I know I’ve dreamed of you

Should he have wandered away from his little bachelor group? Nah, probably not. Was @Vayko going to be pissy about it when he got back? Probably. Oh well, too late now. Viorel wasn’t even entirely sure why he had done it, there was no rhyme or reason to wandering off on his own in this strange area before the crack of dawn. Perhaps it was boredom, or teenage angst, maybe it was the fact that after growing up in a large thriving pack he now only had a single brother and a cousin and that felt more alone than being by himself. Whatever, it didn’t matter. It had taken him practically the whole day to get here and he would get back to the boys shortly by the morning.

Still, Viorel was beginning to doubt that taking this solo hike had been such a good idea. He wasn’t fully comfortable in any woods after growing up on the more open coast, but these trees seemed more threatening than the ones from this morning. An uneasy prickle ran down the yearling’s spine, causing his black and grey fur to bristle momentarily. It was almost like something was in the branches watching him. But, trees didn’t have eyes so he knew this was impossible, he was just imagining it.

The Valle teen had just shaken the creepy feeling when the woods gave way to the sound he had been subconsciously following. Before him stood an icy looking river that looked innocent enough from the surface, but judging by the nasty rapid like whirlpools surrounding every rock Viorel knew it’s danger. This was a clear sign that it was time to turn back.

A sin and a lie

I know I’ve dreamed of you

Viorel had stood there, as if mesmerized by the swirling water for a few moments. Yellow eyes tracked small ice chunks as it floated along the surface before being sucked into the current below and never arising again. Yeah, he sure as shit didn’t want to fall in there. Blinking hard to break whatever trance he had fallen under, his ears pricked backwards at the sound of a female voice. How he had not heard the approach of someone else? These woods were playing tricks on him, he missed the Estuary.

Sidestepping away from the icy danger that lay below the rocky outcrop behind him the teen turned to see who had joined him. The Valle boy half expected there to be no one standing there, that would seem on par with everything that had happened since leaving Vayko and Andrey. But, there was. A white woman stood there, looking friendly enough. This put Viorel at ease. Back home the Valles had been a big deal, and frankly he was used to ladies giggling every time they caught sight of one of the men, throwing themselves at him. It was a status symbol really, he had his pick of the litter.

All of this was to say, a friendly appearing woman didn’t seem out of place to him. Grinning his most charming smile, Viorel wagged his tail back at her. Taking a step forward, ”Viorel Valle,” with a wink. In his experience, this was all he really needed to say.

A sin and a lie

I know I’ve dreamed of you

Clover looking down at the ground looked pretty normal to him, she was shy, and probably impressed. His own grin grew when her dark amber eyes lifted back to meet his gaze, well at least one thing hadn’t changed since his removal. He still had it going on with the ladies. Her statement made the tense feeling he hadn’t even noticed before relax in his shoulder, so he wasn’t going crazy, it was just the woods. They could handle whatever the woods had going on, he was confident in that.

Nodding in agreement, ”Yeah they’re not pleasant, and I’m sure it’s only going to get worse once it’s dark.” Looking up through the break in the branches Viorel felt a little alarmed at how low the sun had gotten, had that much of the day really gotten away from him? He didn’t know a way out of here but he sure as hell wasn’t going to let Clover know that, besides he was confident in his ability to follow his own way out. Besides, this woman might not be one of the family members that they were looking for, but it would at least prove to Vayko and Andrey that other canines were around in the area.

With another glance over his shoulder towards the icy river behind him Viorel turned back the way he had come, ”Yeah come with me, it’s going to take a while but if we stick together it will be fine.” The sound of a bleating fawn reached his ears. Pausing for a moment at the temptation, a strange feeling came over him, he had just eaten the day before so he was not overly hungry but it was something else that stopped him. It almost felt like it was a trick the woods were trying to play on them. That thought fresh in his brain Viorel started walking the way he had come, trying to ignore the deer’s desperate cries.

A sin and a lie

I know I’ve dreamed of you

Viorel liked her, she was gushy and it re-inflated his ego which frankly had taken a bit of a hit when he had gotten dropped here. Everything else was wrong, but this single one aspect was right and it gave him a sense of comfort. He wanted to keep Clover around, both for that reason and also to prove to his brother and cousin that this area wasn’t completely barren. Her smile was infectious and he returned it full force, but this time held himself back from winking at her again.

The darkness of the woods seemed to descend on them the second that they stepped away from the rapids. Mist swirled back amongst their legs and the lower hanging branches of the dead trees pricked at their coats. Viorel was fairly confident in his own abilities but something about these woods seemed otherworldly, the sound of Clover’s footsteps behind him seemed to echo back as if they were all around. The Valle’s mouth hardened and the yellow eyes squinted, ”I’m not going to lie to you, it will probably take us most of the night to get out of here.” Looking back over his shoulder he offered a comforting smile, ”So make sure you stay close,” in the mist her pale coat almost seemed to blend in, he looked away, blinking hard.

The silence was eerie, Viorel was thankful when Clover had a question, and an easy one at that. Wagging his tail, the teen nodded excitedly, ”Oh yes! My brother Andrey and my cousin Vayko and I are travelling together.” No mention of the two legs and their crazy bee stings, no need to lay his whole hand out right away. Glancing around again at their spooky surroundings he followed it up with, ”I take it you don’t live in these woods.”

A sin and a lie

I know I’ve dreamed of you

The statement that the woods were less spooky since he was here only further padded Viorel’s ego, his dark chest poofing out slightly. Ugh, he couldn’t wait to show her off to his family. Before he could get too high on his britches, another weird echo of the fawn reached his ears and he was reminded of where he was. Wandering through the woods that he was fully convinced were haunted, with a pleasant stranger, but a stranger all the same. It brought him back down to earth and his cockiness deflated, a little anyways.

The North, okay, he wasn’t really sure how north she meant, or even if the coast was north of where they currently were. There was only one way to find out, ”The north, have you ever heard of Drowned River Estuary?” Oh, how wonderful it would be if she said yes, and even better if she could give him directions on how to get there. Of course, there was also the problem of figuring out whether or not the rest of his family had been dropped here.

Shaking his head, Viorel kind of half evaded the question, ”No really, we grew up together but got a little turned around and we’ve spent the last couple of days trying to make our way back.” Smiling brightly he glanced over his shoulder again, ”But hey, you should stick with us for a while, maybe we can find your plant on the way!”

A sin and a lie