Pasos al Cielo Ever Since the Rain I've Been Living Days Too Slow

For @Rory! Cottongrass is trying to climb Pasos al Cielo. He's not doing a very good job at it.

He was starting to wonder if he made a mistake. Because like all ideas he ever had — nothing ever worked out in his favour. His plan to scale the slopes seemed pretty fun in the beginning. Like it was a smart and sensible thing to do while he passed the time without thought. But in hindsight? It was none of those aforementioned things. He was short and stocky. Climbing wasn't his friend. He wondered if he would ever learn his lesson. One could only hope.

Because despite his struggle and failure to reach the peak of rugged green slopes — Cottongrass wasn't stopping. If anything he was motivated. If the mountainside didn't want to be scaled it shouldn't have been such a challenge. Maybe then he would have lost interest and continued his day without anything of note happening. But he was bored. The formation offered him an outlet he needed.

It might have been leading towards his own undoing but he didn't know that.

Instead his paws dragged along spongy grass and moss. Blunt nails dug deep into the soil and his rear wiggled as he strained himself to continue his ascent. His ears rolled back and his tail gave a desperate wag. Luck smiled down upon him and he managed to haul himself up the first of many rocky outcroppings. He was ready to bark with joy. Because this was it, right? He reached the top of the mountainside and actually finished something he started for the first time in his life.

But when he turned around he wasn't greeted with a spectacular view of the world. Instead he might as well have been standing on the ground because his view of the neighbouring lands wasn't any different. He was a whole few feet higher. His tail stopped wagging and in that moment he considered throwing himself down the outcropping.

If he was ever going to reach the top, it was going to take a while. He was torn between wallowing in a nimbus of disappointment or motivation at the prospect.

This post sucks, I'm sorry!

i don't even know if i believe

Aurora Thanne

Despite the fair temperature, Rory felt like her pelt was ablaze. Aside from that, she had no idea where she was, but her feet were tired from walking, and since we're on the topic she had a slight headache to boot. She could put up with the ache in her head but the heat was killing her which was evident from her lolling salmon hued tongue and the deep panting that came from her mouth. She needed to rest but her legs continued on until she felt that she was coming onto an incline and started to climb the hill before her. Great.

She was so invested in climbing that she didn't notice the white fluff of a wolf ahead of her until he stopped a few feet ahead of her, the company was much appreciated considering from smell alone she could tell that she had met the wolf before. She could use this time to shoot the breeze and give her feet a little break, but first she had to get his attention and she did so with a small woof and quick wag of her thick tail, hoping that he would recognize her. "Cottongrass!" she shouted in case her woof went unnoticed, and her paws despite their fatigue pushed onward to level herself with him. They were a short distance from the bottom, she wondered if like herself, he had been climbing this mountain. "What are you doing out here?" she asked, remembering that he was from Wild Rye Fields, a pack she wouldn't mind visiting once more to see @Askan , perhaps the male wasn't as grumpy this time around.

Graphics by Arya and Becuffin!

It's fine! <3

Climbing would be the end of him. He could feel it radiating from somewhere deep inside of him. Because it was like fate or something. One of these days he was going to get himself wedged in a tree with no one around to save him or he was going to get stranded in the mountains and the monster deer would come for him. He wondered if today was that day. It was a thought process that had him growing more and more tempted to jump down the rocky outcropping and hope for the best.

But before he got to enact his master plan—someone barked at him.

His only reaction was to flinch because he didn't know what was happening. He waddled on the spot and peered into the surrounding area like a lost penguin. Maybe the higher powers were calling him out. He really didn't know anymore. It took a few awkward seconds of him shifting on the spot before he caught sight of pale fur and friendly features. His thoughts descended into happy noises.

"Rory!" He barked right back at the girl. Somewhere behind him his tail wagged like it was going to fall off. And without hesitation—he bounded forward to bump the blunt end of his muzzle into her thick fur before easing off. There was a smile spreading across his features and he couldn't help it.

"Climbing. Exploring." He breathed in response to her question. His rear gave a playful wiggle and his smirk only grew. "You?" He asked right back while his head cocked in question. It had been a long time since they saw each other. There hadn't been any severe storms lately. He wondered what she had been doing.

It better have been fun.

i don't even know if i believe

Aurora Thanne

He recognized her, and in response the woman felt her tail wag a million miles per hour with excitement. She had wondered if the many wolves she'd grown contact with actually remembered her enough to recognize her in passing or attempt to seek her out despite her many reasons to stay on the move, and for this reason alone she was happy that Cottongrass had not only grew excited to see her but had remembered her name. This was a great start. "You look miserable." she mentioned before he could sputter his next response; climbing made her miserable too.

