beat and broken

It was a very rare occasion for Chrystelle to leave the pack's lands, especially these days as the harshest weather continued to rage in the northern parts of Boreas. She wondered if the rest of the continent was having the same issues they were, but it was hard to imagine these bitterly cold temperatures anywhere else. The only reason she risked leaving the ship was the fact that at least the snow storms had calmed down today and the clouds had parted for a moment, letting the sun shine through. It made for some blinding conditions out in the snow, but it was better than fighting the wind.

The very slim hope of finding some boneset brought her out to The Wall. After some digging around in the snow within the pack's lands she had managed to find a few herbs that had nearly frozen in the sudden drop in temperatures so they weren't in great shape, but they were at least salvageable. She had been able to bring them back to the ship, warm them up, and finish drying them so they could be added to her stores. She remembered that boneset in particular would sometimes grow around the crumbling rocks of The Wall so it felt worth the trip out to the location to search for the useful herb while the weather was slightly more mild.

However, before she could begin her search, a familiar scent mingled with the smell of blood caught her attention and her worried amber gaze lifted from the snow and started frantically searching for her brother. With her herb search abandoned she started trotting through the snow until she spotted his large, dark form slowly limping across the empty plane. Her ears fell back against her head with worry and she picked up her pace to run toward Océan, fighting against the drifts of snow as she went. "Océan..." she whined as she reached him, immediately beginning to carefully comb through his tattered coat to get a better look at the wounds she could see all over him.

Guilt squeezed her chest as she checked him. She had been distant from her siblings since their mother's death - as most of them had been - but now she realized she should have at least been wondering where they had been. She didn't ask him if he was okay because it was very clear he was not and it would have been a silly question to ask. "We need to get you home," she commented as she came up along side him, hoping to help give him someone to lean on if he needed it. "What happened?" she asked as they walked, her concerned gaze searching his face.

"Chrystelle"