Well, she didn't know where the hell she was. But did that matter anymore? It was better than the tar pits, that was for sure. She had been alone for so long and had slowly learned how to hunt, but not well. She still sucked at it. And she was probably the worst hunter ever. She still mostly survived on leftovers and carrion, but she didn't quite care at this point anymore. The volcanic eruption had made prey even harder to find the last few seasons, but at least there had been plenty of carrion around which helped her gain a little weight so at least she wasn't emaciated anymore. She couldn't remember when she last had fresh food, if ever. At least not since her mother abandoned her. The skeletal marked girl moved among the roots of the trees, her haphazard gait making her not so quiet as usual as she ventured deeper into the woods.

mortis fatalis

Mortis was making his way through the mangroves, pouncing on twigs and imagining himself a mighty hunter or warrior. Those were the two things he wanted to be. He was enjoying hunting, if only because it was Asla who had been taking him on that experience, and he wanted to be an epic fighter. His family seemed to like strength, and he didn’t want to let them down.

He was peeking around a corner, when he caught sight of a thin little slip of a girl, with markings like rib cages along her chest. She didn’t look too happy, and Mortis couldn’t fathom why. “Oh hi!” he said, tail giving a little wiggle behind him.

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Her mind wasn't quite there as she trekked around the trees in these parts. She had never really been outside of the tar pits until recently, and she thought it was crazy how much more of the world there was to see. Not that she was really seeing the world. She was more interested in trying to find her next meal. She was always trying to find her next meal. She couldn't remember when she had had a fresh meal if ever, but carrion didn't taste too bad at this point. If it kept her alive, then it was good enough for her. Sapphire gaze searched the undergrowth for some sort of sign that something had died around here, but with the lack of the smell of death, she doubted there was anything dead to eat around here.

She wasn't fully in tune with her surroundings because the voice that sounded nearby caused her to nearly jump out of her skin. Her hackles rose as she spun around, and if the wild look in her eyes wasn't enough to show she had been surprised, she took a step forward but stopped and didn't go any further. "Who're you!? Don't sneak up on me like that! I could bite your face for that you know!" She warned, not realizing the other wolf was a kid. But then again, she didn't really have a concept of that considering she had been completely unsocialized these days.

mortis fatalis

The wolf startled turning towards him in anger and raised fur like some sort of hell-cat. He blinked at her, but didn’t say anything well she had her angry rant. She didn’t look very happy - he had suspected very much, and it seemed he was right. She definitely looked skinny, now that he was getting a better look at her. Mort was plump with puppy-fat that all his exercise and play never seemed to really wear off.

“Why would you do that?” he asked, genuinely curious, and a little bit surprised. There was no fear in him, his upbringing so far had been a little bit sheltered, so he didn’t know to fear strangers that snapped at you in the woods.

Instead, he let his wings droop just a tiny bit, so he didn’t look threatening and bigger - worried that maybe he was starling the poor hungry wolf. “I’m Mortis!” he said, still not showing the least bit of concern, or reservations with the angry wolf.

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"Why would you do that?" Her head shook in surprise, but also not really surprise. It was her usual tic as she blinked rapidly at the question, also one of her weird tics. "Because! You don't know me, and like I said I could bite your face off!" She didn't question herself on whether she really would or not. It was entirely possible she could if she really wanted to, but she had never attacked anyone. Had she been attacked? Yes. Rogue wolves who were just as hungry had chased her from her meals several times over. Probably more times than she could count. She licked her lips almost hungrily as she stared at him, unblinking as he stated his name. Then she noticed the wings. What the hell?? Was he some kind of weird bird she had never seen before!? She had never seen dead birds (or live ones) that looked like that, and she questioned if he was actually a wolf, or perhaps her next meal...

"Are you a bird? You look like one. You have wings, so is Mortis the kind of bird you are?" Her belly rumbled the more she spoke, and she slowly started to approach him in her usual uneven gait. "Medusa is hungry, are you food? You look like food if you have wings, " She stated as she continued her approach. Was she really going to eat him? Probably not. But she didn't know any better at this point. All she knew was hunger. Socializing wasn't really her strong suit.

The wolf before him seemed to be spazzing out a little, and the pup wondered if she was okay. Maybe he should be taking her to Auntie Io to get checked out or something… she seemed to twitch and blink a lot. Mortis had never met a wolf quite like her before.

