Gods Can't Save You Now

Alfrun meandered slowly along the tumbled edge of the wall. Not exploring, no, not here in the north which was as familiar to her as her own paws. No, she wandered simply to be within herself, and to watch the Other World without the inevitable distraction, however welcome it was, of one of her family members appearing. But alas, this was not to be. She had stopped to watch a glowing jewels toned hummingbird zip around her, leaving a gleaming trail of silver to glitter in the air behind it, when a desperate howl drew her attention.

She tilted her head consideringly for a moment. She could simply ignore the sound and the trouble it would undoubtedly bring. It wasn't, after all, her business to care. This was not her home. There was no real call for hospitality and kindness in this case. Yet still... it was perhaps an omen that she was here at this moment.

With a breathy sigh the wraith moved into a more purposeful trot, coming shortly upon a yearling wolf collapsed in his own blood. She studied him with interest for a moment. What unusual green markings he bore beneath his eyes. They did not look like paint - perhaps a dye? But why? The possible reasons intrigued her.

She dabbled the toes of one forepaw in the pooling blood, and brought it up to stare. To her normal sight it was nothing more than ordinary blood, but to her Othersight it seemed to pulse with a strange rhythmic glow. The boy stank of fearscent and despair. Idly she wiped the blood onto his shoulder in a swirling pattern. Well, nothing for it but to save him. She had heard enough stories of the gods appearing in mortal form seeking help that she dare not walk away now.

She tugged regretfully to pull the scrap of deer hide from her back where she had placed it in an attempt to give her slender form some warmth as she wandered. Normally it served as her bedding. It would be ruined now. A pity. She would have to trade for another. She carefully pressed the deerskin against the wound, sealing it to soak up the blood and allow her to put pressure to stop the bleeding. She would have to find some way to move him to the redwoods if she was going to do more to stop the bleeding. She didn't carry anything with her to dress the wound. It was a long way to drag a weight of any sort, though, and likely impossible given their relative sizes. Well, the boy would just have to be able to walk on his own, and that was that. If he didn't wake, well... she would ford that river when she came to it.