Mountain of Dire naked as we came

<blockquote><ul><span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%'>SQUEEEEEEEEEE. Meh this is bad.</li></ul></span>

The more space she put between herself and Niara, the more difficult she found it to remember. Her memory faded with the scents of… of… of familiarity. Swift River was no longer a name realized or a place that floated about in her memory that ricocheted anxiously in the confines of her skull. Swift River was just a feeling, a strange feeling that she could barely grasp, a feeling that made her feel sick and confused. But walking, that made soothed her roiling stomach. Every step she took was another step away from that horrible feeling that she could not explain. Pretty soon, the old woman forgot what the sickness altogether.

But that was when the darkness set in.

It was not a physical darkness, for the sun still loomed high above her –it was a mental darkness. The blackness claimed everything she had ever known, everything she had ever loved. It even stole her fear of heights. There was only emptiness that rattled around in her head, though the bag of bones was incapable of knowing this. Darkness took this slowly, stealthily, and she had lost the ability to sense its gentle touch a long time ago. It stole away her wits without even rousing her awareness. So Ozera just continued to walk until suddenly she was climbing, scaling a callous rock-face. Although it hurt, the tattered wolf began to rely on her left-foreleg for support –otherwise, she would probably fall. She asked herself the same question she always asked, “<b>Have I been here before?</b>” Her paws fell into familiar crevices, and she stumbled in all the old, precarious places. She walked right past the old den without so much as stopping. “<b>Have I been here before?</b>” Ozera was a broken record.

Pain lanced through her worn body with every movement. But she had always been in pain, hadn’t she? This old injury was no big deal. But gradually, the agony became too much for her to ignore. She stumbled on the lip of a stony rise, collapsing in a pathetic heap on a flat, barren surface worn smooth by the yesteryears. “<b>Oops.</b>” Ozera tried to giggle through the pain. “<b>No big deal.</b>” But when she tried to throw herself back onto her three good legs, she found she could not. A crescendo of pain stole her breath away. The wind was strong here, and it slipped through her patchy coat and chilled her to the bone. Naked and exposed, she lay on the cold, hard rock, fighting a war against the gale force winds that buffeted her mercilessly.
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He'd found his way back. How long had it been? Months. Almost twelve, almost a year. It felt so much longer. And here he was again, upon the chilly mountain stone. Memories flooded his mind, and the gray beast visibly cringed, the fur along his spine rising. It took him a moment to quell his feelings, to shove them back into the past where they couldn't hurt him. He'd done so much wrong. And now he'd come back to make it all right. Would such a thing be possible though? Everyone thought he was dead. For awhile, he thought he was dead, too. But he wasn't. It had taken him so long to return though, would he be called a traitor? Abandoning his family, those that he had called his friends. Making them suffer.

His massive paws shuffled against the earth, and his ears flattened back. What was he to do? He'd come this far, it was too late to turn back. Besides, he wasn't one to give up so easily. There was still hope, wasn't there? If there hadn't been any, then he wouldn't have traveled all this way. Lifting his head, his ears perked up, showing some signs of the creature he used to be. As he squared his shoulders, his head fell slightly, the energy required to keep himself held so high was far too much for his waning strength and health. There was a tight pain in his stomach, and he sighed, pale yellow eyes narrowing as his ribs seemed unable to expand far enough to allow him to breathe.

Baring his teeth at the cold stone, Alexander began to move again, counting each pawstep as he took it until a faint breeze blew towards him, carrying with it a familiar scent. Not so familiar, however, that he could truly remember who the odor belonged to. But it drove him forward, every sense within him screaming in fear that the face he would meet would be familiar, but not inviting. Names and faces fluttered through his mind, and he fought to put the scent and name together. But his mind flew clear when he saw who it was. It had been so long. The last time he'd seen her had been with Jaysyek. Though that had hardly been a pleasant meeting. But here she was, collapsed upon the mountain, and a wave of fear, not of rejection, came over Alexander.

<b>"Ozera!"</b> He called out, voice hoarse, but strong enough. He galloped weakly towards the elder female, and managed to stop to collapse beside her. It felt good to stop moving, and his sides heaved as he moved beside her, looking at her, trying to make sure she was alright.

(This post was last modified: Mar 12, 2012, 01:59 AM by Alexander.)

<blockquote><ul><span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%'>this is going to be the derpiest thing ever</li></ul></span>
Someone shouted something. <i>It... it sounded like.. "Oh, See Rah!"</i> Oh, see Rah? That didn't sound like anything she knew. Maybe it wasn't even English, but it was probably a name of some sort. Believing the root of the problem to be something lodged in her ear, she began pawing with vague, rough motions with a matted, frail hind-leg. Before she could manage to tear out her ear-drum with a lack of delicacy, however, a heavy thud —accompanied by a less than heavy fellow— fell down beside her. Immediately her head swung around to meet this incredibly... <i>friendly</i> stranger who leared at her, staring at her as if he believed her heart might stop at any second. If Ozera had been any other wolf, she might have been alarmed by the proximity, the closeness, the hungry stare. However, she was only herself —if only partly— and she gave her trust wholeheartedly. A warm, confused smile washed over her face.

