Swift River darkness is a harsh term don't you think?

<i> Only one other please. :) </i>

Ranger had been back for a few days and it felt heavenly to sleep in her own den. Of course it had been hard adjusting to being alone again, having slept with others curled around her during her recovery time, but it was nice to be able to stretch out and move around at her will. After long naps and frequent snacks, Ranger was feeling much better. She was no longer exhausted to her core and felt a bit more energetic, so she decided to get up and see if there were any wolves about she could get to know. Ranger had met Ruiko's younger siblings briefly before her accident, but hadn't met anybody else.

A nagging thought in the back of her mind reminded her of her <span class='word'>doppelganger</span> brother, but his scent hadn't been particularly strong in this area so she didn't let it get to her. She did wonder, however, if he was still around. While their first encounter hadn't gone well, Ranger still worried for his safety and well-being. She would have to see if Ruiko had ever met him when they next saw each other. For now, though, she was concentrating on carefully picking her way through the snow toward the closest stream. Without further ado, she jumped on the icy surface with all of her might and cracked the ice just enough to get to the frigid water underneath. Her aching wound screamed in protest, but she ignored it. The water tasted too good.

Hi2u~! I apologise for the crummy quality I feel like this post has. Colds and brain cells don't collaborate so well. :C
<blockquote><font style='margin-left:20px;'>He had heard the loud <i>crack!</i> from afar, and naturally it had garnered his attention. Winter had progressed nicely, cleanly, and with the water having come back, life itself seemed to be getting back to normal. All of it appeased Damascus, who was out for a light jaunt in criss-crossing the territory in search of something to find, whether it was some pocket of unexplored forestry or a new-forming bend in the waterways, and of course company too.</font>

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>And it was company that he did find just around the river bend -- a dark-haired damsel who was helping herself to the fresh, crisp water that had been continuously keeping itself under ice. While there were various breaks in the icy cover here and there, Damascus couldn't have faulted her for not wanting to go that far. As if the snowfall and other various perils bound to be found on a daily basis weren't enough havoc, right? But at least they had the water... that he couldn't deny at any time. Since it had gone away, he found he had a new appreciation of it.</font>

<font style='margin-left:20px;'>With his tail wagging out behind him as he approached her, Damascus let out a kind woof for a hello.</font></blockquote>

<i>Oh, I know how you feel. <3 </i>

Ranger felt <span class='word'>daedal</span> after cracking that ice with her wounded leg. It was hard to walk, let alone crack inches thick ice. It was a minor accomplishment for the woman to have done it, and as she drank, a soft woof sounded nearby. Ranger, always on the alert, stiffened and immediately stopped drinking, letting drops fall carelessly back into the pool. She licked her lips and turned her head toward the sound. She did recognize the wolf but as they were so far into Swift River territory, she assumed he was a packmate.

After looking him over quickly, she decided he wasn't a threat to her, and nodded, letting her features soften. She didn't smile, but she no longer gave him a hard stare. <b>"Hello,"</b> she said softly as she straightened from her crouch by the riverside. She was a large wolf; large for a female but also large for a wolf of her species. Her golden eyes took in the sight of him and with her newly opened eyes she realized he was handsome, though noting compared to Ruiko. She didn't think anyone could compare to the Tainn leader. <b>"I'm Ranger."</b>

It's horrid, but at least I've sort of gotten over it. Now I've got stress making me sick... again. Sfkjdfksjfs. *cannot win!*

She didn't react adversely to him, though he did note her appraising eye. He smiled even in light of the fact that she hadn't and still approached friendly as ever, though he didn't come too close. Offending her by getting too close or invading that so-called ‘personal bubble’ wasn't really on his agenda. Besides, up close she was much larger than he was, and frankly the last thing he wanted was to anger her enough to be pinned down. Not that he feared that anyway, feeling confident that he had some sort of standing within Swift River.

But then again, that may have meant nothing since he was one of the Tainns. Family took precedence over wandering strangers who exchanged skill for temporary home any day. “I'm Damascus,” he said in their exchange of names. “I hope I'm not interrupting your drink.” He couldn't quite tell if she were one of them. A Tainn, anyway, though she was certainly large enough to pass for one. Both Ruiko and Indru stood taller than he, but she wasn't of the same colouration as they were. So ultimately it seemed doubtful, though he made no certain judgment.

(This post was last modified: Feb 13, 2011, 07:23 PM by Damascus.)

