[ P ] Bare Trees

Datura

Barren branches reached for the dark skies like fingers, blanketed in freshly fallen powder. A lone white wolfess left a trail of tiny paw prints in her wake as she dashed through the snow. The night air was frigid, but the wisp of a yearling failed to notice, for she was hunting alone that night, with a frantic hare as her prey.

The chase seemed to go on for hours, and Datura nearly gave up on several occasions, but then her mind would taunt: What would Larkspur do? Datura had no true desire to emulate her Sister, but Mother Rhiannon always seemed so pleased every time Lark did something]. And Datura was certain that Lark wouldn’t give up, so she continued, even when her lungs felt like they would burst and her muscles screamed from exertion.

From daylight into dusk, Datura tracked her prey, but she couldn’t seem to catch up. After time, she found her limbs growing heavy, but the hare’s pace had slowed, and success was only feet away. With the last of her energy, the small she-wolf lowered her belly toward the ground, hind legs propelling her pounce.

To her astonishment, when orange sights opened again and she looked down, Datura found that she had caught the poor thing. The hare looked dazed, caught beneath diminutive white forepaws. As she looked at the ailing animal, she found it was not much smaller and weaker than her, an unlucky little fellow. But the young wolfess couldn’t afford mercy, she had come too far for this meal. Before it came to its senses and escaped, Datura’s jaws parted to deal the lethal blow as fangs sank into tender flesh until the hare went limp.

Datura looked around, and realized then – she didn’t recognize a single tree or shrub, couldn’t detect any familiar scents. Within her ribcage, anxiety seized her heart, and her head turned slowly one direction and then the next, praying that the confusion was misplaced instead of her…

Just how far had she gone from home?


@Nilu

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As Nilu wandered through the forests of Perth, her stomach growled. It had been a day or so since she'd found anything to eat and she was growing a bit agitated from the hunger. She had tried to steal a meal earlier that day but came up empty-pawed. So now she'd have to resort to scavenging the rest of the day and see what she could come up with. She slunk through the trees quietly, keeping to the shadows and trying her best to spot anything of use nearby. It was then that she noticed the scent of another close by and decided to follow it-- maybe it would be a mark.

The young woman's ears twitched as she peered through the brambles at a pup with a hare between her paws. Immediately, she was interested. Her stomach grumbled again and she willed it to be quiet so she didn't get found out. She didn't have time to think or do anything except what her body willed her to do and that was run out of the brambles and snatch up the corpse from the girl who'd caught it. She seemed pretty young so many Nilu could get away with it. She ran off towards the forest, hoping that she's startled the other too much to give chase.

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Datura

Her mind was racing – which direction had she come from? The inky blackness of night would make it near impossible to find her way back until dawn, and even then… And would anyone notice she was inexplicably gone? Would anyone care? The girl was stuck in her tempestuous thoughts when suddenly, a flash of onyx moved past her field of vision like a phantom. A startled cry escaped her maw as she jumped back, fearful that she was going to be attacked by a stranger in a strange place…


What happened was somehow worse than that, for when Datura looked down again, only a fresh pool of blood remained where her prey had been only moments before. ”H-hey! That’s mine!” Without a second thought, the young witch darted after the darkness that had stolen away what was hers. Normally, she would just allow something like that to happen, to simply give up. But she had worked too hard that day, had come too far.


Ivory legs carried her as quickly as she could manage through the unfamiliar terrain, eyes fixed upon the thief. Datura had little chance of catching up to the older stranger, whose long limbs could easily outpace Datura’s still-growing form. Desperately, the almost-yearling yelled out to the stranger in a last ditch effort to catch the thief’s attention: “We can share it!”



@Nilu

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Nilu felt like her chest was on fire as she ran through the trees with her stolen prize between her jaws. She couldn't keep up like this for long but she was pulling away from the younger pup and soon she'd lose her; at least so she thought. The dark girl's ears twitched as the other called out, claiming they could share it, and Nilu looked over her shoulder in confusion to the call. Before she knew it, she was flying head over heels across the ground. She didn't know what the hell had happened.

With an 'oof' she landed near some more bramble bushes, the hare having gone flying from her mouth and landing a few feet away. Her adrenaline still pumping, she jumped to her paws and looked towards her pursuing, who had caught up to her somewhat during her fall. Nilu stumbled towards the food before falling forward on her own feet, a pain shooting up her leg. "Owww!" she cried out loudly. She lifted her injured paw and huffed.

She bristled lightly as her gaze fell on the girl she'd stolen from and she found herself in quite the predicament. She didn't really want to fight her for the food but she was so hungry... and now her paw was injured and she couldn't make a clean getaway. Well... this was just great!

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A familiar sense of defeat was already settling into her gut as the pale child had attempted, in vain, to fill the distance between herself and the tiny thief. She was about to give up the chase as her muscles were screaming from overexertion. But then, Datura’s attempt to stop the stranger who had stolen her catch worked – sort of.