"<b>Excuse me?</b>" Whether or not this stranger spoke English, she had to at least try to communicate. "<b>You're going to have to speak up!</b>" As her eyes traveled down the length of her new companion, she felt a twinge of some strange emotion that she couldn't name. He felt... did he feel like <i>home</i> too? But that made no sense. This dirty, broken creature did not look familiar... And he didn't — she dove her nose into the thick of his furry shoulder, concluding that there was no need to be shy if he wasn't going to be shy— no, he didn't <i>smell</i> the way she figured he... ought to smell? That was a strange thought. How was he supposed to smell. A vacant, puzzled look darkened her worn face for a moment as she stared uncertainly at her comrade, trying to come up with a name or a reason for an explanation for all of this. After a moment, however, she realized how rude she was being, and replaced her bewildered frown with a bashful smile.

"<b>I'm sorry, did I trip you?</b>"


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Somewhere past the gnawing hunger, he felt something akin to sadness. Although severely emaciated, he wasn't a small wolf, and certainly his suddenly collapse at her side would have caused her to stand, maybe even run, but she did nothing. She even smiled. Alexander wanted to cringe, but, as usual, it seemed to take far more energy than he was willing to expand. His ears, instead, twitched as she spoke, and he scowled, head tipped slightly to the side as the elder female's nose was suddenly jammed into his shoulder. So she didn't recognize him then.

<b>"I'm Alexander...Midnight Plateau."</b> He offered, raising his voice slightly as she had requested. Alex hoped that the mention of her old pack didn't bring up any bad memories. He figured that he'd rather have her here, completely oblivious to his existence, then falling off the mountain again. Her question fluttered past his ears, and the man shook his head. <b>"I kind of tripped myself, m'am."</b> Chuckling, he looked down at her, offering a smile much different than the scowl from before.

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The strange, friendly fellow offered his name easily, although he tagged something else onto the end of it. Midnight Plateau. <i>What in God's name is a Midnight Plateau?</i> Puzzled, she frowned back at the gray wolf beside her, wondering if perhaps he was not entirely right in the head. "<b>What a lovely name,</b>" she said absent-mindedly, her tail sweeping up a dust-cloud on the stony floor. Or maybe he just had one of those really long names that some wolves tended to have —although where this notion came from, she couldn't have said. It was a weird name, to say the least, Alexander Midnight Plateau. On it's own, Alexander was fine, almost normal.... However, Midnight was perhaps a little... self-important, even banal... And Plateau. Why, they were <i>on</i> a Plateau. Perhaps he lived here, and he had just chosen to name himself after what he lived on. Deciding that this was probably the case, the smile slowly returned to her weathered face.

Knowing what was expected of her in these sorts of situations, the bedraggled, ancient female opened her mouth to speak... But nothing came out. Her name, which she was <i>sure</i> she knew, teetered precariously on the edge of her tongue outside of her awareness. "<b>I'm.....I'm... uhhh.</b>" Suddenly she trailed off, her brows creasing as she lost herself in thought. <i>I know my name... Of course I know my name... It's</i>. But she couldn't think of it. <i>Oh, there's nothing wrong with being forgetful. It happens all the time. I was always forgetful.</i> Leave it to Ozera to pretend her problems were far smaller than they actually were, but ignoring them made life far more managable. Smiling was easier when there was apparently nothing to worry about. "<b>Oh, well, I've forgotten,</b>" she said buoyantly, as if it were unimportant. "<b>Don't you hate forgetting things?</b>"
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It was disheartening, to hear her talking like this. If he hadn't known her at all it would have been sad, and, admittedly, with all the time that had passed since they'd last really spoken, he supposed she might as well have been a stranger. Obviously he'd missed something important. Inwardly groaning, he wobbled weakly onto his haunches, head dipped slightly. She didn't even know what her own name was! A mask of pity came over him, and he fought to cover it. She didn't even know what was going on.

Alexander gave a slow nod, <b>"It's always unfortunate."</b> Would he be the one to tell her who she was? Odd to be told something like that by a complete stranger, right? <b>"You're, um...Ozera."</b> He said, voice level. It would be cruel not to tell her. <b>"What are you doing up here?"</b> He asked her almost immediately after, as if to get rid of the awkwardness.

