The Wildwood a touch too far

<blockquote>He had to practise. Ruiko had initiated his lessons, but couldn't be there all the time, and Kinis was growing up. He had to learn to look after himself; he belonged to a pack, but it was a ghost of its past grandeur. The safety and security was dashed. Kinis couldn't afford his childish complacency anymore.

Trouble was, the food supply was drying up in a delayed parallel with the water, and it was only now that Kinis had the means and motive to start hunting for it. Everything was so much more difficult than it should have been. The weather was getting colder, but not too noticeably, not <i>yet</i>, and the water situation was as hopeless as ever. Today, hunger was to blame for his initial wanderings, but it was his thirst's fault that he had ended up moving so far. He had long lost the rodent which had started everything, but it had led him to the belief that he could hear running water.

With the lands as dry as they were, you never passed up the opportunity for a drink. The river still sported the occasional puddle - though they were more fittingly described as 'rare' nowadays - but it was difficult finding a reliable water source. The once-housebound Kinis found himself wandering further and further just to satisfy this most basic need. It unsettled and disturbed him, fearing going too far and being unable to return. The risk was well balanced, though; should he chance upon a good source, Ruiko would surely be proud of him for it. It was worth it.

Today, though, was not that lucky day. Though he made for the water sounds with the utmost concentration, it was with no avail; the tempting noises vanished with no parade or warning, no explanation. Was it madness? Kinis whined softly to himself, finally forced to give up the chase after more than three hours of searching. It was lost. He could think of no explanation other than his wishful imaginings, and was set not to waste any more energy on something which did not exist.

Of course, now he had the interesting predicament of finding his way back. Swallowing hard, trying to prevent his dry throat from distracting him even more than it already had, Kinis turned about, slowly regaining his bearings. He had never travelled here before, but so long as he kept his awareness, it should not be too much trouble to simply follow his own scent back home... back to the dry den. Back to thirst and sore throats.

Licking his lips, the young wolf hesitated, casting his eyes about once more, his desperation for hydration staying his usual conservative instincts. </blockquote>

<center>
<i>at least... that's where I'm supposed to be...</i></center>

It was probably not a good thing that Alexander had ceased thinking about the water. There was too much plaguing his mind now to focus on his increasing thirst. Only occasionally did he refocus on his basic needs to realize that his tongue was painfully dry, sticking to the roof of his mouth. But he'd find something else to fill his mind, and on his way he'd be again. But today, there was little to think about. So little, in fact, that he'd come down off of the mountain, first wanting to investigate Bramble Falls, but he knew that that would be a pointless task.

There would be nothing there to drink or see. Even the Falls would no longer be falling, all the beauty of the place gone, ruining anything he'd ever seen in it. It would be a sad moment. Instead, he turned into the Wildwood, hoping to find some other source that he'd never come across before, since he'd never really wandered about the Wood much. And if there was no water, he decided that it never hurt to check the borders every once in awhile. Although the Plateau didn't claim anything but mountain space, it never hurt to see what wandered the Wood that could easily gain access to the mountain.

Inhaling deeply, he suddenly realized that there was a wolf very nearby. He stood on the very path that the wolf had made, and Alexander twisted around, moving along the scent path, and suddenly spotted the small creature. Clearly a pup, as not even the smallest of wolves could be such a size. Perhaps small was not the right word. The proportions of the brown creature were just slightly wrong. Clearly the pup that he'd spied would grow into something great...But not if it was wandering out here alone. For fear of alarming the wolf, Alexander merely cleared his throat, unsure of how else to get the wolf's attention without using words.

<blockquote>It was quite unusual for the boy to forgo awareness in favour of... anything else, but the thirst had gripped him and it would not let go. Perhaps it was his previous exertion, or his slowly fatiguing muscles, or just the fact that they had gone so damn long without, but he could do nothing but focus on it now. The memory of the sounds had him tightly, and no matter how hard he tried to ignore it and return home, he never ended up much closer.

It was somewhat frightening. He didn't know what it would mean to go for so long without rehydrating, and that was certainly a question which he was not keen on answering. He could feel what it was doing to his body. He didn't want to know the later stages.

Such was his concentration that Kinis, usually so alert and paranoid, was not the first to notice that he was not alone. The sound of a cleared throat so startled him that for a precious few seconds the very notion of thirst was completely forgotten; yelping in surprise and fear, the lanky wolf twitched about, trying to face the noise and flee from it at the same time. What was such an innocent, <i>polite</i> noise had brought about a remarkable reaction, and even as Kinis' racing mind processed what it was he realised his overreaction. It was... an introduction, an interruption, nothing more. Ashamed at his terror but unable to fully quell it, he lowered his body somewhat, casting his eyes and ears about to try and pinpoint the originator. It did not take long, given the other sported an impressive size, and was not trying to hide. Kinis did not even require the confirmation of the stranger's scent to know that it was a stranger, a complete stranger, and though he had already reached the conclusion that this stranger meant no immediate harm - one does not politely cough as a precursor to an assault - he already felt himself shake, completely lost and trapped and bewildered.

What had he been thinking? Kinis simply didn't get himself into these situations. He could remember Borlla happily telling stories of her meetings with others. And look at him! He could not summon half the courage she had when she was half the size. He did not even have anything to confront this wolf with; having strayed so far, Kinis was now well beyond the reaches of their family's lands. He had no claim to anything.

