Cold Water Creek In the Jungle That We Roam

'Is it safe on the mountain?'

"Uh." He didn't know how to answer that. Because as far as he knew — the mountain was a deathtrap. One that was full of everything terrible. But that might have been his bad luck speaking. "Probably?" That sounded like a safe answer. Now he just had to warn them a little bit so they wouldn't think everything was perfectly okay up there... "Just gotta watch out for, uh, mountain lions. And underground caverns. They can be hidden beneath the snow." Victoria would know from experience.

There were also meat eating deer somewhere up there. Should he tell them about that? He felt like he should tell them about that. But the girl was speaking and his train of thought went out the window in favour of picking out her quiet words. His ears rolled forward and he strained to understand her.

'Could you tell us about the wolf that attacked you?'

It seemed like they were making him go down memory lane. His paws shuffled beneath him and one of his ears flicked backwards towards the woods. Could he remember anything about the wolf that attacked him? He wracked his brain for anything useful.

"They were — they were, uh, about the same height as me. But skinnier." Something about them seemed skeletal. Unearthly. But that might have been his imagination playing tricks on him so he kept quiet. "Their fur was white. Or maybe grey? I dunno. It was dark when they, uh, got me." It was a night he wouldn't forget. "Their eyes were — red."

Was that it? He was pretty sure that was it. But his curiosity got the better of him and he found himself standing taller with his gaze focused on the duo. "Did he get you guys, too?" Neither of them looked that injured. Maybe a little thin and jagged around the edges but definitely not mauled.

He assumed they got lucky or something.

The talk of waterfalls seemed to please his treasure, the smile she gave him told him so. He gave her a nod in return as if to say they could go there. Since he didn't have any specific destination in mind it would be good for them to finally have a goal to reach. He looked at her once more when they spoke of the mountain and she seemed indifferent to going there indicated with her shrug. So he had asked for a little more information, he didn't want to take Isa there if it wasn't safe.

The shadow was curious about the mountain as a potential place for him and Isaura to go for a little while. When he inquired about it the white wolf didn't seem too committed to his answer. Soon found out why, it wasn't a very safe place. Mountain lions and underground caves didn't sound safe at all since didn't think that they would he going through the mountain if they could avoid it. With the snow falling it would probably make traversing the huge rock that much more dangerous.

The dark yearling made his way to the water's edge for a drink of the cold liquid to quench the thirst he'd been developing over the past hours. He never took his eye from the pale man to ensure his treasures safety. He did hear her inquire about the wolf that had attacked the man. When he finished drinking he rejoined Isaura as the man described the wolf.

Everything about the wolf that was being described seemed believable until the white wolf came to the part about the red eyes. Ruari couldn't help the raise of his brow at that. “The wolf didn't hurt you too badly?” The stranger seemed to he alright aside from his very nervous behavior.

Ruari shook his head when they were asked if the wolf had gotten them too. “No, we haven't run across any wolves with that description.” He looked to Isaura to see if maybe she had before they had met up. “We will keep an eye out for him.” The shadow didn't really want to run into the wolf while he was still recovering from his fight with Deaglan.

 

She was surprised to hear about the dangers on the mountain. It just seemed like it might be a possibly peaceful place hard to travel through but peaceful. Apparently, she had been wrong about that. The pale stranger went on to tell them about mountain lions and caverns that might be under the snow. Isaura shuddered what would it be like to have your footing give way when you thought it was solid? She hoped that she never found out.

His ears pushed forward to here her words and made took note that she would have to speak a bit louder. The stranger didn't seem keen on getting closer to them and with the sounds of the river between them it must have been hard to hear her words. He seemed to have grasped what she had said because he started to shift around again while his ears went back.

A white or gray skinny wolf with red eyes? She had never heard of or seen a wolf with red eyes. He mentioned it was dark so maybe it was simply his mind playing tricks on him? Unless she saw this wold herself she would question that eye color but a pale wolf was something she could keep an eye out for. Isaura glanced at Ruari to see if what he thought and saw the way his brow raised in disbelief. Her shadow didn't think that the wolf could have red eyes either.

Her shadow asked if he had been hurt and then responded that they hadn't met a wolf like that. Isaura nodded in silent agreement. If they found a wolf that matched that description they would have to be extra careful. Thank you for telling us about him. She added knowing she might have asked the pale wolf to go through unpleasant memories.

'The wolf didn't hurt you too badly?'

