WHERE: Deception Pass, Maitland WHEN: June 14th, 2019 WHO: Helaine Morevna / @carafuror
August slid through the shadows careful to keep himself hidden from the light that passed through the trees overhead. Mostly out of habit. The full moon was just days away now and he could feel beast within him just willing itself to come out. To have a chance to stretch its legs and sink its teeth into fresh flesh. In recent years, he’d spent most of his time in his human form, even though it was far from his preferred mode of transportation. There was nothing quite as satisfying as his claws digging into the soft soil or the way the forest smelled moments after completing the shift. Between the moss growing wildly on the trees and the way the wind whipped through the branches and rustled the leaves, it was his favorite thing in the world. Though much to his distaste, he found all the happenings in the area was making his life more complex than he was used to.
The wind suddenly changed direction and it took no more than half a second for his sharp sense of smell to place what the rotting flesh was that penetrated his nostrils. Roughly half a mile back the way he came was the carcass of a mountain lion. A shame as far as he was concerned, August felt as though he didn’t know much, but he did know that there weren’t many left in South Dakota and whatever killed it must have been desperate or rogue. Without another moment of thought, August spun around and headed back the way he’d come, following his nose carefully out of curiosity to where the dead animal rested.
The odor was foul which made the mountain lion almost too easy to find. Sprawled over a large boulder, the lifeless beast had clearly seen better days. The weyrwolf crouched down beside it for further examination, covering his nose with the palm of his hand. Its stomach was cut open and the flies buzzed wildly around the intestines that had slipped out of the gash. August couldn’t wrap his head around who had done such a thing as it was obvious to him that it wasn’t a what... There were no signs of teeth marks or claws on the creature's body and there was a peculiar scent that lingered in the area. He couldn’t quite make it out as the pungent odor from the rotting animals covered up almost everything else in the immediate area. He could hardly even smell the herd of deer he’d been tracking.
And then, almost as if the universe knew he was at a disadvantage, the wind shifted once more and he caught the scent of a human. An unfamiliar human to boot. His head moved on a swivel as he tried his best to pinpoint where exactly it might be coming from, but his eyes seemed to work faster than his nose thanks to the constantly changing winds and out of the corner he saw something move. Something that wasn’t apart of the forest at all. His dark hues settled on the deceased animal one more time before starting to back away, so he might retreat to the forest once again, but as he turned on his heels to exit the scene of whatever crime might have been committed there and start back the way he’d come. But he found his path blocked by a woman. One he had no desire to quarrel with, not when his dinner was bounding away through the forest at that very moment.
He couldn’t decide which was more unusual, that he actually came across another person in these woods, or that he came across them after finding what he had. His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply, the wind pulling her scent closer to him as he tried his best to decipher who she might be. Or why she might have been out there. Much to his surprise, there wasn’t a hint of that foul, mysterious odor on her. “I wouldn’t,” he said flatly, holding up a hand palm flat as his eyes searched her smooth face carefully. “Someone’s been busy up there.” He warned vaguely hoping she would turn right back around.
