Your love is what I lost, that's sacrifices

Set directly after this thread. For @Burdock, tags for reference

---

Her body had just recovered from her interaction with @Rosencrantz, her body was tired as was her mind. Her and Burdock had just about made it back to her home but had split up to go hunting. Not only had she found a doe carcass, but she had also found regret. 

Instead of going straight to home though, she chose to linger where everything had happened, sending a call for her new traveling companion. She didn't want to move extremely far just yet, and one look at the sky made her double down on that thought. Not only was she exhausted and in need of rest, but the snow was picking up heavily, to the point she feared a blizzard would begin soon.

the staff team luvs u

Their last meal had been that split hare and now hunger was bubbling something fierce—they had to split up, they had to. Burdock would think it like a mantra as she lifted her head from a snowy bush to the sound of a call.

Before she even saw the scene, she scented something was… wrong, off, hackles naturally hitching as she slipped over the crest of some field. The winds were beginning to whip and the snow blurred the world around her. And then she saw her.

”Delgata?” she said, shaking her head as she approached, not wishing to make presumptions but the other looked painful. ”Ты в порядке?” — Are you okay?

the staff team luvs u

Part of her wanted to just leave, to run away from Burdock and hide in her den. But, before she could even begin to leave, she heard a familiar voice, her shoulders sagging slightly as she turned to look, eyes flicking up to look at her. For a moment, she said nothing, simply staring, unsure of how to say anything. "Я... прости." — I...I'm sorry.Was all she could say. What was she sorry for? For letting herself get assaulted? For being a burden to this woman that she had just met? Tears pricked in her eyes and her voice got caught in her throat. 

She had enjoyed traveling with this woman, but they has only known each other for a day or so. How could Delgata push her problems onto the other woman when they hardly knew each other? Sniffling slightly, she would move to stand, her legs wobbly as she did so. "Становится буря, нам нужно найти место для ночлега." — Its... its getting stormy, we need to find a place to stay for the night.". Her eyes would cast over the other woman, words hanging between them that were currently left unsaid. Mostly because she had no clue what to say.

the staff team luvs u

She behaved like an entirely different wolf from the one Burdock had met but a day or so prior, receding into herself, voice as taught as the strange expression claiming her features. "Почему ты так говоришь?" — Why do you say that? she said, inching closer until she could sniff at the other's face. With instinct, she would move to support Delgata as she stood, unable to let her shake and sway like a thin tree in the wind. "Что случилось?" — What happened?

It was only when Delgata mentioned the storm they were brewing alongside that she made the move forward. Burdock nodded, motioning in the direction in which she came. "Я нашел небольшую выемку, старую берлогу какой-то лисы, дайте мне взглянуть на нее, и все получится." — There was a small dig-out I found, some fox's old den, let me have at it and it'll work she said. "Ладно?" — Okay?

the staff team luvs u

Her head lowered slightly as the woman came closer, though she couldn't deny that feeling the steady body of the woman press against her made her feel better. The snow cloaked woman would lean her into the other one's shoulder for a moment, letting out a sigh before speaking, her voice soft and quiet. "Я... на меня напали." — "I... I got attacked." She shook her head slightly before continuing. "Там был мужчина, который раньше был довольно груб со мной, но ему явно было больно. Я предложил ему прийти, если ему понадобится помощь. Он появился у края стаи, и я столкнулся с ним. Он попросил меня о помощи и попросил меня пойти с ним. Я так и сделал, и он привел меня сюда. Вот когда он напал на меня..." — "There was a man that had been rather rude to me earlier, but he was clearly hurting. I offered him to come by if he needed help with anything. He showed up near the border of the pack and I ran into him. He asked me for help and asked me to walk with him. I did and he took me out here. That's when he attacked me..." She paused for a moment, turning to look at the woman. Он... он сказал "прости" и набросился на меня." — "He... he said 'I'm sorry' and then pounced on me."

She didn't continue after that, she didn't feel like there was need to. The scent was in the air, and Delgata was certain that Burdock could figure the rest out herself. But, as she spoke of the den, the pure white woman would nod, a thankful look on her face as she began to walk with her, moving closer to the den. Once they got there, she would sit herself down, letting Burdock take over in digging out the den.

the staff team luvs u

It all sounded so disoriented, dizzying—a jumbled recollection of events; so Burdock was right, they were nearing this pack and yet Delgata had no intention of braving the storm to return; she couldn’t blame the other, stripped of all sense of normalcy. Burdock shook her head, muzzle twitching.

She didn’t want the specifics, God, she didn’t but her mind could paint pictures well enough from what she did have. Delgata’s ragged state, fur all disordered, stinking of another… another she hadn’t wanted. ” Он пожалеет, Дельгата, я позабочусь о том, чтобы.” — He’ll be sorry, Delgata, I’ll ensure that she said, and took the lead, guiding Delgata to the small burrow she’d discovered, blinking and shaking her fur out against the biting breeze as snow settled on her outer coat.

