Bramble Falls the water can be unsettling

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v201/bluepups/RaisTable2.png); background-position:top center; background-repeat:no-repeat; padding-top: 100px; padding-bottom: 20px; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 20px; text-align:justify;">It was early morning, and the young wolf had been meandering through the forest in search of nothing in particular. He disliked to think he was without purpose, even if his young life was nearly devoted to his capricious whims. No pack or family was there to stymie his travels, and so he took full advantage of visiting all of the Lore he could. For this day, Rais' temporary mission was to follow one of the rivers and see what was along it, perhaps even see where it came from. Having set off well before sunrise, he had picked a small creek and followed it along upstream, where it met with progressively larger rivers, leading him north.

It was only when the overcast sky started to redden to a bright coral hue that Rais felt he were really making progress. The river had become more rocky and turbulent, and the sound of rushing water could be heard in the distance. Rais quickened his pace, jogging towards the sound. The boy cleared the last of the trees to find the river had widened into a shallow pool with water crashing down at its opposite end. He smiled at the sight, glad and relieved that his efforts in tracking the river had paid off.

Feeling his work deserved some recreation, he splashed into the water without hesitating a moment longer. It was glacier cool, but he ignored the icy nip of it against his skin. There was a waterfall! Who cared if it was ice cold. He splashed over to the cascading water, romping through the pool like an overjoyed pup. He paused just before the fall and squinted his eyes against the spray. His gaze traveled up to the top of the falls, then back down. He'd never come across a waterfall of such size in his life before.

He hesitated for a moment, then suddenly making up his mind he shoved his head directly under the falling water. Not entirely expecting how frigid the water would feel right on top of his head, suddenly flooding his eyes and ears and nose with such force, he let out a frightened, shrill scream. He pulled his head back out of the spray with such force that he stumbled over himself and landed with a splash on his rear end, sitting in the water and staring with a bewildered expression at the falls.

(This post was last modified: Aug 20, 2012, 03:28 AM by Rais.)

Istas had been running blind for quite some time. Her instincts to flee had taken over when she was spooked out of the Ghastly Woods. Finally able to catch her breath, the female's small ears picked up the distinct sound of roaring water. Pinning her ears back Istas' rumbled low in her throat, how she distasted the fast moving waters that wound through the land.

It was as she growled pointlessly at the element of water that an idea occurred to the young female. She must not be the only one to dread hearing the roar of the mighty falls, perhaps she'd be safe there. Swallowing the urge to run once more Istas Vera headed at a slow trot towards the roaring current. Her yellow eyes pierced the trees, as the canopy was not as thick in this part of the woods. Her alabaster pelt became dappled by the shade that the trees cast.

The Arctic wolf lost her nerve just as she breached the treeline. Her ears pinned themselves to her head at the cacophonous noise that burst forth from the falls. Her yellow eyes sending a frightened glare at the large body of water that fell from the rocks above. Istas almost immediately regretted her choice in seeking sanctuary here.

She was just about to turn back when the scent of another wolf caught her nose. Again Istas froze this time though it was to allow her eyes to seek out the wolf her nose had found. The female soon noticed the young male, about her age, frolicking in the dangerous waters. She stared bewildered at his display, body and voice frozen for a few minutes by his antics.

When Istas had regained her senses she barked, warning the stranger from the demise she saw. Unsure if she could be heard over the roaring water, she tried again this time lending a beseeching howl to her tone. Her yellow eyes searched the other wolf for signs of acknowledgment.

"A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth."

<span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%'>(OOC: Is it alright if this takes place earlier, like on August 16th? Rais gets into a big mess on the 17th and I don't know how that's going to turn out yet)</span>

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The roaring of the water dulled his hearing, the tinny screech of his eardrums overriding everything besides the cascade. Rais hadn't noticed the bark nor the howl that was given to him in warning. Sitting stunned in the basin of the waterfall, the boy shook his head to try to steady his senses. The world canted rhythmically back and forth, his equilibrium thrown into dizzying disarray from the good whack the waterfall had given him. Slowly he stood up. Well that was stupid. The falls were no measly trickle, and he was lucky his head hadn't been knocked right off of his shoulders.

He gave his saturated pelt a good shake, the spray of water from his fur nothing compared to the mist of the falls that swirled around him. He turned away from the crashing water, surprised to see a white wolf standing on the shore. He wondered if she had said something, or if she had just been standing there silently watching him make a fool of himself. He wasn't sure which he would rather prefer, besides him not having been an idiot in the first place.

Rais' lean limbs sloshed through the pool as he approached her. The dizziness had subsided enough that he could get a clear look at the wolf. She was little bit taller than him, but there was no threat in her stance and from scent and sight she seemed to be about his age. A pleasant smile slipped onto his silvery face, and he stopped a few yards from the girl. "HELLO THERE!" he hollered, his ears and voice not yet properly adjusted from having had his head inside of a waterfall. He winced, realizing he'd spoken much louder than he intended to. In a quieter voice he quipped, "You know, it's not polite to watch someone taking a bath." His tail flicked to and fro behind him and his orange eyes glinted humorously.

<!--QuoteBegin--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->(OOC: Is it alright if this takes place earlier, like on August 16th? Rais gets into a big mess on the 17th and I don't know how that's going to turn out yet)<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><!--QuoteEEnd--> (OOC: Yes the thread can take place on August 16th. Just as Istas is entering the territory then.)

