Zephyr Rill a dog inspires a rabbit

Bright sunny weather was her least favorite kind of weather, she had decided. The winter air was still, devoid of snow and wind, and just warm enough that the water could not freeze. But the cloudless sky did nothing to temper the power of the sun and so its brightness filled the air and bounced off every shiny snowcap there was, nearly blinding her senses. Iyes attempted to be careful as she crept between the high-rising trunks - there was a big fat pack smell nearby and she didn't want to attract any attention - but it was proving to be a big challenge when her retinas were basically going to burn out of her skull if she opened her eyes just a fraction too wide.

Not to mention she'd been on her own quite a while and while she fancied herself a classic globetrotter, it was somewhat far from the truth. Not even the winter thickness of her inky coat could cover the ribs that perpetually stuck out from her frame. There was a zealous twinkle in her hot-colored stare, an energy she couldn't quite pull back, even when she needed to. Iyes was still very much the three-letter-word she snarled at to be called: an inexperienced, pretty clueless, totally faking it, kid.

The combination of her inexperience and the blindingly bright winter sun made her stealthy mission to get past this forest somewhat troublesome. She could have sought shade somewhere and waited until the sun began to fall in the sky to continue her aimless journey, but the pack smell that kept drifting in drove her anxiously forward. Iyes thrived on her isolation, or so she thought. The truth was that she had never functioned within a larger group and thus had never learned the benefits, instead choosing to believe they could only cause trouble in her life. That's why she had no desire to be found by this gang - group - whatever they were. That's why she had to keep on keep on-ing.

She heard the rushing waters before she saw them and turned a path directly, halting when she reached the quick moving stream. Her eyes flickered like flames as she determined the best way across, wanting to put space between her and that smell as quickly as possible. Though the waters splashed roughly over sparse rocks that seemed to dot the width of the stream, it didn't seem to be all that deep. Thinking quickly on her feet (one of Iyes' noted redeeming traits) she spotted a cluster of three rocks that sort of laid out a path for her to cut further away from the pack's scent. Her dark limbs wasted no time in carrying her toward her target.

She took a calculated breath and furrowed her brow. She'd need to be precise but quick to make it across without the water grabbing an ankle and dragging her in. She made short work of mental preparation and leaned in toward the bank. Ever so carefully, she stepped directly on to the first rock - and also on to a very invisible patch of ice atop it, and tumbled from the makeshift bridge into the babbling brook.

How many times would she go back and forth like this?  To the mountain, to the lowlands, to the--  Wherever this was, Kyna supposed.  It was further north, yes, but she’d gone further east on her trek this time.  Perhaps she simply wasn’t ready to see Greer or Sahalie again, just yet, not was she keen on returning to the oak tree forest where her mother might find her.  That she ached to explain herself to Serach and Lila did not drive her there, could not drive her there, not while the betrayal still ached and dripped from her heart too small for her chest.  What was this feeling, to constantly be out of breath?  To constantly watch over her shoulder, waiting for the next terrible thing to happen?  The young Argyris was most certainly alone, and yet, it seemed like catastrophe could be waiting around any (and every) corner for her.

The sound of rushing water was calliopean over the constant murmur of her own thoughts, and Kyna gave a small sigh, altering her trek to trot towards the babbling brook.  Even in the cold months, it seemed to be active, fresh water bubbling up form the spring and gently cascading over frozen stones.  Leaning down to take a drink (and try to catch her breath), the youth paused, closing her eyes for just a moment – just one moment – and all at once, something splashed further downstream.

Startling violently, the redhead was about to seek immediate shelter when she realized it was a smaller wolf that had fallen into the water.  Kyna gave a soft woof and followed the bank, trying to call to the unfortunate stranger.  “Are you okay!?  Do you need some help?”

I couldn't help myself, I had to pounce!

A wild dissertation appears!

I'm glad you did!!

The fall was short and the water shallow enough that it didn't even submerge her completely - her body just splashed up enough water to bathe her and make it look like it did. She snorted a few errant droplets of water out of her nostrils, making a noise akin to the honking of a strange goose and then she heard it - the kind, helpful voice.

Iyes nearly twisted her neck as she spun her head to see who it was calling out, meeting the other girl's fire-colored stare with her own to match. Embarrassment widened her eyes to the size and roundness of the very sun that caused this predicament (or at least, she was going to place the blame there). A wave of heat flushed under her inky black mask, followed by a wave of ice as she attempted to recollect herself. Okay, yes, something super embarrassing just happened and the event was witnessed - she couldn't change that. But, Iyes thought with some hope, she could still try to save face and collect herself with dignity and class.

