Nomads Pass all work and no play

The afternoon rain came every now and then to splatter the Pass, but periods of dryness were like spells in between. During one of these dry spells Lyr warily exited her den, looking at the sky as if she thought it would come down on her. The blood that had dried on her pelt over night was washed off and her wound looked clean. In fact, all of her looked clean. Indeed, Lyr had just spent some time sorting through the mess that was her pelt. As she wandered through the camp she felt a bit subconscious, and so clung to the shadows.

She had spent the better part of the day sleeping, and when she wasn't sleeping she'd been staring miserably out into the rain. She'd noticed two things: how lacking the herb supply was here, and how diligent Chulyin was as he went about his duties. When she thought of her watching, she felt her cheeks redden. It was stupid really - he had just shoved bark into her hours ago, it shouldn't be such a trial to go and say 'hello'. But every time she thought about it, she made excuses on account of the weather.

Well now there would be no excuses. She sat on the border of the Pass and the rest of the mountain, neat as a princess. To busy herself she scanned the slope, observing the territory. She might have thought it was beautiful if she was really paying attention. Instead, she was hoping she'd chosen a good spot for her to 'by chance' bump into the wolf who'd saved her from herself.


ooc: for @Chulyin! Just ran with whatcha told me x3

(This post was last modified: Oct 11, 2013, 12:51 AM by Lyr.)

After their mountainous journey and his rather...terrible bedside manner, Chulyin had excused himself. He'd finally found a place for himself within the main den, no longer content with sleeping away from his packmates. The man had been trying to make an effort. Not that quietly slipping into a chilly stone cave and passing out without saying a word really required that much effort. He was exhausted. He was not built for all this cross country work. Climbing, perhaps, but persistent movement for long periods of time exhausted the large and muscled man. It was possible he was also looking for some respite from his own thoughts. The man hadn't had many friends in his life. Mostly just those he protected, and he usually chose not to get to close to them, as though doing so would simply cause problems. Family was the only exception, of course. He desired to be as close to his family as possible, gain their trust. He wasn't stupid, although he was quiet. Holding in emotions wasn't healthy. Family was there for one another. Naira could jest comfortably with him and only she would hear him laugh or catch his smile.

When he finally awoke, it was...still raining. He hardly noticed the drops as he left the den, because at that point, the clouds, for the moment, had moved on. For the moment, he kept his thoughts at bay as he headed towards the den that Lyr had made for herself. He supposed it would be sometime until she'd be allowed within the den with the rest of the pack, but he hoped that it wouldn't keep her from interacting with the rest of the pack. But her little cove was empty, the scent leading to the borders. His shoulders rolled as he changed course, his sore muscles propelling him forward easily over the rocky ground. He ought to have been checking out the borders anyway, with all the rain about. Jaws parted in an absent yawn and as his jaws clicked closed, he caught sight of her sitting rather elegantly upon the borders.

With his ears back, he slowed his swagger, tail moving slowly behind him, as though cautious, like sometime in the last few hours she'd decided to turn on them. His greeting was a silent nod of the head, a cock of the brow. <b style="color:#a51919">"Did that bump give you mind powers?" He asked, bass voice quiet. Of course, his guardian status was hint enough that it was at least part of his duty to prowl the borders, but he wasn't sure why she cared. <b style="color:#a51919">

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Instead of catching him patrolling, she was caught instead. He approached from the pack grounds by following her scent, but she was focusing so hard on looking like a casual forest-watcher she didn't notice him at first. When she heard the male's paws on the earth she turned and smiled at him as if she'd been expecting him - and she was. Perhaps he'd noticed this too. "Did that bump give you mind powers?" He said so solemnly, with a nod to her.

Lyr wondered if there was some sort of special way to greet a pack member - a sniff of the rear perhaps? But he maintained a healthy distance and so she mimicked him. Immediately she found herself quipping, "Aye, the power of observation," and waggled her brow mysteriously at him before breaking out into a grin.

But then suddenly she remembered why she tried to get his attention and was shy, only feeling solace by looking at her feet. "I..." she started, but fell silent. How on earth does one broach the topic of owing one their life? It might have been suitable to say something, anything, but she didn't trust herself to say the right thing, so instead found herself gawking at her feet in a vain attempt to conjure these magical words. Moments of painful silence ticked by before she looked up, right at him, with sad, mismatched eyes.

She could have died - really, truly, died. So many times had she collapsed before and been trapped in her paralysis. Each time she feared a beast would come along and take her life right before her eyes. How many dreams had she had where she herself be devoured before her own eyes, unable to move? How many hallucinations had tricked her before? Had the goat even been real? Fear was plain in her expression, but a smile was there too. Perhaps it was happenstance that he'd shouted out to her at that certain moment, but he didn't have to climb down to her. He didn't have to drag her weak body to safety.

With the rush of emotion she felt came more awful symptoms, but she sat up tall and gripped the earth strong, pretending her world wasn't spinning around her. She didn't dare trust herself to speak slurred words, but she had a feeling her silence spoke volumes. She gave a nod of her head to him before quirking her head to the side. Did he understand? Did he feel her?



ooc: if one can waggle their brow mysteriously...

His brows quarked in an almost sympathetic manner, though it was probably intended more along the lines of a "softened" expression. Thinking back to his opinion of family, he pondered the Pass, wondering if the wolves within the borders were simply those he was sworn to protect, or were they family? Perhaps they could only be the latter if he allowed them to be, and since his return it seemed as though he'd unconsciously been drifting towards it with his attempt to be more social. So did this make this near-stranger family? Perhaps a distant relative, though she felt closer than that. Perhaps in some orbit they were friends? He wasn't sure. Perhaps if he just looked at her as a packmate, for what she was, the woman he'd rescued and had taken responsibility for. Nothing more, nothing less. It made things much less muddled within his mind.

With the knowledge that she was a packmate, he allowed himself a slight smile. A shining socialite. Naira would be proud. The smile was flushed away quickly when her eyes dropped. Perhaps she was still adjusting to this subordinate business. He'd gotten a feeling, when Naira had arrived, that Lyr had been unfamiliar with packlife. But this odd displacement of her gaze dragged on for far too long, and he settled to his haunches, leaning down with his head cocked, wondering if she was alright. But as her gaze lifted, his followed. The man was no counselor. He knew his sisters, his blood family...But to comfort a stranger, a stranger that had, in fact, snapped at his offer of help at one point. What was he supposed to do? Discomfort crept into his chest again, and he straightened up, tongue flicked out and quickly passed over his jowls in an awkward motion.

The look in her eyes made his nails dig into the earth, his jaw clench. Perhaps it would not be different from comforting family. But she didn't speak like everyone else did, she didn't express herself, but in silence. As he did, though her's was strangely loud. He swallowed, head tipped, jaw still clenched, before letting out a strained exhale and getting to his paws in a fluid motion. His muscles still ached, but he wondered if this was another step he would have to take. He had little concern for what others thought of him, but his packmates, his own protectors, as much as he would always believe himself unstoppable, their opinion was palpable and without it, he could not be a part of their family.

Sweeping forward, he touched his nose quickly to the slope of her cheek and withdrew quickly, his back paws shuffling quickly, pulling him away from her. He'd been a child once. He knew how to play...Or he thought he did. <b style="color:#a51919">

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