I don't know where to start, I'm just a little lost

Post Prompt: Feel It In Your Bones 2014
@Dziban I think Athena needs some help(;

Pale moonlight shined through the thick cedar trees as the slender body of the scarred warrior snaked her way through the darkened land. Sleep evaded her tonight as her mind thought of the dream she had a couple days ago. The possibility that the dream wasn't just her imagination scarred her. Was Dziban actually real or was that a figure of her imagination? If she had truly fallen off that cliff, it would explain why she has been having such terrible headaches. It would also explain why she couldn't remember some things of her past. But, it was just a dream, right?

As she moved her way through the cedars that she called home, herons wandered on the subject of her dream. She didn't realize the trouble that she was slowly getting herself into. Up ahead, a dead tree had given way to the weight of the snow and had fallen over the frozen creek. Breaking the ice right underneath it, it had also made the ice weak all around the fallen tree. Not realizing this, the distracted woman decided to cross the usually completely frozen creek. As her paws began to cross over the splintered ice, the creek bellowed and complained with the added weight, but Athena was deaf to the warning. Once she was half way across, the ice gave way to the weight, plunging her straight into the freezing cold water. The water slapped her out of her thinking into a panic state as she kicked her feet to try to get out. This just made everything worse.

|| Ash is welcome to make an appearance in any thread. ||

@Athena - Slight PP, if you want it changed then I will gladly fix it <3

Another blast of wind threw a layer of white powder in his face. The silver male had no choice but to close his eyes against the attack. Already the ice had crept into his paws, causing a terribly numb sensation. In all his years he had only ever seen a single winter as vicious as this one, and at that time he'd had a pack to shelter him. Unfortunately for him it seemed that this time he was on his own, traveling half way across the world -- or so it felt -- searching for the mysterious woman who had come to him in the midst of sleep.

The dream was a strange, almost too vivid sort. Everything about it felt so real. From her warmth, to the sound of her voice. He kept telling himself that was what set him in motion. It was purely fascination. He wanted to hear her voice, drink in her scent, taste her warmth. Dziban needed to know how closely the vision had painted her. Only then would his mind rest, and he could leave.

In all of a second, the stale scent he'd been following for so long became fresh, but it wasn't the same. It seemed as though she very recently crossed over the old trail, laying down a new one behind it. A path of paw prints in the snow confirmed it, and so his course changed. Breaking out into a sprint, the male could just make her out. It was her though, as he knew that snowy coat. Just on the horizon, and then she was gone. Confusion clouded his mind, and he slowed for only a second, before the splash touched his ears.

His heart skipped one beat, and then two. He couldn't remember kicking at the ground with his legs, nor covering the small amount of ground separating them. It was as if he teleported there, atop the cracking ice. Cool eyes searched for her, finally catching a glimpse of her splashing form. Dropping down, he crawled toward the opening, distributing his weight as evenly as possible. Once he was close enough, he allowed his forepaws to slip into the water while planting the rest of his body against the unsteady surface. Dipping his head into the dark waves, he made an attempt at her scruff. Almost losing his balance he had to pull back. It took him three more tries until he could feel her skin between his teeth. Slowly, he began pulling her back in hopes that he could use her as an icebreaker. When the ice would no longer break, and he was sure that it could hold both of them, he lifted his head to begin pulling her up.

Her fur was drenched, adding almost too much weight to her frame, but still he managed. Forcing her out, like a seal onto the ice he let go, drawing in a sharp breath. Of course he should have said something, but what was there?

(This post was last modified: Feb 18, 2014, 07:04 PM by Dziban.)

The cold quickly seeped through to her skin, making her gasp in surprise. Eyes wide in panic, her mind was in a frenzy, trying to fight the cold while finding a way to get out of the freezing water. Each time Athena would place her paws on top of the ice, it would crumble and break away underneath her. She'd try again, but would fail every time. The cold slowly bit away at her strength, making her breathless and weak. Her legs were beginning to tire as she tried to keep her head above the waters surface and her paw, that kept her held to the side, began to slowly slip away. Was this where the scarred warrior was going to take her last breath? Her strength finally failed her as her paw slipped from the ice and her hind legs grew too strained to keep her at the surface. The last thing she saw before she slipped beneath the surface were the pale yellow determined eyes staring directly at her then everything went black.