Perhaps it was the work of the magical forest or the fae, but when the dark yearling peered over her shoulder, she lost the path beneath her paws. Suddenly, the stranger was tumbling like a fallen boulder. Datura’s topaz sights grew wide with surprise as she watched the helpless momentum of the stranger until she was sprawled out on the ground.

Pace slowing, the little witch’s focus didn’t turn to the hare she had been trying to reclaim. Instead, she moved slowly, on tentative paws, toward the now-wounded youth. She was fearful of drawing too near, but her eyes were fixed upon the injured paw. Lips pursed into a frown and she winced as she imagined how much it must have hurt. ”You okay?” Eyebrows knit together in concern, her prey seemingly forgotten. "I can help you."



@Nilu

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To Nilu's surprise, the girl wasn't snatching her hare and running off like she thought she would but instead approaching her and asking her if she was okay. Suspiciously, the little black wolf eyed the pup before simply shaking her head and drawing in her paw towards her chest. She wasn't sure the other wolf could help her... or should help her for that matter but what else was she to do? Lay here and wait for the crows to collect? Nilu's nose twitched as she continued to eye the stranger she'd stolen from. "Why would you help me?" she asked curiously.

Her dark eyes swirled with disbelief but after a moment she extended her hurt paw towards the young wolf to show her the extent of the damage. Nothing was broken, but it was definitely sprained and sore. The area above the paw was swollen a little by now and delicate to the touch. Nilu winced as she set it on the ground, finding it too achy to dangle up in the other's face. "I don't think it's broken..." thankfully... she would be doomed if that happened.

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The stranger’s dark eyes were suspicious as Datura stood before her. Datura had seen eyes like these before. Anwyn was all black, darker than the night, just like this yearling. The other questioned her motives, and the pale child’s shoulders rolled in a half shrug. ”Because you need help,” she responded simply. If she had encountered someone else – any of her Sisters, perhaps – the thief would have been met by very different reactions. Larkspur would have been outraged and damn near murderous, and Nightshade… But little Datura was not like them, even if the ebony youth couldn’t quite believe that someone was being nice because it was the right thing to do.

After several seconds had passed, the stranger finally held her injured paw out so that Datura could look. The young healer took a few tentative steps closer. She dared to reach out a diminutive paw to touch the other’s tender ankle. ”It’s not,” she agreed, flashing the other a small smile that she hoped would be reassuring. ”Best to get it into cold.” And luckily for the little thief, there was an icy creek nearby, fed by the melting snow of Tir Na Nog. ”Can you follow me?” She would move to the side slightly so that if the nameless girl needed a crutch to lean on, Datura would support her weight. Both of the youths were small in stature, with the dark girl even tinier than even little Datura. "It'll be okay," she offered with a soft smile.



@Nilu

coding: gutz

Nilu's suspicion began to ebb as the girl continued to show her kindness. Was it all a lie to get her into trouble? Nilu didn't know, but she also didn't think too much on it if she were being honest. She said she needed to get it into the cold and then was asked if she could follow. "Yeah, I think I can." she said before she stumbled to her paws, lifting her injured one, and started hobbling after the younger wolf.

The hare she'd stolen was seemingly forgotten as they delved into the woods together and Nilu wondered if perhaps instead of making an enemy today she would be making a friend. The other girl seemed kind, which was a nice reprieve from her usual targets funnily enough.

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Datura

As the two moved slowly toward the water’s edge, the little witch went as slowly as she needed to in order for the other to keep up. She was a patient child, offering an encouraging smile to the stranger as the dark yearling limped along on three working legs. On the bank of the creek, Datura stood timidly, pointing a tiny paw at the cold waters that her coven held sacred. ”It’s – it’s supposed to be blessed. M-maybe it’ll help.” She was already thinking of what else to do to assist the injured yearling, but something was distracting her...

Then, Datura caught herself openly staring at the other, and her blond head ducked in embarrassment. After an awkward silence, nervously, the girl stammered, ”I — I apologize.” She had never seen another wolf before that looked like Anwyn, impossibly inky black fur and obsidian sights, which begged the question: ”Might you be a cù-sìth?” The timid girl was quick to add in a shaky voice, ”You — you look like one.”



@Nilu

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Nilu ambled after the other young wolf slowly, her injured paw a rather annoying hindrance. But eventually they came upon a stream and Datura told her the waters were supposedly blessed. Nilu tilted her head and placed her paw into them, shivering as the cold enveloped her paw. It hurt at first but slowly began to sooth the ache in her ankle.

A few moments passed when she noticed Datura staring at her. It wasn't strange for others to stare at Nilu, she got it all the time, but when she asked her if she was a cu-sith, the girl tilted her head in question. "What's that?" she asked, finding herself unfamiliar with this particular word.

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