The headache she'd had previously had mysteriously disappeared but in the back of her mind the ache from her paws reminded her to lower to her haunches to alleviate the pressure and she let out a sigh the moment her rump reached those uneven grounds and her mind could release what fleeting pain remained. It seemed with each days pass she felt older than she actually was. "I was just taking a walk, it's kinda what I do, a lot." she couldn't quite mention that her life revolved around being on the constant move but she assumed he could gather as much, her life as a loner hadn't changed since their last encounter.

"It's a hot one today though, could sure use a swim or something." she muttered, her tongue rolled from her mouth to pant loudly from the radiating heat and wondered if her friend was feeling the same effect, or maybe it was just her. She shifted on at her spot before asking the question that was probably on both of their minds, "What have you been up to?"

Graphics by Arya and Becuffin!

"Yeah." He nodded his head like he was on the same page on her. In reality he was sort of reevaluating all of his recent life choices that led him onto this rocky outcropping while the sun shined down without mercy. Because swimming when it was hot. He really should have thought of that sooner. But he didn't. Instead his brain somehow decided the best course of action was to climb a mountainside and give up before he even reached halfway.

He didn't understand how that worked.

She was probably a whole lot smarter than him.

Huh.

His ears twitched and he was drawn to the present by her voice. It took him a few seconds to mentally catch up, but when he did—

"Nothing!" He barked like it was the worst thing in the world. Because that's what he'd been up to. Absolutely nothing and it might have been driving him more than a little crazy. He punctuated his point by falling backwards onto the ground. His rear landed with a dull thump yet he didn't blink twice. Theatrics came easily to him. Somewhere behind him his tail didn't stop its excited wag despite the disappointment his words might have conveyed.

"It's been very boring." He admitted without hesitation. And maybe the better descriptor would have been crazy. That lately everything was crazy and she didn't even know the start of it. Because he spent the last month bouncing between Wild Rye Fields and Hearthwood River visiting a friend. But then his friend turned out to be someone he despised and he was still sort of reeling over that one. And to make matters worse—the last time he left pack territory he met someone new. He tried to be nice to them but they wouldn't have it and he still felt pretty guilt about that.

But she didn't need to know about any of that. Not unless she wanted to shave literal months off of her life by listening to him ramble about every small inconvenience that happened to him in her absence. He didn't want to bore her. Or scare her.

So without missing a beat he carried on. His sunny disposition never once wavered.

"How about you?" He asked while a smirk played across his features. His tail gave an excited wag along the ground behind him. "Get stuck in any thunderstorms lately?"

(This post was last modified: Aug 12, 2017, 05:03 AM by Cottongrass.)

@Cottongrass :D!

i don't even know if i believe

Aurora Thanne

A small smile tugged at the crease of her lips when Cottongrass did the most dramatic backward fall she'd probably ever witnessed, he was quite the actor and it caused feelings of anxiousness to creep their way through her and into her thick tail that suddenly wagged as quickly as it could. Part of her wanted to join in on the fun and plop down next to him but something stopped her from performing the act and instead she rolled her eyes, most dramatically, and chuckled You're so dramatic," she joked, hoping the male wouldn't take her words seriously when in honesty she enjoyed his ability to express himself outwardly, it was a skill she hadn't quite perfected yet.

"I haven't had that much excitement either, just the usual routine." her routine involved mostly staying out of trouble and managing to keep herself from starving, her ability to multitask and maintain a social life was growing each day and with Cottongrass she was developing quite the relationship. "Thunderstorms not so much," in retrospect she'd experienced way too many worth mentioning, but she decided to share a story she was sure the male could appreciate. " I had an encounter with a cougar that went over well enough that I'm able to stand in front of you right now without a scar on me." she smiled, tail thumping lightly behind her. That had been nearly a month ago, but who was really keeping track?

Graphics by Arya and Becuffin!

He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be grateful or disappointed at the lack of thunderstorms she faced in the previous months. Because it was good that she was alive and well. That some freak strike of lightning didn't cause her any harm because he knew a thing or two about the murderous flashes of light. But at the same time he wanted to ramble at her about his latest experiences with the sky trying to kill him. It wasn't anything special. There were no exploding trees or anything like that but he still really liked to confabulate.

