Murkwood oh the wind whistles down

@Archer ^^ mild pp at the end - please let me know if that’s not okay!

Her head was aching, but that was nothing new these days. It wasn’t particularly bad at the moment - a persistent throbbing in the back of her skull that was more of an annoyance than anything else. It was nothing like what it had been a couple of years ago, and she considered herself very fortunate for that fact. It was for that reason that she’d waited until late afternoon to travel, with the sun just sinking beyond the horizon - it was easier on her eyes.

The mountain was familiar - her family was up there, she was confident in it. Their names had been difficult to remember for a while after the fall, but she knew them now. Moonshadow, Nash, Chan. They might be up there, just a day or two away, and Nori was too much of a coward to return just yet. And that didn’t even include Jet, who was an entirely different type of obstacle looming in the distance.

They probably didn’t even want to see her. It had been so much time, they’d all moved on with their lives. She imagined climbing up the side of the mountain just for them to stare at her with cold eyes and turn her away - there wasn’t a place for her there. She didn’t even know why her paws had led her back here.

She’d been so caught up in staring at the mountain through the bare trees that she didn’t realize she wasn’t alone in the forest until the snow crunched behind her, and the ginger woman spun around, ears angling forward and eyes narrowing in suspicion.

“Who’s there?” she asked, tone more cautious than aggressive. It wasn’t a bad thing to run into someone, she figured, as long as they weren’t a threat.

(This post was last modified: Apr 13, 2024, 06:38 AM by Nori.)

Archer

He was still roaming aimlessly. His thoughts had turned back to home more and more often since his run-in with his ma; he still couldn't believe she was back, and he felt he should be returning to spend time with her, let her get to know him now that he was grown, and get to know her now that she had so obviously been changed. Home was obviously changed, too, and he wondered just how out of place he would feel when he got back.

But he still couldn't go back without Ally. He just could make himself give up on her - and that's what it felt like. Giving up on her. He knew that wasn't true, and if he kept on like this it meant he would probably never make it back home, but he just couldn't face them. Even though he had, really; he'd run into everyone that mattered while out searching. He didn't think they'd hate him if he came back without his daughter, and his da had said he'd been wrong...

Archer paused when he heard a voice, head rising and ears lifting. He really needed to pay more attention, he might just wander right past Ally if he kept getting lost in his thoughts like this. He took a few more steps forward until he could see another wolf around the trees. "Oh," he said. "Sorry. I wasn't paying attention. I didn't mean to startle you."

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

The stranger was a man - dark-furred and a little smaller than she was, and he… wasn’t looking good. She was no stranger to going hungry, but he looked like he hadn’t eaten in a while, like he wasn’t taking care of himself. He hadn’t been paying any attention to where he was going, either, which Nori supposed she could also relate to.

“No harm done,” she said, warm brown eyes studying him curiously. His eyes were a pretty silver color - like moonlight, she mused to herself. A small smile formed on her face. “Didn’t startle me at all.”

There was a sense of wrongness in the air - like something was amiss. It could’ve just been her headache, or the man’s downtrodden appearance, but Nori couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong.

She cleared her throat and tilted her head to the side, hoping to break the ice. “So,” she began nonchalantly, still observing the stranger. “What’s a guy like you doing in a place like this?” Though the words were a little flirtatious, her tone was more neutral - genuine. She doubted either of them were in a state to truly be making advances. “You look like you’ve got a lot on your mind.”

He certainly must have, to not know she was there until she’d said something.

(This post was last modified: Apr 15, 2024, 05:11 AM by Nori.)

Archer

The stranger was quick to assure him that he hadn't startled her, of which he was skeptical, but didn't say so. If she wanted to play like normal, he was perfectly content to let her do so and end the interaction. He suddenly felt very irritated to have company thrust upon him. He wanted his daughter, not some lady in the wild.

But he'd been raised better than that. His ears flicked in surprise at her flirty comment. He looked like shit and he knew it. He'd let himself go in his depressed and desperate search for Ally. What did it matter, if she wasn't with him? If she was... if she was gone, beyond his reach, he may as well just lay down and let the earth take him.

