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 Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 4:01 am
 With no luck in running across certain acquaintances in the North, the orange male Helix had continued on his way, seeking out new lands and battling the falling snow before returning to his warm home in the South. He could only hope that Narcissa was faring well since they'd last crossed paths.
He'd been traveling for quite some time and he was pretty sure he should have been out of the Northern territory by now. So what was with all the snow? Frowning, he picked up his pace, soon leaving the snow flying up in his wake. The adolescent male may have been young, but his speed was unmatched by even most adult Helixes. No wonder he went running for hours on end simply for the fun of it.
His frown deepened with concern as the sound of far-off, but terrified screams echoed over the landscape. His pace quickened further, his paws practically flying over the frozen earth. His ears twitched as he ran, catching each howl and scream, growing louder as he shifted directions to close in on the source. A battle, from the sound of it...or a massacre more like. However, the screeches of pain weren't from any prey animal that Warren had ever heard.
It sounded like a Helix.
Within moments, he crested a hill, slowing long enough to take in the situation in one horrified glance. That was all it took and with a determined snarl, he was off again, the hill easily helping him pick up speed. He was an orange blur on the snowy landscape, no thought other than stopping this monstrosity from continuing...if he wasn't already too late.
He was still only an adolescent and he hadn't forgotten that in sizing up the wild adult female below. However, he also knew his strengths and how to make the most of them. He'd be relying on his speed...quick in and out, keep from being retaliated against if he could. He could tell obviously enough that the female could do some damage if he let her get close enough to get a hold on him.
Snarling viciously, much unlike himself, Warren closed the distance quickly and braced himself to slam directly into her side, ready to rebound away as soon as his paws hit the ground again.
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 4:15 am
Howlite groaned weakly. His body had stopped shivering even though he was still cold and he didn't resist when the female bought him closer (as if he could). On the contrary, he enjoyed the warmth radiating off of her and he sighed, willingly pressing himself closer to her. Her words were a soft babble in the back of his mind and all he could see was the red snow by his paws. Was he so tired that he couldn't even move his eyes up? Surely, the sky would be a more beautiful sight. His hindquarters twitched when he felt something there. Where... where was his tail? he pondered, wondering why nothing was wrapping around him to keep him warm. The foreign thing moved away and he could feel something dripping. Was his back hit that much? He didn't think so but he guess it was since it seemed to be leaking a lot of blood. The body of the female disappeared and he felt something warm near by. He wasn't sure what it was and he managed to frown slightly when his slow mind worndered what it was. He started shivering again and he gave a soft bark, trying to call her back to his side. He was cold, dammit, where was she? Again, his hindquarters twitched and he kicked out a leg at whatever was bothering him since his tail didn't seem to want to help him.
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 4:30 am
Hunter had just gone back to licking him when her ear flicked, alerting her of something. She turned just in time to see orange and white collide into her side and her world was thrown upside down as she rolled.
She staggered up, her limp wing dragging, maw dripping, paw curled up. She flared her one good wing and her fur bristled. She barked thrice and leapt, trying to protect her kill. "MINE!" She roared. "MINE! GET YOUR OWN!" She reared at Warren and came down beside her prey, barking loudly.
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 5:00 am
The hit had been solid enough that even Warren was left shaking his head as he rebounded, landing safely out of counterattack range. He had to stay clear-headed, so he shook it off and trained his narrowed eyes on the crazy female again.
'You know, lady, I think you might be a bit mixed up in the head. That's a Helix there, not a dinner. And unless you're a praying mantis, that's not how you choose a mate either.'
He probably shouldn't have been so flippant...but, hey, it's who he was. She might be a crazed female...but she was also injured. Unless she was stupid as well as crazy, he might just have a chance to get them both out of this. If the other on the ground was even still alive, or would be for long.
Blue eyes took in every detail, from the favored paw, to the dragging wing. If she hadn't been injured, she'd have been an imposing sight indeed. Heck, she still was in a way. Warren sure wouldn't have even thought of picking a fight with her in full health. For whatever reason.
He had a pretty decent reason now though, or so he believed. This was a rescue mission, if a desperate, improvised one. Growling in reply now, fur standing on end, he held his ground, tense and ready to react if needed. His voice now was low, tinged with an edge of authority he didn't exactly possess.
'I think you've done enough damage here today. Unless you'd like to try me, see if I can't finish that job on your wings there and make sure you never fly again? I'd suggest you move along.'
