Secret Falls unexpectedly

between Princess’ Place and Shallows Edge, backdated to 3/29
@Cancer, nighttime

Ris had been careful with the little flower that her friend had put behind her ear. Sure, she had placed it behind his ear first, but with her already present need for companionship and her growing fondness for Cancer combined, it made her feel as though it was imperative for her to keep it safe.

The smaller wolf was slowing after only a few hours, her stomach empty and her paws exhausted. It had been a very long couple of days, and it was really starting to catch up with her. Had she really not eaten since before she left the Surge...?

”H-hey, um, Cancer,” she called softly, almost nervous to raise her voice any louder. ”I’m... um, I’m t-too tired. Can we stop f-for just a minute, please? O-or all night?” She had no earthly clue as to why she should feel the slightest bit uncomfortable with asking, but here they were. Her being way too awkward for her own good and Cancer’s fur looking like rippling water when it was hit by the moonlight. Ris just blended into the backdrop.

They'd walked in relative quiet, similar to the last time he had escorted her to the Edge. This time, he wasn't anywhere near as agitated though. It was relaxing, actually, crossing the land at such an easy pace, with company that respected his wishes for minimal conversation. Then she started falling behind, little by little, and he was taken out of the lull travel. Distance would grow between them and he would stop to let her catch up. Slowing his own steps didn't really occur to him; as though he were like a shark, Cancer itched to move at a constant, steady pace.

It was when she spoke up that he stopped completely, turning to face her completely rather than watching her over his shoulder as before. He was beginning to be able to discern the more subtle notes in her voice, apart from the false context of her stutter. She probably thought he'd be irritated with her for wanting to rest, he guessed. It was fair of her to do so, and if she hadn't been having such a rough time he would've likely pushed her to keep going. As it was, he looked ahead thoughtfully, considering how annoyed @Askan and @Reyes might be with him if he was gone for the night. He hadn't been gone this long since joining.

"Yeah, sure. We should get up early though, don't wanna give my alphas a chance to get miffed at me."

He began poking around, seeking a good place to rest. Thankfully, the weather was calm and the sky clear, so they wouldn't need an extensive shelter.

Once again, where she had believed he would be angry with her, he was kind. Maybe he really didn’t find her as annoying as she thought he did. The girl offered him a grateful smile and moved to the side to select a relatively bare spot of ground beneath a thick bush beside an old, half-dead oak tree. There was ample space for both of them to rest, and it would provide plenty of windbreaker so they didn’t freeze.

”Thank you f-for being so nice to me,” she told him, her tail giving a soft wag over the patchy snow behind her. Of all people, she hadn’t expected the swarthy boy to be so kind, but she was very grateful for him.

The younger wolf began to lick at the pads of her forepaws, wincing just a bit at the metallic taste. It wasn’t too bad, but her paws hadn’t had time to heal from the mountain yet, and she had that pesky little sprain too. She desperately needed some time to just rest, and she was hoping that she would get that soon.

Silvery ears flicked as she looked back at him. ”Y’think they’ll be m-mad at you?” she asked, tilting her head to the side. Was she going to get him in trouble...?

Nice. He really hadn't expected it either, hadn't wanted to do it but his head would've been a fuckin' storm of sounds if he had passed her by. It would've been easy to think that this wasn't so bad, but the way she was looking at him reminded him of why he didn't make a habit of this. When she picked a place to curl up, he followed, and laid close enough to her that they were almost touching, but not quite.

"Eh. I don't think so but, I've been surprised before. Don't really know them, when it comes down to it, y'know?"

Would she even know? He was pretty sure she'd been in the same pack since birth; had gotten the chance to really, truly know those she was around, at least in some way.

"Maybe if they are you can throw 'em some puppy eyes for me."

Risaela didn't dare to let even the ends of their guard hairs touch - she was too worried about stressing him out or making him angry and screwing all of this up. And she didn't want to do that, because she was pretty sure he was one of her only actual friends, and she didn't want him to get tired of her and leave. So she was happy to give him his space for now. She would save cuddles for when she got to know him better, or if he initiated them to begin with. Neither of those things had happened, so she wouldn't step over her boundaries.