<blockquote><ul><span style='font-size:7pt;line-height:100%'>i'm sorry :C I feel like I've been giving you nothing to work with.
OH GOD THIS IS HORRIBLE.</li></ul></span>
Her name was Ozera? Well, that was a surprise. A snort of derision shot from her nose. How would it be possible that this stranger could know her name if <i>she</i> didn't know it? This grey fellow must have been trying to make a joke, although his humor seemed far too deadpan for her. No matter —she would laugh anyway, for she loved to laugh. "<b>Oh please,</b>" she said, tittering lightly as her tail swept the ground with a good-natured tempo, "<b>Ozera is a rather lame name, I think. Try again.</b>"

Perhaps this was a game he was playing with her. The smile carved upon her face deepened comically as her tail began to beat faster. Games were nice. She hadn't played a game in so long. "<b>This time, try to be a bit more imaginative, alright?</b>" Maybe if he came up with anything good, she could keep it, wear it as if it were her real name —surely it wouldn't mind, since it was woefully absent. Caught up in the exotic promise that the game held for her, she ignored his question about what he was doing up here. <i>I wouldn't be able to tell him anyway,</i> she thought to herself, <i>I mean... It's not like I know. I don't even know how I got here.</i> Her hungry yellow eyes hung on to his face expectantly, waiting for his second guess. "<b>You'll get a prize if you can guess my name.</b>" <i>A kiss, for this gallant, friendly stranger.</i>
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As she responded to him, Alexander fell silent, exasperation radiating from him. He wondered if it was worth it at all to bother trying to strike her memory. It hadn't worked at all so far. He wasn't one to give up so easily, but it seemed as though there wasn't much point in arguing with her. He cracked a smile then, chuckling at the insult she bestowed upon her own name. Well...She didn't seem so bothered or confused anymore. So he supposed that, even if he couldn't revive her memory, he could at least bring a smile to her face.

<b style="color:#51b85f">"Imaginative?" He questioned, one ear tipped to the side in thought. <b style="color:#51b85f">"How about Ciel? That's a lovely name. Or, Antoinette." He smiled. That was his mother's name. <b style="color:#51b85f">"I quite liked Ozera, to be honest. It has a certain feel to it..." He gently bumped her shoulder, laughing at the offer of a prize. <b style="color:#51b85f">"You must give me a hint." He flirted playfully with her. It was rather fun, to be honest, despite his lack of energy. <b style="color:#51b85f">"speech."

<blockquote>
As unobservant as the old woman could be, she thought there was something strange about the way....(<i>What was his name again? Allison? No... that couldn't be it</i>)... the way the man seemed so slow to respond. That empty expression that lingered on his face was curious, and she would have wondered at it for long if he hadn't suddenly grinned. Distracted, she smiled back, shaking her head arbitrarily at his guesses. They were pretty, but they didn't sound like her name. "<b>No, Ozera is hideous.</b>" For a moment she paused, slightly abashed, "<b>I mean. No offense, if you actually like it. I'm sure it would be fine for someone else.</b>" Really, she wasn't looking to insult anyone. If this man, Alexander, actually <i>knew</i> someone named Ozera, then that was a different story. But the name wouldn't for <i>her</i>.

The bump to her matted shoulder sparked something... some strange feeling she couldn't name. Looking up at the pale wolf in surprise, she noted that he was good looking. <i>Oh, lucky me,</i> she trilled in her head like a school girl, <i>To just stumble upon some handsome fellow... and would you believe it, he's FLIRTING with me.</i> She couldn't remember ever getting this sort of attention before. Turning up the charm, Ozera leaned in to him, tossing her head backward in what was meant to be a sexy gesture but looked awkward and ostentatious on a woman of her age. "<b>Oh, a hint?</b>" There was a pause. "<b>Yess...</b>" Of course, he would want a hint, this was quite a difficult game after all. Only, Ozera had no hints to offer. Suddenly, she felt a rush of shame and confusion. Suddenly, she felt very old and very ridiculous. <i>I'll just make something up.</i> "<b>Oh, well. It rhymes with your name,</b>" she said offhandedly, her voice dropping a few degrees as she looked away. Suddenly... she wasn't sure if she wanted to play this game.
</blockquote>

He could only laugh as she passed over his offerings. His energy was draining quickly, but he tried to keep a smile on his face. Actually, he felt as if he could just go to slee--No! For all he knew, if he went to sleep, he wouldn't wake up. His body was done. It felt done. Alexander was in no mood to die. He might have been six, but he didn't feel six. He'd only recently grown up. He would live as long as he damn well pleased! Sighing, he shook his head and laughed. He needed this hint. Though, it was rather vague.

It rhymed with his name? He wondered if she actually remembered his name. <b style="color:#51b85f">"Alexandra?" He offered, though that hardly rhymed, or maybe it did? He wasn't sure. <b style="color:#51b85f">"Oh, I'm no good at rhyming, dear. I must insist that your name is Ozera." His tail wagged, and he tried to keep the smile on his face and keep from yawning. <b style="color:#51b85f">"speech."