Turtleback Lake Fall From Grace

@Isaura Backdated to 12/7,  this takes place a few hours after this thread

The first thing the shadow became aware off even before opening his eyes was the cold that surrounded him. The trembling of his body and the wetness on the left side of his body. Yellow eyes slowly fluttered open but at first everything was blurry then slowly came into focus. He couldn't remember what had happened and didn't know where he was. As his awareness started to register more and more he realized he was in water, his ears picked up the sounds it made as it bubbled around him.

The trembling was his body was it shivered to warm him from being in the water. It wasn't deep enough to drown him but enough to wet one side if his body. As his eyesight began to focus he could see trees towering over him. Snow covering the ground on the opposite side of the stream he realized was laying in. Ruari's breathing was difficult, harsh and he could feel a cough forming in his throat. When it erupted he felt the pain surge through his back and neck.

At first the memory of what had happened was hazy but it too slowly came back to him. He knew he only had himself to blame for the situation he was in now. Then he was struck by the thought of his treasure, where was she? He remembered sending her away but he couldn't feel her presence just then. He had to go to her, find her, and let her know he was still alive.

Ruari tried lifting his head from the water but the pain shot through the back of his neck again, more intense. He hadn't even cleared the water before he gave up for a moment as he steeled himself for the pain that was to come. Determination driving him he lifted his head from the water, it flowed from his fur splashing beneath him. Next he brought his forepaws under him and pushed himself up swiftly before he could allow himself to stop.

Once he was up he stood there for a moment trying to catch his breath but the effort was futile. A wheezing sounded from the brute as his head hung below his shoulders. Blinking he finally moved one foot and then the other until he was finally clear of the water. His body still trembled and felt too weak to hold him up. A few more steps from the water and his legs gave out his body crumpling in the snow and then the edges of his vision became blurry. Before he knew it darkness had descended on him and he was no longer aware of the world around him.  

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After she had run from the Edge wolves she had waited. Her shadow was supposed to follow after her but there had been no sight of him. The snowbirds mind was filled with doubts and worries. Had they trapped him? Was he too hurt to find her? Or had he simply lost her trail? She doubted the last wholeheartedly but it kept her from thinking the one question she didn't want to even hint at.

Was her shadow dead?

No! He had promised not to leave her. Pacing the ground a frustrated whine echoed up her throat. She had listened to what Ru had said but now that he hadn't returned she needed to figure out what to do. She could wait but for how long? Enough time had passed that the scuffle should have ended now and the winner decided. A worried sigh spilt past her lips. She needed to find her shadow. She stopped and without thought, she made her way back to the aggressive pack's territory. The snowbird was careful this time and didn't cross their borders. Instead, she followed them, hiding if she heard another wolf approaching. She didn't want a repeat performance but she continued on until she found blood.

It lay a scarlet trail for her to follow and one that was filled with her shadows scent along with the Edge's Leader. Heart pounding she followed the trail her pace picking up until she was running. It wasn't until she saw the prone form on the ground did she slow. The scent of blood was strong, coming from both him and the river. Her mouth went dry as she moved to his side. Ru? Her voice cracked across the air filled with worry.

The back of his neck was mangled and blood dripped from it, likely the cause of the trail she had followed. Staring at the wound she realized it was her fault. He had gotten hurt because she had crossed the borders. Beacuase she hadn't been able to stop in time. It was all her fault. Her shadow had simply been trying to protect her and here he was bleeding because of it. She wanted to pull back in shame but she couldn't because there was no way she could leave him like this.

Tears dripped down her cheeks as she nudged his shoulder. Ru, wake up. She said her voice filled with an authority it never held. Ru wake up. Another nudge this time harder. She couln't tell if her prodding was working and it made her feel so useless. A frustrated sound rolled up her throat not quite a growl not quite a whine. Turning her attention to his wounds she slowly began to clean them. She tried to be as gentle as she could but there was no way that it wasn't going to hurt and in that moment she wished she knew something of healing to ease his pain.

The shadow was only vaguely aware of the trembling of his body. He didn't hear the water anymore or the wind blowing through the trees. Even if he stayed just like he was the pain had subsided to where it was barely noticeable. That was a relief compared to the pain he'd felt as he’d raised himself up to his feet. His breathing was still labored and as he remembered what had happened to his throat he was surprised it wasn't worse. It also seemed that as he lay sternally with his head between his forepaws the coughing that had wracked his body before didn't come and his breathing seemed to get a little better.