<b><i>"Whatdoyouwant,"</i></b> he whispered, his childhood love of questions being his only viable defence mechanism. </blockquote>

<center>
<i>at least... that's where I'm supposed to be...</i></center>

Alexander paused, wondering if he should have said anything to the pup. Well, even called attention to himself. The small wolf seemed frightened, clearly, and Alexander had probably just made that worse with his towering presence. But he couldn't take it back now, so, perhaps he could offer the pup a bit of help. A creature so frightened clearly was not by itself...In the sense that the pup did have parents. They just weren't around.

The Plateau wolf took in a breath to speak, then paused, remembering the fire that he'd heard about long ago. His eyes touched the pup for a moment then drifted away again as he worked things out in his mind. The whole story was still foggy in his mind, stopping him from drawing any conclusions. He felt horribly uncomfortable now though, assuming that this pup had parents. Maybe he didn't...But surely he had someone!

He must have been a Swift River wolf. Which made Alexander feel even more uncomfortable for getting so near. Pale yellow eyes flitted around, and he grunted, a look of uncertainty clear and plain on his muzzle. So many assumptions, but no real evidence. "...Are you lost?" Alexander made no move forward, and simply sat down, watching the pup with curious eyes. "I'm Alexander, I live up on the mountain." He hoped that perhaps giving the pup his name would make him feel better. Though he wasn't sure how.

<blockquote>It was a gracious thing that the stranger - Alexander, as he quickly introduced himself - was being so mild, obviously appreciating, if not fully comprehending, Kinis' concern. The fact that the stranger was so gentle in his manner helped to ease much of the youngster's panic, though he never let himself forget the entire truth of the situation. Kinis did not know his motives, his trustworthiness, his origins. Just because he was acting kind did not mean that he was.

Kinis believed himself to understand that people could say one thing and then do another.

<b>"No,"</b> he said slowly, far more controlled in his tone if not in his thoughts. <b>"Um, yes. I mean - I can get back. I just went too far. I, uh."</b> Why was he explaining himself? Because he had been asked. You don't defy an adult. Kinis had had such limited exposure to wolves who he did not share blood ties with that this Alexander was subconscious being seen as family; he did not really know how to act around anyone else. It was bizarre having to introduce himself, though. His family had known who he was.

<b>"I'm... Kinis. Tainn."</b>

Alexander lived on the mountain? Hadn't uncle Honijo...?</blockquote>

<center>
<i>at least... that's where I'm supposed to be...</i></center>

The gray wolf's minute introduction seemed to help matters a little bit. Though Alexander would never be able to read minds. Despite the fact that he was certain anxiety had crept down a bit, he remained where he was. If anything, the pup could approach him. That probably worked better. If worst came to worst, Alexander would have no blood on his paws. Though...In the eyes of an angry parent, it didn't matter what the situation had come down to.

"Well, if you know where you're going, I wouldn't hang around here too long. Not gonna say that you're small or anything, Kinis," Alexander made a face, not wanting to be that wolf, to shove already learned information down a young wolf's throat. "But predators can smell pups from a mile away." Alexander shrugged, trying to seem indifferent. He had no affiliation with this wolf, so in any other situation, he would have just wandered off again, resuming his earlier patrol...

But this was a kid!

He couldn't just let the kid wander out alone. But he understood independence and all that jazz. Besides, he didn't want to be on the receiving end of anger, should he try to assist. It would probably look like kidnapping after he truly introduced himself. "You don't live in the Wildwood, though, do you? Cause I mean, I'll just leave you be..."

<blockquote>Alexander's concern regarding Kinis' ego was humourous, at least to Kinis himself. Somehow, the notion that this large, impressive, powerful wolf was worried that he had offended such an insignificant child as himself overshadowed Alexander's more ominous warnings, though the latter were far from ignored. In his quest for thirst-quenching, Kinis had almost forgotten his own personal safety, and could only silently chide himself for it. Here was a testament to his failure, this encounter here; the seemingly-kindly wolf could have been anyone, anything.

<b>"No,"</b> he said softly, swallowing due to his dry throat, put somewhat at ease due to Alexander's own wariness. That didn't meant Kinis tried to get any closer. <b>"I live, um, in the grove."</b> Too much information...? Alexander had already disclosed his own home, so perhaps it was a fair trade. The grove was large enough not to make Swift River's den easily found. Still, it would be even harder to find one up on the mountain, so perhaps Alexander got off better after all. Though, that was assuming the wolf had malicious intent, and nothing yet had suggested so. Kinis' dehydrated mind seemed to be pushing his already unhealthy levels of paranoia.

<b>"I was... looking for water. It's a full-time occupation these days."</b> He felt awkward in his attempts at small talk, but figured it best to stay on the adult's good side. Better to have a foreign friend than a foreign enemy, right? <b>"Do... you have any good sources on your mountain?"</b> It was a longshot, not least because Kinis was sceptical that anyone would share such a valuable commodity with a complete stranger, but it was worth asking. Alexander was doubtless in a similar boat; otherwise, Ruiko would have moved them to the mountain if there was plentiful water there. Kinis could pose no real threat, and thus only had everything to gain.</blockquote>

<center>
<i>at least... that's where I'm supposed to be...</i></center>

So the pup lived in Sacred Grove. Well, that was too far off from here, and he didn't quite look like a pup anymore. And from the way he spoke, Alexander was sure he could take care of himself. Of course...That didn't really prevent Alexander from worrying any less, no matter how much he tried to talk himself out of it. The kid was still young enough, Alexander just hoped his advice would at least be heard. His tongue clicked against the roof of his mouth, but no real sound was heard. It was far too dry, and he gave the kid an honest answer, "Nope. I'm pretty sure it's dried up just about everywhere." His shoulders rolled in discomfort. "Doesn't mean you should stop looking though, you know?" He'd remained fairly positive throughout this whole ordeal, and he wasn't about to change his outlook now.