Bramble Falls i am trying very hard to be here

The water was warm, the air was warm, life was good. Sure, she wandered a little farther than she should have, but it wasn't like she had climbed Dire or anything. It was fun to stare into the water at her reflection. She'd never actually known what she'd looked like before. Sure, she knew what color her fur was, but...It was strange to see her whole self. In fact, it was almost scary. She couldn't look away.

"I really am little..." She seethed, squinted at her reflection in an attempt to change her size. It wasn't working very well. She grunted, and poked at the water with her paw, causing the water to ripple and distort her reflection. Borlla was clearly pleased with this, and continued to dab at the water over and over again. Sadistic little giggles rose from her throat, and then both paws went to work until she was up on her hind legs, hunched over the water at a rather dangerous angle.

She leaned and leaned and leaned until she fell forward into the shallow pool. "Eep!" Her paws couldn't quite touch the bottom and she flailed her paws desperately at the shore, barely managing to grab on, but couldn't quite find the strength to haul herself up. Great. Now she was stuck in the water. At least it was warm. But she didn't want anyone important to find her...She'd get in trouble. Unless she could hold her breath until they went away. But that didn't actually seem possible.So, she hung limply from the edge of the pool, attempting half-heartedly every so often to wiggle her way up, but it just didn't seem to work so well.

(This post was last modified: Aug 02, 2010, 02:32 AM by Borlla.)

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Haven't finished my thread with Indru, so I'm not 100% sure where Marsh stands with Swift River yet, but I've got a rough idea. Will just have to be careful in what I say 'til the other is done, as I'm placing that one first :3 Also assuming that Borlla has wandered outside packlands? ... doesn't really work otherwise, Marsh wouldn't trespass.

<blockquote><font style='margin-left:20px;'><b><i>AND NOW WHAT DO WE DO WHAT DO WE WANT</i></b></font>
This pond, this pool, it had become a crude kind of home. His time at the frozen lake had caused Marsh to associate large bodies of water with safety, and whilst this wasn't quite a lake, it was certainly grand. Waterfalls were fascination, and Marsh contemplated trying to reach their source, but that was a trek for the future. For now, it was enough to stop, to rest. How long he planned to stay here, it was impossible to tell, but he didn't really plan these things. For now, it had everything he needed, and he would stay until something pushed him out.

It was another pretty summer's day, a warm summer's day, and Marsh was enjoying the pseudo-quiet by the shallow waters. He was sat almost as the furthest point from the falls, so whilst their crashes were ever-present, they were not overwhelming - instead, they were comforting in their reliable continuation. A reminder of his present, of the now. For the most part, Marsh was content. Resting here, he was certainly never thirsty, and the length and warmth of the days meant that he wasted less body heat and didn't need to eat as much. Hunting had always been a problem, particularly for a beast who was made to coordinate with packmates, but he survived. If anything, it was easier next to these shallows; the fresh water invited many creatures to the table, and minimal roaming meant even less energy spent.

All in all, it was a good place to rest.

So it was, the coppery beast was laid out next to the waters, his eyes fixated on the glittering surface even as his ears remained constantly aware. It had taken a while, but he had grown used to inaction once more. He was calmed, at peace, but always alert. As such, he heard the sudden, small splashes, splashes which did not come from the falls. At first, he dismissed it as a nearby animal taking a drink (but it was not so nearby to cause alarm) but then... it continued. Curiosity slowly overrode his peace, and in the end, he had dragged himself to his feet. Whatever it was, it wasn't stopping, and Marsh could hardly sit nearby while something also sat nearby; he would be on edge. Thus, he had to discover it.

He followed the sounds, and suddenly realised that the noise wasn't small because it was distant, but because the creator was also small. Marsh approached cautiously, and, upon realising that it was a very young <i>puppy</i>, his wariness increased tenfold. His mind immediately went to his nose, and now he could taste her, but... there was nobody else? Her smells, she smelt of - of Indru. His pack was the only pack Marsh was aware of in the area, so it made sense that she came from that family, but why was she so far? Indru had made it clear that his family didn't claim these waters - it was why Marsh felt content to stay here - so why would a puppy venture away?