Slowly she rose, her thick winter coat bundling with fat drops of water that dripped from her fur back into the stream. She gave a weak shake to help them dislodge, noting the soreness that was setting into her muscles from the fall. Iyes acknowledged the other wolf's worry, keeping her voice cool and casual. "Yeah, I was just -" keep it casual "tryin' to get to the other side and then I..." was there a better way to spin what had just happened? If there was, Iyes couldn't find the little white lie before the words tumbled out of her teeth like she tumbled into the river. "um, fell in." She finished her sentence quickly and hastened towards land, plunging her limbs awkwardly in and out of the water as she made short work of the distance.

Reaching out with her front legs she pulled herself up on to the bank, wincing as discretely as she could. A bruise was beginning to blossom on the right side of her ribcage. She'd struck herself on something when she tumbled in to the stream. Judging by the angry pins that radiated from the point of impact when she stepped further away from the water it would be at least a good beat before she was ready to lope away from her scene of embarrassment, and the wolf who witnessed it. She eased herself to a sit and awkwardly glanced between the ground and the red-coated wolf. "I'm just gonna uh, catch my breath for a moment. But I'm all good, yeah..." 

adopt thea?

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

Well, yes.  Of course she fell in.  Kyna had sort of noticed that.  But the young woman kept her mouth shut – she wasn’t looking to embarrass the other wolf, after all.  Trotting further down the stream’s embankment, she watched as the stranger shook herself.  But was she going to just stand there in the water?  Wasn’t she cold?  Worry soon furrowed the young woman’s brows as she watched the other loner, tail twitching uneasily as she came to a halt.

Thankfully, it seemed the swarthy female seemed to notice that the water was perhaps not the wisest place to be.  Her extraction might have been awkward, but at least she was out.  Quite frankly, Kyna wasn’t certain how she would have pulled another wolf out of the rushing water, even if it wasn’t all that deep.

Watching the other wolf with some degree of concern, she offered a quiet whine.  While she couldn’t see blood, that didn’t mean the black wolf hadn’t been injured by her fall.  “Are you sure?” she asked cautiously, tail twitching behind her again.  “You aren’t too cold?  We could try to find something for you – or maybe we could find something for you to eat, yes?”  Surely, that would warm the other female up.  “Oh!  I am Kyna, by the way.”

A wild dissertation appears!

Those moments after Iyes managed to drag her sorry butt out of the water were some of the longest she'd lived in her short life. She was acutely aware of the other female's eyes watching her as she tried to play it cool. The whine that she heard was one of sympathy, it seemed, but the coal-pelted female had a hard time believing it. What was there to give a shit about anyway?

But in spite of her often pessimistic thoughts, she still perked a dark ear when the wolf spoke to her, questioning Iyes' hardly reassuring assurances. The kindness that followed in every question seemed genuine - and it was very tempting to listen and be cared for. She realized her gaze had fallen to the wet ground beneath her paws and she raised her eyes back toward the she-wolf. In a quiet moment Iyes considered the other female with her similar stare, Kyna. 

It pained her to ask for help but, she realized surprisingly, it pained her even more to imagine sitting alone on the riverbank now. A gentle smile pressed the corners of her lips upward and she stated as a greeting, "I'm Iyes."  Her water-heavy tail gave a solid thunk as it pat against the ground. "That sounds good - actually - but can we sit for a minute longer? I fell funny on my side." There was something freeing about the admission of her errors, which she said far more easily than she'd given the explanation about how she'd ended up in the river. She even surprised herself when she got conversational. "Do you live here, Kyna?"

adopt thea?

“Iyes?  It is nice to meet you.”

An awkward silence fell over the pair – nothing like she and Greer often shared, she noted with some interest – and for a moment, the redhead found herself wondering if she should be saying something else.  Or perhaps she should leave?  Perhaps she’d intruded without realizing it.  The woman was just about to excuse herself with the swarthy loner spoke back up, Kyna’s ears pricking forward at the gentle request.

As if she would say no to that.  Offering a friendly smile, she bobbed her head to the other woman, sitting across from her beside the babbling brook.  “No, I don’t,” she replied easily, pleased to fill the helpless silence.  She was no healer.  No one had ever taught her a damn thing about pain, or illness, or how to treat either of those things – but then again, she’d never asked, either.  “I was visiting my friend, actually.  He lives out on the plains.  I was just returning--”

Kyna caught herself.  Returning where?  Home?  She could have snorted at herself, knowing well she had no place to speak of. “—south.  To my favorite place.” That was smooth.  But hopefully it made sense, the youth had to hope, sighing softly to herself.  What an idiot she was.  “And you?  Do you live around here?”

