Sequoia Coast The Lost Princes

A pale wolf woke to coughing, sputtering. Water spewed out from his mouth through coughs from in his chest. He breathed the first breath of fresh air, still lying there on the cold ground. He tried to stand up, still coughing a bit but found he was still quite weak. Opening his eyes, he could barely see. His head was pounding. This place looked...odd. There was no sky, and nearby he could hear water...It came to him slowly, somehow they were in a cave. Looking to the entrance he barely caught sight of some daylight. 

Where was he? How did he get here? He couldn't remember, and it hurt his head as he tried to figure it out. What he did know, was his name. Arrille. And he had somewhere to be.

@Prince

The fall had battered the boy's lithe body in ways he couldn't keep track of. Every impact instantly felt bruising-- some along his flank felt worse, and by the time he was knocked into unconsciousness (with a sharp crack of his head against rock) he was gasping. And then it was dark.
Had he been cursed with the ability to think through his subsequent journey through the waters, Prince would have been certain he had died. Or that he was about to, anyway. The first thing he felt when he woke up was confusion. Immediately he began to choke and retch, coughing up salty water, and the effort sent a sharp pain through his skull. He gasped a little, flattening his ears.
Though he could not see himself to know, the boy felt as awful as he looked. His pelt was scraggly and blood-stained, the saltwater having soaked him but not done the service of removing all of the blood from his various wounds. It crusted into his fur now, crystallizing in a pinkish-red color around where he was hurt. His muzzle, his head-- ow, his head-- and his right flank were all decorated with impressive gashes.
Prince looked up and around the cave, not yet seeing the other there with him. He tried and failed to figure out where he was, but as he delved into these thoughts something else struck him-- home. Bean. His trip to Drageda!
Something must have gone wrong. Immediately the boy began to panic, sitting up far too quickly and immediately feeling dizzy and nauseous with the effort. He pushed himself forward nonetheless, starting to anxiously pace around the cave and sniff it thoroughly. Surely Bean would be looking for him, at least? If she could even find him here.

Arrille heard the coughing from another. He tried to stand up, shifting around to see them. They seemed familiar...the same white fur as him. At first he was cautious, wondering who it was and if they were a danger. But the sense of familiarity didn't seem like that...he felt there was something, but he didn't know their connection. 

"Who...are you all right?" he asked, opting for a different approach mid question. He tried to crawl forward, somewhat worried about them. They both seemed in bad shape. "Do you...do you know where we are?"

The voice startled him, and Prince flinched back before he even fully caught sight of the other. He was struck by how familiar he seemed-- pale like himself, but surely that wasn't the reason. Trying to think about it only made him more confused, though, so he pushed the thought aside for now and regarded the other a bit warily. The strange wolf seemed as battered as him, and briefly he wondered how they had both gotten here. There weren't any others around...

I don't know. He admitted after a few beats, the almost-whisper meant as a response to both questions. Prince hated how broken he sounded. Who are you?

Arrille stopped as the other flinched. Who was this, and why was he so, so familiar? It was so confusing to him, he had to know. He yearned to know. "Uh...Arrille?" He looked the other over. "Who are you?" he asked back. He found he was a bit wet, and now he was starting to shiver. "You...you cold too?" 

The boy softened when the stranger gave his name, ghosting a few steps closer though he winced with each movement. Something hurt terribly inside of him, and the thought made him panic a little. Things weren't supposed to hurt inside of you, were they? He tried to ignore the thought, not wanting to have a break down in front of Arrille (though at this point it was inevitable, even if Prince wouldn't admit it).
I'm Prince. He offered, flicking an ear at the question and realizing he was rather cold. Yes... and something hurts... inside of me. Here. The boy gestured to his right flank with his muzzle, a helpless look on his face. He didn't look as if he really expected any help from Arrille-- rather, he was just telling him because he didn't know what else to do. There was a childlike fear written into his expression, his barriers dropping as he realized he was truly injured.

