Redtail Rise I'm walking here!

Adeline slipped up the mountainside until it leveled out. She had expected to see trees, but there was nothing like that here. What remained were the memories- the stumps, the ashes- of what was once. She stepped forward slowly, deliberately, as if it was a sacred place. She had never seen such destruction before and she wondered what had caused it. It had to be something great, something powerful, to uproot trees that were growing for dozens, if not hundreds, of years.

The stumps sported raised, sharp edges where the trunk had been torn from its base and thrown about.  It was such a depressing scene, and Adeline frowned as she walked through it. She didn't see the remains of any wolves, so there was at least that. 

Tuathal had taken the very long way west, pinballed between hostile land and claims he preferred to avoid. But there seemed to be no pack here, only the choke of flame-charred wood and the lingering smell of ash. He slid through the trees.

The soot sullied his paws a dull shade of grey, and he eyed the effect with a raised brow. Interesting. He toyed his tongue against his teeth and considered, then collapsed himself to the ground and rolled his back against the ashen cover. Clouds of grey clutched the air, both around and within - and he realized pretty much as soon as his lungs seized up that maybe that was dumb - and he felt himself catch with a fit of coughing.

Thanks for joining!

She hadn't seen the male approach the area she was in. She had been looking the other way, distracted by a couple of birds that flew off abruptly. She had assumed she was the one that startled them, so she hadn't bothered to look around. She took several more steps forward, intent on exploring the ash-covered territory some more. 

The sound of coughing had her head jerking around to find the cause of it. Another wolf, who looked covered in ash, as well as surrounded by a cloud of it, seemed to be trying to expel the dust from his lungs. Adeline made her way over, careful not to stir up any more ash than she had to. Are you alright? she asked, concern lacing her voice. While she felt fine, she wasn't sure if the ash was toxic if one inhaled too much.

<3 It's my pleasure!

His eyes stung from the thick, unsettled cloud, and between the coughing and the sting of filmy tears, he didn't have the benefit of seeing his company's approach. Thankfully, she met him with her voice, and her presence - thought sudden - didn't startled him nearly as much as his encounter in the forest down south. Now if she had decided to simply watch him until everything settled, chances are he would have soured just as quickly as with Larkspur - with twice as strong a regret - but thankfully he had the time and the mind to think.

What Tutathal didn't have was the breath to say much, nor the eyes to see anything but a blur of shadows and shapes. So he nodded with a vigorous nod of his head and he wheezed out the most convincing, "Oh, yeah! Totally," he could manage between hackings and coughs, while he tried to figure out if the fuzzy outline he was rapidly blinking and peering at through the dissipating haze of the ash and his tears were the stranger or just another stump.

He continued to cough, and Adeline grew worried, even as he tried to tell her he was fine. His body's reaction to the dust was anything but fine. Her gaze darted around as her brain tried to think. Then, she spotted a rather large stump that looked relatively flat. She looked back to the male. 

Come on, we need to get you out of the cloud, she said, her own lungs beginning to get irritated with the ash, as well. She attempted to nudge his shoulder in the direction that she wanted him to go. She hoped he would cooperate and go to the stump, without stirring up so much ash on the way.

He still couldn't see very well, but he could feel just fine. When a touch reached out to his shoulder and nudged him, presumably to usher him out of the cloud, he recoiled, and through his coughs wheezed out, "I said I'm fine." He wasn't helpless, he didn't need some stranger to show him out. But the click of his teeth against his sharpened words vibrated through his clenched jaw, and he felt his cheeks burn with an unpleasant warmth.

Where was his head these days? His ears slacked, and he muttered an uncertain - "I mean - I didn't - I'm sorry," before he decided to shut his mouth and move in the direction she'd nudged him toward, with half the expectation the air would clear and he would turn, only to see that she had run away as fast as Larkspur had from him.

