Beaver Dam Hopeless Wanderer

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c58/becuffin/caved.jpg) bottom no-repeat; background-color: #301e4e;"> She could hear them, up ahead, and her paw ached with the memory of sharp teeth catching there. The trees were so close, the brushed against her flank and the babbling of obstructed water raced through her silky ears. She floated through the forest, her nose working overtime as she struggled to catch scent of anything more than the water. More than the sloppy, wet, fishy rats that she could hear industriously thumping away at an unseen creek. Something was so off. Golden eyes searched, never able to see more than a few feet in front of herself. There was something very strange here. She could hear it moving, in and out, to her left... or was it her right? Maybe the stranger was behind her... Maybe he was in front? She cursed under her breath and was torn between sitting and waiting, or running. But running where? From what? Usually, it would be odd that her children didn’t pull at her mind. It would be strange to feel the absence of the elastic tug, pulling her back to the mountain, but these thoughts did not cross her mind. No. There was something in the trees. Someone? And then the scent hit her full in the face. “Rhysis?” the name was but a whisper on her lips. She gathered her voice and threw it outwards, with more force. “Rhysis!” Her voice ricocheted of the trees as her eyes squinted, trying to pull more detail from the forest in the fading light. He was out there somewhere... she just knew it.

code by bryony

(This post was last modified: Nov 28, 2012, 11:33 PM by Naira.)

<blockquote>The brook was quiet. Babbling at a hushed tone. All around him were yellow flowers. His paws were hidden beneath vibrant petals whilst their sweet scent hypnotized his nose and his sense. Looking into the water, he saw himself. An ugly wolf, though his face was handsome. A sad wolf, though he didn't feel sad. An empty wolf... yes. Yes he felt empty. He pulled back from the waters edge, a snarl wrinkled his nose at what he found there. He didn't often <i>feel</i> anything. He just was and he had been for many months now. He had been someone else before, but that someone else was forgotten now. He was just a shell. A carcus for a soul that didn't fit in the world. He had forgotten who he was a long time ago, and he had forgotten that he had forgotten that.

<i>Rhysis?</i> his mind hummed. Yes he had remembered his name. Why the hell he had been calling himself Wolf these past few months was beyond him. It was a stupid name and he liked his own much better. It caused a stirring in the ears of those who heard it, however waking up from that alternate version of himself had caused hin to forget who actually knew it. It was a pain in the ass, but he found the more explored the world around him, the more he remembered. He supposed that sitting in a meadow, no wait, a forest of yellow flowers was meant to cause some sort of reaction. Trigger a memory he had forgotten like the rabbit burrow had.

No. Nothing.

<i>Rhysis!</i>

There was that voice again. The second time around he realised it wasn't his mind talking, or the wind, but another wolf. Across the bank from here it appeared. A beautiful peppering of colour in comparison to his own boring hue. He started at the paws, covered in yellow flowers like his own and moved up the <span class='word'>svelte</span> legs towards the torso. More of the wolf appeared, she was female, he could tell from the smell and the way his body seemed to suddenly drop the weight that clung to his shoulders and when he got to her face he saw... nothing. Nothing but a blur. She had no face, no identity... no, nothing.

<b>"Who... who are you?"</b> he said, trying to keep his voice level but let's face it, any wolf, no matter how "hardcore" they dubbed themselves, was going to be freaked out by a talking wolf with no face. </blockquote>

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c58/becuffin/caved.jpg) bottom no-repeat; background-color: #301e4e;"> Her nose sought, sought him out. Her heart raced as she weaved effortlessly through the trees and towards the sound of bubbling water. She slowed, as an unnatural glade of yellow flowers sprung up before her. As she turned to see where she had come from, she realised the flowers had sprung where each of her paw-steps had fallen. Strange... But she didn’t give it much more thought that that when the subject of her endless searching materialised before her eyes. She smiled, and relaxed. Moving closer to her dark king. His scent in itself was intoxicating. Regardless of what may or may not have happened, she had missed her love so, and all was forgotten with each step she took towards him. Her ears flicked at his words, and her head tilted, mirroring a move he himself would have made. “Don’t be silly Rhysis. You know me.” she all but purred with a tinkling giggle as she moved to brush up against his side. It had been so long since she had managed to get so close. So long since their last carefree embrace. A moment of pain shot through her heart, and her hackles itched to raise as she saw a smaller shadow slink through the trees, golden eyes glowing with a flash of red, but it faded and she quickly stilled. This was their time. Nobody could take it from them. Not now. Not ever.

code by bryony

<blockquote>She came closer to him and he watched as her paws slipped beneath the brook until she reached his side of the divide. He was not afraid of her, no matter how deformed her face was, her voice and presence was soothing to his very bones. Her laugh was like music to his ears and he drowned himself in her scent. He wanted to touch her, to press his nose to her cheek and keep it there for a while. To inhale her very pores from their source until he was drunk with her smell.