Arrille tried to stand, but one of his legs was in pain...well, rather both were, but his right more so than his left foreleg. He pushed through the throbbing pain as he pushed himself up, holding the more injured leg up as he hobbled over. 

He whined a bit as he almost fell, his legs hurting more as he moved over closer to the other, who's name was Prince. "Prince...that's...that's a funny name" he said, trying to lighten the mood. "Do you...do you want me to check where abouts it hurts?" Arrille was no medic, but he wanted to help in anyway he could.

Prince didn't know what he meant by saying his name was funny, but he did know the other boy's offer was kind and he moved forward to meet him, to stop him.
You shouldn't move too much. He told him gently, daring to press against his side slightly to urge him to sit down. Maybe neither of us should, for awhile.
Well, he thought it was the best idea, anyway. There wasn't much they could do, and clearly they were both injured-- despite that they had just met, Prince felt a strange attachment to the other already. Concern, too, growing in intensity. He was too familiar, and right now nothing was familiar to Prince, so he clung to it. Had the boy had any idea how bad this would be for him later, he might have just thrown himself back into the ocean. But he was blissfully unaware, instead sniffing at the other's scruff with innocent concern.
You're wounded! Prince was dismayed, moving to draw his tongue over the wound he had inflicted (though he didn't know it now).

Arrille looked at him with false confusion, as if acting like he was fine. Putting on the tough guy act. "Me? I'm fine. You should be worried about yourself" he said. He shivered again. It was getting colder, and he could see the light disappearing slowly at the entrance of the cave. 

"It's...it's gettin-" He stopped when Prince siad he was hurt, and he tried to look himself over. "Hurt? Where?" He ached all over, and stung all over. Until Prince licked over his scruff and he let out a warning growl at the sudden rise in pain. "S...sorry." 

Prince shrank back when Arrille growled at him, ears flattening submissively. He knew he wasn't in any position to fight, whatever the other thought about his own state. The boy relaxed a little at the following apology, though he did not try to clean the wound anymore.
Your scruff is all torn up. He murmured, not quite meeting the other's eyes now. Hurt as he was, Prince could not find it in himself to be anything but subdued. After a moment, he half-collapsed half-lowered himself to the ground, too weak and clumsy to do anything properly. He could feel the cave getting colder as well, and wondered if they would both freeze to death through the night. At least it would be peaceful.

The larger boy tried to look over at his scruff, but he couldn't exactly see the damage caused? After some hesitation, he prodded Prince with his nose to show he meant no harm after seeing how he shrank back. "This...might sound weird...but do you think we should...you know...since it's getting cold, and sticking together would keep us warm, and..." Was he getting flustered? "Well, I'd rather not freeze...that's what I mean" he finally let out.

At this point, Prince didn't care if he froze to death. He was so tired, so beaten... but listening to Arrille's request, he couldn't help but nod. The boy could not be so selfish as to deny the other his life. He had not missed the way the other had nosed him, either, noting it though he showed little outward reaction.
Alright. He shifted a bit so the other could lay next to him comfortably. Any other day it might have made Prince uncomfortable to have a stranger so close. But not today. His pride was as entirely broken as his body.

He got close to Prince, hesitantly at first. He could feel his own pride diminishing, but he still kept close to Prince. Sharing warmth between the two. "We...We'll make it through this, okay? Can't die out here now..." And he would make it through. He planned on it.

Prince shivered a little at the contact, but soon realized how much he enjoyed the warmth. He pressed closer in spite of himself, a little comforted by the other's words. Maybe he was right. Maybe everything would be okay...
Yeah... The boy murmured, pausing a few beats to look over Arrille. Suddenly he felt an intense wave of concern. Let me help you-- let me clean your wounds.

Arrille was hesitant at first. But then, he nodded to Prince, putting his head down to allow him to. "What...what about your muzzle?" It was as if something had raked claws down along it...or teeth. He felt an odd feeling in his mouth but pushed it back.

