BOP; The River <IC Thread>

[KillxLucky]

This thread is open for posting~!

[finalwolf]

Sasha the Tracker


With: My thoughts
Feeling: Content
Where: River

Sasha lapped up some water at the river, before she sat down at the bank and looked around. Her ears twitched while listening to the flow of the river, and for any creature to move. It was peaceful here, honestly anywhere with water she found herself to enjoy. She stood up and looked around at some of the way the trees had fallen over time and grown. Her ears twitched as she ran and jumped up on one of the fallen trees and walked up it, as it leaned against another tree. Now, most wolves wouldn't think about climbing, or even attempt it, but not Sasha. Sasha had been attempting to climb for as long as she could walk. She wasn't a cat, so just climbing like they would was out of the question. Climbing fallen trees and then jumping to low enough branches, she could do. This was a way for her to get the head on either watching prey or get ahead when Slash was being a bother to her.

Sasha made her way to the top of the fallen branch and then looked over to see a branch to her left. She was able to reach over and almost walk on top of it. Testing the branch enough first to make sure it would hold her weight and once satisfied she continued to walk on it. She was about ten feet off the ground, but found it relaxing. She laid down on the branch and closed her eyes as she felt the breeze ruffle through her fur.

[KillxLucky]

Name: Ku'Jin
Rank: Kiowa Tracker
Location: Densite > The River
Company: Alone (Sasha)
Out.Of.Character~ 

The loss of Ryka, and the alpha litter, was still proving to be a heavy blow to Ku'Jin. The tracker was still in a great deal of pain from his botched attempt at hunting during the previous hunt but that was nothing compared to the emptiness he was feeling from losing the pups. He had failed as a tracker and as a result, one of their own had wondered off and gotten herself killed by the named "pup killer." The tracker had spent a lot of his time recovering in the inyanga den, but sometime during the night he had snuck off to be alone and grieve without other lingering around and constantly checking up on him. No doubt, he would hear an earful for leaving without a word and especially because he wasn't yet fully recovered.

Ku'Jin spent the night pacing the riverbed. Occasionally, he's stop to give his aching body a rest but soon found himself pacing once more. He walked with a visible limp and the time it took him to over from one area of the riverbed to the next took exceptionally long, but he continued to push him. By the time Sasha had found a decent spot up in a tree, Ku'Jin was only making his way back toward that direction and had not noticed her at all. The black and white wolf paced, slow, limping as he went and just so happened to take his rest beneath the very tree that Sasha was resting. Sighing softly to himself, he peered out to the horizon, where the sun was just barely breaking over the trees. Dawn was upon them now and he hadn't slept a wink. How could he? How could anyone with his job sleep at a time like this.

Ku'Jin's tail coiled tightly over his cold paws and he head lowered. A soft whimper escaped his lips as he wasn't able to identify why the pain of losing someone was so unbearable. There seemed to be a large part of him missing, and a part of him wasn't sure if it was due to the killing or something else. It felt as though someone else should have been by his side through it all and now they were lost; gone, a figment of his imagination. A white wolf with black ears often appeared in his thoughts and sometimes his dreams but he had no recollection of who that could have possibly be. Noctis no longer was familiar to him. In fact, it seems he never existed. Still, unbeknownst to Ku'Jin, the emptiness he was feeling was due to the killings but also because of his yearning for someone he never knew.

Another, uncontrollable whimper, escaped Ku'Jin as his arms beneath him seemed to give way under the pressure of his aching heart and he collapsed into the snow. This had not been the first time Ku'Jin had fallen. There was evidence of his falling in various areas along the river bank as snow became compacted under his weight. However, this time, instead of attempting to get back up he curled into himself, hiding his face in his bushy black tail. His body shivered and shook, not from the cold but from the sadness and uncertainty plaguing the young brute's heart. More, quieter, whimpers could be heard coming from him if one paid attention and was close enough.

