_________________________________________________________________ The raid had happened recently so the pack was on quite a high alert. Usually, if she had wanted to go out, she could have gone alone or taken Tika with her. But today was different. Still healing from wounds, Audra had forbidden her girlfriend from any sort of exploring or patrolling outside of the castle for the time being. While most of the knights' wounds had been superficial, she still worried for the long-legged girl's health. She had to care for Tika as much as she was allowed. After much discussion, she had gone to ask if there was anyone that could join her who hadn't participated in the raid. Another girl by the name of Fern had agreed which delighted her. Off they set from the castle toward a nearby area with rolling green hills. From what Audra had been told, an earthquake had split the land to reveal large fossils of some type of beast from long ago. Interested in taking a look at them, her golden eye glanced about the soft grasses. Cresting a hill, she took in the fresh scent of summer with a smile. "Th-thank you for j-joining me," Audra said quietly with her stuttering vocals. Glancing over to the grey-clad girl, she was happy for the company. Turning her attention back to their surroundings, she noticed not far off was a decent-sized pit. Compared to the rest of the land, it appeared unusual from the other hills. Slightly jagged and jutting out in odd places, Audra made her way over there with careful steps. Pausing by the edge, she looked down to see a protruding bone that was nearly the size of her petite frame. "Whoa," she whispered as her eye widened in amazement. _________________________________________________________________ A  U  D  R  A

Fern looks over to the petite wolf that she is accompanying and smiles. The day had started like any other, training, breakfast, patrolling… the usual motions of her daily routine. However, the gray wolf had found herself restless today, the need to stretch her legs and go explore itching at the back of her mind. So, when Audra had approached asking for an escort, the gray girl had eagerly agreed to go. With Puff riding between her shoulders, Fern had followed the smaller wolf out to rolling hills near the castle. As the trio crest a hill and Audra thanks Fern for joining her and gray girl’s lips pull up into a happy smile. Fern says, “Hey, I should be thanking you! I was getting bored in the castle. Everyone has been on edge since the raid and training has taken over my life. So, thank you for inviting me to go out of the castle!” Ocean-hued eyes sparkle with joy as she winks to the russet wolf.

The gray girl stays on Audra’s good side, to allow the smaller wolf to see her more easily. They travel in silence for a moment, enjoying the scenery and the strange bones that litter the ground. When Audra stops at the edge of a pit and looks down into it, Fern follows suit, mimicking the smaller woman’s statement with her own, “Whoa.” The small stoat that has been riding between Fern’s shoulders, stretches her body up the gray girl’s neck to peek over the wolf’s head. With a muttered, “Cool.” Puff asks, “What do think made those kinds of bones? And why did the ground eat them?” Fern is too astonished to answer the stoat, her wide eyes trying to catch every detail of this large burial ground.


"Fern" | "Puff"

_________________________________________________________________ Audra had smiled at the girl in return, glad for some company during possible dangerous times. Not that the pirate pack had really appeared dangerous. They'd been swiftly defeated and the Hallows had barely suffered a scratch! The threat wasn't obvious to her, but she wouldn't argue with any rules or concerns the Aegis might have. So as the trio stared down into the pit, Audra laughed a little as Fern's companion, Puff, asked what kind of creature could have made those bones. In truth, she didn't have an answer. Astonished herself, Audra looked a bit closer as she leaned her body toward the pit. The bones were massive even compared to an elephant's. "I-I think we sh-should take a c-closer look," she murmured quietly as her paws moved her around the edge of the outcropping. Rounding down the hill until she was at the bottom of the sandy area, her nose wrinkled a bit. It didn't really smell like anything but dirt and old things. "The g-ground will e-eat b-bones after an l-long period of t-time so this m-must be really old," the petite wolf comments as she takes a step closer to the fossils. Reaching out with one paw, Audra gingerly touches one and almost flinches. There wasn't any reason other than she was possibly expecting it to jump out at her. When nothing happened, she sighed with a small laugh. She was just being silly. "They're a-all over th-the place," she says as her one good eye glances around the rolling hills. _________________________________________________________________ A  U  D  R  A

