Posted 2020-10-24 21:15:45
BLACK POINT
PACKMOUNTAINS
the pack is secluded by unforgiving mountains. there is little coverage besides trees and dips in the rocky incline. they fight over every step of territory with bears. pups often die to the harsh conditions before they can fend much for themselves. prey is scarce, but their pack is small. they have each other during every bruising obstacle. somehow, they survive.YOU'RE COLD.the wind whistles in your ears and snow weighs down your pelt. you haven't even been walking for a day, but it feels like it has been weeks since you felt the warmth of the sun, months since you didn't have to worry about breathing in a lungful of punishingly frosty air. the snow sucks in your legs to the thigh, and the low temperature has created a constant chill in your bones.
you stop, dipping your head under the drooping branches of a pine. you can't smell anything but the icy winter surrounding you.
you know there is some creature watching, though. you've felt the eyes for a short while, now, blazing into your neck with an intensity that makes you feel like the prey. and still, you haven't dared look for its gaze, swallowing your pride in favor of survival. soon, you can hear their soft steps, the crunch of the snow as they practically glide towards you.
eventually, you can't handle being at the disadvantage; biology forces your shackles to rise, forces your tired body to spin around, forces the ugly growl from your sore throat. by the time you are turned, the wolf is close enough that you can see their breath in the chill. it is frightening, to see the sleek pelt of such a healthy, undisturbed wolf in the bitter mountains you had grown to hate."you're lost" he speaks, shoulders straight in apparent confidence. he looks ultimately unthreatened by your prescense, albeit a tad worried (perhaps because you look like a drowned pup). "do you need somewhere to rest?"
this wolf trusts too easy, and you don't respond. you're uncertain for a moment, tired and a little afraid. a chill sweeps through your snow drenched fur; you shiver violently, and you realize for the first time how bad your legs want to give out, how weak your muscles feel. the wolf's eyes soften like he can read your mind. is uncomfortable, how he allows you the benefit of the doubt."come rest back at camp" he repeats, insistent, before you can decline him. "i'll have one of my hunters escort you to the foot of the mountain after you dry off."
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crabodile 🦀
#7895
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