[SweetPotatoPie]

Relic
Rank: Tracker
Location: River, on top of Ku'jin and under the tree Sasha in on

Relic was a ball of impatience, though her mother was quick to reprimand her. She rolled her eyes. Though she was an adult now, she often still acted like a moody young wolf. She let out an irritated huff and looked away from the alpha as he settled and ate his share. It’s not that she was angry at him or anything, she was just hungry. she could smell the beast on the cold wind, could almost taste it already. Now, go get me some.” She heard her elderly mother command. Relic gave her a sideways glare, only to be met with her mother being much too dramatic. “I’m much too tired, my bones are aching.” She complained. Relic snorted, Yes, mother.” Truly, she didn’t mind. Relic would rather have a moment and snarl and fight the rest of the wolves than chance her mother getting hurt. In all honesty, sometimes her mother did get a little stiffed legged in winter. Relic didn’t hold back any threatening growls, letting them rumble in her through as she possessively stood over her share. She ate well and tried to bring as much as she could back to her mother. She came back, laying down in front of her mother with the blood from chunks of meat staining the snow. “If this is not enough, I can go back and get more.” She promised. “This will be plenty” her mother assured, but Relic was doubtful. There was no use in arguing with her mother and instead she began to clean herself and enjoy her full belly and a job well done. They had done well tracking and taking down the elk.

Relic stood and positioned herself next to her mother. Now that his share was eaten Relic didn’t feel like she needed to guard her front and instead cuddled beside her. Briefly, she wondered if Nuka was able to get enough as well. Since she did it for her mother, she would often get Nuka some from any kills as well. She never minded helping the older wolves out, she saw them as seasoned warriors of life with plenty of knowledge to share and needed to be protected. As they began their after-meal ritual of grooming, she relayed the events of the hunt to her mother. Her mother could no longer join the hunts, she just couldn’t properly keep up and once told her she would just get in the way. As she spoke, her eyes spied Jag and continued to watch him as they lapsed into a comfortable silence. She smiled a little, remembering how well he had led them today. She felt giddy and fought to shove it down. She usually did when she thought about male wolves, Relic was the type to have fleeting crushes when she was younger and some of them still stayed into her adulthood. Her mother never ceased to tease her about it either.

“Not that one.” She heard her mother bark. Of course she was watching. “I have no clue what your talking about.” She grumbled, “I was simply being reminded of how well Jag led the hunt today.” Her mother hummed doubtfully. And I’m sure that lingering eyes wasn’t checking him out at all.” Her words were just as doubtful. She stood up, stretching, and claimed she was going to find more shelter from the cold wind. Her oh so frail body had the wind just cutting through her pelt. Relic shook her head, “I’m going to head to the river.”

Relic made her way through the forest with a slow pace, she was in no hurry. As she came to the river’s edge, she caught whiff of several other wolves in the area. At first she only registered they were back and simply kept her guard up, keeping her eyes on the river. But then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a black mass crumble in on itself. “Ku’Jin?” She asked, standing still for a moment with worry. She hadn’t been loud but surely thought he would at least budge with her voice. The place was silent except for the soft sounds of the forest. She quickly trotted over, fighting the snow to get there, and heard the softest of whimpers. While she was a fiery wolf with a temper, she also had a core of molten gold. She was a good wolf and caring would be her downfall. “H-hey! Ku’Jin?” She asked, about to nudge him only to see him shivering. She looked around to see if anyone else was there and saw only a path where he most definitely had been stumbling through. If only she had though to look up, she might have seen another wolf there who possibly could have helped. Instead, thinking she was alone, she first thought to share her warmth with his and stood over him for a moment before laying on him. It was only after the fact that she realized what she did and hoped he wouldn’t be upset and felt a little embarrassed herself. She wasn’t used to be so close to a male wolf and it made her a little shy, so this time her voice was much mode unsteady, “Ku’Jin, a-are you okay?”

[finalwolf]

Sasha the Tracker


With: Ku'Jin and Relic
Feeling: Concern
Where: River

Sasha had been enjoying her spot high up, the breeze in her fur, and the river water filling the air. Though, her time alone wouldn't last, as Ku'Jin caught her eye. How long had he been out here? She stayed silent as she watched him, as it seemed he was lost in his own thoughts. He should have been resting, not out here, and that grew to concern. He had whimpered and now she was growing even further with being concerned. She stood up and turned to slowly make her way back down, not wanting to surprise him by jumping down in the snow close by.

