Horizon Ridge The twisting kaleidoscope moves us all in turn

A solid week of rest and restricted movement did a body good. For the first time since the attack, Pied woke and felt up to moving around a little bit. She gingerly pushed herself upright, then even more slowly climbed to her feet. She kept weight off her broken hind paw and hobbled around the lair's interior in a simple effort to stretch her legs. Breathing still hurt slightly—every time her lungs inflated, her broken ribs twinged with pain—and her whole body felt rather battered and sore. Her shoulder and hipbone didn't bother her nearly as much as before, though, and Pied took that as a very good sign.

When circling the den didn't leave her writhing in agony, the Gamma poked her head out of the entrance, then ever so gently climbed out into the open. The cold, fresh air felt wonderful on her face and she began to suck in a deep breath, only to wince when her tender rib cage protested. She almost retreated back into the lair but Pied pushed herself, limping forward a few steps and dropping to her haunches near the cliff's edge.

She sighed softly as her two-toned eyes gazed out over the wintry sea. Pied realized it would be a long time before she wandered the beach again. The thought of going anywhere near the water's edge sent a little shudder through her, which made her body ache. The attack had forever blighted her love of the seaside.

The Gamma didn't want to dwell on these matters, though. Her eyes drifted to the gray sky and she wondered if it would start to rain, as it was a little too warm for snow. She hoped the inclement weather would not prevent her pack mates from venturing out today, as Pied desperately missed their fellowship. She loved Kisu's company and was grateful that the Alpha dropped by on occasion, yet Pied missed the rest of the pack—yes, even Jinx.

o hay

Kennedy felt as though things were slow here. Not in a bad way, just in a... quiet way. Perhaps it was due to the weather, or perhaps there was something amiss that he had not been told about. Whatever the reason, he could definitely feel it. He knew that packs went through busy and less-busy times, so perhaps he had just come in at one of those less-busy times when everybody was minding their own business. A part of him wished it were different, but he tried not to dwell on it. The fact that memories of his brother were becoming less and less frequent was the main reason he had escaped his birth pack, so he was satisfied in that sense.

Upon his arrival, Kennedy had almost immediately been taken by the view that this territory offered. The lookout over the ocean was astounding, and he often found himself trotting toward it when he did not have anything on his mind at all. It was peaceful, and perhaps that was part of where the quiet came from. His bulky black body moved toward the ridge now, and his interest was piqued by a rather sorry looking figure sitting near the cliff's edge. She looked badly beaten up, though he could tell that the injuries were at least a few days old, if not more.

"Got yourself in quite a scuffle, did you?" he asked, eyeing the various scrapes and scratches. One of her paws even seemed to be mangled in some way, causing him to wince outwardly. "Name’s Kennedy." It only seemed proper to introduce himself.

Hello! Thanks for joining. :)

The wolf that eventually materialized was not Jinx, nor anyone she recognized. Pied stiffened as the stranger approached, well aware that she could not defend herself in case of attack. He didn't seem threatening—rather, he seemed relaxed and spoke in a friendly tone, even giving his name—but the Gamma licked her lips anxiously all the same. She couldn't help it, especially since he was intimidatingly huge.

Deciding not to let on to her trepidation, she looked down at herself, then back at the unfamiliar male with his dark fur and olive eyes. "This is the part where I say, 'You should see the other guy,' isn't it?" she quipped. "Pied," she added. "This is the work of a blackfish. I don't know if you've ever seen one before but they're exactly what they sound like: gigantic black fish with white markings. One launched out of the water and presumably tried to drag me back to sea for a meal. He wasn't entirely successful, obviously. Do I look like seafood?"

After letting out a little puff of breath, Pied questioned, "So, Kennedy, I take it you're new? What brought you here?" By here, she meant Horizon Ridge on the whole, though she was also curious as to what brought a stranger meandering up to her lair to pay a visit. Was it just coincidence? Had he smelled her and tracked her down? Or had Akhlut or even Kisu requested their pack mates visit the resident invalid? Her lips pressed together thoughtfully.

Kennedy chose to be more careful with his interaction this time around, considering his latest encounter with Pump. He had not meant to upset his pack-mate, and yet somehow he had hurt her quite badly without even attempting to. He had only been trying to bring a little awkward humor to the table, but it had turned sour quickly, and it still left a bad taste in his mouth.

The Xi shook his head when asked if he had ever seen a blackfish. Having not grown up by the ocean, the giant body of water was still a bit of a mystery to him, though Pump seemed to think it was a good source of food. Pied surely thought that it was a good source of food... for those who liked to dine on delicious wolves. Kennedy shook his head when Pied asked if she looked like seafood. Although he would admit that her coat color was quite a strange thing.

"Greener than grass," he replied when she asked if he was new. "Just came for a change in scenery. I spent all my life in the same place, and I thought it was time to get some fresh air." He failed to mention his brother on purpose. The jealousy was slowly fading away, but Kennedy knew that it still lived in him.