These concerns all moved through him before he realised the more immediate concern of the puppy's safety. She had foolishly fallen into the waters, which were shallow by an adult's standards but her legs were still stunted. Comfortable that none of her family were in the immediate vicinity, Marsh straightened, allowing himself to be easily seen by the puppy if he hadn't already, stood a good number of yards from her splish sploshing position. Was it wise to aide her? Was it a trap? Was it simply an example of nature playing her tune? A young puppy silly enough to fall into water without her family nearby to help her was a puppy who deserved to drown, afterall.

Still. There was something sweet and pathetic in the way she never gave up.

Marsh offered a low, questioning whine, tilting his head at her, taking a wary step forwards. He didn't want to risk... whatever could happen from manhandling a puppy. He was far too afraid of protective mothers to act rashly.
<font style='margin-left:20px;'><b><i>DO WE ACT AS WE FEEL OR WAIT FOR COMMAND</i></b></font></blockquote>

(This post was last modified: Jul 31, 2010, 10:16 PM by Marsh.)

Jaa. I hope this place isn't part of Swift River packlands. >> if it is, that's a fail on my part.

How convenient it would have been if she'd been able to prognosticate the presence of another wolf before she'd fallen into the pool. But it wasn't like she'd meant to do it. How was she supposed to know she would need help though. Although, right now, she was fine, just kind of embarrassed. Well, fine if fine meant that she'd been hanging from the edge of the pool for the rest of her life, or at least until she grew a few more inches. So really, the fact that there was another wolf just mere feet from her acting as if he wanted to help...It was great.

"Whatcha standing there for?" Her sharp teeth clacked together as she spoke, since she couldn't quite lift her head above the earth it was forced to sit on. "I don't bite," She went for a grin, but then it faded nervously. "and I really don't want to drown." It wasn't all that often that Borlla had moments like this. It made her feel funny. But it was true. Her legs were sure to get tired eventually. She'd have to let go.

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I don't think it is, but just wanted to make sure :x

<blockquote><font style='margin-left:20px;'><b><i>WAITING IS SAFER BUT WHAT OF OUR INSTINCTS</i></b></font>
It was amusing that a pup so young was so eloquent, and though Marsh very rarely even considered the nature of his tongue, he felt... disinclined to speak now. Perhaps he was truly just paranoid that any action was a wrong one; on one hand, he lets the pup drown and doesn't involve himself, therefore remaining thoroughly neutral to Indru's family. On the other hand, he prevents the pup from drowning, thus doing well by another life - by a neighbouring pack - but risks accusation, possible pupnapping. It was all fake, of course it was, he had no inclination to do such a thing (without command) but his and Indru's understanding was a young one. It was dangerous to have his smell all over a precious member of the new generation. It was an easy way to get blacklisted.

It wasn't the puppy himself he feared, and so her humour was lost on Marsh, who merely continued to blink, staring. <i>She didn't want to drown.</i> If anything stirred him, it would have been that; to believe his intent was malicious was shortsighted, and this young one seemed coherent enough to understand that Marsh had only done her a favour (if not to prevent herself from getting in this position in the first place).

It was decided. Marsh stepped hesitantly forwards, securing his front paws in the shallow water, and leant his head down; his teeth gripped the immobilised puppy's scruff and he lifted her, scooting backwards so that he could deposit her just as hastily on the safe, hard ground. She was so small. How could she travel so far? Marsh's tongue stayed securely behind his teeth and he merely stared, again tilting his head curiously, keeping a comfortable distance from her so to prevent too much of his stench from clinging to her pelt.
<font style='margin-left:20px;'><b><i>MAYBE WE SHOULD DO AS WE MUST JUST BECAUSE WE CAN</i></b></font></blockquote>

we're good. :3

What was taking him so long? She was tempted just to back to scrabbling at the wall of the pool to hoist herself out. But the stranger finally came forward, and Borlla made no fuss as she was hoisted out of the water, and quickly dropped to the earth again. Her pelt was soaking, and she felt rather slimy. Grunting, she shook a bit, sending little droplets everywhere as she did. She'd be a puffball soon enough, once her fur dried out. It would be proper incentive not to fall into anymore pools.

