The female picked her way through the forest, taking care not to dirty her coat any more than it currently was. She tried to recall what had happened before she'd come here and got little information. She'd blacked out, that much was certain. When she woke, she was lying on her side at the foot of a steep ravine. The possibility that she had fallen was simply a possibility; she couldn't remember being at the top, nor could she remember falling, although her body was aching. Everything of her life before the "fall" was a blank, a deep dark void with no trace of memories. All she was left with was her name. Maren. It was all she knew and she was clinging to that one fact like her life depended on it.



This sense of self-importance was striking. She couldn't remember her old self, she didn't know if she'd always felt this way or if this was a new development in her personality. If this wasn't how I truly was, I would know. It would feel wrong, and this feels normal to me. For a moment, she wondered if anyone had been with her when the thing had happened. If they had been, they weren't anymore. The area was silent when she'd come back to herself. It was still quiet, to some extent. Most of the sound being made was from her, the rest was from the birds and squirrels.



Not knowing was frightening but it also annoyed her. When she tried to think about her past, it was like there was a mental block between her conscious and the memories she was hoping to reach. Another thing that bothered her was the fact that she seemed so tired. Like the dead reanimated, a skeleton in a fur coat. Her eyes burned from fatigue but she would not lay down and sleep, at least for now. She had things to do.



She came to a stop underneath a maple tree, a stream weaving its way around it and its neighbors. Will I recognize myself? she wondered. As she took in her reflection, she was pleased to note that she was still the same as she'd originally thought herself to look. There was a matted area on her left temple, presumably blood. The area was sore, and Maren assumed she'd hit her head on a rock somehow. There were a few other areas that were sore - her hip and her shoulder - but she couldn't bring herself to be interested. The fatigue was getting to her.



Tired, she lay down beneath the maple, resting her head on her paws. There was so much more to think about, so much more to try to understand, but it would have to wait until later. The sore spot on her skull was bothering her less and less. Sleep was taking over, darkening her sight. It would take her under its wings. It would take good care of her.

TAG: anyone! . WORDS: 496 . NOTES: edited for clarity.

Lyric was wandering - not like her brother had, where he disappeared for weeks at a time before finally disappearing for what seemed to be forever. She was exploring, seeing what Alacritia had hidden in its various depths. The girl would always return home after no more than a day or two out and about - but she had only been out on her own for a few hours now. The young female was nearing her first year, and was nearly at her final height. It wouldn't be long now before she was growing into herself and filling out into a pretty adult female. For now, she was a bit of a string bean, a willowy girl with a gentle expression. Her eyes were a swirlled pattern of yellow and blue, yet neither color blended even into a hint of green.

Regardless of her potentially exotic appearance, the yearling carried herself as any wolf would. She didn't consider herself all that interesting, much preferring to see and hear from others than dwell on herself. Traveling the southern regions during the summer was exerting, but she wanted to find someone interesting, and so far her search had turned up with nothing. The girl put her nose to the ground, her tail wagging idly behind her as she searched for another lupine.

What she found instead, was the faint scent of blood.

Hoping that no one had been badly injured, she traveled quietly toward the scent, until her eyes fell onto a russet female that seemed to be sleeping beneath the swaying maple trees. It was hard to tell whether the other was bleeding with her fur that color, but she crept closer, worried about the stranger. "Excuse me miss - are you alright?" The young female asked, standing in front of the woman, but far enough away to give her ample space to turn away or even leave should she not want company. Lyric hoped that she would at least let her examine her if something was wrong - she had watched her mother enough to know a little about healing. Maybe she could be of some use here.

A female's voice woke her and her blue eyes fluttered open, focusing their gaze on the white fea. She lifted her aching head, her ears perked forward to catch any more conversation directed toward her. "Oh, hello. I'm just so tired... and my whole body hurts," she said with a hint of a whine in her voice. "I don't know what happened... maybe I fell." Her voice trailed off into silence, her gaze never wavering from the female before her. The white wolf seemed to be about the same age Maren was. The feeling of tiredness hadn't quite gone away, lingering on her consciousness like a bad dream. Something told her it wouldn't be so easy to get rid of, although she wasn't sure why she felt that way. Taking in the appearance of the other wolf, she was jealous of the female's unique markings.



Maren shifted, wincing as she did so. "I'm sure something's broken, I can feel it. I'm in such pain," she sighed. Honestly, there wasn't much blood at all. Hardly any of her fur was matted, and there were just sore spots along her body where she'd landed on rocks. From another's eyes, she might just look over-dramatic, but Maren would assure them otherwise. She spared a glance at her coat, which was now knotted and stained. A disdainful look twisted her dainty muzzle as she examined all the spots. She wasn't all that worried though. She would always be the most beautiful wolf in anyone's eyes no matter what she looked like, that much she was sure of.



This wolf before her looked interested in her well-being, and who wouldn't be? Maren felt that all living things existed to please and compliment her. The russet wolf had no doubt that the white female would try to take care of her and, in a way, expected it. This feeling came out of nowhere but she was convinced that it was right. Else, why would it have popped up?

TAG: lyric! . WORDS: 332 . NOTES: she's a handful, this one.

Now that she was standing in front of her, the scent of blood was there, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. She wasn't quite sure how she could help the other - but from the sound of things, she was not suffering from bloodloss, so sleep might do her a smidgen of good so long as she slept in a way that wouldn't put pressure on whatever was broken. Hearing the russet female comment on her pain made the young female want to help even more - it was rare that someone was completely honest with how they felt. It seemed more common for lupine to pretend to be okay even when they weren't feeling their best.

"Would you mind if I took a look? My mother is a healer, I might be able to help." If she couldn't, then she would have to find a way to get Erani or another one of Valhalla's healers here. With that in mind she would edge closer, trying to get a good look at one of the spots that were matted on the female's nearly matching coat. "My name is Lyric, I'm from Valhalla." She would introduce herself, gently smiling for a moment at the other. She was a strong one, to stay sitting up and speaking clearly when she was tired and in pain. May others would let it affect their mood, and it wouldn't be an improvement!

"What is your name miss?" She was trying to keep her a little bit distracted from her pain - sometimes it helped to be engaged in something else. Her tail gently swayed behind her, and she reached forward to sniff at a particular spot, giving it a lick to make sure that it wasn't too deep an injury and it wasn't infected. When it wasn't she would give a sigh of releif, before stopping to think. There had to be something around this southern area that could help with pain. Looking around them, she perked slightly - it was just Maren's luck! "Willow! That should help with your pain. Just a moment miss." She would wander to the nearest tree and tear at the bark with her teeth and claws.

She would come back a few minutes later with shavings and scraps of the closest willow tree. "Here, you chew this, and it should dull some of the pain."