since learning of aria's lofty palate, thorn had spent some time between arrow lake and duck lake -- attempting and failing at fishing.
the ice was problematic, but his lack of skill was moreso, and he grew frustrated easily by his failures. fish were not easy prey to snag -- and while aria had preferred the coastal variety, thorn was in no position to traipse up the woodlands into brackish territory, and hunt along the coast.
it was too far -- and he feared if he left for too long, aria would think he lost interest, or some other competitor would lope in to steal her heart.
resting on the side of the bank and licking his paws absentmindedly, thorn looked tiredly about him. since his courting had started, the hale yearling had dropped some weight -- and while muscular as ever, he looked and felt tired.
She's not quite sure where she is.
It's somewhere in the Valley but she can't be bothered with where. There's no direction to her travels from the Creek pack's - Kavik's pack - borders. The dark Tonrar was her soul, her one love, and since losing him, Liri is a planet with no sun to orbit. No direction held anything of promise. She was a leader whose pack had disbanded, a healer with no tribe, a wolf with no family, and a wife with no husband. What point would there have been in selecting a destination?
Her heat would be upon her soon and though she had hoped to be a mother to children of her own, the thought of lying with someone other than Kavik makes her skin crawl. She would hide herself away during this time, so as to be left alone by rogue males. Her nerves couldn't handle it anyhow. Being in heat terrified the woman - for it could invite trouble and she no longer had Kavik to protect her.
He had other concerns now.
She's lost in thought when she stumbles upon the male - of a hue to match the forest and gaunt as she. Warily, the healer halts but he's sure to have seen her by now.
Liri chuffs, drawing a few steps closer to halt near his prone figure. "Hello," she greets verbally, polite but withdrawn.
thorn had noticed the pale shade traverse through the snowdappled forest. while her coat blended in well, he was used to being on alert -- and from footfall alone, had garnered whoever approached was doing so at a hobbled gait.
when he looked up, the figure of a limping she-wolf came to view -- there was something perplexing about her scent, something sulfurous and terribly awry -- but thorn did not balk.
sparing a polite smile, the beast rose. "hello."
He seems confused though this could be a result of her sudden appearance. His gaze flickers over the nymph and she arranges herself subtly, subconsciously, as if to hide the majority of her scars and the charred ruin at her hip away from his sight.
"Liri, " she introduces herself with a friendly nod, daring to settle on her haunches nearby. "Liri Ton-, " she stops, having forgotten she can no longer claim Kavik's surname. Pain shoots through her chest, settling in to throb right over her shredded heart.
"Liri Blackfoot, " she finishes hoarsely, inclining her head as if to ask for his name.
as the black beast shifted upwards, liri slid to her haunches. not wishing to appear threatening towards a wolf that looked both gaunt and harshly abused, thorn swiftly resumed a sitting pose, his eyes averted.
she spoke and he noted the sudden stutter, the swift change of intonantion. he fancied he might have detected a bitterness in her voice, but as he glanced upon the snowy features of his company, he could detect little bile in her countenance.
thorn eyjolfur.
he returned, proud of both his name and heritage. are you hurt?
he did not hide the flicker of his gaze to her disabled limb, for he found her current condition to be most stressful.
"A pleasure, " she responds cordially as he gives his name, drawing the manners from some forgotten part of her.
Are you hurt?
His question gives her pause, for what doesn't hurt now? Her heart throbs where it has been torn from her ribcage, a searing pain having replaced the life-sustaining organ. However, the healer knows he means physical wounds - not the ones Kavik has inflicted on her soul.
"I had a bit of trouble in the mountains. I'll be alright, " she reassures softly, not particularly caring if the latter statement is true.
thorn could tell his question left the woman with some pause -- why? he shrewdly looked her over, not out of interest of her form, but out of quiet concern -- she seemed to be withdrawn, and thorn felt as if something was being held back.
it was not his nature to pry - he was typically a respectful wolf in most regards, contrary to his bloodline. if she did not want to divulge, it was not his place to play her therapist. "that trouble is not following you, is it?" it was his only question on the matter, for to him, it looked as if she had been perhaps attacked -- so long as that trouble was behind her, which it appeared it might well be, thorn could rest at ease.
He does not seem eager to move beyond polite small talk and for that, Liri is eternally grateful. The incident with Kavik was too fresh in her memory to speak about with anyone.
