Silver Moraine Where Do I Go From Here?

@Rickon this thread is all you <3

Grace wasn't sure where to go, who to look for, or even what direction she was going, but her coal paws set off North after facing Saena. Seeing her and Stark hadn't lessened her guilt, and she felt it might be too late to go back to the Caldera-and she still wasn't sure where she wanted to go. There was nowhere she fit in, nowhere she could permanently call home, nobody to love-or be loved by.

The russet girl struggled her way across the rugged terrain, finding the cold and rocky land difficult to navigate. It was hard on her leg, and it was even more difficult seeing she'd never been in this kind of place. The gash over her right eye irritated her-she was angry with Saena for giving it to her- but she understood that she deserved it for her mindless actions. Shards of stone pierced her pads, and little spots of blood dotted the landscape behind her. Still, the girl gritted her teeth and pressed on, but it got particularly worse for a stretch, and she could barely keep her footing as was. With a howl of frustration, she tumbled forward: thankfully, she only earned a cut on her leg, falling on a flat, more wide than high stone. Grace didn't move yet, deciding to sprawl across it for now and prop herself on an elbow to survey her surroundings. Of course none of this was helped by her newest injury, courtesy of Saena: once cleaning and opening her eye, she'd realized the actual eyeball was damaged-not enough to blind her fully, but nothing will every be clear in that eye again.

A cry of frustration, angst, and surprise pulled Rickon out of his feeding stupor. He picked his head up, listening as his tongue drew thoughtfully across his chops, catching a string of deteriorated tendon from his chin. Once the echo of it had died down, the dark male quickly resumed gorging on the half-rancid sheep carcass he had chanced upon; and when he had had his fill, he took a large chunk and began to carry it onto the treacherous Morraine. 

Part of him realized he wasn't likely to find the source of the panicked howl, but Rick wasn't daunted by the task regardless. It gave him an opportunity to explore, and if he didn't find anyone he still had something to eat, so he didn't see a downside to having a look around. It was sheer dumb luck that he'd happened upon a few drops of blood that eventually graduated into an entire trail that led directly to the where a wolf had taken an unfortunate tumble. It was easy enough for the tall wolf to pick his own way down, and once he was level with the young she-wolf, he dropped the meat he was carrying and adjusted his body language to "friendly" with a polite shake of his coat.

"Was that you that cried out a bit ago?"

Grace sprawled on the sheet of rock for what felt like a lifetime, the coldness of the stone pulling the warmth from her-adding on to the slight blood loss- and causing her to shiver. She didn't get up yet because of the dizzy feeling in her head-no need to add a brain injury or even worse wounds to the list. So she layed there, gaining her strength, waiting for nothing in particular to happen. 

Unfortunatley, something did happen-the scent of a male wolf drifted down to her, and the yearling felt the fur on her spine flare in anxiety. Now, it was time to go. Grace struggled to get to her paws, and in fact she failed; falling back onto her right side, exposing her bad leg to the ebony male suddenly in her golden view. He'd come up from the bad side-the one where her half blinded eye was closed, healing the best it could-and she yelped in surprise. By this time, though, he was speaking, and the kindness in his voice settled her enough that she gave him a good look-over with her one good eye. He was standing above a piece of odd smelling prey, and even his friendly body language wasn't enough to keep the edge off-one wrong move on her end and he could think she was going for his meal. Trembling, Grace nodded-he'd heard her fall. 
                "Y-Yes, i-it was m-me. I-I f-fell."

She immediately tensed up after realizing how near he'd come, though Rickon figured this was a reasonable response considering she was hurt. It seemed she had been injured before the fall too, but he didn't exactly have the skill to be able to tell which of her wounds had happened just now, if any. He glanced up, dark eyes widening marginally as he noted how far she had fallen, then he looked back to her with a reassuring wag of his tail. "I won't hurt you," he told her. "I came to see if you needed any help." He didn't step forward, ignoring his instinct to coddle the wounded, and instead remained attentively still until he was either invited or dismissed. "Is there anything I can do?"

The man looked her over silently, wagging his tail and trying to calm the nerves her so clearly saw were frayed. "I wont hurt you, I came to see if you needed any help. Is there anything I can do?"

Did she believe him? Everyone said that they wouldn't hurt someone, that didn't mean they were telling the truth. He didn't move though, and Grace was inclined to trust him. 
            "I-I.... Well... I don't know." 

She would need help getting out of the Moraine-she couldn't deny that. But she wasn't sure if he would be willing to be a support for her. Better to ask than not, right?
                         "I-Im gonna n-need help g-getting out...."

He thought at first that her uncertainty about him might cause her to refuse his help, but she seemed to relent after a tense pause, and Rickon nodded eagerly. "Sure, of course," he declared without a second thought, pacing a few steps forward when he stopped suddenly. "Oh! Here—" Rickon whirled, retrieving the clod of meat he'd brought with him, and coming slowly to deposit it at her feet. "It's a little old... well, a lotta old, but it'll give you some energy. You should rest a bit before we start to climb outta here."