His thoughts had turned to Isa and where she might be, what might she be thinking? He didn't know how much time had passed since she'd last seen him. He knew he had to get to her but he also knew he would have to pull himself up again. That was going to take quite a bit of effort and gritting of his teeth. He wasn't sure he could do it just then but he also couldn't wait a couple days to go find her. Anything could have happened to her and he wouldn't have been there to protect her.

A voice and a nudge broke into his thoughts as he was trying to decide the best way to get up that wouldn't cause too much pain or further damage. The first and second time she said his name the shadow didn't move or open his eyes. It was there but it wasn't and he wasn't sure that it was real. His body trembled more violently with the cold, his coat was still wet from the water he'd laid in for some amount of time. He didn't know how much time had passed since he had faced that alpha. Despite his current condition irritation he felt toward that unruly pup still burned.

It wasn't until the pain caused by Isaura cleaning his wound came to a point it could not be ignored that is yellow eyes opened once more. White fur became visible in his peripheral vision. “Isa,” he rasped. He made the mistake of moving to quickly to check her over eliciting a high pitched yelp as pain shot through the back of his neck. It forced him to lay his head back down between his paws. “Isa, are you…” he whispered unable to speak louder. The shadow swallowed, “Alright?” He finally managed with a labored breath.

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It hurt to see him like this and it hurt more to know that it could have been avoided if she had only been paying more attention. What would she have done if he had been hurt worse? She would only be able to watch him suffer and bleed. Right now he was alive but he was also starting to tremble more and that wasn't a good sign. Her attention went from his wounds to the fur that was around it using her tongue to scrape the water from his pelt. It came off in waves spilling onto the ground in small puddles.

Isa

Her name cracked harshly through the air and her head snapped towards her shadow to watch as he opened his eyes. Tears spilled more freely down her cheeks as a small smile crossed her face. Her shadow was okay and he was able to speak at the moment. He moved to face her and high yelp came past his lips at the action. Stop don't try and move Ru. She told him with a worried frown. He needed to stay still until he had recovered some of his strength.

Isaura moved from her spot to lay down next to him offering her heat so that he could try and warm himself. He was still wet though and she continued to smooth it from his fur working between his ears and crown. He began to speak barely a whisper that she strained to hear. I'm fine. They didn't try and go after me when I left. If only they had then maybe he wouldn't have gotten as hurt as he had. I'm more worried about you. Her voice started to crack then and she forced herself to stop as she looked at his wounds and his soaking pelt.

This could have all been avoided. All of it. She cried softly putting her head down next to his so that their cheeks brushed. Why didn't you just follow after me? Why didn't we just leave? She could feel herself choking with emotion and she had to swallow hard. It wasn't him that she was the most upset with it was herself because in her eyes she had been the one to cause it all.

The shadow didn't have to worry about the fate of his treasure any longer. She was there with him once again taking care of him. As his awareness slowly came back to him he could hear the sound of splashing water. Feel her tongue as she cleaned the water from his coat. He was glad to know that she didn't seem to be harmed in anyway. That those pack wolves hadn't gone after her once he'd been taken care of, Ruari was certain that they had brought him to stream.

When he tried to move toward her the pain that had gone through the back of his neck had cause him to yelp. The dried blood and matted fur pulling in the wound that was there. Isa told him to not try to move, “We can't...stay...here,” he rasped between breaths. What if they decided to come back and finish what they had started? What if they hurt his treasure? He couldn't stand the thought of something happening to her.

Feeling her body against his as she moved next to him was not only a comfort but she provided some much needed heat to his shivering body. He moved his slowly and only enough to bury his face in the fur of her chest as she cleaned the fur between his ears and on his crown. Her scent was just another reminder that she was there with him and she was safe. “Glad... you're...safe.” He was still having trouble speaking but he was glad that he could do some talking. It was a good sign his throat would get better. “Don't...worry...I’ll be...fine.” He coughed then from talking

As she continued to speak it was clear that she blamed herself for what had happened. “My fault,” he told her, “Not yours.” Things didn't go badly until he couldn't let that pups behavior go and had that alpha better controlled the boy none of it would have happened. “Pups fault too,” he added to try and easy her guilt. “Couldn't let them get away with it,” he said his voice still raspy but he managed to get it out without having to stop and take a breath.