Once she'd thoroughly shaken most of the water from her pelt, leaving her a strange looking damp puppy, she walked up to the stranger, head tilted back. Who was he? She'd never seen him before, and he certainly didn't smell like any of her siblings. "What's your name?" She questioned, walking a small circle around him, sniffling, eyes glittering curiously. "My name is Borlla Tainn. Thank you for saving me." Back to his front, she flashed him a toothy smile, then sniffled again, her lip rising slightly as she did so. Boy, he was quiet.

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<blockquote><font style='margin-left:20px;'><b><i>WE'RE STRONG ENOUGH TO STAND THE CONSEQUENCES</i></b></font>
My, but she was... enthusiastic. Had it been anything but a puppy, Marsh may have bristled, but her boldness wasn't threatening - not directly, anyway. She shook the water from her tiny body, and then approached. Marsh almost flinched away from her, his mind still on her mother and family, but then he remembered...

Indru had said his parents had died. The scents on Indru's pelt hadn't been that of a group of random wolves, and he had said they were all <i>family</i>. Indru's parents had been at the top, and since this puppy smelt so much of Indru, her parents and his parents had probably been the same wolves.

She had no mother. She had a family - a big family, Indru had said - but no mother. There was nothing stopping another of this puppy's siblings or aunts or uncles from being as protective, but Marsh knew there to be something <i>special</i> in the viciousness with which a mother guarded her young. She had no mother, so there was no viciousness. As such, he didn't need to freak out; he could simply do his neighbours a good deed. In terms of rivalry, Indru's family posed him as much of a threat as he did them (at the moment, anyway) and as such it wouldn't hurt to improve relations.

<b>"Mmm... arsh."</b> His name was an easy thing to give. Borlla Tainn... Indru had not given his family name, but the scent was more obvious a clue than a shared name. Tainn. For a moment, Marsh considered offering her the expression she had done, but he wasn't really accustomed to smiling, and he decided against it. It would probably only make things worse. Instead, he made efforts to ensure that his tongue worked properly. It was a success. Kinda. <b>"Yyy... ooo are welcome."</b> Licking his lips, he lowered his head and took a small step towards her, eyes wide and curious. What to do now? It was irresponsible to leave a puppy outside of her family's reach, and there was definitely nobody about. He decided to let her know they had a certain amount of mutual ground. <b>"Iii... Indru?"</b>
<font style='margin-left:20px;'><b><i>LETS TAKE THIS BY THE REIGNS</i></b></font></blockquote>

He talked funny. Her head tilted dangerously off to the side, immensely curious about her funny savior. Marsh. "Your name is Marsh?" It seemed like a name, so that must have been his name. "Marsh. That's a funny name." Her smile straightened out, as did her head. "You're really quiet." With a frown, she blinked at Marsh then squinted as if she was trying to put together some kind of puzzle. Unfortunately, there was little going on in her mind that could to anything to assist her in this situation.

The stranger sputtered out her brother's name though, and she lit up, "You met my brother?" So he wasn't a total stranger. Indru knew him. "Was he nice?" Maybe that's why he wasn't talking so much. Indru had been mean to him or something. "If he wasn't, I'll tell him to apologize, since you saved me and all. You don't seem bad, so I dunno why he would anyway." It seemed as if Borlla was trying to make up for his silence, or inspire him. "Do you live around here? I kind of do. I probably shouldn't have gone so far, but the forest gets so stuffy!" Exclaiming, she sat down roughly, shaking her head.

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<blockquote><font style='margin-left:20px;'><b><i>COME ON BOY BE STRONG IT'S NOTHING SCARY</i></b></font>
And she talked... a lot! Was Marsh a weird name? His instinct was to refute it, but she just carried on talking, and it made Marsh want to roll away and hide. It was too much! How could something so small produce so much noise? So many words? So many words! It was all he could do just to process them, reacting to their meaning in delayed time - such that he blinked stupidly at her comment about being 'quiet' whilst he was still listening to her talk about Indru, and it took him a good few moments after she had become silent for him to absorb the rest of it. He'd probably missed some, but there was no point in getting bothered by it. She'd said so much in such a small time she probably didn't even remember it herself... right?