Pulling his haunches into a sit, he looked her over more carefully at this angle, but didn't comment on her wounded appearance. His eyes fell to hers— a sweet, entrancing amber, though one had been irreparably damaged by the pincer of an assailant. "Rickon," he introduced quietly.

She'd barely got the words out when he accepted- her inky maw quipped up in a smile - and in the same instant he was spinning around to snatch the chunk of meat. At first, Grace was confused, but his next words cleared it up. The skittish girl was ever thankful he was slow in his approach, and to her credit only hesitated a moment before tentativley reaching out and pulling the meat closer. Sniffing it, she found he was right - it was very old, but would give her at least the energy to leave this rocky place. 
    
She didn't eat it right away, instead looking up to meet eyes with the dark stranger- he gave a name, Rickon- with a shy, but happy smile. 
                           
                     "Grace."
             

"Nice to meet you, Grace," he chirped, the tip of his tail wiggling lightly against his hind leg. His dark, olive eyes changed suddenly, his expression turning to one of worry, as he realized she wasn't eating. "Is it too old? I can try to catch you something else..." he offered without also revealing that he was a terrible hunter and probably wouldn't be back with something for days if the situation depended on him. That being said, his determination to help Grace would probably make him more successful in that endeavor.

Rickon seemed genuinley happy to be here, and Grace felt her tail wagging in joy. At his sudden change, she only watched carefully, and when he expressed worry about the food the russet girl couldn't help but laugh. 
 
            "As a healer, I don't want to eat this nor would I suggest it to someone else- but you're right, I need something. Ill be able to hunt and move and stuff once we're out of here."

Her voice was sweet and light - she trusted him, for now. As if to bolden her words, she leaned down and ripped off a piece to chew on.

His expression eased as Grace explained herself, though moreso because this meant he wouldn't have to go out and make a fool of himself trying to feed her properly. He watched her take a tender bite, and Rickon smiled a little sheepishly as he watched. "Yeah, I'm a little more used to carrion, because I'm a terrible hunter, but I promise it won't make you sick or anything. Just doesn't taste as good." He instantly regretted his promise, because what if she did get sick? How the fuck would he explain that?

He really did seem worried, and while Grace yearned to tell him that she didn't want to eat this, she also just wanted to get the hell off these rocks. She couldn't find her footing, her balance -  having her injured eye closed was really messing with her mind - but onward she would struggle. If there was anything Spring and Liaka taught her, it was that there was no shame in asking for help. 

Rickon went on to explain he wasn't a very good hunter: Winter would be near impossible for him without a pack if he was that bad. 
 
                   "I'm actually a Hunter by trade - gonna drop it though. I can trap just about anything, but big prey...."

Trailing off, her golden gaze flickered to the leg jutting out from under her. She could hunt big prey if need be, but the yearling paid for it the next few days with inflammation and achiness. 
 
                                     "It'll suffice for this task."

Swallowing, she took another bite - this one much larger - and chewed it down fast. It tasted god-awful, but she dealt with it for now, in big bites and rapid chewing. The only thing that showed it didn't taste good was the wrinkle of her muzzle as she ate.

As she explained, he followed her motion to the unfit leg he hadn't noticed in his poor scrutiny before. His tail thumped on the ground sympathetically, but he didn't comment otherwise. What do you say to a wolf with only three perfect legs? Rickon wouldn't know— he'd never met one, and it certainly hadn't been a topic of one of his mother's lessons. Now, Ricky, here's what you do when you meet someone crippled... No, that didn't happen.

"You gotta be better than me, at any rate. I mean if I'm used to roadkill, and you got tastes for the fresh stuff, then that's sayin' somethin'." He smiled at her, clearly not bothered by the truth of it at all. Out his siblings he'd always been the worst anyway, so he was used to being subpar on that front. "No need to rush, ma'am. You're gonna need to digest a little before we head up them slopes anyway— don't wanna get movin' too fast." Rickon began to ease his posture, finding himself leaning comfortably against the face of the cliff. He could sleep propped up like that, as he often had in his canyon-home Trench, but he watched her plaintively, relaxing as time passed. "So where're you from, Grace?"

Rickon didn't comment, but went on to talk about how he was used to roadkill. Grace couldn't help the crinkling of her muzzle in disgust. 

                   "Shoot, maybe I should be hunting for you!"