Honestly, whether or not he could win this fight...Warren had no idea. If necessary, however, he could make sure to at least do some permanent damage to make sure she wouldn't forget him.
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 5:15 am
Howlite, getting slightly delusional by that point, grunted when his demands weren't met. This only resulted in him coughing up more blood but he ignored it. He turned his head, unintentionally slow, looking for her. When he saw her close by, he frowned, wondering why she wasn't listening to him. He tried to call out but his tounge felt heavy so he proceeded to try and prod her in the side instead. She wasn't even looking at him and where was his god forsaken tail? He craned his neck to look behind him. There it was, his once beautiful tail. He was sure it would be just fine after a long soak. Still it did not come to him and he twitched his rump. Nothing. He tried to get it but felt to tired to move and decided to go after it later, after a nice long sleep. Besides, he was sure he saw a flash of orange. That meant the sun would come soon and he would be warm again. Right. He just had to wait it out. He sighed, tucking his head between his stained paws, closing his eyes. He didn't feel anything but he was weak and had lost much blood.
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 4:09 pm
"No. This dinner just happens to be a helix." she retorted, standing with her tail up and her ears forward. She growled deeply and flicked her tail, trying to fold her wing in one more as she eyeballed him. He was big and fast...she was injured and tired and hungry. Her prey was delicious but there was other prey.
Hunter's ears folded back after a moment and, still staring at the orange helix, she knelt and picked Howlite's tail up in her maw. At least she had a snack this way. She backed up, still watching him, and slid backwards into the bushes. She laid down, still visible, and began to munch his tail, now looking as docile as a babe.
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 4:57 pm
Mildly disturbed by the sight, Warren grimaced slightly, but didn't take his eyes off the female nonetheless. Even if she didn't seem like a threat at the moment, she was still present and that could change in the blink of an eye.
So, his senses still on the female, Warren moved swiftly towards the other Helix in the snow. 'Hey man...you still with me?' His eyes darted towards the female, winced, then turned back to the other male. While he was a fellow adolescent, Warren sensed he was still quite a bit younger than himself. 'Well, kid, we gotta' get this blood to stop before you're left bone dry. Err...this might hurt a bit...if you can still feel much of anything that is.'
Thinking fast, Warren hurried to sweep together a pile of clean snow, which took more effort than it really should have. Then, heaping the clean snow onto the gaping hole on the poor Helix's rump, the orange adolescent pressed down firmly with his paws, even as the snow turned red and seeped over his own fur. It might hurt and the snow might even partially freeze the flesh...but at the same time it would likely stop the bleeding, which was the most important priority at the moment.
'Just hang in there, kid. You'll make it through this.' Eyes still flicking over towards the female from time to time, Warren kept at his efforts to stop the bleeding.
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 5:20 pm
"Hey!" Howlite called weakly when he saw the female make off with his tail. "Come back here." He grumbled more about it but didn't make any other attempt to retrieve it. He still hadn't gotten over the loss of his tail and in his mind, she just happened to be borrowing it. All he had to do was get it back, put it back on, and he would have a tail again. He was tired and he blinked rapidly to keep his eyes half open at least. She might run off with his precious tail if he kept his eyes off of her for one second, after all, and he didn't want that to happen. "Go away." he muttered to the walking sun. Couldn't it see he was busy? His eyes felt heavy and he decided closing them for a second or two wouldn't hurt, so he did. He would have fallen into a deep sleep if a sharp sting on his haunches didn't wake him back up again. There was a sound, a voice he assumed, but he couldn't make out what it was saying. He didn't like what he felt and clawed feebly at the snow in front of him, trying to drag himself away from whatever it was. "Bring that back!" he said when his eyes strayed back to the female. He had meant to yell at her but his voice was no more than a soft whisper.
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 5:51 pm
She watched as he piled the wound with snow, pulling flesh off her prey's stripped tail and savouring it. She was still holding her gaze on the pair. She was still hungry for the younger helix, but as long as speedy gonzales was in her way, she couldn't do a thing about it. Her paws and maw dripped in his blood. She seemed to forget her own pain as she chewed the marrow of Howl's tail. She snarled, but did not attack when he 'yelled' at her.
After she had devoured the joint, she unfurled her hurt wing and began to lick it tenderly. The membrane hadn't snapped but there was an awful bruise and a tiny bit of torn skin. Several puncture holes were in the flesh. She finished licking it clean, then began to lick her hurt paw.
