Swift River Hold My Tongue

The world was filled with change. The seasons came, the seasons went. The sun rose, and the sun fell. The moon and star shined and in the glory of the sun they dissapeared. Rainclouds cried pouring rain, and rivers flowed. And yet they could dissapear. Just like younglings grew, and wolves became ill, old, or merely depart. It was an enevitable thing change. The most constant thing about being on the dramatic sphere. Somehow he wanted to prolong, and speed this unspoken law. What good could come from a want, it was like wishing on a shooting star. Nothing. Some how he knew that was the way it was suppose to be, but he could always dream. Imagine what it'd be like without the firm truth. Family all together, no goodbyes, no uncertain of the future. The sky was a dark blue, millions of sparkling specks cast overhead. The moon hung lazily like hook, and he sat in the awful quiet staring at it's glowing white. The air was warm for a winter's night, and he wished to hear the melody of a cricket, or toad. He knew he would not, but again his ears cocked high as if he almost could with the rush of the swift river. Lifting his maw toward the sky, he drew his lips in a tight circle, strumming on his deeper chords he sang a rather long O into the night. It carried like a steady tune, neither joyful nor filled with sorrow.

Shuffling, he folded his limbs closer to his underbelly staring off into the crystal sparkle of the snow. It was beautiful, and he wondered what was out there now. He still had yet to find the courage to venture far in the night, though his eyes could see cleary. A small shiver tingled at the base of his spine, thinking he saw a pair of eyes. Deep worry set in his face, his nostrils twitched trying to smell the owner. He was not far from the den, and hoped it was only other Swift River wolf. Swallowing the stale taste on his tongue, he rose to his limbs. "Hello?" He asked, a mix of fear with his steady question. Who else was out? Had he woken someone? Somehow he prayed he had, and they were only checking on him, and it was not something looking for a late snack.

(This post was last modified: Feb 23, 2011, 07:30 AM by Triell.)

are you with me through it all?

<blockquote>

Ozera had been, to put it mildly, been having trouble falling asleep lately. Every waking moment was painful, sure, but those moments swathed in the dark cloak of sleep: they were worse. What was physical pain compared to those strange eyes that plagued her sleep and dogged her every step and falter. It was even worse to be jarred roughly from her nightmares by that feeling of falling, like she was literally falling asleep. In a flash, she would be awake, in even more pain after realizing that she had been thrashing around a bit. During the night, in the territory of demons and terrors, she flat out refused to fall asleep. Doze maybe, but not sleep.

In the case of this night, Ozera's guard had been broken down. The uncanny, cold radiance of star-shine had rocked her to sleep with the soft night breeze. At the moment, Ozera was entrenched in the muck of an illusion that felt all too real. There were flashes of rough cliff faces and a phantom wolf. Without seeing her face, Ozera knew that two very strange looking eyes would be set in there somewhere. The thought chilled her. Why? She asked herself over and over again, Why? Except she didn't know why she was asking why, which in turn caused her to ask why for difference reasons. All she could say was why. In her dream she was but the cousin of the owl, curious and confused on all accounts.

Yet out of no where the fingers of a low howl reached from reality and into her dreams, where it brushed past her ears. In the dream, it came from the ghost-wolf. Now it was looking at her, walking towards her. Bewildered, Ozera tried to scramble backwards. It was on her now, it breath snaking around her like a wreath. Her heart beat wildly against her ribs, wishing to be out of these confines, out of here and into the night. Claustrophobia quickly overtook her. "Why?" Ozera groaned. "Why?" But it didn't matter. The specter brushed past her, touching her just enough to throw Ozera off balance and down, down, down the rabbit hole and into infinity...

She awoke with a shudder abruptly. Her wide yellow eyes caught the moonlight as she thrashed her head about, looking around her. There were no craggy stone facades here, no white demons. But before relief could still the rapid clamor in her chest, she heard a voice in the night. Hello? Ozera nearly jumped out of her skin and into the sky. But when she felt the renewed agony in her sides, she realized that she could not possibly be dreaming still. So it was probably safe to venture a polite exchange with this incorporeal voice. "Hello, indeed!" From where she sat, in her bed of tree roots, she could not easily reposition herself to get a look at whoever was out there in the darkness, so she took a deep whiff. "Triell, is that you? Jesus, you nearly scared me to death!" Her tone, however, was not angry. Mostly it was just breathless, anxious, with a hint of humor.</blockquote>

The agonized groans of another dung into delicate ears, were they asking why? Weight shifted between his long appendages, ears only perched upward to catch any further sound. One single step was taken in the direction of an elder tree. Something was definitely in there, a wolf but who...he could not understand or recognize the tune because of the tree. The black lad's hairs started to bristle at the edge of his nape, he sniffed only Indru's smell was dominant to his nose. The wind blowing his to the unknowns. Now the wolf was moving, and his bones creaked together bracing his form. He was ready to meet an array of cuss words. However, he soon knew who'd he'd disturbed.

