Sex: FemaleRain. Tonight, it fell in thick, fat, cold drops, barreling to the earth in merciless sheets that she couldn't and didn't hide from. The evening sky had been dark and grey, the winds chillier than usual for this time of year, so it wasn't much of a surprise when the storm clouds opened up not long after the sun had gone down. Once, she might have dreaded it─the powerful claps of thunder that shook the whole world to the core and their bright lightning that lit the forests and meadows in eerie flashes of pale white. Once, she would have run and hid from the rain, or cowered beneath it like something hunted with no where left to escape. Once, Lucero was a different girl. Beneath a turbulent sky and the weight of the rainy onslaught pounding down upon her ash-stroked back, the bright-eyed girl didn't fear the weather any longer. Instead, she embraced it as a pleasant change from the sunny heat of endless summer days, which reminded her only that it had been a very long time since she'd seen the way ice clung to the barren banks of a certain far-away lagoon.
Water dripped from her chin, sliding between her eyes and down her cheeks and throat as she cut through the forest. She was headed north, not for any reason other than to stretch her legs and clear her mind. Ever since they'd gone weeks without seeing one another until the recent hunt, Lucero had been a mess without Ataneq. For whatever reason, they'd gone their separate ways for a time she didn't mind being alone. There was always someone to look after or some duty to perform with growing children around. But the nights were long and dark when she couldn't sleep, and the starry black skies reminded her of his rich, dark fur and the way his honest eyes sparkled. He'd been elusive and so had she, and there wasn't really a way of telling whose fault it was that they hadn't had any time together, for themselves. Slipping past a rocky outcrop, shining wet in the moonlight, Luce felt a pang of guilt that she hadn't sought him out sooner. Maybe it was her fault. Maybe she'd done or said something wrong. Maybe it was the fact that she hadn't done anything at all. When they'd gathered for the hunt, her Ataneq had emerged to join them with an invisible rain cloud of his own hovering diligently over him. It was plain to see, and she'd wanted to go to him then, to let him know that she was still here─and always would be. She couldn't, but now she could, and tonight she would, and she would brave any storm to the end of the earth to find him.
Unfortunately, the trail she'd picked up hours ago was all but washed away now, and the night was dark. At the margin of the forest she knew and the one where the red ferns ruled, Lucero found herself far from home and probably far from him. Breathing in deep and sighing long, she stretched her neck to look into the distance. Her dirty paws sunk into the puddles of mud that swallowed them, and drenched strands of fur clung to her temples as frustration and disappointment washed over her. She clenched her teeth and moved on.
To the east, the forest gave way to a rolling meadow, it's tall grasses mottled with bunches of fiery-hued wildflowers. Their red and orange and golden petals danced and bounced as the rain drops fell upon them, and out here in the open the winds swept over her body and whispered in her ears. The sky was painted in shades of pewter and black where violent clouds blotted out the stars, like pain was blotting out her heart. On the knoll of a quaint hill, Lucero resigned to disappear among the grasses, looking out on a beautiful world as empty as she felt.
Soaked and miserable, Ataneq had done nothing but mope around after the pack hunt. From the moment that he had seen Lucy there, he had wanted to show her how strong he was. That he would do anything for her, be strong enough for her and that anything was possible for him. There were no limitations to be had when around him and through that confidence he had thought that he could take the very leap to bring down the stag as quickly as it had come. Only that he had no succeed in bringing the prey down but to be bludgeoned in the shoulder by the great beast and sent reeling backwards.
That single injury had hurt his pride giving him nothing but grief as he felt entirely useless. Ataneq felt she could have taken that down without flaw but in the end he just couldn’t feel anything but bitterness. In his haste to do something to impress the girl he had likely steered her off as he had before. The night that held the flood of rain, he holed himself up within their nook. As he lay within it pondering everything, his eyes kept constant attention to the rise of the river water during the downpour. It was beginning to rise bit by bit, flooding into his treasured outcrop as if it was nothing extraordinary made by Mother Nature. Pretty soon he figured that it would rise just enough to pick him up, drag him out and drown him—would he be willing to go without a fuss?