"No, " the fae chuckled softly, " it wasn't a beast or anything particularly malevolent. More or less a force of nature. You see, I lost my leg to a lightning bolt, " the healer stated simply, as if it were the most common occurrence in the world.
"But I managed to find some very shrivelled herbs within a cave and I believe I'll survive, " Liri assured.
"How fare things with you?" The northron dipped her pale crown, indicating the general stretch of woods they stood in.
she lost her leg to a lightning bolt.
thorn's expression was one, vividly, of holy what the fuck --
his gaze slid from the leg, to her -- and back to the leg again.
how?
"you are lucky." he commended - of course, was she lucky to be struck? not in the least -- but she had survived. thorn had seen trees hundreds of years old and six hundred times her strength, blasted to blackened cinders by the wrath of a bolt. "you must be quite strong." it was not in jest that he said this, either -- if anything, a faint hint of awe tinged his tone -- for he was standing before a wolf that had survived the inexplicable, and somehow, had only lost something as inconvenient as the tip of a limb.
The vaguely awed expression accompanying his words that flits across his forest features does not miss the healer - rather, it tugs uncomfortably at her skin beneath the achromatic pelt. The fae resists the urge to shift on her paws, instead averting her dark gaze shyly.
It did seem that the spirits had kept her alive, though for what purpose the northern couldn't begin to contemplate.
"I thank you, " she answers modestly after a moment, head ducking slightly. "Though I believe it had more to do with the good fortune you spoke of." It had been pure dumb luck that caused the bolt of electricity to graze her rather than blast her sky high. The blackened crater left behind had sent a shiver down her peppered spine, for it was Liri who had been meant for such annihalation.
the fae’s response was crafted carefully, a twinge of modesty lingering in her manner. thorn looked away as if on instinct, realizing belatedly he may have made her uncomfortable — which was certainly not his intention.
drawing a slim smile across his features, he responded with a nod in assent. he wished to know if she needed help — she seemed a proud and noble wolf, one that had suffered the burdens of many stings — and he did not wish to insult her.
as tactfully as possible, thorn proposed his thoughts into quiet words. though you are lucky, you seem alone. do you want to know of packs nearby? surely company is better than none.
"Oh, no, that's quite alright, " she answered politely, though perhaps a bit hastily. She knew of a few recent packs forming in the range at her back, of a few along the Coast, but she had no desire to join them. The people there were strangers and the fall of the former Alpha's pack was too fresh to try integrating herself into another's family.
"I'll be alright alone, I've managed before, " she reassured though she was not quite certain. At this point, Liri just didn't want to think too much about the future.
"What about you? You're alone as I am, " she pointed out with a light teasing tone, eager to switch the topic away from herself.
thorn did not press further; while he was amazed she was alive, he kept the remainder of his awe to himself. he did not miss that liri tactfully changed the subject -- but that too remained uncommented upon.
he did not mind the limelight; he was a man, after all -- and almost any man, if you gave them the forum to do so, would gladly espouse their virtues. whether or not they had an adoring audience was another thing entirely.
"i am not alone," he answered, moreso a comment on his pack-status than a correcton. "i belong to diaspora. i am its tessarius. i scout and hunt, and in return have a den to sleep in and a pack at my back, if i need so." he fell silent then, figuring if liri had any questions she would certainly voice them.
"Oh, my mistake, " the healer corrected herself with a slightly embarrassed twitch of her ears. The male had smelt much like other lone wolves at first sniff, perhaps he had only been with this Diaspora group for a short time.
"Well, it's been nice to talk with you but I think I should be moving on soon, " Liri said after a vaguely awkward pause, knowing it was the truth. She had no idea what the winter held in store for her - perhaps she should seek shelter before sunset lest she be forced to sleep in the open.
The northron rose to her feet, nodded once more at Thorn, and padded away.
it seemed their short meeting had already come to a conclusion. thorn gave a half-smile as liri announced her leave— it was not as if he could stop her.
all the same, as he watched her limp away, thorn had some misgivings. she was awfully incapacitated, and for a lone wolf that was perhaps the coldest curse.
yet he knew she would not appreciate or even entertain an offer to come back to diaspora. troubled as thorn was, he was not a wolf to beat a dead horse or hedge his efforts against something with little reward. rising after some time spent thoughtfully picking over his next endeavor, the black eyjolfur made for diaspora at a casual lope.