As she turned, another wolf caught her attention, Relic. It didn't take Relic long before she was laying on Ku'Jin, which was the first thing Sasha would have done herself, so it was nice to see someone beat her to it.

Sasha continued working her way down the branch and then onto the dead tree. Once on the dead tree, she jumped down back on the ground and made her way over to the two wolves. "Hey Relic, Ku'Jin." Sasha laid down close to the two of them. "I'll go snag some fresh food for you, Ku'Jin, if you offer up what's on your mind." She didn't mention as to how or why she knew something was bothering him, they didn't need to know that she could 'climb' trees the way she did. Plus, she did worry if they knew, how they would take it, perhaps thinking she constantly spied on them and others. Which wasn't the case at all. Sometimes she was just in the right place at the right time to overhear or see something others didn't want. He may have been healing physically, but mentally he had much more wounds than the healers could tend to. Mental health was quite important to Sasha, as she truly believed poor mental health often led one to become tainted with the darkness. Which is why she let her brother beat on her as it seemed to help him deal with his own thoughts.

[KillxLucky]

Name: Ku'Jin
Rank: Kiowa Tracker
Location: The River
Company: Relic, Sasha
Out.Of.Character~ 

Ku'Jin continued, whimpering into the snow and feeling quite sorry for himself. At this, broken, point he did not care who or what had seen him as such a mess. The tracker could hear someone coming closer but he didn't bother to life his head. If it happened to be famous "pup killer" out to kill a weak, little, scrawny thing like himself, then so be it. The only indication his packmate would receive that Ku'jin had heard her calling him was the light flicker of his ears each time she called his name. He figured eventually they would leave him alone, to sulk in his sorrows as most of the other wolves in the pack seemed to do lately. Not many willingly took part in trying to cheer anyone up, especially since Zuya has taken over.

Much to Ku'jin's surprise, the fae did not leave. Instead, she circled around and settled herself on top of him. The injured brute let out a soft whine under her weight, but did not protest. Relic's sudden warmth was very much appreciated and welcomed. Ku'jin finally lift his head to peek up at Relic. The dark brute huffed dramatically at her question and shook his head sadly. No, he wasn't alright. Surely with her being the one to stumble upon him, she would be able to come to that conclusion. The brute made no attempt in trying to explain what was wrong mainly because another female, Sasha, had appeared. Leave it to the trackers to track him down, no problem. Then again, it wasn't like he had been hiding or trying not to be found.

Ku'jin's head lowered between his paws as Sasha offered a bargain. “I'm.. not hungry.” He replied calmly. Another huff and then a shrug of his shoulders. “Something just.. doesn't feel right.” He told the girls, taking a second to peer between both their curious faces. No doubt, they would ask him to elaborate, so he did in the best way he could. He swallowed hard. “I know this sounds.. stupid..” He began. “But, I am upset over the death of the alpha pups.. but also a few other pups as well.. especially Ryka.” His multi-colored eyes fell downcast, feeling silly for admitting such a thing. “As a tracker, for a pup to be killed by an outsider and not even sense it.” He shuddered again under Relic. “Well, it's a surprise Zuya hasn't ripped my tail right from my bum for allowing such a thing. I found her body and did not know what had happened to her. Didn't even know she was missing until..” He whined again. The girls were also fellow trackers and after a few moments, he realized that not only was he insulting himself but probably them as well for not catching it either.
“I'm sorry..” He said, suddenly. Hoping they would understand.

“There's.. something.. or someone else missing though.” He added after a brief pause, then shook his head and lifted it once more. “I.. I don't know who though. It's.. just a feeling.” He watched them, sure they probably thought him to have gone mad by now but there it was anyway. As small as it might have been to them, it was something he really worried about.