But he guessed it didn't matter. Not when her next sentence had him floored. Completely and utterly floored because she encountered a cougar?! His yellow eyes widened into almost hysterical saucers and he couldn't help but launch himself onto his feet.

"No way!" He barked all while he tail wagged a mile a minute somewhere behind him. It was amazing that the fluffy appendage was still attached. And before he could exactly stop himself— "How are you still alive?" His voice was somewhere in between incredulous and amazed. Like he couldn't really believe that he was staring at someone who faced off with a cougar. He didn't know what kind of animal that was for sure but he liked to pretend it was real similar to a mountain lion. Reyes had spoken about them, once. They sounded like a force to be reckoned with.

His excitement only grew at that thought and his paws stamped in giddy interest.

"Did you fight if off yourself? Is it dead? Were you in the mountains?" He rattled off every single question without so much as a breath or pause in between them. And it was in that moment he decided to forget about Tumblebelly. There was a new bad-ass in town and her name was Rory Thanne! She wasn't as cute as the the other wolf but he decided that it didn't matter. Tumblebelly wasn't around any more and he wasn't going to worry about the finer details. Not when there was practically a living hero standing before him.

@Cottongrass :D!

i don't even know if i believe

Aurora Thanne

There was no question in her mind that her friend would want every detail possible concerning the cougar; lucky for him, she had time. His excitement over the subject allowed her to rekindle the event as if it had happened yesterday and she settled onto her haunches wondering how and where to start the bizarre story. "I guess I'm just lucky is all." she answered his question, there was no doubt in her mind that given any normal circumstance she would have been lunch but someone was watching over her and still wanted her alive.

Her tail began to wag with anticipation and she shook her pelt out in order to get any jitters out for good measure before she finally started. "Well, you know I scavenge for most of my food and on this particular day I was following the trail of deer blood. It was fresh and it smelled so good" she could remember the heavenly scent, but for some reason the stench of cougar had been masked, she wondered how. "before I could even get close enough to it to check for other scavengers I heard the most blood curdling hiss and growl that I've ever heard from any cat. It was terrifying and it stopped me dead in my tracks." the cat had been anticipating the approach of someone for its kill, unfortunately for Rory, she had been the first to arrive.

"The cougar rushed toward me, teeth bared and claws ready to slice at me. I ran back a bit, kind of startled but the stubborn side of me kept at my spot, hoping the cougar would allow me some kind of access." food often made her seem and act more desperate than usual and she wasn't ashamed to admit her shortcomings. "lucky for me, this cougar was young, perhaps 3 years or so and it was male so it wasn't that fierce and protective as a mama cougar with cubs, but he was a feisty one non the less. He chased me when I ran the opposite way." she ran as fast as her legs could propel her, luckily for her the cougar had every intention to chase her off and not to actually harm her. "it nearly got my back leg but I ran without stop and turned to see it in a protective stance, daring me to try him again. I got wise and moved on, but I was shaken up and afraid that's for sure."

There it was, nothing too dramatic and surely more boring than Cottongrass had expected but it was as honest  as she could be, there was no way that Rory was brave enough to actually fight off a cougar, but wear one down by running was a different story. "I'm sure he's still up in the mountains still, guarding his territory. she shrugged her shoulders, unconcerned for the cougar she had so easily eluded.

(This post was last modified: Aug 21, 2017, 09:55 AM by Rory.)

Graphics by Arya and Becuffin!

He couldn't believe his ears the more he learned about her run in with the animal. Because who acted so nonchalantly about facing off with a hungry cougar? Apparently the she-wolf before him did! It was the one last push he needed that shattered his disbelief and pushed him into action.

"You're so cool!" He blurted out while his tail continued its nonstop wagging. "And brave!" If he really wanted to he could probably sing praise for her all day long. But he was pretty sure that she would get uncomfortable or bored if he actually did that so he kept quiet. Except it didn't stop him from still being curious.

"D'you have any other stories?" He asked. Because Rory wasn't scared of thunderstorms and she didn't even seem that freaked out by big killer cats—who knew what else she got into when he wasn't around! "You should tell me all of them." He tried to give her one of his most winning smiles. If she wasn't fooled he wasn't above begging or whining until she gave in. She was just so awesome! He wanted to know everything about her and the kind of wild adventures she went on by herself.

It almost made him miss being a lone wolf. Maybe afterwards they would need to hang out more in hopes of her sheer bad-assery rubbing off on him. He would face off with all the cougars and maybe even dragons in the world if she was by his side.

There is a rabbit's nest nearby. +1 Health