<b>"I... you..."</b> No, it was no good, he hadn't got himself together enough yet. One thing did stand out, though. <b>"Indru - nice, yes. He... we - speak. Nnn, neutral. I... bad? I..."</b> Oy, this was difficult. <b>"Y-yes, I - stay - rest - here, water... ffffffall, is... calm. To me."</b> Wait. <b>"You - far, Ind... family? Allll... alone - you arrrre yuh, young."</b> He jerked his muzzle at the water she had just been busy drowning in, a faintly disapproving expression coming over his face, an expression he was entirely unaware of having. His mind was completely overwhelmed. <b>"... Quiet?"</b>
<font style='margin-left:20px;'><b><i>BUT OH MY WORD IS IT MORE THAN WE BARGAINED FOR</i></b></font></blockquote>

Maybe she'd said too much. The fact that she'd talked so much didn't seem to do much good. Sure, he replied, but it was still off. Well, lucky for him, she was out of things to say. Borlla was in no position to complain though. He was talking right? Her tail wagged, glad to hear that her brother had been nice to him. She wouldn't have to speak with him when she went back home later. He said something about liking the waterfall too, she thought, and turned her head to look over her shoulder, but he questioned what she'd said about being quiet.

Didn't he know when he was talking or not? "Yeah, see, I tried to say a lot to help you say more, but it didn't seem to help much. I don't really mind though. 'Cept, I might run out of things to say." Highly unlikely. She sniffled, stealing a quick, pointless glance at the waterfall like she'd intended to. "Yup! Indru is my brother. He's really nice." Her mind wandered for a moment, and she nearly jumped when she refocused, "You said you liked the waterfall? Can you swim?" He said he liked it, right? Furry brows furrowed momentarily, before she decided that she couldn't exactly remember what the word had been but it was certainly a positive one. "I like the water too, but I'm really short." Surprisingly, she had no ill feelings towards the water after the near-death experience it had caused her.

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<blockquote><font style='margin-left:20px;'><b><i>THE BIGGEST EXPLOSION FROM THE TINIEST SPARK</i></b></font>
Her intentions were sweet, but <i>more words</i> would very rarely help with this particular wolf. Still, his bemused was slowly shifting to amusement, vaguely aware of her attempts to be kindly and flattered by them. He tried not to think that a <i>youngling</i> was trying to help <i>him</i>. Oy. Somehow, Marsh doubted she'd run out to things to vocalise (and the notion was faintly terrifying) but then again, if she was talking she was comfortable, as Marsh had often found with this particular, odd breed of wolf which was so far from those he had been born amongst. More and more his stance and expression turned into one of that watching a fascinating, confusing creature or object. Though they shared a species, there was a whole world between them.

<b>"Yes,"</b> he said gruffly, finding it easier to agree with her trains of thought than verbalise his own. It was a good starting point, at least. <b>"Short. Heh."</b> The rest of what she had said, though having seeped into his consciousness eventually, wasn't of huge importance; Indru was her brother, and he was nice, they'd already established that. Though hadn't there been a question? Marsh lifted his head, still quite unable to believe that such a small, squishy thing was out alone, and glanced about the area looking for anyone else. His eyes, ears and nose all reported nothing. Guess that left him with no excuse not to reply. <b>"Yuh- yes, <i>can</i>, but... don't like."</b> Why swim when your prey was land-walking? Marsh ate fish when he could catch it, but that was easiest in rivers, and he hadn't yet explored the rivers here. Gently, so as not to startle her (fat chance, she'd startled <i>him</i> more so far) he lowered his head to bring his eyes roughly at her height, and jabbed his nose at her. <b>"Alone?"</b>
<font style='margin-left:20px;'><b><i>AND GET READY HERE IT COMES AGAIN</i></b></font></blockquote>