[SweetPotatoPie]

Relic
Rank: Tracker
Location: River, on top of Ku'jin/ beside him with Sasha

For just a second Relic almost regretted her decision perch where she had. The brute let out a small whine, which in turn made her whine. She snuggled closer, becoming more of a security blanket as much as she could for a a wolf about her size or larger. She peeked at him with uncertain eyes, but her curiosity and worry kept her situated. She met his gaze and her heart went out to him when she caught his sad look and the shake of his that meant he was not okay. She wouldn’t pressure him, he didn’t have to, but she wasn’t going to just leave him there either. She snuggled herself into his pelt and closed her eyes, intending to stay until he decided to move. Just as she settled, she heard the crunch of another being nearby. She jumped, startled, and looked up with wide eyes and a panicked expression. She was still on top of Ku’jin, but she was tense. Her gaze focused on Sasha and she looked around looking for signs of how she had even gotten there. She looked one way then another before saying, “H-how, where?” She stuttered. Had the she-wolf been there this whole time? Relic panicked, wondering if she should move. Would it look bad, her being on top of him like this? Would Ku’jin be upset? She looked down at him before looking at Sasha again. Her brain wasn’t quite working, worrying about things that probably didn’t even cross the others’ minds.

Relic slid off of Ku’jin as Sasha greeted them and near them. She was going to completely leave him when he answered Sasha. She froze, still pressed into his side with a foreleg still draped on him. Her head quirked at his vague explanation. Thankfully, he pressed on. She nodded her head; she could understand being upset about the death of the alpha pups. It was a grim and awkward turn of events, one that made her agree with him that something did seem a bit off. Relic’s ears pinned back, “It’s not your fault that Ryka is dead.” She growled fiercely. “That pup wandered off on her own.” Relic did not know the situation that happened exactly, but she didn’t like that he was feeling so guilty as to expect Zuya to tear into him. It didn’t even cross her mind that he may have implied that they were just as much at fault. “Don’t be sorry.” She stated, just as firmly. “Sasha, tell him it’s not his fault.” She demanded. “And it’s not stupid.” She left him for a moment, pulling back to stand with a determined look, “If you feel like something is off then there must be something and you can’t be the only one. If you think someone else is missing, maybe we should tell Zuya, or perhaps do a head count on everyone at the least?” She questioned, looking at Sasha to see if she would agree or have better words of encouragement.

[finalwolf]

Sasha the Tracker


With: Ku'Jin and Relic
Feeling: Concern
Where: River

Sasha looked over at Relic when she seemed quite surprised to see Sasha there. Honestly, she couldn't blame her fellow tracker. They where use to sniffing around scents on the ground, not above. Sasha shrugged a bit before answering. "I have secrets," she playfully winked. She wasn't about to give away her advantage, even if she felt like she could always trust her fellow trackers, she didn't want to give up the one thing that potentially could save her from other wolves.

Sasha frowned just slightly at his response about not being hungry, but perhaps he did already eat back at the densite. Still, he seemed like he was willing to speak and that was good. There were lots of things that didn't feel right, she agreed with that. She may have been young still when Zuya took over, but she still could remember the unity that was brought with their old alpha. Though this surely couldn't be just Zuya that was off. The entire pack had become that feeling. He was feeling guilt about the lost of all the pups. She was sad about losing them all, but she wasn't around when Ryka had disappeared and died. She had been gone on a week long tracking session, but if nobody knew Ryka had been missing, it wasn't his fault. Though to a degree, the trackers that where there, should have realized the stray sent that had gone away from the densite. Pups where one of those scents you tried to always remember and keep in mind where they where.

Sasha had spoken up and demanded of Sasha to let him know it wasn't his fault. It wasn't that easy. She wasn't one to sugar coat things, but at the same time, she didn't want Ku'Jin to be hurting the way he was. Sasha sighed and shook her head. "I can't say anything on the topic of Ryka. We know our jobs as trackers. We know our vulnerable pups are, and we, along anyone else in the pack, should be keeping an eye on them." That was as good as it was going to get with this. It hinted it wasn't just Ku'Jin's fault that Ryka had died, but the pack as a whole. They all had failed Ryka, even her who wasn't even there. She had chosen to take her time on her tracking and she should have been back sooner than she was. Though she didn't feel fault on it.

