Secret Falls Winter Wonderland

At the end of her first week alone, Vinnie had firmly decided she hated the snow.

Cold and wet and hungry, Vinnie was about ready to call it quits and sit down and cry - but if she did that and a Sevak found her, she’d be done for anyway. Cry-puppies were not needed or welcome in the Sevak family, especially ones who got themselves lost. Her father would never believe that Vinnie had been kidnapped by the strange creatures that sometimes passed through their territory. They’d never paid much attention to them before, so why should they now?

Not that Vinnie thought anyone from her family would find her. She was very far away from anything she knew.

The sun was almost down - or, at least, Vinnie thought it was; she hadn’t been able to see the sun all day thanks to the cloud cover, but it was starting to get darker so night must be falling. She needed to find a place to rest. Maybe tomorrow she would be able to find her bearings.

As Vinnie paused to assess her immediate surroundings, the roar of a waterfall caught her attention. She hadn’t heard it through the sound of her own breathing, but now that she was still and quiet its noise was clear. Vinnie quickly turned and began fighting through the snow that direction. Water meant animals, and animals meant food. Maybe even another wolf to give her some direction.

When she finally made it to the falls, Vinnie stopped and gasped. Even in the fading light, the falls were beautiful. The diffuse light sparkled off ripples and icicles that lined the edges of the pouring water. Despite the cold, Vinnie was drawn forward. Ice crackled under her paws at the edge of the small pool at the foot of the falls. She halted, cold water swirling between her toes. Vinnie closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

She was so tired.

Andrey was not sure if separating from his brother and cousin was the wisest decision, but if he was to figure out why they had been dropped off at this god-forsaken place he would have to cover more ground. See if he could find anyone else from the coast wandering through this strange place. It had been days—maybe weeks—since he had heard the sound of waves crashing agains the shore and he missed it so much. The forests here paled in comparison to the coast he had grown up on. They were so quiet; so dull.

But, there was a small part of him, that liked the adventure of being somewhere new. He had never thought of leaving the Estuary but had always been curious of the world beyond the ocean and how it differed from he lands he knew. So far he was not impressed, but that did not mean he would hate everything he encountered. Maybe most of it, but not everything.

He found himself following the faint sound of moving water. It did not sound like his ocean but it was the closest thing he had found so far to roaring waves. The boy moved as quickly as he could through the snow, his mousey gaze fixated on where the sound was coming from. There was something else, too. The smell of another—someone unfamiliar. He resisted the urge to flee as he kept trudging forward. Andrey was not going to get any answers if he avoided crossing paths with anyone but the family he had woken up alongside.

As he approached the half-frozen falls he spotted a pale female ahead of him, standing at the edge of the pool of water. She looked as tired as he felt and did not smell of the area either, but she was not of the Estuary. A frown pulled at the corner of his mouth as he took a hesitant step toward her, his brows narrowing softly. Bit too cold for a swim isn’t it?

The roar of the waterfall pounded in Vinnie’s ears, which is probably why she didn’t hear the approaching wolf until he was right behind her.

”Bit too cold for a swim isn’t it?”

Vinnie yelped and spun around, her paws fully cracking through the ice and plunging ankle-deep into the frigid water. She all but bunny-hopped until she was safe on solid ground, shaking her paws ruefully as the cold air stung them.

”Um… yeah,” she awkwardly chuckled, sitting down and curling her tail over her toes to try and help warm them. ”I was just… looking.” It sounded lame even to her ears; the truth was she didn’t really know what she’d been doing.

She peered at the stranger. He looked young, but he couldn’t be that much younger than her really. His dark fur stood out against the snow. She sniffed. He didn’t smell like he belonged here, but better safe. She knew very well what happened to trespassers.

”I’m sorry, am I on your territory? I didn’t mean to intrude. I’m lost, and I didn’t smell a marker…” She trailed off. Right. Criticize his pack’s border abilities. Good going, Vin, that’s going to get you out of trouble. ”Um, yeah. Sorry…”

@Bellavinne

He had not meant to startle the pale female but he was not surprised that he had. From what he had seen so far these lands appeared barren, and she was the first wolf he had encountered outside of his brother and cousin. He offered her a small apologetic smile as he adopted a more neutral stance to show that he was of no threat to her. His tail hung slack at his hindquarters and his ears were drawn back. Although she looked to be the same age as he was Andrey could not assume that she was alone, or was not a potential threat. As far as he was concerned everyone was considered a threat until proven otherwise.