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 6:55 pm
The combination of freezing snow and pressure seemed to have stopped, or at least slowed, the bleeding for now and Warren backed away, paws soaked with melted snow and blood. Obviously, the other Helix was delirious, long past logical thinking or speech.
Still, it was instinct to keep talking, to try to keep him calm.
'Yeah, yeah, we'll worry about that later, kid. Let's see if we can keep the rest of you from freezing, 'k?' The orange Helix sighed, shaking out his fur before curling around the other. There was no way he could move in his current condition, so it fell to Warren to at least keep him warm so that he wouldn't freeze before he could.
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 7:03 pm
Howlite's vision blurred and he tried to keep himself awake. There was more noise beside him and glanced at the orange helix. "Aren't you supposed to be up in the sky?" he mumbled, wondering what the sun was still doing here. It curled around him and Howlite pressed against him gratefully. If it wanted to stay grounded and warm up only him and not the rest of the world, he was fine with that. He tried to use his tail to cover his nose, then remembered he had yet to get it back. He felt too tired to try to go after it now and with an angry huff, he stuffed his nose under Warren's fur instead, falling into a restless sleep.
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Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2008 1:21 am
'Nah, I'm on vacation,' Warren muttered, no idea what the poor Helix was babbling about. Whatever it was, if the kid was talking, at least he was still alive.
Which didn't make Warren feel much better when the kid drifted off to sleep later, even if it was a fitful one. Sighing softly, he tried to keep providing as much heat possible while keeping an eye on the crazy female. She seemed to have fallen silent for a bit, but he wasn't about to let his guard down. He needed to stay alert and ready, for both of their sakes.
Still, didn't stop him from muttering to himself, '...how do I keep winding up in these crazy situations?'
---
((Hmm...feel free to insert a time skip or whatever at this point. No idea what to do with Warren as he's just going to be waiting on guard until Howl can at least stagger off with him or something. XDDD ))
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Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2008 11:38 am
Hunter continued to lick her paw, no longer concerned with them.
About an hour passed and she finished. She took her prize, the tail bones, and padded out into the clearing. She sat beside the pair. "When weak wolf gets up-" she told the orange helix "-tell him to never show his face in my hunting grounds again. Hunter make mincemeat of him next time." She then flared her wings and flapped them several times before taking off, his dead tail dangling in her maw. Then, she was a brown smudge, then a dot, then a speck on the horizon....then, like a terrible thunderstorm or nightmare, she was gone.
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Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 8:12 pm
Running. That seemed to be all he was doing. He looked back, his breath coming out in gasps, to see a monster chasing after him and he looked away, trying to run faster. Why was he stumbling so much? Was he that scared. Maybe if he could trick the monster, he could elude it. He turned, hoping to weave around the many pillars around them to lose it but he fell. He yelped in surprise, wondering what was wrong, since the last time he had tripped was when he was a young pup as he prided himself in his dexterity. He turned to see how close the monster would be but stopped when he noticed something missing. His tail. His eyes widened and he looked up to see it was Hunter he was running away from, his tail in her jaws.
Howlite woke with a start. He blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of the blurs he saw. He looked around, wondering where he was and what he was doing. Only when he saw a strange orange helix did he remember. He sprang on his paws but they shook instantly and he fell back down. He managed to sit at least, and he managed to drag himself away from the orange helix a few inches. His ears flattened against his head and he tried to put on a fearsome expression, fangs and all. Who was he? What was he doing here and how long had he been out? were the questions that ran through his mind.
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Posted: Tue Mar 03, 2009 11:07 pm
Warren shook off the snow that had settled on his back before standing, quite a bit more solidly than the other adolescent. 'Oh good, you are still alive. I was starting to wonder if I was serving as a heater for a corpse.' His tone was light, but while relieved, he knew the other wasn't completely out of danger yet. At least, not until the two got the heck out of here; neither of them were.
Eyes scanning the horizon first, he stretched and shook out his fur again. 'If you can move now, I'd say we put some of this snow behind us. Before the crazy female decides to come back for seconds.' His tone was grim, eyes set on the other adolescent. 'And I wouldn't recommend revisiting this particular patch of snow in the future. Unless you'd like to lose more than your tail, but of course, that's up to you. As for me, I'm heading out.'
With that, he took a few steps towards the south. If the other wanted to sit there and posture like a fool, then fine. Warren had done his part in saving his life already; he expected no thanks, but if the other had sense, he'd realize that he still needed to escape that crazed female's territory if he was ever going to recover from his injury.
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