Underground Sea Apologies to the Queen Mary

For @Bane

deron selwyn

Now we'll say it's in God's hands
But God doesn't always have the best goddamn plans, does he?

He couldn't stay contained too long but he promised to himself he'd return to the pesky willows. They sheltered and fed him so far, why would he wanna leave for good? He would go under the guise of scouting in order to give him some time to meander the area. Deron couldn't really place what was the feeling that was drawing him to the mountain. This time he avoided the dumb cove pack and stuck to the more southern ends of the mountain. He found a place that he could enter with ease. It didn't require so much work for him to get in and the place was dimly lit by the evening's light outside the opening. There was a body of water but mentioning where it was Deron wasn't really sure if he wanted to drink it.

The Selwyn male dipped his paws in, cooling them off and easing some of the soreness. Deron knew better than to keep on pushing his body like he had in his youth but damn he was stubborn. Not to mention changing his ways was far too much work and this late in the game there was no point in changing things. For better or worse (more likely worse) he was who he was.

Lowering himself onto his haunches he let out a heavy sigh. Perhaps he should bed down here for some of the night and head out early. Surely that would give him enough time to make it back before questions started to be asked.

It had been a week since the day Bane had been bitten by that rabid girl within the Verdant Mosses. But how correct Bane was on the term 'rabid' he had yet to truly find out. His wound on his front forelimb was still quite sore, seemingly taking longer to heal then he felt it should have. It burned, felt like his heart was beating it in, but given the fact how ill the woman who had bit him looked, it seemed fitting that he would gain some of that sickness. The most of his worry went to hoping that it would not get infected. For the time being however, the most of his attention went to exploring the land around him, looking for something to eat. 

Having moved along the mountain chain a time or two now, he made his way to the foothills with ease, however, navigating them would always be his weak point. He was not a mountain dweller, but rather a deep forest wolf, having grown up in the Secret Woodlands. Perhaps, if he was lucky, he would find a pathway through the mountains instead of over them. And it would just so happen some sort of luck would find him as he found an opening in the mountains to a pathway leading into an open cavern with an underground pool. The place was mysterious, beautiful and in the dim lighting seemed to glow. He had never in his life seen such a thing before. Water in the mountains like this? In his awe of it, he had not paid attention for a time that someone was here with him... 

He barely caught the shadowy male that had seemingly come from thin air. Deron didn't say anything at first and opted to simply sit and watch the stranger. Maybe he would just be passing through. The Selwyn wasn't feeling like a social butterfly today - or any day really. All he wanted to do was slouch down onto the cool ground and rest for a bit.

Selwyn yellow eyes squinted softly as the elder male lowered himself more towards the ground. If he just laid low (literally) and kept his lips sealed maybe he would go unnoticed. Or perhaps he would get his anti-social point across. His tail flicked softly before it tucked against his hind legs. There were lots of things he was wondering about his company. Who was he? What was he doing? Where was he going and where was he coming from? Any of those surely would have made for a good ice breaker had Deron been feeling up to it.

The male's salmon hued tongue swept over his lips and the greying fur surrounding it. He wasn't a spring chick anymore, was he? He needed rest stops on his trips, small naps before heading back to where he belonged (belong being a relatively loose term, for he wasn't sure he actually belong amongst the Willow tree wolves).

Bane crept towards the waters, glistening and a glow in the dim lighting from the small holes in the ceiling here. It was magical to him it seemed, in some way. Being a wolf of the forest for the most of his life, he had never seen anything like this before. Though him being enthralled with the landscape could only keep him blinded from his company for so long. Once he neared the pool of water, taking a sniff and a single cautious sip, his brown eyes lifted and rested upon the dark colored wolf. Had it not been for the fact that not only he was looking at him, but the wolf was also looking back at Bane, he might not have said anything. Though at this point not saying thing would only leave for awkward silences. Not that Bane really minded the silence, but he was not a rude wolf, ether. 

"Hello." He spoke then, ever lightly, his single word bounding off the walls of the cavern. He waited briefly to see if the wolf would respond before falling down into a laying position himself just as the other wolf here in the cave with him. He could not help himself - his wound hurt something fierce and so he lifted up his front forelimb and dipped it into the cool waters, hoping it would ease the burning, itching sensation. 

