Completed A Wolf in the Woods

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 30th Winter, 514 AV Heaving a heavy sigh the young man once again found himself dragging his supplies across the city to the docks where he would catch a ferry out to the lakeshore. It was time to go hunting again. he had to make sure he had enough mizas to be able to buy supplies should he find someone willing to travel with him. That and he needed to get out of the city again. He was constantly looking over his shoulder to see if N-what's his name-had found him yet. He knew that the man would come after him for the things he had stolen from him. The Kelvic had taken the items because the man had poisoned him and ruined his clothes, causing him to incur unnecessary expenses. Sighing again he made a face to himself as he stepped into the ferry and arranged his things to where he could lean against it all and stare out over the water. Butterflies danced in his stomach as he sat in the early morning light. He was nervous about venturing out into the wilds. Precisely because of N. The last time he had come out here he had encountered the man and wound up poisoned with a knife wound to his arm. It had only occurred ten days ago after all, of course he was going to have some trepidation about venturing out with that man on the loose. The cut on his arm was mostly healed at this point, it was just a pink line now. It had been bothersome to clean it and care for it, but at least it hadn't been deep enough that he couldn't care for it himself. He sat on the ferry for a bell before it started its journey to the shore. Once out on the open water he felt better. The light breeze and the soothing sounds of the water mingled with the light chatter of the other passengers helped him to relax a little before the journey ahead. Once they arrived at the shore he lifted his things and began the tiring journey out into the wilderness. He hoped that his horse was within range that he would have his companion with him. There had been a few times lately where the horse didn't show up until he had ventured most of the way to his destination. He chalked it up to the animal having to stray further and further out to find food. He trudged on for four bells before he tried calling the animal to him. Standing still for a few chimes he didn't hear the thundering of hooves that meant his friend was making his way to him. Frowning a little he lifted his things and moved along for another two bells before stopping and trying again. Once more there was no answer. He walked along for the remainder of the day, calling the horse every bell or so, but to no avail. As darkness descended upon him he set up camp and sat down in front of his small fire, worrying about his horse. He really should have paid to keep it stabled outside the city; it was selfish of him to let his friend roam free where anything could happen to him just to save a few mizas. With those thoughts swirling around his head he put his fire out and slipped into his tent to sleep for the rest of the night.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 31st Winter, 514 AV Faolan woke to the sound of something big breathing nearby. Every hair on his body stood up as he listened to breaths being taken and let out. He laid very still as he tried to determine the animal he was dealing with. A bear? A deer? Something else? He wasn't sure until he heard it shuffle around. That was definitely the sound of hooves in the underbrush. Carefully moving to the entry flap of the tent he slowly pulled it back so that he could see what it was he was dealing with. If a deer had wandered this close to his camp he would have to quickly shift in order to catch it. As he peered out of the tent he realized after a moment that he wasn't looking at a larger than average black and white deer. He was looking at Drifter. Apparently the horse had located him on its own, probably having heard his calls earlier yesterday. With a smile he made his way out of his tent and over to the animal who nickered softly at him and nudged his chest with its nose. "I missed you too my friend." he said softly as he pet the horse. The animal seemed to be in decent shape but he knew that he couldn't leave him out here alone anymore. He was a little thin and his coat was in need of some care. He could only assume that his feet probably needed some work too. He patted the animal's neck appreciatively before going about breaking down camp. Once everything was ready to go he saddled up Drifter, loaded everything up and climbed up into the saddle. Nudging the horse forward he guided them to his favorite hunting spot. It was further out than he had originally wanted to go when he struck out into the wilds, but with the lake monster pushing hunters further and further out he had to move out ahead of them. Not only did he not want to compete with them, but he didn't want to get caught by them either. He didn't necessarily need to go out this far now that things in the city seemed to be reverting back towards fishing, but he liked the area and was okay with being two days away from the city. The pair spent the rest of the day making their way to the river that he camped near every time he was out here. He picked a different spot whenever he ventured out here and this time he went further down river than he had any other time. Finding a spot that was far enough away from the shore that he wouldn't have to worry about the river rising overnight and sweeping him and the camp away he set up the camp as the light began fading from the sky. Plopping down in front of his fire he listened to the night sounds of the forest until it was time for him to go to sleep. Once he was tired enough he crawled inside the tent, stripped down, shifted into his wolf form, curled up in his bedroll and blanket and drifted off to sleep.