"You need to wake up, Minori. Your time isn't here yet" the voice repeated itself growing increasingly more urgent. It took her a long time to place it. It was Tadashi. Why was Tadashi yelling at her? the little ankle biter was normally so hyperactive and sweet. How was he yelling at her when she was miles and miles away, over a whole ocean?....the voice faded away and..
She woke up. Her mind was blank as she opened her eyes, the fading light of day still bright enough to hurt. What was she doing, laying around? If her dad caught her lazing around she'd have to hear another speech about how hard work reaps rewards. She groaned and began to push herself up before a sharp pain tore through her side and she yelped and slumped down again.
falling.....she was falling off the ridge. Everything going so fast yet so slow at the same time
When she came to only minutes later she was more herself. She couldn't remember where she was. The left side of her face was caked with blood, she knew she had a head injury. She was wet everywhere though, freezing cold and numb from the weather. There was another stiff and warm spot, on her side. It felt big, like she had a nasty gash there. Was she close to the plateau? She howled for Ruenna, for corvus or Kavik or Issun. She tried to lift her head to check her side and strained too much, flopping over and back into unconsciousness.
He hadn't left the ridge since
@Ruenna had headed back home (presumably). There was a decision to be made and he was leaning too close to joining the Plateau to travel very far, otherwise he might get turned around and never find it again.
Mostly he had stuck to the foothills. Lord forbid he move too far from the trail and be lost forever. That'd be just his luck. The girl was on his mind when he heard a broken howl for her; he did a double take, then cantered towards the source of the howl.
The scene was grisly. She hadn't been as lucky as him; if he had to guess, she'd fallen from the top of the ridge and landed down here. He moved closer, ears pinned back as he crouched, giving her space enough that if she lashed out she wouldn't catch him.
Hey,
he says,
Come on, now.
Unfortunately for the poor helpful stranger, it took a good ten or so minutes for her to wake up again. When she did her memories blurred and twisted and blended together. She blinked at Thorin mistaking him for someone in her home pack for a moment and wagging excitedly before the recognition faded and she realised where she was. Her happiness disappeared and was replaced with panic and fear "I need to get home... Blacktail deer Plateau. It's over the other side of the Vale. I can direct you to it, please help me home" her words were slurry and hard to understand due to the chattering of her teeth. She was absolutely freezing.
He stays crouched beside her for some time. She's unconscious, but he doesn't want to move her. He's no medic, but it's the only one of his mother's teachings that stuck. It was unsafe to move someone who was unconscious and hurt.
Lucky him, she comes around soon enough. It feels like a million years. And then she says something that surprises him more. Selfishly, he wonders if this could be his foot in the door. He trusts Ruenna and her judgment despite only meeting her once, but now at least he'll be able to prove he's worth something. Yeah,
he says, I know where that is.
Sort of. We can go slow.
She doesn't even bother to ask how he knows, if he is a new member of the pack. She is so relieved that she just nods and slowly rolls herself upright. That action alone caused the world to spin around her and she blinked a few times trying to focus. Once everything stopped spinning she braced her forelegs and pushed herself up, gritting her teeth and hissing as the wound on her side protested with burning pain. Everything else was so numb that she welcomed that pain, it pushed her onward and gave her the motivation to stand. She lifted the hind leg on the injured side off the ground and looked at the kind stranger "If you could let me lean on you, it would help things go more quickly. I'm Minori.." she requested the help she would need, though she did wish she didn't have to touch him. Being so close to yet another male, well....it didn't strike her as a good idea.
Well, Minori was lucky, because as far as men went he was pretty good compared to some of 'em. Hell, he didn't mind a little blood here and there, he just wish she didn't have to feel so bad. He slid in next to her side but didn't yet touch her; pain would surely come alongside his touch, and he wanted it to come at her volition. Maybe his mother's teachings had rubbed off after all.
Alright, then.
He casts her a glance and braces his opposite side, and when she (presumably) leans against him, he begins to walk. From that side, Minori might even be able to smell where
Ruenna had touched him, so she might even believe him if he was lucky.
My name's Thorin.
Her opinion of him rose when he didn't immediately press himself against her, something that wasn't taken for granted by the mercenary as every moment she made alone hurt so she couldn't imagine pressing herself against him. It was needed though so she slowly leaned into him, closing her eyes and exhaling a loud breath against the pain. Fortunately as soon as some of her weight was taken the pain lessened significantly and she took a deep breath in through her nose, just happening to catch a whiff of Ruenna's scent on his fur. She smiled at that and her trust in him completely solidified "Alright Thorin...let's get me home. Hopefully this won't be too unpleasant" she said trying to force a brightness into her tone thinking it would trick her into feeling a bit more motivated to move. It didn't quite work.