Aiyana Tainn

I walk upon the river

She and stupid, silly Rissa had been on an adventure earlier that morning. She'd been shaken from her sleep and dragged from the comfort of the den onto a pile of rocks, to look for snakes of all stupid things. And then they'd found one, and got stuck on the pile when Rissa was stupid enough to poke it in the head. Growling, Aiyana kept wading through the mess of wet trees. To make matter worse, her sister had, what, panicked? and jumped down, twisting her leg and getting hurt. Not wanting to make herself useless by doing the exact same thing - because she did want to save her sister, after all - she'd taken the riskier route by going down by the snake. While the oncoming autumn had made it slower than usual, it'd still been surprisingly fast, and its teeth had managed to scratch her right hock when she jumped past it. It was a very shallow wound, not even spilling blood, and it had tasted normal when she'd licked it clean, but - Rissa had said that Ice had said that snakes were dangerous. Once it became clear that Rissa wasn't going to die from her hurting leg, Aiyana had set out on her own to find the pale guardian, wanting to soothe the worries of her mind.


It didn't even hurt anymore. It'd stung a bit at first, but now it just felt normal. Still, she was worried. Ice was sometimes a bit excited, which was annoying, but he'd never told them anything stupid so far. If Ice said snakes were dangerous, they were, and she'd gotten herself scratched. Frowning, she kept tracking him to the best of her ability. Mother had told her to practice and watch the world, and she'd learned to follow people. It was useful for spying on Rissa.


Finally she found him, sitting on a rock. His damp fur suggested he'd been outside when the rains had come, which Aiyana hadn't. She'd been sulking in the den, waiting for a chance to go find him. If he'd been out in the rain, why hadn't she been? She decided to ponder that another day, and instead yipped at him. What was he doing out here? Did he watch, too? Aiyana's tail began to wag at the prospect of an adult doing what she did. But.. she had to ask him. About snakes. All of a sudden, the sullen nervousness came back to her. It was all Rissa's fault anyway. What if she died just because her sister was a klutz? Swallowing, she climbed up on the rock behind him, snuggling up close to his side. It didn't even hurt to sit on the scratch. "Ice," she greeted him. His was probably the only name she said every syllable in, and then only because it was only one. "Snakes? Dangerous?" It would have to do as a question for now. She wasn't sure she could phrase it better, and she didn't want to blurt the entire story to him. Too many words. She shivered, her black fur against his damp silver one, and felt her heart race. She didn't know what would happen, and it made her afraid.

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill

Aiyana Tainn

I walk upon the river

"Snakes? Yeah, they're dangerous. You don't want to get bitten - quite a few of them are venomous..." Something cold settled in her belly, heavy and painful. Her 'brows drew together in a look of pure devastation, and she nearly forgot to listen to the rest of what he was saying. They were dangerous. Venomous. And you weren't supposed to get bitten. But she had - well, not really bitten, but scratches. Her heart kept racing, but now in fear. Was she going to die? She didn't want to. She didn't want to disappear like that at all. And especially not out here. She wanted.. no. No. If she had any say in the matter at all, she wasn't going to go along quietly. And she wasn't going to make herself sad by think those thoughts. Trying to swallow her fear, she craned her head back to stare down the length of her little black snout and into Ice's kind, silver eyes. Fear and anxiety swam in her own.


He looked at her so kindly, so nicely, and it made her feel like a fool for having gotten hurt in the first place. Trembling, she disentangled herself from his flank and stood up. Silently she turned away from him, and stuck out her right hock in a manner that, at least to her, indicated he should look at it. The scratch had scabbed over, and it wasn't even slightly inflamed and warm. It was just.. normal. How could something normal be dangerous? She swallowed again, staring stubbornly at the forest, waiting to hear the dreadful words that surely would come from the pale wolf any moment now. But it wasn't all that easy balancing on three legs, and after a moment she set the paw down, but she still didn't dare turn and face him. Her tail had curled up beneath her belly despite her decision to challenge the prospect of dying. She clenched her jaws together to keep them from rattling, and waited.

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill

Aiyana Tainn

I walk upon the river

She flinched when his warm tongue washed across the wound - not because it hurt, but because she was so high-strung. Before she could stop herself, she peered over her shoulder, but he just looked thoughtful. That was.. that was.. she couldn't quite decide if it was soothing or terribly, terribly rude. Was it okay to look like that when she was potentially dying? No. Not at all. But.. if she was dying, shouldn't he be more worried about it? So maybe it wasn't dangerous at all? Was it.. could it.. could it be okay? She didn't want to dare hope, so the fear remained a cold weight in her chest even as she turned around to face him again at his question. It had been pretty, really.. she'd liked the touch of its smooth, cool body beneath her paw, the muscles rippling under the scales. Could such a pretty thing be a killer? She frowned. She didn't want to think it could hurt her...


"Long. Thin. Round." She frowned. That was the shape it had had. But he had asked for details... When it had risen up, she'd stared at its face for a while, mesmerized by its flickering tongue. "Tongue-flick. Red-black head. Then..." Which order had the colors been? It had been predominantly red, but the other two... "Red. Yellow. Black." That had been it, right? She tried to envision it, the larger red patches, and then.. then.. one color had broken it up, and then it had been a third color, and.. which order had they been in? She replayed the memory in her head, watching its exotic form slither out of the hole again. Red... yellow.. no! It had been red, black, yellow, black, red. "No. Red. Black. Yellow. Black. Red." She gave a slight nod for emphasis, and then chanced a glance at his eyes again, trying to read his reaction.

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill

Aiyana Tainn

I walk upon the river

And all of a sudden, Ice was nearly falling on her. She was too tense to squeal or yelp, just stood rigid as he pressed his white forehead against her black one. What was this? A farewell ritual? Or? Doubtfully she remained where she was, trying to battle hope and nurture fear - she did not want to hope, only to have them crushed by his words. But instead... instead, her heart soared when he spoke. Harmless! She- she was going to be okay! Relief overwhelmed her and she sank down on her haunches, sighing deeply. Red on black. Red on yellow. She gave a thoughtful nod - she'd try to remember that. And play with a snake? After this scare? Unlikely! Plus, her legs felt like jelly. She didn't want to play with anything right now. And so she just sat there and stared mutely at him for a moment, before a grin broke out across her face. She was going to be okay! It sank in, deeper and deeper, and she let go of the dark, hard fear, replacing it with joy and freedom. It felt like having both the Wind and the Light inside of her, all at once. A tinkling laugh joined his smile, and once she felt a little steadier, she climbed up on all four again. Gingerly she perched with her front legs leaning against one of his sturdy ones, and with a playful nip to his ear she said goodbye. He returned it with a lick to her cheek, and then she hopped off his rock and began to toddle away on today's exploration of the Grove. She had a favorite bush that was always very, very pretty after a rain. Her brush with death mostly forgotten, she chirped to a nearby butterfly and left Ice to watch the rainbow, a mixture of thoughtfulness and relief on his face.

like it's easier than land

Love is all, from what I've heard, but my heart's learned to kill