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 32nd Winter, 514 AV Faolan woke up the next morning just as light began to filter through the trees. He stretched in the cool morning air before stepping out of the tent. His breath curled out in smokey tendrils before his muzzle as he shook the sleep from his fur. Since it was cooler his coat had grown in thicker and he wasn't bothered by the cold. He actually enjoyed it as it was invigorating and would make for good hunting conditions. While it was true that it was generally harder to find food in the winter he hadn't found that to necessarily apply to him. As a creature of the woods he knew where the prey animals would be hiding out in the cold. He looked over at Drifter to make sure his horse was okay before trotting off into the trees in search of breakfast before he started his day of hunting. He made his way through the underbrush with his nose searching for any viable scent to track down. When he did come across the fresh smell of a rabbit he paused with his ears searching for the sound of the animal. Rabbits were so easy to startle that he had to approach carefully or his breakfast would be gone before he ever got a chance to catch it. Once he picked up the faint sound of scuffling in the bushes a few feet away he stalked forward slowly; body low to the ground, all senses on high alert. He crept up on the unsuspecting animal as it rummaged through the sticks and leaves in search of something to eat. He managed to get within a few feet before he prepared to strike. Just as he lunged forward the animal heard him. It only made it a few bounds before he got a hold of it by its hips. Crunching down he heard the bones break and the animal starting screaming in pain. Not wanting it to suffer he quickly dispatched it with a decisive bite to the back of the neck and a shake of his head for good measure. Once he had finished his meal he continued on his hunt. It took him four bells to track down a small herd of deer. He circled them cautiously looking for a viable one to try and catch. When he got one singled out because it was limping from what appeared to be an old predator inflicted wound, he lunged in and the deer bolted. Staying focused on his target he managed to grab its flank and brought it down. As it thrashed around he had to dodge flailing hooves in order to bite down on its neck and end its suffering. Once he was sure it was dead he shifted back to his human form, grabbed it by its hind legs and began dragging it back to camp. It took him another three bells to get it back. Finding his knife once he was back at his fire pit he got a fire going and the smoker set up before sitting down and going about dressing the animal down. As he pulled usable meat from the deer he smoked it over the fire as he continued working. Once the skin was dry enough to use he wrapped it all up in it and then dug a hole to store it in. Done with that he went down to the river to get cleaned up and dispose of the bits he didn't want. When he was clean he went back and laid down in his tent after putting out the fire. Not bad for his first day out he thought as he shifted back to his wolf form, made himself comfortable, curled up and went to sleep.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 33rd Winter, 514 AV The wolf's blue eyes blinked open with the morning light and he let out a lazy yawn as he pondered whether he wanted to get up or not. Groaning a little bit he got up and stretched out each of his limbs in turn. He stood in the dim interior of the tent for a few moments as he listened to the quiet sounds of an awakening forest. Yawning again he stretched his front legs out in front of himself, bowing his back and sticking his tail up in the air as he moved the sleep from his system. Leaning his weight on to his front legs he stretched each of his back legs out as well before stepping out of the tent into the crisp morning air. Trotting past Drifter he made his way to the river for a morning drink before setting off into the forest in search of breakfast. It didn't take him very long to track down a squirrel that was digging up one of the acorns it had hidden in the dirt. While it was distracted he managed to snatch it up from behind and quickly break its back. It wasn't the biggest breakfast ever, but it would hold him over until he caught something big. He always ate the pieces that the humans wouldn't want, but that were perfectly acceptable to ingest. There some bits that even he wouldn't eat; those he returned to nature. When he was done with his squirrel he put his nose back to the ground and began hunting for larger prey. If he could catch two more deer he would be able to head back to the city. Otherwise he would need to try and collect a lot of little prey animals to try and make up for it. He's done that before, but it's not as desirable as bringing in several deer. With his nose searching for the scent of deer he came across the smell of the same herd from yesterday. Snorting at the ground he moved along in search of a different scent. He didn't want to hunt the same herd two days in a row. That seemed cruel and not sustainable for the herd. The last thing he wanted to do was hunt a herd until it was extinct. It actually was a little bit of a surprise that they were still in the area. Usually they would have left the area where they knew a large predator was roaming. He had a feeling it was because of food resources that the herd didn't want to leave. It took five bells for him to track down a different herd of deer. He crouched in some underbrush to watch this herd to try and determine what he would be able to catch. Noting an elderly deer that was clearly arthritic and wasn't fairing well in the cold he licked his lips and got ready to charge in. Waiting for the right moment he watched the herd carefully. Spotting his moment to strike he lunged forward out of his hiding space and scattered the herd. Running down the older deer he took the animal down with two decisive bites to it's flank and stomach. He made his kill and shifted back to his human form, grabbing the animal by its legs and hauling it back to the camp took him another four bells. Exhausted by the time he made it back he sat down for a few moments just to catch his breath. When he was ready to continue his work he started his fire, retrieved his knife and began dressing down the animal. As he pulled good meat from the carcass he set it up to smoke over the fire. When it was done he wrapped it all up in the skin and then hid it in a hole. Going to the river to get cleaned up he crouched near the edge of the lazily moving water to look up at the night sky. He wondered what it would be like to live out here all the time, but put it out of his mind soon enough. He couldn't survive out here for any longer than his hunting trips. He knew that he wasn't cut out for living in the wilds by himself unless he stayed in his wolf form and integrated into a pack somehow. Shaking his head to get rid of those thoughts he returned to camp to put out his fire and go to sleep in his tent in his wolf form.