Renegades Vigil I know you said you had a fragile heart

RE: The sky darkens with ash from a distant forest fire.
January 26th; Mid-afternoon; Light Snow; 5 ° F, -15 ° C.

If Sawyer could have stayed in the northern reaches of Relic Lore, he might have. But, his sister Vanadis' trail was much too precious and valuable to lose and the light snowfall made it all too easy to wander off-track. As selfish and self-serving as he was, he had to stay true to his initial intension: to take but also share in his sibling's findings and stakes. The wonderment for his parents' distant memories surrounding the grandeur of Willow Ridge at its peak still ran rampant in his mind. Perhaps this was what Vanadis had been after. He couldn't know for sure until he heard it from her own lips.

A sigh fell from his cold-nipped nostrils as he came to the frozen edges of a marsh. The afternoon sky above still remained an ashy gray in the background from the dying winter fire that had been burning since his arrival to Relic Lore. Maybe this mild storm would make its way over and snuff it out for good. Regardless, the dull gray made for a very sad and dreary backdrop for the lone cedar tree that arched over the frozen-over fen.

Pitiful. Judging yellow eyes fell upon a small mound of snow tucked underneath the tree's gnarled roots before following the trunk upwards and over to where the sweeping branches' springtime growth had frozen into the marsh. Sawyer shivered. It was unsettling here and, almost immediately, he started his slow path around the patches of dead reeds and ice. The sooner he crossed this part of Relic Lore, the better...

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Leviticus had been hoping that certain aspects of his journey thus far pointed to his being close to his friend, but now he was beginning to think something or someone was shouting for him to turn back around. The ash in the sky concerned him, as he was familiar with fire's potentially devastating impact. Conflicted and uncomfortable, cold and half-starved, he was walking slowly with a rather pitiful affect.

When his green eyes caught on to another wolf's form, Levi's spirits immediately began to rise. Company! His legs began to move faster, plowing at a steady pace through the snow drifts.

Two sharp barks issued from his muzzle, asking the stranger to please wait up.

While the red-furred youth didn't want to acknowledge it, he felt like he was being watched by a masked stranger. Cold, keen eyes fixed upon the back of his golden head where he could feel the fur had just started to mat. He would have to remedy that soon. Take a dunk in one of the icy ponds he had found - not here, that's for sure - where he could easily crawl back onto the shore immediately after giving his winter coat a shake. His ears twitched and the tips of them burned. Someone was coming.

He had gone around a tangle of wind-bent stalks when he heard the urgent barking at his back. Wait. Sawyer's head whipped about a little too quickly, sending the front of him off-balance and his right elbow straight into the ice. Oww-owww-ow. His tawny face scrunched up, folds bunching up in little hills along one side of his muzzle. Fuh-rick... that hurt.

Air hissed between the gaps in his canines. Through the yellow slits that were his eyes, he focused on a pale-furred figure across the frosted banks. He blinked his eyes open; the coat color of the individual in question was much too dark to be his sister and that bark, once replayed back in his head, definitely confirmed that it was not her. Sawyer winced as he straightened himself back up and half-limped forward, the funny bone in his elbow tingling. He yipped back, neither amicable nor aggrieved, "Yeah?"

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Oops, Levi thought with a grimace as he saw the undesired effect of his actions. That was definitely not what he had intended, and he broke into a sprint to get to the stranger's side despite the protesting aches in his muscles. The young man seemed to recover well, but injuries to joints in a limb were easy to get.

"Sorry," he wheezed when he did make it to the other wolf. Levi's back end plopped promptly down, and his chest heaved with big breaths. Still, even as his tongue lolled into the frigid air, his lips were pulled back in a nervous smile.

"Are you okay? I um, I just..." he spoke between breaths, clearly unsure of what all to do with the other teen's attention now that he had it.

"... I'm Levi. Can I... walk with you?"

A warren of rabbits is hidden under a nearby tree. +3 Health

Sawyer watched as the stranger scampered to catch up. The long whiskers and light tan spots that made up his eyebrows rose. Hm. He gave his sore forelimb a shake and stretched it out for good measure. No harm done. Truly. After growing up with the way he and his siblings roughhoused, this little knock on the ice was nothing. He would just have to walk off the rest of the pain.

