Whitefish River up the river

Takes place after the completion of this thread, whenever that may be

he had survived. by some miracle, he had clung to life and survived. and finding little solace on the isle he had washed up upon, after regaining his strength, aditya had seen land across the small channel and swam there, dragging a shuddering body onto the beach. his cuts had re-opened, and he found himself exhausted once again.

but a wanderer he was, and a wanderer he would always be.

he followed water, as a water wolf ought to. first a river, its delta wide and swampy, just across from the island. then he was cloaked in darkness as it flowed into a forest. he lost his way for a while, but regained it finding another small trickle of a stream in the trees. toed that small line until it left the forest and widened into a river again, and it was here that he flung himself on its bank, panting, eyes fluttering sleepily.

the ebony she-wolf he had chanced upon on the island had been nice enough, but he needed more. he was always needing more. he wasn't sure if he would ever find what he was looking for--but he would try, anyway.

AW, but hoping for some Morningside folks... @Grayday or @Dawn or @Pema interested?

for my own timeline's sake, going to say that this occurs a little before her injury!

She had slipped from their borders early that day, mind set on travelling a little downriver, one of the places she had yet to explore. Hunger began to churn in her soon after, and it was with some regret that she remembered that she had neglected to eat from the caches in the past little while. But it hardly mattered; she decided, she could just as easily catch her own prey. 

A few more minutes of scouting had the shape fall into her vision, a barely moving, brown-clad thing. Thinking that she had chanced upon lunch, she approached with a little more vigour. As she comes closer, she realized that before her, lay not a deer, or some other prey, but instead a wolf. Her nose wrinkled at the strong smell of salt as she approached, gaze finding the gashes quickly. She stayed a short distance away, knowing the habit of animals to be fierce when startled or when weak and disturbed. She chuffed, low, hackles raised a fraction, attitude stoic, but uncertain.

a small sound disturbed his rest, and, with some effort, he peeled his eyes open to see a sleek silvery figure close by, golden eyes staring him down. he squinted, trying to make out who it was. a friend? her attitude suggested uncertainty, but not necessarily violence. further inspection revealed a very pretty young she-wolf, rugged like the mountains on the horizon but still full of feminine grace.

"oh! hello, there." with a soft greeting of his own, aditya lurched to his feet. almost instantaneously, his head swam, and he felt himself crash back down onto his haunches, vision blurring dizzily. he gave a rueful chuckle, smiling at her. "my apologies. i'm a little weary from travel."

unable to step closer, he wrapped his banner of a tail around his forepaws and wriggled it in greeting. "my name is aditya. . .but you can call me 'adi.' everyone does." twisting his head the best he could, he gave a short nod towards whence he came. "i washed up on an island over there about a week or so ago. i received help, but i got bored. . .so here i am!"

Pema had set out that morning with a plan to head to the Firestone Hot Springs. As a budding medic she knew that many medicines needed to be soaked and at time boiled in water. If their had been a hot spring some place in Blacktail Deer Plateau she wouldn't have needed to venture off away from the territory. Maybe there was one, but just hidden away. In either case the only place she knew she was going to find a hot springs was to the South West. Once she got there she wasn't sure what she could do. It's not as though they could transport the water and keep it hot. But becomming acustom to the route would make it quicker and easier to get to.

Like when she had first arrived in the Teekon Wilds, she decided to follow along the path of the Whitefish River. Heading south bound. But on her journey she found something possibly more interesting then the hot springs. At first she way Dawn, who she had the chance of meeting a few days prior. Her stance wasn't neutral and she looked hiper focused. Looking past her she way what it was she was uncertain about. 

A larger male, with tan and dark coloration. As she walked up she could see him attempt to stand, but fall onto his back side. He was talking, but she only caught the tail end of it when she approched. Bought how he had washed up on an island further up the river. When she got close enough she could smell the salt in his coat and see the scratched and cuts on him. She imagined how they must burn whenever a grain of salt got near them.

Pema walked up along Dawn's side making a choff noise to let her know she was comming beside her as not to scare her. She glanced over at Dawn to see how she was reacting to the male before saying. "Are you alright? My name is Pema. What did you say your name was I didn't quite get it."

