Windsong Fjord You spin me right round, baby right round

Ready seemed to be a relative word in the situation, but Reyes wasn’t exactly in the position to argue. To argue, or even to weigh in, would mean he’d have to release the stick from his vice-like grip. God forbid he dropped the branch into the water and he had to fetch a new one, or even worse, let go of it as Askan latched on, leaving the other wolf to drown in the freezing water. And perhaps it was a good thing his resolve was as steely as his gray eyes, because for all that he considered giving the strange wolf the go ahead, he kept his mouth shut, and was almost hauled into the water a moment later as one-hundred and thirty pounds plunged into the river.

Growling, claws dug into the snow and ice as he threw his weight backwards, stopping the drag. His tail stuck straight out, acting as a balance, and Reyes broadened his stance, taking more ground underneath him. He started to back, grumbling and tugging, and he could only hope Askan caught on – letting go to instruct the guy would only result in the flailing wolf freezing to death… if he didn’t drown first.

His neck was started to ache, but shit, he did tell the guy he’d help him, didn’t he? He couldn’t give up now.

Come on cabrón, help me out!

It might've not seemed like it, but Askan was trying. His legs were kicking furiously against the current as he clung onto the branch for dear life. He'd considered being stuck on the spinning ice to be the worst thing ever, worse than burning in hell itself. But this situation was just as bad, if not worse. It was more than just a little cold, that word simply didn't do it any justice. It was freezing, so much so that the water was crippling his muscles, making them tense and seize up. Every movement he made was agony, it felt as though he was fighting not only the current but his body as well. One part of mind was going STOP STOP THAT HURTS but the other urged him on, reminding him that if he stopped all of this would be for nothing. He'd get swept downstream and would die.

With their efforts combined, Askan inched closer and closer to the main body of ice. It was just a little further, just a little more. With one final yank and one mighty kick, the Rye wolf spat out the branch and hooked his front legs atop the ice and somehow- with what little strength he had left- managed to scramble up and out of the water. His body shivered uncontrollably as he wobbled to the shore, suddenly hit with a tremendous wave of nausea now that he was standing upright. Askan was aware of the loner's presence, he hadn't forgot about him but there were more pressing matters to deal with right now. His stomach was rumbling, making a whole lot of noise and it was time to empty out and start again.

He had only just touched upon dry land when he leaned down and threw up his breakfast, noisy and undignified. But in his defence, have you ever seen someone throw up quietly and with grace to boot?

Moments passed and Askan panted as he heard footsteps approaching him from behind. Ah yes, the loner. Peering over his shoulder, Askan stared at the man with his lingering, yellow gaze. He knew he was supposed to be grateful, but it was rather difficult for him to summon such a positive emotion when he'd just been put through the wringer then forcibly yanked out. Not to mention that he was a little  taken back. By no means the stranger a spitting image of Askan, but there were a number of stark similarities that took him by surprise. Their similar bulky build, the fact their pelt was the same and those eyes...Askan had many a wolf during his stay in Relic Lore but so far none had been so...He wasn't sure how to describe it. Putting it simply, he would have simply stated the loner looked good. Really good. Like damn, 'that's a fine specimen' sort of good.

Shoving those thoughts aside, Askan turned to face him properly, taking care not to stand in the yellow snow.

"Well that was shit."

This was a lot simpler in his mind.  Perhaps it was because Tyne hadn’t been fighting a current, or perhaps it was because Reyes had been scrambling up the snowy slope, but it seemed like freeing him from the frozen grave was a lot easier than pulling the stranger from the freezing river.  (That, in and of itself, was another problem entirely, and one he’d deal with in a minute.)  As it were, he was left to catch his breath, watching the other wolf warily as he turned and deposited the contents of his stomach on the shoreline with all the grace off an agitated turkey vulture.

Reyes turned his head, offering the other wolf at least the illusion of privacy, until he was stable enough to turn and face the loner properly.  Ears tipped as he considered the slightly larger wolf, realizing only then how similar they appeared.  If not for the sunset eyes and the general lack of scars slicing across his face and throat, he might as well been looking into the ice.  A sideways smile slide across his tired muzzle – damn, he would have looked pretty good without all those old injuries, huh?

“Never seen anything like that before,” he admitted, closing the gap between them to give the soaked wolf a once over.  “You okay?  Cold aside.” Because of course he was cold.  He just went for a goddamn swim in the middle of winter.  Damn, they were gonna have to get this guy out of the wind, as soon as possible.  “C’mon.  Let’s find shelter.”

(This post was last modified: Jan 28, 2017, 10:09 PM by Reyes.)

 

Askan was shivering violently, his legs were aching up a storm but yeah, overall he was all right. That was to say he was alive, he wasn't bleeding and as far as he could tell no lasting damage had been done. But shit, that had been an experience and a half. Not one he wanted to repeat mind you-what sort of idiot would- but at least he could say that he survived. Then again, the Rye wolf had no intentions of telling anyone about this little-what should he call it- accident. This was just between the two of them and Askan wanted it to stay that way. It had to.

"M'fine." He muttered, shaking himself off, as though he thought that would ward off the cold. It didn't help or at least he didn't feel any different. All he managed to do was flick water everywhere.

The Yukon wolf had noticed the lingering grey gaze of the loner, but he thought nothing of it. Wasn't it natural to size up someone new? And Askan supposed that he too might have been a little taken back by his looks. So really, the possibility that the other could have been checking him out didn't even occur to the Rye wolf. If it had? Well, there was real way of predicting how that sort of conversation would go down. At the very least it would be quite amusing.

Askan wasn't sure where to go from here, was he supposed to just walk away? He was tempted to, it's what he would have usually done, but with the way his legs were wobbling like a new born calf's he wasn't sure whether that was such a good idea. Knowing his luck he wouldn't even get that far, let alone all the way back to the field. For now, he had to rest, take shelter somewhere nearby. So when the loner suggested to do just that, Askan couldn't help but arch a brow in question. It was unexpected and he would have surely complained if he wasn't so DAMN COLD, but as of now he knew that it would be easier to just comply. At least until he could feel his toes.

"Sure. Lead the way." He gestured with his snout and then followed the stranger away from the ice and the accursed water.

Fade out

(This post was last modified: Jan 28, 2017, 10:40 PM by Askan.)