i am the blood of the mountain

If I had worried that my rescue had come too late for the small girl, her antics did everything to prove me wrong. As I buried my nose in her chest to investigate every inch of her, her tiny body wrapped around the front of my muzzle. My eyes grew wide, in an adoring fashion as paws pressed lightly against my bottom jaw and toothless gums gnashing on the darkness of my nose. The tinkling laughter that the child emitted soothed all my angst over her safety, and I licked the length of her body once over before I picked her up once more. I wished more than anything that I had a litter of my own so that I might nourish her myself, but such was not the case. I could only hope that Anemone would be receptive to the idea of taking on an extra pup; I was unsure how large her litter would be, but I knew she cared greatly for pups and so I kept a positive outlook on things.

I skirted along the northern edge of the valley, a long legged lope bringing me ever closer to the safety of my home. Every so often I would take a break, letting the pup rest in the grasses as I stood sentinel over her. Such a journey would certainly be trying for her at such a young age, but it was important that I get her to a mother from which she could nurse as soon as possible. Otherwise the stinging in my shoulder where the bobcat had grazed me with her sharp claws would be for naught. I cared not for this surface injury, it barely bothered me, the skin only puckering slightly where she had not been quite accurate enough to break the skin. But I did not want to lose hope, I wanted nothing more for this little girl than for her to survive. Finally I jogged across the borders of Spirane as the sun began to dip low over the horizon.

Swiftly I made my way up familiar paths into my pack lands, cutting across different trails to make the journey to where I knew Anemone's den to be shorter. It was as I fell onto the track that would lead me directly to her densite that I caught the scent of a foreigner, a stranger that held the smells of the common lands strong within the aroma he had left in his wake. Immediately I worried for the members of my pack, concerned that some rogue had come in the dead of night to attack the newest families in their sleep. My gate lengthened as I clutched the pup delicately in my jaws, for she had become too weak to bunch her bodice up underneath her as a pup would over short distances. Nostrils flaring, I slowed as I came closer to the clearing that held the entrance to Anemone's den. The scent of blood flooded my senses and I thought that I would have to stow my precious cargo in a nearby bush so that I could fend off whatever intruder had come to attack Anemone.

But just as I began to seek out a place to hide the little girl, my ears swiveled towards the clearing that was upwind not far off in front of me. 'Is everything good in there? Do you need anything at all?' I paused, sniffing at the air once more as the voice spoke again, concern and worry evident in his voice. Closing my eyes, I took a long, deep breath and realized that the scent of blood was not one born of violence, but that which came from bringing new life into the world. Lifting my head I carried onward, moving out into the open. My tail was postured high above my hips, form held regally as I moved towards the den's mouth. I could not bark out or speak a greeting to this seemingly well-intentioned trespasser, so I made the only sound I could when my mouth was blocked by the body of a pup. A non-threatening growl rumbled from my throat. Mahogany eyes told the stranger to move aside, for I needed to enter the den, and I would deal with his presence once this pup's life was ensured.

Keeping an eye on the unknown wolf out of the corner of my eye, I lowered my head into the den's opening, a soft sound emitted from my throat that was between a whine and a growl, a request for Anemone's permission to enter the den. Only when it was given did I move within, giving her plenty of space, and a moment to realize what it was that I carried in my jaws before I lowered my small passenger to the floor of the den, keeping her close to me in case Anemone refused her. My eyes swept over the three whelps that rested at her abdomen, so beautiful and varied in coloration. Three pups was a lot to handle, would she be willing to take on a fourth? "They are beautiful Anemone, congratluations," I said, before lowering my eyes to the motherless pup of golden hues at my paws once more. "I found her in the woodlands of Enocra. Her mother was at least two days dead, and a bobcat thought to make a meal of her. I've called her Freyja; will you help me to save her?" Though I was ever aware of the presence of the unknown male outside the den - father to Anemone's pups? merely a friend? I could not be sure - my primary concern was finding Freyja a mother, and if by some farfetched chance Anemone refused her, then I would go in search of Spirit. I would not let this child die.

daenerys