The boy set to work immediately, brisk but gentle as he cleaned Arrille's wounds. He noticed all the salt that was crusting in his fur as he dried, and fought the urge to grimace at the taste. Nonetheless, he was diligent in his efforts to remove it. He let a small silence stretch after the other's question, simply working on grooming him.
It'll be fine. Prince assured him, voice soft when he finally responded. Thinking it might be uncomfortable for the other to be so salt-covered, he continued even after the wounds themselves had been cleaned-- assuming Arrille didn't ask him to stop. If allowed, Prince would make sure his companion for the day (or however long they were trapped) was clean from the neck up. He might not have been so bold normally, but it was in a way a selfish act as well; grooming Arrille gave him distraction. Nurturing another was... comforting.

Arrille tensed up as he felt Prince cleaning at his unknown wound, it stung. But he could care less, Prince was helping him. And he planned to help him back, once given the chance. Then he continued cleaning up and over, and Arrille was at first confused. "Um...how big is the wound?" he asked, as he wasn't feeling the sting.

Not that big. He paused only a moment to comment, then went back to grooming for a minute. Prince didn't really think it strange, but when his clouded mind caught up to the confusion in Arrille's tone he gathered the other wanted an explanation. Still not quite aware he was doing anything out of the ordinary, he stopped again to add: You're covered in salt from the sea.
Then he got back to it again-- assuming he remembered these first hours after the fall, he would later be embarrassed at how oblivious he was. It wasn't likely he would remember, though, and it perhaps wasn't clear if this would be a blessing or a curse.

Arrille slightly turned his head a bit, still confused. If it wasn't that big, why was he grooming him so much? Though he couldn't complain really, it...comforted him. Like a feeling he hadn't felt for so long. Grooming from a parent, or a friend, or...something like it. He had not felt it for so long.

"Really? A lot of salt?" he asked. "What...what about you? You must be covered too...and the cuts on your muzzle don't look nice." His tone was laced with worry for this wolf.

"Is it...is it just me or...do you seem familiar?" he finally asked. Arrille was sure he knew him from somewhere. His head ached more. Had he bumped it on something?

Prince was finishing grooming Arrille's head when he asked his questions, and he paused to swipe his tongue a few times over the other's face in various areas before he pulled back to answer.
It's better now, a little bit. He glanced over the rest of the other boy's body, but figured he would ask if he needed help with that. Then he really considered what Arrille had asked, and became distinctly aware of how uncomfortable he was. Salt in his wounds-- literally. Just as he was going to answer, the other pointed out something that made him stop, chilled.
Prince looked like he had seen a ghost. You-- you feel it too?

Arrille blinked his eyes are Prince groomed over his face, being this close was...unusual. To anyone that wasn't family, it was uncomfortable but he got used to it, or wasn't bothered too much. That, or he didn't show. "Thank you" he said after a long pause. He didn't usually thank others. This was an occasion where it felt necessary. Even if he had been somewhat uncomfortable. 

He nodded slowly. "I don't know how...or why...my head aches too" he murmured quietly at the last bit. "We should...we should get some rest."

You're welcome. Prince nosed his cheek, pleased that the other wolf was appreciative of his efforts. He shifted a little against him, comfortably warm now that they had been sharing heat for a time. It was pleasant in a foreign sort of way to be pressed against Arrille; they didn't know each other, he thought, but there was an inexplicable connection between them.
He rested his head near Arrille's at his suggestion, not quite touching his head or neck area because Prince was still salt-covered and didn't want to ruin his own work. The intense salty taste while cleaning Arrille hadn't been pleasant, and he didn't intend for that effort to go to waste.

Arrille managed a quick smile. He shivered a bit, but could feel they were slowly warming up. This he could get used to, but wouldn't do so for too long. Prince rested his head near his, not touching. Arrille shifted his a little so it was just off from touching, breathing slowly as he slowly fell to sleep in the cave.