Cold Water Creek look at all those chickens!

@Marian (maybe @Sita and @"Walleye in a bit???) back dated to ~2/8ish

Emboldened by the prospects of adventure, Azra trotted happily back to where he had last seen his companion. Going west was not, in and of itself, a savory idea but Azra liked helping and like having something to do. Helping Sita find her children was much more appealing than wallowing aimlessly in the forests, waiting for life to happen to him. Life was already happening. Something was happening.

"Hey," he said in a tone that reflected a bravery he didn't feel, "Wake up." An ever so gently he tapped a paw on her muzzle. It was a poor replica, barely a shadow of Marian's behavior but Azra felt inspired to joke around a bit. Or, well, he had. The second the his toe pads lifted from the bridge of her snout he was second guessing himself. Sure, it was fine to wake himself like this, but maybe Marian was very intent on sleeping in.

"I've had a really cool idea," he leaned in to whisper, hoping to sweeten the cache a little with this offering.

(This post was last modified: Feb 25, 2021, 12:19 AM by Azra.)

Marian, unfortunately, was a snorer. Splayed out, all inelegant as though she'd been dropped from a great height, she happily snoozed away till someone thought it was a bright idea to interrupt her beauty sleep. She startled with a snort, her eyes flashing open as she quickly rolled onto her side, attempting to regain some sense of dignity as she hid the fluff of her belly from Azra's prying eyes. She sharply exhaled as she raised a paw to rub at her sleepy eyes, she heard the words he was saying but their meaning didn't quite sink in just yet. Her mind was slow and whisked up by dreams and worries she kept locked away in the back of her mind. Where even was she? What time was it? She glanced around the snow coated woods and it came back to her, just as a massive yawn cracked open her maw.

It was only when he claimed he had a good idea did she register that he was up to something, or at the very least he wanted to be.

"Huh? What you on about?"She grumbled, her voice thick with sleep.

Azra was well acquainted with her snoring at this point. From a young age he was a pretty sound sleeper, so usually he was comfortably out before Marian's opera even started. It had actually been several days before he had found out, when he awoke in the middle of the night with a full bladder and felt immediately threatened by a strange noise in the night: his friend. He had not mentioned this yet to Marian, unsure of how to broach the topic because it felt a bit unnecessary if it did not prevent him from sleeping. Regardless, it was staggering the amount of noise she could make at some points in the night as they rose and fell. And, since Marian tended to splay out, quite at home, Azra slept a friendly distance away.

When he looked down at her he didn't notice her paunch or generally un-feminine stockiness, just someone who seemed confident—comfortable with who they were. She seemed more vulnerable, more gentle though in this sleeping pose than awake. Softer. He could have spent a longer moment watching her.

Paw still hanging in the air, he jumped at little at the suddenly amplified snort that tore out of her slack jaws as her summer eyes shot wide open. Azra shuffled back an additional measure, averting his eyes instinctively. "Do you wanna go on a trip?"

Without warning or giving her any opportunity to rouse herself further, he launched into the proposal for their journey, "So I met this woman, see, down the river. She lost her kids but I actually met one of them a few weeks ago. He said he was on the west side and I told her we could help her get over there."

"Now, I'm thinking that we try and go around the mountains cause... mountains but I—" Suddenly he remembered she was on the ground, curled defensively away from him. "You good?"

Go on a what now? She blinked rapidly, as though that would help her make sense of the plan that was rapidly unfolding before her, without Marian even knowing which way was which, or why she ought to care. Azra launched into a messy explanation, stating he'd found some woman who'd lost her kids and yadda yadda yadda. She didn't try to smother her lack of enthusiasm or the yawn that swiftly followed suit. Why should she care about some lady and her crotch spawn? She could see where Azra was coming from, the goody two shoes that he was, but really? He woke her up just so he could pass on some sob story some random bird had told him? If she missed her kids so much she could go and fetch them herself, not rope some guy who was too nice to say no into it.

She harrumphed as she sat up a little straighter.

"You woke me for that?" She let out a disapproving snort, far louder than her snores had been. "Did she offer you anything in return oorrr? Is this just gonna be a from the kindness of our hearts sort of deal?"

Now she wasn't all that attached to this place that the thought of venturing off into the unknown bothered her, far from it, but the idea of blindly helping someone out just cause they asked didn't quite sit right with her. Marian's life had been cushy and sheltered but by her very nature she was cynical as all hell.

Honestly, Azra had assume that Marian, as his friend and fellow adventurer would share his eagerness for this quest. So, as he gazed down at her, barely blinking from sheer verve, he was quite surprised to find that her reaction was not starting to match his as she returned to the realm of waking creatures. In fact, her expression seemed to sour almost immediately. She made a little noise as she propped herself up and the corners of Azra's mouth tightened.

Her snort had the power to flatten his ears, though he dug deep and tried to hold on to his objective. Marian probably did not want to hear that he had made this offer not just out of the goodness of his heart but while lying compromisingly close to Sita. Azra definitely was not planning to mention that—probably not ever, unless they all got wet and there was some cause for another snuggle party.

Cutting in immediately, "I mean, what are we doing? We're just wandering around. I figured we might as well do something useful." While he enjoyed seeing the sights with Marian he just felt... purposeless. "And hers isn't the only sad story I've heard lately. There are wolves that were just dumped here by hoomans. Separated families. I just, I feel... guilty galavanting around here..." His great white head lowered, his muzzle pointing at his paws. "Like.... don't you wanna do something? Sita is really nice! It could be fun!" He reached out a paw for Marian's own, finding them as large and rough as his.