Momentarily, she thought of offering to keep with him - they'd make a good team, with her for hunting and him for protection. The dark males next words cut her off though, and she slowed notably in her eating. He was right - trying to move across such ragged terrain with a belly full of chunks wasn't a wise plan - but Grace didn't like this place at all. Instead, she was happy to give him her story:

                                     "I'm from an abusive family - the only reason I'm alive is my adopted motherNova Rose saved me from bleeding to death somewhere way East. Not really sure where that all was, but I came to the Teekon's when I was about a year or so. I've jumped from pack to pack trying to find a home since then - Nova long since found her place in Larksong Grotto. That's why I'm trying to cross this place - I'm trying to find my true home."

"Probably!" he laughed; though in all honestly, someone hunting for him would be preferred to having to use his own poor skills for capture. Not that he would ever ask fr such a thing, or even accept an offer like that if he didn't truly need it. Rickon realized he'd need to get better at this, and fast, before he found himself utterly alone and on his last leg.

He settled down to listen to her story, casting her a sympathetic gaze as he saw how tough she'd had it. Rickon felt bolstered, almost enough to talk about his own tragedies, but having never shared his story before, he felt disinclined to delve into it. "You're pretty brave, Grace, I admire you makin' the journey on yer own," he chose to say instead, lightly swallowing his own emotions. "I'm lookin' for a home too. Maybe my one true home, but I dunno. Judging by you, I'm gonna go through a few before I find me a perfect place." Rickon shrugged. "Are you lookin' for a pack that'll be close to your mama, or... jus' anywhere?"

He agreed with a laugh, and again Grace was tempted to invite him along. Still, she didn't - at least not yet. As she went through her tale, the ebony male listened, and though she was expecting a story in return, what she got was much better. Despite her fur heating in a blush, she smiled. She'd never before seen herself as brave, and much as she tried it was hard to tell herself that it was true. Guilt pressed at her shoulders, remembering Stark - brave wolves didn't desert their friends and their packs. 

                        "I survived - but I wouldn't say I'm brave. I got lucky, I guess. Had good help along the way."

Smiling pointedly at him to show he was one of those "good helpers", she listened to his words. He was looking for a home too, and seemed okay with going from place to place till he found it. This was curious - he was willing to make and break bonds to find where he belonged, and it made her wonder if what she'd done was selfish or her right in life to be happy. Pushing those thoughts back for later, Grace found her oppurtunity to ask.

                                                            "Anywhere - I'm heading along the coast for now, gunna check out whats to the far West. You can always come with me.... Or, if you're ever around and catch my scent, come look for me?"

Lucky. He knew what it was like to just be lucky— and what it was like to be the opposite of that, too. His ears pressed forward as she mentioned that she was heading towards the coast, and involuntarily his gaze traveled in the direction he knew the ocean to be. Smiling to himself, he looked back at Grace. "I'm not much for the sea, but I'm gonna keep with ya a ways anyway... At least until you're well enough to take care on your own," he grinned. "But I can't head too far west. Because before I start lookin' to find my true home, I wanna try an' find my sister first."

He didn't comment on luck, but instead moved onto homes. Her hopes rose at his first comment, but as he went on it fell - he would leave her again when she was safe. Before she had a moment to interject, he stated he needed to find his sister - and there was not a word in the word Grace would have said against that. 

                 "I understand - I would not keep you from your sister. I'm glad you're willing to help me, at the very least."

Pausing, the russet yearling looked down at her foreleg - the one that now sported a nicely sized gash oozing blood and matting her fur - and shook her head before taking the last couple of bites from her meal. She would have been much worse had he not found her. Smiling again and swallowing the meat, she looked back up.

                                      "I probably would have been a lot more beat up than this if I ever got off this damn stretch. Thank you, for coming to help."

Fade?

"Well don't you worry yer pretty li'l head, missus," he grinned, showboating in his best, most gracious home accent. "You ain't gettin' into any more 'nanigans on my watch, an' I'm gonna get you to safety, you bet on that." Winking, he pulled just a little closer, and hunkered down to rest as she digested and recuperated. He would unfortunately be unable to find Perrin in the coming weeks, before deciding in preparation for winter that he would settle, for a time. But nothing in Rickon said he wouldn't come across Grace again. She was starkly unique— special, he thought— and he would not soon forget her or the direction she went in, once they had parted ways.

Ill archive after my post <3

Rickon was someone she could be comfortable with, and it was pleasurable to be able to place her trust in someone. He too, however, would be leaving, but that was something she had accepted. Perhaps one day, she'd see him again: right now, the russet yearling was okay with sprawling to her side and leaning against her newfound friend to stretch her legs, tail wagging behind her. 

                   "Thank you, Rickon."

They would stay that way while the yearling digested, fidgeted, and eventually told him she was ready to go before creeping out of the Moraine, emmencley thankful for her friend and his support. Many times, she'd thought to ask him to stay, come with her, but there was still nothing in the world Grace would try and do if it meant keeping him from family. After thanking him a million times over, she would again be alone, voicing her hopes to see him again before departing with a stone of loneliness sinking in the pit of her belly.