated him with every fiber of her being, she'd been curious about the wolf-dog that she came to learn were called muskwolves. She did not consider them wolves, or as wolf as the wolves that she knew as pets belonging to her mother and later her siblings. The wolves that had come to be her own, much as she loathed it. She was not a wolf and the reminder, it stoked the rage that continually simmered within her.

And maybe they had no desire to be known as wolves either, for they were more elegant and slender. They were taller and furrier and she didn't know if she wanted to be one or if she wanted to befriend one. Only that she wanted to know about them. She had taken to following them, covertly at first and then less so when she found they had either never been afraid of her to begin with or grown used to her company.  Either way they had captivated her and she'd taken today to watch them.

[Anhelisk]

[imgleft]https://matope.pixel-blueberry.com/imag ... uncert.png[/imgleft] It was... uncommon, to say the very least, to see a kin this far north. Uncommon, even, to see any large beasts in these stretches of not-quite-swamp marsh, working on letting go of the last of the squish of the ground to become soft and springy-- the perfect habitat for long, deep grass roots, the sort that could cover a whole landscape with rippling greens.

That life was lost to Scent's family, now-- they were all subject to a strange wasting illness that would take hold only if they tried to leave the swamp his parents had chosen to travel to.

It's not so bad, really, he mused as he watched the small pack that had chosen to settle here, uncomfortably far north but not so far that the ache would set her teeth into his pelt. If they chose to stray further north-- to return to the grasslands where their numbers were greater -- he'd be forced to let them leave, and inform his father of their departure, feeling a failure for something he could not control. The kin down here are kind and gracious, and few hold territories in such a way that it would be unwelcome to traverse through them, or even to hunt or gather there. His ears flicked as something caught in the corner of his eye-- a small handful of the vixens were trotting off, tails up, keenly interested in something that had clearly caught their noses.

[anemosagkelos]

Startling might have been the appropriate word, as more females began to show up. It was far from unpleasant though the precise word escaped her as she took in their high tails and lithe limbs. There was something almost feline about their bodies, that inherent grace that canines often seemed to lack. When she thought of dogs, she thought of playfulness and a wild streak that was only dulled by loyalty. Cats were playful, to be sure, but they were watchers, first and foremost. And right now, the muskies seemed to be intent on watching her the same as she was them.

The quietness was a relief and a curse, however. There was no one to converse with which left her from having to be prodding into talking about who she was or what she came from. Everyone who didn't think her kin, thought her a wolf and she rankled at such an insult. And yet the silence left her mind to wander and roam. She missed her mother and her siblings; she missed the wolves and muskwolf who romped as they ran through the woodland to hunt. She missed home but it was time to build her own. There was nothing left for her there, not now with the wolf still there.

She wondered how many there even were of these creatures as she continued to lose count of all that seemed to have come to investigate the stranger, others leaving after they found her no threat, some deciding to sit out of sight. If she continued this, she might learn who they were but for now they were a weaving traffic of fur pelts. She opened her mouth to speak, then shut it as the wind shifted. Another scent on the wind flooded into her nose and she felt herself stiffen ever so slightly. Ears turned forward, perked to capture every sound that came from in front of her but she waited. It or they would come to her. This was their territory, likely, and not hers. And while there was little chance of a fight, most kin were not so territorial that they would kill another for coming onto their land, she hoped some distance remained between them. Just in case.

[Anhelisk]

"Mmm? What's this now?"

Scent was quick to trot across the field, trying to see what it was that had the pack interested. He relaxed a bit when he saw it was a kin, and not some bit of carrion they'd want to roll in. Still, their presence might not be as welcome or familiar to that stranger than it was to him.

"You don't have to worry, they're friendly, he called out for said stranger's benefit, "But I can call them off if you'd like," the buck called out.

[anemosagkelos]

"They're fine. I like them," Ashborn replied, ears relaxing at the kin's friendly attitude. Perhaps she was a little hesitant nowadays to see and meet other kin. It was no surprise really with how she had been rejected by those that should have loved her forever. The idea of letting new kin into her heart, she sighed. It was unpleasant to say the least.

"Are they yours?" she asked after a moment. It was strange to think of them being owned but many creatures in the swamp were. Many more were not, to be sure, but these muskwolves seemed too friendly to be completely wild. They at least had to leave around kin on a daily basis to be this trusting and kind.

[Anhelisk]

Scent smiled as he approached, watching as the muskies milled about gently, sniffing as politely as a beast could manage as they aquainted themselves with this stranger's smell.