It would have been too hard to ignore the single word even if he wanted to. The "Hello" bounced off the cave walls as an echoing reminder that someone was here and had said something. He watched as the stranger made himself comfortable. Hard to get by with his whole ignoring act when he was obviously watching the male with two narrowed Selwyn yellow eyes.

"'ello." He roughly responded after some moments of silence. Small talk - or talk in general actually - had never been the elder Selwyn's strong point. Sure, some time on his own interacting with other loners had given him an opportunity to appear good at it but that didn't mean he fancied it. "What brings ya here?" A greying brow raised above yellow eyes. Maybe he could at least get some information or tips out of the strange male. Something that might prove he was at least somewhat worthy to the Willow Ridge leaders. Even Deron knew he couldn't chomp down on their food forever without doing something.

The male shifted his weight some to lean on his side, lifting some of the weight off of his stomach. Tail carefully pulled in in order to wrap around his paws. He wasn't relaxed but it wouldn't hurt to at least appear like he was.

The yellow eyes of the older wolf stared him down and Bane could not help but shift slightly to this. A shifting which meant that he was uncomfortable being weighed down by the gaze of the other male. Bane had never taken well with others staring at him, an insecurity which had welled up in him since he was a child. As of right now, Bane did his best to accept the stare which he was given, if only because Bane was reluctant to leave. The cool water in this cavern was both soothing on his throat and soothing on his injured limb. "No fresh water in the swamp." Bane spoke, referring to the Verdant Mosses which he had come from in the east. Perhaps the other wolf knew where he was referring to, perhaps he didn't. Ether way, drinking the muggy, filthy waters of the swamp was not an option. Bane had been lucky to come upon another source of water like this instead of having to seek out the creek. "Thought the water would help my leg."  Bane's eyes drifted to the forelimb which rest in the shallows of the water. There was not much use hiding it now. If the man had noticed him all along, he would have been able to tell the bit of limp Bane carried and perhaps even smell the old wound. 

Sure, he had noticed the tell-tell signs of injury but it wasn't anything shocking mentioning the man smelled of only himself and the earth. A loner. Injuries, sickness, and hunger were to be expected for a loner. It was a few of the reasons he had decided to pick somewhere to settle into. For now, at least.

"In a swamp with a wound, surprise your leg hasn't fallen off." Deron was exaggerating some - okay, a lot - but he sure said it with a serious voice. He was nosy and couldn't help himself from getting up and stealing a closer look at the boy's leg. The older Selwyn never really liked looking at injuries but he still did. Some sort of morbid guilty pleasure perhaps. Every time he saw someone dead or hurt he usually mumbled something like "glad it's you and not me" but he held back here because there was nothing to muffle the sound of his mumbling.

All those thoughts aside he had a question. "The hell did that to ya anyway?" His brow raised as he plopped back down on his rear again. Sure looked painful and Old Derry was interested in saving himself from whatever did this. Hopefully, the boy had taken care of it or left it back in the swamp but it was better to ask and know than it was to assume.

He leaned in the slightest bit, squinting as he stared at the wound. Gross.

Bane tried his best to struggle with a small smile which krept over his features from the wolf's comment if being surprised his leg hadn't fallen off out there in the swamp with an injury. To be honest, as far as Bane was concerned, it felt like his limb still just might do that. The irritation was quite severe and as the wolf neared him to get a closer look, seemingly now more interested, Bane lift his injured foreleg from the cool waters so that the other wolf could see it. Bane in his condition and in the dim lighting of the cavern was a bit weary of the other wolf getting near, but maybe in his time he had seen a wound like this before and would know what it was and what to do about it? 

"Another wolf bit me." He answered the man's question is he once more sat down on the cool, rocky earth, this time much closer to Bane. Then the man leaned in for a closer look, a bit too close for Bane's comfort. Bane would have otherwise tensed up to show his discomfort and maybe backed off himself. Bane didn't know what had come over him, but he reached out towards the other wolf's muzzle, snapping his jaws in warning. He wouldnt have really met to hurt the other wolf, but was certain anyhow the other male had received the cut on his nose anyhow. "Sorry..." He then quickly spoke, ears falling against his head which lowered to the ground. He was ready for a snap back of the man's own. "I just, I think it would be best if you didn't get too close..."