Ozera...oh dear. She was someone who needed all the rest she could get, and here he was waking her up scaring the jeebers out of her. The breath he held he puffed in an exaggerated motion, no longer his chest full. The need to investigate now venturing to her little bed he answered, "Yes, tis me. I'm sorry Zera." A gentle whine coaxed from his vocals. Trying to see her, all he saw was the glow of her brilliant eyes. However his vision adjusted and the soft strokes of her fur a tangled mess."I didn't mean to startle you, but you made me stop breathing for a sec.." Grinning with his teeth, he nudged softly at her chin. Tail half-heartedly wagging behind him as it was bound to do he cast a look in her made bedroom, "Why the heck are ya sleeping in there?" his tone was teasing, but held the familiar curiosity he was so keen to have. Personally Triell didn't know if he would ever sleep in just a tree. The idea was a little haunting reminder, and secondly it didn't look the most comfy thing. Personally he would have felt a bit trapped in the space. Did she not like the pack den? No, he could see her more trying not to be a bother or needing her own quiet to recovery. Wait go there bud.

Shoulders hung down slightly, but his grin did not vanish all the way. Maybe he could help her out or something. Maybe she'd need a drink, or a little fresh air. "Need some help out?" Couldn't hurt to ask, he was not going to nod off any time, and least he could do was make her comfertable like the prince charming she'd claimed him to be. He really did worry for her, especially the one leg. They still had not spoken of the ordeal, for she still had no answers. Triell had let that part go, his questions lingering to Indru and hers meeting. Indru seemed as fond of her as he, and he wondered how that'd come to be. Hmm, this maybe he could ask, but held his tongue. Knowing to first take care of her, make sure she was all right. After all she could want to go back to bed, and Triell had never ending musings.

(This post was last modified: Feb 23, 2011, 07:31 AM by Triell.)

are you with me through it all?

<blockquote>

His heart had stopped too, which Ozera found incredibly amusing. Even two harmless friends could be disguised as potential threats in the gauzy darkness. But she knew that Triell never meant to wake her or anyone else up. He was too genteel to ever even conceive of going around in the middle of the night and startling the whole pack. "Oh, don't worry about it. I wasn't exactly in a land of bunnies and rainbows," she snorted. "I think the wake up call came just in time." Wisps of the nightmare still disturbed her, teasing her senses maliciously. Truth be told, she would have preferred never falling asleep in the first place, but there was nothing that could have been done about that now.

Triell seemed humored by her choice of a den. Quite frankly, she didn't much like it either. "Eh, I can't really crawl through those rocks very easily. I can barely crawl at all. And I'd hate to be such a bother to everyone in my condition, have someone step on me and then listen to them apologize half the night for a silly little accident." What she didn't mention was that she was perhaps a little apprehensive about being with the rest of the Tainns. What if they didn't like her? What if they resented the old bag of bones Indru dragged back to weigh down on their pack? So it was much better for her to sleep out here.

"Mnnn, sure. I could use a little midnight walk... or, midnight flounder, really. I'm dreadfully thirsty." Lately she had done a lot of resting, since exercising was such a pain in the rear. There was not much opportunity for her to go to the river, even when she did feel like getting up. Perhaps if she borrowed a wolf to lean on she would have been fine, but she hated the thought of forcing her weight on someone for such a tedious little trip. However, with Triell she almost felt like she was denying him the opportunity to validate his chivalry.

When she said not to worry, he took the idea to do just that. She did not go into details of her dream, and it was enough to clearly say it hadn't been pleasant. This was something he wouldn't ask about, because he really didn't want to know. If he knew what plagued her sleep, it would set off his own nightmare illusions no doubt. "Well, I'm glad for that then." He answered, somehow wishing she could of slept better but he did not know any cure for that. To bad there wasn't a special stick a wolf could chomp on, and dream with ease. Fancy testing that theory. Find a stick and never wake up. Dark lids brushed over his eyes.Now he understood, it would be hard to get in and out of the den with three legs. Cocked his cran to the left, "Aww, I see. Can't say I blame ya." He smiled, partially understanding. He had liked to sleep near his brothers, then at least Indru. Since their parting however he'd grown accustomed to sleeping by himself.

