It was starting to get cold, Strychnine could feel the weather starting to change. Her coat was growing thicker and heavier than it was before and she knew that the entire pack was running out of time. They were still on the move, finding safe spots to sleep when they were tired but they hadn’t had much luck lately. She had went on a few hunts and she had only found small prey or things that were still contaminated. She had learned the smell of tainted meat, she was the best hunter in the pack and she had really screwed up, the female knew she was mostly responsible for bringing the tainted meat home and killing many wolves in the pack. She felt the worst about the puppies, she was soft when it came to children but only when no one could see her. The small shewolf stretched, her bones cracking and stiff. This trip was starting to really take a toll on her. Something had to be done, she had to find something…. Her stomach growled as she thought about what she was planning on doing.
Strychnos never let her leave alone but she had something to prove right now. She couldn’t let him get in her way and as of late that’s all he did. She had scoped out the territory of the wolves she slayed, her own flesh and blood but they meant absolutely nothing to her. She did it to prove her worth to her alpha, to tie up loose ends that tied her brother and herself to something else. This way all they had was the pack and her god damn brother wasn’t even grateful for what she had done. Shaking her head, her big ears flopped against her head as she huffed out. How was she letting her mind wander so far off of her goal?
Clearing her throat she picked up her Ice blue eyes, looking around at the other wolves in the den. She had to find food, absolutely had to. She took silent steps as she exited the den and headed out into the forest around her. Nose in the air she inhaled any possible scent she could find. She could smell trees, the river flowing not far from them, moss and dirt and mud. She could feel the chill in the air of winter starting to set in but she couldn’t smell any sort of prey animal. She cursed to herself, tilting her head down, her nose to the ground she began to try and find any small tiny indication that prey could have come by here. A rabbit, a deer, a squirrel, hell she’d even take a small rat if she could find anything at all. The smell of food never found her nostrils. It caused a small irratated growl to rise from her throat as she took one more glance around.
”North… I’m going north…. “ But what if that was a mistake, what if she didn’t find more food, the questions weighed heavy on her mind as she moved through the forest, nose to the ground trying to find any trace of a scent. She wanted nothing more than to just catch something clean, internally the female knew that since she was the one killing the contaminated animals, she had probably gotten the sickness herself. What if she was next to die, maybe that’s why her young bones hurt the way that they did. She picked up her feet a little more, she was running out of time. She knew it. The female couldn’t let these thoughts cloud her mind or her judgement and she was starting to let them.
The female finally caught something, a small sniff of something that made her mouth water for a second. Stopping dead in her tracks, she almost didn’t know what to do with herself just just yet. “Nine.” She hissed at herself as she let her eyes slide around, her nose smelling the air, trying to make sure no one was watching her at the moment, she had to stay safe. If she died before she found hunting grounds for the pack to live off she was nothing more than the reason the entire pack died. She let out a heavy breath. “Trust thought and memory.” She repeated the montra that Vervain had said to her more than once, another heavy exhale as she collected herself. ”trust thought and memory!” Her nose found the dirt once again, smelling around trying to find that small scent she had caught just moments ago.
Nothing, yet again nothing. The she wolf was getting so fed up with the way that things were going with hunting lately it was starting to make her blood boil. Most of the pack wasn’t sure if her new found anger was from lack of food or lack of success and honestly both were weighing the female's heart down so much she was losing touch with herself. Her feet kept moving forward, ears swiveling to pick up any sounds that may have been happening around her, her eyes scanning every now and again to make sure no one was stalking her. Nightshade had taught her better than to let someone sneak up on her.