When the water began to press at the very fur between his claws, he hoisted himself up the best he could and left his position behind. Briefly he figured that by the time he returned with the sun his place would be nothing more than a mess of mud and twigs, debris that could not so easily be removed now that his shoulder and leg were sore. Even that couldn’t deter him for the boy continued to move, limping in a direction that even he couldn’t see or know of. His only means of movement was to keep moving away from all the losses that he felt.
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The time she spent alone and wet in the darkness was sobering. She knew it wasn't worth it to mope around out here, but she didn't want to go back yet, without finding her friend and explaining; without shedding some of the fret she was feeling; without doing something or finding something or leaving something behind. But for the life of her she just couldn't lift her paws to do much of anything. Raising her head to face the storm clouds and the deluge, the girl's golden eyes searched the dreary night sky for a sign. But there was nothing there to make her feel better, nothing to take away the negativity, no map or inclination on where to go or what to do. There was only lightning, and darkness, and water to splash in her face. Maybe it was time to go home.
Rising from the grass and mud with a good shake, Lucero sucked in a dramatic breath and blew it out with the force of a alabaster-furred hurricane, sending a spray of water and disappointment from her dark nostrils. She looked over her shoulder, toward the direction of the glen, and was struck with indecision. What she should do and what she'd wanted to do in the first place weren't the same and even as she looked back on the path from which she'd come she wasn't inclined to go that way. Instead, she made for the not-so-distant treeline, which she knew she could cross and be somewhere with less wind where the rain didn't fall so hard, and then she'd be better off to make her mind up.
Somewhere between the knoll where she'd watched the storm and the almost-shelter that was the summer forest, she stalked her way right past the man of the hour. She could have missed his dark form altogether, had it not been for a bright white flash of lightning to shine through the woods. In a moment of surprise she blinked hard, searching with her eyes through the darkness for what she'd seen in the light. Though she couldn't see him, and thought maybe she was seeing things, she called out for him, her voice a low echo against the rumble of thunder.
"Ataneq!"
With her shoulder throbbing mercilessly and feeling as though he was going to drown from the all the rain any moment, today really wasn’t the best day to be out. However, he didn’t stop himself. Ataneq was stubborn and he refused to let this injury to his shoulder make him useless. If anything it made him wish to be stronger and push himself, to let everyone know that he wasn’t going to let something this painful drag him down. Those that had left him behind had surely done that to him, providing him with heartbreak and abandonment issues but he had to press forward. Death was not an option, at least not yet.
A voice rang through the chilly air and lightning splashed across the sky but looking out into the distance he saw nothing. Just the open canvas of the world displayed before him. The noises drowning out the forest voices and the rain drying out the various scents that littered the area. Ataneq winced for a moment as he felt the pain of the hunt course through his leg, opening up another can of kick-ass on him. He doubted there was anything medicinally available to him for such a sore spot and even if there was, the only medic he knew about in pack had left him for dead. Had not even cared about the things that he had gone through and had left him high and dry, with very little to show for it.
Although he didn’t want to the yearling stopped in his path and laid himself down upon the muddy ground and did what he could to alleviate some of the stress he had put on his leg. It hurt to even think about getting back up but he would have to do it if he was to return back to the Glen at an appropriate time.
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The rain slipped between the slender blades of her shoulders as she charged forth into the shadows. She didn't know if it was Ataneq there in the black of night, or not. But her heart was pounding now, so hard that even the thunder in her ears felt faint in comparison. The mud underfoot squished between her toes, murky water from puddles that riddled the forest floor splashing against the dirty white of her long legs as they tore through the underbrush. Over a small ridge and down in the belly of its foothill she finally found the boy, or the ghost of him, she thought, belly-down in the mud. Her head rose and her eyes fell upon him, wide and bright even in the dimness of the moonlight and dripping with uncertainty and a tempered shade of sadness. The sight before her was nothing like she ever imagined to see in the Tartok boy. For the first time, Lucero saw Ataneq in a way defeated, alone in the chilly night, his lustrous dark coat sopping and slick against his body. A soft whine caught in her throat, and she pushed the discomfort of seeing him like that far away as she warily approached him.
