Just Like Old Times

Wolves

Lilly watched in disgust as the two animals stuffed their mouths with the remains of her dead horse. Lilly took shallow but quiet breaths as the feeling that adrenaline leaves one with filled her body. The need to tremble invaded her muscles but Lilly closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. Calm down. She had to calm down. Breathe, ya fuck. Breathe. As Lilly sat there with her gun glued to her hand, her arm still level with the creatures, it occured to her that she could sneak out of here alive. While the warmth and security of the cave was a more advantageous and sensible place to rest, walking through the freezing cold and the mighty winds of a unnatural and violent blizzard in May was now preferable to being in this not-so-safe haven.

Lilly's eyes drifted almost desperately to the stash of her belongings sitting in front of the wall. If she was going to escape, Lilly had to buck up and gather her necessary supplies. Hopefully without drawing the wolves' attention. Lilly prayed they'd continue eating her deceased mount as she bravely, but slowly, crawled over to the saddle she'd taken off Holly. While grateful for the distraction, Lilly felt a deep agonizing sadness for her dead companion. It would seem her death would not be in vain, at least.

Lilly took point of how malnourished both wolves looked. Clearly the winter season had been harsh for them. Perhaps they wouldn't be tempted in the slightest to abandon the plentiful horse meat and attack her. Lilly assumed she was a far less appealing meal. The amount of fat on Lilly was scarce, but apparently put 'in all the right places', someone once told her. In fact, that same person described her body to be...what was the word? Ah. Junoesque.

They conveyed her height as imposing, but that person had been rather short. She was taller than the average woman, standing at 5'9", but she was no Amazonian. Lilly thought her build was more athletic than shapely, but she didn't spend much time in a mirror gazing at herself like some narcissistic lady trying to decide which dress was more capable of catching the eyes of a gentleman. Lilly wasn't sure how someone could see all that since she never wore dresses, though. No, the desire to wear dresses was utterly non existent. Pants and button shirts were the norm for her.

Lilly snapped back to reality. How could her mind drift off at a time like this? She inched her way to her horse's saddle. Lilly took the chance to survey the current preoccupation of the wolves. They didn't seem to care about her movements. Their eyes darted to her from time to time, but Lilly got braver and quicker as they continued to ignore her. The sounds they were making as they engorged themselves like greedy little pigs feasting on their mother's teats...feckin' disgusting. Eventually, she reached her things. Lilly started taking inventory.

A few pieces of salted meat, her water flask, a bowl and utensils, a bowl for crafting things, several boxes of revolver and repeater rounds...ah, so she wasn't as low on ammo as she though...a bedroll, a few personal items...but as she was going through her satchel, Lilly froze. The sound of flesh being pulled and eaten with razor sharp fangs, the squelch of blood and muscle being chewed away at, was no longer echoing in her ears. Lilly hoped she'd only gone deaf. She tentatively spied over her shoulder. The wolves, who now had full bellies, were only a few feet behind her. They were watching her. Lilly shuddered from the sight of blood soaked lips and very much wished this would not be the moment of her untimely demise.

She watched them as they watched her. No change of motion was made from either party. Not one hint of it. Lilly observed their relaxed body language. Perked ears, inquisitive eyes, no teeth bared. Were they...docile? Friendly? Or curious, maybe? Had they not seen a human before? Would moving even the slightest inch change their demeanor to one of aggression? Lilly knew she couldn't stay in her current physical position. So, with all the boldness she could muster, Lilly shifted around on her feet with leisure. This was allowed. Lilly took in a breath, realizing she hadn't done so in what seemed like an eternity based on how her lungs felt.