Silver Moraine field and fountain, moor and mountain

Unable to locate Thresher on the coast, Moorhen had begun to travel inland. She'd started with the Taiga, because of all the surrounding areas, she knew this one the best. Despite having gone out to find someone else, the Cairn woman was a bit worried she would become lost herself. It was not that she doubted her ability to navigate - it was just a nameless anxiety. As though Undersea might be swallowed up into the ocean, and Moorhen would return and it would be gone. Or perhaps all its inhabitants would be washed away, and she would arrive to find it empty.

The scary part was - the second option wasn't too far out of the realm of possibilities. There was a storm coming. The others might need her!

But Thresher needed her more, so Moorhen pressed on even as the island called her back. Today, she was surveying a deep moraine, unsure whether it would be wiser to cross or to go around. The banded woman tested the steepness and found the rocks slick, so she circled back up to the top and gazed around in worry. Was there a way around? She didn't remember this part of the Taiga very well.

When exploring a new territory, there was a sense of adventurer also riddled with an enigma of danger. Today was no exception to that unwritten rule. Above and beyond dark clouds loomed ahead, giving hints of a storm that might come. And while such a faint conclusion was enough for a wise wolf to find shelter from the monsterous weather that could come, Epic decided to live up to his heroic name; this could either be epic failure, disaster or ..fun.

At this moment he wished he would have followed his gut instinct to find shelter. Slowly he was parading down a barren area where once traces of ice were carved into the slippery stones. Each step was taken carefully because one mistake could cause him to end up in a world of hurt. In the distance up ahead there was the outline of a shadow-y figure who could be the faint traces of another wolf. Narrowing his eyes a little to see the image more clearly didn't help much.

Hello? Helloooooooo? Epic shouted out loud, shattering the silence as he called. His voice had traces of curiosity but also helplessness. He was in a stormy situation that could, potentially, turn out a lot worse.

A voice called out to her from below - not one Moorhen recognized, and therefore, not of great interest to the irascible shewolf. Still, there'd been a strange instinct growing in her, of late, and the helplessness in the voice tugged at heartstrings she'd not possessed a scant few months ago. After debating with herself for a moment, she answered with a short, querying bark.

Her ruddy gaze swept over the moraine and soon fell on a moving, wolf-shaped snow creature. Her ears fanned back uncertainly, but she still deigned to wait for the other to come toward her - no way she was going to try and meet the strange creature on its own ground.

His call for help passed by unanswered, instead there was a silence that lingered once more. Although, not entirely; the dark sky that loomed omnious above them cracked open and the first rain drops fell upon the slippery rocks. From a distance a sound of thunder rumbling into the sky, sounding quite like the ancient roar of dinosaurs. Suddenly Epic's heart skipped a beat as he winced in fear while a flash from his memory passed by. He was reminded of something hot, warm and all consuming -- something that was known in human language as "fire".

That moment soon passed, luckily. Epic weighed all his options and it was truly a choice of picking the lesser evil one; moving forward and seeking shelter of the storm that might come meant that he also had to move across the treacherous stones. It also meant meeting the shadow of a wolf up ahead. He actually appreciated her caution, it wasn't like he was about to have a jolly tea party with her, it appeared -- if she was truly a wolf -- she had a wise approach to strange situations.

"I-I-I'm coming towards you.." Slowly, steadily and with each step carefully calculated he started the descend. At the same time the rain drops began to fell in bigger numbers, clouding his vision. "I-I believe the storm might be heading in our direction." Oh, really? No chips sherlock.

Dark ears pressed forward in suspicion as the male - and she was relatively certain it was a male - announced his intentions. She was not sure what he wanted with her, but since he did not sound overtly threatening, she couldn't see the harm in waiting. It was as he said, after all; there was a storm fast approaching, and as much as she wished it were not so, there had been no sign of Thresher anywhere she looked.

It was a dead trail. She was chasing shadows. Why not stop and see what the wolf wanted?

"The storm moves on the sea," she said, her voice pitched just loud enough to reach the other. Her ears fanned back at the scratchy sound of it. How long had it been since she'd left the Aralez on the coast?

He sighed out loud, relieved when he was told that the storm was actually moving on the sea. It meant that he wouldn't be full-on-face-hit. "Thank-you!" He yipped out loud, almost happy. However that moment was short-lived. Good, so that meant he was safe; for now. Partly. These rocks were still slippery and there was something else he didn't like so much. There was still the looming danger of thunder and lighting dominating the sky while it had darkened quite a lot due to the grey, omnish clouds above his head.

"Do you know a place where I can safely hide?" Epic didn't dare to admit to the other that he was actually a scaredy cat, taking no liking to thunder, lightning or anything else that lit up the dark sky and rumbled and roared like a long-gone dinosaur.

Mutely, the banded woman shook her head, moving back to allow the male room to clamber to flat ground. The only safe place she knew was Undersea, but it would likely be unreachable by now, and she wasn't sure that was what the male was asking for.

Hide, she repeated to herself, trying to remember the nuances of that word's definition. Hiding was an activity quite different from seeking shelter, she thought. Was he being pursued? Did he require protection? Moorhen thought she could see it - the male was scrawny and thin, and she doubted he could hold his own in a fight. But who would want to fight him? The question was enough cause for suspicion, in her books. I ken protect, she said in a rough voice, although her eyes narrowed as she made the offer. Who do you hide?