"No." Cottongrass shook his head in tune with the monosyllable word. Because the memory was unpleasant but it wasn't like he ended up mauled or traumatized. But it didn't make the night any less unpleasant. "They just got my muzzle." He could remember the sensation of teeth digging deep and dragging... His yellow eyes blinked and he shuddered.

It wasn't a nice night. And he might have met Reyes that way but there were better ways to make memorable first impressions. He drew his gaze back towards the due before looking away again.

"It happened a long time ago." He explained. And — truth be told — the explanation was more for himself than it was for the pair but what they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. The wolf was probably long gone. Nothing more than a distant memory he would one day forget. His ears twitched when the duo spoke one after another.

'We will keep an eye out for him.'

'Thank you for telling us about him.'

"Okay." He breathed. And with a deep breath in — he straightened his stance and made an effort to look confident. "I think —" His confidence wavered almost immediately but he kept talking anyway. "I should probably be going now. If that's alright with you two..." There were places he probably had to be. He didn't want his friends thinking he ran away or something.

(This post was last modified: Dec 02, 2017, 08:06 PM by Cottongrass.)

His biggest worry after hearing about the wolf that attacked the pale stranger was running into him and something happening to Isa. He still wasn't at his top condition but he was getting by, he was now able to travel easier and hunt. A fight with another he knew he wasn't ready for but that didn't mean he wouldn't if he need to.

Ruari wasn't much interested in how badly the white wolf had been injured, he just felt it the polite thing to ask. He gave a nod when the male said that he hadn't, that his muzzle had been the only thing that the wolf had got. The shadow found himself looking for any marks on the wolf's muzzle. “That is lucky then,” he commented. It could have been so much worse as Ruari knew from his past experiences.

Even better news was that this attack had happened a long time ago which meant the attacker was likely gone. He sent a look of relief to Isa. Hopefully she wouldn't worry if he didn't seem to be worried. The shadow then let the man know they would be keeping a lookout for the wolf with the red eyes. His treasure the ever polite girl thanked the man for the information he provided, Ruari offered a smile to her.

After this the pale stranger announced that he should leave. “Just one last thing. I'm Ruari and this,” he indicated with his muzzle, “Is Isaura. May we have the pleasure of your name?” He asked his yellow eyes fixed on the man which would probably make the nervous man more nervous.

 

Sorry for breaking posting order! I just wanted to get this wrapped up. One more from you two and then you can archive?

Ruari and Isaura.

Cottongrass nodded his head. Because the situation might have been awkward as hell for him but at least the duo were polite company. He just hoped they wouldn't bite him in the ass. Maybe they would stay away from the waterfalls. Maybe they wouldn't and Askan and Reyes would get mad at him.

Geez.

He really needed to go before he did anything else he would regret. His tail wagged and he managed a weak smile. "I'm Cottongrass." Please don't ruin my life. "I'll, uh, see you around?" And with only some awkward shuffling on his part — Cottongrass turned around and disappeared north. Away from the riverbank and closer towards home.

Exit Cottongrass.

OOC: @Cottongrass It's fine. ^^ @Ruari You can have Isaura exit with him

The pale wolf hadn't been attacked recently so the chance of meeting this red-eyed wolf was probably slim. However, Isaura didn't want to chance that the attacker had made a home out of the area and was lurking around. Perhaps it would be best for her shadow and her to move along from the area.

Ruari introduced them and asked for the pale wolf's name. Cottongrass. It was a name that she probably wasn't going to forget simply due to the oddness of it. The stranger proceeded to shuffle away as he questioned that he would see them around. The snowbird considered this quietly but gave him a nod as he departed. Why did he think that they would meet again?

Waiting for Cottongrass to be out of hearing range she looked to her shadow. We should probably go to I don't want to meet that red-eyed wolf. She wasn't just worried about herself she was worried about what might happen to her shadow if they came across the other wolf. He didn't need more wounds added to the ones that he had.

Faded and archived

After speaking to the pale man they now had some ideas of where they could go and also who to look out for. The red eyed wolf didn't doing like pleasant company and Ruari wasn't feeling up yo facing him just then.

After introducing himself and his treasure the stranger gave his name before excusing himself. He gave a nod to the man, “Maybe.” The truth was the shadow didn't know if he would or wouldn't see the man around.

Once the man was gone Isaura spoke up, his yellow gaze went to her. “I don't either, not now anyway. Let's continue in out path for the time and see where that takes us.” He then motioned for her to come with him as he led the way through the trees.

Fade

(This post was last modified: Dec 11, 2017, 02:50 PM by Ruari.)