He did know her. He wasn't sure how he knew her, or who the hell she was, but he knew her from somewhere. He nodded, like a puppy-dog in reply to her. He didn't want to argue, or to say that she was wrong. He just wanted to be here. In a glade of golden flowers and a wolf with no face. He felt his lips trembling as they moved into a smile. A warm, glowing smile that felt so alien he was sure he was being possessed, but he didn't care. He wanted to smile at her, so he did.

<b>"I... I miss you."</b> he said, unsure of where it had actually come from. He didn't know who she was, but he felt a longing for her. The moment her scent had touched his nose, he felt his heart race. His core temperature sky rocketed until he felt sure he was pass out from the fever on his skin. Boldly, he bent his head forward from his seated position to nudge her shoulder with his nose. He wanted to know if she was real, but he stopped when he caught the stillness within her.

Where her face should have been, the eyeless, mouthless area looked to the shadows. He saw nothing there, but the stiffness within him told him somewhere was there, watching. As quickly as she had frozen, she melted once more and the relief within him was a breath he didn't realise he had been holding. Why he cared about her emotions was beyond him, but he felt like his mind was too absorbed in her very essence to care about logical thought right now.</blockquote>

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c58/becuffin/caved.jpg) bottom no-repeat; background-color: #301e4e;"> I... I miss you. Words that tore at her very soul. She didn’t want to bicker, or fight as they often had before. No, she just wanted to enjoy the peace, and the love that filled her bitter heart, and made the world feel good again. Made her want to do good again. She wanted him to be so real. No. She needed him to be real. She needed to bring him home, so they could right all the wrong that had been done in their absence. But her train of thought was interrupted by a snuffling and rooting around amongst the trees. She salivated as the guttural grunt danced across the clearing, her tail whipping about double time. It had been so long since she had hunted boar. The last time had been... But the noise was fading as the rotund beast trotted away from them. Certainly they could still chase it down, but this place... was so perfect. She didn’t dare leave his side for fear that if she moved away, he would disappear again. He would leave her alone, just as he said he never would, and her heart would break again. Was this real? It felt so real...

code by bryony

(This post was last modified: Nov 29, 2012, 12:37 AM by Naira.)

<blockquote>He had reached out to touch her. God, he needed to touch her. She had to be real, right? Wait, no. Could a wolf live with no face? How would it eat? Ergh. <i>Brain, shut up.</i> he thought to himself as he looked back to her. He tried to focus on her face, specifically where the eyes should have been. He thought for a moment he caught a flash of gold, but it vanished no sooner had it arrived. Perhaps it was just a reflection of the warm flowers beneath his paws.

He wanted to ask her name. To find out who she was, but as his lips parted her direction changed. Why were there so many distractions? It was like he was unable to touch her, to know her. Something was always going to get in the way. This time it was a small, fat brown thing with a flat tail. He felt his head tilted, his eyes riveted on the animal. He knew what it was, but he was having trouble finding the name. The creature began to bumble away and he felt the need to chase it. To bring it back to this wolf that could not eat it with no mouth, just to make her happy.

He got to his feet, shook himself off. A spray of golden pollen fell from his coat, like water off a wet dog and showered them both. It smelt like heaven, but her scent was far more appealing. <b>"Let's chase it."</b> he said, his tone warm and rich, a tone he hadn't heard himself with for a long time. He offered a half smile to the girl, before he moved past her, careful not to let a single hair on their bodies touch. Before long he was on the trail, his paws eating the bank of the brook which was steadily becoming a river.
He glanced behind him to check that she was following, an encouraging bark followed before he turned back and continued after the round ball of a creature.

<i>Beaver. Beaver!</i> his mind shouted, suddenly remembering what the creature was. The black wolf Triell had told him that when he had first found the valley. Above all else he remembered what a nasty bite they had. <b>"Be careful."</b> he said as he got closer, assuming she was hot on his heels. <b>"They pack a nasty bite."</b> he warned as he watched the creature trot down to the river and leap up onto a wooden structure. The beaver looked smug, as if he was home in his very own castle. Pft, we will see about that.</blockquote>

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c58/becuffin/caved.jpg) bottom no-repeat; background-color: #301e4e;"> He shook, not quite touching her fur. She wanted so badly to press into his body. To bury her head in the thick fur about his neck and never leave again. She could die happy in his embrace. But something held her back. So close. She had been so very very close. There was another creature imposing on their little wonderland again and as much as she wished to ignore the beast, he love had other ideas. “Let’s chase it.” His voice was rich and smooth, like a salve for her heartache and she couldn’t deny him anything. His excitement was infectious and she found herself tearing after his dark form with reckless abandon. She couldn’t shake the warning he offered, as if her own experiences hadn’t taught her enough about beavers and their dams... Had she been paying attention, she would have noticed her trail of flowers had been replaced with sodden paw-prints in her wake. She knew better than to walk on the dam, but cockiness was quick to replace her former caution. Rhysis had stopped on the banks, but she continued on... Paws confidently stepping onto the timber structure before her. She ignored the creaking of the logs as she made her way out, out towards the cocky little bugger. She didn’t need him to teach her how to hunt...

code by bryony

<blockquote>The creature had slipped across the structure until he was safely on the other side. It glanced back, offering a large, buck-toothed smile and a wave of its tail as it waited, challenging them to come for it. He had been about to look down the bank for a short cut when the golden wolf charged past him and hurtled up onto the logs and debris. She didn't look heavy, but he heard the unmistakable creak from her weight. Deja vu. This had to be deja vu. Hadn't this happened to him before? No, wait.. Yes? Gah, a shooting pain drilled through his battered head and ended his trail of thought, bringing him back to the here and now.