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(This post was last modified: Mar 21, 2018, 08:43 PM by Sahalie. Edit Reason: fixed open bold tag )

 

 

He argued with her that they couldn't stay. She knew that but he couldn't move yet. Not when he had jsut woken up. If he could barely move his head then he wasn't going to be able to get up this quick. It was her fault all of this. You can't move yet. She told him with a soft frustrated whine. Worry gnawed at her insides making her stomach clench. They needed to move before the pack wolves came back to check on Ru and see what had become of him. They needed to stay because at the moment her shadow was far too weak to do anything else.

Isaura worked the water out from his fur. It spilled onto the ground and dripped into her own fur. She didn't care. How could she? Ru was hurt. She couldn't focus on herself other than the pained whisper in her mind telling her she needed to go and that she was the cause of his pain. Oh, how she wished she could simply take it from him. She couldn't no one could, so she was left with trying to warm him and make him feel better even though she could feel herself cracking.

He was talking again and it hurt to hear. The snowbird's ears flattened against her head. She wanted him to speak but she knew but she could hear how it taxed him. Yet, she couldn't find it in herself to ask him to stop. Just another way she hurt him the voice whispered another way she caused him pain.

Ru, you don't look fine. The back of your neck is all mangled and there's a lot of blood. She whispered unable to speak louder because her voice was too thick. If she spoke louder she wasn't going to be able to keep back the sobs. He tried to soothe her and tell her that it wasn't her fault and that just made her feel worse because it was. If she hadn't run across the border then none of this would have happened. The fight. The meeting with the pack wolves. None of it if only she had smelled the border before she had crossed it.

He added that it wasn't her fault but that it was his and the pups fault and she choked on her tears. The pup would have gotten what was coming to him. That behavior won't make him a lot of friends and neither will his leaders Some wolf with more of a temper and a shorter fuse would have dealt with him. It didn't need to be Ru. He didn't need to get the punishment for doing so either. We could have left and gone back later. She whispered. If her shadow had wanted to return in order to punish the pup that would have been okay. She didn't think that he would have seriously hurt him but they had been at a disadvantage. They had been trespassing and she had started it all

(This post was last modified: Mar 03, 2018, 04:34 AM by Isaura.)

He needed to get up so that they could move to a safer place. The last thing he wanted was for Isa to witness worse harm coming to him if the pack wolves came back. She argued that he couldn't move and he huffed, “I just need a few more minutes,” he argued back, “Then we can find a place with some cover where I can rest.” The question was how far would they have to go to find that place and would he be able to make it there. He was aware of how weak he felt especially when he stood. The last time he tried he hadn't made it very far before collapsing.

He could hear the water hitting the ground as she removed it from his coat. His body trembled from the cold every few minutes but he pushed that out of his mind as he tried to prepare himself to get up. He knew how important it was for him to get up so they could move and she would be safe. That was still all he could think about even though he had pain shooting through the back of his neck.

He didn't want her to think that it was her fault that this had happened to him because it was his own fault. He could have let it go and turned worth her to leave the packs land. He knew he'd let his stubbornness get in the way once again and it ended up getting him hurt and nearly drowned. His was angry with himself and it seemed she wasn't happy with him either.

“We just have to get it cleaned up and a little rest will help me recover some.“ He took as deep of a breath as he could. “It's not the first time I've been hurt so badly. I will get through it and I have you.” He wanted to reassure her that everything would be okay. That he would be okay and that she didn't need to worry and as long as she didn't leave him he knew he could get better just like he had before.

He didn't blame her for being upset with him for getting hurt, for letting things go as far as he had. He'd known better and yet he hadn't stopped, he knew he deserved what he got and he just needed to make Isa understand that. He'd explained about the pup but she felt that eventually the pup would learn his lesson. “Maybe he will get what is coming to him but what if he doesn’t? He's going to turn into his leaders if he stays with them.” He'd laid his head on his paws until she said something that struck him. With a wince he turned his head to look at her, “What do you mean we could have gone back later?” He didn't know if she was condoning teaching the pup a lesson or not.

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