Totoka River crooked river

Early Morning, 41˚F, Drizzle. @Reigi

Each step felt wrong and so the last hour had been spent in a fashion of one step forward, two steps back. He wasn't sure what it was that made him feel wrong about his movements. Perhaps it was the foul weather clouding his judgment, throwing his senses off.

He tilted his head up to examine the overcast sky that seemed content to keep a slow rhythm of light raindrops. Rokig figured that he'd be safe for now out here in the open. There was no roar of thunder or crack of lightning to be seen. Which meant this would be a relatively harmless spring storm. He should have been thankful that he needn't flee from the lands to search for shelter. Instead he felt the useless feeling gnaw at him.

Rokig was going to waste his whole morning retracing his steps like some kind of off-beat dancer because he couldn't find it in himself to muster up enough courage to do something productive with his life now. How pitiful of him.

Maybe he was cursed.

It seemed as if she were doomed forever to wake alongside the sun.  Three perfect children slept at her breast and another, much older girl at her side.  She watched the sunrise as she did every morning — today it was grey and cheerless.

After months underground with her own newborns and with even more thrust upon her because of the injustice of the world in general, 'Io was growing more and more restless as the days drew on.  She had never liked dirt-dens and would have liked to have moved the children somewhere else, but it had been easier to take Yakone into the fallen Collie's den than it had been to upset the young ones.

The first day after the move, it had been difficult to leave them alone for any period of time, but they were not her babies.  They were Undersea's babies, and they would be fine under the care of Maegi and whatever unfortunate packmate happened to pass by.

She emerged from the den and shook off, marking the borders before she moved from Undersea's domain and onto the mainland, tracing the outskirts of the Totoka, mindful of the flooding from the snowmelt that was still filling the water bodies.

Before some time, she caught scent of her Aralez and noticed eau-de-stranger tangled in; she followed it even as the rain began to fall and it was not long before the lone male doing his one-two step was visible.  She stood at a distance, merely watching.

He was unaware of his watcher and so he kept up his strange movements for a bit, a scowl crossing his features. This was frustrating but he couldn't seem to stop himself from the pattern. Of course, eventually, he would grow tired of the motion and cease further movements.

It was on one of his small breaks that he lifted his head enough to notice the sleek form out of the corner of his eye. He was unsure if she was real at first. The dismal setting almost made him feel like she was some sort of apparition. Were they some kind of ghost here to remind him of his curse? No, that would have been too easy of an explanation. Nor did it look like they were the kind of ghost to be screaming about curses. A bit too quiet for that.

"I'm...sorry?" He called out to the figure with a tentative tone. Had he perhaps disturbed something he was unaware of?

He continued the two-step dance with an expression as dismal as the overcast sky, and her mismatched gaze watched his movements carefully.  She arched his paw the same way he did when he traced his steps, and he called out to her in turn.

She emerged from her hiding spot as her tail wagged in a slow back and forth rythm at her hocks.  A soft whine emerged from her scarcely parted jaws, her head cocked to the side as she mimicked his steady pacing as if she were asking, "What was that about?"

He watched her closely, trying to pick up any clues from her body language. Rokig had no business in starting anything foul. Especially considering he was still rather clueless about this place. He couldn't afford to make any enemies.

Silver eyes watched her mimicking movement. It was times like now that he was grateful for the fur that lined his form. His cheeks heated up with a bit of embarrassment. "I was just...trying to figure out what to do." It was a silly answer but it was all he had to offer to the stranger.

The explanation made more sense than anything she had dreamed up in her head, and the more she thought about it the more she chided herself.  Hadn't she done the same two-step when she had left Bearclaw?

She closed some of the distance between them, her head low as she took in his scent.  Occasionally her gaze would flicker to his brooding gunmetal eyes, but remembering every interaction she'd had with Indra both left a sour taste in her mouth and caused her to avert her gaze quickly.

H-hep.  Can hep?  Her tail's drumming beat quickened, and her eyes were careful and almost pleading.

His head tilted softly at her words. Hep. Did she mean help? If she did, then he wasn't sure exactly how she could help. Rokig wasn't sure what he was doing and despite that, the world seemed to keep throwing all these creatures at him - who only just now he realized smelled a bit alike.

"I'm not sure how you could help. I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to do." Rokig felt embarrassed and useless. While he had never been one for appearances he couldn't say he enjoyed looking like some fish out of the water with his strange movements and lack of direction.

"Can I help?" He asked as his head tilted slightly.

She was given no direction on how to help him.  In another life it might have frustrated her, but she had suffered too much at the hands of others to not understand where the stranger was coming from.  She tilted her head the other direction and gave a thoughtful-sounding hum.

She did not think she needed help.  Undersea had done more for her than she ever could have fathomed — she had friends, children, she was well-fed.  She shook her head.

H-haff somplace stay?

The strangers here were nice. None had seemed to have a problem with him nor did he seem to accidentally offend any of them. So far. This one was akin to the blue-tinted madam he had met not too long ago. Friendly, perhaps not as shy or timid in movements.

Her question caught him off guard, his lips parting slightly but his brain struggling to answer. Rokig knew he had a welcome to visit Undersea but that wasn't a place to stay, was it? He had not asked to see it with the intention of crashing there. Then again...he had nowhere to be, nowhere to go. No place to stay.

At first, he offered only a small shake of his head before he finally found his voice. "No, no place."

Her time as a loner was not so long ago that she forgot what it was like with no place to call home.  If it were possible her eyes softened, and she lowered her head with a whine.  

She did not want to startle or chase off this poor man, who had been alone for however long.  Maybe he didn't want a place, but who would she be if she did not try?

She circled to the direction of the landbridge and gave a toss of her head — "Come."

It was his heart that made the decision as he moved after her beckon. The toss of her head was the only signal he needed to trail after her. His short and compact frame working a bit extra to keep up with her streamlined form.

His form was held in an almost submissive position as he moved just behind her. Dull silver eyes glancing about occasionally to try and memorize the path they were on. Rokig realized that perhaps it was a risky move but his options were limited. Not to mention he could not return to the familiar lands of home. Perhaps the male should have been more relieved and excited at this prospect of something new for him, but all that escaped him in a soft voice was --

"Thank you."

I can start a thread for us at Undersea's borders if you would like!  Feel free to respond or archive.

There were not many who had chosen to follow her from the Wilds; she had invited many into her previous home and only a precious few had decided to follow her.  She found it ironic that not a one of them found their way to Undersea — but the wolf that Indra had recruited had.

It still did not taste like victory.

She was thankful that she could pass into wordless conversation as she led the man to her domain, and as thoughts of Tadec surfaced she checked behind her shoulder often to make sure he was still there.

@Reigi I'd appreciate that!<3 Will archive this after my post~

He didn't force any conversation to happen past his thanks to her. The silence was fine by him for he had been cradled in silence for some time. At least this time he had someone to be in the quiet atmosphere with - which filled a lonely void that was far bigger than he had ever realized. Rokig supposed being so enamored with being a curse hadn't left him to explore the other feelings inside of him.

A soft nod of his head was offered whenever she looked towards him, a silent agreement that he was still content to trail after her until their destination was reached.