A wild dissertation appears!

The kind smile Kyna offered in response to Iyes' request for company looked suitable on the rust-coated female. Some wolves had faces naturally suited to ill-mannered expressions (the wolf version of resting bitch face) but Kyna's was the exact opposite - like it was quite welcome to a friendly smile resting on her pale muzzle. As the other she-wolf came to sit across from her Iyes was sure to meet her flame-bright eyes and offer a grateful smile in return. 

The red-coated female confirmed the lack of scent in her pelt. Wherever she called home, neither the territory nor its constituents were close to here. But it did seem she had a life here, whatever it was, being that she was visiting a friend in a different area and heading back to her favorite place. The coal-pelted female blinked. That was a strange way to say home, wasn't it? Iyes didn't have much time to ponder on it before Kyna flipped the question her way. 

"No, this is the first time I've ever been here. And once I go I'll probably not come back until the ice melts." She gave a nerdy chuckle at her own joke as if she wasn't still dripping water. "I used to live with my mom, but that was far away from here... and I've been traveling on my own for a while now. So I guess I'll have to find something somewhere eventually but..." I don't know how. She trailed off, unsure of how to address the thought, and gave a half-hearted shrug of her shoulders (wincing as the muscle tugged the bruise on her ribs) and hoped that was enough to say. 

And since her mind had wandered over to the topic anyway, Iyes countered with a casual probe. "What's that favorite place you're going to?" Kyna seemed nice enough, and if there was safety to be found nearby she wouldn't throw away that information.

adopt thea?

Well, Kyna certainly couldn’t blame the loner for not wanting to come back to the place. It all seemed rather a bit much, and even if the swarthy female hadn’t needed any rescue, Kyna would probably have avoided the rill after such an incident, too. So she just smiled and nodded empathetically, fulling supporting the notion. This was far easier than it had been a few moments ago. The mountain was one of her favorite topics, after all.

“You can see the mountain and the ridge once you get out of the woods,” she explained, tail swishing easily behind her. “I grew up on the plateau – but I had to leave with my mother when I was still young. We lived in the trees south of here for a while. But she… Well, she did some things I did not agree with. So I left. So did my friends, but…they decided to go north, to the plains. But I lived away from where I wanted to for so long, and I’m finally on my own, so I decided, when would there be a better time?”

Kyna finally tailed off, realizing that perhaps that was a bit more information than Iyes might have actually been looking for. The youth smiled sheepishly. “What kind of place are you looking for?”

A wild dissertation appears!

Iyes tilted a dark ear towards Kyna as she spoke of the mountain and the ridge. Where she was born it had been mostly flat land - some hills and trees and rivers and waterfalls where it got more exciting, but no high rises in sight. She kept her interest noted in her head, but forgot the idea shortly after as the ginger-pelted youth remarked, I had to leave my mother when I was still young. She lowered her muzzle and hummed a soft note of sympathy toward the other girl. The charcoal-pelted female had to watch her mother die. It was an indescribable pain she lived with each day, especially now on her own. But she couldn't imagine having to make the choice to leave her mother - and the type of pain that constituted. It had to be something fierce.

Friends was another topic she didn't have much experience to speak on. But she liked the cut of Kyna's jib already. Faced with hard decisions, she appeared to make the ones that felt right to her, and now she was wandering around - alone? - over here while her friends and family were over there. And it was better for her. Ideations of confidence hatched in her brain listening to the red wolf's story. Couldn't she do something like that, too?

But when it came to articulating her thoughts - as Kyna's question asked of her - she found the task continued to trouble her. A strong urge to brush off the question remained in her throat, one which she swallowed and powered through.  "I don't know," she answered, the words made heavy with a sigh. "Just somewhere safe, I guess. I never had a pack growing up. It was just me and my mom and my sister, but we were okay together." She paused and offered a somewhat wry or sarcastic smile. "We're not together anymore." Her last sentence could easily be punctuated with a duh, but Iyes decided against it. "I just want to find somewhere... safe, like that again. Doesn't matter where."

After her jaws came to a close she furrowed her brow toward the ground, wondering if she had disclosed too much. It was a vulnerable truth she told to Kyna, one which she wondered if it warranted anything to be said at all. What did it matter to the other she-wolf? Iyes didn't want to burden the other with her problems.

adopt thea?