Stonewatch Timbers I Want to Save You from Your Sorrow

Backdated to October 8th. Set at the northernmost edges of Stonewatch Timbers. For @Rayza :D

Everything was bad. Maybe even more than bad when he thought about it because nothing in the whole entire world was easy and he knew that from months of experience. But he was convinced that shouldn't have influenced his search for Rayza. He was supposed to be a hero! The wolf that swooped in at just the right time and saved everybody in trouble before disappearing onto his next grand adventure. He would probably even put Reyes to shame and that was no easy task because the man was the absolute best when it came down to helping others. But nothing was going his way.

It was sort of like everything wasn't going his way. Because his idea wasn't approved by Askan and that was probably the first bad omen for his future adventure. But in his own defence it wasn't like he could just let the poor kid die. His paw was sprained! Who knew what else might have happened last time he and Rayza saw each other. But of course his spree of bad luck didn't end there. Not when he went on to get brutally mauled by a million bats and had that really awkward encounter with that one rude stranger only days ago.

But he wasn't about to give up. Not when he finally made his way to the mountainous forests where they last saw each other. He was convinced he was close. That any moment now he would find Rayza's scent and everything else would be history with the both of them heading back to that one waterfall Askan talked about. And he didn't know what would happen then but he was sure he could figure it out by the time they got there. Maybe he could take Rayza under his wing or something. He didn't know!

With a huff Cottongrass returned to the impossible task of following scent trails. It wasn't an easy job, especially when he wasn't that good at tracking in the first place and it probably really didn't help that it was raining buckets. He almost wished Reyes didn't get mad at him that one time when they were looking for Victoria. Yelling their name and hoping for the best was so much more easier than being quiet and sniffing around for them! But Reyes always had to be the smart one with the way he worried about bears and mountain lions. He wasn't even around yet Cottongrass was being bossed around by him! And to make matters worse —

His paws stumbled to a halt.

Because wait.

Wait.

Reyes wasn't nearby. He was miles away probably doing something like cuddling with Askan or maybe just grumbling about the weather because that seemed like a favourite past time of his. Which meant that he didn't know what Cottongrass was doing just then. And he probably didn't even care that much in the first place but it wasn't often Cottongrass had such earth shattering epiphanies. His tail started to slowly wag behind him as the gears of his mind picked up the pace. Because what Reyes didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

What Askan and Reyes didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

It just might have been the biggest realization of Cottongrass' life.

Because it meant that he could do whatever he wanted and it wasn't like they was just going to suddenly know. The world didn't work like that! Or at least he was pretty sure the world didn't work like that. But that just meant he had some testing to do before he could prove his theory was true. His rear end gave an excited wiggle and he stepped forward. And without much more for him to but enact his grand scheme —

Cottongrass yelled out "Rayza!" into the surrounding forest before continuing on his merry way. It would probably take a lot of yelling before he found the kid but he was okay with that. He knew for a fact that it was infinitely easier than forcing himself to keep quiet and follow scent trails for countless hours in the freezing rain. In that moment Cottongrass was convinced that he was the smartest wolf to ever exist.

So so sorry about the wait! D: And for such a short post in response to your beautiful one above <3
Edit: Added a bit more introspection, but the nature of the post hasn't changed.

He was about certain he'd been abandoned.

Not that Rayza was particularly surprised. He'd been there, done that before, and given the way his life seemed to sour these days, he had half expected something like this to happen again, only he hadn't guessed it would be so soon. The sprained paw should have been his first sign the world still stood against him, that the universe hadn't finished their lesson with him yet. The one, it seemed, he could only stumble over; those few cherished words Ajay spat before he left: that the whole reason wolves sprained their paws, or heck, even vomited and died and with them took the only thread of love you ever really knew - that was just the universe's way of telling you to suck it up and be a man.

A thing which Rayza was just about through with trying. And maybe, maybe Cottongrass leaving after what was meant to be something quick[/i] (he hadn't really known, nor cared to ask, what "something" pressed the man to leave, and reasoned his jaunt something simple and private, like finding a quiet bush to pee on), maybe this was what the universe told him again. But unlike before he refused to let his emotions best him. He'd long locked those pests away where they couldn't meddle with him again. So instead of melting into a puddle of whys and despair, he sucked it up as best he could, which right now looked like laying beside a half-eaten carcass he'd found ravaged by scavengers, and contemplating whether or not to respond to the voice he heard of Cottongrass calling his name.

For now, he kept his silence. Let Cottongrass wander and shout a little longer. He flicked his tail to shake away a buzzing fly, and his face soured with a frown he seldom showed anyone but his shadow.

Served him right.

(This post was last modified: Nov 07, 2017, 04:26 PM by Rayza.)

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

There was a moment where he waited for the worst. That any minute some angry grizzly bear or mountain lion would come racing out of the forest to eat him alive because that's what Reyes told him would happen if he yelled in the middle of nowhere. But instead there was nothing but silence. His paws shuffled as he pushed himself forward and his yellow eyes roved the shadows in between trees because Rayza was out there. He just wasn't looking hard enough. Maybe he needed a bird's eye view. Climbing a tree never steered him wrong.

(And that statement wasn't accurate in the slightest. Not when he fell out of almost every single tree he climbed in the first place but if he didn't acknowledge the statistic that of course meant it didn't matter...)

His rear end wiggled and he shuffled forward. Maybe there was a good tree somewhere nearby that he could climb. Than he could do his biggest yell and there was no way Rayza wouldn't hear him calling his name.

But he never got a chance to enact his plan.

Not when something flashed in the corner of his eye and everything inside of his mind exploded into happy sounds. Because was that —

It absolutely was. It was Rayza and if he looked unhappy it didn't register on Cottongrass' radar. Not when his own happiness was loud and overwhelming. His tail wagged and he dropped his idea of climbing a tree in favour of yelling.

"Rayza!" He barked. And barking someone's name once was never enough so for good measure he added on — "Rayza, Rayza, Rayza!" — to the end of his call. He ran forward with his yellow eyes shining. "I've been looking all over for you!" Cottongrass chirped. Like that wasn't obvious with the way he spent the past few minutes hollering the kid's name.