the losses they had sustained were almost too much to bear. shale was gone, and the plains, too. what was once miles of rolling, golden hills had been reduced to a charred landscape, the fire fading with the blessed rain. aditya was working hard to pull his family back together, to try to carve out a new existence in the maplewood, but it was all heavy on his shoulders.

so he slipped away--at least for a little while.

he had intended to visit the herbalists' cache, which somehow remained unscathed, just like phoenix maplewood. but the faint, far-off cries of someone in the wetlands caught his attention, and, more alert to danger than usual, he raced to the sound, breath caught in his throat. he pushed his way through the mire, the yells growing louder and louder until he finally came upon a dark shape in the mud.

it was the moonspear girl, the one he'd encountered a couple times by that great mountain. she had never given him a name, which was sly of her, so he had no real way to address her. all he could do was forge ahead, stepping gingerly through the sucking mud. it looked as if she'd gotten a rear leg completely caught; she was utterly stuck.

"don't panic," he said quietly, examining the best way to remedy this predicament. "flailing around will only get you stuck more."

it was clear that more was wrong than just the mud; making his way through was tricky but manageable, but for her, it was downright impossible. she resisted his command, struggling further. he gave her a frown, shaking his head. "stop moving," he emphasized, voice firm. he began to wade towards her, looking closer at the root of the problem.

aditya began to dig at the mud, sending chunks flying, droplets of the stuff speckling his face and chest. hopefully, if he could excavate the limb enough, she could at least pull herself free with the other good legs. once he'd removed a significant amount--though, with the nature of a swamp, it had began to creep inward again--he looked at her, panting.

"try to move, now," he said, slightly breathless. "pull yourself forward with your front legs." if this, too, failed. . .his brain spun wildly as he tried to find a different solution. in all his years of living, this predicament somehow hadn't come up.

to his pleasure, she began to work herself free after he'd dug enough of a trench around her leg. a sigh of relief burst from his maw as she clambered forward, only for his face to contort once more into concern as she came to a stop again with a pained cry. adi waded toward her, trying to ascertain the point of trouble.

a hind leg hovered above the ground; the other legs bore her weight well, but that one was clearly injured. he came closer, hoping to support her weight against his. if she wished, she could lean against him.

"you're hurt," he said rhetorically, not expecting an answer. he blinked over at her, teeth slightly gritted. "we have to get you to a medic. my territory is not far from here; we have two healers available." well, perhaps just one. pema would do her duty, but he didn't want to put this crisis on her, not so soon after she had lost her mate and the father of her children.

no, sebastian would have to suffice for now. aditya trusted the man, but he felt guilty at adding yet another thing to his plate. they were suffering, too. . .

"walk with me?" adi asked, hoping she wouldn't put up a fight. "you can lean on my shoulder for support." his worry would not cease until they exited the mire.

he smiled as she recalled his name, at last. "it's no problem at all," he told the mystery girl, moving forward at a slow but steady pace, trying to avoid the more treacherous parts of the bog. they hustled along in silence for a bit, before aditya chimed up again. "well, i do suppose i'd be able to accept your gratitude more gracefully if i had a name to call you," he added, smirking in a cheeky fashion over at her.

"we moved for the summer," he explained, moving from casual flirtation to business in a snap. his face darkened as he recalled the past days. "i suppose we've moved again, now. there was a fire on the plains--drove us out into the neighboring forest."

aditya looked over at her with some concern: she was an awfully long way from home. he said as much, adding, "is all well with your pack?" from what he'd gathered from colt, the redhawk relocation seemed to bring the two supposed allies closer--though the girl had mentioned that perhaps the redhawks and the wolves of moonspear were not as friendly as one might think. was there some problem at home for her, too?

his eyes cut sharply over to meet hers, but the smile that graced his muzzle was at odds with the expression--slow and smooth. "things were different, last time," aditya remarked. he was caught suddenly between the pleasure of teasing repartee--how long had it been?--and the pain of knowing all he had lost, since meeting this girl the first time. he tried very hard to focus his attention on the former sensation.

"i don't think we'll get you home in a week," he said, nodding ruefully toward her leg. "but we can send word, if you like." he sucked in a sorrowful breath at her question, shaking his head. he found himself unable to speak for a long moment, struggling for words to describe their tragedy. "no. there are some missing that i fear dead. shale, the father of a litter of four. . .kitten--"

his throat tightened hard at her name. merbani. tears came suddenly to his eyes. he had failed to locate the girl; was she lost forever, her body a charred mess on the plains? or had she managed to escape, and was now trying to find her way back to her family? he had come to think of her as her own daghter--either of these possibilities brought him great consternation.

"it could have been worse," adi reasoned quietly, swallowing hard. "i know that. but no--we did not escape the fire unscathed."

he really ought to have been offended by her apparent lack of emotion toward his troubles, but truthfully. . .aditya was relieved that she did not offer long-winded condolences or cry alongside him. this current crisis of getting her healed was hers, after all; her injury and now this muted reaction did a lot to take his mind off the weight upon his heart.

the question that followed, even more so.

"they are our closest allies," adi responded, happy to be of help for this, at least. "they live to the south, near a circle of stones. it's not too far--i can take you there, when you're able to travel." he wondered what she wanted with easthollow, but he did not pry, just yet. she would tell him in time, if it was information he needed to know. and if it was not. . .

they were barely more than strangers, to each other. whatever personal business she had with any of the wolves of easthollow was certainly not his business to know.

her tone gave him pause, but he only smiled in return, shaking his head. "no need," he responded casually. "i told you, it's not a problem. let's get you back to the maplewood." aditya fell into comfortable silence then, threading their path through the swamp. he wondered just what sort of culture moonspear was for her to be so insistent on repaying this supposed debt.

this was morningside. obviously within reason--but they helped others, without much thought of getting something in return. it fell right in line with aditya's values he'd carried with him his entire life.

he glanced over at her, making sure she was still fine, and increased his pace a tad, eager to return home. he did still worry about adding another burden to his pack, but that bridge would be crossed when they arrived. he couldn't have just left her there, right?