In a sense she could see where he was coming from, despite all of their wanderings they weren't going anywhere fast. But to say that they were wasting time felt a little much to her, as though hanging out with her wasn't time well spent. She didn't really know what she wanted from the Lore anymore, she'd seen the sights that the Edge had to offer and concluded that the reason behind everyone leaving probably wasn't as interesting as she'd first assumed. Her curiosity on the topic had long since burned out and now she just was here...meandering and pestering Azra as she went. But clearly he wanted more, enough that he'd grown the balls to bring it up to her.

She shifted on the spot, drawing herself up onto her haunches so that she was a little more on his level. No doubt there were sob stories galore, everyone had their own problems they wanted to foist on other's, it was easier than having to deal with it themselves. But she just didn't want to carry anyone else's luggage when she had her own. Why couldn't Azra see that? Why did he let everyone get to him?

"Like I get it, you're bored." She said with a huff, feeling a tad bitter about it. Like she wasn't good enough. "I wanna go places with you, see and do shit we've never done before, but you really think this is the best way? Pretending we're a pair of good samaritans?"

"—I didn't say I was bo—" he tried to cut in, but her frustration was as thick as a tree trunk.

He stared up at her, maw parted in minor shock. That Annie really felt like this came as a great surprise to him. When had he ever said he was bored? Wanting to do something different didn't mean that he hated every single thing they had done up to this point, from Azra's perspective. Marian saw his attitude very starkly, almost... personally? Azra blinked, wondering if she thought he meant she was boring. All of her insinuations rubbed his fur the the wrong way, and he could feel his upper lip curling a little.

"What? Annie, I'm not pretending anything. You don't have to pretend to be anything either. Just come with me," now he stretched out his other paw for hers, which resulted in him lowering his posture as if in a play bow. There was nothing playful about either of them, though. The boy was not afraid of the wild desperation in his voice, "I'm just trying to be honest with you, I feel bad for these wolves and I want to help. How could that mean I'm bored of you? I'm asking you to come with me!"

"Why are you making this so hard?" He sounded genuinely hurt.

Well it certainly felt that way. Azra was quick to work himself up into a tizzy, his words enthused with desperation as he huddled down to her level. More than anything else he wanted her to see and understand and just out of spite she was looking the other way and averting her gaze. She liked that he was so keen to keep her around, it scratched an itch that had been left wanting for longer than she could tell but still... It just sounded as though he was cooking up excuses, so eager to leave the one on one thing they had together. Wanting to add strangers and nobodies into the mix and for what? That sounded like boredom to her, like he wanted more than she could give.

And on top of that he had to ask why was she making it so hard. How could he ask that? She'd done nothing wrong as far as she was concerned, he was the one twisting and tangling this into a mess that was getting harder to understand with each passing second. She scowled, the typical Selwyn squint, as she finally slapped her paw atop of his. Despite it all she wasn't gonna leave him, she just wanted to air her thoughts is all.

"Yeah and I'm being honest with you. That's just how it looks from where I'm standing, what else am I supposed to say?" She looked down at their paws, layered atop one another. Tan covering white."I never said I'm not coming. You're getting all worked up even though I'll go with you to help these people. What more do you want from me?" It sounded like an accusation but it was an earnest question.

What else was she supposed to say? He could feel the frustration rising in him. Unlike Annie, Azra was not used to feeling like this. She had an outlet for her frustration—which was being both blunt and sharp at the same time—but he didn't know how to use words for this anymore. Why didn't she just see it his way? The feeling was overwhelming and he couldn't even explain what it was.

He discovered that day that arguing was very hard. Azra had never really had anyone to argue with. Dumb baby stuff with his sister Kisina, maybe, or whining to his mother to let him stay up late and make stories about the stars, sure. But those moment were so different from now, and very far away. Untethered from family, Azra had just let fate move him where it wanted and had little reason to raise an objection to it or anyone. But now Annie was standing in front of him and she mattered. He wanted her to come with him. Azra never wanted or asked for much, and was encountering for the first time in his adult life what it was like to be told to kick rocks.

Wait, what?

She... Well, now that he stopped to think about it she hadn't said she was not going. She hadn't said that she was going, either. His mouth opened and he shook his head as if to clear it, an empty breath coming out of his mouth. He tipped his head up towards her. "You are...." frustrating, incredibly frustrating, he wanted to say to her, possibly shout at her. Instead he finished with, "You're coming?" He felt exhausted and confused.

"I need to sit down."

Were all girls like this?

Sometimes it felt like Marian couldn't do anything right. Up was down and yes apparently could be twisted to mean no. Maybe she was just being difficult for the sake of it but she really meant it when she asked what he wanted from her, cause nothing she was saying was getting through to him in the way she wanted. She exhaled sharply through her nose as he claimed that he needed to sit down, like she'd walloped the air out of his lungs. And he'd made her out to be dramatic, sheesh. As long as they were together though...she thought they'd mostly be all right. This couldn't even be called an argument so surely no real harm was done? They'd come to an agreement, not taken the smoothest route but...

She didn't know. You know that kinda sickly feeling you get after eating a mushroom you probably shouldn't have?  Like you really need to take a dump at a really short notice? That. She felt like she'd fucked up and would soon get her comeuppance in some shape or form.

Fade...