As she lied unconscious upon the cold, snow covered ground, life within the alabaster cloaked woman came alive. The impenetrable wall blocking the memory of her past was lifted, leaving her with free accessibility to her memories. Wishing to walk through them with gentle care was her intention, however, that wasn't her mind's plan. Within seconds, Athena was blasted through a recap of her entire life until the moment she closed her eyes moments ago. She was a witness to the first moments of her life to the almost very lasts. She was able to recall the first steps she took within Relic Lore, the family of outlaws she fell in love with, the moments when that family fell apart, the cougar attack that led her to her first love, the moment when her first love left her, the birth of her two children, and the pain when she lost them both along with her pack. As she looked back upon her past, she re-witnessed her happy moments and her bountiful sad times. Her heart ached when reliving many parts in her life.

After a while, she couldn't take reliving her past a second time. Forcing herself to wake, her fiery eyes snapped open and the fight for oxygen choked at her throat until she able to cough up the water inside. Gasping for the much needed air, she quickly looked around before her burning eyes found what she was looking for. Pale yellow eyes met hers as she stayed where she was in order to gain her strength back once again.

He was real. Her savior was real.

|| Ash is welcome to make an appearance in any thread. ||

Drawing in a shaky breath, he tried to slow his heart. It was pounding in his ears, and he just couldn't think. As the panic began to subside he was able to start counting. His pale eyes fell upon the light fae who had yet to show any sign of life. One. Please come back to me. Two. If you did it once, you can do it again. Three. Please breath, I've only just found you. He counted to fifteen in the same fashion, before the first cough sputtered from her throat. Sweet relief poured over him, coursing through his veins. The horrible sound of water spilling from her lungs was music to his ears.

Only then did he realize the biting chill of his paws and face where the water had touched. A shiver found it's way down his spine as he watched her. Athena had been completely immersed in the unforgiving tide, so he could only assume that her body was on fire. It wouldn't have been half as bad if the wind chill didn't force the air to near freezing. Concern laced his thoughts but could only just be seen in his features. He searched her eyes in the moment they met, and he took a step forward. After all, they had met before this, in a dream; on some other plane. He knew she would not bar his passage, as she needed his heat desperately. If she were to send him away then the likelihood of her catching pneumonia, or just freezing where she lay was too great.

Chancing another step he closed the gap between them. He paid her one final glance asking for permission, before taking the final step and once again feeling her heat, only this time he wasn't asleep.

As her lungs become familiar with the air she breathed, her fiery eyes searched the face of the man that had once been in her dreams. Her dream had been oddly vivid and real. Part of her felt like he knew of her too, but couldn't he just be some stranger that happened to come across her? The way that their eyes met said a different story, however. There was an unspoken connection between them. As she studied his pale eyes, she saw them quickly change from panicked to concerned. Realizing then why he would be concerned, her body decided to then light up in flames from the freezing temperature of the water. It was like millions of tiny fire ants were continuously biting at her body. A uncontrollable whine escaped her as she began to shiver and struggle with the newfound pain.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she did not see his last glance at her, but she felt his body fall next to hers. She welcomed his warmth, but knew it wasn't going to be enough. The cold breeze nipped at her already freezing body, sending more shivers racking through her body. If she didn't want to catch pneumonia or freeze to death, they needed to find shelter from the wind. Using what strength she had, Athena began to rise to her feet, stumbling a few times before finally planting her feet firmly on the snow covered ground. Glancing towards his pale eyes, she muttered one word, "Shelter." With her message clear, she hoped he'd help her towards her den nearby.

Once they arrived at her little abandoned badger den, she immediately climbed inside to escape the biting wind. Hoping he'd follow suit, she moved to make room for him. Lucky for him, she had dug the den bigger earlier before the permafrost set in, so there was enough room for the two of them.

|| Ash is welcome to make an appearance in any thread. ||

A terrible whine escaped her throat, only moments before the shaking overtook her body. It was a terrible sight watching her try to stand. Surely she'd been through enough in the past few weeks, and now this? He stayed as close as possible, attempting to block her from the wind as they moved toward the shelter. Happy to see that it wasn't far from where the incident occurred, he waited for her to settle in. The hideaway seemed to be some sort of badger den, already cleared out and ready for two. It was a beautiful coincidence for not only himself, but the ashen female he'd dreamed of. Now they would both be able to rest, and share the heat.

It was a tight fit, but he made it work as he fell in beside her. This place was nothing like the cave he'd occupied for the last couple of weeks. There it had been spacious but the heat was able to leak out in every direction. Here he could already feel warmth radiating around the den. Undoubtedly it would take Athena much longer to catch a decent temperature, but at least this was a start.