He certainly is peculiar, she decided, but something about her interests her. A grin comes to her face, and she says, "A little weary' might be the understatement of the month. Did you fall off a cliff- or out a tree, perhaps?" her words were light, and with a little tilt of her head, she added ruefully, "I've done that, once."  She drew near, knowing that this male was no threat; not only were his words friendly, he could hardly do much in his current state. He smelled overpoweringly of brine, of travel and with the distinct undertones of blood. She didn't sit, gaze travelling over his thin form, meeting his gaze after a moment and adding "I'm Dawn"

The arrival of Pema had her twist, brief eye contact asking her to stay and help this male; she had taken a liking to him. "You're hungry, I bet - I'll be back." She moved away to pace back upriver, certain that the river would be full of fish, a skill she knew but definitely needed mastering. A short distance away from Pema and Adi, she positioned herself at the water's edge, waiting and watching.

another wolf approached, this time with an offer to help. aditya's eyes lit up at the sight. such pretty girls! what heaven had he stumbled into to be met with such beauty? with a smile at the newcomer, he responded, "hello there, pema. i'm aditya. just call me 'adi,' it's easier."

he turned his head back to dawn. "not a cliff, not a tree. the sea tried to drown me. did a damn good job trying, too, but it didn't know who it was messing with." he squinted, recalling the horrific hours he had endured, and added, "actually, yeah, the wind did blow me off a cliff. but this--" he nodded at his ragged, bloodied pelt "--is mainly the sea's work."

dawn went off after offering to hunt, and his stomach rumbled. he was hungry. hadn't eaten since washing up ashore. "so are you ladies sisters? packmates? friends?" he asked pema. "some pack it must be, if everyone there is as gorgeous as you two." aditya said this last line with a non-lecherous wink, trying to make it clear that he was only jesting, not making a creepy attempt to string her along.

Outside of the pack's borders, Pema felt as though she could be a bit more loose. Not that she was uptight when she was in their territory, but she wanted to always look busy for Grayday, and to be an example for the pups. But out here, with no ranks, other then maybe between her and Dawn everything was alot less serious. Though this Adi's injurys didn't seem to be all that minor. 

As he went on to discribe how he had ended up in his current circumstance it brough a smile and a giggle to Pema's face. Such a paculiar situation it almost seemed like a joke. She didn't mean to make fun of him, but there was always something funny about how some got into the trouble they got into. "A fall and a drowning I'm not sure if that's good luck or bad luck seeing as how your still here." both of the situations were rather unlucky, but the ability to live through it with only those injuries seemed very lucky.

Pema nodded at Dawn and watched as she moved some yards away and stared into the water at the swimming fish, ready to catch some dinner for their injured and hungry companion. Her attention was brought back to Adi when he asked about her and Dawn's realationship. "Packmates. We both are apart of the Morningside pack on the blacktail deer plateau just north of here."

She was shocked by his compliment and it caused her to blush for a few moments. She hadn't been complimented for her looks very often and didn't expect anyone to. It wasn't that she though she looked ugly, but others often complimented her effort or personality. "I do love it there... your not to bad yourself." she added returning a similar compliment. 

"I could examine your injuries if you would like. I'm the packs medic actually."

Her hearing was the opposite of weak, and she continued to listen to their conversation as she stared into the water. Luckily she was, for it wasn't long before her face burned beneath her fur and her brow furrowed in perplexed sheepishness. She suddenly found it very easy to be completely engaged in fishing, and on her second plunge into the river, came up with a streamlined, silver form between her jaws. As always, she was impressed with its muscular body, and its intent writhing, and was quick to twist her muzzle and end it in a single, graceful move. Pushing away the heat on her face, she padded back to the two, presenting the fish to Adi, gaze meeting his a moment before she stepped back and sat. She surveyed him once more, adding thoughtfully "The sea sounds like a bitch." She had almost journeyed there, once; but she and Aoife had never made it there. She could imagine it from her old friend's description well enough, but she had never told Dawn about this side of the sea.

plagued by fatigue, he had nearly forgotten about all the superficial injuries he still harbored from his incident. now that pema mentioned it, his skin burned and ached, and a small contusion on his left shoulder throbbed. "don't think i've ever met a proper medic," aditya said, fascinated. "i've never been part of a pack, sooo. . ."