Whatever words she was prepared (or wasn't prepared) to say were lost to the storm's cold wind. It was clear that he was in pain, and she remembered the recent hunt, though she hadn't seen exactly what had transpired to result in his injury. "Ataneq─" Her voice was but a whisper, lost in the roar of the rain. Her softened gold stare grazed over the moonlit planes of his body with concern. She'd finally found the boy who was her best, and perhaps lost, friend, but this wasn't what she expected. Everything in her wanted to comfort him and mend his wounds, whatever they were, physical or mental. Only a length away, she just hoped that she wouldn't be turned away after coming this far to reach him.
To the young boy he simply couldn’t see much in his future anymore. Once upon a time he would have seen himself being something important. Likely his mother would have stayed here and built up another Tartok pack here within the lore and he would have taken up a role of Guardian and been some sort of teacher of her ways. Perhaps Po would have come with him and been a medic for their injuries from sparring. Unfortunately that sort of a future seemed highly unlikely for him now. In fact, the Tartok name seemed like a burden upon him. It was as though he was being hunted by the very existence of his mother who had abandoned him and expected him to be something without her. She had barely taught him the first thing about making a branch of her creation and thus he simply couldn’t do it anymore.
Ataneq sighed, remembering the feeling of the stag’s hoof punching his shoulder with such force. Pushing him backwards and otherwise drowning him in the moment away from them all. Just as Ataneq was about to get up and make a run for the hills, he saw her. The lightning stretched out in front of him and her golden eyes gazing at him warmly. A small, faint smile etched its way onto his face even if he did feel an overwhelmingly amount of pain. “Luce” he mumbled lightly though it got lost amongst the storm. Ataneq moved his muzzle slightly for her to lie down. It was likely very muddy for a girl like her to get herself so dirty but he doubted he could stand to greet her.
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When the boy finally did look up, his amber eyes finding her golden ones, she felt her heart swell as if a river of blood had flooded it full. Immediately her tail wagged meekly behind her and as he spoke her name every worry and feeling of doubt that had plagued her through the night simply dissipated. At his beckoning, the girl shuffled forward and slid to her belly before him, nose to nose, a single ear folding sideways like it always did when she was happy or nervous. With her muzzle she reached to lick his face with tender affection, stopping for a moment here and there to look him over and search his eyes for the boy she knew and endeared. After, she army-crawled closer still, her forelegs slipping between his own, inspecting his wounded shoulder as rain slid between her eyes. "I-I've been so worried about you, Atty," she proclaimed softly, "are you okay?" It was pretty obvious that he wasn't, but she had to hear it from him. The mud beneath her was cold and thick, and she couldn't help but to think that he shouldn't be out here like this in his condition. She had limited knowledge of medicine, but had a sense for herbs including the ones that grew this side of the mountain. Surely there was something out there that could help him; surely there was something she could do to ease his pain or revive his health. Whether there was or not and whether she even could, or not, she wasn't going to let him lie out here in the dirty cold and rain all night. "Your shoulder─is there anything I can do to help you? I...I'm so sorry." Sorry for everything. For not being there for you. For not ensuring your safety. For missing out on your day-to-day life. A feeling of helplessness edged her resolve to do something to help him, and to be there for him, now.