He wasn't going to turn down a chance to get another pair of eyes looking for his daughter. "I do, he said. "My daughter, Ally, went missing a couple months ago. We haven't been able to find her. She wouldn't be a year old yet, agouti with one yellow eye and one blue. Have you seen her?" he couldn't help the smallest lift of hope.

(This post was last modified: May 08, 2024, 07:17 PM by Archer.)

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Oh. Well, clearly this guy had a reason to be so down. Nori almost felt bad for making such light of the situation. Her brows drew together and she tilted her head to the side, listening to the description. Unfortunately, especially with the limited amount of time she’d been there, she hadn’t run into anyone like that.

“Can’t say I’ve seen her,” she said, frowning. Nori wasn’t a parent - didn’t know if she’d ever be, really, - but she could tell that the kid’s absence was weighing the other wolf down, to the point where it didn’t look like he’d been taking care of himself in the slightest.

Nori wasn’t sure what caused her to say what she did next. Maybe it was the hollow look in his eyes, or the fact that she had nowhere else to go, or something possessed her, but she was offering before she even realized it. “I could help you? Look for her, I mean.” She hadn’t meant to offer so bluntly, but she was equally as surprised to realize she didn’t regret what she said. She actually did want to help, if she could.

(This post was last modified: May 08, 2024, 07:13 PM by Nori.)

Archer

Her head tilted as she listened and Archer appreciated that she paid close attention. Still, it was not to be, and his shoulders slumped. He wasn't surprised, but even that small glimmer of home fading out hurt. It wasn't gone, not yet, but each day it grew harder to keep moving.

His ears flicked up again at her offer and he looked at her. "You mean, with me?" he asked hesitantly. So far nobody had really offered to do so, only promising to keep an eye out for her... but what good would that do, if they had no way of telling him she'd been found? That she was home? Stress squeezed at his heart. Maybe he should go check again... just in case...

He nodded, though it was a jerky, uncertain movement. "Okay," he agreed.

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

Nori’s ears perked a little at his response. She could’ve sworn she saw a little light creep into those silvery eyes of his, and it made her feel better about her impulsive statement. As crazy as it was to just… thoughtlessly offer to become a traveling companion to a random stranger.

“Yeah, with you,” she clarified, more confident now. This would be good, she figured. Give her a sense of purpose, helping out someone who needed it. Nori was hardly an altruist, but the way his expression changed felt nice. Made her feel like she’d done something good.

He nodded, and she relaxed a little, glad she wasn’t going to be turned down. Wouldn’t that have been embarrassing?

She offered the man a small smile, tilting her head to the side. “Guess I should ask your name first,” she urged, tail swishing back and forth. “I might’ve done this a little out of order.”

Archer

She seemed incredibly pleased by his question, and relieved by his acquiescence to her offer. It might be nice, travelling with someone. Certainly safer, and someone to help keep him focused, keep him from spacing out the way he so often did these days. Make him more efficient.

Then she asked his name and for the first time in... well, as long as he could remember, really, he let out a soft chuckle of genuine amusement. It wasn't like he had asked either. "Archer... Valle," he said, hesitating on the last name. Would it be weird to include it? It felt weird to say it, after having disowned himself, disavowed the name. But... they'd asked him to come back, they were looking for his daughter. The squabble seemed so small now. It felt good to belong again. "And yours?"

Archer is very haggard and thin; it is obvious he is not doing well.

His last name came a beat after his first. Unsure, for whatever reason. Archer Valle was a nice name, though, so unless he held some kind of rocky relationship with the second name, Nori couldn’t imagine why he wouldn’t share it with pride and confidence. But she’d gotten a little laugh out of him, which felt like a sort of victory in its own right.

“Nori Eastfall-Koizumi,” she responded with a wave of her tail. No matter how uncertain her relationship with the Eastfalls here or the Koizumis in her birthplace, Nori felt a hint of pride whenever she said her full name. It was a lot, but it belonged to her, and no one could take that away.

“So, where’re we heading?” she prompted then, eager to have a certain direction to go. After they’d headed off, she’d make sure they both got some food, but for now it was important to be on the move.