She'd woken up hours before Shigetoshi, unable to sleep any longer when her dreams had become so haunted. Essie rose and wandered away, hoping to return before he woke and worried for her but not...thinking, especially, of how he might feel as she did so. Her mind was in turmoil, and she needed a distraction.

The shrieking falcons were distraction enough. The hill they roosted on was loud, drowning out her thoughts as easily as the sound of her paws against the stone. It was peaceful in its own way, but nothing that she'd ever experienced before. Often she found herself looking up, watching as the birds winged overhead, careful to keep an eye on where they landed so she could avoid their nests. The last thing she needed was to be attacked from above.

By necessity, this meant she wasn't exactly watching where she was stepping, and so she didn't notice the slender form splayed across the path until she stepped on it. The creature's offended hiss was too quiet for her to pick up on, and she looked down, pulling her paws back in surprise but leaning close to get a look at this strange animal that reared up, mouth opening to display impressive fangs. She was ready to try and dodge the bite.

She wasn't ready for an acrid liquid to be sprayed directly in her eyes. Saoirse's howl of pain cut through even the most incessant calls of the falcons around her, and she stumbled back a few steps, whining pathetically as she tried to wipe her paw over her face.

The burning was the worst part. Her home had been hit by frequent winter storms, and so there was a requirement for at least a rudimentary ability not to trip all over themselves if they had to move blind. Considering her position in the pack and how hard her parents had worked to render her reliant on them or her future mate, that was about the extent of what she was actually capable of. Between her attempts to clear her eyes and back away from her assailant, she thought something along the lines of, At least I won't fall down the hill.

That was about as far as her thought process went before the scent of another wolf caught her attention. She'd been too upwind to notice that she wasn't alone before, but now that he'd come close she turned her attention toward him. There was a mild tension in her shoulders as she tried to identify him, but he was entirely unknown to her.

Unfamiliar words reached her ears, yet another stranger who spoke a new language, and it invoked a contrary response to relax her—not one of those she was running from, someone new. Fortunately also someone she could communicate with, as he continued on with instructions that belied an intent to help. Saoirse grinned in response, ears perking forward while her posture slumped in relief. She dropped her head respectfully, tail swishing behind her as she did her best to turn toward him. I appreciate it. You're certain it won't be permanent? I've never seen one of...those things.

There were a lot of things that felt new and exciting this far from home, but she was constantly reminded of the new dangers, too.

Saoirse made sure to get a lungful of the wolf's scent as they started moving, half of her focus on navigating without falling over and half concentrating on his voice. She mouthed the unfamiliar word, snake, and took his advice to heart, for future reference. That's great, then.

She was content to try and follow whether he spoke or not, but doing so definitely made the journey easier. Coming up with an answer to his question, though, well. That was more complicated. What could she possibly say? The only thing she had going for her at the moment was a flight of terror she still couldn't see the end of, and telling someone that...yeah, no. Essie did her best to keep the hesitation from her voice, affecting something cheerful and bubbly when she replied, Just exploring, really. My family lives much farther north, and animals can be scarce there. We're in the middle of relocating. She didn't even lie, really, which made her feel better—she would just avoid mentioning who 'we' was.

Walking across rocks was a lot different from walking across snow, but the actions were at least familiar, nose-to-tail with her eyes closed. Granted, the way he kept swishing his tail over her snout threatened to make her sneeze a few times, but that fostered sense of familiarity meant she didn't mind as much as she might have if her eyes were able to open. It wasn't a mocking gesture, just a helpful one.

Small world, She murmured, her smile faltering just a bit. Essie sort of wished she could stay farther north, closer to the cold; she missed her home. Worse, she wouldn't have a home anytime soon either way—better to put it out of her mind. She picked up her pace just a few steps until she was close enough that she could feel more of the other wolf's tail brushing by her, a more concrete reminder of the here and now.

The smile came back full-force with the introduction, a wry little twist. She almost forgot herself to look at him, half-peeling an eye open only to close it again very quickly against the burn. No judgment here, I haven't got a leg to stand on anyway. You can call me Essie—I'm glad to meet you, Priest.

She could hear the sounds of him moving more than just walking forward; multi-tasking, she assumed, ears twitching a little with curiosity. Or maybe she was mistaken? His comment about her name was met with an absent-minded nod, though she froze briefly a moment later. That wasn't really an issue, though, she reassured herself. Being literally blind to just who she was following was a little nerve-wracking, but there were few among those searching for her who actually knew her nickname, so it was only a moment before she was following him.

And then tripping over her feet a little when he called it 'cute.' No one had ever called her cute before, or at least not since she'd grown into her paws. Not that she looked like she had at the moment, righting herself easily enough but imagining the whole thing with a lot more of the mental flailing she felt. It wasn't that weird, though, right? Right. This whole situation was totally normal.

She knew she was really out of sorts when she didn't even notice the sound of waves until Priest started instructing her. She perked up and nodded, turning toward the sound and stepping slowly and carefully toward it until she felt her paws get wet. She could feel the waves against her forelegs, and ducked her head down until it was submerged. She wasn't precisely familiar with the process of rinsing her eyes, but shaking her head beneath the water seemed a simple enough method. She didn't open them until she'd pulled her head up, and the burn immediately started up again before the water actually started dripping into her eyes, and she stuck her head back into the ocean.

She came up again blinking her eyes to clear them, and let out a low whine. I really should have expected it to hurt. And, lower under her breath, Get a grip, Essie. She was fine.

Everything was fine.