Tangerine gaze focused intently on the young girl standing at the shoreline, charcoal dusted tail swaying above the churning water below. Eventually his risky behavior had sunk its hook into the girl, metaphorically tugging the rope around her shoulders to coax her into joining him in the untamed river as one leg moved forward before pausing, another soon joining the first until a small gap lay between herself and shoreline she left behind. The grin upon his face widened witnessing her follow in his footsteps, gaze catching the swift heaving of her sides as exhilaration flooded her veins, but the look didn't last long. Excitement was stolen and fear stuffed in its place.

Oh how Karma always seemed to have it out for the man whenever he let his ego become too inflated. Immediately russet ears were pinned back against his skull to muffle the shrill scream that suddenly erupted from the dark russet girl, citrus eyes slammed shut for what felt like eons as the current continued to churn around his limbs and chest before he finally dared to open them when the scream died down. "Eirian, watch out!" What he say only caused his ears to splay back further, the expression of confidence once nestled upon his features wiped clean away and instead replaced with his own look of fear. "Nalda!" Wide eyes grew wider watching Nalda be swept away by the current, unaware that he himself would soon be joining her by the very object that had caused her to scream in the first place.

There was no time to think, only do, as creamy limbs lunged themselves with the power of the current at his back to help propel the Asurn downstream toward the female who was in very real danger now because of his foolishness. He had thought himself greater than the power of mother nature and now she had every intention of reminding him that was not so, reminding him they were both but a mortal soul that could be taken whenever she willed it. Like a fly ball out of left field the mystery object had managed to make its way past the larger boulders upstream that kept it at bay for now, a whoosh of air leaving Eirian's lungs as the weight of it knocked his legs out from under him and suddenly there was nothing but the roar of the current and water filling his ears, a fire in his lungs the river could not extinguish. He needed air and he needed it now before the water dragged him down to his watery grave to become the next washed up corpse for a hungry scavenger to find.

Panic began to sink in and his limbs paddled furiously against the current to try and breach the surface, his snout always coming just a hair shy of stealing a breath before being dragged back under. Scrambling against the gravely bedding Eirian strove hard to find something to hold him back from being swept down further, a sign of hope shining bright when his nails scratched against the surface of a boulder just big enough to perhaps give him enough of a boost to reach the surface. Rear legs coiled and sprung without further thought, a loud gasp sounding when his head emerged above the foamy water and his lungs greedily inhales as much oxygen as the could hold. The joy of breathing was short lived, though, as his eyes frantically searched for the silhouette of @Nalda , calling out for her in hopes of hearing a response, pleading to whatever deity that was out there listening that she hadn't been devoured by the ravenous river. "Nalda?! Nalda where are you?!" He had to get to her. He had to get her to safety.

Russet ears strained harshly against the mighty roar of the river to hear the slightest noise that could belong to Nalda and let the copper male know that she was okay, that she was still alive while creamy limbs fought what seemed like a losing battle against the current to drag his water logged frame up and onto the pebbly shoreline. Fatigue was beginning to set in and Eirian could feel his muscles screaming at him as they convulsed frantically for rest, but he couldn't. Not until he was positive the young girl was out of harm's way, the same harm he had introduced her to to begin with.

Hope was beginning to die like the embers of a doused fire as citrus irises scoured the rushing water trying to decipher the dark girl's silhouette from that of the foamy rapids and equally dark rocks, a sigh of relief escaping inky lips when he thought he heard a short lived Ei over the thunderous roar of the rapids. "Nalda.." Eirian released the girl's moniker in an exhausted breath, fighting through the pain of his overworked muscles to finally drag himself onto the rocky banks in one last unceremonious heave. Eyes closed in utter exhaustion and a whine escaped the man's lips as his lungs worked overtime making up for the oxygen they were denied, but still he could not rest.

