Horizon

Ruby was exhausted, and it dragged at her, the long travel and the urgency of things as she had hastened to bring Los medical attention. She wouldn’t have done this for many wolves. But he was one of the few.

Darienne would be pissed at him if he died anyway. “We’re close.” She told Marceline and Baltasar, inhaling the cool mountain air. She threw up a howl for Darienne who could guide the two pack wolves the rest of the way.

“He was by the lake. My partner Darienne will know where he is. I have to-” Ruby didn’t want to admit to her exhaustion but the way she stumbled spoke volumes.

She needed sleep. Right away.

((Ruby will likely be skippable most of this thread I’ll throw her in if she’s addressed so just leave her out of posting order :)))

(Bal will also probably be mostly skippable this thread, he’s just here for Marceline and whatever she needs!)

Tired as he was, Bal trekked on. If Marceline needed him for whatever reason, he was here—protection, heavy lifting, fetching things, whatever. Right now, that was his role in the pack. He could sleep the day away tomorrow to make up for a late night.

He knew Astred was buried somewhere around here. Once he was sure he was no longer needed, when he could get some privacy, he would visit her—there were several words he still needed to get off his chest.

Ruby mentioned that they were getting close, and that her partner would know where the injured guy was. Bal nodded, glancing to the shieldmaiden, but ultimately staying quiet and following along.

Sleep was something Los didn’t want but needed. The heat from being curled up with Darienne felt almost as bad as when his fever was at its worst. Fatigue had also gripped him and he didn’t have any energy to move but he was far too hot to sleep. Thirst was another factor biting at him, even though water was literally close by. Why didn’t he drink when Ruby had told him to…

His ears twitched when he heard a howl. It took him a moment to realize it was Ruby and not a strange wolf. He wanted to respond to her with a howl but he couldn’t muster up the strength to move a muscle. Darienne probably would respond, if she was awake. If not, hopefully they could find them without a howl.

Darienne was awake, she always was when she was the one who had to be responsible. And there weren’t many times when she fully slept. She was always partly awake, easy to wake. Always alert. So when she heard the call, she called back.

A howl, followed by, ‘’Over here!’’ Hopefully Ruby would have come back with help. Darienne didn’t want to tell at her more, or feel even more agitated with her.

Marceline was coming along as best she could. She couldn’t often keep up with these young wolves, tired ones as they might be. Still, ears perked forward she listened to the names and padded along, focused on keeping her feet and taking careful steps. Perhaps the mountains weren’t the most hospitable place for an old woman to spend her twilight years.

A voice called out and Marce twitched her attention forward. An odd colored woman and a white male were ahead. It was must had been the male in need of attention.

The older woman moved ahead with a little more urgency. “How long ago was he injured?” She asked, jumping right into the details of it. No sense wasting time on little pleasantries when all she really cared about was taking a look at his leg.

Ruby sank to the ground, letting the two wolves go ahead. She wouldn’t exactly say she felt good about this situation, leaving Los’ care to a couple of pack wolves. But really there wasn’t a lot of options.

She would have to trust if things went bad Darienne could handle things, that Ruby herself was close enough to provide backup if the Realm wolves caused trouble.

But for now, her body pushed to its limit, Ruby’s vibrant green eyes closed and she slept where she had slumped to the ground.

((Annnd out like a light))

Wolves arrived, as Los was basically out of it. and not only that. When they arrived and asked for information, Ruby went to goddamn sleep. Ugh, uuuuugh. T was fine, it was totally fine… Ruby was tired from all the running. Sure, sure. Darienne would handle this. But, there was not much information she could give. She had not been told anything. She had no idea how long Los had been dealing with these wounds.

’’I don’t know, he hasn’t told me. We only just arrived to the mountains, a few days ago, and we stumbled upon him, today.’’ Darienne told the woman. She had no knowledge of healing, and couldn’t tell how long ago Los had been hurt.

’’But by the looks of it, he’s been dealing with it for a while now. This isn’t some fresh wound.’’

Goddamn it, Los.

Thankfully Darienne was there to talk with the wolf. Even if he had the strength to talk, his mind was fuzzy and at this point he couldn’t guarantee what language he would speak. It dawned on him that he only told Ruby what had happen and she was sound asleep. He managed to lift his head off the ground just enough to talk. His voice was weak and he could only speak at a whisper. “Lynx attack before Damien bury Astrid here.” His head fell back to the ground. He hoped that someone heard him and that it made enough sense for them to understand.

(Sorry for being scarce lately. I’ve been sick with some head cold thing. I’ll jump in if Los is addressed or when needed but for now feel free to skip him)

Marceline hustled closer, leaning down to inspect the wound as first the woman and then the injured male himself gave their report of what was wrong. Indeed it was an older wound, and obviously one that had no healed as anyone would have liked.

“Baltasar,” she called, turning her head. “Could you help us get him back?” She glanced towards the white male, hoping for a few more answers. “Do you think you could make it with help?” Marceline had herbs, but feeding him something once and calling it good wasn’t going to be worth much, he needed to rest somewhere and be tended to properly - for probably a while. And Marceline was old, she didn’t want to trek back and forth every day.

Oh, Los was awake enough to give the female some extra information, and Darienne nodded and looked up, adding a blunt, ’’Okay.’’ Yep, that. That’s what had happened, and when, apparently. Darienne didn’t know when this Astrid wolf had been buried or who she was, but it sounded a while ago. Maybe the other female knew.

Darienne looked at Los after the female had spoken. ’’Lean on us.’’ she told him. And this was not a request, this was a demand. If he needed to go to the pack and rest there, get treated over there, then Darienne would make sure to get him there.

If she had to, she would drag him.

((Go ahead and skip Bal but he totally would have agreed and helped where asked!))

Marceline walked closer to him and looked more at his leg. He was a little nervous with all the wolves around him. It was much, much different than being alone or with just one wolf.

She turned and asked the wolf that came with them a question before turning to him. His ears would have dropped if they weren’t already close to his head. He didn’t want to leave the lake after spending so much time trying to get back. He was going to try to persuade them to let him stay but once he heard Darienne tell him to lean on them, he knew he had no voice in the matter.

He only sighed before slowly standing up. “I can try. How far is it?”

Everyone seemed on board, ready to help. Marceline gave a nod as everyone gathered around.  She was of little assistance herself in helping to carry this large male around, but between Darienna and Baltasar she thought they could do it. Los was agreeable and so Marceline stepped back to give the others room to move him.

“It’s not horribly far, but your leg needs tending for more than an afternoon, and our packs home is a much better place for me to do that.” They’d go slow. Marceline was good at picking out the easy route from one place to another, and since he seemed coherent enough she didn’t think he was going to die on the way there.

[Someone want to make a continuation back at Kingsfall?]

Darienne already got to her paws the moment Los asked the female how far it was. She was ready to let Los lean on her, and help him towards that pack. She was eager to get a move on, and was glad to hear it was not too far. The sooner they got there, the sooner Darienne could feel more at ease, and return to her solitude. And of course, the sooner Los would get the help he needed.

She looked at Ruby, who was still fast asleep, and went over to nudge her real quick, just to let her know. ’’I will be back soon. You can stay here.’’ Ruby probably was too tired to get up and help out right now.

Her attention then shifted back to the elder female. She had to admit she fancied this female’s appearance. Her markings were rather interesting.
’’I’m ready.’’ she said, and then looked at Los. Get up, boy.

[I’m on it!
http://horizon.taiyae.com/home/viewthread/15706/ :)]