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 34th Winter, 514 AV Faolan woke again with the morning light, his blue eyes gazing at the side of the tent. Rolling onto his back he stretched his paws up towards the ceiling with a groan. He didn't really want to get up, lying in the tent all day sounded nice, but he had to go hunting. He needed to catch something today; even if it wasn't a deer. Having two deer would be sufficient as long as they were supplemented with some smaller animals as well. Rolling back over he got up reluctantly and left the tent. He made his way to the river for a drink of water before heading off into the woods for his breakfast. It didn't take him long to track down a small badger, which he quickly killed before it could turn and try to fight its way out of his jaws. He ate it contently before trotting off in search of some other prey to bring back to the campsite. He didn't come across anything viable for almost the full day. When he did it was a fat little rabbit that had gotten itself stuck under a tree root and was flailing around wildly trying to free itself. Coming upon it he found it rather funny to see the fat little animal struggling to free itself from the predicament it had gotten itself into. Latching on to its back he ignored its terrified screams and crunched down on its spine to kill it. Shifting back to his human form he worked it free of its self imposed prison and walked back to camp. Sitting down he started his fire and got to work on dressing down the animal. Smoking the meat over the fire he went down to the river and tossed the remains in the water before washing himself up. Upon his return to camp he got dressed and packed up anything that was non-essential before dousing the fire and crawling into the tent to curl up under his blanket and sleep.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 35th Winter, 514 AV Faolan rolled over and got up out of his blankets to stretch and rub the sleep from his eyes. He probably would have slept better had he stayed in his wolf form as he had gotten chilled a couple times and had woken up because of it. His fur would have kept him warm, but he had decided that he wanted to get headed back to the city as soon as possible this morning. His trips had gotten shorter but more frequent recently. He was itching to get out of the city more and more and he knew that he would be moving on soon whether he found someone to travel with or not. The truth of the matter was that he knew that traveling alone was a terrible idea, but if he could no longer stand the confines of the city then he would have to risk it or risk his sanity. Leaving the tent he packed up the rest of his things and saddled Drifter up. They would have one overnight stay closer to the city before they made it back and he wanted to cover as much ground as possible. Climbing up into the saddle he nudged the horse forward and started humming to himself to the beat of Drifter's hooves on the ground. He guided the horse through the trees back towards the city and they walked in peace for the remainder of the day. As the light began to fade from the sky he had Drifter come to a stop and slid out of the saddle to set up camp. Once that was finished he shifted into his wolf form and slipped off into the woods for some hunting at dusk. While he was out he managed to catch two rabbits. One he ate for dinner and the other he brought back to camp and dressed down before tucking it into the saddle bags with the other meat. When he was done he cleaned himself off and got dressed again before retreating in to his tent for the night.

[Faolan Lundgren]

Faolan Lundgren 36th Winter, 514 AV After another night spent waking up when cold Faolan begrudgingly got up and broke down camp. Once back in the saddle of his trusty steed he nudged the horse forward. Today he didn't hum to the other animal, he merely sat in silence and observed their surroundings. He had always taken refuge in the wilds despite their danger. He was considered dangerous by some people so it seemed fitting that the dangerous wolf spend time in the dangerous wilds. He didn't consider himself dangerous to anyone though, he had never harmed anything or anyone that wasn't a prey animal. Sighing a little bit he watched as the distant sight of the outpost became more clear. He kept them pointed in that direction until they arrived at a nearby stable. He dropped Drifter and his tack off with the worker and paid for the animal to be well cared for. It was a little difficult to part with the mizas required for the horse's stay but he told himself that he couldn't leave by himself at all without the horse so he had to make sure Drifter was well cared for until then. Dragging his saddlebags laden with meat to the ferry he managed to catch it just before it left. Sitting down in the fading light he thought over how he would possibly swing leaving by himself. The idea didn't appeal to him, but perhaps he could start working on a plan come spring. Back in the city he sold his meat and then went back to his room to clean up and get some much needed rest, his next trip already swirling around his head.