"It would be more accurate to say I'm theirs, or that they're part of the family. I'm Scent," the buck replied, walking over to get a better look at this doe. She had fine features, and familiar ones at that-- a wet-looking nose and ears that reminded him of his parents and clutchmates. "These girlies don't have names, not yet, but they enjoy sticking together, and we like to watch to make sure they're not trying anything that would get them into trouble. This is a strange new land for them."

[anemosagkelos]

"I see," was what she said but it wasn't quite accurate. She never understood what it meant to not own your own pet in the way that this kin, Scent, said it. She may not have wanted to have wolves but the ones that had bonded to her, she owned them. No one, not even a pet, was allowed to own her. That might have been the grief of family loss that plagued her perspective, though. She never wanted another broken heart, not that it could be when it had be so irrevocably shattered. Only pieces remained and she dared not give many, if any at all, out. Not even to pets. Not even to the twins.

"Where do they come from if not here?" she queried with a tilt of her head.

[Anhelisk]

"They live in abundance in the plains," Scent replied, turning his head towards the north. "The ground is different here. In the plains, it's supple and firm, not spongy, and almost never at risk of fouling your steps. You have to watch out for little burrow holes, but that's mostly it.

"Or... that's how I remember it, at least." His smile was one of wistfulness.

[anemosagkelos]

"Oh, I've never been to the plains, only the mountains." And that journey had been less than pleasant. There had been no spongy soil there like here in the swamp nor was the soil she had seen supple; in the mountains there was only hardness. "It was cold and sharp."

But she didn't want to think about mountains, about bloodshed and fury and . . . It was a nightmare that she would rather forget.

"You seem to know a lot about them. Did you come with them from the plains?"

[Anhelisk]

The buck nodded. "Me, my parents, and my siblings-- there's ten of us, split between two clutches. We came south when we were strong enough to start seriously migrating, but we came too far south when the girlies did, and after that, there was no returning." He shook his head a little.

"Just spreading the word of how to take care of these lovely creatures, and learning how to thrive in a new world."

[anemosagkelos]

It was impossible to stop the moment from souring once the mention of family came up, she found, though she tried not to let it show. She nodded her head as the bitterness crept in, "I had fourteen siblings myself, until they all chose my sire to stay." She wouldn't use the term father, not today. He'd never earned that title. "I suppose that's why I like them," she gestured with a dip of head towards the muskwolves, "they don't seem to need any males."

[Anhelisk]

The buck's ears drooped, then went back as he listened to the doe say her piece. "I take it he did something...?" he started, then shook his head. "Regardless. If that's how they reacted, and you felt abandoned, they clearly weren't being the family you needed at that point."

He stared at the muskies for a bit. "It's true, in a way. They don't need a male for most parts of their lives, and though some form lifelong bonds, the females tend to leave after the pups are grown and rejoin their sister-packs." Of course, some didn't need males at all, and yet others chose to substitute the need for a male with forming a particularly close bond with another female.

Idly, he wondered if those flowers he'd heard about would have any effect on animals.

[anemosagkelos]

"He left my mother when she needed him most," she revealed, the sentence forlorn instead of spitting venom as it usually would have been. She hated being reminded of him. She hated being reminded of wolves. She hated so many things. And yet she missed her siblings; she missed her mother. If only he would leave again. He'd proven to be so good at it once before.

"Do they get along with wolves?" she had to ask. As much as she didn't care for the fact they were wolves, they had become hers and it was only right that she think about what was best for them. "I," she sighed, "seemed to have become a favorite of their kind." She tossed her head backwards where two wolves and a spectral wolf emerged.

[Anhelisk]

Scent nodded gravely as the doe shared the cause of her heartache. A mother's pain was certainly difficult to cope with, especially when others who had once shared in that burden seemed to overcome it when one could not.

Scent could relate to that. Of course, the petty pain of losing the ability to wander the plains of his foalhood was nothing compared to the alienation of a father figure souring one's family, but the buck at least knew something of what it was like to see others move on while one couldn't.

Maybe that was why his father had him look over the pack so often.

Maybe it was a way of helping keep him connected to their heritage.

"They tend to get along well with all manner of hound," he started, "And if you find the right ones, you can train them to adopt about anything into their hearts and packs." He watched as the muskies paused to look at him. "Would you like to try to introduce them?"

[anemosagkelos]

Ashborn hesitated before nodding, "Yes, we can try that."

She turned towards her three pets, "Come on, now. All three of you," she gently commanded as the pets came towards her and sniffed the air. "It's fine. We're all friends here."

"They're friends," she told the trio.