with a groan, he lurched back onto all fours, trying to figure out if there was anything wrong with him besides scrapes and bruises. all his bones seemed to be intact, and he wasn't bleeding terribly badly. "i'm going to leave treatment up to you, but what i really need is a bath, get all this salt off," he concluded with a smile. before he could wade into the stream, dawn trotted up, a silver fish in her jaws. he accepted her gift with rapturous gratitude and dug in, thinking to himself that this was the most delicious thing he had tasted in a while. the freshwater fish helped to wash the brine from his tongue.

after he had finished eating, he looked at dawn and grinned. "naa, the sea's not a bitch. i blame the storm more than anything, really," aditya laughed. "but it's so beautiful otherwise. i love to dance in the waves and swim in the blue shallows." he surveyed her curiously. "you've not been there, i'm assuming?" it was more of a rhetorical question than anything; he figured the young girl hadn't gotten out to the coast, by her expression.

"morningside," he echoed pema. "it sounds wonderful. will you ladies take me there?"

He explained that he had part of a pack before, and therefore had never experienced being treated by a medic. It wasn't uncommon for a pack to not have a medic. After all before her, Morningside had been without a Medic. Lucky for them that she had decided to further her knowledge as a medic seeing as how many members seemed to be a magnet for injury or illness. 

He said he would be willing for her to look him over and suggest some treatments but that what he really wanted now was to wash away all the salt caught up in his fur. "That would definatly be a good first step. I imagine the salt in those wounds don't feel the best." she stated referencing the common phrase. Other then cleaning him off, she thought of some pastes of things he could eat to help him heal and avoid infection. 

The sea had drowned him but a storm had left him stranded it seemed. He didn't sound hateful of the ocean and even described it as beautiful. Pema wasn't sure if his question was directed towards Dawn, as she returned with a fresh fish or to her. In either case she replied, "I've seen it from a distance, but have never experienced it first had. Though I do enjoy lakes and streams. They're the guilds I use when I travel."

When he asked if the two would escort him to the pack, she wasn't sure what to reply. Did he simply was to view it or would he be willing to join. She didn't think that Grayday would necessarily like it if they were just giving tours to outsiders of the pack. But he was injured, would he be able to stay at least for as long as it too for him to heal. "I don't see why we can't stop by." she looked over at Dawn trying to read what she thought about the situation. "Who knows maybe you like it so much that you choose to stay." her voice in a somewhat questioning voice. 

Watching him eat with a smile dancing on her muzzle, Dawn thought he was rather; well, good looking, she supposed. The way he described the sea sans storm sounded wonderful, and Dawn decided quickly she must head there, one day. Soon, too, hopefully. Blue shallows sounded interesting, she didn't believe she had seen blue water before. At his question, she offered a shake of her head, affirming what he already knew. Pema replied as well, and her gaze flickered to her in a brief, quizzical moment, before settling back on Aditya. His next question was not entirely unexpected; if she were the injured loner, she would like a refuge, too. She tilted her head, though she did not have to consider for long. "I don't see why not; my Da ought to accept you, if you decided that you liked it. Providing, of course, your skill-set includes more than falling off cliffs." She said, mirth in her gaze and words light. Quite obviously he ought to have some other skills to provide to the pack; a skill-less wolf was a dead wolf. She glanced at Pema, adding then, "It's not too much further. Do you need to rest some more?"

pema looked a bit more wary than dawn did at his question of seeing their pack, but they both eventually acquiesced. at the very least, it was somewhere to stay through the winter. and he was able enough to do any tasks they needed him to do, once he gained more strength.

"oh, if it's not far, then yes, i'd love to go now," aditya said with a smile. "but let me do this first," he added to pema, taking ginger steps into the water before he was submerged back-deep in the stream. it was a slow, lazy current, and the crisp autumn water washing the salt from his pelt and cooling the burning of his wounds felt heavenly.

he closed his eyes for a moment, enjoying the sensation, but soon popped them open with a golden flash. he feared he'd fall asleep where he stood if he kept them shut for too long. after a brief pause, he hauled himself back out of the water and, making sure he didn't spray his two new female companions, shook the excess moisture from his fur, groaned, and stretched.

"okay, ladies," aditya went on, wagging his tail. "lead the way."

i'll go ahead and fade here and start a thread in morningside soon!