“I’m not a bird, silly. I’m a wolf! Mumma said birds have hollow wings, and wolves don’t, and that's why I can’t fly” he explained, babbling easily as though he and this stranger were already friends. “I’m not food, but I can help you hunt if you like? Or, I can sneak some food off my packs kill pile, I’m sure da won’t mind” his friendly babbling would continue. This wolf did look kinda skinny, maybe that's why she was acting so weird. She just needed a good meal and some comfort. The pup was happy to provide!

She didn't really understand all of what this Mortis creature was saying. Hollow bones? In her mind, bones weren't hollow until she cracked them open and ate the marrow inside. He didn't shy away from her, though considering she didn't know boundaries she saw it as a good thing because...easy meal when prey didn't run away right? "I’m not food, but I can help you hunt if you like? Or, I can sneak some food off my packs kill pile, I’m sure da won’t mind” At the word and mention of food, her rump instantly dropped to the ground as she cocked her head to the side. Her eyes grew wide and almost puppy like as her ears stood forward. "Food?" He said he wasn't food. So then if he wasn't food, she supposed she couldn't try to hunt him then. He said he wasn't a bird and that he was a wolf...but she hadn't been around too many wolves before, but this not-bird-wolf said he could help her get food! "Okay, Medusa won't eat not-bird-wolf then." She stated matter of factly. Her tail began to lightly beat the ground as her stomach continued to rumble. She didn't know what the heck a pack was, but a kill pile sounded like it had tons of food. "You have food, Medusa is hungry. We go get the food?" She was a poor hunter, so while she didn't completely understand everything, she did understand she wasn't good at hunting since she'd never been taught.

Well! That changed her demeanor. She stopped looking like she wanted to take a bite out of him, and looked at him instead with a sort of puppy appreciation. He grinned back at her, friendly and excited.

Mortis wasn’t a great hunter himself, and trying to catch something was probably the kind of thing that would take a while. Pinching from the kill pile would be far more efficient. He was… pretty sure his father wouldn’t mind.

“Okay, follow me, but only to the borders okay? If my father catches you on the border he might eat you ” the boy warned, a very slight seriousness to him, before it gave way to grins and tail wags again. “Come on!” he directed, and began to bound back in the direction of home. He had explored these woods often enough that he didn’t get lost easily, so it was no issue to lead the way back to the Armada.

If she had any concept of anything, she'd think this boy was nice. After all, he was taking her to food! She hadn't had a fresh meal in weeks and her stomach rumbled and mouth drooled at the prospect of eating something other than rotting meat. “Okay, follow me, but only to the borders okay? If my father catches you on the border he might eat you ” She nodded, even though she didn't quite understand what he meant exactly. Borders? She had no clue what that was. "He can't eat Medusa, Medusa's gonna eat the food first!" She quipped as she got up and followed hurriedly after the winged boy. With each step she could feel her ravenous appetite driving her forward, sapphire eyes stuck on the boy ahead of her, not willing to take her eyes off him in case he suddenly disappeared. If she had to guess, he was some sort of angel sent to her as he led her to real food. "Are we there yet? Medusa's hungry!" She stated the obvious, the girl much too eager to start digging into something fresh. She didn't know where this so called "kill pile" was or where this "pack" hid it, but she just wanted to find it and eat!

She had no clue what these things were, obviously, but it seemed the closer they got to the borders, she began to smell many foreign scents. All mingled together into a more solid scent of course, and she could pick out the scents of many wolves. She stopped in her tracks as her head tilted from side to side like a curious puppy, her gaze fixed ahead still as her nostrils flared. "What's that? Do they all have the food? Medusa can smell lots and lots of wolves," She frowned, brows furrowing as she concentrated. Was she gonna have to fight for her food again just so she could eat? Too many times rogues had chased her away from a kill she tried to steal or even chased off from the unfortunate animals that died of other causes. Out here, she was never the only one looking for an easy meal, but she hoped this one would be easy.

He cast an occasional glance back to Medusa. He wasn’t sure why exactly, maybe he expected her to have vanished in one head turn, or perhaps he expected to find her chewing on his rump while he walked. He had never met a wolf like her before. She seemed so… confused, and her words were direct in such a strange way. He didn’t know what to think of her, he just hoped Sirius didn’t catch him pinching off the kill pile.

“Yes,” Mortis agreed as they got to the border. “Lots and lots of food, and if they catch you, Medusa wont get any food. So you need to stay here and stay hidden, and i’ll come back with food, okay?” he said, shooting her a serious expression. He had no idea if his words would stick, so he took a careful step forward, watching to see if she remained where he told her to.