Chiara's paws were sticky from mud and confusion at the latest turn of events. She had just come from the main clearing where there had almost been a fight between Beta Steele and Elite Kenai. Chiara had stood firmly against the violence as did Kenai who broke up the possible fight. After he had moved on Chiara had found herself in this wet place full of mud, slime and thick air. Her paws treaded lightly on the soft ground, but failed to keep mud and leaves from sticking to her dark fur. Pausing a moment Chiara stood on three legs to shake a clump on leaves from her paw when a sound caught her attention. Freezing suddenly her keen eyes caught the movement of a small animal dark into a hollow log that balanced over a shallow pool of ooze.

Chiara's stomach growled as she quietly approached the log, curious as to what she had seen. When she was close enough the smell it, the animal darted further into the log and across the ooze pit to hid in a bush. Smirking at its stupidity at being tapped the fae climbed on the log to walk over to the bush. Quietly she crept over the log and rolled her shoulders in anticipation of striking. Her steps grew quicker as she could almost smell the prey as all four feet stepped onto the moss covered log. Her nose was almost near the bush when a slow growl started to grow from behind the foliage. Startled Chiara stepped back a step and a spine covered animal ran out at her, teeth barred. Not knowing what the animal was Chiara scrambled backwards, but slipped on the slippery log and fell into a straddling position. Her maw hit the log with a thud and her teeth clamped on to her tongue. She let out a whimper as the taste of blood filled her mouth, but remained fixed on the mad animal before her.

Suddenly it charged her and swung its tail at her. Still startled Chiara let out a delayed yelp as five sharp spines flew into her nose and maw. Scrambling to her feet with watering eyes she shuck her head violently, trying to rid herself of the pain the spines caused. The porcupine, meanwhile, had vanished, leaving Chiara alone and in pain. Walking off the log Chiara tried to pull the spines out with her paw, but to no avail. Now feeling embarrassed and in pain she sat down and let out a soft whimper before thinking about what o do next.

Odin had been searching the land as was requested of him. He was quite curious of the layout indeed. He finally made his way to what seemed like a large lake, but once he drew nearer, he could see it was a swamp. He stared at the water, staring at the demonic eyes which rested upon the still swamp. Odin had never seen a creature like this one. It had a large nose which also floated at the top, breathing slowly. The young brute would have inspected further, but a yelp rang through the swamp, scaring the birds, averting his eyes out. Before taking off after the sound, he looked back the the reptilian demon, who no longer rested there. Intrigued by the vanishing skills of the demon, he chuckled reminding himself to be careful in these waters. He turned his head to the area the yelp had came from. Quickly his paws forced his frame through the land, his tail wagging with excitement.

As he finally found the distressed wolf, he realized it was a fae. She had some weird things protruding from her face and whined an awful lot. He slowly approached her, worried she may attack, mistaking him for her attacker. "Do you need some help miss?" he asked as he moved in on her. Before she could answer, he grabbed one with his teeth and pulled slightly. The object wouldn't leave her skin, seemingly imbedding itself deep within her flesh. "Sorry," he said as he released. "If you want these out, I will have to pull harder," he said with a sigh.

Time passed and Chiara was alone on her log. She had tried a few times to bat the spines out of her maw, but they seemed to be hooked under her skin and were impossible to pull out. Her whimpers grew as one shifted slightly and sent a jolt of pain through her face. Glancing down into the water she could barley see the reflection of herself with six spines embedded in her maw. Sighing in frustration she looked away, "Well at least my face can't get anymore messed up." She said to herself under her breath.

Just then a new scent filled her nose and even before she had a chance to figure things out, a male appeared. Frightened for a second she started to step back when he approached her quickly and latched on to a spine. She was about to object when he pulled on a spine, making her yelp loudly. Clenching her eyes shut images of the males in her old home flooded her mind and she thought the worst would happen with this male. After a moment her eyes unclenched and she looked him over, "I don't know if they will come out. They seem to be hooked at the end and I fear you'll pull my nose off with them stranger." She said and backed away a few steps.