Miscommunication could happen at any moment and any time. Now only a misunderstanding of words but at the same time the distance between them -- and the howling winds, a sure sign that the storm was about to come. Every few seconds he glared at the omnious sky, afraid that the storm could happen any second from now. His heart beat raced -- thump, thump, thump -- like crazy. 

"You can defeat the storm? Really?" Epic looked hopeful when the other female said she could protect him; uncertain that she could but at the same time he wasn't about to underestimate what all the wolves at Teekon Wilds could do. He was about to open up his mouth, however no words rolled out. At exact that moment thunder rolled across the sky and he froze for a second. "I-I'm afraid of the storm." Epic admitted, feeling like a complete failure and a lost puppy. "I--I where can I hide from it?"

Has Epci reached the top yet?

Moorhen stared down at the other wolf, sympathetic but unimpressed. Her face was a blank mask as she said, ... storm cannot hurt you, but her tone suggested that she was not entirely sure this was true. Did the male know something she didn't?

And, well, she couldn't defeat the storm. But she didn't feel any need to hide from it, either. Meeting the male had reminded her of Thresher's reaction to the smoke-filled sky, and she wondered now how the girl must feel about the coming storm.

Under tree? she suggested, pointing her nose to the distant stand of Maplewoods. It was on the other side of the ravine from her, though. Moorhen would much rather brave the storm than the rocks. Perhaps the male would feel differently.

He's about half-way panicking :P

[size=16.8px%%%]Epic bit his tongue, wanting to object when Moorhen explained that the storm couldn't hurt him. But she was so wrong, he wanted object but it remained quiet. Instead his head filled with flashes of memories; of a forest, of fire, of thunder and lightning. And everything burned.

"I-I remember fires by storm." He half-panicked while his heart bounced almost out of his chest. "Lightning likes any tree; to burn." Objecting to her suggestion of hiding underneath a tree, he fiercely shook her head at her suggestion. Many areas were safe from lightning and thunder but a tree wasn't one of them. 

"Do you know of a cave?" He questioned out loud, golden eyes looking in her direction. If she could point out one he would immediately move into that direction. Even if it meant crossing a zillion and two slippery rocks and stones. He knew that he was safe there. But in the end it was all a trick of the mind; after all Moorhen had already explained the storm -- this storm -- only crossed the sea. [/size]

"Burn?" Moorhen repeated, sounding a bit doubtful. She knew those words - fire and burn - but in the distant way that came with inexperience. She'd encountered the phenomenon only once, when she was very small. She remembered an acrid scent and the air being thick and unpleasant. Tears in Doe's eyes and no more Skellige and @Szymon carrying her across the beach to a brand new den. But she hadn't seen the flames, and had not looked on the devasation until she was a grown woman. And the cliffs of Donnelaith as they had been - although she'd been born there - were not in her memories.

So she was understandably skeptical about lights in the sky being something she should worry about. She didn't know that a storm much like this has spelled the beginning of the end for her family.

"I do not," she admitted, ears flickering uncomfortably. There'd been a short pause between her question and this statement as she tried to think of anything close by. "Mebbe in rocks?" That was as good as she could do. The male's stress levels were beginning to rub off on her, and the fur of her spine was beginning to prickle without her permission.

Epic looks so handsome in his profile picture!

Thank-you :) I really like Moorhen's avatar as well. And I'm sorry our characters meet like this. I hope Epic gets to meet Moorhen under less storm-y circumstances so that he isn't reliving a trauma from the past. I'd love another thread once we wrap this one up. Though I'm not sure if Moorhen would be too pleased.

Adrenaline kept shooting through his body, making his heart bounce like a running train, as if it was about to jump out of his chest. This current state of fear and panicking made his golden eyes far and wide and his mind convinced that the world was about to end every moment from now. He eyed the thunder and lightning with great distrust; a trauma relived from his past. He didn't remember much of it, but when a flash did hit him; it ran him over like a truck. 

"I'll have a look!" It was his best bet, to try and find a cave, even if it meant crossing one slippery rock after the other. While the real storm was safely moving across the water, he felt the hot breath of a storm from his past getting closer and closer. "How can I thank you?" Epic said as he was about to go cave-finding. Though, maybe not before the last moments of politness passed, should they ever cross paths again. "What's your name?"

Even though she didn't understand his fear, Moorhen felt badly for the male. Whatever was causing him such high emotion was clearly difficult for him, and she didn't wish that on anyone. Mostly because it just wasn't constructive, and that was a pet peeve of hers.

When asked how he could thank her, she mutely shook her head. She didn't think the suggestion was a good one, but she hoped having a goal in mind would help the male to become a productive member of society. And she hoped that he was, perhaps, a bit different under more ideal circumstances. "Moorhen," she offered manganimously, "of Undersea. Do you naame?"

I enjoyed it anyway! I'd love to have another :3 Moorhen wouldn't be displeased to see him, I don't think.

Nice, looking forward to another thread :) Shall we wrap this one up?
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"Epic." The young male shouted into the fading distance, hoping that that last tidbit of information would be carried over to the sea-pack wolf. He smiled gently, happy to have met her even if the circumstances were far from ideal. In fact, even stronger he felt grattitude since she was there to help a stranger (who panicked) in need. 

"Goodbye. Safe travels." The young male said, his words spoken out loud so that it would hopefully reach her. After having said his farewells, he disappeared into the opposite direction of the storm. Somehow finding shelter, safety and comfort in these lands while taking her advice in consideration.