She was so driven to find food that at this point she refused to stop until she did so, she wanted the pack to trust her again. She felt that since she was probably the cause of the death in the pack, they didn’t trust her in the least. The female kept moving, her legs moving slowly, keeping a decent pace as she moved. Her mind wasn’t wandering as it had been now, she was focused. If the pack died because she didn’t find food she failed either way. It felt like she had been walking forever, the sun had risen and gotten high in the sky, her fur warm under the pelt she wore as a trophy. She could tell she had been hunting for a while now with no luck. At least a few hours, her brother was probably looking for her now. Looking up she saw the river running not too far away from her, She would make it harder for Strychnos or anyone else to find her, wading across the river and coming out on the other side. She still had her nose to the ground, still looking for food.
Once again she caught this small hint of some sort of food, but it was tainted. She could smell the death on whatever animal it was that had been through this area and she cursed again, a low growl starting in her throat once again she was getting so angry she couldn’t find much of anything. Looking around she paid attention to landmarks, keeping herself from getting lost as she went the opposite way she had smelt the disgusting dying prey.
Once again she kept moving, she was on such a mission that she would die before she returned empty handed once again to the pack. It had been hours since the last time she had smelt any kind of food. She was getting so flustered she was debating on just finding a hole in the next forest she found, she would just lay down and die to not return humiliated. The small female huffed out and let out a disgruntled, irritated, upset noise from somewhere deep within her.
That was it, she was done. She was leaving the pack and she would die alone, hopefully her idiot brother would just let her die in peace, let her pass on without putting the pack in anymore trouble than she already had. Sticking her nose into the long grass again she began to move, her nose trying to pick up any little bit of smell that it could.
She had almost missed it, almost passed over the smell of a rabbit, the tracks were fresh and still pungent. So much so that it forced face up and she had almost forgotten what it was. But the smell filled her lungs and slapped her in the face like a freight train. Those blue eyes widened, picking her head up and looking around the grass, it moved ever so much, Nine was on it. Moving as fast as he small legs could carry her, being as silent as she could be as she tracked the rabbit as it raced through the grass, it hadn’t caught wind of her, stopping to much on some random leaf she jumped out of her spot and killed the rabbit with the ability only she had. The brown rabbit pelt stained deep red with the blood as it hung from her mouth listlessly. She was almost smiling around the catch, grinning from ear to ear.
She tossed the lifeless carcass onto the ground before she began to assault every inch of the dead animal trying to find any little indication of poisoning that may have been in the meat or on the creature but for the first time in a very, very long time. She was so proud of herself, so damn happy that she had completed one task correctly. She wasn’t as worthless as she had once thought she was. Picking up the rabbit she turned to head back towards the pack, she was going to take her kill to them and show off. The female could feel her feet starting to move faster as she headed back, her lungs starting to burn as she ran, she was getting so caught up in what she had done correctly. The female pausing to breathe, short breaths in and out as she tried to catch her breath. The smell of the fresh kill kept flooding her lungs starting to make her even more hungry than she had been before.
The small female finally had made it back to the little den, sliding inside no one was home except Hyacinthe. She dropped the carcass at the older female’s feet. “ Mother… I think I’ve done it…” Her tail wagging so much it blew dust around on the ground. Was she actually happy with herself? Was she starting to realize that maybe she was just as strong as her brother?
She almost pranced around the den as the other inspected the prize she had brought her. She bowed a little bit to the oracle, ” It’s for you… “ If the much older wolf deemed the meat worthy she would surely tell vervain about her good deed of the day. Standing from her bow the female turned to head out of the den and leave the other with the kill. ” Now please excuse me.” And the female exited the den.
She moved out of the den and laid not too far from the entrance, cleaning her fur of blood from the small animal. Still trying to regain her breathing, she just hoped that in catching such a meal the female had done something worthy of some sort of praise. She had been so hungry for so long she didn’t even care if she had to travel to find food again, she was just so proud of herself. The female watched the forest around her, waiting for Vervain to come back. Him and Bloodroot were out doing something and her brother had been patrolling the area like he always would. She didn’t plan on telling anyone that she had caught food, she would just let them figure it out. If Mother deemed it worthy she would surely be praised and they surely wouldn’t be dead. For once she had done something good for the pack.
[WC: 1953]