It wasn’t meant to be permanent and Burdock wasn’t anything but clumsy when she stood outside of a hunt… a fight… never the homemaker sort but she tried until the earth finally gave and she eventually emerged, crawling on her stomach, dirtied paws prominent against her coat. Burdock motioned for Delgata to enter and, only after a moment, did she slip in behind her, but careful and efficient was she to press her back against the entrance; keeping the winds and snow out and allowing some reprieve for the other.

Wordlessly, Burdock watched her, eyes scanning her. ”Вы где-нибудь ранены?” — Are you injured anywhere? The most obvious ailment was noted, she wanted to see if there was something missed—once her answer was received, she quietly beckoned Delgata to move closer; allowing her the choice to decline by not advancing herself.

the staff team luvs u

She heard the woman's words, promising to make him sorry, but made no attempt to say anything about it. She didn't like the idea of revenge, but she was too tired to fight the woman that came to her aid. Laying herself down in the snow, she waited for Burdock to clear out the den, only once she was ushered in would she speak up, voice soft but stronger now. "Спасибо дорогой." — "Thank you dear." She would aim to press her head against the other woman's shoulder for a moment before heading into the den, curling herself into the den. 

She noted that the other woman had placed herself at the entrance, something that the snow white woman found lovely, enjoying the slight protectiveness. She would smile slightly and shake her head, eyes flickering across her face. "Нет, я в порядке. Спасибо." — "No, I'm okay. Thank you." With that, the woman would cuddle herself closer to the other, content and relaxed here. 

Delgata herself was rather large in size, typically bigger than any suiters or other wolves male or female. But for once, it felt nice to curl up into someone else, someone larger than her. She felt protected and safe, not wanting to leave from this warmth. "Спасибо тебе за все. Тебе не нужно было оставаться, и уж точно не нужно было этого делать. Это приятно... Я чувствую себя в безопасности здесь с тобой... и я не хочу покидать это место." — "Thank you, for everything. You didn't have to stay and you certainly didn't have to do this. This feels nice... I feel safe here with you... and I don't want to leave it." She was unsure if Burdock felt the same and laid her head down, pressed slightly into the other woman's fur if she didn't pull away.

the staff team luvs u

Burdock whuffed a response, quiet acknowledgment of the other's appreciation. She wouldn't move as Delgata pressed close, relieved to know that at least for a brief moment in time, the other had but a taste of relief and reassurance of safety; strangers as they were still yet, the brute wasn't one to let familiarity prevent her from providing the very reason she was bred. Protection.

As Delgata reassured her of an absence of other injuries, she shifted a little, tilting her head in order to carefully groom the disordered state of white fur. It was a gentle, hesitant act, instinctive rather than one of intention. Burdock didn't wish for much more than cleaning her up some, ridding specks of frozen earth from Delgata's ruff, slicking back disturbed tufts of fur. A delicate process that was only interrupted when Burdock would lift her head for confirmation that she could continue before doing just that. She memorized the scent, too, the one which tried and failed to stain the other. She would get a name, and description, and she would find him. If she ever wondered why she came to this land that wonder was gone now.

Someone had to be the law.

"О, ты застрял со мной." — Oh, you're stuck with me. she said, forcing the breath of a laugh in between tedious licks to the coarser fur of Delgata's neck. "Тебе не обязательно уходить, я буду с тобой." — You don't have to leave, I'll be with you. Burdock moved gently to the base of the other's ears where snow and ice had clung. "Постарайся отдохнуть, я найду нам что-нибудь поесть, когда шторм утихнет." — Try to rest, I'll find us something to eat when the storm blows over.

the staff team luvs u

Here she felt like she didn't have to worry, she was safe and she was protected. The tip of her tail wagged happily as she let the other woman groom her, pleased that Burdock didn't put her into a position that would make her feel uncomfortable, especially after everything that happened to her today. She laid her head down onto her snow paws, closing her eyes for a moment as she relaxed to the soothing feeling of the woman's tongue on her fur, pulling out the snow and ice and slicking down her ruffled ends. She didn't know how deep Burdock's want for revenge and need to protect would go, but for now she would keep the name of her attacker a secret, not wanting to dwell on it too much tonight. Right now, she simply wanted sleep. 

She let out a soft chuckle at the woman's words, shaking her head slightly but still enjoying the comfort. Hearing the talk of the hunt, the snow gal would lift an eyebrow and open one eye, though not lift her head as she spoke, her voice heavy with exhaustion and sleep. "На этот раз мы будем охотиться вместе, как команда." — "We'll hunt together, as a team this time." With that, she would slowly fall asleep, pressing herself deeper into the other woman's fur. The want to hunt together was a fight for the morning when she was rested and awake.

the staff team luvs u