21st of Frost, 120xx
S
enara knew Fate was a cruel mistress. She had placed the wolf in a home in which family meant bloodshed and the setting sun meant bruises. She had delivered the mountain lion to her certainly as a means of laughing at her hardship. And in her darkest hours had taken all but her will to live from her very veins. But then, why place these humans in her path? That night she had dreamt of nothing. Silence, blackness, perfect comfort as if in death Senara had slept until the sun began to rise above the treeline setting the snow aglow with a mixture of pink, gold, and white that sparkled and flurried in the gentle wind. Much later than her normally waking hour, Senara slowly opened her eyes to the sounds of robins and bluebirds singing her awake.
It felt different. It wasn’t her cave, nor her cliff.. Her head raised slowly to take in her surroundings as the events of the previous night came flooding back into her mind. And as they did she shot up onto all fours quicker than the pain could register. But as soon as it did her muzzle let out a soft whine. It wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been previously, but she was in no condition to be walking and tearing open any wounds.
Not that that had stopped her any other time, but this time she could feel her body being pushed past it’s limits. The meat given to her by the strange blonde woman had been the one thing keeping her alive through the night. The woman… the man.. And the spider. She held her head low and kept her eyes pointed at the tents, her stomach growled and limbs were rigid as she listened for the sounds of inevitable danger.
Nearly ten minutes later it didn’t come. She could still smell them, and their tents were still here. Which meant they were likely still sleeping. Senara’s muscles relaxed as she began to limp forward on three legs. Her back injured thigh still curled up in her attempts to keep from moving the stiff, burnt flesh. The edges around the burn were the most sore, and every small shift in her skin sent a brief sting of pain throbbing through her body as it exposed itself to the harsh frost air.
But, she could move. And none of the humans were awake. Which meant she could steal. Senara licked her nose and tasted the remainder of the stew upon her muzzle as she stalked forward, peripherals making note of the tent entrances. When she finally got close enough to the pot from the previous night her heart sank at the sight. No more stew. Just tiny remnants of what had once been her saving grace. It was likely the man had come back and finished it all.
With a small huff she stuck her muzzle into the pot and began licking it clean, desperate for something. It was funny, the way starvation worked. It was easier to ignore the hunger when you hadn’t had a bite in weeks, but the first taste of even bland meat and suddenly you were unable to go even a second without thinking of wanting more. Needing more. She could nearly hear Fate laughing once more at her strife, and she scoffed in return as she licked the final bead of frozen stew particles off the inside of the pot.
Still no sight or sound of the humans or their spider. With wary eyes she made her way around the camp, sniffing every corner and crevice for some semblance of scraps or leftovers while she mulled over the night before. The woman… it seemed she had been attempting to fix her wounds. But why? What did she gain? Her leg, while stiff and throbbing in pain, was no longer at risk of catching the black fester she’d seen on so many other animals. And what’s more, the woman had fed her. Given her meat from the very pot she’d hoped to steal from. It was odd behavior, and it didn’t add up. The girl inside her wanted to reach out and ask why, while the wolf that she knew she was knew better than to get involved with humans.
But… there was no food left. She had come to realize any remaining sustenance available would have been hidden inside their tent with them. And if the blonde woman was strange enough to feed her once… perhaps she would do it again. There was no way Senara would win fighting even a rabbit at this point. No, she’d likely rip open the wound again just in the chase alone if she could even grit through the pain enough.
They hadn’t killed her while she slept. And at least one of them had fed her.
So, maybe, hopefully, her plan would work.
Senara left her roaming in large paw prints behind her as she limped her way to the center of the camp and laid herself down just in front of the logs still warmed from the previous night's fire. Waiting on humans to feed her like a common dog... It wasn’t the most prideful thing she’d ever done but pride could be rebuilt, death could not. And so with head raised and alert, silver fur clinging to her thin frame still speckled with old blood, she stared ahead ready for the tent to open.