Istas looked on with a worried air as it seemed the young male hadn't heard her. She stood on the shore frozen, her yellow eyes watching the wolf get his bearings slowly. The only movement was that of her alabaster pelt, from the wind off of the water fall. Gone was her fear of the fast water, in it's place was fear for a drowning wolf.

The male was a stranger and of little consequence in her life but her fear of the fast water did not know such boundaries; she now feared for him. As the silver pelt shook on unsteady legs, Istas' eyes widened slightly as her muscles tensed ready to go and help. However, she wasn't needed it seems as orange eyes clashed with her yellow ones. Semi-mesmerized by the orange gaze in a silver face she watched as he drew nearer, trying to ignore the swelling of the water as he passed through it.

He stopped a few paces away from her, she gently sighed as he was no longer in danger. With the fear lessened Istas withdrew back into herself. That was until her ears were assaulted by his elevated voice. Her ears flicked to her skull briefly as her head twitched at his volume. The incongruence of her stately posture was brief, she was able to receive his next phrase with the poise that behooved her.

She allowed her soft voice respond to his abrupt question, the humour in his eyes eliciting a small wave of her tail before it lay back down in between her hocks. "Very few would call that a bath, the few who survived it."

As if that statement had brought the waterfall back to life Istas' eyed it briefly as she backed a few paces away, farther away from the shore. Once situated on the grassy terrain she lowered her hindquarters to the ground before speaking once more "My name is Istas Vera, who may you be?"

(This post was last modified: Aug 22, 2012, 04:12 AM by Istas.)

"A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth."

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The boy watched in silent curiosity as the snowy female moved a few steps backwards. He thought maybe it was from him she was moving away, perhaps his voice was too loud or he smelled funny. All that water should have taken care of the smell, but... On closer inspection he noticed that her wary gaze wasn't at him, but past him, towards the falls. He thought nothing of it, besides the fact that most wolves had healthy fears of things that the Rais, the daredevil, did not. As she sat down upon the dewy grass of the bank, he was reassured that it wasn't him who had bothered her. At least, she wasn't bothered by him enough to leave.

His smile broadened into a charismatic grin, his long snaggle-tooth exposed. Relic Lore was sure full of lovely young ladies and this sunny eyed dame was no exception. Rais hadn't noticed himself when he had begun to take more of an interest in the other gender, and he tried to ignore how the fledgling attractions clouded his normally sharp mind. But, it never hurt to get on someones good side, and the boy was always polite until given a reason to be anything else.

"It's a pleasure to meet such a charming lady as yourself," he said with flattery, his head dipping in greeting. "My name is Rais, a wanderer from nowhere." He lifted his face to look Istas in the eyes. "So, is there any particular reason you came here? It doesn't look like you're too fond of the falls," he observed.

Istas' eyes flicked restlessly from the wolf in front of her and the fast water behind him. <i>Charming he says, this wolf called Rais who comes from no where.</i> Her yellow eyes again ran over his form, taking in his wide grin and the appreciative expression in his eyes.<i>Is he trying to charm me out of my fear? It's reasonable to be afraid of things that can kill you. My reasons are none of his concern</i>. She scoffed internally, his attentions pushing her farther to the edge. An edge that had led her to this place of dangerous water.

Istas sat sliently a while longer, as she mulled her response over as well as allowing her emotions time to settle. When finally she spoke her words were harder than normal for her but she hoped her wispy way of talking hid them. "Well Rais I may not be the only one who is afraid of fast water. I thank you for the compliment however."

As if just realizing his comment was flirtatious Istas looked down to study her paws. She was indeed flattered but was uncomfortable that any wolf would think so; her past being what it was.

The alabaster female continued to study the ground beneath her fores, confused.

"A liar will not be believed, even when he speaks the truth."

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Rais' sable ears flicked back for a moment as he stared at Istas. She was so quiet, had he said something wrong? He wasn't terrible at reading others, but in this case he was stumped. He just couldn't get a handle on what caused her somber mood. The small seed of his confusion blossomed into a challenge in his mind, and there was nothing the little rogue loved more than a challenge. But this challenge wouldn't be something he could barge headlong into and expect to learn anything that way. He would need a scalpel rather than a sledgehammer if he hoped she might relax. It wasn't important that she did, there was nothing he would lose if she didn't, but it was a challenge for him all the same.

He wasn't the type to try and try again a method that had already proven not to work. Istas had thanked him for the compliment, but he'd seen his forthright flirtations didn't have quite the effect he had intended. A different tactic would have to be tried, and he settled on nonchalant conversation. That couldn't hurt, right? His grin disappeared, replaced with a neutral mask as he watched her staring a hole into the earth at her toes.

He scuffed his feet a little before sitting down. He sighed, "Yes, a bit of fear is healthy, especially for something dangerous. Only a fool has no fear... But..." His brow furrowed in thought, had he just called himself a fool? He picked up again, trying to dismiss the thought. "But, a little bit danger can be good. You can have more fun that way, or, at least, I certainly do." Like a chameleon, his face changed again. This time, it was a small smile that pulled at his lips, more politely friendly compared to the toothy Cheshire grin he had worn earlier.