She hadn't seen much of anyone since before the attack—she'd been much too out of it to entertain guests, particularly that first week—so Pied hadn't spoken this much in several days. When she realized how dry her mouth had become, she rose shakily to her feet and padded a few yards toward one of several shallow holes Kisu had dug near the den to collect rain. She bent over it and lapped at the cold water it contained, practically emptying the shallow depression.

Licking the moisture from her lips, Pied dropped back to her haunches with a quiet, "Oogh," when she put too much weight on her mending hind paw. Readjusting herself, she faced Kennedy again and said, "Well, it's good to have you. How long have you been here and who else have you met?" she queried, trying to make conversation.

"Less than a week," he replied after she had taken a drink and asked him a question. "I met Pump, but I think I may have started things off on the wrong foot," he added, remember his misstep in actions when he had chuckled at her remark about starvation. Since it was nothing he had come close to experiencing, the thought was absurd to him. He would not make that mistake again, that was for sure. Of course, he had not intended to make that mistake in the first place.

"And you? Have you been here long?" Kennedy asked. He wondered if she had come here because of her injuries. But perhaps she had lived here her whole life. Kennedy had lived in one place for four and a half years, and he was only just now exploring a new scenery.

The mention of Pump made one of Pied's silvered ears flick with interest. She wondered how her pack mate's face had healed following the extraction of the porcupine quills. She would've asked Kennedy but, after what he'd just said, she doubted he knew much about it. Honestly, his impression of their peculiar-looking pack mate didn't surprise Pied. She hadn't necessarily started off on the right foot with Pump, either.

"I don't think it's hard to have misunderstandings with Pump. She's a little bit strange, I guess, but she's friendly once you get to know her. I'm sure you can redeem yourself," the Gamma assured Kennedy, shifting again because now her hipbone was giving her some trouble.

Once more comfortable—well, as comfortable as she could get in her condition—Pied replied, "Ah... I've been here over a month now. I moved here to be with my mate, Kisu. I don't know if you've heard of it but I used to live in a pack called Blacktail Deer Plateau, which isn't far from here." She didn't see any reason to mention Bon Dye or anything preceding that; it was all ancient history at this point.

"So, if you don't mind my asking, what happened between you and Pump?" Pied wondered aloud. Even as the words left her mouth, a single drop of rain pinged gently off the top of her muzzle, making her blink.

It was a relief to find that he was not completely crazy when it came to Pump. Pied seemed to think she was a little bit weird, too. Not that it made Kennedy feel too much better about his behavior, but knowing that he was not alone certainly made him understand his mishap a bit more. Pied went on to explain that she had been her a little while, and she had moved here to be with her mate. Unfortunately, this immediately led to Kennedy comparing himself to her. She clearly wasn't very old. At least not as old as he was (though looks could be deceiving). And already she had a mate? A pang shot through him, realizing that he was way behind in the game of life, and the game of death felt sickeningly close.

Still, he managed to keep his composure, and focused himself on the question at hand. "It’s ah… I don’t know. We come from very different places." Kennedy wasn't sure how much information he wanted to reveal, but decided full disclosure was the best route. "Basically, I chuckled at the thought of ever starving, and I think it brought up something she had personal experience with. She didn’t take too kindly to it." Fearing starvation had never even occurred to Kennedy until speaking with Pump.

Pied didn't know if Kennedy would oblige her, though she didn't have to wait long to find out. Her head canted as Kennedy offered more details about the disagreement between himself and Pump. She snorted very quietly to herself, her lips curling somewhat, and she bobbed her head knowingly.

"She actually tried to eat me the first time we met," Pied shared. "I do think she came from somewhere where she knew great hunger," she added, her lips pressing together now, "but I made the same mistake and she forgave me, so I'm sure the same will go for you, Kennedy."

Another drop of icy water splattered her muzzle, prompting Pied to ask, "Would you like to step inside...?" She motioned toward the lair. "It's large enough that we can both sit in there comfortably. Unless you'd rather head home before it gets bad." The Gamma hoped he would stay but wouldn't blame him if he'd rather not get stuck here.

Kennedy's eyes widened when Pied explained her own first interaction with Pump. He was glad to hear that Pump had forgiven Pied, and the situation was beginning to look up more and more. Perhaps things here would be alright. Edy thought that he could definitely fit in here if he kept working at it.

When it began to rain (rather than drizzle), Pied offered him a space in her own den. He assumed she shared it with her mate, Kisu. "Oh, I wouldn’t want to intrude," he replied sheepishly. "I should probably go cozy up in my own place until it clears up." The only way his den was really going to feel like home was if he treated it as such.

Although she expected him to decline her invitation, it still made her a little sad when he said he'd rather head home. "Well, okay. I hope we can talk again sometime soon, Kennedy. It was nice meeting you," Pied rejoined earnestly. "I've been cooped up so long, so it was really nice having company today. Don't be afraid to stop by anytime," she added, wondering if the hulking male would take her up on this offer.

As Kennedy presumably began to retreat to his own den, Pied slipped into her own, circled around and settled so that her muzzle rested in the doorway. She watched as the rainstorm swept in from over the sea, the soft sound of the rain soon putting her to sleep.