Juniper had been surveying the rise for any useful plants that survived the frost. Their attention focused on the dormant, dead, or dying plants that dotted the rise. The trees closest to the golden glade had shed their leaves in massive piles. The few plants hardy enough to persist through the winter would be harvest only when absolutely needed. To pick their leaves and berries too early would simply encourage them rot, even if the colder weather would slow it. A deep furrow had set itself into their brow.
HELP! HELP ME!
The small wolf snapped her head in the direction of the shrill voice. The pitch setting her hair on end. Her heart skipped to realize just how young the voice sounded. Juniper's oaken gaze swept over the environment, searching for the one in need.
A small, tan figure streaked through the trees, and Juniper identified it as a boy racing towards her.
What's wrong?! Before she knew it, her voice had taken into the air. The fact that this boy was not of the rise did not matter in this instance. Fear oozed out of every breath and frantic movement the child made.
Juniper found that their arms had opened to receive the child in his flight, their gaze shifted to the land behind him to glimpse whatever he ran from.
The boy dove into her arms, readily taking the helping hand she offered. A paw curved around the boy's shoulders as the wolf looked down at the lost child. When her gaze lifted upward to assess the situation, Juniper could scarcely believe her eyes. She touched her wrist to her muzzle and sucked in her cheeks. Each movement designed to hide the ever growing smile that dared to twist her lips. She was at least successful in suppressing the laugh that bubbled up in her chest.
A rather angry, and frankly audacious, hare was the beast giving the boy a run for his money. Truthfully, they hadn't seen anything quite like it. Such boldness would usually get a prey animal killed for its trouble, but against a little boy, they supposed that even a hare could be a mighty adversary. Juniper knew well enough that even hares had claws that one shouldn't sneeze at. They found their gaze lowering back to Southeast, amusement playing across their face.
Oh, what trouble you have found, hm? Even small beasts protect their spaces.
Oakwood eyes lingered on the boy. His tan pelt was poorly kept, but his adult coat was starting to come in. Vestiges of pup fluff curled around his cheeks and throat, broken up by they growing guard hairs. He appeared both large for his age, but terribly underweight. A flash of guilt crossed Juniper's mind. As outlandish as the situation was, he did have every right be scared. This hare was simply a shining example of how individualistic some animals could be.
Oh yes, they can certainly be cute, but I think you've simply angered an oddball.
Juniper allowed her gaze to switch back to the hare. The animal seemed to be held at bay by her presence, and she could see in those dark, beady eyes its nerve was faltering. With a swipe of her tongue across her nose, Juniper pulled back her lips and gave the hare a nasty bark. For good measure she jumped to her feet, and, as she anticipated, the hare scampered off. Even the boldest of hares understood that a full grown wolf was a threat. It crossed her mind to give chase, to catch the hare so the boy may see that even the boldest of hares could be subdued, but she instead coughed politely and settled back on her haunches. The fearsome expression she had moments before replaced by one that conveyed her curiosity.
The hare is gone, but what were you doing crawling about in its burrow, have you no home to return to?
Where was this boy's family? He was not a druid's child, that much was certain. Wherever did he come from?
The menacing hare, now thoroughly sent off, scampered away over the hill. Its burrow free from intruders and its head still on its shoulder. What a lucky day for it. Even if it was being parroted at by the very boy it harassed.
Turning their gaze from the departing animal, Juniper gently nudged the boy to his haunches. An apology softening their eyes, accompanied by a guilty smile for having dropped the boy to the ground.
A tunnel? Juniper took a seat in front of the boy. Their brow knitted as they considered both the limited information he provided, and how they might explain to a child that he may never be able to go to his family again. A pang of sympathy weighed upon their heart, but first they had to be certain. Did the land look unfamiliar to you when you crawled out of the tunnel? Does the name "Mythris" sound familiar to you? Surely a parent would tell the boy the name of the land they stood upon. Speaking of... Are your parents with you?
It was a barrage of questions, and Juniper hated to thrust such a thing on the boy, but she needed to know where he came from. If she could return him home, she would.
Juniper focused on the boy's explanation of his situation, and the circumstance that lead to it. Dark, stony. Yes that would track if he had lived in a cave, or even crawled out of a tunnel. It was the mention of him falling that pricked her ears. Juniper herself quite literally stumbled into Mythris. Stardust fell from the very sky. Such a strange occurrence was common here it seemed, although she silently prayed that the boy's arrival was more like her own than her packmate's.
I know this is pasto!
The boy spoke a word in a language unknown to Juniper. He clued them in with his gesture to the ground. Juniper had started to ponder how much the word sounded like "pasture", before their blood chilled with the child's next statement.
Dead? Juniper's voice was soft, her mouth opened slightly, but hung silently in an "o" shape. Her ears splayed.
The boy tried to move on from the grim revelation, and Juniper allowed this. It would be better to gather their thoughts on the matter before they addressed. Half-listening, the other half ruminating, Juniper remained quiet as the boy continued to speak and then cough and sputter. Juniper shifted their attention from their thoughts fully to the boy.
Southeast? Hm... Juniper looked over her should to follow the direction the boy indicated he had traveled from. All things considered, he had come from the west. How far had the boy walked already?
I can agree that you've walked in an eastward direction. As I don't know where you've started, I can't say whether or not you've gone more northeast or southeast.
Oakwood eyes return to the boy with upturned brows.
Who told you to go southeast? Why is that they send you there, but not attend you? It is dangerous for a pup to wander the world alone. There are far greater threats to you than that hare was. That hare may have given you a mean cut, but there are animals far bigger than you or I that would see you as a meal.
They couldn't just let the boy continue on this way, but Juniper had a duty to the rise. They had to tend to the blue turtlehead crop, to cultivate the growth of those rare flowers. Then there was the added element that the seasons would be changing. This boy would be susceptible to the elements. The cold wind and the winter snow. Those natural hazards would kill the boy, even if predators wouldn't.
Would I be able to convince you to stop your traveling? If only for a time?