Fern smiles as Puff’s question gets a laugh from the smaller wolf. Nodding her agreement, the gray girl follows Audra into the pit, looking closely at a couple of large bones along the way. Audra talks to the stoat and Puff listens intently, trying to put the puzzle together in her small, stoat head. Following the petite wolf closely, Fern adds, “It is amazing how they all seem to be intact. I mean… I can see a body and head.” Outlining the profile in the dirt, with a wave of her paw. Looking to Audra she adds, “The group my mom traveled with would leave the body of dead loved ones in the open. They believed that death brings life and so, would offer the bodies to scavengers. Not much would be left after a few days.” A shrug of gray shoulders shows that Fern doesn’t disagree with the method, just is amazed to find so many intact skeletons.

When Audra touches a fossil, ocean-hued eyes watch intensely. Everything seems so old here, as if… touching something could make everything crumble and disappear. The russet wolf gives a small laugh and comments about them being all over and Fern turns her head to look out over the land. As her brain tries to comprehend the sheer volume of bones that they can see and how many more could be lurking underground, Puff peeks her head up between Fern’s ears and says, “Huh. Wonder what killed so many of these huge things. I mean, if I had teeth like that…” the stoat points a small paw toward a skull with exceptionally pointed teeth, “I wouldn’t be scared of anything.” With that the stoat curls its paws around the fur on Fern’s head as she continues to stare out at the landscape from her spot between the gray girl’s ears.

"Fern" | "Puff"

_________________________________________________________________ Audra was enjoying her time exploring with Fern. The other girl and her companion were fun to be around as they continued to examine the large fossil laid out around them. As Fern traced the fossil with her paw, Audra nodded. Listening to the story about her mother's groups leaving dead bodies as offering to scavengers, a small shiver ran down her spine. To think that one's body would be left to the elements. Yet, such as life and Audra knew it was a good thing to do. If they were born of this land, they would need to give back to the land at some point. Her attention turned back to Puff with a smile. One eye dancing toward the large teeth protruding from the dirt, she felt another shiver down her spine. She thought Hattori and Artorias were big creatures, even bears and elk, but this thing was massive. "Maybe it was something out of their control," she added with a shake of her head. Moving a few steps back from the pit to look around at the other ones, she wondered what had indeed happened to so many large creatures. From the looks of it, not all of them had big pointy teeth like this one. So what had killed them? _________________________________________________________________ A  U  D  R  A

Fern is absolutely fascinated as her eyes trace the skeletal remains of the long dead creatures. When she turns look at the smaller wolf and speak of leaving bodies to scavengers, the gray girl mentally kicks herself for bringing up such morbid things on a great day like this. Audra is a nice wolf and Fern is happy that she has the opportunity to go exploring with her. A smile appears as Puff speaks and the smaller wolf’s answer has Fern nodding sagely. Looking back to the bones, the gray girl says, “Think about it Puff. The long night was beyond our control and it took a lot of animals.” The small stoat perched atop her head makes a face, looking to Audra in an attempt to help her talk sense into the gray wolf. Puff argues, “Yeah but they were all over the place. These things all seemed to have died in one place. Did they all gather to fight something? What if something bigger and stronger than all of them came down from the sky and ate them?”

Fern wants to scoff at the crazy thought but the truth is, they don’t know what happened to these creatures. Anything is possible. Finally, Fern says, “Well, we may never what happened to them. But we can give them the respect they deserve and not let their memory fade.” The stoat cants her head to the side and asks, “But we don’t know who or what they were. How can we keep their memory from fading when it is already gone?” Looking to Audra, Fern bites the inside of her cheek, a need to keep these ancient things from being forgotten itching her mind and she tries to think of what to say. Blue eyes implore the smaller wolf to help the gray girl think of something.


"Fern" | "Puff"