His eyes looked at the structure her paws stood upon, watching as it began to sway and a spring of water shot out from its belly. His entire nervous system felt like it had been zapped as he felt himself plunging forward. Clumsy but carefully at the same time, he raced across the bridge until he reached her. <b>"Move!</b> he shouted, looking at her absense of face as she whipped round to be met with golden eyes. A warm smile. The most beautiful face he had ever seen. He blinked as time stood still, clearing his eyes to make sure he hadn't imagined what he had just seen. He hadn't. Where he thought he had seen a face was nothing but a blur again and the creaking beneath his paws was more then just a sound now, but a vibration and a shifting beneath his paws. <b>"Go!"</b> he shouted again as he used all of his weight and shoved his shoulder into her rear, propelling her across the dam to the other side just in time. As soon as her paws made contact with the hard land, he felt himself falling.

Everything went cold. Everything went dark.
Man, his head was killing him.</blockquote>

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c58/becuffin/caved.jpg) bottom no-repeat; background-color: #301e4e;"> She was so close now, she could almost taste the fishy flesh, just a little further. She was sure the dam would hold out... She felt a warmth against her back and the reckless smile she threw the dark wolf was one that rarely graced her face. Yes, this was fun. This was living. But the worry in his eyes dampened her joy, and his panicked shout bought her back to the shifting wall beneath her paws. He shoved her to the other side of the creek. She couldn’t decide whether she should be indignant or grateful. She turned just in time to see the dam collapse beneath him, his dark head disappearing beneath the debris and water. Her heart stopped. She was angry now, and determined. She could see the beaver that lured them here, doubled over in laughter. Pointing at the creek where her beloved had vanished. And she was pissed. She stalked forward, lifting a paw to swat at the awkward creatures head. It moved upwards to clamp sharp teeth into her paw. She growled then, lifting her other paw to push its head down, teeth clamping about the back of its neck with a snap, the thing was finally limp in her jaws. She had the overpowering urge to carry it to him... But where had he gone? She carried her injured paw, dead beaver dangling from her mouth. Concerned golden eyes combing the banks of the creek for any sign of him.

code by bryony

<blockquote>His eyes opened to see the bottom of the river. There were fishing swimming here and there, plants cascading upwards towards the sky. Logs and twigs brushed against his skin and he realised he was being carried along with the current. Well, that certainly wasn't what he had wanted. He had wanted to sit up on the bank with the faceless wolf and just smell her for all eternity, but no, instead he was bobbing around under the water with a knife in his brain for a head ache.

He felt his body beginning to drift. He couldn't let himself be carried away. With all his might be began to kick, to run in the water with his head pointed straight up. Time seemed to stand still as he ploughed upwards, kicking with his muscles until they cried in protest. Finally the reflection of the sun hit the water above him, casting strange white shadows on his body. He was almost there. He had to see her again, even if it was just for a moment.

As his nose broke the surface the rest of him followed until his head was out of the water. He didn't cough and splutter, he wasn't even sure if he was breathing, all he cared about was seeing her again.

There.

On the bank she battled with the beaver, her paw snared in its jaws as she fought back. She was a glorious fighter, but she was so entwined with it she didn't seem to see him. <b>"I'm here! Right here!</b> he called to her as loud as his lungs would allow. <b>"I don't want to leave you!"</b> he cried once more, trying with all his strength to get to shore and to her. To embrace her. To be with her, but his attempts were futile and he found himself being dragged further and further away. <b>"I will find you... I promise. I won't ever leave you."</b> he whispered to himself before he felt himself slip beneath the water again and everything went black.

His eyes bulged open as he coughed up the water that was not in his lungs. His body was trembling, aching from nose to tail. He felt moist, bathed in his own sweat beneath his thick fur, but it was not warm in the hollow tree he slept in. Every nerve was on fire and his heart raced so fast he felt it might explode.

A dream. He had been dreaming. Was it a dream? No. It had to be a nightmare. It had left him shaken but not from fear, from the realization that he was as empty as the reflection he had seen. He hadn't always been dead inside. The warmth he felt with that wolf, that... wolf. Her name? What was her name? He had to find her... no wait. She had no face remember. She wasn't real. Was she?

Exhausted, he let his head drop to his paws and tried to shut off his brain. It was a pointless effort- he was sure he would get no more sleep this night. His final words spun in his head until he felt sick from the dizzy dance they did. He had said those words before, he was sure of it, but who would he ever say them to? He was a selfish wolf. He loved no one, not even himself it would seem. No, it was just a dream. It had to be... so why did it feel so real?
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