He smelled of the pack yet she was still on guard and eyed him carefully. "You smell of the pack, I am Warrior Chiara who are you?" She questioned wondering who this wolf was.

He inspected the items projecting from her face, and smiled as she asked who he was. "I am Warrior Odin. Sorry I just kinda pulled there. I get a little carried away sometimes," he said with an awkward smile. He stared at them long and hard, thinking of ways to pluck them from her, without ripping her flesh. "I just got a great idea!" he shouted excitedly. "There's these monster things that sleep in the water... We just move your face close and they can break the thingies off!" He quickly ran to the edge of the water, looking for the demon eyes once again. Finally he found them, staring directly at him. He stared at the creature and then tried to get it's attention. He ran to the fae, "come and let's get these off you!" His wide eyes stared to the fae, smiling wildly.

"Nice to meet you" Chiara said as she watched him inspect the spines. She was just about to ask if he had any ideas when he got very excited and shouted at her. She recoiled a bit from surprise, but smiled at his enthusiasm. Listening to his idea she wondered if he was referring to crocodiles, a swamp animal that she remembered from a land she lived on a while ago.

"Monsters in the water? Won't they bite my face off as well?" She questioned, not liking his idea very much. Her green eyes scanned the area and saw a semi clean pool not too far off. It was small and she figured no monsters would be in there. "What about me soaking my maw a bit, maybe if they're wet they'll come out easier?" She suggested and padded over to the muddy water. Once there she lowered her maw to the liquid and soaked her face, keeping her eyes aimed at Odin. After a few moments she pulled her head up and walked back over to Odin. "Try again, but slowly please." She said as muddy water dripped from her face.

So the monsters had names. This was an intriguing discovery to be had. He laughed as she explained she might get her face bitten off. This made him curious to see what kind of mouth the monsters possessed. Were they filled with jagged teeth, ready to rip and tear in a second's notice? Or perhaps they had large teeth used for catching fish. He shrugged as she moved to the water. He walked closely behind her, watching her dunk her muzzle in it. He wondered if this technique would even work. But he would not stop her. He tilted his head in suspense as she asked him to try again. "Okay, but I make no promises," he said as he moved closer to help. "Hold still," he whispered as he grabbed the end of one by his teeth. He wrapped his lips around it, fastening his grip on the thin object. He tugged soft at first, but it would not budge. Harder he tugged and nothing happened. He released the spike and looked to her, "what now?"

Chiara cringed with pain as Odin bit down on the spines and pulled. They moved slightly, but not enough to relieve her. When he pulled harder her eyes watered and her mouth gaped open in pain. Relieved when he released her she swiped her tongue over her lip as it started to swell and shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea perhaps I should go back to camp and see a caretaker. You don't have to come if there's something else for you to do." She said softly as she stood and looked in the direction of camp.

She remembered Creek from her earlier encounter and wondered if the female would be able to help her, she seemed nice enough. Another thought passed in her mind if Steele saw her or Azul, what would they say of her predicament? True she had been foolish to pursue prey she knew nothing about, but it was for the pack's gain. Sighing the dark female flicked her ears back and waited to hear if Odin would accompany her or not. One thing was for sure, she didn't want him pulling on her maw any time soon.

Odin sighed. There was nothing he could do to help her. He looked back to the water, searching from another idea. He was Dee in thought, no longer paying attention to her words. He seemed to be in a daze, almost zombefied in his mind. Drool dripped from his lips, slowly falling in the ground. Soon he snapped out of his trance and looked to her. "Oh, the Caretakers! Yeah let's go do that. I have nothing else to do here. I would probably end up in the same predicament as you." A smile was bright across his face. He stared at the quills, wondering what creature put them into her maw and why? He would ask her on it later, but now he would be silent and walk with her, back to camp.

~moved to Caretaker den~