Once again his eyes fell upon her form. With the imminent danger passed, he knew that something about this was familiar. Maybe it had just been the dream, but even now he couldn't be sure. "I think that this makes it two?" A little light hearted humor fell from his lips, but he wasn't sure how she would take it. After all, the girl had almost lost her life only a few minutes ago.

The drenched woman didn't have to wait long for Dziban to follow in behind her and into her den. Part of her began to worry that a pack mate would smell him within the area. They were on the outskirts of Cut Rock River's territory and if any of them were to come and attack, Athena wasn't in any shape to defend her savior. But, as her fiery eyes looked him over while he was up closer, she could see the strong muscles shifting beneath his thick winter coat. He seemed to be doing well for a lone wolf during this particularly hard winter, so she concluded he should be able to hold his own if it came to it. How she hope it didn't, however.

As he got comfortable besides her, their fur brushing with each breath they took, part of her wanted to close the gap between them. She needed and wanted the warmth that radiated from him, but she did not want to intrude. He had helped her enough, hadn't he? Their eyes met again and this time he spoke. A smile initially formed at his light humor and she was about to answer him with a witty comment, but as she digested his words it slowly faded and she became speechless.

If her dream had been true, then he did indeed save her life when she had fallen from the cliff. Even with her memory back, her fall was still blurry and she doesn't remember much about it. Her fiery eyes filled with wonder. How could she have dreamed of an encounter with him when she doesn't even remember him in reality? Suddenly she blurted out without her even knowing it, "I dreamt of you." When she realized what she had said, she looked away from his pale eyes in embarrassment. "I... I mean, you were in a dream of mine and you had told me that you saved me when I had fallen off a cliff," she murmured, her eyes drifting back to his. "Was that true?"

|| Ash is welcome to make an appearance in any thread. ||

Pale aureolin eyes missed nothing, not even the ghost of a smile that graced her lips. It was barely there, fading away almost as suddenly as it had appeared. One it was gone, he found himself missing that tiny glimpse of her past. Surely, in another time, somewhere far away, that smile would have spread like wildfire across her face, followed by some retort. Unfortunately it seemed that girl was gone, hidden away beneath a heap of troubles that she had undoubtedly been subject to in her lifetime. Grateful that he had gotten a small taste of that hidden personality, Dziban allowed himself a grin that fell away quicker than even hers.

Then she spoke, not with a voice doused in panic the way she begged for shelter, but the one he remembered from his dream. So it seemed that they had dreamt of one another, not the strangest occurrence. It was her second sentence that made his heart skip a beat. If he could recall correctly -- and he was sure that he could -- they were speaking of the same dream. Was it even possible to share such a night's vision?

Although his thoughts were hazy with questions, his features remained smooth, even as she looked away. "You've come to me in my sleep as well." His own admission would hopefully remove her embarrassment, though it wasn't his only intention. "It was. I brought you back to my den, and to be honest I wasn't sure you were going to make it. You suffered a pretty terrible wound to the head."

Not knowing that her reaction had affected him as well, guilt flooded her eyes. However, his facade quickly became stoic. Wondering what hid underneath his mask, her fiery eyes searched his pale saffron eyes. @Ash had hid his emotions well from the world and Athena was somehow able to detect how he was feeling, however, she couldn't figure out what lied underneath Dziban's shield. The silence between them didn't last long, but part of her felt like it had gone on for ages with the anticipation within her. Then, he spoke and when she completely digested his words, she couldn't believe what he had told her.

Was it even possible? How could they have dreamt the same dream? Athena was speechless. She had never heard of such a thing, but a believer of symbols and destiny, she had to believe it happened for a reason. Had it been fate for them to find each other within their dreams then happen upon each other in reality once again? Before she could speak of her wonder, he continued.

What was with her and dying? She had assumed the reason for her memory loss was the fall, but he confirmed her suspicions. However, part of her worried that she may suffer long term side effects from her accident. Her memory loss was more short term, lasting only a few months, but what was in store for her in the future? "I'm not sure how I can repay you..? But, I thank you for saving me that day, and well today too," she said the last part with a hint of a laugh and a smile. Her fiery eyes hinted her smile and gratitude greater. "I must be a good damsel in distress," she remarked with a smirk on her face.

|| Ash is welcome to make an appearance in any thread. ||

A young pronghorn has fallen behind its herd and starved in the snow. +5 Health