Before he could speak up she began rambling nervously, offering an apology for trespassing. His brows furrowed and he quickly shook his head to dismiss her (double) apology. No, no, he retorted quickly, his voice soft as he attempted to to diffuse her nerves, this territory does not belong to me. I belong to no pack. Well, that technically was not true. He did belong to a pack but not one here … that was, if his pack still existed. He still did not know how many of his packmates had been captured and brought to these strange lands. I am a little lost, too, he added with a shrug.

You discover a half-eaten deer carcass. +5 Health

Vinnie couldn’t keep herself from fidgeting as she spoke, but the stranger’s body relaxed. He didn’t seem friendly, but he was also unimposing. Vinnie allowed herself to relax a little as well, though she was still ready to jump at a moment’s notice, frozen paws or no. Her father had played this trick before; acting like a transgression was forgiven to set his victim at ease, then leaping upon them the moment they let their guard down.

Her ears pricked a little when he said he was also lost. ”Yeah?” she said, perhaps a little too excited. ”Are you- um, did you just… appear? Here?”

Vinnie scrunched up her nose. Of course he didn’t just appear; neither did she, as much as it felt like that. Why was she so bad at talking? She hadn’t even introduced herself. ”Oh, um, I’m Bellavinne Sevak, by the way, but everybody calls me Vinnie. Except my dad, when I’m in trouble.”

She immediately broke off, ears flattening as she looked away. Shut up, Vinnie, she admonished herself. You’re not allowed to talk about inner pack workings. Dad will have your hide if he finds out.

He’ll have my hide for being gone so long anyway.

She seemed nervous but he was not surprised. Andrey did not think of himself as a very threatening wolf—especially since he was much smaller in size compared to the other wolves in his family—but he was a stranger and she was alone. It was a recipe for intimidation even if it was not his intention.

“Yeah? … Are you- um, did you just… appear? Here?” His head cocked softly to the side at her question. Wait—how did she? How did she know? Uhhh, he started, dumbfounded by her question, I think so? Why? Did you? He retorted, a single brow raised as he examined her. She was definitely not one of the Estuary wolves … why would she just have appeared here like Andrey, his brother and cousin?

What the hell was going on here …

His ears twitched as she spoke once more, this time introducing herself. Vinnie, he repeated softly, a small smile gracing his features in an attempt to be less scary. I’m Andrey. Or Andy. Whatever. He accompanied his own introduction with dismissive shrug. He did not really care what he was called.

Vinnie was so caught up in her embarrassment she almost didn’t catch the stranger’s response. As expected his reply was a little confused, but he seemed to understand her meaning when she said ‘appear’. He had - or at least he thought so.

”Yeah, I just… woke up here. I don’t know how to get home.” Or if I want to get home. She managed to bite off this last thought. Goodness knows she didn’t need to spill any more information about her family than she already inadvertently had.

Then again, why did it matter, if she wasn’t going to get home? It’s not like her father would send someone to look for her.

The other wolf smiled and introduced himself as Andrey. Or Andy, though Vinnie wasn’t sure if that was really shorter or not. She tentatively smiled back at him. ”Nice to meet you, Andrey.” She glanced around them and shuffled her paws beneath her tail to try and warm them up faster. ”Um… do you know if there are other wolves anywhere? I haven’t seen anyone other than you in… well, a while.”

Curious. Why had she woken here, too, without any knowledge of how she had gotten to this place? It did not make any sense. A small frown creased his features as he studied her, silently, for a moment. Where is home for you? he asked softly, his head falling to the side as he tried to pinpoint an unusual scent on her pelt. But there was nothing unique about her scent—like him, she smelt like this place.

I woke here with my cousin and brother, he started, deciding it was better to be fully honest with the girl since she was in the same situation he was, but further West. You’re the only other I’ve encountered since. I left them to see if I could find any familiar faces. He shrugged. But no such luck. He was beginning to wonder if any of their packmates had ended up here, too, or if the trio had been the unlucky ones. Along with poor Bellavinne.

another post or two and then archive?

Vinnie wasn't sure how she felt about Andrey's reaction to her question. He didn't seem aggressive, but he was frowning at her and she knew that frowns we're not good.

Then he asked about her home. She eyed him suspiciously. Was he a spy? Did he want to learn where her pack was and strike why they were down a member? She had little love for her family but it was her home and they were all she had. "I'm from the coast, somewhere east. The sun rises on the water." that would be safe, right? Not too specific? Besides, it was very far away.

So Andrey had family somewhere around here? She wondered how close they were and how they might feel about strangers. Vinnie's frozen toes we're starting to itch to get moving again. Andrey was nice enough, but Vinnie couldn't help her suspicion. She'd been raised to suspect everyone, after all, even if she didn't like it.

"Im sorry you've lost the rest of your family. What do they look like? If I see them I can tell them you were in this area and you're looking for them."