Adeline was a gentle soul, and she didn't expect the other wolf to lash out at her. She had just been trying to help him, but it was plainly obvious that he did not want her help. At the snap of his teeth, she retreated several steps, fearing he might turn physical if she stayed near him. She wanted to help him, but she would not force her help upon him. If he wanted to stay in the cloud, then so be it. 

His barely audible apology did nothing to sooth her sudden nerves. While he moved toward the stump she had suggested, and she moved out of the cloud, she did not follow him. Instead, she moved perpendicular to the stump and maintained her distance from him. She paused, though, to look towards him, hoping he would be okay even if he had snapped at her.

Had he blown it again? He didn't have energy to dwell on that yet. So Tuathal moved forward, though he couldn't feel the stranger's presence following him, nor swooping down to nudge him in the right direction. She seemed to have listened, and was leaving him to his own. He felt very little satisfaction in that.

The Blackthorn stumbled through the ash cloud until his forepaw grazed something raised and more solid than the particles he walked upon. His coughing had stilled, as had the air around him. Tuathal dared a squint through his tears. Sure enough, a stump stretched before him, and guided himself over the rim and collapsed on its scratchy but much cleaner surface.

Only when his lungs filled with a sufficient supply of air did he find his thoughts turning more actively to the stranger, and once again, he felt his ears burn. Why was he always so bad at this? "Uh, sorry for snapping," he stuttered, and scrounged around for some explanation. "I, uh, it was just a bit freaky back there, not being able to see and breathe and all." So that was only half true, but sensical enough to roll with. It had been her soft offer of help that had really riled him - but she didn't have to know about that. He couldn't quite read her expression from where he stood (the goopy tears still blurred his vision), but he could tell she was keeping her distance. Ah, dang it. "Um, I'm Tuathal," he tried, and tested an awkward grin.

Her ears perked at the sound of his voice. Her expression was unsure, as she wasn't quite convinced he wouldn't snap at her again if she came closer. But, she considered his explanation. If she had been in his predicament, she would have been scared, too, and not at all herself. 

Her expression softened, and her tail wagged softly as she moved towards him. She gave him a small smile as he introduced himself. Nice to meet you, Tuathal, she responded politely. I'm Adeline, she added. She kept several paces from him still, only because she wanted to respect his need for space. Is the clear air helping? she asked, hoping it was.

Tacked on an ending, since player fell inactive. If you return and want to continue, just let me know!

From her warm reception, it seemed his apology was enough to patch things up - he was pretty sure it hadn't been that smile he'd given. His face seemed to fall too naturally to a frown for any grin to feel anything but alien, though he tried to retain the warmth on his face, if only in his eyes.

Adeline. She seemed a pleasant sort, a straight sort of woman from her mannerisms to her coat. Now that he could breathe again, and actually think clearly, he did feel pretty jerkish for snapping her away. But he wouldn't dwell there. The air had cleared, both of the ash and of his temper, and he reminded himself the stranger had only wanted to help a wolf who had, very clearly, been in distress.

He sucked in a deep breath to test his lungs, and exhaled with only the slightest whistle and the start of an itch - dull enough to conceal with a quiet grunt. "Well, I'm not coughing anymore, so it seems so." His eyes still burned, and his skin still itched from where the ash had nestled through his fur. Yeah, this hadn't been one of his better ideas, but at least the only one who'd seen was a stranger, and not someone closer. Tuathal glanced around for somewhere to wash, more out of habit than anything, but he didn't need to look to see this forest had absolutely nothing to offer but charred down trees. "Hmmph." He turned back to her from his surveying, "Do y'know if there're any lakes or rivers nearby? I think I got ash in my eyes, and it'd be great to get it out."

It turned out she wasn't aware of any fresh water in the vicinity. Very well. The ash had settled enough that he was confident he could move without collecting more into his lungs, so with a brisk nod he bid the fair girl farewell and struck West, planning to rinse himself in the first river or lake or puddle he came across.