"K-kinda like I don't really know you?" she asked, tipping her head to the side as she watched him, before looking down and beginning to lick at her paws again. A small smile crossed her maw. "I d-don't think they'll be mad," Risaela assured, her tail sweeping across the snow again. "The-they're nice, deep d-down. Even if th-they don't act l-like it." She should know that much, after all. They were very kind to her up in the Lowlands, and she doubted much had changed with them. They were good then, and they were most likely good now.

Silver eyes rolled as she narrowed them over at Cancer, her jaw setting stubbornly. "I d-don't have puppy eyes," she argued pointlessly, a bit embarrassed at the insinuation and definitely on the defensive about it. "G-give them yours."

(This post was last modified: Apr 05, 2018, 03:04 AM by Risaela.)

"Yeah. Like you don't know me," Cancer confirmed at a softer volume. He had to wonder why she was so trusting, like that day he'd met her and she'd just gone with him. Yeah, he'd known Askan and Reyes' names, but he still could've taken her anywhere other than to them like he'd said. There were so many wolves out there that would've.

Maybe her mom had died by accident, or just simple nature, though. Maybe she'd never known someone who was cruel just because they were strong or cunning enough to be. Maybe they were as different as he'd originally thought, with just a few coincidences between them.

He eyed her paws, clearly travel-worn, as she strove to soothe them. Nice deep down. Cancer couldn't be so sure, but he wasn't about to argue it. Why should he piss on her sunny disposition?

Because it might save her life.

"You so have puppy eyes," he teased, latching on to the far less serious conversation topic. "No one wants to see a grown man beg."

Cancer paused a moment, as if considering a life choice. Then he stretched out his forelimbs, toes spreading and neck craning forward to give Risaela a good look as he looked up and gave her the goofiest 'puppy eyes' he could.

There are several fresh rabbit tracks in the mud. Hunt Opportunity

Ris hummed in affirmation - she didn’t really know him. But that wasn’t something that had deterred her before, and it certainly wasn’t something that would now. B-but I like you, a-anyway,” the girl stuttered, a small smile on her maw. ”I think you’re p-pretty cool.”

She couldn’t help but notice the awful little tense silence between them - had she said something wrong? But then he picked it up beautifully with his display of puppy dog eyes, and she couldn’t help but to burst into a fit of giggles.

”O-oh my g-god!” she wheezed, her tail whipping back and forth as she laughed. One paw patted at his foreleg and the girl shook her head as she tried to regain her composure.”Y-you’re right - y-your face is only m-meant to be like this:”

In similar fashion, the younger wolf proceeded to pouted her lower lip out, straightening her neck up and tilting her chin down, her brows lowering to overshadow her gaze in the most dramatic grumpy face she could possibly muster.

Cool. Okay. He could roll with that.

He'd been trying to get her to laugh, but the touch caught him off guard. Cancer did his best not to flinch away, and managed to wait until her paw moved to retract his limbs and tuck them under himself like a cat as he settled back onto his stomach. Hopefully, he had pulled it off casually, and it wasn't too obvious. He didn't wanna make her feel bad he just, wasn't comfortable with that. Not yet. The only wolf he'd ever really felt safe touching him freely had been his mother.

Regardless, he was distracted quickly as she tried to mimic him. He blinked owlishly, then broke into a few bouts of his own rough laughter.

"Whatever, I'm not that pissy," he argued playfully, "you're thinking of @Askan. And Reyes. They have the same fuckin' face man. Did you know they're not even related?"

It still blew his mind. As a relative newcomer, the two were just too similar. It didn't help that he hadn't seen much personality out of @Reyes yet, as they hadn't spent much one-on-one time together.

Ris did notice his retraction, subtle as it may have been. But she had always been observant, and she filed away this new information in her mind to save it for later use. She edged ever-so-slightly away from him, in hopes that he wouldn’t be uncomfortable anymore. Touching was a no-go, and that was fine... but she did miss @Mako’s presence and cuddles. It had been much warmer - not that she was complaining about her new companion. They were both wonderful in their own ways.

A bright grin broke out triumphantly on her silvery maw when she made him laugh. She couldn’t help but feel a sense of accomplishment - and not to mention the fact that he was much cuter when he smiled.

The information about Askan and Reyes was news to her, but she wasn’t too surprised. Plenty of wolves looked related when they weren’t, but some part of her had to admit she had thought them as at least cousins. ”They’re not?” she asked, and then broke off with a starry-eyed gasp. ”W-wait,” the girl began again, before her voice took on a bit of a sing-songy lilt. ”Are th-they in love~?”