"Ei.." Citrus eyes shot open wildly and this time his russet ears knew for sure that he had heard it and frantically Eirian lifted his head to glance back toward the water, a new dose of adrenaline flooding his system and forcing his body to stand. He had to move, he had to safe her. Like a bat out of hell the Asurn brute bolted down the banks, ignoring the sting of pebbles that became lodged between his toes and the fact his body had just been battered to a near pulp by the sheer force of the vicious rapids. His gaze never left the floating silhouette of the dark girl and a low growl rumbled within his chest once he grew close enough to begin running parallel to the girl on dry land, mind trying hard to come up with a way to drag her out of her potentially watery grave.

Then an idea struck. "Nalda.." A few heavy pants interrupting his words. "I need you to jump toward shore. Trust me." He shouted in her direction, loose rocks continuing to fling in the wake of his full out sprint. If she could bring herself just a smidgen closer to shore then he could drag her ass out by the scruff of her neck, but only under one condition. If she could trust him.

Citrus gaze remained trained on the floating child as the stream did as it pleased with her defenseless body and the makeshift raft she had been using to help keep her head above water, the foaming rapids bashing brutally against her from each and every direction. Exhaustion ate aware at his muscles with each stride he continued to take in order to follow her path down the raging river, only letting his gaze drift away from hers for a spare second to gauge what was in store for her further downstream. Instantly russet ears were forced to sweep back and pin themselves against the back of Eirian's skull as his eyes took in the horrific sight that awaited Nalda if she didn't get out of the water now. There was no way she could possibly survive what was waiting for her up ahead.

Quickly his attention snapped back to Nalda, a harsh series of words leaving his mouth between winded breathes commanding her to jump now if she wanted to live to see another day. With each passing second that went by it brought her closer to the brink of certain death and the copper male refused to let her die on his watch. Ebony lips curled back in a snarl out of frustration as all he could do in that moment was watch until she finally realized he was her only option now, gaze intent on each little movement she made. 'Come on Nalda, fucking jump already.' He mentally cursed and by the grace of whatever higher power she believed in he watched the dark girl jump into the unrelenting grip of the rushing water.

Immediately creamy limbs bolted for the water he had only recently dragged himself out of and all but dove for the spot he watched the girl's head sink once again. Blindly the man snapped his jaws beneath the water's surface hoping to grab the girl by her scruff and after a few tries he finally felt something lodge itself between the points of his teeth. There was little time to think about checking if it was indeed her, the muscles along his shoulders screaming in agony as he jerked his head back with each backward step against the strength of the rapids to drag her free from the watery domain. Only once Eirian dragged her water logged frame a good few feet from the shallows did he dare release his grip on her nape, his limbs shaking violently beneath his weight before knees finally buckled in utter exhaustion to send him crashing down hard toward the pebbly ground below. He did it, he managed to save the little shit.

For a while he remained still where he lay in exhaustion, his sides lifting and lowering with the effort of providing fresh oxygen to his body the only real movement on the copper man's behalf until Nalda's shift against him followed by a chattered speech caused a russet ear to twitch. Gradually Eirian lifted his head from the pebbly shoreline to glance down at the young girl, a weak but smug smirk partially lifting the corner of his inky lips. "Mother nature can't take us, kid." A small bout of laughter following suit before citrus gaze watched a grin suddenly begin to form across the child's face, confusion momentarily washing over his facial features considering his back faced the sharp bend in the stream where her body would have ended up had he not managed to pull her free from her the watery domain.

Curious, the man angled his head to follow where her line of sight had fallen, another small laugh leaving his lips once his own gaze came to settle upon the mangled remains of the moose carcass she had been using as a flotation device. "Well i'll be damned.." With that his own stomach began to gurgle and roar in desire to be filled after such an exhausting adventure, creamy limbs shakily hoisting his still weary frame onto all fours before sluggishly following close behind the starving child. Much like Nalda, there was no hesitation on Eirian's behalf to dive right into the provided meal. Perhaps even the most delectable meal in his entire life.

Once the duo had gorged themselves silly a nice shady tree was found to take a nap under before they would need to head back home, slumber coming quick and easy to the exhausted wolves.