The other youth had no fear. He easily sidled up right next to the Archer with an apology, a bit of empathy, and an introduction. Sawyer put on one of his crooked smiles. This punk didn't seem to be anything like his brothers, but he supposed it didn't cost him anything to be casually social - most especially since he hadn't had company in quite some time since he had left home.

"Sawyer," he gave a warm nod. The tail at his heels did not wag; he was simply trying to keep himself on his toes. Ever wary, ever cautious. His father taught him a survival skill or two and a couple of tricks. He knew better than to figuratively lay all his cards out on the table; it was best to keep them close to the chest and bluff a bit to feel out where everyone else stood.

"And, sure. I don't know where I'm goin', but if you wanna tag along, be my guest." Then, on that note, he slowly started walking again - gingerly - with the old cedar behind him. "I'm looking for willow trees, so if you know one when you see one... call it out."

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

When the other wolf smiled, it made Levi grin. It might be wise for him to start conserving energy, but he let his tail wag enthusiastically behind him regardless of the exhaustion in his bones. Not given a direct answer, he watched the other man's gait briefly to make sure that he wasn't trying to mask any excessive pain.

"That makes two of us then," Levi beamed as Sawyer told him he didn't have a destination in mind. Maybe they could get some food and share some shelter, surely the other man had to eat and rest too, right?

"Got it," came the affirmation that he'd keep an eye out for the specified tree, "an' if you see a blonde guy named River, holler."

Half-joking, of course Sawyer wouldn't know a name by sight, but ever the optimist he couldn't help but hope his company would respond 'River? I know him!'

A grin was returned. A good sign, Sawyer figured, but that's all it was. Getting off on the right foot. "Oh yeah?" he countered, ear swiveling toward Levi in piqued interest. He hummed thoughtfully as they set off at a slow pace. He supposed only time would tell where they would end up.

"Thanks," he extended, keeping his eyes fixed on the spaces between the trees before them. For a moment there was nothing but the sound of snow crunching beneath their pads. Then, came a musing. He smirked, "Who is 'e to you?" A scoff was stifled by biting his tongue; he, too, wanted to crack some half-jokes but thought better of it. They weren't on that level of bro-dom yet. "Did he take yer lunch?"

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Levi giggled heartily at the thought of River being any kind of thief. There was no way he could see the blue-eyed healer-to-be taking from a fly much less a friend. Of course, the boy lived with rose-tinted glass, and often saw others as incapable of wrongdoing. In fact, if asked about Sawyer here and now, Leviticus would earnestly say the other kid was a great guy and feel one hundred percent certain in the assessment.

After all, the dude waited up for him.

"Yeah right. We're friends, he got ahead of me though, and I've been--" his happy chirping cut off abruptly as his paw struck a patch of ice and lost purchase. Levi's whole leg shot out from under him, throwing him off balance and forcing him to scramble to keep from falling. It would have been an easy remedy, except there wasn't just one area of ice. There were several, and by the time he was able to finally stop slipping and flailing, he was yards away from where he'd started.

Olive eyes wide, he froze with his legs braced outward, scared to move and start the hellish fiasco all over again.

"Yeah right," the other jested, "We're friends, he got ahead of me though..." Again, Sawyer turned about to look at Levi as he chattered on. It was rather timely and it almost - almost - happened in slow motion. Bright eyes watched as his new companion's arm splayed out. Problem was: his mind had already made itself up for laughter, to find kinship in not having the best of reflexes or a good sense of what winter-covered ground was "safe" and what was not. He was not safe.

As Levi's paw came out, it made Sawyer's own forearms jolt (it wasn't like he was going to get sideswiped, but he had been startled) which also sent him with a loud THUMP! onto his left side. Once off his feet, he could only watch over his shoulder as Levi thrashed about, sliding further and further and further away from him.

The Archer rolled his eyes as he slowly heaved himself up onto all fours again, legs slightly splayed this time. He hastily surveyed the area before looking fully out to where the poor lad had ended up. Levi's expression was unmistakable. Fear played some part of the Torbine descendant's youth and Sawyer knew from experience that it wasn't always a good motivator. He, instead, opted to hold out a metaphorical hand.

"Well, that's unfortunate," he called out, carefully turning so he could face Levi fully. "You okay?! Might have to belly-crawl back over to the edge here... 'less ya want to be soaked up to your tum'. Ya got it?"

(This post was last modified: Jan 29, 2021, 05:13 AM by Sawyer.)

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