"However, there's nothing to be sorry about." That much she could agree on. Though it was the last thing Ku'Jin said that bothered her. Was someone else missing? She hadn't noticed, but if there was, it was up to the trackers to find out who and make sure they weren't. If they where missing, they'd have to talk to Zuya about it. "I agree, we should do a head count, make sure everyone is here. Keep it quiet for now though on what you think, Ku'Jin. I think we should make sure someone really is missing before causing any more alarm. The pack has gone through enough the past few weeks, we don't need to stir up something if it's nothing."

Though, first things was first, they needed to get Ku'Jin back to resting inside a den. "How about we help you get back to the densite and resting. Leave the headcount to Relic and I. You still need your rest, and I don't want to see you over do it." She gave a gentle smile. She did care a lot about her fellow trackers, they understood each other the most.

[KillxLucky]

Name: Ku'Jin
Rank: Kiowa Tracker
Location: The River
Company: Relic, Sasha
Out.Of.Character~ 

With Sasha's appearance, Relic shifted herself to just beside him, causing a blustery chill to ripple up the brute's spine. His shivering had ceased under Relic's warmth, but now it was starting to return as his teeth began to chatter. Ku'Jin tried to keep the noise to a minimum as Sasha and Relic both offered their pieces of advice.

Relic and Sasha's concerns did not go unnoticed to Ku'Jin. Still, he could not help the way he felt. Sasha had done well with avoiding directly blaming any of the trackers, instead shifting the blame to everyone within the pack as whole. Huffing softly, his ears flattened as he stared at his paws. “Thank you. I appreciate the cheering up.”

The subject was shifted to someone missing and Ku'Jin found himself struggling to explain the feeling. “ There's an emptiness. Someone or something important to me is gone. I can't shake the feeling.” He blinked a few times, as if he was seeing something before him that he couldn't quite believe. “It's.. not as easy as simply searching for someone or counting heads.” Ku'Jin tried explaining what he was feeling as best as he could, but he assumed they probably didn't quite understand. “Nevermind. Let's just start heading back. ” A bit of frustration was laced in his tone, but not with the girls. Ku'Jin lifted himself, effectively slipping from Relic's draped paw and shaking himself out. He first allowed himself a drink of the water from the forest before meeting up with the pair again to start heading back to the densite.

[finalwolf]

Sasha the Tracker


With: Ku'Jin and Relic
Feeling: Concern
Where: River

Sasha smiled a bit at Ku'Jin as he seemed to cheer up if only a little. She lowered herself next to Ku'Jin to try to warm him up as she did take notice he seemed cold again. She listened to him talk about the 'missing' wolf. It wasn't exactly a wolf that might be missing, but perhaps apart of himself instead. He didn't know how to explain it, but she thought she understood. Sasha twitched her ears trying to figure out what to say next on this. "Maybe it's apart of you that is missing. You've been through a lot lately, both mentally and physically. Maybe it's that." She nuzzled him just slightly trying to cheer him up.

It also could be something within the pack as itself. Perhaps it was the lack of unity within the pack as of lately. She noticed that too, and that was just as high of a concern. "If it isn't that, maybe it's within the pack itself. Something the pack is lacking as a whole." She did her best to choose her words carefully. She didn't want anyone to get the idea she was not a fan of Zuya and his leadership.

She watched as he stood up, and she stayed by his side. She looked over at Relic to make sure they both understood they should walk on both sides of him just in case. Once he was ready, they headed back to the den.

[KillxLucky]

☪〈 Timeskip 〉 ↘

☪ Weather: Cloudy. Cold. Light winds. The sun has gone down. The air is cold. Snow continues to blanket the ground, though much of it has melted from the sunny day. Some areas of the forest and densite may be most wet and muddy than usual.

☪ Time of Day: Nighttime, new moon (no moonlight), the stars in the sky are easier to see.

☪ Last Hunt: Page 1. An Adult Male Elk. (An Auto'd hunt). The Elk carcass has already lost majority of it's nutritious content. Mostly bones and bits of frozen flesh remain.

☪ Last Timeskip. Page 4 (Of the MAIN IN CHARACTER THREAD).