[AW] Running Away From My Problems

[Deleted]

Bast was tired, cold, hungry, and did she mention exhausted. The trip into the lands had been difficult, and those she had relied upon betrayed her. She could have dealt with that though, it was fall when she first headed for these lands and her goal was to get her, find shelter, and a reliable source of food before the snows hit. Unfortunately, she had only managed to do one of those things. She had found shelter in some old decrepit ruins that she called home which was nice, and kept her warm, but now she was struggling with finding enough food and water to survive.

So it was just another day with her padding back to her shelter, encrusted with snow, shivering, and rapidly losing weight due to the lack of food. She could occasionally find small ponds to break open and lap up the icy water beneath, or some that had just not frozen, but the food was much harder. Being only three months old she was rather small, only nine and a half inches, and thus was not tall enough, or really physically developed, to hunt on her own, and so she was reliant on finding already dead animals to eat from, and while the snow tended to preserve meat longer, she couldn't stay out as long to hunt without freezing to death.

So with an empty stomach, Bast padded into her new home, welcoming the warmth that the walls of the ruins provided. She didn't really have a 'den' in here, just whatever room looked comfy. That settled she curled up in the corner of it and plopped down with a sigh, in a sort of rebellion against her hunger and the cold, waiting for sleep to overtake her.

[Calypso]

Nicolas and Edmond;

It hadn't really been all that long since the prince and his guard had arrived at the valley. If they remembered correctly, they had gotten there during Summer and had been there ever since, never settling down, but just wandering. During their time they had been given suggestions of what places in the valley to check out. They had gone to a few of these places, but this time was different. They had heard a brief description of the Ruins of Abeytu a while back, but now they were going to see it I'm person.

The two figures approached the ruins. One was a somewhat large black male with teal eyes and equally teal markings on his muzzle, ears, back, and legs. His head was held high and he seemed to have a very open and optimistic feel around him. The other figure was a little bit smaller than the other, a gray male with lighter grey markings and orange eyes. He seemed a bit more cautious, ears perked forward and eyes scanning for any sign of movement.

It hadn't taken long for the two to see why this place had been suggested to them. Despite its odd structure and randomness in the middle of a forest, it was a nice sight to see when just trees and snow got boring. While Nicolas, the black male, examined the walls of the ruins, Edmond, the gray male, stalked further into the ruins. At first he didn't smell, see, or hear anything that he should worry about, but a scent caught in his nose, one he didn't recognize. A flick of his tail signalled to Nic that there was something there with them to keep an eye out for. At this, the two had started peering around corners and in small nooks, curious as to what this scent was. It wasn't until Nic had come to a small area, one that was dark and kind of cramped for his size. He peered inside, the scent stronger there than anywhere else, but he didn't see anything.

He narrowed his eyes, beginning to reconsider, when he saw a small movement from inside. He pushed his head inside of the area quietly, looking down to find that there was a pup on the ground at his feet. This pup had nearly been invisible and was still hard to spot, even when he stood right next to it. He couldn't see the pup in much definition, but he could see that the pup was asleep and seemed quite skinny.

"I want you to watch it until I get back, " he whispered, turning to leave the ruins. Edmond stepped forward, letting out a growl of protest, only to receive a low growl in return. At this, Ed went quiet, lowering his head and taking a step back. With a snort, Nic turned and left the ruins temporarily, leaving Ed behind.

Honestly, Ed almost walked away. He didn't know this pup. He had no reason to watch out for it. Compared to Nic, this pup wasn't important in the slightest. He had nothing to gain by protecting it. Yet here he was, sitting at the entrance to the small room. He would occasionally glance in the pup's direction, but paid no mind to its condition.

When Nic had finally come back, he carried a slightly large white hare in his jaws. He had merely been lucky enough to find it shuffling through the snow, searching for its burrow. As he approached Ed, he looked inside the room again to check on the pup. It hadn't changed since he left, but just because it looked fine didn't mean that it eas. He set the rabbit down at Ed's feet and poked his nose inside again. He very lightly nudged the small bundle of black fur, hoping he would wake it but wouldn't startle it.

(Sorry for any spelling mistakes. Typed this on my phone with autocorrect)

[emorli]

Arani;

Arani speeds ahead of her brother, Baal, in a natural instinct to get ahead of him. Her paws drag in the snow, as she doesn't pick them up off of the ground much, creating more of a line in the snow rather than individual pawprints. Even though she might seem incredibly eager to go to the Ruins of Abeytu, she would honestly rather use this time to get out of the snow find a cave and take a nap.

The temperature wasn't all that bad at this time though. Spring is approaching as winter is about to come to an end, the basins begin to fill and the rivers begin to run with each passing day as the sun gradually melts the snow an ice.

Arani turns back to see if her brother was still following behind her, which he was and she decided to try to get him to pick up the pace a little. "I'd prefer that we arrive before nightfall." She raises an eyebrow at her brother and she stops to wait for him to catch up.

Baal;

"I'd prefer that we arrive before nightfall." Baal lets out a small laugh at his sister's impatience, but he likes to take his time, who knows when he'll come through here again, especially with the snow gracing the land as beautifully as it is right now.

"Quiet, Arani. You're the one who's speeding ahead." Baal lets a friendly smile spread across his face to know that his words meant well and his voice is calm and collected. He watches as his sister turns to wait for him, which results in him walking slower. When he looks up to her, he can see the annoyance growing on her face, until finally she scoffs and turns to take quick steps away from him.

It takes him longer than his sister, but he arrives at the ruins as he enjoys looking at the strange placements of the stones and the designs that are carved into the walls. He moves closer to the ruins to explore further what lies on the site, but it doesn't take him very long to catch on to the scent trails of a few other unknown presences that have passed through recently.

"Arani," His voice is reduced to a whisper as he turns his head looking for his sister. Arani's head pops out from behind a further stone and she nods toward him, showing that she's picked it up as well. Baal's eyes narrow and he moves further, following the trail, the scent getting stronger as he moves forward. Whoever he's picked up on is still here.

Baal turns back to his sister and nods back the way they came. "We should leave. We don't know who's in there." Baal turns and starts to walk away, but doesn't hear his companion following him, in fact, her steps get further and further away and he turns to see her walking closer to the structure. The huge male rolls his eyes and watches her move closer, he didn't expect her to listen to him anyways.

The predominantly black female pokes her nose around, moving closer to the scent until she can see two wolves standing with a white rabbit in front of them. She tilts her head at the sight but doesn't move any further. What are they doing? She tries squinting her eyes to see what they were looking at, but from where she stands, she can only see them looking at empty space. Arani looks back to see her brother finally caving into the female's decision to stay and he joins her behind a rock. He was using it less as a cover for their presence and more as a cover for any attacks that might come from the pair, he knew it was obvious that they were there by now.