In Dire Straits

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A white tipped paw stepped into soft soil, imprinting a trail as the fringe dire continued along an unknown path. There was much to view in this new territory. Days past since she became a member of Alteron, curious as to what her life would turn into now that she crossed the moat into a dark forest surrounded by monsters. Perhaps monsters were a little too forward, but Goth didn’t know what to expect. For all of her life, she only knew the life of a lone wolf, not needing to rely on others or even having to follow orders. Red eyes scanned the woodland before her, though only fog and decaying foliage greeted her.

How exciting.

She could hear the roar of the waterfall not too far from where she stood, her figure standing on an elevated cliff-side garnished with fern and skeletal trees. The misty atmosphere made it difficult for Goth to see what was below her, so she carefully slid down, the muck slick making it incredibly hard to keep her footing. She would not be happy if she slid face first into the dirt. When she landed on the bottom, she huffed slightly, just glad to have made it without any incident. Red eyes elevated, catching the darkness of a small cave. Someone could be in there, someone from the pack she came into.

Go and say hello.

Cautiously, she would stride forward into the cave, the smells mixing with so many others that it almost made her head spin. “Hello?” she called out, wondering if anyone would call back besides her own echo. This cave had to be used for something if so many scents stagnated in one place. The fringe dire was hesitant to head in as caves in the wild could hold larger predators that could easily kill a lone wolf, but she hoped that wasn’t the case here.

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Days passed since her conversation with Orcrist and she had spent her time, well, hiding if she were to be honest with herself. She needed time for her shoulder to heal before she would be of proper use to anyone anyways. Caesar cursed the chaos her homecoming had spiraled into but she supposed it couldn't be helped now. It was what she deserved, wasn't it? 

The biter feeling of resentment wasn't anything new to her but it'd been a long time since she'd felt it. She was definitely home. The rusty colored serf heaved a heavy, troubled sigh and turned her head to sniff at her wound. It had been healing nicely thanks to her own concotion of herbs and poultice. She didn't yet trust those other other healers to know what they were doing. Caesar was knew what herbs she needed to keep the wound from getting infected. She didn't need them. 

And so she found herself hiding here in this cave, away from the prying, curious stares of the rest of Alteron. No one needed to see how disgraced she was. Caesar just wanted to lick her wounds in peace and sleep the pain away. No sooner had she laid her chin against the cool floor of the small cave when the sound of someone approachig lifted her head. Silver eyes squinted at the figure standing in the mouth of the cave, a dark silloette. “Hello?” The stranger called out and Caesar sighed internally at the sight of her solitude slipping away. 

"Why, hello there." She'd drawl softly, her voice slightly accented, "And just who might you be?"

She stood for a moment, wondering if someone or something would respond, and just when she was about to turn away, a voice echoed Goth’s call. Red eyes squinted as they adjusted to the darkness of the cave and she finally saw the figure, coat as bright as fire with splotches of cream and ashy fur. An accent was smooth within their voice which gave some comfort that this individual was not a threat, which made the fringe dire come forward with a few small steps. The scent of unfamiliar serums made her stop then, nose raising just a tinge in the air.

“Goth. I’m new here.” she said, taking a few more steps then to get a better look at the stranger she happened upon. The injuries were clear, and the smell of poultice was strong and what she smelled. Curiosity piqued as she was interested in what happened, though stayed silent for quite some time, contemplating if she should pry. Goth finally decided to lay on her belly a few feet from the stranger, still quite annoyed with slipping down a damn hill.

“So.. what happened?” Fucking brilliant.

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Goth seemed to hesitate at the entrance of the cave, unsure whether or not it was safe to venture in further. Whatever she saw must have eased her fears because soon enough she was lounging a few feet away. She was new. That's interesting. So was Caesar. Sort of. Sure she'd lived in Alteron before but now everything had changed, it was so different that it felt both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. 

"So.. what happened?" 

Caesar snorted shortly, a small half smile twisting her lips. Goth was very direct, wasn't she? Didn't have time for beating around the issue, just straight to the point. Caesar liked that, wished more people would be like that and stop wasting so much of her time. "It was a welcome home present from my Ma." Caesar explained dryly, her silver eyes half-lidded as she watched Goth. "She wasn't happy that I left." She sighed, looking away from her companion to the dim light shining in from the mouth of the cave. "I was stupid." But hey, at least she was home now wasn't she? Even if it looked different and even if she'd fallen from grace, Alteron was still home.

Well, this one seemed to be okay with the prodding as Goth laid there asking ridiculously personal questions off the bat. Red eyes scanned over the scabbing wounds that stink of herbs and plasma. Apparently this was from her mother, which the fringe dire almost flinched at. They had something in common, and she wondered just how many awful mothers were out there. The mother wasn't happy that the flock left the nest, and Goth only shook her head slowly. "Mothers can be bitches, I guess." Another bold statement, but there was a reason she believed this whole-heartedly. "My mother gave me these scars on my face because she didn't like me."

She stretched her legs a little in front of her and looked over Caesar's pelt again. "So uh, why'd you come back?" There was a reason she left, wasn't there? Then why did she return only to get horrible wounds such as these? Everyone had their own reasons, Goth just didn't understand she supposed. She would never return to her own home, not in a million years. Tongue lapped her nose, feeling the brief relief of those stenches wafting from Caesar.

"So what now, she mauled you and then what? A slave or?" Because powerful mothers never let their children have anything, they were forever going to be under the crushing thumb of authority. Goth knew nothing of Azuhel (yet.) There was a deeper story here, and the fringe dire almost wanted to dig deeper and deeper, that filter not stopping her from being nosy.

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Pistol

Caesar

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Caesar

Pistol