Poor Unfortunate Soul

It was too nice of a day to stay inside, so Fel had gone off to hone her skills. Where better to start than close to the Armada? The silver streaked woman had sniffed around for quite some time, keeping just outside their border. She learned by scent alone that the Warlord and his woman had birthed a new litter. Depending on the pack, puppies could either distract or they could cause a pack to become overprotective, their security heightened. She hadn't run into a single wolf though as she meandered about their border. Pretty odd. With nothing else to really be learned, Fel turned and began to head back home.

The autumn wind pushed an in interesting scent towards Fel, pulling the woman from her path. The rich scent of turned earth, the sweet smell of crushed berries, the acrid smell of rotting meat and the spicy tang of old blood. What a strange melding of scents. It was enough to make her go investigate. Had some healer befallen tragedy? Would she find a dead body? If so, would there be anything to take from said body? Ever the opportunist, if there was a way to benefit, she would so do without hesitation.

As the scent wasn't terribly close, the lithe, silver spattered woman pranced along merrily. The day was quite warm for autumn. The day prior had been frigid. Almost cold enough to bring snow. One never could trust the weather, it seemed. She had been trying to decipher weather patterns as of late. A cold wind blowing mean colder weather coming in soon, right? Today's wind was surprisingly warm and she assumed that it was blowing in from the south. It was warmer in the south. This, she knew. She'd spent quite a bit of time there during her travels. Travels may not have been the right word. During her hunt. Her quest. That hadn't been fruitful, but hopefully today was.

The trees all around were rich with color. Vibrant oranges. Electric yellows. Deep, ruby reds and maroons so dark they were almost black. Fel thoroughly enjoyed the autumn season. The world was so pretty when the leaves were falling. Aside from the prettiness of the leaves, she rather loved the scent of rich, rotting vegetation that piled upon the forest floor. The leaves were dying and rotting away, but they were supplying the soil with rich nutrients that would be needed for the growth of the following spring. If she could bottle the scent, she surely would. Smelling autumn all year long would be a lovely thing indeed. A kick to the olfactory nostalgia.

Though the day was warm, Fel wasn't letting her cold guard down. It didn't mean that the winter would be mild, necessarily. In her experience, when the autumn was warm, the winter would be particularly harsh. That wasn't something that she was ready for. Could she talk Eli into moving to warmer climes for the winter? It would be nice, but he most likely wouldn't listen to a damn thing that she said. Moving was a luxury and he was intent on doing everything the hard way. Abraxas wanted him to suffer and struggle and be strong. That was what she had gotten from her family, anyway. Aureus had been devoted, but he hadn't been as serious as the rest. Fel also wasn't serious. Well, she was when it was necessary, but she didn't take herself too seriously. Life was short, then you died, as Aureus had proved. Death wasn't all that terrible. If they were good little worshipers, they would join Abraxas in the afterlife. No doubt that was where Aureus was right now and she would surely see him again some day. She just knew it.

Dainty limbs swished through the thick swath of leaves that littered the ground. The action brought about a pleasing, hissing sound that Fel appreciated. She was glad for the carpet of leaves. The ground beneath was icy cold. That itself could be the herald of a hard winter. Again, she hoped that it wouldn't be too terrible. They'd deal with enough this past year. The whole of the continent could use a damn break.

Finally, her nose led her to the miasma of scents. Ooo... ouch. Her assumption had been correct. A wolf was laid out flat, obviously dead. It's head had been caved in by a mighty paw. Now that she was here, she could both smell and see the presence of a giant bear. Poor, unfortunate soul. The deceased's belongings were scattered. What use did a stupid bear have for herbs and containers? Moving forward, Fel scooped up anything that was able to be salvaged. She slid the items into the blood spattered satchel that had once belonged to the dead wolf. Well, it was hers now. Fel had a difficult time feeling anything for those that she didn't know, so without a second glance at the corpse, she toted her treasures and headed back for home. Look at her contributing.

WC-839