"Well I'm sure we can find a better spot for you." He stated, thinking of his own little burrow, it wasn't that little actually kinda big. He went a little overboard with remodeling one of the single dens. Pushing it well beyond the roots of the tree. He liked it, despite that knowing he'd fill it eventually. "I gotta my own over there, you'd fit just right." His nose indicated behind her tree, further down the side of the main den.

Accepting his invitation, the young lad walked a few paces backward to let her crawl out. He did not feel he could help with that part. Thick ears swiveled, and he took a glance round his shoulder. The river's song was all that moving now, and with the moon it would brighten their path. Breathing deep, he liked the scent of his home, and shifted to the side of the tree to stand beside Zera. "All right, a drink it is." The black male smiled to his dear friend, waiting for her cues on how he was to help exactly. He knew not to be in a rush, and was quite fine with that.

(This post was last modified: Feb 23, 2011, 07:31 AM by Triell.)

are you with me through it all?

<blockquote>

Except Ozera was neither intuitive nor any good at reading minds. As she slowly crawled out, trying her best to ignore the torment she was putting her chest and leg though as the tree roots scraped against her, she began to think of where to begin. Lately, she had been putting a lot of thought into it —she had little else to do, in any case— and she had decided on a few things. Sort of. "Triell," she whispered, most of her breath stolen away by agony, "I think... I think I fell off of the mountain. That's the only..." She floundered clumsily through the pages of her mental thesaurus, fumbling with the words that appeared. "...Logical explanation." How else would she have broken so much of her body? Rivers and trees and wolves were not known to spontaneously inflict blunt force trauma. So, while she really couldn't be sure of what happened, she assumed that her conclusion had to be logical. Honestly, she was not very familiar with the concept.

Triell had offered a better den, but Ozera had other things on her mind. As nice as it was of him, Ozera was sure that the den along with it's offer would still be there when they got back. There was no need to reply. The a more pressing matter at that moment was to figure out how they would even get to the water, so Ozera was forced, momentarily, to sweep the thoughts of her accident off to the side. While she had felt guilty about leaning on Indu because of his shoulder, he was a full grown, powerful male that was without a doubt capable of supporting her. Triell lacked most of those credentials. The shadow was full sized, sure, but he had not filled out and she had no way of judging how strong he was. I guess we'll just have to see. "Uhm, Triell, you'll have to come over here to my left to support me. If you can't hold my weight, we'll have to figure something else out, but we might at least try." </blockquote>

Watching her tedious struggle was heart renching, because of how helpless he felt. She really needed to get better, he would love to see her better. Would she ever walk normal again? The young lad hid the dark plagues, making sure not to drop his smile even by a millameter. Time would heal her, he told himself. They just needed it to fly fast. The gentle whisper of his name brought his head closer to her lips. Zera had not had any explaination for her injury, only knowing someone had not attacked. For her to whisper it with harsh breath, made his heart squeeze tight in his chest, like it was a metal trap. The mountain. He had not known Ozera was living on the mountain of dire. Like she said it was a logical explantion for it. The black lad took in a half breath, a rough texture when it pressed in his lungs. What did he say to this. Okay, ya don't do that again. Hardly. Being careful, he brushed his forehead to hers. "You certainly fell pretty far...but your safe here now. You don't have to go back there." The slightly deeper tone he was getting, was spoke with a serenity, trying to sooth as if he'd shatter something by speaking too loud. Least he did his best to try and comfort her. It was the least he could do, and wanted to assure her her home was here. Safe and sound.

Happy with directions he stood at her left, she did not hold back on what if they couldn't do this. Triell wasn't full of himself, only confident between the two of them they could make it to the river's edge. It wasn't awfully far, and they had all the time in the world....or might as well have had. He was at least her size, not mass, but close length and hegth wise. Yes, he could do this, he actually pumped himself up. Ready to do this. "Well I think with seven legs we'll manage. If not it'll just take a little bit. We can always stop." Shrugging his shoulders, he met her gaze trying to convey his ability to do this one thing. Least ready to try, as she had spoken. He then shifted a little closer to her side, so she would not have to reach to steady herself with his help.

(This post was last modified: Feb 24, 2011, 12:26 AM by Triell.)

are you with me through it all?