if i post too fast for you, let me know :) <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#004A80;"><b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#144034;"> To look upon her face made him feel more comforted than he had in recent weeks. Everything just didn’t seem alright anymore. It might have been because he had always felt right at home beneath his mother’s wing where everything he knew came from her. She had been the one to teach him relentlessly and allow him to see the depth in everything. Giving him the perspective that she saw—or trying to. Unfortunately, he had begun to waver from that and it had completely vanished from his system the day that she had disappeared without a word. Ataneq did not belong to her nor did he need to do anything. He might be a strong individual who likely didn’t need for someone else to tell him what to do because he had Tartok blood, but if having Tartok blood meant that your mother was going to skip out on you then he didn’t want anything to do with it. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#004A80;">“I been worried ‘bout you, too…” he barely managed to break out through the barreling noise of the storm but as she laid down before him he felt at peace. Lucero was there to see to him and in this stormy mess of all things. She shouldn’t have been out here and even more so now, she should be safe and dry elsewhere. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#004A80;">“It’s painful to walk on but I’ll be okay eventually,” because that was the only thing he could tell her that wouldn’t worry her. Ataneq didn’t know what would happen to his leg because all he could focus on was how horrible it felt to walk. The boy was just tired. Completely exhausted from feeling let down and hurt by those that he reached his heart out too. He knew now that he needed to protect himself from those that would leave him and part of him even believed that he should leave the Glen. Otherwise, he’d start getting close to those here and they would end up wanting to leave too. It felt like to him that he had already driven off two of its members so why wouldn’t there be more? <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#004A80;">“We should probably find shelter,” he mumbled absently as she asked what there was to do to help him. Even if he did wish to bask in the shame and torture of his self-pity he didn’t want her to end up getting sick by being out here with him. |
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'Eventually' wasn't really the time frame she had in mind for him getting, feeling, or being better. She hated seeing him like this and hated even more that aside from offering her support and what protection she could, there wasn't much she could do to heal any of his wounds. She found a little encouragement in the flicker of what she thought was relief in his eyes as she slid closer to him. Claps of thunder shook the forest and the boom reverberated in her bones as a flash of lightning lit her face in an abstract pattern of white and shadow. She nodded solemnly to his suggestion of finding shelter and immediately rose to her feet, stepping to stand protectively before him as she looked out into the forest wilderness for somewhere close and suitable that they could go. Earlier in the day she's passed a small ridge (more of a rocky outcropping) on her way to the meadow she'd stumbled upon, but this place was altogether pretty foreign and truth be told she wasn't even sure where they were now. The forest would have been more easy to navigate in the summer sunlight, but the never ending onslaught of rain made the place seem more like a labyrinth. Just when she was sure there was nothing in sight, another flash of lightning lit what seemed to be an assemblage of fallen trunks, grown over by ivy. Squinting through the ensuing darkness, she figured it was probably their best bet and better than laying in the mud─especially for Ataneq and his wound. "Come on, Ataneq, get up. I think there's a place we can go on the crest of that hill." She gestured with her muzzle toward the distant nook, that was really not too close but still close enough. Nudging beneath the crease of his good forearm, Luce beckoned for her friend to rise. If she could just get him somewhere dry, she could tend to his shoulder and then maybe they could get some rest.
<b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#004A80;"><b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#144034;"> There really was no telling when Ataneq’s shoulder would come around to feeling better. All he knew was that eventually it would pass, for now it just felt sore and ached whenever he moved. It was normal, after all. He had gotten sucker punched by a special white stag and now he was paying the consequences for trying to be all macho brave for the girl that he wished to impress. It seemed that it didn’t work out in his favor as she was now the one bandaging his emotional wounds… oh wait, perhaps it was a winning situation? Knowing this, Ataneq inwardly smiled to himself realizing that even if he hadn’t made the kill to impress Lucero at least he know had her babying him. He would be too macho to admit to appreciating such a kindness, but he liked it. Carefully he hoisted himself up the best he could and with as much strength as he could muster he followed wherever the yellow-eyed girl led him. He didn’t care where nor when they found somewhere, just so long as she was still going to be there afterwards. He couldn’t imagine her leaving him, not now… not after he felt as if he had lost everything. Lucy was the only thing in the Glen that felt worth loving or caring for. She was worth every second that he had to spare and possibility the only thing left to motivate him at all. <b style="font-family:georgia; font-size:12px; color:#144034;">“Lead on,” he yelled over the crack of thunder. |
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