<i> This thread is going to be interesting considering now Ranger's not in SR. But hopefully I can keep my timeline together in my head. haha </i>

Damascus, that was a nice name. Ranger shook her head and replied, <b>"No, you're not interrupting. It's nice to meet another wolf of Swift River."</b> Ranger, sadly, only knew Ruiko and his younger siblings. From what she could tell, the rest of the family was beginning to trickle back, including Indru, and the pack was growing once again. Ranger bent down to get another sip of water before taking a few steps back. <b>"You're welcome to drink, Damascus."</b> The three-year-old grinned, her lips curling up ever so softly. Ranger wasn't naturally an out-going wolf, but for Ruiko, she would do anything.

The snow that surrounded them wasn't terribly deep, but Ranger was glad that it was almost at an end. Snow hadn't fallen for a few days and spring was on its way. The slightly warmer temperatures had melted some of the snow and coaxed some birds to sing. Ranger enjoyed the sweet trill of the songbirds outside her den in the morning, and knew that there was only more to come.

Ah, well, it shouldn't be too too hard, right? :D

As they exchanged pleasantries, Damascus was glad that she was open to meeting others. Being the social creatures that they were, he felt that they could hardly work well as a pack if they weren't acquainted. Not that he was one to talk, seeing how he hadn't exactly going all out to greet every single one of the Swift River residents, but at least he was getting there. One by one, every so often. Stepping up to the hole that she had broke in the ice, he took a drink to be polite though the notion of thirst hadn't quite become an issue.

“Ah, thank you,” he said once he had gotten a bit of his fill. “I hadn't realised I was thirsty until I had taken a drink. Though I'd venture to say that cold water does that to us all.” Cold enough that it burned to drink it, but at the same time it was that coldness that compelled them to keep at it. “Have you lived here long?” he wondered aloud to her, turning his head to gauge and listen to her response.

<b>"No,"</b> she replied honestly. Ranger had not lived here very long, considering her near-death adventure outside of the lands. <b>"I have been in the area for about four months, but only in Swift River for part of that."</b> Her answer was vague because Shloo is too lazy to find out, plus Ranger wasn't very good at keeping track of time. Damascus drank and thanked her for the opportunity. She nodded and moved a bit further away from the river's edge to sit. Her shoulder still ached terribly and it felt good to sit down.

<b>"And you?"</b> she asked quietly, her alto voice deep for a female's yet strong. Ranger had always been somewhat of a "tomboy" her entire life; she had been a warrior for her birth pack and had been a mercenary of sorts after being forced from everything she knew. Ranger was not a weak woman by any means, nor was she a <span class='word'>malinger</span>, but she still felt pain and anger and happiness and love just the same as any other.

(This post was last modified: Feb 21, 2011, 12:01 AM by Ranger.)

“About the same,” Damascus said, thinking about to when he had first arrived. “I turned up here, in this region, about midway through autumn, just before the waterways dried up. Ruiko and I happened upon each other a few days later, and well, the rest is history.” They had teamed up in their quest to find water, though ultimately the water came back before both resorted to abandoning the land or each other. Even if he had not quite spoke at length with Ruiko since his initial meeting with him, Damascus was eternally grateful for his kindness.

Of course, everything was still up in the air as to whether or not he would continue on once spring came. Damascus liked to think he would, forever in search of that Great Something, but he was debating it now. He hadn't exhausted the land of all there was to see, anyway. Excuses, excuses, excuses… “What brought you here, if I can venture to ask? Are you too a traveller of the world?” For now he was at least content with things. Relic Lore had given him that, which he had not found anywhere else prior to his arrival. Even when the water had been absent from his tongue for days and his belly even drier and emptier, he had remained confident and content.

And that at least meant something.

<b>"Ruiko was very kind to me when we first met. I was eating blackberries and he warned me not to eat too many,"</b> she chuckled, a soft sound from her throat, accompanied by a shake of the head and a grin. Ranger though back on their first meeting and the subsequent ones after that, and thought that it was an interesting turn of events that they had formed such a strange, but close, relationship. Ranger stretched out her neck, lifting her leg to keep it mobile. Her wound was healed up, but she still didn't want it to heal in the wrong place.

She returned her leg to the ground and thought about his question. It was a valid one, to be sure, but Ranger wasn't sure he would take the news quite as well as Ruiko had. She decided, however, that she was not going to hide behind any pretenses. <b>"I was evicted from my birth pack about a year ago, maybe a little more. I had always been trained to be strong and follow orders, but after I obtained the rank of Delta I began to think twice about what we were doing."</b> Her golden eyes studied Damascus's facial expressions, hoping she wasn't scaring him. <b>"After I refused to go along with my father's agenda, he and the rest of the pack chased me out."</b> She had spared him some gory and, to be frank, sad details about her brother, but it was the truth nonetheless.