<blockquote><ul>feel free to skip a little forward after this to the stream or whatever :P</li></ul>

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Indeed, she must have fallen very far. Ozera began to wonder just how far one had to fall to be in so much pain. Then again, how far was too far? How close had she been to her death? A whimper accompanied the very thought. For a moment, her dark, shaggy head flicked towards the east, where she knew those formidable crags would rise from the earth and into the sky. Fortunately, in the deep veil of the night, with all these trees around her, there was nothing to catch her eyes on, except a flash of white. A wolf? That wolf? Shaking her head roughly, she exhaled softly, unaware that she had been holding her breath. You just woke up. You're tired. You're seeing things. But for some reason, she still ventured, "Do you think I fell?" But of course he would think she fell. Hadn't he met her after a tumble into Hidden Grotto? Surely, though, there was some reason for these nightmares. "I mean. I'm clumsy, but... I keep. Seeing this wolf in my dreams. I don't know. It's strange."

As she was saying this, she slowly hefted herself upright onto her three functional legs, thinking how reassuring it was to know that she would never have to see those awful peaks if she didn't want to. She belonged here, now, beside Triell. This pain didn't belong, but it would only stay so long. Maybe by the spring she'd be alright. Right now she couldn't worry about the future of her injured leg, that was a little too much for her when she factored in her age. The youngster had closed some of the distance between them now, so that all Ozera had to do was lean. Walking was the real hard part, though. "Do you think I could have been pushed?"</blockquote>

ooc;trying to turn my character's against each othe ehhh j/k lol
The whimper brought on his full attention, she was keen on figuring her tragedy out. Of coarse he wanted to help, maybe then she would sleep better...get better. When she asked if he thought she fell it seemed plausible. She hadn't been the most coridnated wolf when he'd met her. Now he'd never be sure if that was really a usual thing of hers. Some how he could see her, stumbling off the mountain. Wrong turn, one mistep. But before he could speak she continued. A wolf? That's what was scaring her, what she was wondering about. He could tell this bothered her, and decided to thoroughly think about it. Someone could have helped her fall he supposed. Why would someone push her off? His uncle Honijo had formed Midnight Plateau and he doubted they were a malicous bunch. A few loners on the other hand.What would be the purpose of pushing a poor wolf off the great heigth? He didnt picture Ozera with enemies. One gained nothing from that, enless they had some sick pleasure for seeing pain. Or something.

Triell was quiet for a long time, until they actually made it to the river. Which wasn't a huge amount of time, but enough the silence was obvious. Face was wrinkled with turmoil, and he stopped just at the edge of the water. Doing his best to hold still so she could reach a drink. He sighed a heavy sigh, his voice troubled. "I don't know. Why would somone push you? Your nice and sweet. You haven't an arch nemesis we don't know about do you?" He tacked on the last part with a little girn,trying to come over as teasing but his words didn't lose the serious tone he held. He breathed in the crisp air, trying to clear his mind. Then let it brush roughly out of his lips. Do you know who this wolf is,..in your dreams?" He was not trying to make it worse, only help her solve the mystery. Maybe if she remembered who she could answer if they'd push her or not.

(This post was last modified: Feb 24, 2011, 06:30 PM by Triell.)

are you with me through it all?

<blockquote><ul>:P couldn't resist. too amusing.</li></ul>

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An arch nemesis —now there was a thought. Except Ozera couldn't seriously remember ever having any enemies, and she was unable to tell if Triell was pulling her leg or not. His smile said one thing and his tone said another. Perhaps that's how it was with the whole lot of the Tainns. Noticing that she was drifting off into another daze, something she had begun to do quite often lately, she flicked her head sharply. Enemies... enemies. Truly she believed that she had gotten off on the proper foot with everyone she met so far. Deep in the catacombs of her memory, however, was a voice that whispered a dark secret to her: You trust too willingly.

Wait. Another flick of the head. I don't believe that. She was determined to go blind if it meant seeing the silver lining in even the darkest thunderstorms. No. Whatever told her that just now was obviously lying to her. It was late, she thirsty, she was being delirious, that was all! Were it possible to read minds, perhaps the eavesdropper would have been galled by the irony of Ozera's insane willingness to trust others and distrust herself. Visibly, she battled with this strange, dark, visiting thought that had come to roost in her head. The hint of a snarl curled at her lips as she extended her neck and reached down to drink the half frozen stream-water.

The wolf in her dreams? Ozera honestly hadn't considered the fact that she ought to recognize her —mostly since she didn't. Once more, her head shook wildly, flicking icicles of cold water that caught the moonlight like clichés about the darkness. "I can't remember ever seeing that wolf before," she barked pensively. Buried deep inside herself for the moment, Ozera contemplated the mask her tormentor wore in the nightmares. "Strangest thing, though. The wolf has two completely different colored eyes. One yellow, and the other blue. As if blue isn't rare enough." Warily, she smiled, amending, "I don't think there could really be a real wolf out there with eyes like that."

But then why did she still feel like she had been pushed? </blockquote>